Chapter 180 - 170: A Pack of Cigarettes

Chapter 180: Chapter 170: A Pack of Cigarettes

Lin Zhixue wasn’t surprised by Huang Zhiqiang’s attempt to chat her up. She’d noticed him eyeing her ever since he arrived. As a celebrity, she often saw that same look in her fans’ eyes.

’He’s ready to start sucking up.’

"Yes, I’m getting used to it. Sister Qiao and Sister Lin have been taking good care of me."

"Have you run into any difficulties? If you have any trouble, you can tell me. I have some say on this ship."

"No, everyone here is very nice. Thanks."

Lin Zhixue was polite yet distant. After speaking, she went back to moving things nearby.

Huang Zhiqiang chuckled and didn’t pursue her. He wasn’t in a hurry.

There was plenty of time on the ship. He was very patient.

He looked down most of all on men like Zhao Youcai—the kind who’d take a girl to a hotel on their first meeting!

BENEATH. CONTEMPT.

Huang Zhiqiang chatted with his old man again about the tasks Yu Dong had assigned that day. Huang Henian said:

"Er... Miss Lin already told me about this the night before last. I’ve been working for her all day."

"Huh? I thought you were fishing..."

"I may have looked like I was fishing, but I was actually helping Miss Lin by listening to everyone’s conversations and getting a feel for their situations. But, good son, you’ve just reminded me... I still haven’t made tomorrow’s bait. I need to get on that."

"Wait, Dad? Can you really catch fish here at the port? I don’t fish much, so don’t you try to fool me."

"If I can’t catch fish, I can at least catch a few zombies as a fallback. There have been quite a few splashing around in the water lately. I used some bloody water and meat scraps from the kitchen to make some big bait balls. One cast and they come right over. They pull harder than a big fish, it really gives you a feel for the fight! In the end, I even got some people to help pull them ashore and kill them."

"Badass, Dad... You’re the patron saint of anglers now."

Just as Huang Zhiqiang was about to head back to his room to rest, he suddenly heard an argument behind him.

"Why does he get some and I don’t? Aren’t you just picking on an honest guy?!"

A man with a shock of blond hair shouted at Qiao Ping, his neck stiff with indignation.

Behind him were two friends who clearly knew him, both with the same trademark blond hair. They also spoke up, looking impatient:

"Hey, we clearly saw you give him a pack of cigarettes. How come there are none left when we ask?"

"Ma’am, seeing as you’re pregnant, I really don’t want to shout at you, but you have to be fair, at least, right? Your own people can just take them, but we have to wait and earn some kind of points to trade for them? This... this isn’t right, is it?"

Instantly, it attracted a crowd of onlookers from among the survivors resting on the fourth floor.

"What are you screaming for, you little brat! You have no class at all! Didn’t your mother teach you to respect the old, care for the young, and look after pregnant women?! Even my son doesn’t shout at a pregnant woman. You’ve grown so big for nothing, you’re less decent than a dog."

Wang Xiuying pointed at them, hands on her hips, and let loose a full-blown tirade, spittle flying everywhere.

Her display stunned the three men into silence for a few seconds.

Then they snapped out of it, pointing at Wang Xiuying’s nose and yelling, "You old hag, watch your fucking mouth! What are you getting so worked up for? Did I step on your tail? Are people not allowed to talk on this ship anymore?"

"You touch me, and I’ll drop to the ground right now and have the officer arrest you."

"The fuck?" The three were startled. ’How is this trick still a thing in the apocalypse?!’

By now, many of the survivors who hadn’t yet gone to rest had gathered around to watch.

The young blond punk decided to just ignore Wang Xiuying. Instead, he turned to address the crowd, shouting:

"I just want to ask one thing! Why did you give that guy cigarettes but not us? What kind of distribution system is this? Is it that your own people get to smoke, and people who aren’t with you get nothing? That’s all I’m asking! Everyone’s watching, so give us an explanation, alright?"

Huang Zhiqiang walked over just then, and he was instantly furious.

"What’s it to you? Did you go out and fight zombies that you think you deserve a smoke?"

"No, I didn’t. We just got here today. That officer said it was safe and orderly here, so we came. I didn’t expect... you guys are so into your little cliques, even a pack of cigarettes is divided by rank... Where’s that officer? Isn’t he going to do anything about this?"

Huang Zhiqiang sneered, "So you do know we’re the ones who saved you, huh? Try having a little gratitude. We brought you back to fight zombies together, not for you to cause trouble for the group."

"Don’t give me that crap. I didn’t ask you to save me; the three of us would have survived on our own. I’m just asking, how do we get to smoke?"

The blond punk had a stubborn look on his face, which made Huang Zhiqiang laugh in anger.

"Simple. Tomorrow, the three of you go out and fight zombies. When you get back in the evening, you’ll get your cigarettes. I’ll hand them out myself—one pack each. As long as you fight, I’ll supply you every day. How about it?"

"So if we fight zombies, we get a supply of cigarettes, is that it? Does your word count for anything? Are you in charge?"

Just then, Lin Zhixue also looked over. On a hot-headed impulse, Huang Zhiqiang declared:

"The boss on this ship is my sworn brother. A few of us planned this whole cruise ship operation. Of course my word counts! But... what about you? You talk big, but do you even have the guts to kill a zombie?"

"Fine. What time do we assemble tomorrow? We’ll be there on time."

Huang Zhiqiang, who had just been looking down on the trio, was taken aback for a moment. He subconsciously decided that the three blond punks were just bluffing.

"6 AM at the port for training."

"Alright. Let’s go."

The blond punk led his two friends away, leaving behind a crowd of onlookers who felt the show hadn’t been exciting enough.

Some people had been hoping the argument would escalate, that Yu Dong and the others would come out to placate everyone and hand out some freebies, giving them a chance to snag a pack for themselves...

They hadn’t expected it to be a special privilege for the combat team.

The next morning at 6 AM sharp, Yu Dong saw the trio of blond punks coming down.

"Huh? And you are?"

"We want to kill zombies and enjoy the special privileges."

"Huh? What special privileges?"

The blond punk pointed at Huang Zhiqiang and said, "He said that anyone who kills zombies gets their cigarette supply covered."