Chapter 401: Chapter 401: Gathering and Parting

Zhuang Jia wasn’t the least bit surprised by the arrival of her brother and Xu Yu.

Her gaze was perfectly calm as she looked at them. "We borrowed the conference room next door from one of the supervisors in Zone A. We have it for an hour. Follow me."

Splitting up and dividing the supplies was a major event, after all. There were too many team members to squeeze into a small cubicle.

Zhuang Jia and Luo Yanan had anticipated this. As soon as they settled into their room, they went straight to the person in charge of the area to explain the situation.

The conference room was the size of three to five small cubicles, large enough to hold twenty or thirty people.

Frowning, Zhuang Lei followed behind his sister and brother-in-law. He couldn’t help but sigh. "Zhuang Jia, do we really have to let it come to this?"

"Brother, didn’t we already agree on this?" Zhuang Jia’s tone was remarkably calm and nonchalant. "Let’s part on good terms. We’ll all go our separate ways and leave each other alone."

A surge of anger rose in Zhuang Lei’s throat. He wanted to roar, but just then, a heavily armed military patrol walked by, and he could only just manage to suppress his fury.

"Zhuang Jia, don’t be like this to your brother," Xu Yu said between sobs. "Can’t we just say I was wrong before? Is that okay? Your sister-in-law is apologizing to you."

Zhuang Jia ignored her completely, not even deigning to spare her another glance.

’What’s that saying? When someone still bothers to fight and scream at you, it means they still have feelings for you. Whether they’re friends or family, there’s still some lingering attachment that’s hard to sever.’

’But now, Zhuang Jia didn’t even have the energy to argue. She was completely numb to it all and had no desire to fight anymore.’

’Whatever happens, happens. This is just how things are.’

The group walked into the conference room and saw that all the members of the Swift Leopard Team were already seated inside.

Zhuang Lei looked at his former brothers-in-arms, and his eyes instantly reddened.

"The Swift Leopard Team has come a long way since the apocalypse began, and it’s been a long, hard road for every one of us!" Zhuang Lei’s voice boomed. "And now you all want to break up with me over a few words from some outsider?"

The Space Ability User, Xiao Zhang, stood up. He stammered slightly as he pointed to the supplies piled in the corner. "Leader, I’ve taken out all the team’s supplies. The guys and I just went through them, checking everything against the inventory list."

"Nothing’s missing. If you’re worried, you can go over the list and check it again yourself. Once you’re done, we can start dividing it up. How does that sound?"

"Xiao Zhang, Brother Lei has always treated you all well. How can you treat him like this now?" Xu Yu stared at the Space Ability User in disbelief.

"Are you all dead set on this? Absolutely determined to break with Brother Lei?"

"You can’t put it like that, Sister-in-law. Brother Lei treated us well, it’s true. But we’ve risked our lives for him time and time again. All the brothers have been through hell and back with him. We’ve more than pulled our weight, haven’t we?"

"It’s a two-way street. And you both know perfectly well what the team’s situation is right now."

"Yeah, Sister-in-law, Captain Xie made that threat in public. Who wouldn’t be scared? You and Brother Lei have high Superpower Ranks, so you’re not afraid, but we are. We’re just regular people trying to get by, just looking for our next meal." A teammate next to Xiao Zhang stood up, clasping his hands together and bowing repeatedly. "Please, just let us go."

"We just want to live quiet, peaceful lives. We don’t want to worry about running into a ticking time bomb every time we go out, getting robbed blind at a moment’s notice."

"That’s right, Ms. Xu Yu. You’re always so kind and merciful to outsiders. Surely you can show some of that understanding to us, your brothers, right?"

Xu Yu was so furious she practically reeled.

She had no idea how to persuade them.

These brothers, who had once gone through hell and back with them, now seemed like a landscape painting with a clear, sharp dividing line.

She and Brother Lei stood on one side of the river, while all of them stood on the other, some even having climbed a high mountain, determined to sever all ties.

"If there are no more objections, let’s start dividing," Zhuang Jia said, her voice final. "We’ll distribute the supplies based on each person’s accumulated contribution points over the past year."

Xu Yu slammed her palm on the table. "Zhuang Jia, are you really going to disown your own family like this?"

Zhuang Jia gave her a cool glance. "Don’t you know perfectly well why my brother and I have ended up in this situation?"

"Alright, enough of this nonsense. We only have an hour, so let’s get this done as quickly as possible and then go our separate ways. From now on, whatever happens between you and my brother is none of my business. I won’t interfere. You’re on your own now."

The conference room door was pushed open gently.

A pale-faced Lin Yiyi stood at the door, wringing her hands nervously. "Ms. Xu Yu."

Xu Yu yanked Lin Yiyi to her side and slammed the table, roaring, "Fine! Divide it! Let’s just divide it all up! Yiyi is a member of this team too, and she deserves her fair share."

Zhuang Jia’s eyes narrowed in contempt.

’She wanted to point out that Lin Yiyi always ate their food and used their supplies, and on top of that, was always prioritized for a large share of the Zombie Crystal Cores.’

’She’d already gotten more than her fair share, logically speaking.’

But Luo Yanan placed a hand on his wife’s, giving her a slight nod.

"Just let her have a share."

’It was better to avoid more trouble. The most important thing was to get rid of these three as quickly as possible.’

’As for the extra supplies, they could consider it their final parting gift to her brother.’

An hour later, his face dark, Zhuang Lei turned and left without a word.

Xu Yu and Lin Yiyi, laden with bags of all sizes, struggled to push the door open.

Lin Yiyi asked timidly, "Ms. Xu Yu, are we going to be... completely ostracized from now on?"

"Impossible!" Xu Yu’s eyes were red with anger. "There’s always a way out! I refuse to believe that I, Xu Yu, can be defeated so easily."

"Yiyi, don’t worry. Even if we’re reduced to eating gruel every day, I’ll make sure you always have food on your plate."

Lin Yiyi nodded obediently, but a flash of mockery flickered in her downcast eyes.

’Eat gruel every day? Who would want to eat gruel with you every day?’

’She, Lin Yiyi, was a Beast Taming Superpower User—an exceedingly rare existence in this world.’

’If those two big fools wanted to live a hard life, they could do it on their own. They weren’t going to drag her, Lin Yiyi, down with them.’

"Sister, you should talk things over with Brother Lei. Don’t fight. I’m going to go for a walk and see if there are any jobs available in the shelter," Lin Yiyi said softly to Xu Yu, putting down her supplies with an air of pure innocence.

Xu Yu was deeply moved, thinking how truly understanding the girl was.

Little did she know that Lin Yiyi’s expression was as fickle as the weather.

The moment she stepped outside, the bright, smiling expression vanished from her face, instantly replaced by a dark scowl. A cold, ruthless glint appeared in her eyes.

She walked on, stopping intermittently to pull out a small notebook and jot down notes about the surrounding terrain.

When she reached an electronic access gate and was stopped, Lin Yiyi looked up and gave the guard a sweet smile. "Sir, I’m looking for my classmate."

The young soldier remained expressionless. "Kid, this is a restricted area. If you’re looking for your classmate, you need to turn around and head over to Zone A-1."

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