Chapter 160: Trouble for Ji Jin
“So you want the Li family to take it all?” the man who spoke earlier said.
Uncle… so that must be Jiang Mo.
“Half the supplies, delivered to our door. What do you say?” Antonio was clearly tempted.
“Of course we want it,” Li Zhuang said, nodding toward Xu Sa, who was looking over.
Xu Sa called out, “Half the entire wholesale market.”
“Why don’t you just rob us—ah!”
Ji Jin shouted toward them but suddenly screamed, as if he’d been hit by something.
Under the light, they could clearly see Xu Sa shrug. “Then just wait to be robbed by the other side.”
Wu Yue recognized Ji Jin right away and leaned in to quietly tell Lu Weiyi, “That’s Ji Jin’s team. This stash must be what the Ji family had sealed off earlier.”
“Sealed off? How?” Antonio asked.
“After the apocalypse hit, some big families sealed off supplies from their businesses—stuff they couldn’t take right away. They planned to come back for it later. Some even sealed off areas that weren’t theirs, claiming them as private stashes. This place was clearly sealed by the Ji family.”
Once Wu Yue explained, Antonio’s eyes lit up. Sealed-off stashes might be hard to get for others, but for them, it was just a matter of a quick sweep. He looked at Lu Weiyi, his intentions written all over his face.
“Go ahead,” Lu Weiyi said. Targeting others’ supplies was clearly more efficient than scouring place by place—especially since anything sealed off was likely to be valuable.
While they were talking, another skirmish broke out below. Jiang Mo shouted, “Half the supplies in the wholesale market are yours!”
“Deal,” Xu Sa responded. He glanced at the others. All the powered individuals—except for Lu Weiyi—jumped down from the second floor. Xu Sa borrowed some large floodlights from Lu Weiyi and aimed them at the nearby street, illuminating half the block like it was broad daylight. Both groups below were instantly exposed.
“We’re from the Li family’s team. Aren’t you afraid of retaliation from the Li family for robbing our supplies?” a woman’s voice rang out. She was trying to deter them by invoking her backers, uncertain of their opponents’ strength.
“That’s Li family’s team, called the Iron Roses. All female abilities users,” Wu Yue whispered to the others.
“Who said we’re robbing anyone? We’re clearly upholding justice!” Xu Sa declared righteously. “You’re robbing supplies in broad daylight—does Li Ling know? Should we go back and ask him if he’s really allowing his teams to commit murder and robbery out here? Is the Li family trying to eliminate all the teams in Qingyuan City and rule alone?”
Robbing others’ supplies was an unspoken rule for many teams in the apocalypse—strength dictated survival. But saying it outright changed the game. Wu Yue’s words painted the Li family in a very bad light.
“You shut—” Someone started to argue but was stopped. A woman with a seemingly kind demeanor stepped forward and smiled. “Brother Xu must be joking. We were here first. Besides, this place wasn’t Ji family property before the apocalypse. They can’t just claim it with their word alone.”
“This was sealed off by our family!” Ji Jin shouted when he saw Wu Yue and realized it was Lu Weiyi’s team. He scanned the crowd but couldn’t spot Lu Weiyi. Knowing he was probably upstairs, he yelled, “Lu Weiyi! Are you just going to watch as our Ji family’s supplies get taken?”
Silence followed.
Ji Jin and his group thought there was still a chance—that they wouldn’t have to give up half their supplies. Only Jiang Mo knew full well that they’d be walking away with nothing.
Upstairs, Lu Weiyi and Lin Yimu, along with Chen Zhong, Shen Xing, and the other non-powered members, were calmly laying out the food. Even as Ji Jin shouted, no one paused their sneaky snacking.
Ji Jin’s words had caused some hesitation among the Iron Roses. Li Ling had privately tried to cause trouble for Only Team before, only to hit a brick wall. While most didn’t know the details, Song Li—Li Ling’s niece—knew exactly what was going on. She thought the deal would fall apart, but seeing no response from upstairs, she changed her mind.
“In all this time, has the Ji family ever given Young Master Lu even a single crumb of supplies? Where’s this ‘we’ coming from now?” Song Li said, seizing the opportunity. She added, “And if this really is Ji family property, wouldn’t it rightfully belong to the legitimate heir—not a bastard like you?”
“Song Li, you—”
“Tell me I’m wrong,” Song Li interrupted with an innocent expression, appealing to the rest of Only Team.
Before the apocalypse, she had already had conflicts with Ji Jin. Today, she had deliberately found out about his movements to intercept him. If someone else wanted to interfere, she’d rather take nothing herself than let Ji Jin walk away with all the supplies.
“Song Li, you b*tch! What good does this do for you?” Ji Jin realized her intention and jumped up, cursing her.
“No good at all. But… I just can’t let you have it easy.” Song Li didn’t bother hiding her motives. After speaking, she looked toward the second floor and said, “Young Master Lu, I’m willing to give up all of today’s supplies, but Ji Jin must not take a single bit. Otherwise, we’ll have no choice but to fight for it.”
“Song Li, you—ugh…” Ji Jin was about to start cursing again when she suddenly sent an ice needle flying at him. He had to quickly step back and defend himself.
A teammate behind him tried to persuade him in a low voice, “Captain, isn’t he your brother? Just let him take the supplies. You can ask him for some later—it’s all in the family, after all…”
Perhaps realizing what Song Li had just said, he didn’t finish the sentence. Instead, he looked at the others, even sneaking a glance at Jiang Mo.
“If you want to give it all to Lu Weiyi, then fine—give it to him. We’re family after all. It’s the same no matter who holds it.” Ji Jin figured things out pretty clearly. Song Li was clearly targeting him, and she had more people and stronger abilities. He couldn’t win a direct fight, so backing down was the only option.
Saying that might make her believe the conflict between him and Lu Weiyi wasn’t irreconcilable, giving room to renegotiate. Or, if Lu Weiyi took all the supplies, he could go back and report to the old man, get him to step in, and maybe get a sense of where Lu Weiyi stood with the family—perhaps even secure a long-term benefit in the future.
Song Li did hesitate slightly after hearing that. But at that moment, Xu Sa had already gone upstairs to drag Lu Weiyi over to handle the situation himself. After all, this now involved his own family matters, and others couldn’t say much.
“I’ll take all the supplies,” Lu Weiyi said as he stood by the broken window on the second floor. “You have five minutes. Get everyone out. What you’ve already taken is yours. No one touches the rest. Anyone still inside after five minutes will be treated as a thief and dealt with on the spot. Timer starts now.”
With that, he turned and headed back toward the stairs.
Xu Sa had been ready for a dramatic leap down with Lu Weiyi, but the guy just went back, calmly packed up the food, and slowly walked downstairs—asking Li Zhuang to reopen the sealed door for him, no less.
“Captain Song?”
“Get everyone over here.” Things had gone too far to back out now. Song Li had seen the strength of Only Team and knew that besides having more people, her team couldn’t compete. And numbers didn’t mean much against real power.
“Captain? What about our people…” someone behind Ji Jin asked.
“No need.” Ji Jin figured that even if they did have people still inside, Lu Weiyi wouldn’t touch them. After all, he didn’t just represent himself—he was part of the Ji family. Touching them would be like slapping himself in the face.
His stance made Song Li waver again. She started to wonder if she’d made a mistake. She couldn’t be sure if Lu Weiyi would give Ji Jin any supplies. So she turned to the only person she felt comfortable speaking with and said, “Brother Wu Yue, not gonna lie—I’ve got a grudge with Ji Jin. About the supplies…”
Wu Yue had already guessed from her “I’d rather get nothing than let him benefit” attitude. He replied with a smile, “Miss Song, don’t worry. No one coughs up what they’ve already swallowed.”
Ji Jin heard that and sneered, casting a glance at Song Li without saying anything. But Jiang Mo turned to his people and said, “Let’s go somewhere else.”
“Brother Jiang, we…”
“Let’s check out another spot.” Jiang Mo knew full well what was going on between them and didn’t expect anything here. If Lu Weiyi decided to give the supplies back, they’d get their share. If not, they might as well search elsewhere and try to make up for the loss.
Lu Weiyi strolled leisurely downstairs. By then, Antonio had already reminded him, “Five minutes are up.”
Lu Weiyi nodded. “Li Zhuang, Antonio, Liu Rui, Ning Yuan, Gu Qingji—stay here and guard. The rest, come with me to gather the supplies.”
“Got it!”
“Need a layout map? We can provide one,” Song Li offered eagerly.
“Sure.” That would save time scouting. Lu Weiyi reached out for it and, at the same time, pointed to a row of shops by the back door. “These three adjacent stores are yours.”
“Lu Weiyi, that’s the Ji family’s property—it’s not up to you to decide!” Ji Jin objected. The three shops might not have much, but this market was the Ji family’s last reserve. He wasn’t willing to let any of it go.
Lu Weiyi didn’t respond at all. Song Li handed over the hand-drawn map and said, “Thank you, Young Master Lu. I’ll have my people go in, then.” She signaled to the thirty or so women behind her, who immediately clicked on small flashlights they carried and entered in groups.
Only then did Lu Weiyi realize—there really wasn’t a single man among them.
