Chapter 162: Dealing with Yun Lu
His attempt to avoid confrontation only emboldened Yun Lu. After their previous argument, when Zhuang Mingxu didn’t pursue the issue and Lu Weiyi, unaware of what had happened, didn’t stand up for him either, Yun Lu—egged on by Ji Lin’s support—became convinced that she was in the right. She directly blocked Zhuang Mingxu and said, “Mr. Zhuang, this was your responsibility. Shouldn’t you be held accountable?”
“Ac-count-a-ble?” Zhuang Mingxu stopped his wheelchair, enunciating each word as he turned to face her. “And what status or identity gives you the right to demand accountability from me?”
“I…” Yun Lu opened her mouth and paused before saying, “I’m a member of the team. Of course I have the right.”
“A team… member?” Zhuang Mingxu sneered. “Then congratulations. You’re not one anymore.” He turned to Bai Miao. “Take her out of Greenfield Residential Area. No one is to let her back in without my permission.”
He had tried to let it go, but someone always had to push it too far—treating him like an easy target.
“Got it.” Bai Miao stepped forward to grab Yun Lu, who panicked and struggled free, shouting, “You can’t do this! Lu Weiyi brought me back here. What gives you the right to kick me out? Aren’t you afraid he’ll come back and settle the score with you?”
“Then I’ll wait,” Zhuang Mingxu said coolly. Even seated in a wheelchair, his straight back carried an air of natural authority.
“Let go of me! Don’t forget everything you eat and use was given by Weiyi. How dare you treat me like this—” Yun Lu couldn’t move Zhuang Mingxu, so she cried out at Bai Miao, who was dragging her away.
“What’s going on? Let go of my daughter! What happened?” Guan Tong rushed out upon hearing Yun Lu’s crying. She saw her daughter being dragged toward the gate and quickly stepped in. Someone nearby quietly filled her in on the situation, and Guan Tong immediately turned and knelt before Zhuang Mingxu.
“Mr. Zhuang, Lulu is still young and immature. She misspoke. Please don’t hold it against her. She’s just a girl—who knows what could happen to her outside the community. Please let her go just this once. I promise there won’t be a next time.”
Guan Tong was very aware of the power dynamics. Whether or not Lu Weiyi would defend Yun Lu later, for now he was away with his group. It was obvious that Zhuang Mingxu had the final say here. With one word, he could not only throw them out of the residential area but even out of the entire base.
Zhuang Mingxu did hold some concern for Lu Weiyi and felt there was no need to stoop to the level of a barely grown girl. He was about to let it go when Yun Lu suddenly cried out again:
“Mom, don’t beg him! He’s the one shamelessly clinging to Weiyi. He’s incompetent and still insists on being in charge of the team. And now no one can criticize him! Others might fear you, but I don’t… If you treat me like this today, just wait until Weiyi comes back—”
“You heard that, right? If you want to go with her, feel free. You’ll never step foot in here again.” Zhuang Mingxu turned coldly to Guan Tong. Without waiting for a reply, he added, “Throw her out.”
“Mr. Zhuang… Mr. Zhuang…” Guan Tong tried to plead again, but Zhuang Mingxu pushed his wheelchair and left.
Yun Lu, crying and sobbing, was dragged to the gate and thrown out by Bai Miao. The people who had been secretly watching the drama quickly turned back to their own tasks, pretending like nothing had happened.
*
With people from the Iron Roses group watching, Lu Weiyi didn’t store all the supplies into his spatial space. Driving four trucks while going out to hunt zombies was becoming a bit of a burden.
“Why don’t we just go back? We can ask around and see if there are more places like that,” Antonio said in a low voice as he ate breakfast, nodding toward the direction of the small marketplace.
Most of the supplies that could be sealed away were important. If they could get there first…
The others exchanged glances, visibly tempted.
“Does anyone know these kinds of places? Could there be a large number of zombies guarding them?” Li Zhuang remembered the supplies and weapons stored in a hospital by Li Ji in Dongshan County—back then, they had been guarded by a horde of zombies.
“Usually not,” Wu Yue, the most knowledgeable about the base, replied. “When the zombie outbreak first began, the more foresighted big families used external forces to seal off four sides of certain locations, creating a setup that would require many people to break into. Unless there were zombies already inside, the supplies left there were just naturally stored—essentially pre-claimed without the need to go through so much trouble. But now, with zombies rampant, certain places in the city center are indeed hard to enter.”
“No one tries to steal from each other?” Antonio was skeptical that they followed the rules so obediently.
“Of course some do,” Wu Yue laughed. “But there are only a few families with the power to do that. If you take someone else’s, they’ll take yours. Everyone tacitly agrees not to rob each other. As for smaller teams, they can’t afford to provoke trouble, so they don’t.”
“If we take it, people will easily suspect us. There’s already talk in the base that Lu Weiyi’s spatial ability is huge—if supplies go missing without a trace, we’ll be the first suspects,” Wu Yue shrugged.
“There’s no evidence,” Antonio said, completely unconcerned, smiling slyly. “Besides, if we sneak in quietly, by the time they realize the supplies are gone, who knows how much time will have passed. Right?” He looked at Lu Weiyi.
Lu Weiyi thought for a moment and said, “Let’s go back and ask Zhuang Mingxu.” They were often outside, but if trouble arose, it would likely be the people remaining at the base who’d suffer. He had to be cautious.
Driving the supply trucks, they didn’t move too fast, especially since they intentionally hunted zombies they encountered along the way. By the time the group returned, it was nearly 10 a.m.
Lu Weiyi had taken out a bunch of materials from the collapses inside his space over the past few days. They needed to be sorted. He decided to drive one of the trucks himself and, along with three others, took the supply vehicle to the Greenfield Community.
That morning, Zhuang Mingxu had just driven Yun Lu out. Not long after, Lu Weiyi arrived. The bystanders couldn’t help but perk up with interest. Bai Miao was so surprised he forgot to greet him.
“Go organize these,” Lu Weiyi parked the truck near the greenhouse and said to Bai Miao.
“Oh, okay.” Bai Miao called a few people to unload the truck and walked over. After a brief hesitation, she asked, “Why are you back so early this time?”
“There were some matters,” Lu Weiyi replied and then asked, “Where’s Zhuang Mingxu?”
“Brother Mingxu…” Bai Miao assumed Lu Weiyi had come to confront Yun Lu and was about to say something in his defense when he noticed Zhuang Mingxu already at the door of his office, wheeling himself out and looking toward them.
Lu Weiyi turned and walked toward Zhuang Mingxu, not noticing Bai Miao’s hesitation.
“Why is he sleeping here?” Lu Weiyi walked over and saw little Zhuang Ai Yi wrapped tightly in blankets, sleeping on his usual play mat.
“It got cold last night. We came out to harvest potatoes and brought him along. He’s still not fully awake,” Zhuang Mingxu explained softly.
“You should’ve set up a bed,” Lu Weiyi said, then pulled a single bed out of his spatial space, placed it in a corner by the wall, laid a straw mat on it, and gently carried Zhuang Ai Yi over.
“Little Daddy~” Zhuang Ai Yi stirred awake, snuggling into Lu Weiyi’s arms with a sleepy, dependent look.
Lu Weiyi’s heart softened immediately, and even his voice gentled. “Still sleepy? Hungry?”
“Go wash up now. It’s already past breakfast time,” Zhuang Mingxu said, feeling pleased at the growing bond between the two but not wanting to spoil the child too much.
“Mhm,” Zhuang Ai Yi nodded and let Lu Weiyi set him on the ground. “I’ll go find Uncle Xiao Bai.”
“No need, let’s go back to the villa,” Zhuang Mingxu suddenly remembered Yun Lu, who had been kicked out earlier, and didn’t want Lu Weiyi to gain the upper hand by learning anything prematurely. He decided they should leave now and talk things through calmly later.
Lu Weiyi had never interfered with matters in the Greenfield Community. After Zhuang Mingxu gave some instructions to Bai Miao, the three of them drove back to the Longmen Villa.
As they approached the villa, Zhuang Mingxu immediately saw Yun Lu waiting at the gate. His heart skipped a beat. He was just about to say something when he saw Lu Weiyi, seemingly unfazed, scan his face at the gate’s recognition system and drive right past, as if Yun Lu didn’t even exist.
“Weiyi…”
“Our potatoes were all harvested late last night,” Zhuang Mingxu quickly spoke to Lu Weiyi, trying to divert the conversation as he noticed Yun Lu’s emotional reaction upon recognizing the car.
“Why so late?” Lu Weiyi asked as he rolled down the window. At the same time, he scanned his face for the gate and accepted the entry log from the guard, swiftly jotting down all three names.
“It suddenly got cold last night. I was afraid they’d freeze,” Zhuang Mingxu explained, then sighed, “But it was still a bit too late. More than half of them were ruined—probably no good for planting anymore.”
“Then just eat them,” Lu Weiyi said flatly.
“…Aren’t you worried?” Zhuang Mingxu remembered Yun Lu’s accusations and asked, “What if everything freezes? Or the others on the team have objections?”
“Why would you think that?” As the gate opened, Lu Weiyi started the car and glanced at Zhuang Mingxu in the backseat. “The supplies our team has—just for ourselves—could last us years.”
“As for the others, I gathered most of the supplies. Who’s going to complain?” Lu Weiyi had always been the main source of labor and materials for the team. His contribution alone surpassed everyone else combined. Since he didn’t fuss about it, and the rest weren’t petty either, things had remained peaceful.
Zhuang Mingxu lowered his gaze and said nothing, then asked why they had come back early this time.
Lu Weiyi gave a brief explanation of the situation to Zhuang Mingxu. Once they returned to the villa, Zhuang Ai Yi was the first to get out of the car through the back door.
Lu Weiyi walked over, unfolded the wheelchair, and helped support Zhuang Mingxu down, continuing, “The others in the team want to secretly take the supplies sealed off by other families. I came back to ask for your opinion.”
“Those few trucks?” Zhuang Mingxu sat back in the wheelchair and asked.
“Yes,” Lu Weiyi replied, pushing him toward the house.
Speaking of the Ji family, Zhuang Mingxu probed, “This batch of supplies is probably the Ji family’s last. Aren’t you going to return them?”
“Things on the street belong to whoever gets their hands on them. There’s no rule that says they belong to anyone named Ji,” Lu Weiyi said.
“Exactly! If they say it’s theirs, then it’s theirs? Then I say all the supplies in Qingyuan City are mine,” Xu Sa, sitting in the living room, chimed in at just the right moment. “How can you give away a duck that’s already in your mouth, right, little Lu?”
Finally at least the girl is gone