Outside the shelter, the night was as dark as ink, with only a few dim stars dotting the sky. Ning Yu leaned wearily against the wall, the matter of Grandpa Sun weighing heavily on his heart like a boulder. He had thought that by establishing the shelter and gathering companions, he could find a peaceful place in this apocalyptic world, but reality had repeatedly dealt him heavy blows.

He dragged his heavy steps to the bucket, intending to refill it. However, the moment he opened the lid, a pungent stench assaulted his nostrils, making his stomach churn. The water, no longer clear as before, was murky and reeked of a nauseating odor.

"The water...is it contaminated?" Ning Yu's heart sank, and an ominous premonition surged into his mind. In this post-apocalyptic world where resources are extremely scarce, water is the source of life. If the water is contaminated, it means they will lose their hope of survival.

Who did it? The first thing that came to Ning Yu's mind was Captain Chen's fake smiling face. A few days ago, Captain Chen had subtly inquired about the location of their water source. At the time, Ning Yu didn't pay much attention, taking it as just ordinary chat. Now, thinking about it, he probably had ulterior motives.

Anger burned fiercely in Ning Yu's chest. He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white from the force. He knew that trying to negotiate with a tiger would only lead to his own demise. He had to find a new water source as soon as possible, or he and his companions would be in dire straits.

He slung his tool bag over his shoulder, picked up his weapon, and walked out of the shelter without looking back. The night wind was biting, making his clothes flutter loudly, and it also dispelled the last glimmer of hope in his heart.

As we walked along, a suffocating stench filled the air, as if something was rotting. The trees along the roadside were withered and bare, their branches bare, as if silently protesting something.

Based on his memory, Ning Yu headed towards a valley he remembered. It was a secluded place, rarely visited by people, which he had discovered by chance, and perhaps he could find a new water source there.

I don't know how long I walked, but a dense forest appeared ahead. The forest was silent, except for the sound of dry branches snapping underfoot, which echoed in the night air and sounded particularly jarring.

Ning Yu slowed his pace, gripped his weapon tightly, and cautiously surveyed his surroundings. Just then, a series of light footsteps approached from not far away, growing closer and clearer…

He held his breath, hid behind a thick tree trunk, and stared sharply in the direction from which the sound came.

The next second, several figures emerged from the woods. By the faint starlight, Ning Yu immediately recognized the person walking at the front—it was Captain Chen!

Captain Chen seemed to have spotted Ning Yu as well. A cold smile crept across his lips as he winked at the people behind him before striding towards Ning Yu, his tone laced with undisguised provocation: "Hey, isn't this Boss Ning? What brings you here all alone so late?"

Captain Chen and his group surrounded Ning Yu. They all wore malicious smiles and held crude but threatening weapons, including rusty iron bars, sharpened wooden sticks, and even a chipped kitchen knife.

"Captain Chen, we've always kept to ourselves, what do you mean by this?" Ning Yu suppressed his anger and asked coldly. He knew in his heart that Captain Chen was deliberately looking for trouble, trying to take the opportunity to seize his team and supplies.

"What do you mean? Boss Ning, that's a hurtful thing to say." Captain Chen's smile became even more insincere. "We were just worried about you. It's so late, and you're out in the middle of nowhere all by yourself. It's so dangerous!"

"Stop talking nonsense, did you do it?" Ning Yu didn't want to beat around the bush with Captain Chen and asked directly, "Did you pollute the water source in our shelter?"

"Boss Ning, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want!" Captain Chen's smile vanished, his face turning grim. "You say I polluted your water source, what evidence do you have? Don't make baseless accusations!"

“Evidence? I ask you, before you came to our shelter, did you ever see such a strong stench around here?” Ning Yu pressed on, his eyes fixed intently on Captain Chen’s eyes, trying to find a flaw in his expression.

Captain Chen's eyes flickered, avoiding Ning Yu's gaze, and he stammered, "This... how would I know? Maybe you contaminated it by accident, who knows?"

"Lies!" Ning Yu roared. "Let me tell you, Captain Chen, don't think I don't know what you're up to! You just want to annex us and plunder our supplies, don't you? Let me tell you, you won't succeed!"

"Hmph, you won't listen to reason, so you'll have to suffer the consequences!" Seeing that his plan had been exposed, Captain Chen stopped pretending and his face instantly turned ferocious. "Brothers, get him! Whoever captures Ning Yu will be richly rewarded!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding team members swarmed forward, brandishing their weapons, and pounced on Ning Yu.

Ning Yu was prepared. He quickly drew the dagger from his waist, nimbly dodging the attacks while wielding the dagger to force back the approaching enemies.

However, outnumbered and outmatched, Ning Yu was quickly overwhelmed and began to lose ground. Several cuts appeared on his body, staining his clothes with blood, but he gritted his teeth and persevered, his eyes filled with determination.

"Ning Yu, you'd better just surrender! If you hand over all the supplies, I might consider sparing your life!" Captain Chen shouted triumphantly from behind the crowd, as if victory was just around the corner.

Ning Yu ignored Captain Chen's shouts. He gripped his dagger tightly, his gaze sweeping over the enemy before him. A raging fire burned in his heart—a fire of anger, hatred, and above all, the will to survive!

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