Khalifa: Queen in the Apocalypse

Chapter 143: Caveats (Part 1)

The day of departure was set for two days. Khalifa and the rest decided to use this time to get a good rest (and some good sex, of course).

They met up in the large field at the entrance, formerly used for training by the soldiers.

To her surprise, other than the soldiers, there were quite a few civilians as well.

One of whom was Mira.

Speaking of Mira, she was reviewing knowledge and partially daydreaming about what she could gain after this.

From her dream, Mira knew that the few people who survived this mission lived well. She had also slept with a couple of survivors, so she had an idea of where the dangerous places were, where they lost most people.

She would no longer go the route of framing and acting like a shrew. She had died of that once.

Instead, she could use her knowledge to further increase her status.

When she had enough power and influence, then she’d be able to stomp Claire to the ground!

As she was in a daze, a few soldiers had gone to the front of the crowd, checking the list.

One turned to a direction, "General, the group is ready to go."

General Lee, a handsome man for his advanced age, stood tall in front of the crowd.

He looked at the crowd of fifty soldiers and a hundred civilians.

While it could attract a zombie hoard, the goal was to get to the hospital as soon as possible.

He opted to send an advance team to clear up a path, at least enough for a one-way passthrough.

Although there were a few losses, that mission was successful, and would undoubtedly assist in today’s very important mission.

"Today will be one of the most important missions of our base. The long-term survival of our community would be anchored on the success of this mission.

"Let me express my gratitude to all of you who bravely put their lives in order to do this for the greater good.

"However, there will be caveats.

"Civilians, please note that this is a mission wherein you would be paid. The soldiers will do their best to keep you safe within their ability, but the mission will come first to them.

"If you wish to be treated as a rescue—a liability instead of help—then please back away. You will not be blamed."

This naturally made a lot of people frown, while some nodded in understanding.

After all, they chose to go for benefits. What was the use if they would just be dead weights?

However, some people who just wanted benefits were ashamed to back out now, especially when they were too much in the minority.

Besides, the soldiers wouldn’t really leave them for dead, right?

The general narrowed his eyes at the crowd and looked to his right.

"Hilten here will tell you the details." He said, stepping away and letting another man take the stage.

Hilten White, General Lee’s former adjutant, now a lieutenant and his right-hand man. He was also relatively young to get to his position, only in his early thirties, and this was a good testament to his skills.

He was an average-looking man, but he had a kind smile that would make anyone comfortable.

It was a sharp contrast to the general, who intimidated people even without wanting to.

"There are 50 soldiers and 100 civilians accepted to do this mission. Among the civilians, ten were veterans, fifty had self-defense knowledge, while the others were of full ability to move on their own and defend themselves.

"Again, the soldiers would not go out of their way to protect the civilians, not if it would compromise their own safety and the mission.

"You will be required to follow orders of the captain. Anyone who refuses to follow would have to save himself."

"I repeat, this mission is very dangerous, and it is expected that there would be several people who would lose their lives.

"Of course, with danger comes opportunities. The reward for this mission—as you all know—is quite rich, enough for a person to live amply for at least a few months.

"If the person does not survive, the reward would go to the person of their choice.

"Again, we will give a chance to those who wish to back out. The mission is to gather helpers. You will not come with this team only to be protected…"

Such repeated warnings did indeed scare a couple of people. There were five people who backed out, and they looked down in shame.

A few who wanted to ride but not the shame sneered at the cowards, believing the soldiers were bluffing.

They were soldiers! They definitely leave them for dead!

Hilten once again looked at the crowd, checking if there was anyone else who wished to back out.

Seeing that there was none, he nodded at them, "Be careful, all of you."

"We wish you success."

***

Equipped with weapons and protective gear, the large group then headed towards the town hospital.

One must know that one of the notes in the mission was that the people would bring their own equipment.

Hence, most of the civilians had leather jackets or thick clothing, as well as weaponry like axes or knives.

They were shaking in fear, but there was no way. They didn’t have food left and they have been living in disgusting makeshift tents in the slum area.

They wanted to take a risk and get a better chance at life, while they still had the strength to do so.

One such person was a woman named Joana, a 37-year-old widow who lost her child in a miscarriage and couldn’t have any children since.

She was poor and without useful skills, but she did work those laborious jobs like cleaning toilets. Unfortunately, she couldn’t do any of these jobs in the base, which was always full as old people were given the priority.

So, despite all the recommendations to be of a certain strength, she had no choice but to take this risk. She had nothing to lose, anyway.

So, like many people in the group, Joana had no choice but to just bite her cheek and go on with it.

At least she could still move on her own, and guard her own skin. That was already a lot more than most!

The trip to the hospital was naturally not easy, but the team was ready and the roads were cleared up to some degree beforehand, so it was managed with minimal losses. Well, relatively.

It was a tense journey, but the preemptively cleared pathway allowed them to over just run a lot of zombies. However, the majority of the population had turned to zombies, and one could imagine the number near cities.

Despite being cleared, there were bound to be a lot of zombies that reached the people, managing to pull them down for consumption.

Despite the injuries and losses, of course, the group trudged through.

Their route winded through desolate streets, with the wind howling through abandoned cars and buildings, making everything feel extremely eerie.

Soon, a slightly bigger mob reached them, making the convoy stop their movements, with all radios saying everyone shall join the fight, as they needed to end it as soon as possible.

They used cold weapons to save ammo. This was also to avoid attracting any more zombies.

Similarly, Khalifa decided to keep most of her strength in case of emergencies and used her sword instead of defending.

The people fought and there were a few heartbreaking deaths. But such was the world now, and they didn’t have the time to mourn.

As Khalifa slashed away, she couldn’t help but notice a woman who was bravely defending herself. She looked thin and desperate, obviously knowing this was her last chance.

Khalifa decided to lighten her load a bit by throwing some ice spikes.

This was fine at first but a couple of grown men who were moving from fight to fight, either stealing kills or running away entirely, realized the load in this person’s area was lighter than most.

They scooted in the direction, the few grown men killing a zombie together with relative ease.

But more humans meant more attraction to zombies, so more and more zombies began to converge in the area.

It got to the point where the men, to save their skins, used the woman as a shield, pushing her forward.

"Kyaaa!"

Khalifa’s eyes widened and she immediately used ice scythes to kill the zombies about to maul the woman.

She also cursed the men. How dare they make her use her powers so early!!