Harem Legion: Queens of the Apocalypse-Chapter 94 Gold Chains Can’t Buy Water

These past few days, the Ice Regiment had been raiding the northern and eastern outskirts of Springvale City. As ordered by Magnus, every time they ran into survivor teams, they made sure to spread the word - "A water deal will go down on the highway in a few days."

Water was the main trade, supported by food and supplies. They even offered vehicle modifications. As long as it didn’t involve selling female members, any deal was fair game.

There was another perk to doing water business on these two highway fronts: most of the meteorites here had already been stripped clean by either the Ice Regiment or Joshua’s troops. The odds of other survivor teams finding Water Crystals were nearly zero. Water was scarce, and that gave the Ice Regiment the edge.

Magnus wasn’t avoiding the western and far eastern zones because he didn’t want to expand, but those areas were crawling with rogue troops - infantry carriers, tanks, even mobile missile launchers. Too risky. One wrong move and they’d suffer heavy casualties.

So today, the convoy blocked off a two-way junction to the east of Springvale City. Magnus brought along middle commander Caroline, squad leader Isabel, and other women from the group - Taylor, who was Sarah’s close friend, and Sophie, whose family used to run a shipping station.

Once the barricade was set and the vehicles parked, Magnus stepped out of the armored truck, speaking sharply. "Caroline, take fifty people, sweep the area. Clear out all the damn centipede-spiders and burn the webs. If it can burn, torch it. The rest stay back and take shifts on watch."

"Got it." Caroline went straight to work. Twenty minutes later, everything within five hundred meters - spiders, webs, whatever - was ashes. She came back and reported, "Boss, smoke time?"

Magnus scanned the surroundings with binoculars and gave a nod. "Set two smoke signals. One on either side in the fields."

The smoke wasn’t for fun. It was a marker, a sign to any nearby survivor groups - someone’s trading here. Just like during their last few raids.

A pile of wood logs, drenched in fuel, was topped with grass and leaves - classic smoke setup. Within minutes, thick black plumes were curling up into the sky from both fires.

Everything was ready. Now they just had to wait.

Magnus leaned back in the armored truck, lit up two cigarettes in a row, and was just about to check the Nature Crystals in his space when the sound of engines roared from ahead. He grabbed the binoculars and looked.

A convoy - ten, maybe a dozen vehicles. No military gear, so likely not rogue troops.

He stepped out and signaled toward the bus. Fifty female fighters in helmets came out, armed with rifles and torches, fully equipped for a standoff.

The other group stopped about a hundred meters from the blockade. Three people stepped out from the lead vehicle, waving a white cloth. Caroline responded with a green flag, signaling them to approach.

The lead car moved forward slowly, stopping just five meters from the Ice Regiment’s position. The three emerged again.

"You passing through or here to trade?" Magnus asked as he walked up.

"To trade! We came for water!"

All three wore makeshift headwraps and dark glasses. Hard to tell their age.

Magnus glanced at Caroline. "Leave twenty here, stay alert."

"Yes, sir." She snapped a sharp salute - a show of respect when outsiders were around.

"You three the ones in charge?" Magnus looked straight at them. "You, on the truck."

"Sure, sure." They didn’t hesitate. The three men hurried after Magnus and climbed onto the sleeper bus. First thing, Magnus checked them for weapons, pulling a kitchen knife off each of them from their belts or backs.

He handed the blades to a nearby female team member, then took off his bulletproof helmet. The three men followed suit, pulling off sunglasses and the cloths wrapped around their heads. Then they looked around - first at the women, then at the bus itself.

Inside were over sixty bunks, each with fresh bedding and the faint scent of women - some sweet, some musky. The girls all looked young, long hair flowing, pretty faces. Some munched snacks, others listened to MP3 players. One fiddled with a device that vaguely resembled an ’iPad’. The three men were dumbstruck.

"All these girls yours?" one of them, a guy in his twenties, asked, eyes full of envy. He looked just as young as Magnus.

Magnus’s face turned cold. "Get to the point. What have you come to trade?"

"Oh! Water. We’re here to trade for water!" the older of the three quickly stepped in, pulling the young man back behind him.

They were from Bluereed Town. After the apocalypse, a group of survivors fought their way out and secured a nearby village. Started with seventy-some, now up to over 300 as more stragglers joined. Food was manageable, but clean water was running dry.

A few days back, one of their scouting teams had run into Emily from the Ice Regiment. She told them about the water trade. Since then, they’d been searching nonstop. When they spotted the smoke today, they rushed over.

Magnus sat down on a bunk near the front of the bus and motioned the three to sit across from him. It was the first trade deal; these guys seemed decent. His expression eased up a bit. He lit a cigarette, handed one to the older man. "So, what’ve you got to trade for water?"

"Thanks, thank you..." the man took the cigarette with both hands, quickly pulled out a lighter and lit it, taking a deep drag like he’d found salvation.

The young one smacked his lips, glanced at Magnus and asked cautiously, "Um... Brother, can I have one too?"

Magnus looked up, saw the begging in his eyes, and tossed the remaining half-pack of cigarettes to him. "Take it."

"Thanks, bro! Thank you so much!" The young man lit up with joy, pulled out a smoke, took a huge whiff before turning to his father, "Dad! Lemme borrow the lighter!"

"Useless brat..." the older man cursed, but still handed over the lighter.

"Alright," Magnus cut in, "back to it. Tell me - what exactly are you offering for the water?"

The third man, cautious, spoke up. "Uh... What kind of stuff does your government take? We wanna check the prices first..."

Magnus raised a brow - not the first time someone thought they were some government unit. Still, he wasn’t one to bully decent folks.

He turned to Sophie. She immediately handed over the notebook with the price list.

The man took it, and the other two leaned over to look with him. As they flipped through the pages, their expressions sank.

Finally, after finishing his cigarette, the older man looked up, uneasy. "Uh... the stuff we brought... It’s not on your list..."