Chapter Thirty-Six: The Captain of the Star Isle Squad Is Truly Wonderful

Li Wei glanced fearfully at the blade pressed against his neck and swallowed with lingering fear, only relaxing when the knife finally moved a safe distance away. Still, it looked terrifying.

“It’s not safe here,” Jiang Miaomiao said. “Let’s split up and each try to take as many supplies as we can. Once we’ve grabbed enough, we’ll head straight for the warehouse.” Recalling the furious howls of zombies outside, she guessed their numbers weren’t few and hurriedly instructed everyone to move quickly.

At the mention of gathering supplies, Li Wei’s willingness evaporated. He stepped in front of Jiang Miaomiao to block her way. “These are supplies we found. Isn’t it a bit disrespectful for you to take them without saying a word?”

Jiang Miaomiao frowned, surprised that Li Wei actually considered this place his own.

“Maybe you found this place, but in the end, these things belong to the school. We’re all students here, and we have the right to use these supplies.” Jiang Miaomiao had no desire to argue, but Li Wei was thick-skinned and adamant, blocking the way and refusing to let them take anything.

Xia Tian tugged quietly at Li Wei’s sleeve from behind. “Boss, maybe we shouldn’t do this. Besides, they’re good friends of Qin Sheng. She saved us once, remember?”

At the mention of Qin Sheng, Li Wei’s temper flared. He snapped, “If not for her, I’d still be safe in my shop. Now my store’s blown up and I’m forced to run for my life. She only saved me because she owed me.”

Xia Tian hadn’t expected such ungrateful words. Staying in the store was never a long-term plan, and blaming Qin Sheng for everything seemed unfair. She wanted to argue, but Li Wei cut her off.

“Don’t bring that up again. All I care about now is surviving. I couldn’t care less about the rest.”

“But—”

Jiang Miaomiao and Lin Xing had heard the whole exchange and could roughly guess Li Wei’s true intentions. Jiang Miaomiao and Lin Xing exchanged a glance and nodded.

“If you let us take supplies,” Lin Xing offered, “we’ll take you to the warehouse. Everyone’s there, and it’s much safer.”

Li Wei immediately stepped aside. “You said it—you have to guarantee my safety.”

Jiang Miaomiao rolled her eyes but nodded, then rallied everyone to grab as many supplies as they could without overburdening themselves.

Li Wei was not to be outdone. He snatched a bag and stuffed it full of food, quickly filling a gigantic sack that he could barely lift by himself.

Jiang Miaomiao glanced back at him, frowning at the sight of that enormous bag—it was just as she suspected: Li Wei would be a handful.

“Boss, we can’t carry this much,” Xia Tian protested, now laden with several bags and staggering under the weight.

Li Wei ignored her complaints and kept piling on more, acting as if he intended to clear out the place.

“Hey! If you take that much, we won’t be able to move,” Lin Xing called out.

Li Wei paused, responding, “You promised to protect me. You never said I couldn’t take as much as I wanted. You’ll have to protect my food, too.”

“You—!” Lin Xing started to draw his knife to threaten Li Wei, but Jiang Miaomiao stopped him.

“Scaring him is pointless,” Jiang Miaomiao whispered. “People die for wealth, and birds for food—especially now. Desperate people are unpredictable.”

Lin Xing squeezed the handle of his knife, glared at Li Wei, and went off to gather his own supplies.

Seeing Lin Xing back down, Li Wei grinned and called to Xia Tian to help carry even more, oblivious to her growing exhaustion.

“Boss, I really can’t carry any more. I can barely move,” Xia Tian pleaded, her voice tinged with resentment.

Li Wei shot her a look and threatened, “Don’t forget who saved your life on the first day of all this, and who brought you here these past days. Without me, you’d be zombie food by now.”

Xia Tian bit her lip, swallowing her frustration. It was true—she owed Li Wei. But ever since that first day, she’d been treated like a servant, with no say of her own. She even suspected Li Wei had rescued her just so he could exploit her later.

What a despicable capitalist—scheming even at the end of the world.

Xia Tian kept silent, swallowing her grievances, letting Li Wei pile what he wanted onto her.

“We’re about ready, let’s head back,” Jiang Miaomiao called out once her backpack was full.

“Ready here,” came the responses.

Jiang Miaomiao strapped on her pack and addressed the group, “Let’s move out.”

“Wait, give me a sec—I need to grab some water.” Li Wei rushed to grab several bottles of water and drinks, dumping them into Xia Tian’s arms. “Now we’re set.”

Jiang Miaomiao eyed the overburdened Xia Tian, then looked at Li Wei, who had only a small backpack, and frowned in confusion.

“Why is Xia Tian carrying so much? If we’re attacked, she won’t be able to run,” she asked Li Wei.

Without glancing at Xia Tian, Li Wei replied impatiently, “She’ll be fine. She’s the strongest employee at my shop. This is nothing for her. Aren’t we leaving? Let’s go.”

He hurried to the front of the group, careful not to walk right at the head, instead positioning himself behind Chu Xingyu, and deliberately avoiding Lin Xing.

Chu Xingyu, knowing all too well what sort of person this convenience store manager was, just curled his lips in a silent smirk.

“Captain Xingyu, I’m counting on you to look after me. I can share some of my stuff with you,” Li Wei said, even pointing out where Xia Tian was in the group.

Chu Xingyu smiled and nodded. Li Wei, thinking his plan had worked, grinned smugly, oblivious to the coldness in Chu Xingyu’s eyes.

“Let me help you with some of that,” Jiang Miaomiao said, taking two bags from Xia Tian and relieving her burden.

“Thank you,” Xia Tian said bitterly, her expression holding a subtle coldness and disappointment that few could detect.

Jiang Miaomiao smiled back, assured her it was nothing, and moved to the front of the group, handing one of the bags to Lin Xing on her way.

Xia Tian looked down at the four or five bundles still on her, plus five or six large bottles of water in her arms, and let out a self-mocking laugh.

“Let’s move. As always, stay safe,” Jiang Miaomiao said as she took the lead and opened the warehouse door.

After a few minutes of careful observation, the group finally set out.

“Captain Xingyu, did you run into any zombies on your way here?” Li Wei asked anxiously.

Chu Xingyu smiled obediently. “We did, but it’s no problem, Uncle Li. We can handle them.”

At this, Li Wei finally relaxed. “I knew you young people were reliable—not like that Qin Sheng, who caused me so much trouble. I heard she’s dead now. Serves her right.”

Knowing Lin Xing couldn’t stand to hear Qin Sheng’s name, Li Wei waited until Lin Xing and Jiang Miaomiao had taken the lead, then quietly complained to Chu Xingyu, oblivious to the shift in Chu Xingyu’s expression and the way his grip tightened on his knife.

Just thinking of Qin Sheng made Li Wei angry. He’d saved Xia Tian on the first day, yet she still disobeyed him, while she trusted Qin Sheng completely for doing the same thing. Anyone would be upset.

Thinking of Xia Tian, Li Wei glanced back at her at the rear of the group and called out in annoyance, “Xia Tian, watch your step! Don’t drop my stuff.”

The others disdained Li Wei’s exploitation of a young woman, but in the apocalypse, everyone was just trying to survive. Best not to get involved.

Chu Xingyu also glanced at Xia Tian and, seeing her staggering under the weight, frowned and walked over without hesitation.

“Xia Tian’s a fool. I saved her on the first day, and now she insists on repaying me—” Li Wei was mid-sentence when he noticed Chu Xingyu had gone to help Xia Tian. He stomped his foot and hurried after.

“I’ll take some of that,” Chu Xingyu said, taking the water bottles from Xia Tian’s arms.

Xia Tian rubbed her sore wrists and managed a shy smile. “Thank you. You’re just as kind as Qin Sheng.”

“It’s nothing,” Chu Xingyu replied gently.

“Captain Xingyu, I told you not to bother with her. Xia Tian’s strong—she can manage just fine,” Li Wei protested, worried that if Chu Xingyu was carrying supplies, he wouldn’t be able to protect him if zombies attacked. He shot Xia Tian a fierce glare.

Xia Tian swallowed nervously and said to Chu Xingyu, “Your job is to protect people. I can manage these on my own…”

Li Wei nodded emphatically in agreement.

But before they could react, Chu Xingyu had already handed the water bottles to Li Wei himself.

“If my job is to protect people, then Uncle Li, you’ll just have to carry your own things.”