Harem Legion: Queens of the Apocalypse-Chapter 130 Trade Like a King, Rule Like One

"Leave the steel houses to fate," Magnus said, tone flat. "We’ll just tack the steel material prices onto the rice trade sheet. If someone’s got it, fine. If not, forget it. But - "

He frowned at the small notebook in Liana’s hands. "Liana, did you calculate how many days our vegetable stores can last?"

She paused, flipping to the corresponding pages, slight crease between her brows. "We found quite a bit back at Brightmoor Town. Haven’t had time to count exactly, but should last half a month or more. Including preserved stuff like pickles and sausages, I’d say nine months easy."

Magnus grunted. "And what about firewood?"

Liana’s face darkened. "Didn’t think of that yet. But we can cut wood from the hills. Plenty of trees around."

"Then add smokeless coal to the exchange list," Magnus added after thinking for a moment. "Next, weapons and ammo. I did a check - on average, each of our people’s only got one rifle mag left. Handgun clips aren’t much better. It’s bad."

"I noticed too," Sophia agreed quickly. "I think we need to raise the trade value for firearms and ammunition. If another red rain hits us soon, we won’t make it through."

Emily nodded. "Honestly, with this underground granary, we could handle a few more red rains easy - long as the main door holds. But I agree with Sophia - we need to pay more for ammo."

Magnus nodded. "Weapons, coal, veggies, paper goods - all that needs to go up in trade value." He paused again, then added: "Also keep an eye out for skilled women - mechanics, electricians, therapists, chemists, nutritionists. Anyone with useful skills, we want them."

"What about regular folks?" Sophia asked. "Still taking them in?"

"If they’ve got combat experience, can drive, and aren’t troublemakers, we can take in a few more," Magnus said. But then his voice cooled. "Just remember - we’re not a charity."

Not a charity - those words hung heavy. Out of 1,123 Ice Regiment members, 146 were over 35, and more than 50 past 50. Most couldn’t drive or handle anything beyond cooking or sweeping. They were already in, so Magnus couldn’t boot them. But taking in more? That’d tear at his conscience. Letting people die was a hard thing to live with.

The women around him all fell silent. Magnus lit a cigarette, changing topics.

"Sophia, once we finish settling in, you’ll have it rough. All our fighters need proper drills - just like you used to train your girls in the army."

"No problem!" she answered without hesitation.

"Emily!" Magnus called, turning to her. "Coordinate with Sophia later. You’ll handle driver training. From now on, everyone in our unit should learn to drive heavy trucks. That’s your job."

"You got it," Emily replied without pause."Chloe, Isabel - you two handle sentry duty from now on."

"Got it!" Both women stood sharply.

Magnus turned to Charlotte last, "Charlotte, you and Liana are in charge of bartering food for supplies. Your job’s the most important - and the most demanding. If you need help, speak up first, you’ve got full authority to mobilize anyone in the regiment."

They both nodded, faces serious. But as expected, Sophia couldn’t help but speak up again, her voice laced with discontent. "And you? Still planning to do nothing?"

"Me?" Magnus had seen it coming, his response ready. "I’ll step in wherever I’m needed. You call, I show up." That was the official line - but in truth, he wouldn’t mind slacking a little when no one was looking.

With assignments done, the dozen or so members in the RV lounge gathered around the barter price list Magnus had drafted. Sophia and Emily hopped off the vehicle to lead the regiment’s thousand-plus members in cleaning up the underground granary - turning the place into a proper base.

They kept busy until nightfall. By then, the trading list was mostly finalized. Liana had recruited eighty-some women with neat handwriting to produce over 300 copies of the list by hand. Once done, all copies were collected and stacked, ready for Evan’s arrival tomorrow.

Magnus picked up one of the booklets, gave it a final once-over, focusing on the goods they were shortest on:

Rifles and pistol magazines - a loaded mag or 30 bullets traded for 33 pounds of food. One bullet equaled 1.1 pounds, an assault rifle fetched 55 pounds, a pistol 33 pounds.

Shoulder-mounted rocket launchers: 1 tube for 5,500 pounds. A rocket: 550 pounds. Flamethrowers: 2,200 pounds. Spare fuel canisters: 1,430 pounds. Mortars: 5,500 pounds. Shells: 550 pounds.

Infantry vehicles: 110,000 pounds apiece. Heavy mounted bullets (vehicle): 1 bullet for 3.3 pounds. Tanks: 33,000 pounds. Tank shells: 550 pounds each.

Vegetables:

Any unspoiled generic vegetable would go for a 1:7 trade ratio. Canned fruit or meat: 33 pounds per can. Sausages, ham, preserved sides: varying from 1:3.3 to 1:33 pounds based on type.

Cooking oil: one 5-liter can got you 275 pounds of grain. Other sealed snacks or high-calorie food: anywhere between 1:3.3 to 1:110 pounds.

Daily essentials:

rolls of toilet paper: 1.1 pounds of grain. Sanitary pads: 1 pack for 1.1 pounds. Wet wipes and soap (10 bars): 1.1 pounds. Shampoo, body wash: 1 bottle per 1.1 pounds. 5 toothpaste tubes, or 20 toothbrushes for 1.1 pounds. A new blanket: 3.3 pounds. 5 pairs of slippers: 1.1 pounds.

Vehicles:

Regular modified ones weren’t accepted. Fuel trucks: 5,500 pounds. Sleeper buses: 11,000. Fire trucks: 5,500. RVs ranged from 11,000 to 880,000 pounds depending on model. High-performance off-roaders were evaluated case-by-case.

And most critical - crystals. Ice Regiment placed sky-high value on them. Fire Crystal at 550 pounds, Water Crystal at 3,300, Metal Crystal at 880. Others could go well beyond 11,000 or even 110,000 pounds each depending on rarity.

The miscellaneous stuff:

Pesticide: 1:11. Gasoline: 1 liter for 5.5 pounds. Propane tanks: 1 for 110 pounds. Smokeless coal: 1.1 pounds for 11.

After skimming through the full list, Magnus set the book down. He knew this coming stretch - up to half a month or so - was make or break. Trading food wasn’t just numbers. The real pressure came from the chaos outside: rogue warbands and Cliff’s forces. Whether the Ice Regiment could stand its ground here all depended on how those powers responded.