The Walking Dead: I Sell Arms as a Sixth-Rate Seller in the Apocalypse

13:41 p.m.

John's cabin in the southern suburbs of Cedar Hill, Texas.

Upon hearing Rick's words, a fleeting hint of panic crossed Charlie's face, but she quickly recovered and responded.

“I don’t know who Ennis is, who Melvin is, what are you talking about, I don’t understand.”

Rick said to Joan, who was standing next to him.

"Ms. Laura, you must be familiar with the Vulture Organization, right? If possible, could you persuade Charlie to call Melvin, the leader of the Vulture Organization, out for a talk?"

Upon hearing this, Joan instinctively reached for her Beretta M9 pistol at her waist, but Rick didn't give her the chance. He directly drew his golden Desert Eagle pistol, pointed it at her head, and laughed.

"When it comes to American-style Iaijutsu, the three of you combined are no match for me alone, so please stop 'showing off your skills in front of Guan Yu and humiliating yourselves.'"

A bead of cold sweat trickled down Joan's forehead. Her hand, which had been about to draw her gun, froze on the grip, unable to pull it out. John, seeing the tense atmosphere, stepped in as a peacemaker.

"Hey, Mr. Rick, there's no need to escalate things like this. There must be some misunderstanding. Let's talk this out and make peace with each other. Please, no guns involved, okay?"

Upon hearing John's words, Rick put the golden Desert Eagle back into his holster, sat opposite Joan, crossed his arms, and smiled.

“Sheriff John, you must know that your beloved and the little girl next to you are both members of a mobile caravan raider organization called ‘Vulture’, right?”

John thought for a moment and then answered.

"So what? I don't care what they were like in the past. At least now they seem gentle to me, not like bad people. I don't care which organization they belonged to, even if they were heinous criminals. I've taken care of them for so long, and they don't seem like bad people to me. Even if they were in that organization, I think they must have had their own reasons."

Hearing John's heartfelt words, Joan and Charlie were completely overwhelmed, and they decided to tell John everything.

When John learned of this from the two men, he was initially shocked, but then, remembering what he had just said, he understood and smiled at them.

"What I said before was the truth. No matter which organization you two are in, I believe you both have your reasons. Therefore, I will not delve into it further. You two just need to do your best."

"Yes, we will."

The two women spoke in unison, and then Charlie took out a walkie-talkie, adjusted the frequency, and pressed the three short and two long communication codes.

A moment later, the voice of an unfamiliar man came from inside.

"Charlie, where are you?"

“Melvin, I’m fine. I ran into a group of people, and their leader seems to know you and Mr. Ennis. He wants to talk to you two.”

The man on the walkie-talkie fell into a brief silence upon hearing this.

A moment later, the stranger's voice came through the walkie-talkie again.

"Who is he? How does he know about me and Ennis? Could it be that he wants to defect to us?"

Rick didn't waste any words; he took the walkie-talkie from Charlie and spoke into the man inside.

"Mr. Melvin, I'm here to discuss a business deal with you. I wonder if you'd be interested?"

"Who are you? How did you get this walkie-talkie? Where's Charlie? Tell her to come and talk to me!"

Rick handed the walkie-talkie back to Charlie, who immediately responded into it.

“Melvin, I’m fine. The person you were talking to just now is the leader of the group that wants to meet you and Mr. Niens.”

Melvin breathed a sigh of relief on the walkie-talkie.

"Charlie, give him the walkie-talkie."

Rick took the walkie-talkie from Charlie, and Melvin's voice came through again.

"Who are you? What business do you want to discuss with me?"

Rick didn't beat around the bush; he went straight to the point.

"What do you need most right now? I can provide it."

"Food, water, medicine, weapons, fuel, and a stable shelter."

Hearing this, Rick laughed dismissively.

"I have food, water, medicine, weapons, fuel, and suitable transportation. I also have suitable shelters that I believe you do not need for the time being."

Upon hearing this, Melvin on the walkie-talkie was stunned. He picked up the walkie-talkie and asked in confusion.

"What do you mean you think we don't need it for the time being? What exactly do you want?"

"It's very simple. I need your Vulture organization to collect the gold bars, jewelry, diamonds, and US dollars scattered around the world. In return, I will provide you with food and water, weapons and ammunition, medical supplies, suitable vehicles, and everything else you need, including a suitable shelter. However, even if I provide it to you now, you won't need it unless you complete the task I have entrusted to you. Then I will provide you with a safe shelter."

Melvin fell into thought upon hearing Rick's words. He wondered why the man on the walkie-talkie wanted these luxuries that were utterly useless in the post-apocalyptic world. However, he heard the man say that he could exchange these items for something his team desperately needed. This was definitely a good thing for the entire Vulture organization, since these luxuries could be obtained in large quantities by simply walking down a few shopping streets.

He asked Niens, who was wiping his AR15 assault rifle nearby.

"Brother, what do you think?"

Niens took off his brown baseball cap and replied earnestly.

“Brother, I think this is an opportunity. If he’s serious, it could be a good way to cooperate. You know our people haven’t been doing well lately. A few days ago, Cassirer’s team was wiped out by a group of people while they were looking for supplies. We don’t know where Joan is either. We’re currently short of weapons, ammunition, medical supplies, and usable vehicles. If this man isn’t lying to us, then what he’s providing can solve our immediate problem.”

"But what if he's lying to us?"

"We can first lure him to the location we've set up. Once he arrives, we'll assess the situation. If what he says is true, then we'll cooperate and remain at peace. If he dares to lie to us, then we'll kill him directly. Although our Vultures are currently weakened, no one can fool us, including the group that killed Cassil's team. Once we get our weapons and equipment, we will definitely go back to avenge her."

"Okay, then I'll listen to you."

At that moment, Rick's voice came through the walkie-talkie in his hand.

"Mr. Melvin, what's your decision? Do you want to cooperate with me?"

"I don't know your name yet. Could you tell me your name?"

Rick.

“Okay, Mr. Rick, we accept your proposal, but I need to discuss the specific details with my brother. How about we choose a place as the transaction location first?”

"No problem. As a gift, I'll provide you with medical supplies, food, weapons, ammunition, and vehicles. In exchange, I hope you'll prepare at least $10 million in US dollars or gold bars for the transaction tomorrow. If you can bring them all, I can provide you with three RVs, 10 AR-15 assault rifles, 10 American-made AKM assault rifles, 10 Remington M24 bolt-action sniper rifles, 100 boxes of 5.56x45mm ammunition, 100 boxes of 7.62x39mm ammunition, 100 boxes of 7.62x51mm ammunition, and 10 large medical kits. Each large medical kit contains medical alcohol for 1000 people, anti-inflammatory drugs, hemostatic powder, bandages, and other commonly used medicines. How about that?"

Upon hearing about the large quantity of ammunition and weapons, Melvin and Nien were overjoyed. However, Nien noticed that water and fuel were not mentioned at all. He took Melvin's walkie-talkie and asked into it.

“Mr. Rick, we are also lacking water and fuel.”

"As for water and fuel, just add another 1000 million US dollars to my account, and I'll get you a military truckload of water and fuel, plus a military truck that I've modified. It will be crucial in the event of danger."

Upon hearing Rick's words, Melvin and Nien were overjoyed, as their Vulture organization needed this kind of vehicle to prepare for the upcoming battle.

But just before he could reply, Rick made another demand.

"I have another hard condition: I want to take away your existing weapons, whether they are your AR15 assault rifles or American-made AKM assault rifles. I will send you the latest ones, but I want to take away the ones you have. Now, take stock of the number of weapons. This afternoon, bring $100 million to meet with my people. We can discuss the details when we meet."

Upon hearing Rick's words, a fierce glint flashed across Niens's face, and he asked into the walkie-talkie with displeasure.

"Mr. Rick, may I ask why you want to recycle our existing weapons?"

Rick blurted it out without thinking.

"The weapons you have are too old. I'll replace them with new ones for free. And my weapons won't have any problems. Once we meet, you can try them out and see how good they are."

“Alright, in that case, let’s set the location in Eitaska, south of Cedar Mountain City. I’ll go there with Melvin after 15 p.m..”

"Sure, Mr. Niens, but I advise you not to try to double-cross me. My resources are not something you can easily exploit. Don't be foolish."

After speaking, Rick turned off the walkie-talkie.

Meanwhile, Melvin and Niens on the other end of the walkie-talkie were frowning as they looked at the tactical walkie-talkie in their hands.

"Brother, what are our plans for later?"

"I remember when I passed through Aitaska before, wasn't there an armored truck that had tipped over?"

"Huh? You still remember this?"

"Take Ingrid with you and go over there later. See if there are any US dollars left in that vehicle. If there are, give them to him as a gift. If not, the two of us brothers will search the nearby shopping streets and gather up some gold and silver jewelry to send to him."

"Okay, I'll go and make the arrangements."

The topic shifts to John's cabin.

Rick handed the walkie-talkie back to Charlie and addressed the three of them.

"John, have you made up your mind? Do you want to join me or not?"

···········

Seeing John fall silent, Rick didn't press him for answers. Instead, he turned to Charlie and Joan and asked them.

"Do you two know where the most zombies are?"

"Milford, there's a horde of hundreds of zombies over there. Why are you asking about that?"

Rick smiled confidently.

"Elisa, let's go, we have work to do!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Rick walked outside without looking back, leaving the three of them completely bewildered.