Chapter 116: Get Me a Big Burlap Sack

Xiao Lingye was busy rallying his team.

He cursed furiously, “Damn it, I don’t believe this! There’s no way I’m letting them get away and live the good life!”

He gathered three groups of people in total. The first group was sent to track down Song Yucheng, Uncle Chen, and the others.

He was dying to know what kind of deal the team outside this big city had offered them—enough to make everyone run off, not a single one left behind.

The second group was sent to the collapsed bridge, to keep searching for Da Jiao and Xiao Jiao.

He was determined to get his hands on those two girls.

At this point, it wasn’t even about whether he could get one of the twenty coveted spots to live in the city.

It was about whether he could keep the trust of the city’s management.

No one wants a dog that can’t get the job done.

If Xiao Lingye failed, he’d be abandoned just like anyone else.

The third group he sent out to scavenge.

After Song Yucheng and the others defected, even Liang Yimo—the one who’d been beaten half to death—managed to escape.

That was something Xiao Lingye hadn’t expected.

The entire search-and-rescue team he’d poached was now gone, not a single one left.

So Xiao Lingye was back to square one, sending out people with zero experience in search and rescue to wander around aimlessly, looking for supplies.

The more things went this way, the more irritable Xiao Lingye became.

He was determined to find Song Yucheng and the others—even if he had to kill them, he wouldn’t allow his search-and-rescue team to be poached by someone else.

Meanwhile, at the base of the Shi family’s wall—

Shi Yuebai sat in her wheelchair, watching as Pang Zhenggong beat Liang Yimo to a bloody pulp.

Shi Yaoyao, Xiao Jiao, and Pang Ziyuan stood not far away, observing.

Shi Xiangrui had just been wheeled out, lying in a shopping cart lined with soft padding.

Listening to the screams, her bright, curious eyes widened as she stared at the blood-soaked Liang Yimo.

Shi Yuebai didn’t tell them to leave, nor did she shield their eyes.

She turned to the kids and asked,

“Do you know why he’s being beaten like this?”

Pang Ziyuan was about to answer—he was old enough to understand the rights and wrongs of the situation.

But Shi Yuebai cut him off,

“Because this man betrayed me. That’s why he’s getting beaten.”

“If any of you ever betray me, you’ll end up just like him.”

She pulled a fierce expression, her face looking menacing and tough.

Shi Yaoyao and Xiao Jiao quickly nodded.

Xiao Jiao waved her hands and shook her head, “No, never! Auntie is the best, the best in the world!”

These were lines Shi Yaoyao had drilled into her every day.

Now, Xiao Jiao could recite them backwards.

Every night after returning to the ditch, Xiao Jiao would repeat them for Da Jiao too.

Shi Yaoyao chimed in, “That’s right, my aunt is the best in the world. This guy deserves to die—Uncle Pang should beat him to death!”

Shi Yuebai was satisfied. “Alright, off you go.”

The kids scattered to do their own things.

Pang Zhenggong, having vented his anger, left Liang Yimo barely alive.

He wiped the blood from his fists and handed Shi Yuebai a bloodstained map.

The Shi family wasn’t short on paper—Team Leader Qiao and his group of burdens had been rummaging through the tourist center out back, and had found hundreds of packs of A4 and A3 paper, plus plenty of thermal paper for printing tickets.

Shi Yuebai took all of it.

But since the Shi family had run out of food these past two days, Team Leader Qiao had to pause the scavenging at the tourist center.

Otherwise, they might have found even more unopened packs of paper.

Shi Yuebai took the bloody A3 sheet. On it was a map of the musclemen’s camp, drawn by Pang Zhenggong based on Liang Yimo’s account.

This skill—making maps from scant information—was standard for everyone in the search-and-rescue team.

Liang Yimo knew how to describe; Pang Zhenggong knew how to draw.

They worked together seamlessly, easily mapping out Xiao Lingye’s team’s layout in a clear and understandable way.

Unfortunately, the information Liang Yimo gave up was beaten out of him by Pang Zhenggong.

He also knew exactly how much pain it would take for Liang Yimo to tell the truth.

Shi Yuebai studied the map in her hand, then glanced at the barely-breathing Liang Yimo.

“Kill him.”

No matter how useful someone was, once they’d betrayed her, they could never be trusted again.

Liang Yimo, collapsed on the ground, struggled desperately, coughing up blood as he begged for his life.

“No, please, I—I still have skills, I can find supplies...”

Pang Zhenggong grabbed him by the collar and dragged him away.

Anyone left in the white mist, as long as they were still breathing, would slowly recover.

Or so Pang Zhenggong guessed.

But he wasn’t about to give Liang Yimo a second chance.

In the ruins, Pang Zhenggong tossed Liang Yimo’s corpse from a high place.

Expressionless, he gazed into the distance.

From today on, his entire search-and-rescue team was gone.

He himself had died long ago—back when his own brothers had beaten him and left him in the ruins.

The man he was now was someone Shi Yuebai had given a new life.

He turned and walked back to the Shi family home, leaving behind only desolation and ruin.

Shi Yuebai was still studying the map.

Pang Zhenggong came over and asked,

“Yuebai, how are we going to get in and take the food?”

According to Liang Yimo, Xiao Lingye’s team still had some supplies.

Women were stripped naked and thrown into a giant tent.

They ate, drank, slept, and relieved themselves in there—never allowed to leave.

Every night, men would come to pick women.

What happened to them varied, but if it was just one man a night, that was considered lucky.

Sometimes it was several men in one night.

If they got hurt, no one treated them.

Xiao Lingye wouldn’t waste any medical supplies on these women.

They were left to fend for themselves.

“Things are that bad, and they still don’t run?” Shi Yuebai couldn’t understand.

If it were her, being treated like livestock, she’d barge right into the tent with the most men and take as many of them down with her as she could.

Pang Zhenggong’s lips moved.

“Xiao Lingye gives them food.”

A single mouthful of food—how many people would it drive to become less than human?

Shi Yuebai pressed her lips together, silent.

It was just like the Wu tribe fighting for spiritual energy.

Only with spiritual energy could the Wu people have powerful souls and stand above the rest.

Shi Yuebai had once fought with her trusted followers for a piece of land rich in spiritual energy.

She’d been so focused on the fight that someone stabbed her in the back.

“Yuebai, why don’t we gather our people and rush in while they’re sleeping tonight?” Pang Zhenggong suggested. If they were going to steal food, it was best to do it when the enemy’s guard was down.

The thought of a bloody battle made Pang Zhenggong’s blood boil.

Shi Yuebai kept staring at the map.

After a long while, she pulled herself out of her memories.

She tapped the tent where Xiao Lingye stored the food.

“No need to make it so complicated. Get me a big burlap sack.”

“I’ll be back in no time.”

This body of mine needs some care. Tomorrow I should go buy some goji berries and a thermos."