Chapter 280: Chapter 280: Grocery Store System

Silas crossed his arms, smirking faintly. "Either way, that’s good news for you, my friend. No zombies, no immediate threat."

Ronak’s hands trembled as he lowered his binoculars. "Good news?" he echoed in disbelief. "This doesn’t make sense. They were surrounding us for three whole days, and suddenly, they just left? That’s alarming news!"

"Indeed, however, you are being too pessimistic!" Silas chided in a calm voice, "Try to look on the brighter side. Use this rare moment of peace to strengthen your army."

Silas’s words inspired Ronak, and he nodded like a hen pecking. "Yes! You are right!"

After instructing his soldiers, Ronak left with Silas and Ivy. His aim was clear. He was eager to hear what kind of deal Ivy was going to propose.

Once at their home, Ronak almost wanted to drag Ivy toward his room; however, Silas’s commanding presence, coupled with his pursed lips, spoke volumes about his displeasure.

Ronak didn’t dare to offend this friend of his. He wasn’t an idiot. If earlier Silas’s words had caused him to suspect his base member, then what Silas said at the defense wall made him suspect that the recent changes in his base were because of Silas.

This conclusion was drawn because of the fact that Silas was constantly trying to distract Ronak from investigating the root cause of the matter.

Silas was never a person who would use this kind of tactic, until and unless... someone close to him was behind the anomaly.

And only one person could be... Ronak’s gaze fell on Ivy, and all the pieces connected.

A hint of gratitude appeared in his eyes, causing Ivy to panic a bit, and she withdrew her hand. "What happened?"

"Nothing." Ronak masked his gratitude. From the wariness Ivy showcased just now, it was clear that she didn’t want to let him know about her secret help.

Her reaction also confirmed his suspicion.

However, he didn’t even think about asking a question.

’If they want to hide, I will play along, but I will remember this favor!’ He thought resolutely and changed the topic. "By the way, Ivy, what was it that you wanted to talk about?"

"Have you received any kind of message from a system called ’grocery store’?" Ivy didn’t directly answer his question.

"Eh? No." Ronak replied, voice laced with uncertainty; however, his heart was thumping at the name

"Hm... You see, I was working with a base leader, and she told me about this grocery system. It asks for permission to sell food in your territory, and though costly, at least you can exchange the crystals for genuine food!" Ivy explained in a calm voice; her calm expression made her words even more believable.

Ronak’s eyes widened in disbelief. "Food... for crystals?" he murmured, almost breathlessly. "Are you saying there’s actually a system that sells food now?"

"Yes," Ivy replied evenly, her tone steady but persuasive.

"The system isn’t visible to everyone, only to those who’ve been chosen or have achieved certain conditions. But once the access is granted, you can buy meat, flour, and even water in exchange for zombie crystals."

Ronak leaned back in his chair, his expression torn between skepticism and desperate hope.

"Then why hasn’t it contacted me? My base has been surviving since the first month of the apocalypse... I should qualify, right?"

"Maybe your base doesn’t meet the requirements yet," Ivy said with a thoughtful hum. "Or maybe the system has been blocked because you haven’t offered any land to it."

"Eh?" Ronak was befuddled by Ivy’s words. "What?"

"You need to make a contract and sell one of the plots to the system for free; maybe then it will contact you," Ivy suggested.

"I..." Ronak didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Couldn’t Ivy come up with a better story?

Sigh! What can he do? He was the one who needed help, and it’s his duty to protect her!

"I will do it!" Ronak agreed.

Ivy’s lips curved faintly, her expression calm yet subtly pleased. "Good," she said softly.

"Once you dedicate a plot to the system, you might start receiving a notification within a few hours, or a day at most. But make sure no one tampers with that land. It has to remain untouched until the system accepts it."

Ronak nodded quickly, trying to hide the nervous flutter in his chest. "Alright, I’ll order my men to clear a small section near the east wall.

"That should work," Ivy replied with a serene smile.

Silas, who had been quietly watching the exchange with amusement, finally spoke.

"You’re awfully cooperative today, Ronak. Don’t tell me the word "food" alone can make you this obedient?"

Ronak scratched his head awkwardly. "When you’ve seen people faint from hunger every other day, the word ’food’ becomes divine." He paused, looking toward Ivy. "If what you said turns out to be real, I swear, Ivy, I’ll owe you my life."

"You don’t owe me anything," Ivy said simply, folding her arms.

"I do." Ronak murmured under his breath before standing up, "I will start with the preparation."

"Sure." Ivy agreed.

Once Ronak made the contract, at night before going to bed, he suddenly saw a translucent holographic blue panel floating in front of him.

Ronak froze, his eyes widening in disbelief as glowing letters began to form on the shimmering screen.

[System Notification: Grocery Store System has detected your authorization.]

[Processing contract... completed.]

[Welcome, Base Leader Ronak. You are now a registered vendor territory.]

Ronak’s breath hitched. "It’s real..." he whispered, rubbing his eyes as if he were hallucinating. But no matter how many times he blinked, the panel remained, glowing faintly in the dark.

His heart pounded furiously as he scrolled through the translucent text.

When he saw the menu and the location of the store, Ronak’s jaw dropped. His hands trembled with excitement. "This... this is a real grocery store!"

A hysterical laugh escaped his lips before he quickly slapped a hand over his mouth, afraid someone might hear and think he’d lost it.

After calming down, he thought in his heart,

"Since Ivy and Silas have done so much for me, I should hand them over that object... maybe it can benefit them?"