11 Cashing Out - An Old Friend

I finished my food earlier than everyone else and I grabbed a banana. I broke it in half and gave the other half to Zeus. While everyone else was still happily eating and chatting with each other, I headed to where the truck was and inspected its contents. It was filled to the brim with different sacks of rice which I mainly sold in my shops.

Most of what was on the truck were 50-kilogram sacks of regular white rice—that was locally produced and quite easy to cook—but there were special kinds; imported and local like brown rice, glutinous rice, long-grained rice, Japanese rice, etc., that would need a bit more than just the regular finger method.

Jo approached me from behind, "Hey, Boss. Thanks again for taking everyone in. Like your uncles, I brought everything from mine. It isn't much but I've brought fresh produce, groceries, canned goods, and the salted eggs Manilyn and I make from time to time."

"Oh? I love those. That's good, thank you. We'll put them to good use along with the rest of the things you've brought."

"Alright, Boss."

After that, Jo just gave me a pat on the back before we went back to the group. When I looked around, Unc Zardon was sitting with a cup of water in hand, and he probably just finished eating.

"Unc, have you been to the public market yet?"

"Hmm? Oh. No, not yet. But I did give Nathan and Arnel a call and told them to stop receiving customers. If they did, they're probably just tidying up and ready to haul everything by the time we get there. We just need to empty the truck and I'll drive over there."

"Okay, but I'll come with you. I might also get a few things from the Public Market."

"Sure. And hey, we heard that Navotas and Malabon got hit. The radio said that it was a riot but we already know that it isn't. They're the neighboring cities but they're still quite close considering… In a few hours or so, we might need to start locking up. It's getting closer and closer…"

"Okay, Unc. Thanks for that, we'll go in a bit. We should pick things up a little though…"

"Yeah…"

'Those places are by the edge of Manila Bay. Right exactly where Kaley's friend was close to.' I thought to myself.

After my workers finished eating, I tasked them to put everything from the truck in our storage rooms. It didn't take as long because we had a lot of people available, and as soon as they were done, Unc Zardon and I hopped in the truck and drove to the Public Market.

But before we left, I left instructions to not allow anyone to just casually leave. But for the ones that would need to, like Unc Zardon and me or Oscar and Jared who were about to go for a second run, they should be armed.

With that said, it took us a few minutes to get to the Public Market and once we arrived, Nathan and Arnel were right outside our store—which was partially closed—and patiently waiting for us.

Unc Zardon parked our truck right in front of our store and they started hauling everything inside. They started with hauling our sacks of rice before they followed it with the sacks of sugar, flour, and salt. After that, what followed were different kinds of items needed for cooking, hygiene, cleaning, etc.

A few onlookers took notice of what we were doing and the shop owners close to us couldn't help but ask what was going on. A few nosy ones even approached us and started asking random questions even though we were moving as fast as we could.

"Hey, what are you guys doing? It looks like you're closing early," one of them leaned over and tried to wave me off.

"Something like that."

"Why are you guys hauling everything here? It's not like a super typhoon is coming, right? I know the rainy season is coming but I think this is too much," another onlooker said.

I scratched the side of my head, "Uh-huh. It might be better to check the news though. Something's coming, better be safe than… you know."

As soon as we started a conversation, a few more voiced their opinion on the matter but some of the tricycle drivers lounging around started to scoff and laugh, even indirectly ridiculing me from their spot. Despite that, I paid them no mind as I tried to talk some sense to the shopkeepers, but I did it as vaguely as possible.

It was because the moment the word "zombie" comes out of my mouth, no one would fucking believe me.

"Oh? I heard about those riots. Aren't they pretty far?"

"Yeah, but the police are having a hard time stopping them and they're greatly increasing in number. You never know, something similar might start here and they'll probably trash everything they came across, that's why I'm securing my things here."

"I'm pretty sure it wouldn't reach here though…"

"Maybe. Maybe not, I'm just trying to be on the safe side. We saw a lot of ambulances from different places driving frantically, that riot is probably turning more and more violent by the second."

"Why aren't they showing footage though? We should've seen a few clips already if it's already been going on for a while."

"Suit yourself but the better question to ask is why is this 'riot' taking too damn long to get stopped? It should've been over in the first city, why is it happening at two places at once now?"

"Huh. You're right…"

"Anyway, I suggest you guys do the same thing I'm doing here. Not only with your shops but also your homes. We shouldn't wait for it to get here before we act on it. If we do something like wait and see, it would've been too late to do something about it."

"R-Really? Is it really that bad?"

One of the onlookers was still apprehensive, "Nah, he's kidding. I bet you they're just going on a picnic or something."

"Why are they hauling everything then for just a picnic, huh?"

"Umm..."

"I guess I'll close shop but I think I won't haul them. If the thing on the news is just that, I think it would be handled later, right?"

"You think so? I might just close shop too and just get all the cash."

"Or you could close shop for a day and cut your losses? A day's worth of sales isn't much compared to losing everything, right?"

"Hmm… I dunno…"

"It's still pretty far-fetched if you ask me…"

"Sorry, I might just stay open but I'll keep an eye out…"

"Me too…"

They gave opinions of their own and my words had once again fallen on deaf ears. Before, I tried talking to them about what was about to come and I always received the same reaction. It was hard to tell people that the end was about to come without sounding like a complete lunatic.

However, the reaction that followed was the one I hated the most.

Right when I finished my conversation with the other shopkeepers, a series of vicious mockery and ridiculing laughter got thrown in my face. They came from the tricycle drivers watching sports on a nearby TV and some of the shopkeepers I had a bad relationship with.

They were looking at me like I'm a fucking idiot while talking amongst each other in hushed tones.

Once I turned to them, their heads just turned the other way but it was pretty obvious that they were talking about me. With that said, the bustling noise of the Public Market just drowned the scene though the TV that was playing sports started to get crowded around because it was near the climax of the match several people were betting on.

It was then that I noticed that the tricycle drivers that mocked me had already downed a few bottles and they were just speaking without filter. Even so, I was still trying to help everyone but I got ridiculed instead, so it stung a little.

"Sure, just don't blame me when—"

"Kid, if you want to waste time on something, just bet on the pool, will ya? At least with that, we'll listen to your babbling even though it's complete nonsense," the person organizing the bets near the TV said as he spat on the ground.

"If you don't wanna believe me, fine. But do check the news even for a second. Isn't it weird? The random acts of violence turned into riots, but the police who were armed with guns couldn't stop a group that was prone to bite and claw the person right next to them. Think about that for a second."

I obviously mixed the info about the random attacks earlier and these 'riots' happening on the neighboring cities but it was enough for the owner of the TV to stand up and start looking for the remote.

However, as soon as the guy was about to grab it and change the channel, one of the tricycle drivers shouted at the top of his lungs before throwing one of the empty bottles on the ground, shattering it to pieces.

"YOU BETTER NOT CHANGE THAT FUCKING CHANNEL OR I'LL FUCK YOU UP SO BAD, YOU'LL BE EATING FROM A STRAW!" then he suddenly turned to me, "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH I BET ON THIS MATCH?! IF YOU DON'T STOP FUCKING YAPPIN' YOUR MOUTH LIKE A FUCKING KNOW-IT-ALL, I'LL INTRODUCE YOUR MOUTH WITH MY FIST!"

Right at this moment, this fucker acted like he owned the place as he threatened the owner of the TV that they were all crowing around on and proclaimed he'd throw hands with me. But to my surprise, everyone's attention were now on us and the fucker's friends were even egging him on.

"HAHAHA! $5 SAYS YOU'D BARELY GET A HIT IN!"

"HE'LL DIE IF YOU SQUISH HIM!"

"HAHAHAHA! THIS IS MORE INTERESTING! I BET YOU A BEER, YOU'LL TRIP YOURSELF BEFORE YOU COME CLOSE!"

"ALL OF YOU SHUT UP! ONCE I'M DONE WITH THIS FUCK, ALL OF YOU ARE NEXT!"

"THEN DO IT THEN!"

"DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!"

"HAH! FUCKING PUSSY!"

"SHUT UP!"

The fucker was being attacked on both sides but to give a short description of this bastard, his eyes were red and his face was flushed from being under the influence of alcohol. Also, he was morbidly obese as his tank top could barely envelop his body, the smell of BO and alcohol was coming out from him, and a dirty towel was hanging on his shoulder, covered with grease, sweat, spit, and vomit.

He started to shout more and more threats at me but despite all that, I gave him a look of indifference as I shrugged my shoulders.

"Do what you want, I said my piece. It's really funny. You like watching sports so much but you don't even bother to take care of yourself. Do you really like sports for what it is or do you get off watching muscled athletes pile on top of one another? Shit, your fucking top is already stretched to its limit but you can't even bend down to tie your fucking shoes. Do me a favor, lay off the beer, the extra rice, and the fucking cheeseburgers, and you might get to see your dick if you look down once in a while."

The moment I said that, the whole place went quiet for a good five seconds before the subject of laughter was turned to the other guy. He never looked so furious and embarrassed but if you can't take shit, you should never dish it out in the first place.

And it didn't take long before he rushed— well, waddled-wobbled in my direction.

"THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?!" he shouted at the top of his lungs as he was about to grab onto my collar.

I easily stepped back to avoid his grip but I almost rolled my eyes when I saw him ball his fist up before throwing an overhead punch in my direction. Furthermore, his greasy overgrown flaps were flapping all over the place as he threw this sorry excuse of a punch. I could've easily walked away but sometimes you just need to put people in their place.

What happened next was that I tilted my head to avoid the blow before I sent my kick straight to his crotch.

His face contorted in pain for an instant before he fell to his knees while clutching his balls. He looked like he regretted his decision from a few seconds ago but his face was the perfect target for a punch right now. It took a compact hook to break his nose but I sent a right knee at the same spot to finish him off.

He fell to the ground unconscious and his nose was bleeding profusely while pieces of his teeth were scattered on the ground. It was because the point of impact included his mouth and he'd probably let out a whistle even if he was breathing normally.

"Heh, fuck around and find out," Unc Zardon said from the side as he chuckled with Nathan and Arnel.

The place was quiet for a few seconds but it suddenly erupted with cheers though his 'friends' were laughing at him. A few concerned citizens threw me a glare and tried to bring him to consciousness but he was out cold despite his nose bleeding and losing teeth, so they just left him there while I waited for the guys to finish loading the truck.

I contemplated paying a short visit to the other shop owners further in but I received a text from Nicole, Jared's older sister, that she just arrived with her GF, Alicia. They brought supplies from the place they were working and a few more food items that they bought with their own money.

I replied promptly but I received another text from my old college friend, Ken: [I'm rolling there soon, man. Give me 30 minutes and I'll see your ugly mug again, heh. I've brought my sister Kristine with me, hope you don't mind. Oh! I also brought my dog, Peanut.]

I replied: [Great. No worries, man. Just come here quickly, it's getting closer.]

Ken texted me once more: [For real? Shit. Alright, man. Peace! See you soon!]

Our conversation ended with that and I noticed that the guys had already finished loading everything from our shop. I would've been sitting next to a couple of containers of cooking oil but I asked Unc Zardon to go ahead without me. However, I asked him to empty the truck as quickly as possible and come back with cash to buy more supplies from the other stores.

Nathan and Arnel were riding their own tricycles and were about to head back as well but Nathan stopped before me.

"Hey, Boss. I got to tell you something. I think my wife and I will head to her parents in Novaliches because they have a place there too. I appreciate that you invited us to live with you but I think we'll try our chances there," Nathan said with a solemn expression.

I looked at him and he seemed to have made his decision.

"Alright… I would've preferred you to stay but I'll respect your decision. However, if you ever change your mind, the door is always open. Just drop by the compound before you go because I'll give you something for the ride."

"Okay, Boss. Need a ride?"

"No, I'm fine. I'm gonna drop by the bike shop across the street."

"Alright, Boss. Thanks, see you later."

"Sure…"

Once they all drove away, I just crossed the street and went to a store that had a few motorcycles on display. It's just that I wouldn't be buying those but instead, their premium bike suits that could act as protective clothing. Their suits cover the whole body and they had extra padding, and even though I have better gear at home, some people needed to start somewhere.

After I paid for the items, I just called for a pedicab so the driver could take me home.

When I reached the compound, I saw an Ober car parked next to my gate and when the car door opened, a lady that looked like someone I knew came out. She didn't even see me looking at her but when I saw what she was pulling out from the trunk, I immediately helped her.

"Ah—"

"Let me," I said as I lifted a familiar wheelchair from the trunk and placed it by the door.

"T-Thank you. You must be Sky... I'm Kristine, Ken's older sister," Kristine said as she followed behind me.

"Oh, nice to meet you," I replied as I offered a handshake.

"Likewise…"

After a brief introduction, I heard a familiar voice coming from the backseat of the Ober.

"What's up, mannnnn~?! Been too long since I last saw you! How long has it been?! Six years?!"

Ken was already smiling like an idiot as his head popped out, and he quickly slapped my hands off when I tried to help him get into his wheelchair. With that said, he quickly turned around and gave me a fist bump before attempting to punch my dick and roll over my foot.

"Easy now, you psycho!"

"Psycho?! Look who's talking?! Did you forget that you only get to help me when I ask for it?!"

"..."

"..."

"HAHAHA!"

"AHHAHAHA!"

The two of us started laughing after a short pause but it was then when I heard a bark from behind. When I turned to look for the source, I saw an English Bulldog and I assumed it was Peanut. I discovered that Peanut was a she once she jumped down the car, and she started to curiously sniff and look around. She seemed to be docile towards me when she came sniffing, and I just gave her a pat on the head.

"Arf!" Peanut barked as she nudged closer to me.

The Ober driver was getting impatient with us so I quickly helped them with their luggage before I introduced them to everyone. However, the scene when Peanut and Zeus met was a little peculiar because they just stared at each other for a full five minutes before tails began to wag and played with each other. Ken and I were worried they wouldn't get along but in the end, they did.

After that, I asked Lois to guide them to an empty room while I looked for Rin. She was busy helping with the chores but I waved her over.

"Y-Yes, sir?"

"Hey, Rin. Settled in?"

"I… I think so, yeah."

"Alright, let's put you to work."

"O-Of course. What do you need, sir?"

"I'd like you to make an inventory or a list of everything that we have here. Everything. I trust you could make a fine system on it, sounds good?"

"Sounds good," Rin nodded and she gave a smile.

Rin seemed to be pretty excited about doing this sort of thing while I was excited about what she would produce. I let her start the process on her own while I prepared a bag for Nathan. I saw Oscar and Unc Zardon leaving for another run outside with their own vehicles while the people left were busy hauling them to the storage areas or appropriate rooms.

Time passed for a bit and I heard someone ringing the bell at the gate, and once I opened it, I discovered that it was Nathan and his Family, packed and ready to leave. His family was in his tricycle and their bags were tied to the roof. I gave his wife and kids a small greeting then I went back and grabbed the bag I prepared for him.

"Here," I said as I handed it over to him.

"Thanks, Boss. But what's in here?"