Chapter 104: Collaborators
The families who lost supplies at the base were all small ones—combined, they still didn’t hold as much influence as either the Li family or the Gu family alone. And on Zhuang Mingxu’s side, even Wu Yue’s own people had been turned against him, so naturally he didn’t have the power to pursue accountability.
In the end, the Li family took in Li Ji and those who followed him under the pretense of “sheltering ability users,” and paid partial compensation to the others to close the matter.
Once this was settled, Wu Yue immediately, in front of everyone, requested from Commander Li that someone be assigned as a witness—he intended to “clean house.”
Back then, aside from occupying a few villas in Longmen, Zhuang Mingxu had also taken over a building elsewhere to accommodate a growing number of people. Though the Li family had provided some compensation, it amounted to less than a tenth of what Zhuang Mingxu had originally gathered.
Wu Yue directly distributed the remaining supplies among those who had helped collect them back then. As for the future—those who wanted to leave could leave; those who wished to stay had to pay rent based on the current material value in the base.
A few who had been mingling with Li Ji were clearly displeased. But those properties had originally been purchased with Zhuang Mingxu’s own supplies, and not only did the military have proof, Commander Li also had a known connection to Zhuang Mingxu. Making a scene would do no good, so most took their share of the supplies and left.
Among the remaining people, Wu Yue did some weeding—he discarded known traitors. In the end, including family members, fewer than twenty people remained. Of those who originally helped collect supplies, only three remained, and none of them had abilities. The rest were family members, mostly of those who had gone out to search for supplies with Li Ji and never returned.
Wu Yue couldn’t bring himself to drive them out, but keeping them without reason would spark discontent from others. In the end, he used his own supplies to support a few families and encouraged them to find their own path.
After all, the compensation he received was essentially gained at a bargain—it didn’t pain him to give some of it away.
The four villas had once been crowded, but now not even one was filled. Wu Yue looked at the now-empty properties with mixed feelings.
Those who left with Li Ji were soon taken into another villa by the Li family—not far away from here. As they left, even the Li brothers sneered at Wu Yue, saying Zhuang Mingxu was already dead.
The three others, who didn’t know the truth, were instantly enraged and wanted to lash out. Wu Yue forcibly held them back, staring coldly at the departing group with a sneer. “Get lost.”
Once that crowd was gone, Wu Yue saw off the person Commander Li had sent—whether to serve as witness or support—and then exhaled deeply, collapsing on the couch in the living room.
He had finally driven them out.
When Wu Yue first learned of the betrayal from his people, he thought he would be the one thrown out. But now, not only were the supplies intact, the traitors had been cleared out, and the villas secured.
“Hahaha…” Wu Yue felt hope again and burst into laughter.
Meanwhile, Bai Miao, who had stayed behind, was still saddened by the news from Li Mingli that Zhuang Mingxu had died. When she heard Wu Yue laughing, her first thought was that he had lost his mind. She hurried to comfort him, “Brother Wu, we can gather more supplies. Now that Boss Zhuang is gone, you’re our backbone—you can’t break down!”
“Yeah, Old Wu, we’ll just go get more,” Shen Xing added quickly.
“Xiao Wu, it’s not that big a deal. Don’t do anything foolish,” said another holdout, Chen Zhong, patting Wu Yue on the shoulder.
“What are you all thinking? I’m fine.” Wu Yue sat up, relaxed, and directed Bai Miao, “Xiao Bai, bring a few cans of beer—we should celebrate. We finally drove them out.”
“Okay!” Seeing that he really wasn’t unwell, Bai Miao responded quickly and ran to get a few cold beers.
The four remaining people toasted and drank a few cans, then began discussing their next steps.
“We’re not going out to gather supplies just yet. If we leave right after splitting up, someone might target us. We still have enough materials for now. Let’s stay in the base and wait for Mingxu—I really don’t believe he’d die so easily.”
While things were still a bit chaotic here, Li Zhuang and Ning Yuan had returned to where Zhuang Mingxu used to live. Lu Weiyi, meanwhile, was sent to stay with Li Dongsheng, who provided him with supplies to trade for energy cores and jade.
That evening, Li Zhuang and Ning Yuan arrived back at the base with a disguised Antonio and Lin Yimu. They again registered with false identities as ordinary people, but this time skipped the stinky hotel and rented a temporary two-bedroom apartment instead.
They thought the matter would be resolved quickly, but Li Ji and the others didn’t take on new missions immediately after joining the Li family, which left the group waiting.
By day, Ning Yuan (in disguise) accompanied Li Dongsheng to the trading market to collect energy cores and jade, while Lin Yimu and Li Zhuang scouted around separately. Antonio’s appearance was too noticeable, even in disguise, so he stayed home to train his abilities with Lu Weiyi.
One night, Wu Yue came quietly to visit. He got to know the new people Lu Weiyi had brought and once again asked when Zhuang Mingxu would return.
“I want to wait until Li Ji and the others are dead before Zhuang Mingxu comes back. That would be safer,” said Lu Weiyi.
“There’s no killing allowed inside the base. Even if Mingxu is injured, they wouldn’t dare openly pick a fight here,” Wu Yue disagreed. “Besides, people have been saying the zombies outside are getting stronger. Living outside the base isn’t safe.”
“…” Lu Weiyi was silent for a while before he decided to come clean. “Zhuang Mingxu’s kneecap was shattered by Li Ji. He’s in a wheelchair now.”
Wu Yue suddenly sat bolt upright. “What did you say?”
He turned to look at Ning Yuan and Lin Yimu. Seeing them both nod silently, his eyes turned red with rage. Breathing heavily, he paced the living room several times. “That bastard—I’ll cut him to pieces. I swear I will…”
“That’s not even all of it,” Lu Weiyi added. Wu Yue took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. “What else?”
“My place is a bit spacious. Back when I went to rescue Zhuang Mingxu, I took all the supplies and weapons that Li Ji had hidden in Dongshan County. If he goes talking to the Li family too much…”
Everyone understood the concept of “a man’s wealth is his crime.”
Wu Yue initially felt a surge of satisfaction at the idea of revenge when he heard the first half, but calmed down at the second part. “Looks like we’ll have to take them out before Mingxu returns.”
“Let’s wait a bit longer,” said Lu Weiyi.
“I heard both the Li and Gu families approached you, offering to trade supplies for other villas or that vacant building outside?” Lin Yimu asked Wu Yue.
“Yes, I didn’t agree. That building is close to the military’s residential area—much safer. It wouldn’t be worth giving it away,” Wu Yue replied. “We really owe it to Commander Li this time. Without his help, I’m not sure we could’ve kicked Li Ji and the others out.”
As Wu Yue spoke, something occurred to him, and he looked at Ning Yuan. “All our supplies are with Lu Weiyi. Can I take some out and donate them to the military? They have a lot of people and are struggling. On top of that, with the Li and Gu families vying for power, they’ve been sidelined for a while. When we need their help, we think of them. But when it’s time to share benefits, we get stingy.”
“You can, technically,” Ning Yuan said, “but everyone knows how much you’re holding. Giving it to the military now will definitely raise suspicions.”
“True…”
“But we can offer water,” Ning Yuan said, looking at Lu Weiyi. “How much water do you still have? Want to have Wu Yue trade some of it for supplies?”
Lu Weiyi had been so anxious lately that he’d completely forgotten. As soon as Ning Yuan mentioned it, he immediately remembered the well he had and nodded. “There’s still quite a bit. We can trade it for supplies. Ask the Li family—let’s milk them one last time.”
“Water is valuable in the base these days. If you’ve got it, you should keep it for yourself,” Wu Yue disagreed.
“It’s fine. Let’s trade it.”
Heavy snow was imminent, and after the snow, ability-users would start popping up like mushrooms—especially those with water, earth, or wood-based powers. Out of ten, eight would emerge. At that point, drinking water would be easier to generate, and bottled water would lose its value.
Getting a batch of supplies in return before that would make all the recent waiting worthwhile. They immediately had Ning Yuan and Wu Yue plan how to legitimize the water trade.
Whatever Ning Yuan said to Wu Yue in private, it worked. Not long after, Wu Yue, who had opposed the idea, came around—though his support seemed a little uncertain.
That didn’t slow them down. They made a plan the same day. Wu Yue would go straight to Commander Li Mu and say that part of the supplies Zhuang Mingxu had stashed with Lu Weiyi included a large quantity of water, some of which they wanted to donate to the military.
The rest they hoped to trade for supplies, under the military’s supervision to ensure transparency. To support the story, Lu Weiyi had already moved the water into the basement of a villa they used to stay in.
Water-based ability users were still rare. Even if someone could produce water, it wasn’t enough for more than two people. Most households were severely short on water. As soon as Wu Yue mentioned this, Commander Li Mu nearly agreed on the spot, though he still expressed a little doubt. “Why would Zhuang Mingxu stash so much water in advance?”
“You know how it was—after the earthquake, all the plumbing and electricity went out. Mingxu figured there’d be a water shortage for a while. He stocked up just in case. It wasn’t hard to do. Who would’ve guessed we’d end up relying on this stuff to survive?” Wu Yue said with a bitter smile. The man, who had once followed Zhuang Mingxu around full of vigor just a month ago, now looked worn and desolate.
Commander Li Mu couldn’t help but sigh. “Our troops really are desperate for water. I won’t be polite, then. When can you go fetch it? I’ll send soldiers with you. Same with the supply exchange—I’ll make sure no one tries anything shady.”
“With your assurance, I’m relieved. I was thinking of holding out a bit longer—Mingxu might come back. But with this batch of water, we’ll be able to last a while longer,” Wu Yue replied.
Li Mu patted Wu Yue’s shoulder, offering no more comfort than that, and introduced a Major beside him—Li Yan.
I hope they kill those traitors soon