Surviving the Apocalypse: All I Want Is to Find a Husband
Chapter 174: Bringing Home Strays Again?

Chapter 174: Bringing Home Strays Again?

Lucian ended up repairing their military vehicles, sparing them the trouble of cramming twenty-eight unconscious soldiers into the truck like sacks of potatoes. But that led to a bigger question, could they really trust anyone else to drive these vehicles?

"What if they just dump them in the middle of nowhere?" Medeia whispered to Lucian, keeping her voice low. "They hate these soldiers, don’t they?"

It would be better if Medeia could drive the car herself, but even though Lucian had taught her several times, she still didn’t understand how to drive properly!

Lucian finished securing the unconscious soldiers, tying them up tightly to ensure they wouldn’t cause trouble when they woke up. He glanced up at her. "I don’t think so. They all grew up in the same place. If anything, they understand each other’s situation better than we ever could."

Ethan and his comrades knew refusing orders meant being branded as traitors. The same went for failing their mission. They also knew these soldiers had been chasing fugitives not out of personal grudge, but simply because their general commanded it.

"However, are you sure you want to bring all of them back to the base?" Lucian asked, wanting to confirm her decision. "When they wake up, they might go feral and see you as the enemy."

Medeia let out an exaggerated sigh, rolling her eyes. "Is it really that shocking for me to do something nice for once?" She crossed her arms, grumbling under her breath. "Even the system still doesn’t believe I actually want to bring this many people back alive."

"No, that’s not what I mean, My Love." Lucian took her hands in his. "It’s just ... a few days ago, you were complaining that bringing new people into the base would take up space and drain our food supplies. But I guess that concern doesn’t apply when it comes to kids, huh?"

Medeia averted her gaze, refusing to acknowledge his words. "What are you talking about? They’re practically adults," she muttered. "Besides, the system told me not to leave them behind."

[Liar! The system hasn’t even given you a new mission, Host!]

In fact, it hadn’t even announced the completion of her previous mission yet because it was still waiting for her to bring the soldiers to the base.

Lucian didn’t call her out on the obvious lie, but from the look in his eyes, he knew. He just chose not to push the issue. "For now, we might have to rely on the emergency food supply," he said instead. "I’ll take some of the others to hunt more monsters later."

Medeia nodded. "That’s fine."

She didn’t want to share her precious food with anyone, but what choice did she have? Letting these soldiers starve wasn’t exactly an option, not unless she wanted to deal with the system’s nagging.

"Are we really doing this?" someone asked hesitantly.

Max scoffed. "No, the real question is, are we seriously leaving with them?!" He threw his hands in the air. "Come on, do they even look trustworthy?!"

Medeia was a bit questionable, But Lucian? Only someone with a rotten heart would call him a psychopath for bringing these soldiers along as if he were leading them straight to their deaths.

Their first meeting had been a disaster, but Lucian had still gone out of his way to help. He had patched up the wounded, saved Mateo’s life when no one else could and asked for nothing in return.

Like it or not, he had become their lifeline.

Meanwhile, Medeia had eliminated their potential enemies in a matter of minutes.

Both of them were their saviors.

"Max, what other option do we have?" Ethan said, rubbing his temples. "If they don’t go back, the military will send more troops. And let’s be real, we’re in no shape to run right now."

"If we stay here," he added, "we’re as good as dead."

Medeia rolled her eyes. "If you don’t trust us, then you’re free to stay here. It’s your loss anyway." She crossed her arms and added, "But are you really going to let your injured comrades leave with us while you stay behind? What if your suspicions are right, but you can’t save them because you chose not to come?"

Max clenched his jaw, glaring at Medeia with a mix of frustration and hesitation.

His pride refused to let him back down so easily, but deep down, he was also afraid that something bad would happen to his comrades, but he couldn’t save them.

Maybe the only thing he could do to save his comrades if Medeia and Lucian truly turned out to be rotten people was to follow them.

Ethan let out a sharp sigh. "Max, enough. We don’t have the luxury to argue about this anymore." He gestured toward the unconscious soldiers. "We need to move now before reinforcements arrive."

Max clicked his tongue but said nothing more. His silence was as good as surrender.

As the tension eased and the decision was made, Lucian let out a breath. "Alright, it’s settled. Let’s load them up and get moving."

Before allowing anyone into the vehicles, he did a thorough sweep for trackers by checking their clothes, boots, and even the seams of their belongings. He wasn’t about to lead a trail of trouble straight to the Red Star Alliance. Not now. Not ever.

While the others worked, Medeia sat inside the truck with Bear curled up beside her. The massive wolf had been keeping the wounded soldiers warm since they arrived by using his thick fur that felt like a warm natural blanket. As a reward for his hard work, Medeia tore off a piece of beef jerky and held it out.

"You’re such a good boy." She scratched behind his ears, saying "Listen, Bear. Once we get back to base, I need you to keep an eye on Sierra."

Bear lifted his head slightly as if he understood, his red eyes locking onto hers.

"I don’t know what’s coming next," she murmured, her fingers absentmindedly stroking his fur. "But I do know one thing that the military will find us sooner or later."

A military that had no problem throwing teenagers into the pit of hell wouldn’t hesitate to destroy or exploit another base for its resources.

The Red Star Alliance was a rare safe haven, a flicker of light at the end of the world. If those bastards ever found them, they wouldn’t stop until they had stripped it bare, worse, until they had turned everyone inside into slaves.

If that day ever came, Medeia wanted Bear to take Sierra and run. She didn’t care where. Just somewhere safe. Somewhere far from the reach of monsters disguised as men.

Because she refused to let them lay a single finger on her daughter.

No.

Not her daughter. Sierra was Sharon’s daughter.

Damn it.

What the hell was wrong with her? Why were these maternal instincts surfacing all of a sudden? It wasn’t like she had a child of her own, right?

A sharp knock on the window yanked her back to reality. "Medeia." Lucian said, "Buckle up. We’re heading back."

The ones driving the vehicles were the soldiers who could still move freely or whose injuries weren’t too severe—Ethan, Max, and one Medeia didn’t know his name. They followed closely behind the truck, trailing it like a line of ducklings sticking close to their mother.

As they approached the entrance of the Red Star Alliance, Tian, who was on guard duty, let out a heavy sigh the moment he saw vehicles trailing behind them.

"Bringing home stray cats again?" he muttered.

It felt like every time they left the base, they always came back with something new, whether it was rare supplies, new crops, or even people.

Lucian chuckled. "At this point, you should just expect it."

"How many of them?"

Medeia answered casually, "Thirty-eight."

"Thirty—what?!" Tian’s eyes widened in disbelief. "Have you completely lost your mind?!"

Behind the truck, the soldiers driving the vehicles couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

Max couldn’t even pick his jaw up off the floor. "What the hell...," he muttered, leaning out of the car window to get a better look.

The base was nothing like what they had imagined. Instead of a group of rebels, it was a fully functional community.

Tall watchtowers stood at the perimeter. Reinforced walls surrounded the base. Inside, they could see people carrying supplies, and others tending the crops in well-kept greenhouses. There was even a medical bay in the base.

How in the world did they manage to build a base like this?!

Their military base even looked more like a ghost town rather than a proper place to live, with most of the area cluttered with scattered military equipment and debris.

As their car passed through the gates, they spotted a building that had long disappeared from the apocalypse.

"A church?!" Max shouted in disbelief. "They even have a church?!"

Max wasn’t the only one who was shocked. The other soldiers stared in stunned silence, their heads swiveling left and right as they took in the sight of the Red Star Alliance.

"Medeia, did you bring more people?" Matilda approached the truck, eyeing the newcomers. "Who are they? They look pretty tough."

Max froze for a moment as he took in Matilda’s appearance. Then, with wide eyes, he blurted out, "Wait ... even a gorgeous woman lives here?!"