While others seek survival, I engage in flirtation Chapter 35: Taking the Initiative

We hung around outside the camp for a bit, and as it started getting dark, we quietly slipped away. I had this nagging feeling I should retrieve that box, but I had no clue how to explain it to them.

Back at our cave, I filled the girls in on what went down.

Lilian didn't seem too great at dealing with stuff like this; she just said, "So, what do you wanna do about it?"

Honestly, I was stumped too. If I were them, I wouldn't want anyone around me getting hurt either.

Plus, my classmate Nora was in that camp. From what I knew of her, she wouldn't hang out with a bunch of jerks.

It looked like I needed to head back to that camp and have a real talk with them.

The next morning, right after breakfast, I got ready to leave. "I'm heading back to that camp today," I said.

"I'll go with you." Ivy pointed at my face, "You were already on their radar last time. How about I talk to them this time?"

It hit me that Ivy was a movie star, gorgeous, and in great shape.

Most importantly, she was famous!

If someone like her showed up at their camp, anyone would drop their guard a bit.

I had no doubt about Ivy's charm. Even after living with her for so long, I couldn't help but take a second look at her face.

I agreed to Ivy's plan and took her to the camp.

On the way, we kept seeing animal carcasses, some with small bones like rabbits or birds.

Others were bigger, looking more like wolves or sheep.

Why were there so many carcasses here, scattered all over the place?

At first, I thought these were the remains of animals hunted by the camp, but I quickly changed my mind.

Among the bones were wolf carcasses, with even the wolf teeth still in the skeleton.

These didn't look like they had been processed by humans.

The sight of these bones gave me the creeps, but I had to toughen up and keep going. Yesterday, I was so focused on the box of supplies I lost that I didn't notice these.

It seemed like the area outside the camp was full of danger, with all sorts of unknown threats lurking around.

After all, the sheer number of carcasses was overwhelming. It didn't seem like something the camp's people could have done.

Ivy and I finally reached the camp, and she suddenly asked me to wait.

"Don't show yourself yet; they're too wary of you." She looked me up and down, "Let me talk to them first."

With that, she walked over.

She was only wearing panties and a short top barely covering her chest, her sexy figure fully on display.

She knocked on the camp's gate, and someone immediately came out. To my surprise, it wasn't the burly guy but a young, fit dude.

When he saw Ivy, his face lit up with surprise. I don't know what Ivy said to him, but he suddenly grinned and led her into the camp.

Soon, the camp got noisy. Meeting Ivy must have been a pretty special and magical event for them.

Seeing how much they liked Ivy, I felt a bit jealous.

But now wasn't the time for jealousy. While they were busy chatting with Ivy, I snuck into the camp.

I wanted to see why they took that box of supplies and what was in it. Plus, I was curious about how their camp was set up. Their camp had all sorts of people. If everyone there was like Lilian and me, with some survival skills, it might have been easier. But they had a newborn baby with them, and I couldn't even imagine how tough that must be.

I snuck into their camp, but before I could look around, someone grabbed my shoulder.

"Why are you here again?" It was the same burly guy from yesterday!

How did he find me so fast?

"Sir, I think you've got it all wrong." I explained again, "I just came to get that box back."

After I spoke, his eyebrows furrowed for a long time before he finally relaxed.

"The stuff in that box isn't useful to you; could you let us have it? We need it more." His expression was stern, but his eyes showed a mix of helplessness and pleading.

This was probably his last bit of pride.

"At least let me know what's in the box." I sighed and decided to compromise.

We still had enough supplies for now, and we didn't really need that box back. But after all the effort I put into bringing it ashore, I couldn't just let it go.

The man thought for a moment and slowly nodded. Then he whispered a few words to the woman beside him.

The woman's face instantly became serious, and she lowered her eyes as she brought out the box.

"This is the box you wanted to see." She said, slowly opening it.

Inside were just some baby bottles and diapers, but the box was different from the others; it was waterproof.

I touched the fabric inside the box, which was made of a hydrophobic material like sheepskin.

It was probably chosen specifically to store these baby items.

I immediately understood why they didn't admit to taking the box.

They knew the box was mine, but they probably really needed the stuff inside.

The man said, "You see, we have a pregnant woman in our camp who just gave birth." He pointed to one of the only two tents in the camp.

"She really needs these things... but you probably don't."

I had to admit, the man was right. These items wouldn't be useful in our camp.

"But these are the supplies I brought back. You should have asked me." I closed the box and pushed it towards them, "I wouldn't leave someone in need."

They probably didn't expect my attitude, and the man's face was full of surprise.

"Thank you... we misunderstood you." He nodded in thanks and extended his hand, "I'm Abbott Harris."

"Carl Smith." I shook his broad hand.

This was the first time I had a friendly interaction with other survivors. Before this, I even doubted if I could get along with them.

Surviving alone in such an environment was unrealistic. Although my camp had a few excellent and beautiful girls, maintaining good relations with other camps was also important.

After all, our numbers were limited, and many things couldn't be handled promptly.

"Carl? Is it really you?" Suddenly, a familiar voice reached my ears.

It was Nora's voice!