Chapter 118: The Greatest Kindness a Team Can Give

Outside the pit, more and more elderly people were gathering.

At first, there were only a few old folks wandering around, but now there were about a dozen.

They all looked anxious.

The return of hunger made each of them appear panicked and uneasy.

But they were well aware of their own status—unwanted burdens, treated like trash by other groups.

The fact that they were still alive in the team under the bridge—whether thanks to Leader Qiao or the Shi family—was already more than enough.

If they asked for anything more and ended up angering Shi Yuebai or Leader Qiao, they wouldn’t even have a place to shelter.

A dozen gaunt, white-haired elders, their faces either sorrowful or numb, sat by the edge of the ditch.

Suddenly, a startled shout came from inside the ditch—it was Leader Qiao.

“What’s this?”

Immediately after, there was a rustling in the thick white mist, and Leader Qiao climbed up the ditch using a cloud ladder.

The dozen old people stood up, trembling, their cloudy, yellowed eyes fixed anxiously on Leader Qiao.

“Leader, are we going out scavenging today?”

If Leader Qiao let them go scavenging, it meant there would be food that day.

They asked cautiously, their voices trembling, afraid of angering Leader Qiao.

Leader Qiao was momentarily taken aback.

Before he could answer, another elder hurriedly apologized, “Sorry, sorry, Leader. We know the team is struggling. If we’re not scavenging today, will we go tomorrow?”

Their attitude was extremely humble.

They knew they were useless.

Even their own children and relatives didn’t want them. Their fate should have been to starve to death.

But they were still human. The will to survive is instinctual.

Even someone who sincerely wants to die will regret it at the very last moment.

So, they wanted to cling to life.

Leader Qiao looked at the circle of elders crowding around him and sighed.

“We’ll go scavenging today, but…”

As he said the first part, everyone’s eyes lit up—a brightness from deep within.

But as he continued, their bodies tensed, afraid he might say something earth-shattering.

“But let’s eat something first before we head out.”

Behind Leader Qiao, Xu Xuejiao climbed up from below the cloud ladder.

She was carrying forty cans of expired canned yellow peaches.

Each can was the size of two adult fists, packed full.

If you ignored the expiration date, these canned peaches were actually very good food.

One can was enough for three or four people, and there was still some syrup inside to help with hydration.

“One can for every two people.”

Leader Qiao had Xu Xuejiao distribute the canned peaches.

The circle of elders around him were so moved they wanted to kneel in gratitude.

Leader Qiao quickly reached out to stop them.

“No need to thank me. These are from Yuebai—she told me to give them to you. If you want to thank someone, thank Yuebai.”

Shi Yuebai?

Everyone looked curiously toward the same area.

Shi Yuebai was in the front yard, charging the spirit-gathering array.

When she heard what Leader Qiao said, she snorted, turned her wheelchair, and headed inside the wall.

Who wanted thanks from these burdens anyway?

Leader Qiao was really making a fuss over nothing.

“Thank you, thank you Yuebai, thank you!”

The elders bowed deeply toward Shi Yuebai’s retreating figure, each one sincerely grateful.

Leader Qiao and Xu Xuejiao exchanged a smile—Yuebai was always so awkward.

Clearly doing good deeds, yet always putting on a fierce face.

Leader Qiao said, “Everyone, eat up. But let me be clear: once you’re done, it’s time to work.”

“The reason we’re called burdens is because we can’t walk far or do heavy labor.”

“So our work will be limited to the nearby area.”

These elders, all over seventy, had survived the apocalypse this long, which meant they were in decent shape before the wasteland era.

Give them some food and a bit of strength, and they could still turn over some small stones.

As long as the expectations weren’t too high—like demanding they find food or be beaten to death if they didn’t—they could contribute something every day.

Once word got out that Leader Qiao was handing out food, the other elders waiting to die under the tarp came over as well.

There were also seven odd-looking adult men, two pregnant women waddling over, heads lolling to the side.

Basically, it was one can of peaches for every two people.

After distributing to everyone, there were still some cans left.

Xu Xuejiao took the extras to the tarp where the group of disabled children were.

They had no ability to take care of themselves.

Leader Qiao and Xu Xuejiao couldn’t look after them, and Shi Yuebai’s people were all too busy to help.

So Xu Xuejiao could only open the cans and place them among the children, hoping that those with the will to survive would crawl over and eat.

It was like feeding dogs.

But in this environment, the fact that anyone was feeding them at all was already the greatest kindness the team could offer.

On the open ground, the twenty elders, seven oddballs, and two pregnant women finished eating, cherishing every drop as they licked the cans clean.

Pang Zhenggong came over on the cloud ladder.

“I’ve already reported to Yuebai. Today, I’ll take you scavenging. Don’t worry, the task isn’t too hard, but you must follow my instructions.”

He had most of the search and rescue team’s equipment.

Some heavy machinery was still with Xiao Lingye’s team—Song Yucheng and the others couldn’t fit it in their backpacks or bring it out.

That was fine; the elders couldn’t use heavy machinery anyway.

A few days ago, Pang Zhenggong had asked Guai Guai to make him a jack.

While helping Ah Hong with her work, he’d also been running to the visitor center to do some prospecting.

Even though these areas had already been searched dozens of times, there were still plenty of usable, brand-new supplies.

As long as you could turn over the stones, there were always surprises underneath.

Even if there was nothing behind a big stone, it helped Ah Hong and the others clear obstacles.

Yuebai was getting more and more annoyed with the garbage mountain.

Now, everyone had been assigned to help clear it.

From the Shi family’s backyard to the public toilets, she wanted the whole area cleaned up.

No one objected—now that they’d eaten, even if they were told to die, they’d charge ahead without hesitation.

The elder team set out, slowly making their way around from behind the ditch.

They didn’t spend much time on the road—just a few hundred meters to the visitor center.

“The small, broken stones are all piled up here. We need to be realistic about our strength and clear this area first,” Pang Zhenggong instructed.

He was organized; compared to Leader Qiao, Pang Zhenggong’s assignments were easier for each elder to handle.

This way, the small stones were cleared much faster.

(T/N: The author’s note at the end is unrelated to the story and can be omitted for translation purposes.)"