Chapter 25 Li Renyi's Clear Class Distinction
The speaker was hunched over, with triangular eyes and a sleazy demeanor. When Cheng Zhiyu looked over, he trembled, forcing a fierce expression: "What are you looking at? I'm telling the truth, gentlemen. This mother and daughter dared to steal supplies. I think they should be kicked out of the team!"
He didn't think Cheng Zhiyu was someone to be trifled with, and it seemed that Cheng Zhiyu's friends were also superhumans, so he didn't dare to mess with Cheng Zhiyu and only dared to bully Sister Hong and Yan Yan.
Although Yan Yan is young, she is a child in the apocalypse and cannot be as innocent as before, especially since the malice of the triangular-eyed man is so obvious.
Yan Yan's eyes instantly reddened, and she seemed somewhat at a loss.
Hong Jie was quite frightened and hurriedly tried to stand up to speak, but Cheng Zhiyu spoke first: "They didn't steal the team's supplies. The bread was given to me; it was my own stuff."
"Hey, I've got a short temper. What do you mean 'your own'? You joined us, so that stuff belongs to everyone!" A superhuman walked over, swearing and cursing, as he spoke his robber logic as if it were his own business. "Today I'll teach you a lesson and show you who's in charge."
Sister Hong looked at Cheng Zhiyu with concern: "Little Cheng..."
Cheng Zhiyu didn't speak, only coldly staring at the other party. The superpowered person who cursed was wind-type, but unfortunately the other party didn't seem to be very strong. He created a small wind blade and slashed at him.
Cheng Zhiyu narrowed his eyes, held down Xiao Hei, who was trying to rush out of his arms, and easily blocked the wind blade with a small iron cleaver.
Then, an ice blade slammed into the superhuman who attacked Cheng Zhiyu. Tian Qiao angrily said, "Damn it, how dare you bully Chengzi!"
The wind-type ability user couldn't dodge in time, and his arm was instantly slashed open by the ice blade.
Seeing this, Sister Hong breathed a sigh of relief and gently patted Yan Yan in her arms: "It's alright, Yan Yan, it's alright."
Li Renyi seemed to only then notice the conflict and quickly walked over, patting the furious Tian Qiao to calm him down: "Brother Tian, don't be impulsive. Let's talk this out. I'll find out what happened and I'll definitely get you justice."
After speaking, Li Renyi frowned and looked at the wind-type ability user with a somewhat angry expression: "What's going on?"
The wind-type ability user felt he hadn't done anything wrong, but since he couldn't defeat Tian Qiao, he could only suppress his anger.
Moreover, he didn't expect that his wind blade could be blocked so easily by Cheng Zhiyu. For a moment, he couldn't believe it. Cheng Zhiyu was clearly just an ordinary person. How could an ordinary person block an attack from a superhuman? The other party must have been lucky. That must be it!
The wind-type ability user comforted himself while confidently recounting what had just happened.
Cheng Zhiyu listened and sneered, "Mr. Li, I just found out that there is such a bandit clause in the team. If I had known this, I would not have joined. I would have been more comfortable on my own."
Tian Qiao raised her hands and feet in support: "Orange, if you want to leave, I don't care about this damn team."
When Li Renyi heard Tian Qiao say the same thing, he shook his head helplessly: "What's the rush, you two young men? There's no such rule in our team. To be honest, it's my fault for not managing my subordinates properly. Don't worry, I'll deal with this bully later!"
After saying that, he appealed to their emotions and reason: "Gentlemen, I know you are both capable and talented young people, but you know how difficult it is to be alone in this world. It's much more reassuring to be with everyone together."
Cheng Zhiyu's expression wavered slightly, but Li Renyi continued, "Don't worry, I guarantee this kind of thing will never happen again. Young man, will you give me some face?"
Cheng Zhiyu relented: "Alright, since Mr. Li has said so, then let's just let it go this time."
Tian Qiao listened to Cheng Zhiyu and did whatever he said.
Li Renyi smiled and said a few more words, then looked at the wind-type ability user and said seriously, "Go and receive your punishment yourself."
Cheng Zhiyu thought that even if a wind-type ability user listened to him, he would definitely be somewhat unwilling. Unexpectedly, the other party showed no reluctance on his face and obediently went to accept the punishment, as if whatever Li Renyi said was the truth.
Cheng Zhiyu raised an eyebrow. It seemed that Li Renyi had much stronger control over these people than he had thought. But... why were these people so obedient to him?
The man with the triangular eyes who had just complained clearly didn't expect the matter to be resolved so easily. When Cheng Zhiyu looked over, he shrank back and hid in another place, trying to minimize his presence.
Hongjie looked at Cheng Zhiyu, seemingly wanting to say something but hesitating. He pretended not to see her, squatted down, and said to Yan Yan with a smile, "Eat quickly."
Yan Yan looked at him with admiration and whispered, "Brother, you're amazing!"
After saying that, Yan Yan very sensibly and carefully handed the bread to Cheng Zhiyu, asking him to eat it. The latter shook his head: "No need, I just ate a lot and I'm not hungry yet. You can share it with your mother."
Upon hearing this, Yan Yan broke off half of her food and gave it to Sister Hong to eat, while she herself sipped it slowly, occasionally squinting her eyes, her face full of happiness.
Sister Hong felt a lump in her throat. Instead of eating, she said worriedly, "Xiao Cheng, you just offended Liu Qiang. I'm afraid he'll cause you trouble later."
Cheng Zhiyu didn't care at all. With Liu Qiang's limited abilities, what was there to worry about?
He couldn't figure out Liu Qiang's abilities and what level he was at in the team, so he asked Sister Hong. Sister Hong said, "Liu Qiang is quite capable and is highly regarded by Mr. Li, so I was just shocked. I didn't expect Mr. Li to punish him."
Cheng Zhiyu: "..." Is this considered impressive?
He was a little confused. Logically speaking, these people with superpowers should have been active outside all the time, and their abilities should have improved through training. They shouldn't be at this level.
No wonder Tian Qiao wanted to leave and Li Renyi tried so hard to keep her. If Liu Qiang's skill level is considered good, then Tian Qiao probably has no rivals in the team.
What puzzled Cheng Zhiyu was that Li Renyi seemed very surprised when he blocked the wind blade, but after the surprise, a hint of regret appeared in his eyes.
What is he regretting? Also, if Li Renyi so desperately wants strong people to join his team, why does he still not care about him?
Cheng Zhiyu didn't feel like he was being fawned over. In fact, he felt uncomfortable being fawned over. He just found it strange that Li Renyi's actions were so illogical. Could strength or weakness be determined solely by whether or not someone has superpowers?
I can't figure it out right now, so I'll just stop thinking about it for now. I'll find out eventually.
Soon the superhumans finished packing up their supplies and led everyone back to their temporary encampment. They were lucky; they only encountered a few scattered zombies along the way.
Cheng Zhiyu observed that Li Renyi showed no intention of making a move from beginning to end, wondering if the other party was used to giving orders or something else.
He didn't think there was anything wrong with it; after all, it's normal for the team leader not to take action easily.
As the superhumans used their abilities to fight the zombies, Cheng Zhiyu realized that Sister Hong wasn't exaggerating. Although these people had superpowers, their strength wasn't particularly high, and they seemed visibly afraid of the zombies, yet they had no choice but to fight them. Even though they were just ordinary zombies.
These scattered zombies can be dealt with, but what if they encounter a horde of zombies? Judging from their appearance, it's clear they can't escape unscathed.
Upon seeing the zombies, Tian Qiao also made a move, unleashing three ice blades simultaneously, causing the three zombies to fall to the ground.
Li Renyi's gaze burned even brighter as he showered Tian Qiao with praise, making Tian Qiao want to laugh. Was he really that impressive? Chengzi was far more impressive than him; oh, even Chengzi's dog was far more impressive. This Li Renyi was truly blind to his worth.
However, it seemed that Orange didn't want to reveal his strength, so he didn't say anything.
Xiao Hei had been huddled inside Cheng Zhiyu's clothes, feeling a bit suffocated, and now it poked its head out to get some air.
Several people were surprised when they saw him, after all, they had never seen such a weak animal since the apocalypse, and Cheng Zhiyu actually kept it.
Moreover, this little black dog looks chubby, and its whole body exudes an aura of never having gone hungry.
Xiao Hei twitched its ears, getting a little impatient with the stares. Cheng Zhiyu reached out and patted its ears to comfort it: "Want to go in?"
Cheng Zhiyu meant to go inside his coat.
Xiao Hei: "No, you just tried to shove me in there."
Cheng Zhiyu found it amusing. "Oh dear, is this some kind of posthumous debt?" he mumbled in a low voice, "It's not convenient right now."
Since it was inconvenient for Xiao Hei to take action, Cheng Zhiyu was very wary of this group.
Xiao Hei naturally knew this, but he just said it casually and didn't really hold a grudge.
Cheng Zhiyu lowered his head and kissed his ear, whispering, "Be good."
Xiao Hei: "..." He twitched his burning ears, feeling really... unaccustomed to Cheng Zhiyu kissing him every now and then.
"Brother, your puppy is so cute." Yan Yan stared longingly at the little black dog's head that had popped out.
Cheng Zhiyu smiled and said, "His name is Xiao Hei."
Yan Yan nodded and asked cautiously, "May I touch him?"
Xiao Hei warned Cheng Zhiyu: "If you dare let anyone else touch me, I... I'll break off all ties with you!"
Cheng Zhiyu suppressed a laugh. Xiao Hei's fierce words were just too cute. He said to Yan Yan regretfully, "No, Xiao Hei doesn't like others touching him."
Yan Yan could only nod, and very sensibly said nothing more. Sister Hong gently pinched her little face.
The group arrived at their temporary accommodation without incident. It was a two-story villa. Upon entering, Cheng Zhiyu found it to be very clean, almost spotless.
However, the superhumans walked in casually. Since they were out and about, their shoes were obviously not clean, leaving black footprints on the floor. The woman in her thirties was mopping the floor. She seemed used to this scene and silently continued mopping the floor after the superhumans went up to the second floor.
Li Renyi invited Tian Qiao upstairs, and Tian Qiao waved her hand: "Chengzi, hurry up and catch up."
A superhuman standing nearby said, "No, we're going upstairs to discuss important matters. Ordinary people aren't allowed upstairs."
Tian Qiao was unhappy and very annoyed by the other party's condescending attitude. So what if you're a superhuman? Chengzi can beat you to a pulp!
Cheng Zhiyu said, "Tian Qiao, you go ahead, I'll be downstairs."
Upon hearing this, Tian Qiao glanced at Cheng Zhiyu and reluctantly said, "Alright, Chengzi, call me if you need anything."
Cheng Zhiyu nodded.
Sister Hong said from the side, "Your friend is really good. Sigh, it reminds me of two brothers before, I heard they were blood brothers, they joined the team together, but after only a few days, the two brothers fell out. The older brother was an ordinary person. Once he went out with the team and had an accident and didn't come back. His younger brother didn't even ask him. It's really... this world."
Sister Hong sighed, "Those two brothers seemed to have a pretty good relationship when they came."
After listening to Sister Hong's words, Cheng Zhiyu frowned and asked, "Will anyone die in the team?"
Sister Hong nodded: "Some ordinary people went out with them, but when they came back, there were fewer of them. According to the superhumans, they were too weak and were bitten to death by zombies."
Cheng Zhiyu then asked, "What about the superhumans? Are there any who didn't make it back?"
Sister Hong said, "Yes, but very few. I've only encountered two or three since I joined the team."
Sister Hong joined the team the longest; two or three of them are indeed very few.
Cheng Zhiyu thought about the strength of this group of superhumans, and how strange it was that their mortality rate was so low.
Hongjie said something else: "This location was chosen by Mr. Li, who said that it would be easier to manage everyone if they lived together."
Small villas are larger than other houses and can accommodate more people.
Cheng Zhiyu has seen fifteen superhumans in the team so far, and there are some he hasn't seen yet. He estimates that there are about twenty in total.
There were more ordinary people, more than fifty in total. Although the villas were spacious, they only had about ten rooms in total, so it was impossible for everyone to have a room.
Most ordinary people live outside, in the living room or hallway. Some have a blanket, but most don't even have a blanket and just sleep on the floor.
It's alright during the day, it's hot, and lying on the ground is actually cooler. But at night, the wind is biting cold, and lying on the ground can freeze you to death.
So they sleep during the day and don't sleep at night, and even if they want to sleep at night, they can't.
Tian Qiao came downstairs and told Cheng Zhiyu that Li Renyi had assigned him a room and that Cheng Zhiyu could sleep with him.
Cheng Zhiyu shook his head and refused: "I'll sleep outside. There are rules for every team."
Tian Qiao scratched his head and said in a low voice, "I feel that Li Renyi is not very good to ordinary people. Although in this world, it is already good to be able to take in ordinary people, I still feel that something is strange."
Cheng Zhiyu looked at Tian Qiao in surprise. His childhood friend was usually oblivious to things, so why would he sense something was off...
"What did they say when you went upstairs?" Cheng Zhiyu asked.
Tian Qiao said, "They didn't say much, just that some other teams that went to find supplies came back and said that five ordinary people had died..."
Li Renyi frowned and looked at the leader of the group: "What happened? How come so many people died?"
The leader also had his reasons: "We've had terrible luck today. We ran into a zombie that could breathe fire, and the brothers couldn't handle it, so..."
Li Renyi glanced at the other party, and the leader remained silent. He slowly took a drag of his cigarette: "The zombies are also evolving. You've been too complacent. If this continues, it won't work."
The leader was listening, but clearly not taking it all in: "What's there to be afraid of? It's not like we have no other options..."
"Alright!" Li Renyi frowned and said, "Disperse. Take stock of the supplies and distribute today's share."
Tian Qiao listened to the whole thing but couldn't hear anything wrong, yet he still felt something was off.
“Li Renyi is asking those ordinary people, seemingly showing concern, but in reality, it seems he doesn’t care about their lives at all, right?” Cheng Zhiyu immediately pointed out what Tian Qiao felt was wrong.
Tian Qiao nodded: "Yes, that's right. It's really strange, considering I had a pretty good impression of Li Renyi."
Cheng Zhiyu: "Not every person in a position can empathize with those in lower positions, so it's normal for him to be like this."
Although Tian Qiao knew this, she could no longer fully trust Li Renyi and was somewhat wary of him.
Seeing his reaction, Cheng Zhiyu felt slightly relieved. He always felt that Li Renyi was a bit strange for managing his superhuman subordinates so well. It was a good thing that Tian Qiao was wary.
"By the way, where are you sleeping tonight?" Tian Qiao asked.
Cheng Zhiyu: "Downstairs floor, hmm, let's find a corridor, where there are fewer people."
Tian Qiao frowned: "I'm really fed up. This arrangement is too unreasonable. Superpowered individuals should either have a room by themselves or two people in a room. If superpowered individuals are going to squeeze in, then ordinary people shouldn't have to sleep on the floor. I have to talk to Li Renyi about this."
Cheng Zhiyu tried to call him back, but Tian Qiao ran off so fast that he had no choice but to let him go.
He wanted to find a corridor, but it was already occupied. The people sleeping there immediately became wary when they saw him coming, so Cheng Zhiyu had to find another place.
In the end, Sister Hong saw that he couldn't find a place and said that he could sleep in her room: "I was lucky enough to get a spot in the elevator lobby. The elevator is out of service now, so very few people pass by here. It's quite spacious and quiet here. If you don't mind, you can sleep here."
Cheng Zhiyu hesitated, mainly because it wasn't convenient for Sister Hong and her daughter to be together.
Sister Hong laughed and said, "It's nothing. I'm over forty. Besides, no one treats this place as their own room. They even sleep in their clothes. What's there to be afraid of? ... Some people have been wanting to kick us out for a long time, since my daughter and I sleep here."
After hearing the last part, Cheng Zhiyu finally nodded and said, "Thank you, Sister Hong."
Sister Hong smiled and shook her head: "It's nothing."
The elevator lobby was indeed quite spacious. Sister Hong and Yan Yan slept on the left side, while Cheng Zhiyu slept on the other side with Xiao Hei in his arms, with an empty space between them.
Suddenly there was a commotion outside. The red-faced man quickly got up and said to Cheng Zhiyu, "The supplies are being distributed. Go and get them quickly."
Cheng Zhiyu had plenty of food in his space, but he definitely couldn't take it out in the current situation. Besides, it would be too strange not to take the supplies, which would inevitably arouse suspicion. So he got up and took Xiao Hei out.
When Xiao Hei heard that it could collect supplies, it immediately stood on Cheng Zhiyu's shoulder to take a look. However, after taking one look outside, it immediately lost interest and crawled into Cheng Zhiyu's clothes.
Cheng Zhiyu patted him: "What's wrong?"
Xiao Hei: "I don't want to eat that."
Cheng Zhiyu glanced at the two superhumans distributing items: a small bag of biscuits and a cup of water, just enough for a few sips.
He guessed that there wouldn't be much to give to ordinary people, but he didn't expect it to be so little.
There were plenty of things in the small supermarket today, so it shouldn't have been this little bit.
Cheng Zhiyu frowned slightly, then was nudged: "What are you standing there for? Don't delay me from getting my things."
Xiao Hei emerged and glared at the person who pushed Cheng Zhiyu.
Cheng Zhiyu patted Xiao Hei reassuringly: "It's okay, he was just really hungry."
How could anyone not be starving when they're given such a small amount of food at once?
Cheng Zhiyu sighed slightly, but still went over and took the biscuits. As for water, since he didn't have a cup, they didn't give him any.
After he left, the two superhumans whispered to each other, "I saw he still had something in his bag. He took it from the convenience store today. The boss wouldn't let us take it. Really... I wonder how long he can hold out!"
Tian Qiao came downstairs dejectedly and said to Cheng Zhiyu, "Mr. Li said that it is particularly hard for people with superpowers to go on missions. Moreover, people with superpowers have more sensitive senses than ordinary people, and they can't sleep well when they sleep with other people, which can easily affect the next day's exploration."
"Reclaiming wasteland" means going to a new place to find supplies.
Cheng Zhiyu was not surprised by this result; how could Li Renyi easily change the arrangements that had been in place all along?
What those in power like to do most is to maintain checks and balances, rather than to please everyone.
What can ordinary people do if they're dissatisfied? Although they can't even sleep in their rooms here and can only eat a little, at least they won't be kicked out. If they were alone outside, they would only face certain death.
"Hey, Tian Qiao, come up for dinner." A superhuman called out to Tian Qiao.
Tian Qiao agreed, finished speaking with Cheng Zhiyu, and went upstairs.
He saw that ordinary people were only given biscuits and water, and thought that there weren't many supplies. But he found several large boxes upstairs. Li Renyi said, "There aren't many supplies this time, half a box per person."
Tian Qiao frowned. It's true that people with superpowers eat more than ordinary people, but this difference is too big, isn't it? Thinking about how Cheng Zhiyu only had a small bag of cookies in his hand just now, he felt very uncomfortable.
But this time he was smarter. He knew that asking Li Renyi was pointless; the other party would always have countless reasons to shut him up. It was better to take the things and share them with Chengzi later.
Seeing Tian Qiao quickly grab the items, Li Renyi's eyes revealed a hint of understanding. He figured that Tian Qiao must have already seen what the ordinary people downstairs had received... Different classes, especially those of higher classes, will unconsciously defend their own class; that's human nature.
Li Renyi walked up to Tian Qiao and gave him a kind smile: "Little Tian, you just joined the team today, are you getting used to it yet? Come and chat with me."
Tian Qiao thought to himself that he wanted to share some food with Chengzi, but when Li Renyi said that, he unconsciously wanted to hear what the other person had to say, so he nodded.
Downstairs, Cheng Zhiyu saw that Xiao Hei resolutely refused to eat the cookies, so he had no choice but to eat them himself.
The food in his space was inconvenient to take out, not even to a separate place, because it smelled too good. He thought for a moment and remembered that he had stored some dried meat. The dried meat didn't smell very good, so he took it out and gave it to Xiao Hei when no one was around.
Hongjie's elevator room was convenient for him to take something out to eat. The other party and Yan Yan were not always there. When they were not there, Cheng Zhiyu took out some jerky and fed it to Xiao Hei: "Eat up, you haven't eaten much all day. Let me feel it... your little belly is flat."
Xiao Hei tried to dodge but failed, and angrily said, "I don't have a belly!"
"Okay, okay, no, eat quickly." Cheng Zhiyu urged him.
Seeing that he was also eating jerky, Xiao Hei started eating too. His teeth were no longer as weak as before; now his bite force was strong enough to eat all the jerky.
Little Black ate a large piece of jerky, drank some water, and wagged its tail: "I want to eat potato chips."
Cheng Zhiyu: "No, the potato chips have a strong smell, they'll be noticed."
Xiao Hei: Okay, he didn't say he absolutely had to eat it anyway.
As it was getting dark, Cheng Zhiyu took out some cabbage and ate some with Xiao Hei, which quickly warmed them up.
Cheng Zhiyu glanced at the ground, but couldn't help getting up to wipe it before laying down a blanket near the door.
Xiao Hei frowned, a human-like expression appearing on his face. Seeing this, Cheng Zhiyu pinched his ear: "It's okay, you can lie in my arms."
Xiao Hei didn't lie down in his arms, but instead lay down next to Cheng Zhiyu.
Cheng Zhiyu raised an eyebrow slightly, smiled, and closed his eyes.
It's cold at night, so ordinary people sleeping outside don't usually go to sleep. There are always some small noises outside, but they don't dare to make any loud noises for fear of disturbing the superhumans sleeping in their rooms.
Cheng Zhiyu wasn't sleeping soundly either; he was just resting with his eyes closed. Just then, the door was opened quietly.
It wasn't Sister Hong. He opened his eyes and met a pair of astonished eyes. The other person tried to run, but Cheng Zhiyu was faster. He immediately grabbed the other person's arm, pressed the person against the wall, and said coldly, "What are you doing?"
The person who came was the one with triangular eyes who had complained earlier today, and Cheng Zhiyu's hands unconsciously became a little heavier.
The triangular-eyed man grimaced in pain, but dared not shout for fear of disturbing the sleeping superhumans. His expression was both comical and ridiculous: "I...I went to the wrong place!"
Cheng Zhiyu said quietly, "You don't need your eyes anymore, how about I gouge them out for you?"
The man with the triangular eyes twitched and quickly said, "No...no! Mr. Li set a rule that we can't hurt people!"
Cheng Zhiyu laughed: "You think I'm afraid?"
Thinking about how easily the other party had blocked Liu Qiang's wind blade earlier that day, the man with the triangular eyes became somewhat frightened. He felt that Cheng Zhiyu wasn't just bluffing him, so he quickly begged for mercy: "I was wrong, Grandpa! I was wrong!"
Cheng Zhiyu was disgusted and let go of her hand.
The man with the triangular eyes didn't dare to run away. He knelt down in front of Cheng Zhiyu and kept kowtowing: "Grandpa! I really didn't mean to do anything. I was just too hungry and thought I'd come and see that woman... no, Sister Hong, is there anything to eat here? The mother and daughter aren't here. I didn't expect you to be here. I really didn't mean to do anything. I was just too hungry!"
If this were the first time he had met someone with triangular eyes, Cheng Zhiyu might have believed him. But what the other person did today made him realize that he was definitely not a kind person. He might be really hungry, but he was definitely not forced to steal things, as he claimed.
"You didn't intend to do anything? You took someone else's food, and that person went hungry, or even starved to death. Isn't that wrong?" Cheng Zhiyu said.
The man with the triangular eyes finally gave in. He was a man who could bend and stretch at will. With snot and tears streaming down his face, he said, "I was wrong, I was wrong, Dad, what will it take for you to let me go?"
Before Cheng Zhiyu could speak, the man with the triangular eyes quickly added, "I...I know something. If I tell you, can you let me go?"
Cheng Zhiyu did not agree, saying, "That depends on what you mean."
The man with the triangular eyes looked around and lowered his voice, saying, "I fawned over those superhumans just to survive. Am I just born to be the kind of person who flatters the powerful and belittles the weak?"
Cheng Zhiyu's eyes seemed to say: Isn't that right?
He said, "Survive? Can't I survive without pleasing them?"
The man with the triangular eyes seemed frightened, his body trembling slightly. He said, "I've noticed that anyone who offends those superhumans will soon be taken along on missions, and when they return, that person... doesn't come back. I suspect they were taken away..."
As he spoke, the man with the triangular eyes made a throat-slitting gesture.
Cheng Zhiyu frowned slightly and said with his triangular eyes, "You offended Liu Qiang before, you'll definitely be retaliated against, so be careful."
Cheng Zhiyu didn't speak. Should he retaliate? He was more worried that the other party would do nothing.
He asked the man with the triangular eyes, "Where is Sister Hong now?"
The man with the triangular eyes honestly replied, "I saw her cleaning the stairs."
Cheng Zhiyu: "Oh, then you can clean it for her."
Triangular Eyes was somewhat unwilling. He had always liked to shirk his responsibilities and push his own work onto others, so he was unwilling to do work for others.
Cheng Zhiyu looked at his hand with a quiet gaze.
Triangular Eyes felt a chill on his wrist, his body trembled, and he quickly said, "I'll go right away, I'll go right away."
The other person stumbled away, and Cheng Zhiyu closed the elevator door.
Suddenly, he felt a chill in his hands. Looking down, he saw Xiao Hei carefully washing his hands clean with water. Cheng Zhiyu smiled and said, "Wow, Xiao Hei is so thoughtful."
Xiao Hei said with disgust, "It's filthy."
He could smell the stench emanating from Triangle Eyes even from a distance.
It's actually normal. There's a water shortage right now, and it's so hot during the day that it's inevitable to sweat. If you can't take a shower, you'll smell bad.
Let alone ordinary people, even those with superpowers don't smell very pleasant.
A moment later, Sister Hong returned, holding Yan Yan's hand, her expression somewhat surprised: "Xiao Cheng, Shunzi just insisted on doing chores for me, which scared me all day. It only just dawned on me that it was because of you, wasn't it?"
Cheng Zhiyu realized that the triangular-eyed person must be a straight.
He recounted what had just happened. After listening, Sister Hong's emotions remained unchanged, as if she had already gotten used to it: "That's just how Shunzi is. He loves to steal and cheat. Several times before, he was beaten up and covered in bruises for stealing other people's things. If it weren't for Mr. Li setting rules that prevented those people from beating him too badly, he probably would have been beaten to death long ago."
"Shunzi also likes to curry favor with the superhumans." Of course, the ordinary people here try their best to curry favor with the superhumans in order to make their lives better, but Shunzi's way of currying favor is like today, staring at the ordinary people, which has led to the fact that no one pays attention to him now, and they even hate him to the core.
Shunzi is the kind of person who likes to bully the weak and fear the strong. He doesn't dare to steal other people's things for fear of being beaten. But seeing that Sister Hong is an orphan and a widow, he wants to steal from her.
Sister Hong: "I'm not stupid. Why would I just leave things here? Besides, there are only so many items, there's not even enough to keep them all."
As she spoke, Sister Hong looked at Yan Yan, who was so thin she was practically skin and bones, with a sad expression. She whispered, "Do you blame your mother?"
Yan Yan gently shook her head and rubbed against him affectionately.
Sister Hong turned her head away, concealing the tears in her eyes.
Cheng Zhiyu watched, feeling a pang of reluctance, but he couldn't easily expose his system, so he could only sigh softly.
Just by looking at his expression, Xiao Hei knew what he was thinking. Really... He stretched out his paw and gently patted Cheng Zhiyu's hand.
Cheng Zhiyu smiled, composed himself, and took out a thick coat from his bag. He had brought this coat with him just in case, but hadn't worn it because of the red and white cabbages. He gave the coat to Sister Hong: "Sister Hong, it's cold at night, let Yan Yan wear it."
Sister Hong glanced at Cheng Zhiyu's thin jacket and quickly refused, "No, you're wearing such thin clothes yourself, I can't accept it."
“I’m not that afraid of the cold. Yan Yan is still young, so don’t let her get cold.” Cheng Zhiyu said, pretending to be angry. “If you refuse again, I’ll get angry. Besides, if it weren’t for you, I would have to sleep in the lobby outside. The smell outside is not good.”
As Cheng Zhiyu spoke, he wrinkled his nose.
Sister Hong was amused by his expression and laughed: "You... I really don't know what to say."
Since the apocalypse, she has witnessed too much malice while raising Yan Yan, but she has rarely seen someone like Cheng Zhiyu who still possesses a pure and innocent heart.
She finally gave in and offered the clothes to Yan Yan, but Yan Yan shook her head: "Mommy wears them, I'll snuggle into Mommy's arms, that way we'll both be warm!"
Sister Hong praised, "Wow, Yan Yan is so smart."
Yan Yan giggled and snuggled into Hong Jie's arms: "Mommy's arms are so warm!"
Cheng Zhiyu watched the mother and son from the side, and a smile involuntarily appeared on his face.
The next morning, Tian Qiao brought some food downstairs and said to Cheng Zhiyu, "I was planning to come find you yesterday, but the boss talked to me a lot, and then I went back to my room to sleep. I don't know how I forgot about it."
Cheng Zhiyu raised an eyebrow: "Boss?"
Tian Qiao scratched his head: "Huh? Maybe it's because I've heard people around me call him that so often that I subconsciously started calling him 'boss' too."
Cheng Zhiyu looked at Tian Qiao and felt something was off.
"Hey, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and eat. I have plenty of food here. The boss is really good to us and has given us a lot of things." Tian Qiao said, praising Li Renyi.
Cheng Zhiyu frowned, realizing what was strange. Yesterday, Tian Qiao had told him that Li Renyi was hypocritical and treated ordinary people and people with superpowers with completely different standards, but today he accepted it so easily and didn't feel anything was wrong.
He said, "Really? I received a small bag of cookies yesterday."
"Really? Then you'd better eat more." Tian Qiao quickly opened a bag of instant noodles and urged Cheng Zhiyu to eat some.
Cheng Zhiyu took it but didn't eat it: "They gave you so much stuff, but only gave me a bag of cookies. Is it just because you have superpowers?"
“Superpowered people have big appetites.” Tian Qiao felt something was off, but his subconscious told him that there was nothing wrong with it. He looked conflicted: “Maybe the boss just overlooked it for a moment. I’ll talk to him about it later.”
Cheng Zhiyu: "..."
"Orange, why are you making that face? It's giving me the creeps." Tian Qiao rubbed her arms.
Cheng Zhiyu: "Do you remember where we were going?"
"I remember, I want to go home. I want to go back to see my parents." After saying that, Tian Qiao added, "But I don't know why, I'm a little reluctant to leave here, and I'm reluctant to leave Boss."
Cheng Zhiyu thought the first half wasn't too outrageous, but after hearing the second half: "..."
If Tian Qiao stays any longer, she'll probably forget even her parents and hometown.
Xiao Hei, watching from the side, said, "That guy surnamed Li can manipulate people's hearts and make others unconsciously support and be loyal to him."
Cheng Zhiyu frowned: "Is this Li Renyi's special ability? What should we do about Tian Qiao's current situation?"
Xiao Hei: "It's okay, just wake him up."
Then, Xiao Hei jumped onto Tian Qiao's shoulder and slapped him on the head with its paw. Tian Qiao yelled, "Brother Hei! Why did you hit me?"
Xiao Hei had already jumped back into Cheng Zhiyu's arms and calmly yawned.
"Ouch...it hurts so much! Orange, you have to stand up for me!" Tian Qiao rubbed her head, looking extremely aggrieved.
Cheng Zhiyu stroked Xiao Hei's fur and said, "You can ask your boss to stand up for you."
Tian Qiao: "? What boss?"
Cheng Zhiyu: "Li Renyi, you were calling him 'boss' so happily just now, you didn't even want to go home to find your parents."
Tian Qiao's eyes widened: "Chengzi, are you kidding me?"
Cheng Zhiyu didn't speak. Tian Qiao could tell from his expression that he wasn't joking. He felt a chill run down his spine and hugged himself tightly. "Am I going to become Li Renyi's lackey too? No, no, Chengzi, let's go."
Cheng Zhiyu shook his head: "Do you think Li Renyi will let us go so easily?"
While they could certainly leave directly, these ordinary people would likely face certain death if they followed Li Renyi and his group.
"What should we do? Li Renyi's superpower is too scary!" Tian Qiao rubbed the goosebumps on her arms.
Xiao Hei said, "It's okay. Let him see Li Renyi once, then he'll come to me, and I'll wake him up."
Cheng Zhiyu coughed lightly and relayed Xiao Hei's words to Tian Qiao.
Tian Qiao touched her still slightly aching head and said pitifully, "Isn't there any other way?"
Cheng Zhiyu: "No."
Tian Qiao is now absolutely disgusting to Li Renyi.
Cheng Zhiyu reminded him, "Don't let Li Renyi find out that something's wrong. Didn't you acknowledge him as your boss? Keep pretending."
Tian Qiao looked like she'd just eaten something, and said weakly, "Okay..."
He complained, "Why didn't he try to brainwash you? Is it because you have a strong will?"
Cheng Zhiyu also found it strange. Those people with superpowers believed in Li Renyi and obeyed him unconditionally, but ordinary people were not like that. They feared people with superpowers, and were grateful to them for taking them in. They respected Li Renyi, but they did not act like people with superpowers.
In a flash, he realized something and exchanged a glance with Xiao Hei: "Because Li Renyi's superpower can only target superpowered individuals."
No wonder Li Renyi showed a regretful expression when he discovered that Cheng Zhiyu's strength was not to be underestimated even without superpowers.
It's a pity that the other party isn't a superhuman and can't be affected by the other party's superpowers.
"Wow, that makes sense now!" Tian Qiao clapped his hands. No wonder the distinction between ordinary people and superhumans is so clear here. He used to think it was based on strength, since superhumans are indeed stronger than ordinary people. But now it seems that's not the case.
“Those with superpowers can be his loyal followers, but ordinary people are just expendable resources in this team,” Cheng Zhiyu stated, revealing a harsh truth.
Tian Qiao felt a chill run down her spine after hearing this: "What do you mean?"
“Every time they go out, they take ordinary people with them, saying that ordinary people can also do things, but they don’t let ordinary people have any contact with supplies.” Based on the information he had collected throughout yesterday, Cheng Zhiyu guessed a fact: “According to Sister Hong, she has been in this team for more than a month. In just over a month, these superhumans must have participated in dozens of battles, but their strength is so weak. It’s too abnormal.”
Tian Qiao: "Huh? They sent ordinary people to fight zombies? No wonder so many people die every time we go out!"
Cheng Zhiyu closed his eyes briefly: "Pretty much, except they were feeding ordinary people to the zombies."
Feeding zombies? Tian Qiao couldn't help but shudder when she heard this.
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