Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.-Chapter 632: One base was a no show.

"It’s the plumbing, some of the pipes fused together and others melted. We have a water leak in the bread factory. We have no water supply in all of the residential areas." Linda reported.

"The engineers will be there to sort out the issue." Sunshine promised. "They will start with urgent industries and work on the residential areas last."

Linda nodded. It seemed like the issue was sorted until a woman’s voice wailed out, "How am I supposed to wash my hair? It smells like smoke and..."

Major Elio tapped his mic. "Just shave it off if you cannot stand the smell."

Ruckus erupted, with the woman insulting major Elio that he cannot talk to her like that.

Sunshine pinched the bridge of her nose. "Like i said the engineers will be there soon and they will begin with the most urgent business" she repeated, her voice silencing the chaos. "That place was surviving old infrastructure especially the water pipes...the whole drainage system was old and needed replacing. I will give you better pipes. Until the issue is fixed permanently, we can have water trucks drive from the water to Pitbull everyday. "

The Pitbull screen erupted into relieved chatter, someone clapping, someone else shouting, "Bless you, Sunshine!"

"Is there anything else that I need to personally solve for you?" She asked.

The governor looked like he had something to say but Linda blocked him. "No. We can handle the rest and I will forward any other issues to Miss Lisha Quinn."

"Next. Silverdale." Sunshine declared. The Silverdale screen came up to reveal Marjorie standing stiffly beside a very offended-looking Aunt Mabel. "It’s the rooster," Marjorie said before anyone else could speak. "The mutated one who happens to be the size of a truck."

Aunt Mabel crossed her arms. "His name is Jekyll."

Marjorie rolled her eyes. "Yes, Jekyll. He has not stopped singing since the whole dragons thing."

Someone from another territory laughed. "A rooster with range, awesome!"

Aunt Mabel huffed. "Our ears are about to burst, something must be done." 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Sunshine did not respond instantly. She was looking for lightning related problems that were urgent. Did this qualify as one?

Hadrian leaned forward, bored. "It’s nothing to laugh about. If the residents of the town can’t sleep, things will get chaotic. The simple solution here is to slaughter the rooster."

Silence fell so hard it felt like the stream itself froze. Faces on the Silverdale screen went pale. One woman covered her mouth. A child gasped audibly. Aunt Mabel looked like she might leap through the screen. "We are not killing Jekyll," she said, voice shaking with outrage. "He is part of our community."

Hadrian blinked. "He’s a chicken."

"He is more than a chicken," Aunt Mabel snapped.

Marjorie lifted her hands. "Some people think that he may be trying to communicate something but I don’t speak chicken."

Someone muttered, "Or that rooster could be possessed."

Hadrian shrugged. "Don’t say stupid shit here."

Sunshine cleared her throat sharply before the argument escalated into a poultry-related civil war. "Silverdale," she said, "I will send Zulu, she will definitely figure out what is wrong with the rooster. As for now, since Jekyll is family.....just pad your ears. Don’t you have any lightning related problems?"

Majorie shook her head. "We did not have fires or busted pipes. We did have a whole lot of panicked mutated animals that tried to leap over fences and got electrocuted just a little. But, they are alive and in recovery. You could ask Ariel to send us treats for them."

"On it." Ariel replied.

The Silverdale screen dimmed slightly as they argued amongst themselves, Jekyll’s distant crowing punctuating the chaos like punctuation.

"Next issue," Sunshine said quickly. Several territories requested for repair. medicines, food supplies and benefits for the families of the dead.

One after the other, faces leaned into cameras, voices anxious, complaints tumbling out about hunger and anything small they could think of.

Ariel raised his head. "Repair supplies will be given out accordingly but extra food, no." he said calmly. The room went still again. "According to my calculations, the food supply in every base is balanced. You have two meals a day per person. Increasing rations now risks an apocalypse within an apocalypse later."

Groans rippled through the screens. Then a man from Hunkerville leaned forward, bitterness etched deep into his expression. "We have been through a lot!"

Ariel crossed his arms. "As far as I know, only Hunkerville’s food stores were burned in a fire. My mother already informed me about this and I am working on it. The rest of you are just being greedy."

Justice Marley intervened. "That’s not fair," she said. "The Quinns and the other rich families in here throw parties. Full tables. Laughter. Music. While the rest of us count the meals we have. I saw some of them pushing full carts of food only hours ago."

Silence followed, heavy and uncomfortable. Sheldon stood up. "We buy our food!" "We have money to buy the food....you can do the same instead of asking for handouts!"

"Yeah, We’re not stealing from anyone!" One sharp voice cut through the noise.

"Society has always been unequal," Tracy said coldly. "It didn’t magically change just because the world ended."

Sunshine slammed her palm on the table so hard the sound echoed through every hall, every screen. "Enough," she snapped, and the effect was instant. "Two meals are sufficient for survival in these times," she said, echoing Ariel’s words. "Those who want to eat more should work, earn, and buy more.

No one is entitled to excess just because someone else has it." She paused, letting that sink in, "But....if Hunkerville receives excess food supplies, so will every other town. I do hope that you all keep in mind that we are living in an apocalypse. If you eat like pigs at a feast, prepare to starve."

She reached beneath the table and brought out a small metal box. She opened it slowly and tipped its contents onto the table. Coins spilled out, clinking softly, catching the light. Gold. Silver. Copper. Some blended, half-and-half, deliberately imperfect. "Speaking of money," Sunshine said. "These coins will serve as currency in addition to paper money and precious metals."

They were passed around. Drones in other towns dropped the coins in the hands of the leaders.

Murmurs rose instantly. Complaints followed just as fast.

"Why do they have the Quinn logo?"

"Isn’t that favoritism?"

"So we’re owned now?"

Major Elio scoffed. "What a way to appreciate the people saving your lives!"

Hadrian stood before Sunshine could respond. "You are free to mint your own coins and use your logos," he said coolly. "These belong to Fortress Four, which belongs to the Quinns. No one is forcing you to use them."

Sunshine nodded once. "Paper money is becoming more and more scarce as we expand. It is also losing value." she continued. "Nobody actually knows how long this apocalypse will last, the earlier we transition, the better. Those who are interested may exchange paper currency for the new coins at the Fortress Four bank in Westbrook town. I promise that it will be accepted anywhere in this base."

The room buzzed with nervous energy, anger, curiosity, fear, hope_ all tangled together.

Sunshine exhaled slowly. "Meeting adjourned, I am tired like many here. Those who need rest should get it and those who are still at work should get to it."

She looked at the black screen where the Ferry island base was supposed to be live. It was blank.