Trash in the Apocalypse

Chapter 246: Collecting Resources

Mike saw the surprise in Jun's face and became elated. He had some inkling to that it might be beneficial but he had no idea of its actual effect. He felt that as a chef, he should be looking forward to working with various ingredients instead of staying in his comfort zone.

"It's an energy drink. Evo gave me some energy fruit earlier as a reward for working hard. I think he must have hundreds of it to actually give every staff one each." Mike said then added, "I don't really use much energy and I thought it would be a waste to use it. So I used it to make some refreshments. Is it good?"

"It's way better than good! It increased my energy permanently by one point while also giving me a buff that increases energy regeneration by 20%! Can I have another one?" Jun grinned while extending his hand holding the glass.

Mike felt elated that his creation was appreciated. As a chef, receiving compliments on their food was their greatest joy. He took the pitcher and poured the juice into the glass.

Jun thought it was lemonade due to the liquid's yellowish color, but in reality, it was actually the pulps and juice of the energy fruit.

After getting his glass almost full, Jun hurriedly drank it. Strangely though, he didn't receive another notification.

"Well, that would be a bit over the top, right? At least, it tastes good and gives the energized buff." Jun thought.

He smiled at Mike and raised his glass. "Good work. I'll remind Evo to give you energy fruits every day. Make sure every staff drinks some before working, alright? If they're energized and feel refreshed, they might work harder."

"Thank you for the praise, boss." Mike scratched the back of his head meekly. Afterward, he served Jun marinated chicken that came from the wild and let him dine in peace.

When Jun finished eating, he noticed that Mike was glancing at him as if he wanted to say something. "What is it? Don't dally, if you need something, never hesitate to tell me. We've known each other for a long time. You're more than enough qualified to requests things from me."

Mike felt touched by Jun's words. Although he doesn't have high intelligence, he still had a basic understanding of things. "Thank you, Boss Jun. Recently, people from Angono would come to visit us and trade goods. They have a poultry and pig farm, and I don't have enough money to buy their goods. Could you raise my salary, so I can offer better dishes for everyone?"

Jun smiled. "I'll remind Bernard to raise your salary. Actually, you don't have to buy them with your own money. These things would be paid by me, so just keep on buying them. Also, I'll introduce you to the farm owners once I plan on visiting them. That way we could have some meat once a month."

"Thank you so much! Thank you, boss Jun."

After settling things with Mike, Jun went back to his room to get some rest. To his surprise, his room was unexpectedly clean and tidy. Dyna and Gina took turns cleaning the room when he was gone. It was like paying appreciation for helping them when they were in need. It was the least that they could do for him.

Jun didn't even turn the lights on and plunged himself into the bed. He sniffed the comforter and did not find the expected smell he was longing for. The pillows and blanket by the side smelled like how they should be: newly washed with sweetly perfumed detergents.

He sighed and closed his eyes letting the darkness swallow him. For the first time in recent days, Jun actually slept and did not meditate.

The next morning, Jun woke up feeling more energized than usual. He got up from bed, grabbed some breakfast, and stopped everyone from the regular scavenger group to come with him.

Adrian's elite group chatted with him for a bit then continued on their way to reclaim Cardona.

Jun smiled watching them board their jeepneys. Everyone was doing their part and he should start working to protect this town.

'Let's start by strengthening my faction.'

Jun stood at the highway in front of the Northern Plains. The plains can be found north of the town hall and west of the Northern Mines. A flowing river could be seen on the distance that divided the plains and the wild forest area of the north.

He opened his faction menu and accessed the buildings that he could make.

[Faction Hall - requires x1000 essence shards, x1000 Ophir's gold, 1000kg of stone, 500kg of wood]

[Faction Altar - requires x3000 essence shards, x2500 Ophir's gold, 100kg of stone, 50kg of wood]

[Faction Portal- requires x5000 essence shards, x4000 Ophir's gold, 300kg of stone, 100kg of metal]

"What are we doing here? Are we going to cut the weeds and plow the fields?"

Jun smiled after hearing this sarcastic voice. It's been a long time and he actually grew fond of it. Nik stood behind him and examined the Northern Plains.

The remaining six death slaves worked as officers in the regular scavenger group. The contract was gone and they remained loyal to Jun. The six of them left the elite group, so they could nurture and assist the budding talents from this group.

There were at least 200 people in the Black Haven Scavenger group. Most of them were here for the benefits while others stayed for the protection and the sense of belonging. Some were also trying their best so they could join the elite group and further their careers.

"We need 1400kg of stone, 550kg of wood, and 100kg of metal. Have everyone collect those things and meet here at noon. They're scavengers, so they should where to look for these items, right?" Jun said.

Nik frowned then answered with dissatisfaction. "You brought everyone here by walking. Caused a commotion back in town, all for scavenging missions? Couldn't you have told us back at the compound?" 

"Ohh, it looks like someone thinks they become stronger. How about we play for a bit?" Jun smirked as he turned to Nik.

Nik scoffed and replied while walking away. "Forget it. I'm not a masochist." 

Jun laughed and let the matter go. There was a simple reason why he gave the order here. It's because he forgot to check in advance. What? Can't he make simple mistakes?

Nik explained the situation to the scavenger group and everyone went on their way. With their number, getting those resources would be easy. They just have to look for several construction sites and it would be done. They could even rest and take a stroll since there was too much time available. 

Jun knew that there's a huge buffer time and the job could be finished easily. With everyone's dimensional storage, gathering those materials would be a swift job. There was a reason why he asked them to meet up before noon.

It's because of essence shards and Ophir's gold. Although Black Haven already had enough essence shards in their warehouse, the Ophir's gold was of a different matter. It only drops in dungeons and a daily net would be around 500-600 gold.

In two weeks of alternating between the Cemetery and Northern Mine dungeon, Black Haven has stored around 4000 Ophir's gold.

The current division of dungeons allowed the three factions to enter twice per week while allowing unaffiliated survivors to gain access to the dungeons on the last day.

Now, he just needs other people to cough up a bit of gold from their stash.

Jun operated his smartwatch and arrived at the mission board panel. With his admin access, he created a new mission and posted in on the advertisement spot located at the top of every mission page. Through this, more people could easily see the advertisement and news would travel faster.

Now, he just had to wait for the big fish to bite. He strode towards a big mango tree and sat down to meditate.

Nik and his friends didn't join the scavenging hunt and stayed to protect Jun. For the first time since the apocalypse, they have the time to appreciate the nature around them.

The white clouds, the boundless sky, and the swaying green grass.

While in meditation, Jun suddenly opened his eyes.

It's because of the notification that appeared in front of him.

[The user meditated for 24-hours. Received 1 stat point.]

Jun did not meditate for a whole day. The 24-hours was the combination of several days of interrupted meditation. Most of the time, he would meditate from midnight until early dawn. With the repeated action, he was able to gather 24-hours in the span of a week and a few days.

After recovering from the shock, Jun closed his eyes again. A free stat point was good, but he can't dedicate a full day for a single point. Well, it's still a good thing to learn about these things and he could still get free points in the future.