Chapter 90: Like Another World

But.

Dong Junwei glanced at Chen Mu: "The three people before..."

"That was just a twist of fate; I believe they can understand." Chen Mu's opinion was naturally to accept them, and he continued: "Recruiting new members will always involve risk, but if we do nothing, the risk will only grow."

"What does Tang Jing think?" Dong Junwei asked again.

Tang Jing didn't answer immediately, but turned her head: "He Ying, what's your opinion?"

Chen Mu saw Tang Jing asking He Ying for her opinion, obviously already prepared to accept these four.

Because He Ying's original situation was very similar to theirs—both wanted to steal food, were caught on the spot by Chen Mu, and would inevitably feel empathy for them.

He Ying, when asked about herself, could only say: "Recruiting these four people carries only one risk: whether they will resent Chen Mu after learning the truth. If Chen Mu has no objection, neither do I."

Although Qiming had already established various regulations, with so few people they were never actually used; even this major recruitment decision was made directly by the four of them—Chen Mu included—without Wei Dalei really participating.

Now that the four share the same opinion, it naturally became the final decision.

"First we need to test each of their abilities. If it's truly as they say, then these four's direct combat ability isn't strong, so there's no need to be overly wary; otherwise, we might really have to tie them up for a while."

"That Lu Liangliang has some skill." Chen Mu said.

"Huh?"

"When he resisted earlier, he showed a trick. If his ability is merely to increase an object's mass, then he must have trained before—perhaps in martial arts or swordsmanship."

"These days, extracurricular classes are all over the place; for a boy to learn some grappling isn't strange. Although many quit after entering high school due to studies, there's no guarantee that someone won't be genuinely interested."

Chen Mu had plenty of fighting experience since childhood, but he was entirely self-taught; he knew nothing about formal martial arts or combat, so that was just a guess.

He Ying, however, became interested: "When I have time, I'll test him."

"Test what?" Chen Mu didn't understand.

"I've actually studied sanda formally, been exposed to all the routines—you can tell at a glance whether someone is professionally trained."

"No wonder." Dong Junwei smiled and then asked: "So, should we not release Lu Liangliang for now?"

Chen Mu shook his head: "That's not necessary; the chance they harbor ill intent is small. Moreover, we might all become companions later, so there's no need to chill their hearts with suspicion over this. Besides, with He Ying and Lao Wei around, there's basically no problem—just a bit of extra vigilance for now will do."

Once everything was settled, Dong Junwei summoned everyone and announced the decision; nobody had any objections.

Lu Shanshan and the others were gathered together at this moment, glancing at each other, clearly worried about their fate.

Lu Liangliang slowly moved beside Lu Shanshan and whispered to his sister: "The leader is named Dong Junwei; she's quite famous at school, very proud and a bit conceited. Such people don't bully the weak—they yield to softness, not hardness. If they later decide against us, you should cling to her and beg desperately; there might still be a slim chance."

Lu Shanshan wasn't worried about this, saying: "Brother, these people aren't the thugs we ran into before; I don't think they'll do anything to us. Besides, I feel it's that guy who calls the shots."

Lu Liangliang objected: "What do you know? I've been watching Dong Junwei for so long—I know her well enough. She's a natural-born leader..."

"Huh? Brother, why are you paying attention to a senior in her third year of high school?" Lu Shanshan wondered, her curiosity tinged with a hint of gossip.

"At this point, what are you still thinking about?" Lu Liangliang was visibly annoyed.

At that moment, Cao Zishan, standing nearby, interrupted the siblings' conversation: "I think it's that senior sister who interrogated me who's in charge—she's so sharp that after just a few words from me, she seemed to have figured out everything about us."

"Her name is Tang Jing; she has excellent grades, other than that I'm not sure..."

Lu Liangliang was about to continue speaking when he noticed the whole group walking over here.

The moment to decide their fate had arrived.

Lu Liangliang looked solemn.

Dong Junwei walked in front; upon reaching the four, she glanced up and down and saw they were all sallow and thin, listless—clearly they'd had a rough time.

She then asked: "Are you hungry? Want to eat something first?"

Lu Liangliang, who had braced for the worst, was instantly stunned.

Although Lu Shanshan didn't believe her older brother's words, when the moment came she still rehearsed various pleas in her mind.

However, the four were dumbfounded by this sudden question.

Eat?

Is there really such a good thing?

After a busy night, once everything had settled, the sky outside was already faintly light.

Although it was much earlier than usual waking time, with this matter at hand we couldn't just go back to sleep.

Chen Mu and the others simply decided to move up breakfast.

Qiming's various rules and affairs, under Tang Jing's constant proposals, were gradually being perfected.

For example, the timing of three daily meals; water usage for bathing and related regulations; the watchtower duty roster; even each person's cleaning shift assignments—no detail was too small.

The usual breakfast time is 7:30 a. m.

But today, due to special circumstances, it was moved up to 6:00.

Du Jia Jia is increasingly interested in cooking, but with only those few ingredients each day she can't really show off; still, the good news is her cooking speed keeps improving—by now she's somewhat surpassing her teacher, to the point Chen Mu feels inferior.

Food is still fairly ample; adding four more mouths isn't a big problem.

For Chen Mu and company, the flatbread may not get sickening, but there's little surprise left; daily eating has become mere routine, just to replenish energy.

But for Lu Liangliang and the others, this meal completely overturned their imagination.

From the first day of the apocalypse, they've been troubled by food.

Even when life later went as smoothly as possible, they merely scraped together leftovers picked off the ground outside; they'd thought about going to the cafeteria, but each time the long distance and dangers on the way sapped their courage.

It must be said that in such disasters most people tend toward conservatism and passivity; Lu Liangliang and company are no exception. After losing their three strongest companions, the remaining people's situation grew ever harsher, and in the end they had to rely on eating the corpses of ants and insects to survive.

But now.

A steaming savory pancake was placed before them, filled with vegetables and meat, even accompanied by the familiar scent of sauce.

It felt like another world.