CHAPTER 12: CHAPTER 12: GRIEVANCES SETTLED

Facing Qu Jianlei’s question, Sister Fat shook her head decisively, "No, a few kilos of charcoal, is it worth it?"

"A few kilos?" Qu Jianlei looked at her thoughtfully.

Sister Fat realized she let something slip, so she candidly replied, "Morrison took it as well, but I didn’t take it."

"This guy really has a death wish," Qu Jianlei mumbled under his breath and turned to leave.

Watching him walk away, Sister Fat spat angrily, "Pah!"

"Getting two guns makes you think you’re something... If you don’t die, who will?"

Qu Jianlei’s ears twitched; he could actually hear Sister Fat’s muttering.

But he couldn’t be bothered to deal with the type to only curse behind one’s back, if you have the guts, come curse me to my face!

He wasn’t in a hurry to retrieve the tricycle, because, as it turned out, it would eventually return to him.

In six years, he’d assembled only three tricycles.

One of them had been completely dismantled and repurposed, never to return.

The remaining two, no matter where they ended up, would always return to him; the only difference lay in the cost of retrieval.

Even the tricycle lost to the Fallen would return to him sooner or later, as long as it wasn’t dismantled.

This business was something no one else could do.

Wealthy Scavengers had motorbikes, even cars, and didn’t need to hire tricycles.

Penniless Scavengers couldn’t afford them and could only rent public transport vehicles or rely on their own legs to carry trash away.

Qu Jianlei’s little tricycle was purely manually operated; not only was it slow, but it also charged more than public haulage vehicles, the only advantage being its secrecy.

His small transport volume was so negligible that public haulage vehicles didn’t even feel he was stealing business.

But business being sparse was inevitable—a maximum of three orders a day; there were plenty of empty days.

The problem was he had to watch over everything from start to finish, unable to leave.

Working hard, enduring exhaustion, earning little... he couldn’t believe there was anyone else willing to do this kind of business.

Anyway, he went home, took a nap, and set out for the "Mine" the next morning, fully armed.

He didn’t feel secure and really didn’t want to stand out, but after a few days, everyone should know about "Mr. Sai’s" affair.

Keeping it under wraps was useless, even making people think he had ulterior motives.

So he directly took two guns and a knife to the mine.

The distance from his little nest to the mine was less than fifteen kilometers; any closer wasn’t possible, any farther was inconvenient.

Arriving at the junkyard, he immediately saw the busy activity inside.

For Scavengers, there was no concept of shifts; the notion of "996" was truly bizarre.

If the junkyard enforced 996 rules, Scavengers would absolutely jump up and curse—We don’t want to miss any opportunity!

After all, "working for the boss" and "working for oneself" are fundamentally different.

Qu Jianlei wasn’t in a hurry, either, seeing no one at the exits, he began a posture stance.

The benefits of stance training were numerous—besides strengthening the body, it also cultivated Inner Qi,

but he’d only practiced for a few days, standing for ten minutes before stopping.

It wasn’t something achieved overnight; too much was as bad as too little.

Just as Qu Jianlei finished his stance, a dilapidated truck came from afar, precisely the public transport vehicle.

In the truck’s bed were five or six Scavengers, sitting on a heap of dirty garbage.

The truck driver noticed Qu Jianlei from afar, slowing down noticeably as he approached.

He had already heard that Qu Jianlei had connected with a notable figure from the Hong Character General Settlement.

Several people had died, including figures like Third Master and Iron Hand, which had already spread among the Scavengers.

He remembered a rumor: Sha Qu might be commanded to inspect the cargo.

The driver himself wasn’t a Scavenger; he was in an auxiliary role and had no interest in challenging forces known for casual killing.

But seeing Sha Qu not stopping the truck, he maintained a slow speed and passed by.

Qu Jianlei truly had no intention of stopping the truck; he hadn’t considered inspecting all Scavengers.

On the mine’s stretch of over a hundred kilometers, he knew of three to four hundred Scavengers, which was not the total.

The junkyard is so vast that Qu Jianlei couldn’t determine its exact size to this day.

If Mr. Sai’s intention was for him to inquire among all the Scavengers for information, he simply couldn’t manage.

Even inspecting just the three to four hundred in this area was impractical.

The crucial point—why would others submit to his inspection?

Mr. Sai only wanted information, didn’t give him any authority, nor sent anyone with him.

Was it worth it to oppose three to four hundred Scavengers over a mere couple of nutrient injections?

He only needed to remember those twenty Scavengers and inspect them—these people were deeply impressed by Mr. Sai anyway.

Just as the truck passed in front of Qu Jianlei, a voice called out, "Stop!"

The truck halted, and a man with a Long Blade on his back jumped down from the bed.

This fellow was Huo Ya, lean yet surprisingly strong, known for bullying the weak and fearing the strong.

He had bullied Qu Jianlei quite a bit in the past.

He swaggered over with a cheeky grin on his face, "Sha Qu, you sure have some guts, huh, getting your hands on a gun?"

"Come on, let me have a look, how’s the gun?"

Bullying really is addictive; he didn’t even consider that the other might have the guts to fire.

Among the survivors, there are many desperadoes, but also a fair share of cowards. Qu Jianlei’s usual impression on others was that of a timid pushover.

Huo Ya once had a Gauss Automatic Rifle, but it broke, and he had long wanted to replace it with a new one.

As he watched the other swagger over, Qu Jianlei frowned slightly, "Why should I let you see it?"

Huo Ya continued his indifferent crab-step approach, then smirked, "Wow, now that you’ve got a gun, you actually dare to talk back?"

He then turned his head to look at his companions on the truck, laughing, "Sha Qu’s grown bolder, hasn’t he? Isn’t it funny?"

Seeing the man closing to within twenty meters, Qu Jianlei reached for his waist.

However, Huo Ya’s laughter abruptly stopped, "What... why do you all have such expressions?"

A scavenger wearing his hat askew, with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, spoke up from the truck bed.

"Huo Ya, your nerve is admirable, that automatic rifle belongs to Iron Head."

Another scavenger, leaning against the trash, joined in, "He also has Third Master’s laser pistol on his waist, be careful, Huo Ya."

Huo Ya immediately froze there, he had heard of Third Master and Iron Head’s deaths.

But he hadn’t inquired further, he had been busy with "Peach Treasures" at the time.

When he came to his senses, he turned to leave, "Just kidding!"

Qu Jianlei had already opened the gun holster and pulled out the laser pistol, "Huo Ya, stop there, let me see the sword on your back."

Huo Ya instantly stopped in his tracks, then turned around with a forced grin, "Xiaoqu, it’s just a worthless sword."

Qu Jianlei unlocked the laser gun’s safety, asking blandly, "Are you planning to disrespect me?"

Huo Ya faltered, gritting his teeth to spit out a word, "Give!"

Saying this, he unsheathed the Long Blade, tossed it on the ground, accepting that thievery was a gamble, and he had lost fair and square.

He secretly comforted himself; he still had a better one at home.

No wonder Mr. Sai looks down on scavengers, some scavengers really lack grit... just a bit.

He didn’t take off the scabbard too, that was his last bit of stubbornness.

Qu Jianlei didn’t make a big deal of it, after all, although Huo Ya bullied him, he never really robbed him.

With an Overclocked Oscillation Blade, all grudges were cleared.

The truck driver saw this and grew curious instead, leaning his head out to ask, "Xiaoqu, aren’t you going to inspect the goods?"

Qu Jianlei looked at him in surprise, "I only check those present at the time, are you insisting on coming forward?"

"Just asking casually," the truck driver forced a smile, started up the vehicle, and drove off.

When the truck had driven far away, Huo Ya curiously asked, "How did that Sha Qu... get those two guns?"

The guy with the askew hat snorted, "Third Master’s laser pistol was snatched by Sha Qu directly from Greedy Wolf."

"Greedy Wolf... that lone Hunter?"

"That’s right, that very Greedy Wolf."

Huo Ya didn’t say another word and after a long while, just snorted, "But I didn’t give him the scabbard."

"This guy is indeed a bit foolish," the truck driver sighed, "He doesn’t know how to leverage his power, insists on chewing on hard bones."

"Then let him wait until he’s bleeding," Huo Ya said gleefully, albeit with a slight pain in his heart.

After all, that was an Overclocked Oscillation Blade...

Qu Jianlei didn’t take it to heart, things were settled, and he wasn’t worried about Huo Ya seeking revenge.

The Wasteland is a place where strength speaks, scavengers understand how to avoid danger and seek profit, those without this sense are buried in the ditches along the road.

He didn’t bother with pursuing it, the other side had no reason to court death.

Subsequently, two motorcycles passed by, slowing when they spotted Qu Jianlei, only speeding up when they saw he didn’t react.

Clearly, there aren’t many as shortsighted as Huo Ya.

How big can a scavenger’s circle be? Several ruthless people dying at once, the news travels faster than birds.

But soon enough, someone else came to pick a fight.

A slightly chubby young man, "Sha Qu, did you get my boss’s laser pistol?"

This person was one of Third Master’s men, more or less a half-disciple.

Third Master had lost a leg, making it hard to move around the trash mountain, and he was also old, so he recruited two people to help.

Scavenging actually requires good eyesight, Third Master didn’t lack it, but his mobility was poor, so he taught the two quite a few things.

Iron Head was different, although he had a replaced alloy skull, it didn’t affect his mobility, he still operated alone.

Anyway, he was young and strong, not needing to share his loot with anyone.

Third Master wasn’t too harsh on his two subordinates, even equipping them with weapons. The guy before had an Overclocked Oscillation Short Blade.

Just looking at his physique, you could tell he was doing well. In the Wasteland, it’s truly hard to maintain a bit of weight.

Qu Jianlei frowned, "I picked it up, what do you want to say?"

(During the new book period, I ask for all sorts of support.)