Chapter 24: Let Me Set Up a Stall

Liu Mu immediately corrected them seriously, "How could that be? It was only as big as a regular little mutt; I, Niu Boyi, am one of a kind. Uncle Leader, you tell me, if I took two puffs of that stone, would I turn into a giant?"

As for the extroverted temperament of this spiky-haired young girl, the several military officers in the office had truly witnessed it.

Within the rescue Base, as long as they walked out with straight faces, there were few who even dared to come up and strike up a conversation. Yet, this girl came in and shook hands with everyone, and then casually pulled out a pack of cigarettes to pass around. When they declined, Liu Mu wasn't embarrassed at all, simply placing them in front of them and saying to smoke them when they were done with work and needed to relax.

Luo Sanlin felt embarrassed for her; although his old classmate used to pass out cigarettes whenever they met, especially when asking for favors, at this moment, facing several real leaders, he silently gave Liu Mu a thumbs-up in his heart... Fine, fine, you're asking for a favor again, right!?

Yang Shuo and the others were visibly relieved. They had only learned about the biological Mutation from a conference call with the General Command this morning, and they hadn't expected a witness to arrive in less than half a day.

"Comrade Liu Mu, the information you provided is very timely and important. On behalf of the Base, I thank you." Yang Shuo thanked Liu Mu solemnly and asked if she needed anything, saying the Base could provide supplies as a reward.

"How could I take your disaster relief supplies?" Liu Mu said very magnanimously, but the next sentence was: "However, I can trade things with you. To be honest with you, Uncle, my eldest sister's family used to run a breakfast shop and stored a lot of food. It will spoil if left sitting, so I was thinking of trading it with everyone for other things."

"Trading things?" Yang Shuo exchanged glances with another officer beside him before asking cautiously, "Do you need medicine?"

"No, no, no," Liu Mu shook her head like a rattle, "We don't want medicine. Actually, I haven't decided exactly what to trade for. How about this, Uncle? I'll just set up a stall in front of the Base, and whatever I can trade for, I'll take."

"This..." Yang Shuo now felt this girl was a bit dim-witted. She clearly had a shrewd, mercenary look when she first walked in, so why didn't she want any of the most scarce items in the apocalypse?

"Survivors might not have many useful things. Are you sure you don't want to trade with us?"

"No, you only have food, water, and medicine, and we still have some at home. It's so hot, it'll spoil if left too long," Liu Mu made a timely display of honest simplicity, "With so many people, maybe I'll receive some good things? Uncle, I'm actually a scrap collector myself. Your Base needs some commercial activity, right? Just let me set up a stall outside. If I find any supplies, I'll come here to trade with everyone too. If you're worried, you can ask Brother Sanlin; I'm very honest in business, and my reputation in our area was excellent."

Everyone's gaze shifted to Luo Sanlin. His residential complex had the most survivors in the city, and his ability to organize and protect everyone was plain for all to see, so when he didn't apply himself, the military took the initiative to ask if he wanted to join. When his parents expressed a desire to work, they were also assigned suitable jobs.

Of course, they told the public that they had signed up voluntarily; one couldn't think too well of human nature at a time like this.

Luo Sanlin stood straight. Although he had always had his reservations about how Liu Mu did things, in reality, this girl was truly conscientious when doing business, so naturally, he had to put in a good word for her now.

"Liu Mu has been in the scrap business since graduation; she is fair to young and old alike, and she isn't afraid of hardship. Everyone in the surrounding villages thinks highly of her; she is a reliable person."

Not bringing up gender, not discriminating against education, focusing on being a hardworking and capable comrade—who wouldn't like such a person?

Plus, Liu Mu had refused the Base's reward right off the bat and indicated she would actively look for supplies outside to trade with the people here. This point struck a chord with the leaders; they had started organizing teams to go out for rescues precisely so survivors would recognize reality sooner and establish a sense of self-reliance.

After all, rescue was only for a moment, not a lifetime; in the end, whether they could survive in such an environment depended on themselves.

Yang Shuo immediately gave the go-ahead for Liu Mu to find a place to set up a stall on the street by the Base. If she could find a way to patch up a room herself, she could even open a shop. This gave them inspiration; although the Base didn't have the capacity yet, letting Liu Mu run a commercial pilot program would allow the Base to facilitate paid exchanges for survivors later, which would better launch long-term plans.

Yang Shuo's tone was quite gentle. He had an imposing aura, but he had no intention of letting it erupt. He asked again about the Mutated Rat, and only then did Liu Mu drag in a urea bag she had left outside the office, "It's very smelly, you should wear a few extra layers of masks. This is one of those rats' carcasses."

She herself pulled out an N95 and put it on; Luo Sanlin had shoved it to her earlier when he saw her exposed to the air.

The leaders' expressions turned serious immediately. Yang Shuo said to someone beside him, "Go invite Doctor Xing and have him take a look."

Luo Sanlin stood naturally with Liu Mu and explained to her at this time, "Doctor Xing is a Researcher sent by the Medical Research Institute. Usually, besides leading the medical team to help everyone with treatment, he also studies abnormal situations that appear after the disaster."

He didn't explicitly say what those abnormal situations were, but clearly, the place that sent them had long anticipated Mutation and disease, and perhaps they had even made relevant preparations.

As for why these people didn't issue an early warning, Liu Mu didn't have much of an opinion. She didn't care about others, and others shouldn't care about her.

Soon, a person wearing a white coat and a Filter Mask entered. Their height was about the same as Luo Sanlin's, but their build looked much thinner; the white coat hung loosely as they walked.

"Doctor Xing is here. Come and take a look at a good thing," Yang Shuo's attitude was friendly; it seemed he valued this person highly.

"I'm busy. What exactly do I need to see?" Xing Tianyang's tone was very impatient. He didn't remove his transparent mask, and his deep-featured face inside looked quite fatigued.

Yang Shuo didn't say much and signaled for Liu Mu to open the bag.

Liu Mu untied the rope, and a stench of rot instantly filled the room, "It's very smelly, don't get too close. I killed it yesterday evening; I didn't expect it to be rotten by morning."

As she spoke, she tore open the sealed bag, revealing a carcass matted with gray fur and covered in quite a few maggots.

It had rotted even more than when it was dug up in the morning, and it had even leaked some foul-smelling mucus. Although it looked disgusting, the characteristics of a rat could still be clearly distinguished.

Luo Sanlin was overwhelmed by the stench and stepped back a few paces, unable to help but retch as he rushed out of the office.

The remaining three leaders didn't look well either, and none of them dared to look closely. Only Xing Tianyang seemed to have found some kind of treasure; he leaned in and even used his gloved hands to flip it over.

Although Liu Mu had experienced much in her two lifetimes, her sense of smell was currently too sharp, and she couldn't help but wrinkle her face in disgust, forced to speak up, "Doctor, why don't you study it, and I'll go get busy?"