Chapter 14: A Gift—Fortune Favors the Bold

**Resent the Rich, But Be Subtle About It**

Bian Changxi stared at Wang Yan with a strange look, then glanced at the hostile and contemptuous faces in Cheng Haijun’s group. When she saw others in the warehouse gathering around to watch the drama, she snorted and shook her head, rubbing her right eyebrow as she muttered, “This is fucking ridiculous.”

After a little crying, the one who stole the jade bracelet somehow became the victim, while the actual victim was painted as heartless and ungrateful. She really didn’t know tears were this effective. The funniest part was that the onlookers all seemed to think this made perfect sense. Wasn’t this just bullying the weak, taking advantage of the fact that she had no choice but to travel with their team and rely on them, so they could gang up and put her in her place?

If it had been anyone else today, they’d probably have swallowed even the most blatant injustice, right?

That’s why she hated acting in groups—too many people, and all sorts of messy, irritating things would pop up. Maybe the pressure of the apocalypse was just too much, so people had to find ways to amuse themselves and vent. If they were so capable, why not go kill zombies instead of wasting time on this nonsense? Bian Changxi really couldn’t figure out what was going on in these people’s heads.

Still, the others probably just had a natural wariness and resistance toward newcomers, while Wang Yan and Zhang Yuwen just wouldn’t let go of her jade bracelet…

Wang Yan’s fake-crying face darkened, and she asked in a weak, trembling voice, “Changxi, are you… are you insulting us?”

Bian Changxi gave her a long, deep look, then turned to pick up her spare black jacket from the ground. She put it on, buttoning it up one by one, and slowly rolled up her sleeves. She glanced sideways at Wang Yan and said, “I’m insulting myself—for wasting words on an idiot like you.” She turned and smiled. “Captain Cheng, are you really not going to rein in your teammates? Otherwise, I’m afraid I won’t be able to hold myself back.”

The onlookers started to murmur—was this about to turn into a fight?

Everyone here was a college student. Some were as meek as rabbits, some were a bit wild, but none had ever gone so far as to pick fights like street thugs. This was a first, and it made everyone a bit excited. Some whistled, some clapped, and those who knew the backstory quietly told their friends about Bian Changxi’s identity and past.

Cheng Haijun’s face turned red and black with anger, but before he could say anything, Wang Yan suddenly lunged at Bian Changxi, trying to snatch the jade bracelet. She cursed viciously, “Who are you calling an idiot? You’re the fucking idiot! So what if you’re the Bian family’s precious daughter? You’re still a pitiful orphan with no parents! No one’s come looking for you in three days, have they? You’ve been abandoned, so what are you acting all high and mighty for? If you’ve got the guts, hit me!”

A sharp glint flashed in Bian Changxi’s eyes. She twisted her left wrist out of Wang Yan’s grip, grabbed Wang Yan’s right forearm and yanked her forward, then pressed down on her left shoulder and flipped her over. At the same time, she hooked her foot behind Wang Yan’s right heel. Wang Yan shrieked and crashed heavily to the ground.

“Oooh—” Wang Yan felt like half her butt was shattered. She lay on the ground, too scared to move.

Bian Changxi stepped back and stared coldly at her. “Resenting the rich is fine, but keep it subtle. If you go overboard, neither of us will look good.”

Wang Yan was from out of town—her family supposedly owned a supermarket or something. At best, they were minor rich folk, nothing compared to the Bian family, the wealthiest in Jiangcheng and a major player in southern China’s economy. Usually, Wang Yan’s favorite hobbies were pretending to be rich and making life miserable for real rich kids like Bian Changxi—especially since Changxi was actually an outcast in her own family, with no real status. That made her an easy target for Wang Yan’s “attention.”

But of all things, the one thing Bian Changxi couldn’t tolerate was anyone bringing up her deceased parents.

She glanced at her own hand. Sure enough, after awakening her wood powers, her strength had increased a lot—probably about the same as an average man now.

She shot a look at Zhang Yuwen, who was staring in shock. He stumbled back a step, stepping on someone else’s foot and causing a commotion. Regaining his balance, Zhang Yuwen raised a knife at Bian Changxi—but it was actually her own pearwood straight-blade. Several people around him also stood up, picking up weapons, while the bystanders quickly backed away.

“My knife, my axe, even my car—you guys really don’t hold back, do you?” Bian Changxi said sarcastically, eyeing the weapons in their hands.

This only made her more determined to act alone. Too many people was just too much trouble.

Cheng Haijun stared in shock at how things had spiraled out of control. He hurried forward, “What are you all doing? Put the knives down! We’re all on the same side!”

“I’m not ‘on the same side’ as you,” Bian Changxi sneered, then turned to the crowd. “Who was it just now who said someone already paid my rescue fee? Can you tell me what happened?”

“Me! That was me!” A short, chubby girl squeezed out of the crowd, but didn’t dare get too close to Bian Changxi. She looked her up and down, then smiled, “Yesterday, someone in our team got scratched by a zombie and developed a high fever. We went out to look for medicine, and ran into Captain Cheng’s group on the road, so we traveled together.” The girl stuck out her tongue. “But not long after, we ran into those five people. They asked us for directions, and then Captain Cheng’s group recognized you. Those soldiers didn’t seem able to take you along, but then your boyfriend—oh, Zhang Yuwen—showed them a photo of you two together, so they left you in their care.”

She paused here, glancing at Wang Yan, who was being helped up, “That woman was really unhappy about it. She said you wouldn’t survive and were just a burden. She said fine, they’d take care of you, but only if the soldiers left them two guns.”

Bian Changxi narrowed her eyes. “And they agreed?”

“You really met some good people. That squad leader talked with Captain Cheng, and agreed to leave one handgun, five bullets, and two communication devices—something that connects by satellite, really high-tech, and still working.”

After the girl finished, the warehouse fell silent. Cheng Haijun’s group looked ashamed, while Zhang Yuwen and Wang Yan’s faces were even uglier.

Friends, classmates, even a boyfriend—when it came to taking care of her, they haggled and set conditions. Yet a group of total strangers had paid a hefty price for her.

Everyone understood what guns meant in this post-apocalyptic world, and how precious communication devices were now that phones were useless.

So, plenty of people were jealous—especially those in the girl’s team who had witnessed everything.

Someone sighed, “So that’s what really happened.”

“And they kept saying they saved her—some people really are shameless.”

“Yeah, they were basically just hired help.”

“But you can’t say that either. If they were really heartless, they could’ve taken the stuff and just abandoned her.”

The chubby girl quickly explained, “They wouldn’t dare. The squad leader said his name was Gu Xu, and he asked Captain Cheng’s name too. He said if he ever found out Captain Cheng abandoned Bian, he wouldn’t let him off.”

Cheng Haijun, deeply ashamed, hurried to explain, “I didn’t want any of it. We’re all classmates, and you even helped us before. It was Wang Yan who kept pestering them, and they really seemed to be in a hurry. Before I could say anything, they left the stuff and were gone.”

Thinking back to how that squad leader had coldly said, “That’s all you get,” Cheng Haijun wished he could crawl into a hole. It was all Wang Yan’s fault—she’d embarrassed them all! Still, he hadn’t expected the guy to move so fast—he’d dropped the stuff and disappeared in the blink of an eye, while Cheng was still in shock. He couldn’t chase after them, and shouting would have attracted zombies.

He took out a small bag containing a black handgun, five golden bullets, and two watch-like devices. “I haven’t used any of it. I was going to return it to them, but I’ll give it to you now.”

The room fell silent. Bian Changxi could feel all eyes on her, especially the hostile stares from Cheng Haijun’s group, as if daring her to reach for the bag.

She ignored them, staring in surprise at the bag. No way—had she really met good people? This was a gun! In the early days of the apocalypse, a single bullet could mean a life. Someone actually…

A strange feeling welled up in her heart. She thought to herself that if she ever got the chance, she really needed to get to know that Gu… Wait! Gu Xu?!