Chapter 473: Chapter 483: Sanctyr Base’s Purpose (Part 2)

They emerged from the makeshift shelters they had each put up.

"Brother, are you two planning to set up camp here? Need a tent? I’ve got one I can sell you. Just a pound of food is all it costs."

A scar-faced man led a few others over to them. As soon as Stella Sterling and Zane Xavier got out of the car, the group surrounded them.

Zane Xavier watched them warily. "We don’t need anything."

’He had no idea where Miss Sterling had gotten this car, but it was surprisingly well-stocked.’

Hearing Zane Xavier, the man wasn’t annoyed. He smiled and said, "You two must be new to Veridia, right? You didn’t go to the area provided by Sanctyr Base and came here instead. That tells me you’re not exactly rolling in supplies."

"We’re not asking for much—just a pound of food. With that, you can either get a tent or buy yourselves the chance to settle down here safely. Once we make this trade, we’ll all get along just fine. Otherwise... well, you two are going to be here for a long time. It would be a shame if anything... unpleasant... were to happen between us, wouldn’t it?"

Stella Sterling’s eyes narrowed. ’Were they being threatened?’

’From the sound of it, they had to "buy" this tent whether they wanted to or not. If they did, they could stay here, and these guys wouldn’t cause any trouble.’

’But if they didn’t, this group probably wouldn’t leave them in peace.’

Zane Xavier understood their hidden meaning as well, and his expression turned cold.

’All told, there were about twenty people here, and they all seemed to be a tight-knit group.’

’Even with his gun, dealing with them wouldn’t be easy. And even with Miss Sterling’s help, it would be a tough fight for just the two of them.’

’Most importantly, it would cause a huge commotion.’

’Although the two of them were in disguise, attracting the attention of *those* people would easily expose them.’

’That was the last thing they needed.’

As he thought this, hesitation flickered across Zane Xavier’s face. The burly man continued, "Brother, these are just the rules around here. We’re not trying to give you a hard time on purpose."

"We’re not going to force you, really. If you don’t want to buy, you’re free to leave and find another spot. But you’ll quickly discover that if you try to set up camp somewhere else, you’ll run into the exact same situation."

"You might think we sound harsh, but there’s no helping it. This is the apocalypse; everyone’s doing what they have to. We need to survive, too."

"Go on, ask around and you’ll see. We, the Three Tigers Corps, are actually pretty fair. We let you camp here, and our fee is low compared to other places where they demand several pounds of food right off the bat."

"We only ask for one pound. And we guarantee that after we take it, we’ll never bother you again. In fact, we’ll be on the same side. If anyone tries to bully you, we’ll even step in and back you up."

"It’s a really good deal, you know? You won’t find an offer this good anywhere else."

The man kept a smile on his face the entire time he spoke, seemingly unconcerned that Stella Sterling and her companion might get angry.

Even if they left, he acted as if it wouldn’t matter to them at all.

Zane Xavier remained silent. He understood the logic in the man’s words all too well.

’Veridia was under the jurisdiction of Sanctyr Base, but sometimes the Base couldn’t manage all the small stuff.’

’And with such a large population here, it was only natural for various factions to emerge.’

’As long as these groups didn’t cross Sanctyr Base’s fundamental lines, the Base tolerated their existence.’

’So he knew the man wasn’t wrong. Even if they went somewhere else, they’d face the same situation.’

’The only alternative was to take these people out and claim this territory for themselves.’

’But that would cause too much of a stir. Besides, with just him and Miss Sterling, they weren’t guaranteed to come out on top against a group this size.’

With this in mind, Zane Xavier turned to Stella Sterling to get her opinion, quickly summarizing his analysis of the man’s words.

Stella Sterling glanced at the men. From start to finish, they had acted as if they were just reasoning with them, making no aggressive moves.

’If it really came to a fight, she wasn’t afraid of them.’

’Still, she understood the logic behind their words.’

’Besides, this was their territory, after all. If she and Zane wanted to camp here, it wasn’t wrong that they had to follow the local rules.’

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