Chapter 154: Group Members Helping
Dear Readers,
For those who are confused about recent changes, I want to let you know that I am currently updating and refining the story. Some fight scenes that felt repetitive or boring are being removed or improved to make the pacing smoother and more engaging.
Because of this, a few Chapters may temporarily go back or be revised. This is only to improve the overall quality and reading experience.
Thank you for your patience and continued support. The story will become stronger and better than before. 🔥
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Although he desperately wanted to deal with the Savage Wolf Shelter as soon as possible, the conditions did not allow it.
Even if he could get their Shelter’s exact coordinates right now, he would have to wait for the snow outside to melt before he could go there.
At the dining table, Sophia, Divya and Anjali knew Vikram was in a bad mood, so they didn’t say much.
They knew Vikram was being targeted by the Savage Wolf Shelter, and both of them felt largely responsible.
If Vikram had no solution, they were even more helpless, only able to keep putting food on his plate.
"Enough, enough, what are you two doing? My bowl is piled high with food," Vikram said, stopping their confusing behavior with a puzzled look.
"Isn’t it because you’re angry? We thought putting more food on your plate would help you calm down," Anjali explained softly, head bowed.
Even Divya agreed with Anjali’s idea and nodded.
Although they were trying to comfort him, this method genuinely made Vikram laugh.
Seeing Vikram’s expression soften considerably, Divya slowly spoke, "I’m sorry, we’re too useless, we only cause you trouble."
"Alright, alright, when did I say I was angry with you two? Why are you apologizing?" He waved his hand, signaling them to put down their spoons.
Seeing him return to his previous gentle demeanor, the two finally smiled, no longer so reserved.
"We’re all members of the same Shelter now. From now on, it’s only about facing outsiders together; infighting is not allowed."
"Including myself." He patted his chest, indicating that as the leader of the Territory, he maintained absolute democracy.
Looking at their hesitant eyes, he blinked, "I can tell you have something to say by your expressions. Just say it directly."
"It’s just... from now on, let us handle the transactions. After all, too many people know your ID now."
"This could easily lead to sellers inflating prices. People don’t know our names, so we can avoid unnecessary losses."
Vikram lowered his head, took a bite of greens, and nodded at her words.
He had also been considering this. The current situation didn’t allow him to acquire large quantities of supplies anymore; the risk of being recognized was too great.
Using their unfamiliar IDs for some transactions was completely feasible.
Once he remained inactive for a while, he estimated he would soon be able to trade again like Brijbhushan. Before that, he planned to entrust this important task to Divya.
"Okay, I’ll give you a procurement list every day from now on. You can just trade according to the approximate prices I’ve listed."
As soon as he finished speaking, Anjali, who had been left aside, tugged on his sleeve and also said, "What about me? I want to help too."
Seeing Anjali actually volunteering to help, Vikram felt the same sense of relief a father feels watching his daughter grow up.
"She’s finally not so simple-minded anymore; she even knows to share some of my burdens."
Thinking this, he pondered for a moment and finally decided to send her to greet everyone in the group.
"You should still diligently cook for me. Also, take this food and distribute it to every group member who spoke up for us just now."
"Five kg of food per person, and ten kg for Vice Group Leader Director Aditya. Understand?"
The food given to Anjali amounted to fifty to sixty kg, a massive quantity of food in the Wasteland.
He remembered all the group members who helped earlier. Since they had put in the effort, he wasn’t ungrateful.
Some reciprocation was necessary, and with so much food in hand, he certainly wouldn’t be stingy.
He also sends the food to his subordinates, who again chant his name.
Soon, many new messages flooded the group, all about Vikram’s gifts.
[Bobby: Big Boss Vikram is generous! My Shelter is short on food, so I won’t be polite!]
[Geetanjali: Holy moly, so you’re the richest big shot in the group! Five kg of food for everyone who spoke?]
[Radhika: Big Boss Vikram, is it too late to find the Savage Wolf Shelter people to chase me? I want to join your Shelter too.]
[Radhika: I’m pretty and sweet-voiced; I can come over and be your bed-warming maid.]
Hearing Radhika’s words, he also felt a rush of blood; the group members were still so chatty. He was just going to say yes, when he felt a chill around him, and instead of agreeing, he typed.
[Vikram: Sorry, the event has expired. Come again next time.]
Facing the inquiry, Vikram righteously refused, definitely not because he was afraid of Divya’s increasingly cold gaze beside him.
[Director Aditya: Vikram, isn’t this too much? We just spoke a few words of fairness for you, we didn’t help much.]
Learning that Vikram had also given him ten kg of food, he wanted to accept it but also felt embarrassed.
At most, it was just typing a few words. Accepting it seemed wrong, but not accepting it... no Shelter would disdain food at this time.
[Vikram: Just take it. For being the first to speak up, Vice Group Leader, you deserve the most.]
He said it casually, but in reality, when Director Aditya spoke up to help, he invoked the name of the King Kong Shelter behind him.
It’s worth mentioning that the King Kong Shelter was essentially among the strongest Shelters under the three major Shelters.
It still had some prestige; otherwise, the matter wouldn’t have ended so easily.
Although ten kg of food was indeed a lot, he wouldn’t be reluctant to give it away.
Finally, he exchanged a few simple pleasantries with the group members and then closed the chat.
During this time, there were no incidents of jealousy from anyone who didn’t receive food.
It must be said that the small group’s friend referral system was excellent.
It not only excluded all sorts of mixed, ill-intentioned people.
Most people who could join the group were quite sensible; there really weren’t any who did nothing and still wanted freebies.
Coming back to his senses, he checked the warehouse.
There were still over two thousand kg of food, and the food used for trading was the less palatable kind.
Now, the food specifically for the Shelter’s own consumption was probably only about a thousand kg.
It was enough to eat for a long time, but if it were to be used for future trades, it would seem somewhat inadequate.
Food was still the strongest hard currency in the Wasteland World, without a doubt.
"It seems I’ll have to be more careful with food," he sighed. Recent food expenses were too high.
"This can’t go on; we’ll eventually run out of resources," he thought, planning to hunt more animals once the natural disaster ended.
But then he remembered the zombie army that would likely spread across the wilderness, and he got an even bigger headache.
Not only that, if he hadn’t miscalculated, today was also the last day of the extreme cold’s transformation.
With the thought that this week’s extreme cold was about to end, offering a chance to accelerate the Territory’s development and retaliate against the Savage Wolf Shelter.
The three of them, as usual, sat on the sofa until eleven o’clock, waiting for the new round of changes to occur.
And as midnight arrived, amidst various speculations in the group and noisy complaints in the chat channel, that familiar voice arrived as promised...
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[The sixth phase of the Extreme Cold has officially begun.]
[The temperature has dropped to -70 degrees Celsius.]
[Congratulations to every Survivor who has made it this far.]
[This temperature is the final test of the Extreme Cold for you all. Good luck.]
Compared to the numerous messages that came with the last change, this one seemed particularly brief.
However, since there were no additional changes, it meant one less danger, and the Survivors in the chat channel were quite pleased.
And they hoped that, if possible, that damned voice would just shut up forever.
Subconsciously, the Survivors all regarded this voice as some high-level entity, like the will of the Wasteland World.
But Vikram felt that this voice was somewhat similar to the system’s.
Moreover, what this voice represented was precisely the Survival Platform, which couldn’t help but make him think of the system.
"Perhaps that voice is here to help us, and it’s this world that has truly been experiencing various anomalies all along," he mused to himself while lying in bed after finishing everything for the day, finally closing his eyes.
Outside, the wind and snow howled over the mountains, rustling fiercely.
The outdoor temperature, as the voice had said, dropped again, but it could no longer affect Vikram’s Territory.
Unbeknownst to them, their Shelter’s cold-proofing facilities had become quite complete.
First, the Shelter, being enveloped by the mountain, had a natural advantage against the cold; then, the insulation and heat-blocking of the walls and floor were strengthened.
Finally, there were the hot air ducts that constantly warmed various parts of the Shelter.
The warm sofa bed, coupled with the electric blanket spread on it.
Everything seemed harmonious under the wind and snow.
While the three people in Vikram’s Territory were sleeping soundly, Rahul Soniwal in Savage Wolf Shelter was not in a good mood.