Chapter 69: Go Eat Trash

""Captain, the Shi family killed our men, and we're just going to let it go?""

Wei Lingxia, thinking she was about to leave the team anyway, spoke to the captain without any courtesy.

They had worked so hard to isolate the Shi and Pang families.

Now the captain was taking the lead in breaking the rules of the game—wasn't that a bit too out of line?

Wrinkles gathered at the corners of the captain's eyes, but he still tried to persuade them gently:

""You all need to be a bit more realistic. The world isn't what it used to be, and neither is the Shi family.""

For the sake of team harmony, the captain tried his best to avoid conflict.

He spoke tactfully, and the smile on his face seemed genuinely sincere.

But Zhang Xueyao wasn't having it.

""The Shi family has no shame, ruining the atmosphere of our team. If I were you, I'd kick out both the Shi and Pang families.""

The captain asked curiously,

""Kick them out where? This wasteland isn't my territory, I don't have any authority here.""

""So what right do I have to kick anyone out?""

Besides, the place where the Shi family lives is already surrounded by walls, reinforced with cement.

Even if you wanted to use force, you couldn't drive out both the Shi and Pang families.

Wasn't Wei Lingxia and Zhang Xueyao just talking nonsense?

Wei Lingxia stomped her foot. ""Captain, if you can't lead us to become stronger, fine, I can accept that you're a coward.""

""But you can't even deal with a few old, weak, sick, and disabled people? Useless!""

She was clearly getting agitated.

The captain put away his smile and signaled to his wife behind him to take the canned food and go back.

He spoke seriously to Wei Lingxia:

""You said it yourself, they're just a few old, weak, sick, and disabled people. Why don't you deal with them yourselves?""

""Have I ever interfered with anything you guys have done lately? Haven't I just turned a blind eye?""

""I was hoping you'd succeed, but how come you can't even drive out a few old women and children?""

To be honest, after all this time in the wasteland, no one is really naïve or simple-minded anymore.

And no captain is truly a harmless peacemaker with no schemes or temper.

Wei Lingxia and Zhang Xueyao were left speechless.

They were so angry at the captain they could hardly stand it.

Seeing the captain's calm, bureaucratic demeanor, Wei Lingxia snapped:

""If you don't want to get involved, at least don't help the enemy!""

The captain smiled again. ""I'm not. I've always thought the Shi family were a bunch of idiots. Look, I traded a bunch of trash for canned food. How is that helping the enemy?""

""I'm harming and deceiving the Shi family, aren't I?""

He had a point.

The Shi family really was like a garbage dump.

The captain wasn't wrong.

But for some reason, Wei Lingxia and Zhang Xueyao were infuriated by the captain's lukewarm attitude.

Zhang Xueyao yelled,

""You're not on our side at all! Captain, if you keep this up, everyone will turn against you, you know?!""

""Then let's just disband the team.""

With his hands behind his back, the captain strolled slowly toward his own tent.

They could barely survive as it was—food was getting scarcer and scarcer in the wasteland.

How could he have the energy to manage team affairs?

Besides, his team was so weak now, all the able-bodied men had left one by one.

At first, the captain had tried to persuade them to stay.

Who hasn't dreamed of being a hero when they were young?

The first year in the wasteland, he was full of ambition.

By the second year, reality had crushed that ambition.

Now, in the fifth year, the captain couldn't wait to get rid of all these old, weak women and children.

Starving, who had the energy to play these little games?

The captain shook his head. ""If you want to play, I'm not interested.""

""Go on, go on. If you want to leave, then hurry up and go.""

His attitude suddenly made Wei Lingxia and Zhang Xueyao panic.

Wei Lingxia wanted to say something more,

but Zhang Xueyao grabbed her arm.

When the captain had walked away, Zhang Xueyao whispered,

""How much food do you have left in your tent?""

""What for?"" Wei Lingxia grew wary, afraid Zhang Xueyao wanted to borrow food.

Zhang Xueyao looked anxious.

""Did you see the captain's wife? The plastic bag she was carrying just now was full of canned meat.""

""But our food is almost gone.""

Wei Lingxia slapped Zhang Xueyao's hand away and warned coldly,

""Don't tell me you're thinking of going to that fat woman from the Shi family to beg.""

""And this was your idea in the first place. You said we should use this method to force the Shi family to integrate with us, to follow our rules.""

They'd already come this far with the plan.

If they made peace with Shi Yuebai now, wouldn't it all be for nothing?

Zhang Xueyao said nothing.

It was true—she had wanted to use this kind of psychological tactic.

Before the apocalypse, from elementary school to college, she'd used these tactics to force countless people to bow to her.

She'd led the charge to ostracize many people.

But now, this trick didn't seem to work anymore.

Especially when the captain himself went to trade with those ""idiots"" from the Shi family today.

The captain's reasoning made sense in a survival-of-the-fittest way.

But somehow, it was a slap in Zhang Xueyao's face.

Wei Lingxia ignored Zhang Xueyao's silence and looked at the others.

""What do you all think?""

A skinny woman, her chest sagging like two empty bags, forced a smile and said,

""Of course, we'll listen to you and Xueyao.""

Everyone nodded, their faces showing determined smiles.

Wei Lingxia relaxed and shot Zhang Xueyao a fierce glare.

See? Only Zhang Xueyao was wavering because of the captain's attitude.

Idiot.

As night fell, in the captain's tent, his family finally got to eat some meat.

Meanwhile, Wei Lingxia kept berating Zhang Xueyao for her lack of resolve.

But out of their sight, a few women quietly gathered up their own trash, snuck around the ditch, and ran to the Shi family's wall.

""Hey, Shi Yuebai?""

""Is Shi Yuebai there?""

""We're here to trade for food.""

They kept their heads down, afraid Wei Lingxia and Zhang Xueyao would see them.

But they were just too hungry.

Zhang Xueyao had told them to ostracize the Shi and Pang families, and they had.

But it hadn't worked at all.

They'd watched helplessly as the captain traded for so many cans of meat.

Who knew how many pet food cans were left?

The mercenary group couldn't conjure up more cans out of thin air. No matter how much they gave Shi Yuebai, it was a limited supply.

So they were anxious.

They were afraid the captain would come again tomorrow with more disposable bowls and chopsticks to trade for the Shi family's pet food.

They couldn't hold out any longer.

They wanted to make peace with Shi Yuebai.

With a rustle, the sheet curtain at the door moved.

Shi Yaoyao came out, standing just inside the doorway, and said in a clear, childish voice,

""My aunt says we've already cut ties with you. Go eat trash.""

Sorry for the late update—had to deal with something at my kid's school today."