Chapter 232 - 216: You Deserve to Be a Grunt for Life

Chapter 232: Chapter 216: You Deserve to Be a Grunt for Life

Li Shengguang was Qiao Yunliang’s personal guard and chief advisor—a professional soldier.

The second-in-command of this unit.

When the zombie outbreak began, he was the badass who had single-handedly rescued Qiao Yunliang from a horde of zombies with just a gun.

Qiao Yunliang trusted him implicitly.

The soldiers typically reported everything to him. He handled what he could, and for anything he couldn’t, he would have Qiao Yunliang make the final call.

Qian Chenglin was the youngest soldier in their unit.

He was eighteen years old and had been a reserve militiaman. Later, he was conscripted by Qiao Yunliang and Li Shengguang’s group, becoming a member of the post-apocalyptic army.

Faced with Sun Yu’s sugar-coated bribe, he resolutely chose to report it!

He just felt it was completely unfair.

The Combat Team already had great perks. They could afford to buy their own socks, enjoy delicious food and all sorts of entertainment, and were respected on the ship. Why did they still need to pilfer from the group’s loot?

His army might not have abundant supplies, but they knew that loot belonged to everyone and was to be distributed equally.

Sun Yu was stunned.

"What the hell, man? That’s a real scummy move."

He couldn’t comprehend this kind of snitching at all!

’It’s not like I didn’t cut you in. What’s your problem?’

’If you don’t want it, just leave it. Nobody’s forcing you to take it...’

’So you’re holier-than-thou? You’re so high and mighty? You take the shit I gave you and use it to f*cking report me!’

’Psycho!’

’What a completely messed-up way of thinking!’

The other two guys looked like they’d just eaten shit, with a million complaints they didn’t know how to begin voicing.

Hearing the commotion, many people nearby started to gather.

On the Combat Team’s side... there was a silent, mutual understanding.

But the soldiers felt this was completely out of line! A total lack of discipline!

Right now, the person with the biggest headache was Li Shengguang.

Qiao Yunliang was on Binhai Avenue with Yu Dong, inspecting the defensive constructions.

So now, he was in charge.

If his own soldiers had disciplinary issues, that would be simple. He knew exactly how they should be dealt with.

But the problem was... these weren’t his soldiers.

They were members of a civilian organization from the cruise ship. President Qiao had specifically told him to strictly forbid military interference in the cruise ship’s affairs. They were to maintain a cooperative relationship and ensure the military and civilians were united.

He had no authority over them!

Logically, he should just ignore it. He wasn’t the type who couldn’t turn a blind eye to minor issues. But the young hothead, Qian Chenglin, had dragged him over with several other soldiers, putting him squarely on the spot!

His soldiers were all watching him, and the Combat Team members looked on with wary expressions.

’What the hell kind of mess is this!’

"Qian, I understand the situation. Hand the items over to me for now. I’ll go discuss this with the cruise ship’s management. And, uh... Mr. Huang, your actions aren’t technically under our military jurisdiction. But since we’ve witnessed this, I will notify your team leader, Mr. Zhao Youcai. I hope you can resolve this issue internally. Be more mindful of your conduct in the future. We all have to work together for a long time to come."

It was all Li Shengguang could say.

He couldn’t just overstep his authority and punish them on the spot according to military regulations, could he?

Those regulations were meant to discipline his soldiers, not the civilian groups. Besides, they were currently living on the civilians’ cruise ship. The ship’s crew provided their daily necessities, and he’d even heard the heat was being turned on today. The people on the cruise ship treated them well; he really couldn’t do anything to jeopardize the relationship between their two groups.

Hearing this, Sun Yu and the other two, who had been tense just moments before, breathed a sigh of relief.

You don’t realize how much pressure there is until you’re actually facing a group of soldiers, especially when... what they did was undeniably shady. The matter could be blown up or brushed aside.

But if it was just reported to Zhao Youcai, then they’d be fine.

It was impossible to hide minor things like this from a leader they spent every day with. As long as they didn’t go too far, Zhao Youcai would turn a blind eye.

"Alright, we were in the wrong this time. We’ll let Brother Cai punish us... Let’s go."

In front of everyone, they pulled the items from their clothes and put them back into the sack. Then, the three of them walked away.

Qian Chenglin, his face filled with righteous indignation, shouted:

"That’s how it should be! Otherwise, how can the people trust you!"

Sun Yu just gave a disdainful smile and shook his head.

’The more people there are with this kind of faith, the more comfortable my own life will be.’

’If everyone took a piece, there wouldn’t be much left for him.’

"Alright, alright, everyone back to what you were doing. Pack up the rest of these dried seafood products and take them back to our warehouse."

It was just a minor conflict. After resolving it, Li Shengguang was more concerned with the supplies.

This was all meat—high in protein, and convenient, too. You could just tear it open and eat without any prep.

It would supplement their currently scarce meat supply and improve the quality of their rations.

He was quite satisfied.

The other members of the Combat Team resumed packing as well.

Normally, this would be the Logistics Team’s job, but they were busy with construction, so the combatants had to collect supplies as they fought.

With the soldiers watching, the Combat Team members were on their best behavior.

Yan Yikai said to Zhao Wenjie, "Brother Jie, between that young soldier and me... who do you think is stronger?"

"You, definitely! Brother Dong forcing us to bulk up these past two months has really paid off. I never thought I could gain weight... I’ve put on 18 pounds in two months and definitely feel stronger. You already had a good build, and now you’re even more solid."

"Heh heh~"

Yan Yikai was very pleased. He had recently been training hard in marksmanship with Yu Chengfei, practicing late into the night, all to raise his personal combat strength.

He’d heard Brother Dong was planning to form a Combat Team Two. He had missed out on becoming the leader of the Public Security Team last time, and he was determined not to miss his chance to lead Combat Team Two.

He had to become a better fighter!

Zhao Wenjie, by contrast, was more laid-back. He fought when it was time to fight, trained when it was time to train, and enjoyed his downtime when he could. He didn’t have much ambition and had no interest in vying for power.

Besides, after the last incident, Yang Yi didn’t have the nerve to face him anymore. This allowed Zhao Wenjie to finally escape that emotional quagmire. He felt more and more that he must have been possessed back then.

Yang Yi had countless flaws, yet he’d been head over heels in love with her...

He’d recently had something of an epiphany about relationships. In his next one, he thought, he definitely wouldn’t let someone treat him like a dog on a leash.

He’d noticed a girl on the cruise ship named Fu Yuanyuan... she was pretty cute.

After finishing work and returning to the cruise ship that day, Li Shengguang privately told Zhao Youcai what had happened.

Zhao Youcai was very pleased. Li Shengguang knew his place and understood that such matters should be discussed with him.

He immediately puffed out his chest and declared, "An incident like this has a terrible influence! I’ll be sure to educate them properly! I won’t allow a similar situation to happen again! Thank you for your oversight, Advisor Li!"

"Heh~ Alright then. As long as you handle your own discipline. I’ll be off."

As he watched Li Shengguang leave, Zhao Youcai couldn’t help but click his tongue in admiration.

’That military officer is a class act... He knows not to overstep his authority. It really is a pleasure to work with people like him.’

Most importantly, Qiao Yunliang had said that they would leave after clearing the armory together, which gave Zhao Youcai a great sense of security.

They risked their lives day in and day out, saved so many people—wasn’t it all just to enjoy a little taste of power?

If even that was taken away from him, then none of it would have any meaning.

That evening, Zhao Youcai called the blond punk over to give him a talking-to, and the matter was dropped.

Yu Dong and Qiao Yunliang remained completely unaware of this minor stir among their subordinates...

...

「Day 69 of the Apocalypse. A layer of frost coated the roads.」

The Combat Team went about their business as usual.

When Sun Yu saw the young soldier Qian Chenglin again, he leaned in and whispered in his ear:

"Still trying to take me down? You deserve to be a grunt for the rest of your life..."

Then, under Qian Chenglin’s watchful eyes, he sauntered away.

Absolutely nothing had happened to him.

The young soldier Qian Chenglin was so angry that his hand holding his gun trembled. He couldn’t stop himself from telling his comrades, and the story soon spread throughout the entire military unit.

Time passed.

On Day 72 of the Apocalypse, the anti-horde fortifications were finally complete.

Yu Dong and Qiao Yunliang beamed as they looked at the newly established fortification. This meant they could finally clear out the tens of thousands of zombies blocking their path.

They recalled all their personnel.

"Today, we prepare to face the horde!"

"Everyone, be on your guard."

The Combat Team, the Logistics Team, and the soldiers would once again join forces to fight the zombies.

However, after several days of simmering, a faint rift had formed between the two groups...