Back to the Apocalypse Chapter 102

translator: xiin
editors: apricot & juurensha
Wu Guoan was in a state of panic at the moment. Seeing Xiao Sa accept Xu Feng’s team, he became anxious and also wanted to slap himself. He had obviously been the one who had met Brother Sa first, but he had let Xu Feng take the lead in the end. This made him feel terrible, especially since he had been the one who brought Xu Feng along.
Wu Guoan took a deep breath, his pace rather solemn as he walked on. Xiao Sa's show of power today had had a great impact on him. Only now did he realize that yesterday’s steak had been a sugar coated bullet. Today's powerful display and deterrence was the real dinner. Brother Sa's methods were really well balanced! Even though he understood it clearly, he was still deeply shocked and impressed. His heart was filled with admiration, but then he soon began to spiral into panic again…
Although Wu Guoan now followed Brother Sa, he understood very well that compared to Xu Feng, Brother Sa did not regard him as one of his own people at all. He was a little aggrieved, but based on his current situation, he also knew that he had no right to complain about others. It was his own weak will, wanting to be on both sides of the fence, that caused his current unstable position. However, it still wasn't too late for him to wake up now. If Brother Sa was still willing to use a show of force to demonstrate his power, it meant that he didn't plan on giving him up. As long as he performed well, he didn't need to worry that Brother Sa wouldn't make use of him!
Wu Guoan quickened his pace, his brain running at full speed as he recalled his previous attitude and what he had said over the past few days. He sketched out a rough plan in his heart.
Now that the Capital was under martial law, if Brother Sa said he wanted to go, he would definitely have a way to get in. Combining this idea with Young Master Jing's background as well as some hearsay he had heard before, Wu Guoan could be very certain that either Brother Sa or Young Master Jing had enemies in the capital, and that enemy was actually some sort of incredibly influential figure. Otherwise, Wu Guoan couldn't imagine any other reason why they would want to recruit people and firepower. Brother Sa and Young Master Jing weren't short on supplies, weren't lacking in power, and although he didn't know why the two of them had been on the road alone, they had journeyed smoothly without showing any traces of being backed into a corner. They clearly had the ability to protect themselves.
On the way back to K City Base, he could see that Brother Sa had been quietly controlling the team. Wu Guoan didn't believe that he had done it unintentionally. Otherwise, Wu Guoan wouldn't have gone to find Xu Feng early this morning. He had wanted to increase his chips in front of Brother Sa, but unexpectedly, he had guessed the start correctly, but completely missed the end…
He had been genuinely excited about running into Brother Sa again this time. His sadness and crying on the road had also been real. Wanting to follow him was true too, but curled up in all of this truth, he had also been worried and scared. Brother Sa and Young Master Jing only had two people, and they were two fat sheep that others could tell were loaded with just a glance. If they didn't have enough strength, then it was just like putting up resources and waiting for them to be snatched.
The reason why the Cheetah Mercenary Regiment hadn't acted was because they didn't know any details about Brother Sa. So he had hesitated and dragged things on, maintaining an ambiguous attitude that allowed him to choose either side while staying close to Brother Sa. It wasn't until he heard the conversation between Brother Sa and Xu Feng and saw Brother Sa's strength that he suddenly realized how wrong he'd been before and how ridiculous his little schemes had been…
Fortunately, it still wasn't too late. Now that he knew what Brother Sa's goal was and knew that Young Master Jing had enemies in the Capital, Wu Guoan decided that it was now time for him to display his loyalty. This time, he would show his sincerity to Brother Sa!
Wu Guoan's mind was now clear and he no longer tarried as he headed for the Cheetah Mercenary Corps headquarters.
The atmosphere in the current Cheetah Mercenary Corps was no longer as good as it used to be. Now that there were fewer and fewer supplies, and the deputy leader of the group was more prestigious than the leader, disagreements naturally arose. The Corps was now divided into two groups; the leader was linked to K City Base's second-in-command, but the deputy leader was too powerful. The two of them couldn't do anything about each other because in mercenary teams, they wouldn't be able to survive if they lacked either strength or backing.
So, although they were unhappy with each other, they couldn't split up because other than K City Base, they had nowhere else to go!
If Xiao Sa hadn’t come to K City Base, perhaps the Cheetah Mercenary Corps would have continued on like this. Now though, the situation was different. Wu Guoan intuitively felt that there was an opportunity to take advantage of here. If there was a better place to go and a better way out, he didn't believe that the Cheetah Mercenary Corps wouldn't be interested. He was confident that he could persuade Li Xun…
The regrouped Cheetah Mercenary Corps would be his way of showing his sincerity to Brother Sa.
After Xu Feng and Li Ran left, they found that they were too conspicuous on the road. The fragrant food in their hands tempted human beings' most greedy desires, and they were stared at like hungry wolves eyeing their prey. Their excitement quickly cooled down and after dealing with a wave of people, they covered up their tracks and finally returned to their base.
An eighty square meter apartment was packed with thirteen people, making the space seem particularly cramped. Li Ran shouted happily as soon as he came through the door, "We're back! We have good news!"
Xu Feng then announced, “Brother Sa promised to take us in.”
Li Ran placed the food on the table. There was a large amount of white rice, vegetables, meat, bread, pickles, and cans. It was such an abundant feast that when he looked back, he discovered that the room had fallen completely silent, and nobody responded. Even Xiaoxiao was silent, staring at them with wide eyes as though trying hard to remember something.
“Huh? What’s wrong with you guys?" Li Ran was somewhat at a loss. It was clearly a happy occasion, how come they looked like that?
Xu Feng was dazed for a moment and suddenly felt a little foolish. Following Brother Sa was a decision he'd made on his own as it was the best way out for them right now. But he hadn't discussed it with anyone beforehand, so could it be that they weren't willing?
Xu Feng clutched at his head. This was problematic; he had already promised Xiao Sa! He hesitated, then said, "Brother Sa isn't a bad person, he was my former boss. In the future, we'll definitely have enough to eat if we follow him."
Xu Feng tried his utmost to convince everyone as best he could. Otherwise, he really didn't know what else to do. He definitely couldn't bear to part with his teammates, but if they lost this chance, he knew that he would most likely never be able to see Brother Sa again in this lifetime.
Li Ran was also saddened. He couldn't bear to part with everyone, but what he wanted most was to learn what had happened to his brother. Other than Young Master Jing, he had no other way of doing so, "Isn't it a good thing to follow Brother Sa? Why aren't you guys happy?"
Zhou Hua reluctantly smiled and looked at his crippled legs. Perhaps in this team, he was the least useful. He couldn’t even stand up. It was reasonable for Xu Feng and Li Ran to want to leave. Other than giving their blessings, what else could they say?
“Of course we’re happy. Congratulations.” Wei Binyi held his lover’s hand and silently comforted him. No matter when and where, he wouldn't leave him behind.
“What are you saying?” Xu Feng immediately became angry, “If we're going, of course everyone is going together. What do you mean, just congratulating us? I, Old Xu…"
Even before Xu Feng finished, Sang Min rushed forward like an arrow released from a bow and grabbed his collar, "What did you say? You said we're all going together? Even if we have no abilities?"
At the end of the day, Xu Feng was a man. He couldn't help but blush from getting into such close contact with Sang Min. He hurriedly rescued his clothing, then realized that she seemed to have said something. He gave himself a little slap and recalled sadly that when Wu Guoan had come to him today, he had only told everyone that Brother Sa was at the base before leaving in a hurry. He hadn't explained anything clearly - no wonder everyone misunderstood.
After thinking about this point, Xu Feng relaxed thoroughly. Honestly, following Brother Sa was such a good thing, how could everyone be unwilling?
Li Ran laughed and felt relieved. So it had all been a big misunderstanding; they could only blame him for not making it clear. He quickly explained, "You guys can rest assured. Brother Feng already talked with Brother Sa and in the future, we'll all follow Brother Sa and have food to eat every day. The food that I brought back with me today is our daily ration of supplies, which will be available every day in the future.”
"Can there really be such a good thing?" The speaker was Uncle Liu, an old man who had worked hard all his life. He was deeply doubtful about this kind of pie falling from the sky.
“Rest assured, these are all daily supplies, Brother Sa said that if we want better things, we'll have to work hard and contribute more."
“What kind of contribution?"
"What kind of better things?"
“Are you telling the truth?”
“Your Brother Sa is foolish, right? Such generous people really do exist."
“Damn, don’t say bad things about Brother Sa.”
Everyone in the room started talking at once, and the atmosphere became intimate and friendly. Everyone helped themselves to the food on the table; after Liu Jianguo used his chopsticks to serve himself food, everyone else immediately also rushed forward, fearing that they would be too slow. Xiaoxiao was too short to reach, so she stood there with her wide eyes filled with tears, her mouth crumpled. Everyone suddenly looked embarrassed and filled up a big bowl of food, placing it in front of Xiaoxiao. Only after Xiaoxiao was settled did everyone start grabbing food once again.
Xu Feng and Li Ran had already eaten and naturally didn't join the battle this time. Looking at the happy expressions on their team members' faces, their eyes suddenly grew a little wet. How long had it been since everyone was so happy? It hadn't even been a year since the apocalypse, but it felt like it had been a lifetime. All joy and happiness had been left far behind, leaving only the exhaustion of living and struggling.
Xu Feng felt even more grateful to Xiao Sa in his heart, not only because Brother Sa could lead them to live on, but also because of the happy smiles on his fellow team members' faces right now.
Xiao Sa and Bai Jing weren't idle now, either. They had made a scene at the Security Office this morning, and although their goal had been achieved, embarrassing others so much didn't mean that other people would be willing to give up. It was manageable if they met other intelligent people, but what they were afraid of was encountering some fools.
The two men went to the K City Base management office once again. A group of mercenaries stood in the hall, shooting them ugly looks. It was unclear which mercenary group they belonged to, and although they didn't make any moves, it was obvious from their attitude that this group of people must have been one of the forces who had sent people to their place last night.
As for the base's management staff, each of them had different expressions on their faces. The gazes that they used to look at them contained sympathy, regret, and even joy at their apparent misfortune.
Bai Jing and Xiao Sa completely ignored them. After entering the hall, they stopped a person and asked, “Where can we send a telegram?”
The man’s expression wasn't very good, and his tone of voice was aggressive as he said, "Where do you want to send a telegram to? It'll cost twenty-five kilograms of rice.”
Bai Jing sneered and squeezed the man's shoulder harder. He didn't care about the twenty-five kilograms of rice, but he really disliked the man’s attitude.
Xu Feng is cute, getting shy about a woman getting close… what kind of ex-triad is this?