Chapter 43: Mainly Because I Have a Dog

Never mind Niu Boyi, Liu Mu was also fuming when she heard this. "Where the hell did a moron like you come from? Is your only purpose in life to lower the average human intelligence and moral standard? My dog saved your life, and instead of being grateful, you bite the hand that fed you. I think you're even more disgusting than the rats in these sewers!"

Liu Mu started cursing directly. She wasn't from the Base, let alone the Laboratory, and she didn't care at all what kind of background this woman had. If she got pushed too far today, it wouldn't be impossible to just kill her right here.

Lv Ping, who had just finished digging the person out from a pile of bricks, suddenly felt a chill—a chill he was very familiar with.

Seeing Liu Mu's fierce expression, he hurriedly said, "Sister Liu, don't be angry. Niu Boyi must have had a reason for doing that; we all trust it."

Jiang Xue was so angry she nearly fainted. These stinking soldiers didn't believe her, but instead trusted a dog?

"You all..."

Lv Ping backhanded her, striking her directly on the jaw, and the latter immediately passed out.

"Sigh, young girls just talk nonsense. If it weren't for Niu Boyi barking, we wouldn't even have been able to find the body!"

Liu Mu agreed deeply, "That's right, if the rats had gnawed on her, there wouldn't even be bones left."

Niu Boyi snorted twice, holding its dog head high in disdain for these few strangers.

Although that was true, when they arrived, the dog really had been burying Jiang Xue with bricks, so Lv Ping still asked why it had done that.

"Buried to avoid being attacked by rats," unexpectedly, it was Xing Tianyang who answered. He barely needed to speculate to understand Niu Boyi's purpose. "The broken bricks form a temporary protection, and it could also focus on dealing with the Mutated Rats. Niu Boyi's intelligence indeed exceeds that of ordinary canines, even higher than that of an average young child. It should have a lot to do with the Mutation."

These words made both Lv Ping and Liu Mu fall silent. The former hadn't expected the dog to use such a method, while the latter felt a bit complicated—it was likely the unease of having her dog targeted by a pervert, mixed with the urge to kill to silence him.

The spearhead of her killing intent was now pointed at Xing Tianyang; this person was too smart and too dangerous.

"You can go now," Liu Mu said, her face cold, the previous smile gone. "From now on, the ten kilometers nearby are my and Niu Boyi's territory. Try not to come near here in the future."

"Awoo~!" Niu Boyi cooperated by howling. Its size was directly proportional to its voice; usually, it only 'woof-woofed' for fear of disturbing Liu Mu and the others, but this one roar nearly sent the few humans in front of it to their graves.

Lv Ping and the few soldiers instinctively gripped their guns, their faces pale. "Sister Liu, look at you. As long as you say the word, we will definitely leave enough territory for you in the future. Anyway, we'll head back first today. See you next time we come to the Base."

He was also a soldier who had experienced life and death, but at this moment, not only was his voice trembling, his legs were also almost unable to move; they had gone weak.

Xing Tianyang also felt fear out of biological instinct, but he was somewhat excited. If humans could also mutate like Niu Boyi, how interesting the future world would be!

He was very excited. On the truck back to the city, he spent the whole time impatiently recounting his conjectures, gesturing wildly as if he had fallen into a frenzy.

Liu Mu didn't know that Niu Boyi's roar hadn't dispelled the trouble, but instead strengthened Xing Tianyang's determination to study them.

Jiang Xue, who woke up halfway, cried in terror, disturbing Xing Tianyang's train of thought. After returning to the Base, he had Yang Shuo take her away immediately.

In the laboratory on the first underground floor, with the troublesome Jiang Xue gone, the atmosphere among the others improved instantly. Of course, the 'others' here did not include Xing Tianyang.

As the leader of the team, he wouldn't be affected by Jiang Xue at all. The only thing that puzzled him was when he wanted to drink coffee and found the cup was empty. That's right, for Xing Tianyang, who didn't take human emotions seriously, Jiang Xue's existence, aside from causing trouble, probably only served the purpose of serving tea and water.

Upstairs, the recuperating Tan Ziyan listened to Lv Ping's report in detail, his thick brows locked. "This girl doesn't know how to restrain herself. Those researchers up top are grabbing Mutated ones everywhere. Sigh..."

Several hours passed, and Lv Ping still felt a chill down his back when he remembered the killing intent of Niu Boyi and Liu Mu. "Boss, are we going to help them?"

He didn't want to over-help Liu Mu; one had to know that as the Special Action Team, they had their duties and couldn't let minor personal feelings affect their mission.

Sure enough, Tan Ziyan shook his head. "She doesn't need our help. Never mind the researchers; even if our entire team went, we couldn't deal with Niu Boyi, let alone... there's also a Liu Mu."

"You still think she has already undergone Mutation?" Lv Ping hadn't seen Liu Mu display anything too different from an ordinary person, so he asked skeptically, "Didn't the Laboratory side say that most mutated humans can't live for more than a few days, and many turned directly into monsters? She looks very normal."

"That's why this is her special aspect," Tan Ziyan emphasized. "Keep this matter confidential. It's not easy for a successful human example to appear; it must not be ruined by those people in the Laboratory."

Lv Ping looked at his boss's attitude. "Boss, you don't want her to join our team, do you?"

"If only she were willing to come," Tan Ziyan leaned against the hospital bed. This time, because he was protecting Xing Tianyang, he had multiple external injuries—not serious, but he couldn't go on missions immediately.

"Old Lv, help me keep an eye on that area recently. If Xing Tianyang and the others try to force their way in, think of a way to stop them."

"This... Boss, that violates discipline," Lv Ping said with some worry. In fact, he also hoped Liu Mu could join them. "Alright, I'll try my best, but if the commander gives the order, no one's obstruction will be of any use."

Just as these two were discussing, Yang Shuo was also haggling with Xing Tianyang.

"We aren't sure what the situation is yet. If we use force rashly, Liu Mu will definitely fight back. What will we do then? The soldiers have many things to be busy with; they can't sacrifice themselves in vain."

The light in Xing Tianyang's eyes showed no sign of fading. "We have potent anesthetics for dealing with animals. As long as we increase the dosage, we can easily capture that Giant Dog. I won't take the soldiers' lives lightly. Believe me, this plan is completely feasible."

"What about Liu Mu? Didn't you say Liu Mu might also have undergone Mutation?" Yang Shuo rubbed the bridge of his nose with a headache. "Little Xing, you know the situation now. Everyone is going all out to prepare for the Base construction. If we offend Liu Mu at this time, and the operation fails, she will definitely retaliate. This is no longer a peaceful era..."

Yang Shuo was a person who cherished talent, otherwise he would have thrown Xing Tianyang out long ago. The General Command had already clearly stated that they would build Barriers to resist disasters in several key cities, and they wouldn't provide much support to other small bases. Local problems were to be solved locally; it wasn't easy for anyone.

After a round of official jargon and persuasion, Yang Shuo didn't hold any hope for support for the construction. But the Base still had to be built; after all, that mysterious department under the General Command had already given a forecast for a new disaster.

Between the Land Flood and the Extreme Cold, one of them was bound to come first.

Haicheng was located in the southern coastal area; the only hope was that the Extreme Cold wouldn't appear here, otherwise the entire city probably wouldn't even be able to find a down jacket.

Yang Shuo's hope was correct; the Extreme Cold indeed wouldn't come that quickly.

They didn't know, but Liu Mu was very clear: what was coming soon was the Land Flood and Sea Level Rise, and only then would the Extreme Cold follow.

That night, Liu Mu loaded a large Truck with the Rain Gear she had organized, and before dawn, she left the Scrap Station with Niu Boyi.

Not leaving Niu Boyi to guard the house this time was precisely to prevent Xing Tianyang from making a move.

After they left, the Xu Xiaofeng siblings connected the Scrap Station's wall to electricity, and the two of them also returned underground; they wouldn't come up until they saw Liu Mu return.

The Truck drove for two hours on roads cleared by the military and arrived at the Haicheng urban area once again.

Not long ago, it was a bustling coastal city, but upon seeing it again, it was ruins collapsed everywhere. Because most of the Giant Sun Fragments fell in the south of the city, the damage to this city was even more severe than the county town; under the dust, almost everything was scorched black.

Liu Mu kept Niu Boyi by her truck at all times, fearing it would dig up some other Mutated Animal.

When entering the city, they saw a few people rummaging through the ruins; these people were almost all numb-faced, their expressions listless, and they were even so hungry they were skin and bones.

When they saw the Truck appear, they cast eager and greedy gazes, but upon seeing Niu Boyi, they all shrank back and hid.

That's right, in the previous life, it was on this very trip that Niu Boyi was eaten alive by people while trying to save Liu Mu.

Seeing these people, Liu Mu felt not a ripple in her heart. After the apocalypse, the hungrier people were, the closer they were to wild beasts.

Following the route she had inquired about beforehand, the Truck headed toward the Stadium in the north of the city without any obstruction.

What Liu Mu didn't expect was that even though they were almost at the square in front, she didn't see many people; the people here seemed even fewer than at the county Base. A few hundred meters away, Liu Mu had Niu Boyi find a place to hide, and she drove the truck over by herself.

It wasn't until about fifty meters away that a soldier came up to block her, shouting, "What are you doing?"

Liu Mu rested one arm on the truck window, greeting them with a smile. "Hello, soldier brother. I'm a merchant from a nearby county here to trade for supplies. Is your leader here? I have an introduction letter."

"Trade for supplies?" One soldier gave the other a look, and the latter immediately went to check the back of the truck. "Doing business at a time like this, profiting from a national disaster, are we?"

The soldier didn't care at all about her introduction letter; he had already decided that Liu Mu was speculating on the disaster. With a long face, he had no intention of letting her pass.

"How could that be? I am a conscientious merchant, only exchanging some daily necessities for everyone; I absolutely do not ask for too much."

Liu Mu turned around, pulled open the truck door, got out in front of the soldiers, and fished out a pack of cigarettes.

"We don't smoke, we are on duty. Please do not try to get chummy," the soldier stepped back two paces, giving Liu Mu no chance to build a connection at all.

Since that was the case, then don't blame her for being impolite. Liu Mu raised her eyebrows, retracted her smile, and called out toward the back of the truck, "Little Brother, you all saw what it is, right? A few days ago, I went to Chief Yang Shuo's Base to exchange a batch of food for the survivors. The Chief told me to come here and see what you all need if I had the time, and he was the one who wrote the letter of introduction."

If she had mentioned other officials' names, they might not have known who they were, but Yang Shuo was the Chief of the entire Southeast Region and the highest leader of their troops; naturally, his name was like thunder to their ears.

Hearing this, the soldier in front of her looked even more displeased, "The Chief would write a letter of introduction for you? If you are lying, don't blame us for being impolite."

"That's why, let me see your leader. It's not that I'm bragging, but at your rank, you probably haven't even met my Uncle Yang," Liu Mu didn't want to waste time with small fry; she was still in a hurry to go elsewhere to take a look. "Of course, I don't mean anything else by it, it's just that Uncle Yang asked me to make this trip, and I can't just do nothing, right?"

This "right" was exactly the same tone the soldier had used to mock her earlier, directly leaving the other party with no room to back down.

After a few minutes, the tall, thin soldier who had gone to check returned, "Comrade, you have raincoats and rain boots in here, but how many people need these right now?"

"That's not necessarily true. My goods are mainly practical; they can be exchanged for just some scrap, so maybe everyone will want them?"

Liu Mu replied, and the tall, thin man exchanged a look with his colleague. Seeing the latter's expression, he then said, "How about this, I'll go ask first, you wait here."

"Alrighty," Liu Mu immediately changed her expression, turned back, crossed her arms, and leaned against the truck door to wait.

A few minutes later, the soldier came out and said the leader here agreed to see her.

Unlike Yang Shuo, who possessed the iron-blooded temperament of a soldier, the leader here was a frail-looking woman wearing glasses. She was under forty, and although she was also in military uniform, she lacked that aura of slaughter.

Liu Mu introduced herself and then briefly explained that she had come to trade for scrap. The female leader, whose cheeks were slightly sunken, sized her up from behind lenses that were not very thick.

This kind of scrutiny made people very uncomfortable. Liu Mu had the feeling that her thoughts were being seen through by the other party; her body involuntarily sat up straighter, and her friendly expression became a bit difficult to maintain.

"Why do you want to exchange rain gear with us?" Song Yulin placed her hands folded on the table. Unlike the plywood desk of Yang Shuo, her desk was made of solid wood with a very heavy texture, the surface polished smooth and finished with wood lacquer.

Liu Mu always felt that this leader knew something, so she simply said, "After the high temperatures, there will generally be heavy rain. The air quality is poor now, Sister Song, believe me, you definitely need this batch of rain gear."

Hearing her suddenly change how she addressed her, Song Yulin frowned slightly, but her expression softened a bit. "Old Yang said you were a kind merchant who doesn't count the cost, but in my view, you aren't as simple as he says. Just this foresight to prepare for a rainy day is enough to make one look at you with new eyes."

"So, Sister Song, you think I'm not bad?" Liu Mu immediately climbed up the pole, "You really have a sharp eye, worthy of being the leader who holds up such a large base!"

When she saw Yang Shuo before, he had several deputies by his side, but this base was different. From the time Liu Mu entered until now, Song Yulin was the only proper leader, which showed that beneath her frail appearance was actually an Iron Lady.

Just like praising Song Yulin's insight, Liu Mu was certain that her own experience from two lifetimes in reading people wouldn't be wrong. This woman was definitely very rational; if she could gain the other party's trust, wouldn't coming here in the future be like coming home!

"Little girl, I won't give you a promise of free trade here. Old Yang is a soldier and doesn't understand your twists and turns." Song Yulin maintained basic communication with Yang Shuo's base, so she knew what the other party had promised Liu Mu a few days ago, and at the time, she had realized the huge benefits the latter would obtain in the future.

"Speak, how do you intend to do business with my people?"

As expected of a shrewd leader, Liu Mu immediately responded with focus, "Actually, it's very simple. I bring the goods and trade with your people in kind; as long as it's suitable scrap, it can be exchanged. Please rest assured, I don't want your food and water, only scrap. I am a scrap collector, after all."

"A scrap collector," Song Yulin didn't react with suspicion, mockery, or sympathy like others; she just praised, "You certainly met a good time."

However, the shrewd female leader quickly gave her own conditions. Besides fair trade, the most important rule was that a list of materials could not be exchanged.

The first was energy materials like gasoline, diesel, and natural gas. The second was various weapons and ammunition...

Liu Mu looked over it carefully. Fortunately, there was no scrap steel or plastic on it, and what surprised her was that there was also no food or drinking water.

This meant that Liu Mu could use suitable items to trade these two critical supplies from the survivors.

She didn't understand, but after the contract was signed, Song Yulin revealed a knowing smile, "At any time, how to live and whether to live are choices humans make for themselves."

These words were somewhat heartless, yet Liu Mu found them intimate. That's right, isn't the apocalypse just like this? Some people are single-mindedly focused on living well, some people just muddle along, and more people are numbly drifting with the tide, only to die in some corner where no one cares.

If the other party's "keep strangers at a distance" aura wasn't so strong, Liu Mu would have wanted to give Song Yulin a hug; this sister's personality was just too much to her taste.

However, the other party also indicated that during a period of drastic changes in the general environment, these terms could be renegotiated.

The fact that it could be negotiated was the biggest reason Liu Mu signed. After it was finished, Song Yulin followed along to check the goods, with four soldiers following behind her.

The soldiers had already unloaded the cargo from the truck and placed it on the ground, categorized just as it had been on the vehicle.

When Liu Mu walked side-by-side with Song Yulin, she noticed that few of the survivors nearby looked over; they were still numbly doing their own things, walking hurriedly, or repairing nearby facilities. There were also some who were too weak, curled up in the shadows of the buildings. The biggest commonality among everyone was that none of them were wearing masks.

According to the claims of that somewhat deranged Xing Tianyang, as well as Liu Mu's own memories, the respiratory tracts of ordinary humans could not adapt to the current air. If they didn't take precautions, the humans who were already physically weak during the 'Ten-Day Burning' would only die faster.

Survival of the fittest, is it?

Observing everything silently, Liu Mu didn't say another word. Every leader had their own style and plans. If these people didn't find ways to survive themselves but relied on the leader's decisions to live, they should bear the consequences themselves.

Song Yulin inspected the goods and didn't immediately let Liu Mu set them out for trade, instead saying, "Our base can exchange with you directly for these things. Besides the prohibited items on the trade list, what do you want?"

Wanting to swallow them up and make the supplies a management tool was a very common tactic for rulers. Liu Mu came to the base alone to trade; logically, she shouldn't offend Song Yulin and still needed to try her best to please her.

However, "Sister Song, look at what you're saying. If you want them, I can give these to you for free. How could I ask you for anything?"

Saying this meant she didn't agree to trade with the military. If Song Yulin only wanted to do this one deal, she would forcefully seize these items, but Liu Mu bet she wouldn't be so short-sighted.

Sure enough, Song Yulin's gaze lingered on Liu Mu's face for a moment before she continued, "Then you must be prepared to lose money. The survivors here are not as numerous as over there, nor is it as rich in supplies."

Where is it rich in supplies?

Liu Mu naturally heard the dissatisfaction in her words, but pretended not to understand, "It's okay, I only have this much stuff here; it's good enough if I can trade it out."

With the conversation reaching this point, the two sides naturally wouldn't continue. Song Yulin had people guard the area, and she left first, saying she still had things to attend to.

Once she left, the two remaining soldiers immediately put down the things in their hands, looking indifferent and unwilling to move a finger, "Hurry up and trade. Our base has a lot to do; we don't have time to keep helping you maintain order."

Liu Mu didn't need them to maintain order, but on someone else's turf, even a dragon has to coil up.

After dealing with them for a few sentences, the rain gear was spread out on the side of the road, and the sign was put out.

With white characters on a red background, it clearly wrote out the rules and information for the item exchange.

A few survivors did look toward this side, but unlike the base in the county, they simply didn't come over, or rather, they didn't dare to come over.

The two soldiers stood there like door gods, and it was clear that these people were very afraid of them. As long as the two were there, this business couldn't be done.

Liu Mu's eyes darted, but she wasn't in a hurry. She took out two bottles of Energy Drink and handed them to the two men respectively, "You two big brothers are also from the north, right? I originally thought the city area would be better than our county, but I didn't expect it to look even more severe here?"

"This is a densely landed area, of course it's severe." The soldiers didn't refuse this time. One of them opened it and took a sip; the intense sweetness slid directly down his throat, allowing his body, which was dehydrated due to insufficient quotas, to be nourished. "Little Boss, I see you still have good stuff. Why don't you take out drinks to trade?"

Liu Mu was surprised in her heart that the other party directly brought up the concept of a 'densely landed area', but on the surface, she modestly waved her hands repeatedly, "How could I have drinks to trade? It's just that I bought them before when I was doing scrap collection and consuming a lot of energy; there are only a few bottles left in total. Sigh, this lousy disaster is really going to be the death of me. My Scrap Station was burned down and there isn't much left; I don't even know if I can keep doing business."

She sighed with a sorrowful face, as if she really wouldn't be able to continue much longer.

Seeing her like this, the soldiers who had jobs that allowed them to receive enough supplies naturally felt a sense of superiority, "At this time of year, what future could you have doing scrap business?"

"Exactly, exactly," the other soldier also came over, his gaze sizing Liu Mu up, "Why not just stay at our base? Big brother will take care of you, little sister."

As soon as these words came out, greed appeared on both of their faces, yet Liu Mu didn't even frown.

From the time she started collecting scrap in her teens, she had encountered no shortage of harassment; if she couldn't handle this, she would have long ago been dragged off to some mountain ditch to serve as a baby-making tool for someone.

"That won't do, my Yang Shu gave the order for me to travel between the various Bases as a merchant to ensure everyone gets the supplies they need in time," Liu Mu said, adding a touch of smugness, and as if afraid they wouldn't understand, she used the prestige of others to intimidate them, "Right, you all know my Yang Shu, don't you? He's the chief of this entire region, Yang Shuo. Sigh, I'd like to just stay at that Base and drift along with my uncle, but the old man just can't stand seeing me idle and insists on making me run all over the place."

"Poor me, a girl all on my own, living in fear every single day. Just two days ago, I ran into a pack of Mutated Rats, each one as big as a small calf; my dog and I had to fight for quite a while before we managed to escape. These days, not a single day is peaceful; you two brothers, have you seen any Mutated Animals around here yet?"

The answer was yes, and the two soldiers immediately reined in those thoughts; their own patrol squads had already been attacked by Mutated Animals several times, and meeting them meant death.

There were one or two who managed to escape back to report the news, but they didn't last an hour before they were gone.

If they had just died outright, that would have been fine, but a rumor was circulating in their squad that those dead soldiers had come back to life, turned into man-eating monsters, and were locked up somewhere in the Base for those white-coated people to study.

"Then..." the flirtatious soldier said awkwardly, "you're quite the fighter then; there weren't many rats, were there?"

"Not many, just ten or twenty of them," Liu Mu said quite casually, "it's mainly because I have a dog..."