The Apocalypse Took Everything, This Time I Hoard It All First
Chapter 19: Cooperation

Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Cooperation

The next day at noon, Evan Olson figured Luna Dawson was probably awake, so he knocked on her door.

Luna Dawson, who was in the middle of washing up, shouted back, "Just a second!" She opened the door, still brushing her teeth.

She looked at the two men outside her door with a confused expression and motioned for them to come in.

After she closed the door, Miles Dawson spoke up hesitantly. "Um... about Martin Wright... How should I warn him? What should I do...?"

Luna Dawson understood. She knew Martin Wright and her brother got along well, and she’d previously considered inviting him to join their team. But after mulling it over, she had decided against it.

It was because of his troublesome older brother and sister-in-law. The couple ran a rice noodle processing factory and were harsh people.

They were full of scheming when dealing with outsiders, yet they doted on Martin Wright, their brother who was nearly ten years their junior.

They had paid for his education since he was a child, bought him a house when he grew up, and put him in charge of the factory’s production and shipping.

Luna Dawson knew that in an apocalypse, people like his brother and sister-in-law would almost certainly cause a lot of trouble for the group.

She couldn’t tolerate them, and he would never abandon his family.

"Send him a message," Luna Dawson said slowly. "Just say that, based on the current situation, something big is probably going to happen. Tell him to watch the news and keep an eye on his phone. We’ve stored some supplies in our basement, and he can take them if he needs to."

"Oh, okay. I get it. Thanks, sis." With that, Miles Dawson went back to his room to send the message.

After Miles left, some of the relaxed air around Evan Olson dissipated. "Kevin Keane wants to talk to you," he said, sounding slightly annoyed.

"Me?" Luna Dawson asked, baffled. "Why? We’re not that close, are we?"

"His team looked into your financial records before. That’s probably what this is about." Evan Olson sighed, his tone softening slightly. "There’s no harm in talking. We can find out what they really want."

"Fine," Luna Dawson said, waving a dismissive hand. She didn’t look concerned. "Where is he?"

"Next door..."

"Holy shit, are you kidding me?" Luna Dawson’s eyes went wide with shock. "What are the odds?! You couldn’t even write this in a novel."

"Who knows if it was deliberate," Evan Olson said, his expression grim. "I’ll go over with you. Don’t do anything rash. Let’s play it by ear."

Luna Dawson nodded and followed Evan Olson toward the villa next door.

On the way, Evan Olson slowed his pace and, in a deep voice, began to tell her about his history with Kevin Keane and the others.

"Kevin Keane, a few other guys on their team, and I were all in the special forces. We spent three years on the same assault team. We didn’t get to know each other in regular training—our bond was forged during an overseas counter-terrorism mission."

"One time, we were sent to a war-torn country in Senvia to rescue hostages. The militants had heavy firepower, and the area around the hostage camp was riddled with booby traps. Our position was compromised right after we found the hostages. While I was covering our team’s retreat, a stray bullet pierced my calf. I also stepped into a minefield and was completely pinned down."

Evan Olson’s voice was somber. "When they saw what happened, Kevin Keane and Blake Blue immediately charged forward. Blake laid down suppressive fire with a machine gun to create an opening, while Kevin crawled toward me, dodging the mines. He even shielded me from two stray bullets."

"During the three-hour retreat to the safe zone, my leg was so badly injured that Kevin Keane had to drag me the whole way. Blake cleared the path ahead and covered our rear. We were all wounded, out of food and water, and running on nothing but grit."

"When we reached a temporary outpost, they had almost no medical supplies. Kevin had to dig the bullet out with his combat knife and used cheap liquor to disinfect the wound. I was trembling in pain but didn’t make a sound. Blake, who was wounded in the back himself, still stood guard at the door until our extraction."

Evan Olson’s voice was tinged with melancholic remembrance. "Another time, on an escort mission in Afrion, our frigate was surrounded by pirate skiffs. Kevin and I boarded one of their boats to seize control. He got slashed across the back with a machete, and I took a hit for him that left a huge gash on my arm and forehead. We fought back-to-back, and through sheer coordination, we managed to take down six pirates."

As he spoke, Evan Olson raised a hand to touch his eyebrow, where a faint scar still remained.

"This bond we have... we saved each other’s lives in a hail of gunfire. Especially Kevin and Blake. If it wasn’t for them, I would’ve been buried overseas a long time ago. That’s a debt I’ll never forget."

Luna Dawson’s eyes widened as she listened, her mouth falling slightly open. She never would have guessed that these seemingly carefree men shared such a perilous history.

"I understand, Brother Evan."

She had always thought being a soldier was just difficult, but she’d never imagined it meant facing so many life-or-death situations.

In that moment, she felt a deeper understanding of the camaraderie between Evan Olson, Kevin Keane, and the others.

But her annoyance at them for investigating her still lingered.

’Still, I’ll have to see what it is they really want.’

The villa next door looked both minimalist and stately, with exterior walls of dark gray stone. In the yard, several holly bushes were trimmed with perfect precision.

Before they went inside, Evan Olson stopped Luna Dawson. "I told you all that just to give you a better sense of who they are," he said slowly. "But no matter what they want, investigating you on their own because of me was wrong. Whatever they propose, think it over carefully before you decide anything."

Luna Dawson nodded, giving Evan Olson a reassuring look.

The two of them entered a conference room on the villa’s first floor. The room was spacious and bright, dominated by a dark, solid wood conference table in the center. Several men were standing or leaning near it.

Eight leather chairs were arranged neatly around it. A simple map of the world’s regions hung on one wall, and an air purifier in the corner whirred silently.

Standing and talking in the room were none other than Kevin Keane, Aaron Palmer, and two other men.

Seeing Evan Olson and Luna Dawson enter, Aaron Palmer was the first to step forward, greeting them enthusiastically, "Brother Evan, Miss Dawson, long time no see!"

Evan Olson ignored the greeting. He pulled out a chair and sat down, his voice laced with an impatient seriousness. "Hardly."

But when he turned to Luna Dawson, his tone softened dramatically. "Luna, sit here," he said gently.

He guided her with a hand on her arm, indicating the seat beside him.

The conference room went quiet for a moment. Seeing this, the four men across the table also took their seats.

Kevin Keane lightly tapped his fingers on the tabletop. His gaze swept over the pair, and he noticed that Evan Olson’s muscles were tense, as if he were ready to fight at any moment.

He smiled and said, "Evan, relax. We just want to discuss a potential partnership. There’s no need to be so hostile."

Evan Olson shot him a look and cleared his throat twice, but said nothing.

"Evan, all of Miss Dawson’s bulk commodity transaction records, her financial statements, and both of your immigration records—I’ve had them all permanently deleted."

The drawling voice belonged to Lynn Shelby. He watched them through narrowed, fox-like eyes, a smirk playing on his lips. "That’s a decent show of good faith, wouldn’t you say?"

Upon hearing this, the deep frown on Evan Olson’s brow eased slightly.

He gave Luna a look and whispered, "Luna, that’s the creep who was digging into your records." The impatience in his voice was gone, replaced by a hint of mockery.

Luna instantly froze. ’Brother Evan, you really didn’t have to call him out like that right to his face!’

After all, there were four of them. In her eyes, if they really became enemies, their combined combat strength would be equal to four Evan Olsons. They’d have no chance of winning a head-on fight.