Electric Fence Commotion

"Base Commander, I want to go out, hurry up and open the gate!" someone shouted.

Seeing that Hurley was almost done distributing the supplies, Ignatius walked over and said, "Who else wants to come out? Let me make it clear, the doors of the office building aren't something we can open and close at will. Every time we open them, the electric fence wears out."

Upon hearing this, the person who had just been shouting retreated a bit. It wasn't an empty threat from the Base Commander; it was indeed difficult for people to enter once they were outside.

They only brought a portion of their food with them, relying on the base to distribute the rest, which consisted of either compressed biscuits or energy bars. Some people, in pursuit of a small advantage, preferred to stay here rather than leave so soon.

"If anyone wants to come out, raise your hand. If there are many of you, I'll have the current shut off and open the door for you," Ignatius said, annoyed by their constant disruptions throughout the day.

"I mentioned the transportation of weapons to you last time. Now that the convoy has returned, there might be a clash with pirates at any moment. For your safety, I suggest you stay inside. We're not treating you as prisoners; it's for your own good. We'll observe for a few more days. If we're certain the pirates won't come, we'll remove the electric fence."

This statement instantly quieted the commotion. They were half-believing, half-doubting about the weapons mentioned by the Base Commander, but seeing that the people outside were not panicking, they decided to stay put.

"Forget it, I just said it casually. It's not like I must go out. Everything's fine here except for the inability to shower," someone remarked.

"Yeah, we have food and drinks, a toilet, and we can sleep anywhere. Besides the slightly poor environment, it's not that hard to endure," another agreed.

"I heard the pirates have already landed. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to breach the base. I'd rather stay here honestly," someone else chimed in.

"If you don't leave, I won't leave either."

"Since you're not leaving, I'm not leaving either."

"If none of you are leaving, then I definitely won't leave."

"... "

As Ignatius walked away, he noticed that Hurley had already finished distributing the rewards, and those people happily went back with their supplies.

"Alice, you and Mohan's supplies are separate. Follow me," Ignatius said.

The two of them followed his footsteps, and the three arrived at the warehouse where the base stored supplies.

The area around the warehouse was heavily guarded, with guards armed and ready. When the person in charge of the gate saw the Base Commander coming, they immediately opened the door.

"You can choose up to twenty items from the warehouse, or take twenty bags of rice," Ignatius said with a smile.

It was Alice's first time participating in this kind of reward system. Ignatius brought over two small shopping carts from the nearby supermarket.

"No rush, take your time to choose," he said.

The warehouse was large, divided into several smaller sections, and filled with so many things that it was overwhelming. Just the rice alone occupied about five hundred square meters.

Alice carefully began to choose. She had plenty of rice in her space, enough to last a lifetime, so she didn't need to take any more. Instead, she chose items she didn't have or had fewer of in her stockpile.

As she was still selecting, she turned to see Hurley with a full cart. He had taken five bags of rice, each weighing a hundred pounds, which already counted as five items. "How come, nothing you like?" Hurley raised an eyebrow.With limited space, he could only stockpile as much food as possible, especially meat.

Alice nodded, feeling a bit distressed. "I already have all these supplies, and what's not here, I also have."After circling around, she really didn't know what to take.In the end, Alice chose snacks.She picked a canned green bean porridge, a box of eight-treasure porridge, a crate of peanut milk, and also a bag of dried fruits...

Twenty minutes later, they pushed the small carts out.

Ignatius rarely came here. He was currently discussing consumption levels and other matters with the guards at the warehouse when he turned to see them coming out.

"Done choosing?" That was pretty fast.

Normally, when people see so many things, they'd first grab what they want. If they see something they like more, then they'd take their time to pick and choose.

Ignatius looked at Hurley's cart, which had rice, pork, chicken, duck, ribs, ham, potatoes, and sweet potatoes—easy-to-store items. He nodded in satisfaction; they could live on these.

Then, he turned to Alice's cart, which was filled with various snacks. There wasn't any grain or meat at all.

"Um... Alice, how about going back in and picking again? I know young girls like you all enjoy eating these snacks, but times have changed. Nowadays, only grain can fill your stomach. If you really can't let go, leave a few items and take more rice. Each bag of rice weighs a hundred pounds," Ignatius said in a lowered voice for the last sentence, thankfully it was Alice; if it were someone else, he wouldn't even bother reminding.

Opportunity seldom knocks twice.

Alice understood that Ignatius was looking out for her. She shook her head. "I have grain at home. We'll earn points and buy them later anyway."

Ignatius couldn't help but look at Hurley, silently asking: Aren't you going to say anything?

Hurley's lips curved slightly. "She likes these. Since it's a reward, of course, she should choose what she likes. We still have plenty of points left; it's enough to buy grain."Seeing the situation, Ignatius stopped persuading them and had someone register the items they took. With too much stuff, they wouldn't be able to carry it back, but luckily Ignatius brought a car over. "I'll drive Alice back first," he said.

Hurley nodded and helped Alice put her things in the trunk.

In the car, Ignatius couldn't help but ask, "Alice, what did your family do before? How come they let a young girl like you learn to use a gun?"It wasn't surprising he found it strange. There were plenty of women in the base, but finding one who could use a gun was like finding a needle in a haystack. Especially after Hurley described her marksmanship, he found it even more astonishing.

Ignatius took another discreet look at Alice's delicate and fair face; she didn't seem like a tomboy at all.

"My family was in business. I didn't know at first either, but after experiencing many things, I learned," Alice replied vaguely.

Thinking about the chaotic world, Ignatius couldn't help but sigh. He didn't delve into what had happened to her in detail.

"Do you have any news from Keller's side?" Alice asked again.

"He's keeping his mouth shut tight, it might take a few more days," Ignatius grunted. "The people from Country R are audacious. Just because things are chaotic here doesn't mean we'll let them run amok. Sooner or later, they'll be held accountable for their actions."

Alice asked out of curiosity and had no intention of getting involved. Pausing for a moment, she reminded him, "There are too many spies in the base. It's best to discuss some plans with trustworthy people."

Take, for example, the people who transported weapons. Ignatius claimed they were trustworthy, yet someone like Herschel turned out to be a traitor.

At this point, talking to them about patriotism was pointless. People died for money, and birds died for food; everyone had their own choices. But what fate awaited them, no one could say for sure.

"Don't worry, this time I've cleaned out the higher-ups," Ignatius said seriously. After repeated failures, he was truly angry this time.