Chapter 23: Meeting an Acquaintance

The three of them were each busy, and they hadn't had much time to meet these past few days. With half an hour left before departure, it was the perfect time for the three of them to gather and check on each other's situation.

"Zai Zai, have you not been eating or sleeping well? Look at how thin you've gotten. Is the wound on your arm still not healed?"

Luo Sanlin was covered in dirt and grime, his camouflage uniform coated in a layer of dust. "Mom, rescue work isn't exactly a vacation; it's just physically draining, I haven't lost weight. As for the wound..."

"Who knows if it's a vacation or not? You go out, they say it's a rescue, but who knows who you're actually rescuing? Hmph, you eat your fill and still complain about not sleeping well, while we don't even have breakfast anymore."

Because relief supplies were being consumed too quickly, the Base had started issuing food only twice a day from today, which naturally drew a lot of resentment. The Luo couple both helped in logistics, so some people claimed it was the two of them who suggested cutting a meal. People's hearts were very fragile at this time; they would suspect anything at the slightest rumor. Not daring to target the rescue military, they targeted them instead.

Luo Mu saw that the other party was a woman in her thirties with semi-permanent makeup on her face; she couldn't tell if her eyelids were made up or just covered in soot, they were pitch black.

"Dear, you're wrong to say that. The Rescue Team is on dangerous missions outside. Whether it's my son or the other young soldiers, shouldn't they be eating a bit more?"

She wasn't a soft-tempered person; back when she was working, she had a fiery personality, and after retiring, she actively organized activities for the elderly. Naturally, she wouldn't hold back now.

"Yo, so it's my fault? You go out with a truck full of food and come back empty-handed, calling it a rescue. Where are the people? How come I haven't seen a single person?"

Luo Sanlin grabbed his mother. He was truly exhausted and didn't want to deal with someone else's unreasonable pestering. "This comrade, if you have questions, you can go to the Base office to ask. The food we take out has distribution tasks. Please do not smear everyone's work!"

In peaceful times, there were those people—especially those with a little money in their pockets who thought they were hot stuff—who always felt that teachers, doctors, police, and even soldiers were obligated to serve them, obligated to solve their problems, and obligated to protect their safety, even if they were courting death themselves.

Not only that, if these people had complaints, they had the right to make a scene and file a grievance. If someone helped them, not only would they not feel the slightest gratitude, but on the contrary, they would interrogate you on why you didn't prevent the danger beforehand, why you didn't come sooner, and why your attitude during the rescue process wasn't good—why you didn't coddle them. Were you trying to get benefits out of rescuing them?!

They were skilled at moral kidnapping, yet they had no morals themselves. Mention "serving the people," and they truly treated others as public servants—the kind that had to serve them at any moment.

"Oh my, the military is certainly trustworthy, it's just that some people don't know how much food they bring home every day, raising their own family to be plump and fat, while the rest of us are suffering, starving until our chests touch our backs. Everyone, I'm not afraid of offending anyone, but today I want to remind you: the supplies belong to everyone, so keep a close eye on them!"

"You!" Already exhausted, Luo Sanlin's face turned ashen. He suddenly felt that his day-and-night labor was actually for people like this—it wasn't worth it!

"What about me?" Seeing his expression, the woman quickly hid behind her boyfriend. "Eh, he's getting anxious! Look, he's feeling guilty, and now that he's been exposed, he wants to hit someone? I'm telling you, fighting is forbidden inside the Base. If you dare to make a move, we'll go report you to the leaders!"

Her boyfriend wasn't tall, and the exposed arm had colorful tattoos. His muscles were developed, but his appearance was sinister. "Luo, I've tolerated your family for a long time. Aren't you an activist? Then give up your family's position; it just so happens that everyone could use a proper job and have a full meal every day!"

"Lin Zai!" Luo Mu's father was the most even-tempered in the family. Seeing his son and wife unable to hold back, he could only pull one with each hand. "Young man, my son applied to carry out missions voluntarily. Even now, the Base office is recruiting personnel for outside missions. If you really want to, just go sign up yourself. Volunteers are the same; whoever is willing can go sign up. There's no need to make sarcastic remarks in front of us. Is it a mistake for us to want to do a little more?"

A large part of Luo Sanlin's old-leader temperament was influenced by his father. Although Comrade Old Luo was amiable, his words were firm and resonant; he wasn't a coward.

Seeing them so calm, the couple opposite them realized they hadn't actually gone to sign up—they had been afraid of the danger and exhaustion outside, where the work was thankless.

Seeing them look guilty, Luo Sanlin stopped being angry. "Sign up yourself. As long as you are in good health and willing to work three shifts on missions, you can be selected. What, you don't sign up but say others have problems? That's not right, is it?"

"Don't be arrogant. Who knows if your family has some connections to get benefits?" The woman still wouldn't give up. On one hand, she couldn't stand this family, and on the other, she actually wanted to squeeze her boyfriend into the military so that she could be prioritized for protection and definitely take advantage when supplies were distributed.

But her boyfriend wasn't proactive. Whenever she brought it up, he would say he was a rich second generation—why should he do such dangerous work?

"My husband is the third young master of the Fuwang Group. When my father-in-law sends people over, we'll have you kicked out of the rescue Base!"

Once these words were out, they didn't go over well. Someone in the crowd immediately mocked, "Yo, a rich second generation, so why are you starving just like the rest of us?"

"Who's starving?"

At this moment, a loud female voice came from the edge of the crowd. Compared to everyone else who was still hungry and lacked even extra water, the tone was truly loud, drawing everyone to look back.

Looking was one thing, but they saw an animal the size of a small elephant standing no more than two or three meters away, baring its teeth and drooling at them.

The crowd immediately screamed and fled. There were those with poor psychological resilience who sat down on the ground right then and there, unable to even crawl away.

Luo Sanlin was also startled, but his first reaction was to shield his parents behind him. Just as he was about to demand an explanation, he saw the familiar giant dog head lower, revealing a familiar spiky-haired head.

"Liu Mu, how did you get here? No, is this Niu Boyi?!"

Luo Sanlin's knowledge structure was on the verge of collapse. He had seen the person and the dog just two days ago; how had they become something beyond his understanding now?

"Yeah, Brother Sanlin. Uncle, Aunt, long time no see. How is your health?" Liu Mu waved and greeted them with a smile.

"Is this... Xiao Mu?" Luo Father blocked his wife behind him and pushed aside his son, who was half a head taller than him. "Let me see, don't block the way."

"Hey, it's me, Uncle. I'll explain in detail later," Liu Mu, like Niu Boyi, had hearing two or three times better than before. When passing through the checkpoint on the street just now, she had heard their family being targeted, so she immediately said she was looking for Luo Sanlin, which was why a patrolling soldier had followed them in.

"I say, why are you two fake rich second generations so shameless? When others buy cars, you nag and whine; when others actively participate in post-disaster rescue work, you still blabber on. With this energy, why don't you do something useful?"

Liu Mu's mouth had been honed by walking through streets and alleys, entering villages and towns. When she praised you, she could praise you into the Jade Emperor; when she scolded people, she could make them go see their ancestors. "It's the end of the world, haven't you seen how many people have died in the towns outside? If rescue is so easy, why don't you go do it? All you have is a mouth; aren't you afraid of getting shot for spreading rumors? Take a good look, animals have started Mutation, and all you've evolved are two stinking mouths. You don't do any work and rely entirely on spraying; why don't you go replace the sprinkler trucks to purify the air?"

Liu Mu pointed at the couple and scolded them like a machine gun. These two were actually the same terrible people she and Xu Xiaoxia had encountered when buying the car. One had to say, pests really do live for a thousand years.

With her sitting on the giant dog, pointing at people's noses and scolding them majestically, the crowd's fear of Niu Boyi actually lessened a bit, and many people stayed to watch the spectacle.

Luo Sanlin didn't speak. His family of three could be proactive in anything, but they were truly lacking in the ability to scold people, especially when encountering others who would pester them and splash mud on them. Reasoning didn't work, and they couldn't resort to violence, so in the end, they just ended up angry themselves.

Today was different; Liu Mu was simply their mouthpiece.

The couple feared the giant dog, and they feared even more that Liu Mu would drive the dog over to bite them while she scolded. Muttering guiltily, they ran into the mall entrance.

"Don't run, I'm not done yet," Liu Mu wasn't satisfied and also meant to vent some emotions. "No guts, right? I'm telling you, the rats outside the city are as big as dogs. If you have the guts, go out there!"

Once these words were out, Luo Sanlin and the onlookers all changed expressions.

"Xiao Mu, that's enough, don't lower yourself to their level," Luo Sanlin didn't step forward; that giant dog also made his legs go weak.

Seeing that the people were gone, Liu Mu pointed behind her. "Niu Boyi picked someone up in the ruins, his leg is broken. Brother Sanlin, where is the doctor?"

Luo Sanlin gritted his teeth. "You get down first!"

Half an hour later, Li Gang was pushed into the temporary operating room by the Base doctors. Xu Xiaofeng took Zhang Xiaoyong to unload the supplies to be traded, and Liu Mu was taken to the highest Base leader's office.

Luo Sanlin went with her, and Niu Boyi was taken away by Xu Xiaofeng, leaving no opportunity for covetous people to approach.

Liu Mu told the Base leaders what she had seen outside the city over the past two days. Of course, she didn't mention the recovery of steel ingots or her own Mutation, but she did mention the "Giant Sun."

"It was deep underground, pitch black and hard to see. Niu Boyi found it first. I don't know what happened, but it started having spasms and foaming at the mouth. I thought it was poisoned and dying, but then it suddenly started growing wildly like dough. In one night, it became as big as it is now."

The person in charge of this rescue was named Yang Shuo, a soldier in his early forties with sharp, thick eyebrows and a resolute gaze.

Hearing this, Yang Shuo roughly understood that Liu Mu was saying her dog grew larger because of the stone that fell from the sky. Oh, this little girl even gave it a name—"Giant Sun." One had to say, before this thing disintegrated, it was so big and so bright, occupying half the sky; it really did look like a deadly sun.

"You said the rats nearby also underwent Mutation? Are they as big as your giant dog?"