Trash in the Apocalypse

In the evening, a familiar man appeared outside of a brightly lit mansion. The guards standing guard at the front gate stopped him from walking any further.

"Please stop right there and state your reason for being here."

"I'm Blake Shu, Mr. Leo is expecting me."

Hearing the name, the guards relaxed and let him in. 

"Please hand over your weapons on the front door. The butler will take care of them for you."

At the front door, an old man pointed into a pushcart by his side. Since he was already briefed at the front gate, he was indifferent about the confiscation, but still asked, "Everything?"

The old butler nodded, then added, "If you are found in possession of any kind of weapon, you would be brought into court and sentenced to jail time."

"Un. Alright." Blake started placing his items that could be tagged as weapons on the pushcart. A short sword, throwing knives, hand ax, pickax. and a bunch of random sharp objects. 

Most of the items were made by novice craftsmen. They were sturdy and durable but lacks in quality, which became rejected goods in Black Haven. The majority of items shipped here were defective products according to Head Craftsman, John. 

After placing the last item down, Blake turned to the butler and asked, "Are you going to guide me, or do I just go on my own?"

The old butler stared at the influx of items filling the pushcart before reacting to Blake. "You can head over to the main hall on the right. The master is waiting for you."

Blake followed the instructions and entered the main hall. It was a grandiose living room filled with luxurious furniture.

A ragtag group of survivors eyed him the moment he entered through the door. In the distance, Leo was speaking with someone at the table and only saw him when he was close by.

"Finally! It's about time. I thought you forgot about your promise. I was about to send people to fetch you if you were delayed for a few more minutes."

Leo ended his conversation with the frail-looking man and sent him away. "Please come forward. You can sit here if you want," he said while pointing to the chair opposite him.

Blake didn't reject the offer and sat down. Whether Leo was just being courteous or not, talking while seated was way better than standing up. 

Blake started. "I spoke with the person and she made it clear that she doesn't want to join the military or the government. I tried convincing her that it would be beneficial for her, but she prefers the peace and quiet she currently has."

Leo frowned but was quick to put a smile on his face. "I appreciate you trying to warm her up for us, but I think it would be much better if you just bring us to her. Maybe she needs proofs or some sort of guarantee before she believed that we need her. She's a valuable asset and must be under government protection!"

Blake scowled. "The streets have become far more dangerous than the wild. In the wilderness, the only problem was survival. But inside these walls, there are thousands of people. They are hungry, scared.

"My people trust me because I always keep my word, that no matter what, they will be safe, and they will have food to eat.

"I promised the 'valuable asset' not to disclose her location. I know that you're a magnanimous person and understand how important promises to other people are. Please let me keep my honor."

Blake lowered his head as he asked for the official's understanding. 

Leo looked around and saw his hired thugs in a corner of the room. Though they seem to be not listening, he knew that this bunch has various people skills. One of them could have an eavesdropping skill, which greatly enhances radius hearing.

Flustered, he coughed and played his magnanimous role. "Of course, I understand. It's easy to break someone's trust in you but it's hard to gain them back. But I can't report to the higher-ups empty-handed. So, what do you have for me?"

Listening to the kind response from the other party, Blake couldn't help but raise a triumphant smile on his face. He kept his head slightly bowed down to make sure that his expression couldn't be seen. If he gets caught this far into the act, it would be impossible to get out of here alive.

After the official visit earlier, he immediately contacted Jun and asked for his input. He was just a spy, not a heavenly general to solve all of the emperor's problems!

The plan was simple. Gain the trust of the government by giving basic salve recipes and getting material benefits in return. 

The story they cooked up was that the salve maker doesn't trust people with too much power. Instead, she would cooperate with them in researching new recipes, which would be a shared-ownership upon completion.

Blake Shu knew that Leo ordered some of his people to disguise and follow every man he had who went traveling around the city. 

The goal was glaringly obvious, to tail and find the salve maker. Unfortunately, no matter how much manpower he designates in tailing his people, they would never find the person they were looking for.

"Thank you." he raised his head with a serene expression that gradually turned to gratitude. "She knew that this will happen and prepared appropriate recipes in return. She gave two recipes for me to exchange with you; one for healing wounds, the other for cleansing skin.

"By the way, she said that if the government wants a share of her research, you guys need to supply her with the resources. She expects the government to give her monster drops and other materials in exchange for a copy of the recipes she makes. I told her that's nuts and the government would never take such a losing deal but she said that it's also fine if you're not interested."

Blake stopped, but Leo could only stare at him not knowing what to say. 

Seeing that the other party was speechless, he continued with the next agenda, getting out alive. He slowly raised his hand, and said, "May I know what currency will you use to trade for these recipes? She prefers materials over money, but money is also fine."

—

"What a stingy man. I don't believe he only had this amount on him. He probably thought that I won't dare oppose him in the future, that's why he's treating me like this." 

Blake walked away from Leo's mansion. The guards could only eye him from the distance wondering what words he was muttering.

On his hand were stacks of food stamps worth thirty thousand coupons. Even if someone spends extravagantly every day, they would have enough coupons for a year. That is if food prices didn't increase.

Just as he turned the corner, a soft chuckle suddenly escaped his mouth. "Pfft, shitheads. Let's see how you can use those recipes without a botanist crafting them. Hahaha!"

Blake continued walking after stashing the coupons in his storage. Their group was once again neutral with the government and could operate openly in the city.

If the big man came looking for him once more, he could just say that he was just a middleman and didn't know that crafting salves needs a botanist. Everything was foolproof!

He felt that this was such a fine evening as he watched the starry sky.

With this achievement, he could finally say that he has fully joined the ranks of Black Haven. There was no going back!

While on his way back home, he thought of something good. Jun always tells him that information was power and the one who holds important information holds immeasurable power. 

Finally, he understood what that meant! The sensation, the feeling of tricking somebody and having them out of the loop while still grateful to you. 

Exhiliration!

With a smile, Blake thought of a great idea. Creating a group of elites, selected from the elites inside his group. 

From the former Newsroom that gathers and sells information to its customers, they would now become a power that customers needed.

A group that's sole purpose is to control information. Create false information from real information, delay information, block and deny certain groups of information, grant access to information.

Anytime, anywhere. 

Blackout.