"For God's sake, why should we cooperate with your people? Don't you trust us? Are you going to give us another questionnaire full of stupid questions? Do you think we should trust you?" Emilia showed an expression of disdain, as if she were dissatisfied with Jason's group's actions so far.
But after she finished speaking, she was surprised to discover that the people in Jason's group did not seem to respond to her provocation, as if she were simply talking nonsense.
"Emilia, shut up, I'll speak." Adam looked silently at Jason's face. He knew Emilia's personality and knew that if this continued, nothing good would come out of her mouth, but he certainly wanted to see how Jason's group would react next.
Seeing that none of the men in front of him responded to Emilia's provocations, he felt that he was dealing with serious people, so he took the initiative to speak.
"I just…" Seeing that the others ignored her, Emilia felt a little angry, but after being interrupted by Adam, she also understood the meaning behind his words. Still, a part of her wanted to make things clear to Jason.
Adam, on the other hand, whispered for her to be quiet, gave her a stern look, and then turned his attention back to Jason, who was sitting in front of them in a very relaxed manner.
Throughout the entire afternoon, he had basically been silently observing these strangers who had suddenly appeared to help them, and certain details that ordinary people would not notice assured him that the other party had to come from a very strong and large shelter. After all, it was difficult to find people with such clean and advanced equipment.
This gave Adam the idea of joining these men's group. After all, he felt somewhat inadequate when it came to leading the team by himself, and joining a large force all at once would be a good option.
But long before making such an important decision, he decided to evaluate these people's behavior while he still had time. And finally, after an afternoon of observations and tests, he made a decision.
"Mr. Jason, we are just ordinary people trying to survive. We don't have any special abilities, and with the exception of Daniela, who is my daughter, all of us are healthy and strong. At the very least, we can be useful out there."
"Leo is the one who has spent the least amount of time in our group, but I can say that he's a great man who never abandoned us even in difficult situations. As for the others, I can guarantee with my life that there is absolutely no one among us with bad intentions."
Jason was playing with a cartridge when he interrupted Adam's words, creating an awkward silence that gave the others the impression that he was thinking about something important. He knew that since the afternoon, the man named Adam had been evaluating them, but this was normal considering what life outside was like nowadays.
Like a clever fox, Jason did not talk much with these people and silently waited until Adam or someone from his group decided to speak. Once the subject was brought up, everything afterward would become a matter of routine.
Under repeated questioning from Jason and Glenn, Adam slowly explained information about his group, including their occupations before the end of the world, how long they had known each other, what they experienced after the apocalypse, and how they had survived until now.
What interested Aieon was Jason's experience, and one of the men who was an electrician. Both had experience with weapons, so they were the ones Jason's group should pay attention to.
"So you were attacked by an organization half a month ago, and now these people escaped?"
Adam nodded, resentment appearing on his face. He became furious whenever he thought about that damned Templar group.
"That group has a division in charge of fishing along the Florida coast, but their biggest operation is stealing supplies from other people. They were the ones who attacked us at night, and by the time I realized it, half of my group had already died. I tried to organize my people to resist, but the enemy had heavy weaponry, so our only option was to flee toward Alabama…"
As he spoke about this, not only Adam, but even the rest of his group clenched their fists, and it seemed that everyone remembered the situation from that moment.
Adam quickly realized that something was wrong with his emotions and adjusted himself slightly before continuing. "I escaped with the remaining seven people, but since it was nighttime, I lost three more people along the way. Not long ago, a gigantic tide of walkers blocked our path, so we had to take extremely dangerous routes. Fortunately, Leo had climbing gear and saved us."
"We ran out of supplies two days ago, and if we continued hiding, we would only be waiting for death. But we were surrounded by thousands of walkers, so we had to force our way out of that place. Alex was the one who helped us the most, and because of two poorly used grenades, he ended up injured."
After listening to this group's story, Jason's thoughts turned toward that organization in Florida. Many people in the room knew they were fortunate to have joined the S.C.T. and that the leader of that organization was someone reasonable.
At that moment, the bedroom door opened and Bob walked out. "Jason, I finished the job."
"Well done, Bob…"
Adam immediately stood up after hearing that and looked at Bob. "Sir, how is Max?"
"Some of the shrapnel pierced his body, but none of it damaged any organs. He lost consciousness due to excessive blood loss, but that has already been resolved."
"Thank you very much!" Adam was extremely grateful.
"You can visit him now!"
Emilia looked at Jason and sincerely apologized before entering the room where Alex was.
"By the way, Adam…" Jason stopped the man and asked directly, "How many people are there in that community in Florida?"
"Around twenty thousand. Many joined that group because they escaped to the sea when all of this started…"
"I understand…"
...
"What do you think?"
"I think it's credible…"
"What Adam said is basically consistent with his previous behavior. At the very least, the other party shouldn't have lied…"
"Very well, then I'll invite him to join our organization, and at the same time we'll discuss what to do about that Florida community…"