Chapter 114: I Truly Want to Join

“How much food does the Shi family have?”

Xiao Lingye’s eyes were dark as he questioned Liang Yimo.

He wasn’t exaggerating—his team had many men and women who’d come over from the group under the bridge.

They brought news about that group, and sometimes about the Shi family.

Back when Shi’s father, Shi Yi, and Shi Er were still alive, Xiao Lingye had actually considered recruiting the men from the Shi family into his own team.

But those three just didn’t know what was good for them!

Whenever he thought of the men from the Shi family, a shadow would flicker across Xiao Lingye’s eyes.

Now that all the men from the Shi family were dead, no matter how capable the women were, there was no way they could have much food.

Thinking of this, Xiao Lingye looked at Liang Yimo and found him utterly hateful.

“You’re such a damn liar—if you’re going to lie, at least make it believable. Do you take me for an idiot?”

Xiao Lingye simply didn’t believe the Shi family could possibly have much food.

And even if they did, it would only be a little bit, probably given to them by the mercenary group.

At most, it would be just enough for the Shi family to barely get by.

So the disappearance of Song Yucheng and the others couldn’t be for any other reason.

It was simply that Song Yucheng and the rest had already been thinking of leaving.

If Xiao Lingye could poach them from Captain Qiao’s team, then of course, for greater benefits, other teams could poach them away too.

It was even possible that Uncle Chen and the others had disappeared for the same reason.

Finally, Xiao Lingye figured it out—he suspected these people had made plans behind his back.

“You damn bastards! Was I starving you? Did I not give you enough to drink?”

He cursed furiously.

It must be for this reason that Song Yucheng and the others refused to work for him properly.

Otherwise, how could you explain that everyone he sent out never came back?

Xiao Lingye started beating Liang Yimo even more viciously.

He kept at it until someone nearby couldn’t stand it anymore and quietly tried to persuade him,

“Boss, don’t kill him. We still need him to find food for us.”

Only then did Xiao Lingye pull back his fists.

“So, which team do you think poached them?”

Liang Yimo, his face bruised and swollen, his whole body covered in blood, lay on the bed like a corpse.

“I don’t know. I really don’t know.”

Now, even Liang Yimo himself was starting to suspect that Song Yucheng and the others had taken the search-and-rescue team’s equipment and defected to another group.

He couldn’t help but feel a surge of hatred. If they wanted to leave, fine—but why did they leave him behind?

Why didn’t they take him with them? Just because he’d lost a leg and was now disabled?

Now Song Yucheng and the others had left him to face Xiao Lingye’s wrath alone.

They needed someone to stay behind and clean up the mess.

But with Xiao Lingye’s violent temper, when he beat someone, he always beat them within an inch of their life.

Staying behind was as good as being dead!

Dragged back to the tent, Liang Yimo felt nothing but despair.

He’d been abandoned—abandoned by the entire search-and-rescue team!

Liang Yimo knew exactly what was waiting for him.

If he didn’t find a way to save himself now, he’d be treated as a burden and would disappear from the team for good.

The man who’d dragged him back to the tent crouched down and patted Liang Yimo’s face.

“Our team isn’t like Captain Qiao’s. You’d better prove you’re still useful.”

Captain Qiao’s team wouldn’t do anything to a burden.

But Xiao Lingye’s team would never allow one to exist.

Once everyone left the tent, Liang Yimo lay on the cold ground, staring up at the tent ceiling.

He’d never imagined things would turn out like this.

He gave a bitter laugh and gathered what little strength he had left.

Only then did he manage to roll over and crawl up from the ground.

Limping, Liang Yimo made his way to the team under the bridge.

He went straight to the outside of the Shi family’s moat.

“Shi Yuebai! Shi Yuebai! I know you have food!”

“Give me something to eat, and I’ll help you find more food.”

That’s right—Liang Yimo was here to defect.

His face was battered and bruised.

He stood on the edge of the moat, swaying unsteadily, but his eyes were wide open, staring across to the other side.

White smoke still billowed up from the moat, and you couldn’t see the bottom from above.

This was a deliberately mysterious moat—no one even knew how deep it was anymore.

Given Liang Yimo’s current physical state, there was no way he could climb over the trash mountain and get inside the Shi family’s walls.

Besides, ever since Song Yucheng had managed to climb over the trash mountain and escape last time, Xu Xuejiao had taken precautions.

She’d extended the moat along both sides, digging it further under the Shi family’s walls and beneath the trash mountain.

Now, the part of the trash mountain that led to the Shi family’s wall was hollow underneath.

If anyone stepped too hard, they might fall right into the moat along with the trash.

And now, it was impossible to jump from the trash mountain to the Shi family’s wall.

The Shi family’s wall had been thickened and raised, and every household had built a courtyard behind it.

Because of the thick fog, no one could stand on top of the trash mountain and see clearly what was going on inside or outside the enclosure.

It was even harder to figure out how much food each household had.

“Shi Yuebai, say something! I know you’re kind-hearted. You’ve taken in so many desperate people, but none of them are as useful as I am.”

Liang Yimo shouted for a long time.

The pain in his body made every second he stood there a new torment.

Just as Liang Yimo was feeling confident, someone slowly walked up on the other side of the moat.

It looked like Captain Qiao.

“Captain Qiao, you’re here too? That’s great.”

Liang Yimo gestured at the width of the moat in front of him.

“Is our ladder with you? Set it up for me so I can climb over.”

Captain Qiao shook his head expressionlessly. “We don’t take outsiders in here.”

Now that the enclosure was finished, unless Shi Yuebai gave permission, even the old, weak, sick, and pregnant members of the team weren’t allowed inside.

Let alone Liang Yimo.

Someone who’d once eyed them with hostility and openly mocked Shi Yuebai.

Liang Yimo was stunned.

“I really want to join you, Captain Qiao. Are you in charge here, or is it Shi Yuebai?”

Liang Yimo didn’t believe Shi Yuebai was capable enough to run things inside the enclosure.

So he figured Captain Qiao was still the one in charge.

He spoke to Captain Qiao much more politely.

“We misjudged people before. After wandering around outside, I realized your place is still the best.”

“Don’t worry, Captain Qiao. Now that I’m back, I’ll stay here and behave myself.”

He pointed to the mercenary tents shrouded in white mist.

“I’ll just stay in that tent. Looks like it’s pretty decent quality.”

I need to go out and buy some supplies today."