Chapter 167: Having a Conflict

"Ma Dajie, go on with your work; there should be even more people eating tonight." Liu Mu persuaded Ma Dajie to leave, and having no interest in continuing to talk to Madaha, she closed her eyes and feigned sleep.

Heitao A had already provided the optimal mining plan and locations; the rest depended on these people to carry out the construction. As for recruiting workers... the remaining Sea Soul team members were counting on being brought in one after another by Xiaoliuzi.

Another security squad leader, who looked like a trained fighter at first glance, was on duty and stopped the truckload of people Xiaoliuzi brought back at dusk.

Strange, too strange. Zheng Tian and his few companions arrived yesterday, and the mining team immediately changed its head.

Today, at least half of these people had a temperament different from ordinary folks; anyone who had trained could spot the difference at a glance. Even though they were dressed in rags and smelled just as bad as everyone else, the temperament emanating from their very bones simply could not be hidden.

Usually, they couldn't even recruit a few people in a week, so why did so many good prospects suddenly show up these past two days?

If he said there was no problem, then his thirty-some years of practicing family martial arts would have been in vain.

Qi Kui's squad and Xiaoliuzi's were easy to distinguish: one carried a Long Knife, the other was equipped with guns.

Of course, not everyone in Xiaoliuzi's team had a gun, and the amount of ammunition was very limited. If the two squads really clashed, it was hard to say who would suffer.

"Old Liu, you say these are workers? They don't look like it to me at all!"

Qi Kui's men surrounded the truck and demanded that everyone on board get down for inspection.

This attitude of his really annoyed Xiaoliuzi. He was afraid of the Pastor and Liu Mu, but would he really be afraid of Qi Kui, who was his equal in rank and didn't even have a gun?

"Brother, this isn't very kind of you. Recruiting is within my scope of business; I say they're fine, so they're fine. What's the meaning of you blocking me like this?"

"In a rush? I think they have big problems. Where did these people come from?"

"Where did they come from? Recruited. No, I said this is my business. Are you trying to stop me from making a fortune now?"

Xiaoliuzi also felt the people he found today were a bit too excellent, but thinking about the major changes happening at the construction site, if he didn't secure some real achievements for himself now, how could he gain benefits by Mu Liu's side in the future?

Indeed, he was in a rush. "Blocking someone's path to wealth is like killing their parents. Qi, don't be ungrateful!"

"It's my shift now. I say these people have problems, so they have problems. They must get down and let me inspect them thoroughly, otherwise, nobody is getting in today!"

The Sea Soul team members looked at each other in dismay. No, their disguises were almost identical to the Captain's; how could they be identified as having problems?

Could it be that the dirt couldn't suppress their handsomeness? A hint of pride flashed across their faces as they thought about how they hadn't disgraced Sea Soul Team One.

As a member of the team that didn't bring shame, one person poked their head out and shouted, "Can you actually work here or not? If not, send us back. Don't delay us brothers if we can't get food."

To trick these people into mining, Xiaoliuzi had made many big promises, so he immediately said he guaranteed they would find a place to eat.

Qi Kui actually pushed his thin colleague aside and leaned in to ask, "Where are you all from? Are you from the same organization?"

The team member who poked his head out was stunned by the member next to him, who retorted: "From Mei City. If we weren't together, could we have survived? You ask such questions, brother—you aren't some black-hearted gang of scammers, are you?"

Although Qi Kui was a bit petty, he especially liked to maintain a good reputation for himself and naturally didn't want to bear such an accusation. "Don't talk nonsense. Our Pacific Rim Energy Company is a legitimate entity. We just need to verify your identities. Take out your ID cards!"

"Laughable," a real vagrant in the truck started cursing. "People can barely survive, and you want documents. You promised to give out steamed buns when we arrived. If you don't keep your word, don't blame me for fighting you to the death."

Qi Kui lost face; being targeted by both outsiders and insiders, he wanted to lose his temper.

Just then, work started on the burned forest, and a worker saw Xiaoliuzi and ran over to urge him.

"Everyone is busy clearing the forest, Brother Liuzi. If you dawdle any longer, the new boss is going to get angry."

Mentioning the new boss made Qi Kui even more gloomy. Who could have guessed that woman was someone he had let in himself? He had even mocked her a few times back then; if he didn't let these people through now, he feared she would make things difficult for him later.

"Fine! Get in, hurry up! It's getting dark, and you don't even know how to move faster on the road!"

Qi Kui couldn't afford to offend Liu Mu right now, but he figured complaining a bit wouldn't get him targeted. "Xiaoliuzi, you're getting worse at doing things. Don't slack off just because you aren't working for Kamp anymore!"

He had to stir up trouble when he could; after all, they were competitors, and Xiaoliuzi was better at handling things than he was.

Xiaoliuzi wouldn't take this lying down either. "What are you saying, Brother Qi? The new boss already knows about you blocking us for an hour."

He wasn't stupid; he had sent his men to tell Liu Mu as soon as they arrived. Being eager to claim credit wasn't a bad thing.

With the two of them at odds like this, unless one side took the initiative, working together later would be full of trouble.

After Liu Mu heard about the incident at the gate from Zheng Tian, she only revealed a knowing smile and didn't say much else.

After dinner, Ma Dajie personally helped her find an empty plastic bucket that had contained cooking oil.

After trimming it, Liu Mu put in the plant ash from the forest burning earlier that day, mixed in half soil, planted the branch Xu Xiaofeng had given her when they left the Shengli Group, and watered it with a bottle of Great Master Flower nectar.

Ma Dajie accompanied her the whole time. "There's still such a pretty vine? Look at these leaves, so fresh and tender, just like the vegetables I used to grow."

"It's not edible; it's highly toxic," Liu Mu had to warn her, fearing they might actually pick two leaves and put them in the food one day.

"Highly toxic, sigh, everything is toxic these days." Ma Dajie placed a basket on the table in Liu Mu's dormitory. "The few things we eat were all tested by many people. In the town I was in before coming here, those who didn't die from the disaster and floods either starved to death or were poisoned..."

Ma Dajie seemed to love talking; seeing that Liu Mu wasn't going to sleep yet, she rambled on about the place where she and her son came from, a small town in the nearby mountains.

During the Ten-Day Burning, they escaped disaster in a deep cave in the mountains, but by now, fewer than ten people had survived.

Liu Mu didn't ask why they didn't go to the big cities; she wasn't that stupid.

After the Burning, there was fire everywhere, followed by Black Rain and mutated plants and animals. Before the people in the mountains got definite news, they didn't dare leave their town too far.

Later on, it was the mutated plants and animals; surviving until now was almost entirely due to luck.

After Ma Dajie left, Liu Mu placed the Great Master Flower pot by her bedside. The workers' dormitories were simple prefabricated houses, built in two stories.

They had arrived late, so except for her, Zheng Tian and the others were squeezed into rooms with five or six people.

The things in the room were also simple: a detachable iron-frame bed, with a three-piece bedding set laid on the hard board, forming the bed.

The only things left were a few hooks on the wall.

The crudeness was very post-apocalyptic, making Liu Mu feel a trace of a desire to help the poor; of course, she cut off this trace immediately.

The next morning, Liu Mu gave the area for road construction, the mechanical equipment entered, and the construction progress was rapid.

Xiaoliuzi, who was following along to earn credit, discovered one thing: why couldn't he see a single one of the people he had recruited?