Chapter 66 - 65: Picking Up a Bargain

The layout of the courtyards in Area C was similar to that of Area D. Two households still shared a single gable wall, each enclosing a small courtyard from the front and back. The even-numbered houses had their doors facing the main gate of the safe zone. Their two families were separated by only one household, making them actually closer than when they lived in Area D.

The main gate was brand new, obviously just replaced, standing in stark contrast to the old surrounding walls. Sev Steele swiped her initial card on the gate. Following the prompts on the courtyard door’s electronic screen, she registered her facial and iris recognition for the dual security system. After some fuss, the security system finally granted her access to the courtyard of her new home.

Upon entering, her heart immediately sank.

The damage to this so-called new home was even more severe than her previous one. There were at least a dozen holes of various sizes gnawed by Mutant Rats on the walls, a few of which were as large as bowls. Overall, her new home was hardly any better than her old house.

Considering that Sector A and Zone B had also been struck by the disaster, management would definitely organize manpower to repair the houses in those two areas first. Heaven knew how long it would be before someone came to repair the dilapidated houses in Area C. She couldn’t help but frown; sleeping in a drafty, broken house every night was incredibly frustrating!

Although the corpses inside the house had been cleared away, a heavy stench of blood still lingered in the air. Dried yellowish-brown bloodstains remained on the interior walls, leaving more than enough evidence for Sev to picture the tragic events of the previous night.

The only new fixture was the replaced main gate. The only thing better than her original home was that the total area of the courtyard here was 140 square meters. The house’s floor space and the open yard each took up 70 square meters. Compared to her previous place with two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom, this one had an additional living room of about 15 square meters.

By now, neighbors were already going in and out, moving their belongings.

"Let’s go. We need to hurry and ideally move over before it gets dark. I don’t have many odds and ends, so I can help you move some of the heavier furniture," Hayden Hanson said.

Sev nodded and followed him back. On the way, she asked, "I noticed earlier that most of the houses in the 9th and 10th rows of Area C were allocated to survivors from our Area D. Could it be that the original residents have all...?"

"Pretty much. Under those circumstances last night, anyone inside their house was subjected to indiscriminate attacks.

"The further out people live, the poorer they are, and the weaker their combat abilities. Once the Mutant Rats breached the defense line, the chances of survival for those inside were practically zero.

"The Guard Corps have been busy clearing corpses these past two days. It’s not safe to stay in Area D, which is why we need to move over as soon as possible," Hayden explained.

Sev understood Hayden’s underlying meaning. Usually, the security in the safe zone was decent enough, but in this current chaotic situation, even if someone committed a home invasion in Area D, The Guard Corps probably wouldn’t have the time to deal with it.

At that thought, she couldn’t help but quicken her pace. Her four cubs were so young. She wondered what would happen if someone really broke in; stealing things would be one thing, but what if they hurt the children?

"Don’t worry. Even if someone wants to rob a place, they’ll wait until after dark. Besides, almost everyone stayed up all night yesterday. Most people are probably catching up on sleep right now," Hayden comforted her.

The two hurried back. As Sev looked around along the way, she saw nothing but ruins and collapsed walls. The corpses of Mutant Rats lay scattered in all directions, and leftover bloodstains were visible everywhere. The whole scene painted a picture of Purgatory on earth.

Fortunately, the children were all safe and sound. Rusty and Zephyr were awake, while Firestone and Rose were still sleeping. Sev directed the two awake children to help gather the things they needed to take with them.

Before they had finished packing everything, Hayden came over, pushing a new handcart.

"Where did you... get this?" Sev asked in surprise. She still remembered that during the heavy rain the other day, his handcart and the bamboo they had chopped were all abandoned in the forest.

"I just made it. I scavenged the wheels from the scrapyard when my genes were collapsing, planning to build a cart to sell when I had some free time.

"Since I don’t have bamboo, I dismantled my bed frame to make do for now. Otherwise, moving from Area D to Area C would require running back and forth way too many times," Hayden said.

Sev’s impression of the man improved even further. He had excellent practical skills, a strong moral character, and a kind heart. She suddenly couldn’t quite understand why such a man was still single, wondering if he was afraid that marrying and having children would be too much of a burden.

Seven Steele House had always been poor. Their furniture consisted of only a single cabinet, a wooden table, two large beds, and a broken wooden trunk for clothes. The rest were just pots, pans, and other miscellaneous odds and ends. With the help of Hayden’s handcart, along with the four children pitching in, they managed to move everything in the house after just three round trips.

Sev had the children stay at the new home while she followed Hayden to his place to help him move. The main gate of the new house had already been replaced with a new one by the higher-ups, and the surrounding walls were undamaged. Outsiders couldn’t get in, so their safety was guaranteed for the time being. Sev made two trips with Hayden and moved all of his belongings over.

By now, the sky had grown dark. Sev cooked some mushroom soup and invited Hayden to join them for dinner.

Hayden didn’t decline. He had been busy all day helping Sev move; if he refused to even eat a meal with them, it would seem overly distant and unnecessarily add to her mental burden.

After dinner, just as Sev was about to send the four cubs to wash up and go to sleep, Hayden lowered his voice and leaned in mysteriously. "After a long day, do you still have any energy left? Want to go scavenge with me?"

"Scavenge? Area D is completely in ruins. What’s left to scavenge?" Sev raised an eyebrow.

"I noticed something earlier while we were moving things," Hayden said, pointing outside the courtyard. "A family was moving, and they had two large, heavy bundles of dry firewood tied up with hemp rope on their backs.

"It’s not even time to stock up on winter firewood yet. Who would have that much inventory?

"I’m guessing he probably looted the empty courtyards where nobody lives anymore—those neighbors who likely all died in the rat tide."

Sev was slightly taken aback. She hadn’t expected Hayden, who usually looked so honest and reliable, to have such a crafty side to him. But on second thought, in The Wasteland where human lives were as cheap as dirt, anyone truly naive and innocent would have long since become Mutant Rat feces. Hayden was merely sticking to his bottom line, but when it came to survival, he didn’t lack the necessary street smarts.

Profiting from the dead might not sound honorable, but for the sake of her four hungry cubs, Sev instantly tossed that insignificant sliver of morality out the window.

Under the cover of the thick night, the two tiptoed through the rubble and ruins of Area D.

Sev quickly realized that Hayden wasn’t just stumbling around blindly. His pace was swift, and his targets were clear. Every time they turned into a small courtyard, the main gate was wide open, revealing untouched ground that hadn’t yet been ransacked by others.

It seemed that during their earlier moving trips, he hadn’t been idle along the way. He had been busy scouting the area—ahem! I mean, observing carefully.