Trash in the Apocalypse

Chapter 323: Regret is in the End

The next day...

The First Army gathered at the Black Haven Compound as they watched a large volume of survivors parading on the streets. There were old and young people walking on the usually empty roads. They were the civilians under the protection of the National Police. 

The main reason they were here was to make sure that the National Police wouldn't do anything stupid, and would peacefully leave.

Due to the low number of combatants the National Police had, they didn't prioritize getting transportation vehicles. They only had several jeepneys enough to accommodate a bit more than 100 people.

Most of the civilians were forced to walk since they have no other options. If they were to stay in Black Haven, it was guaranteed that they would live a hard life and might even starve to death. They were too used to freeloading that they never thought of working for their own survival.

Every survivor learned of the National Police's decision to join the old government yesterday. It was the hottest topic even until night time.

And for such a crucial decision to be made, a lot of people believed that Chief Paolo Canlas knew some inside information. Dozens of people who were initially undecided joined the caravan and left for new opportunities.

Even though the roads were safe, the National Police still made a show of force in escorting all the civilians by walking at the side. Uniformed officers armed with high caliber rifles stood at equal distances marched together with the crowd. They stood on the outer perimeter of the caravan to stand more.

There were random moments when wandering carriers would pop out of the buildings and they would be taken care of immediately.

Overall, the civilians were satisfied with what they see. For the first time, they felt safer and the future appeared brighter.

Jun watched calmly as a large group of blue dots slowly move on the territory map. The map was being updated in real-time, and the blue dots were dragging up on the screen. These blue dots were the people who chose to leave Black Haven.

He tapped a random blue dot and a series of basic information appeared; the name, the age, and the gender of the person he clicked.

He tapped the screen once more and a sub-menu emerged from the side. With no hesitation, he tapped on the 'expel' option, causing the window to automatically close after the command was executed. Then, he tapped on another random blue dot and repeated his actions. 

On the train of people marching off towards the distance, several confused shouts started to resound.

"I got kicked out of Black Haven!"

"What is this? What is happening?"

"No, no! My extra buffs!"

As more people received the notification that they got expelled from Black Haven, the more shocked complaints rose in the air. The undecided individuals from earlier instantly regretted their decisions and pulled themselves out of the crowd. Without wasting any time, they started running towards the Black Haven Compound.

The First Army had already dispersed after seeing the National Police move out earlier. Only a selected few remained to do their newly assigned jobs. 

The first batch of expelled survivors arrived. Most of them were men with good physical attributes which resulted in a faster running speed.

The group grew scared upon seeing ten armed soldiers donned with swords and shields, standing around Black Haven Compound. Even without touching the equipment, they immediately knew that they were outmatched if they started to fight.

After reaching the entrance, one expelled survivor gathered enough courage to speak with the customer service representative at the front-most booth.

"Hello, I'm James. May I speak with Boss Jun?"

The woman smiled softly, yet the words that came out of her mouth were harsh.

"Boss Jun is busy and has no time to meet with just anyone. Is there anything else that I can help you with?"

For a second, the man didn't know what to reply until he remembered the reason why he came running back here.

"I-I'm a newcomer here. I heard great things about this place and I want to apply for citizenship!"

"Are you? With all due respect, I think I have seen you around before. Do you have an IDCard with you?"

"I... I don't have one yet!"

"Sir, are you saying you don't have an account card, which is used for every transaction in Black Haven?"

The woman frowned and glanced at the side, alerting the soldiers that some trouble had arrived.

Sensing her glance, the soldiers walked towards the man. "We would like to ask you some questions. Please follow us to the side, so other people can use the service."

The man felt his throat clogged with saliva before he could think of anything, the soldiers gave him a stern warning.

"Not cooperating would allow us to arrest you. This is for the safety of Black Haven citizens and we hope that you cooperate." the soldier respectfully said, then added, "This way please."

The man was escorted by two soldiers to the tent by the side. Although no loud shouts were heard, everyone knew that the man was being interrogated.

The next person on the line contemplated whether to step forward or not. Usually, the customer service booth appeared carefree and relaxing, but today it appeared a bit more menacing.

In the end, the man walked forward and greeted the lady. 

After seeing the fate of the first person who tried his luck by lying, the man chose to be honest with his words.

"I... I got expelled from Black Haven. How do I regain my citizenship?"

The man lowered his head as he uttered those words. He felt ashamed asking the question, but he needed to know the answer.

The lady smiled and explained the information that he needed. Apparently, she was already informed that this will happen and was already taught how to respond.

"Since you were expelled, you need to wait for three months before you could reapply for citizenship. There are ways to hasten the process and I can discuss them with you during the seminar. Are you interested in the information?"

Life returned to the man's face after hearing the explanation. "Yes, I want to know!"

"Then please hand over your old IDCard. All expelled citizens automatically had their bank accounts frozen and I need to reactivate it so you could use its basic functions."

The man became surprised hearing that a single uninformed decision he made caused a lot of repercussions; three months of waiting time, a frozen bank account, and no access to certain facilities.

For these three months, life would surely become harder for him. In exchange, he learned that he should stop being undecisive and always stick to his choice.

After kicking everyone from the territory citizen list, Jun popped a sweetened corn nut into his mouth. Evo made several batches of them, and they only differed in crunchiness and taste. 

The whole event has already been planned the moment Jun accepted the request to rescue the President. Every scenario was planned out and the needed response was already in place. The only thing he needed to wait for was the opportunity to see which group of people were loyal and who were not.

Today, he learned that The Frontier was actually someone who doesn't want to go back to the old government while small groups were prone to becoming undecided. In the future, he should get acquainted with them more often.