Chapter 198: Breakfast Queue

The breakfast distributed by the Barrier is a bowl of porridge made from a mixture of various grains, along with a steamed bun the size of two fists.

Liu Mu took off her military jacket, unbuttoned the collar of the military green shirt underneath, and joined the queue to collect her breakfast.

Away from her military uniform, her entire demeanor was much more approachable, but she was still recognized by the people in line before long.

"Why are you queuing too? Oh my, please take mine."

It was an old acquaintance she encountered, which surprised Liu Mu; mainly, she hadn't expected this old man to still be alive.

"Director Xu, long time no see. How could I trouble you? I'll just queue myself."

This person was none other than Xu Xiaoxia's father, the former director of the paper mill, Xu Jianguo.

Xu Jianguo insisted on giving his already-collected breakfast to Liu Mu; this was a survival skill he had honed after years in officialdom—when meeting a superior, one must flatter them, and if the superior says no, it actually means yes, one just has to insist a few more times.

Liu Mu didn't buy into this; she knew exactly what kind of person this old guy was. After pushing the tray back, she directly changed the subject, "I haven't seen Xiaoxia in a long time. How have you both been lately?"

"Thank you for your concern, Chief. Even in your busy schedule, you still come down to experience our lives personally; your love for the people is truly deep!"

Regardless of anything else, saying a few nice things first would never be wrong. Then, Xu Jianguo added, "We've been well lately. Xiaoxia found a job as an Order Maintainer, she's over there wearing a Red Armband."

Xu Jianguo pointed a few rows away, where Xu Xiaoxia, with her hair cut into a reckless short style, was indeed standing there.

Looking from afar, her face was a bit thinner, but her spirit was actually quite good; she was busy arguing with a few men who wanted to cut the line.

I don't know who came up with the idea of the Red Armband, but it was quite eye-catching in the crowd.

Whether out of concern for her old father or because she sensed someone watching her from this side, Xu Xiaoxia looked up while coldly reprimanding those men.

When her gaze met Liu Mu's, she was shocked at first, then wanted to look away and pretend she hadn't seen her, only to find her old father chatting enthusiastically with someone.

Because of this, Xu "the clever" Xiaoxia simply leveraged the situation, pointed over here, and said a few words to those men; the previously difficult men instantly lost their fire and retreated to the back of the line to queue properly.

At this distance, Liu Mu could hear what they said if she focused, and although the surroundings were very noisy, she didn't even need to listen intently; she could easily guess.

"Dad, just go eat once you've got your food. Why are you blocking the way? It looks bad."

Xu Xiaoxia came over, habitually scolded her old father first, and then greeted Liu Mu, "Sister Mu, are you here to eat too?"

There was no previous warmth, but no excessive estrangement either; her volume was just right for the surrounding people to hear.

"Yes, have you eaten?"

When the Barrier was previously besieged by the Sky Viper, Xu Xiaoxia had come up with a terrible idea encouraged by Jiang Hanzhong. Liu Mu had heard a bit about it at the post-battle summary meeting; at the time, it seemed Xu Xiaoxia had been punished by being sent to the Salt Drying Field.

Jiang Hanzhong had fallen, but Liu Mu hadn't expected Xu Xiaoxia to climb back up so quickly.

Seeming to see the doubt in Liu Mu's eyes, Xu Xiaoxia's face gradually turned pale, but she was also very unconvinced; she was an Order Maintainer now through her own efforts.

"I'm taking care of Nannan and her family now. Don't worry, the Black Lizard didn't scare her before!"

Liu Mu knew this, of course; after all, Nannan had been carried on her shoulders to see the fighting on the front lines with her own eyes. "Oh, then you're quite impressive."

"You..." Xu Xiaoxia didn't know what Liu Mu was thinking, but she heard the sarcasm in those words and her eyes immediately turned red. "I've already apologized. I thought at the time that the one surnamed Jiang could protect the children's safety..."

She couldn't continue; although her utilitarianism was strong, it hadn't reached the point of extinguishing her conscience.

When the Adrenaline faded, she had also reflected, and was broken out in a cold sweat by her own stupidity.

If Yang Shuo had really adopted her suggestion back then and the children had died in the sewers, she would never have had peace for the rest of her life.

So now, Xu Xiaoxia did every kind of work; wherever people were needed, she was the first to sign up. She just wanted to earn more Contribution Value so she could support her father, take care of Nannan's family, and exchange any surplus for supplies to distribute to the children.

Seeing her about to cry, Liu Mu felt awkward and just turned her back to wipe her eyes hard, feeling somewhat helpless.

She had always believed that regardless of gender, having ambition was not a bad thing. Wanting to live better and stand in a higher position, as long as one didn't violate public order and morals, sell out the country, or betray humanity, it was all good.

Conversely, she despised those who lacked drive, who only knew how to sponge off their parents, relatives, and friends, and who lived on fantasies rather than actions.

Whether before the apocalypse or now, such people are, to put it nicely, lacking in progress, and to put it bluntly, parasites sucking the blood of those around them.

Even if they claim they don't need anyone's concern and don't need anyone to do anything for them, and even have a bit of aloofness, they cannot hide the laziness and rot beneath their skin.

Do something! No matter what environment you are in, do something!

Even if you cannot fight with full passion, don't let yourself rot in the shadows; you must always do something to make life better.

Still, as the saying goes, Liu Mu did have some appreciation for this girl, Xu Xiaoxia.

The line moved forward, and the people around looked over curiously. Some wanted to strike up a conversation with Liu Mu to bask in her glory, but they felt the atmosphere was off.

Some even speculated about their relationship; how did Xu Xiaoxia, the notorious "fierce woman" of District Three, suddenly turn into a whimpering mess?

"The matter is in the past," Liu Mu said, fearing Xu Xiaoxia would really lose her composure and cry—she was a bit afraid of people crying. "Since you've already completed the punishment given by the Barrier, just work hard in the future. No one will hold the past against you."

It isn't easy to live well right now, anyway.

Just as Liu Mu finished speaking, she suddenly frowned deeply, a look of obvious disgust flashing across her face.

This scene was caught by Xu Xiaoxia, who had just looked up while holding back her tears. She had just formed a misunderstanding, but immediately noticed Liu Mu staring in a certain direction.

Following her gaze, Xu Xiaoxia breathed a sigh of relief, "It seems he ran into a search team on his way back alone, and now he's latched onto that woman."

Without needing Liu Mu to ask, Xu Xiaoxia proactively spoke about the recent situation of that pretty boy, but didn't say much; judging by Liu Mu's previous desire to let Zhou Chunwang die out there, she knew her disgust for this person.

"He's got a tough life!" Liu Mu gritted her teeth, almost failing to hold back a curse.

Seeing her expression, Xu Xiaoxia suddenly chuckled, "The wicked live for a thousand years, I guess. Sister Mu, I'm going to work... why are they coming over?"

Over there, Zhou Chunwang said something to the woman beside him; the woman looked over here, and then the two of them left the queue and walked toward Liu Mu.

Xu Xiaoxia didn't leave either; she even tugged at her Red Armband, like a little soldier preparing for battle.

The line continued to move forward. Liu Mu had arrived late and was originally in the back, but by now they had moved to the crowded middle. There were other queues on both sides; it was unclear if it was because order was good to begin with, or because of Xu Xiaoxia, the Red Armband, but it didn't seem chaotic.

Of course, it only took one person to recognize Liu Mu for almost everyone around to know that a high-ranking official was queuing beside them; even if they didn't try to show off, at least they didn't dare to cause trouble.

After the two stopped talking, people took turns greeting Liu Mu. She maintained a smile, nodding in response to each one and occasionally offering a greeting, as if she hadn't seen the two people coming toward her at all.

Moving forward a bit more, Zhou Chunwang arrived with his benefactor.

Up close, one could see that this woman was very sturdy; everyone else was dressed ordinarily, some even having patches on their clothes.

But this sturdy woman was very high-profile, wearing a mink coat, a large gold chain around her thick neck, and even rings inlaid with gemstones on all ten fingers.

It was dizzying to look at, but Liu Mu wasn't surprised in the slightest; sure enough, without her interference, the wheels of history still pushed Zhou Chunwang to latch onto a rich woman.

Compared to their last meeting, Zhou Chunwang was rosy-cheeked and had returned to his fresh, pretty-boy appearance.

"I heard you are Zhou Chunwang's ex?"

The woman's attitude was arrogant, her thick lips on her broad face curling in mockery, "You don't look like much either. I thought you were some remarkable woman. Are you from District Three?"

Her words and attitude made the people around them nearly drop their jaws, and even Xu Xiaoxia, who wanted to speak up to help, didn't know how to open her mouth for a moment.

Clearly, this person did not know Liu Mu's identity, and Zhou Chunwang had not told the truth.

Liu Mu shook her head slightly, "I wouldn't say I'm from District Three, would I?"

This, how to put it, when the population was divided into districts, she really didn't know where she had been assigned, or if she had been assigned at all.

"Then what are you doing in our District Three cafeteria? Oh my, you aren't trying to freeload in our cafeteria, are you?"

The woman acted as if she had discovered a parasite among the people, instantly standing on the moral high ground, "Or is it that you don't even have a job? That's right, you used to be a trash collector. Did the landfill burn down, and now you're going around begging for handouts?"

Xu Xiaoxia had wanted to speak several times, but after hearing this, she silently stepped back half a pace, deciding to join the crowd who knew the truth in watching the show.

Not only did she watch the show, she also made a gesture to keep quiet, telling everyone not to reveal Liu Mu's identity.

Smiling without speaking is the basic quality of a spectator; the crowd shut their mouths in tacit agreement, and the surroundings instantly became unusually quiet.

Liu Mu thought about her actions today, and it seemed that was indeed the case, "Right, I don't have a job for the time being, and I wanted to come have some breakfast."