Chapter 263 - 240: Maggie’s Gift

Chapter 263: Chapter 240: Maggie’s Gift

"This is the best outcome we could hope for. We will cooperate and continue to move forward together."

"The road ahead is winding, but the future is bright. I hope everyone can put the past behind them... and look forward together."

"Thank you."

After speaking, Yu Dong, wearing the Medal of Honor, walked off the stage.

After his speech, Qiao Yunliang was finally at ease.

This meant that their peaceful transition of power was a success. Publicly, both sides had moved on. The power in Yu Dong’s hands had been smoothly transferred to the military, and the stability of the cruise ship was maintained.

Stability was paramount!

At that moment, the others on the cruise ship had mixed feelings.

None of the Combat Team members would be purged by Qiao Yunliang, and they would even be commended later, but... their leader had officially stepped down. All that was left was the title of "Honorary Advisor." From now on, they wouldn’t be the ones calling the shots; Qiao Yunliang would.

The Combat Team had been monumentally weakened. Most of them wanted to quit on the spot. Only a few who truly had ideals and convictions would continue to follow Qiao Yunliang for the sake of the greater cause they believed in.

The Logistics Team was less affected, but they knew... the good old days were over. They might still receive a decent salary, but discipline would surely be stricter than before, and the higher-ups wouldn’t be as easygoing.

Their leader, Huang Zhiqiang, was also stepping down. The Logistics Team was now effectively managed by its deputy leader, Liu Hao.

Among the general populace, the clever ones knew what had happened. The average person thought it was only natural. And the fools thought Yu Dong must have done something wrong to offend Qiao Yunliang.

In any case, the outcome... was a dignified one that all sides could accept.

"Next, we will award the Medal of Martyrdom. Comrade Zhao Youcai, during his time as the leader of the Combat Team..."

After an impassioned speech from Qiao Yunliang, Yu Dong accepted the Medal of Martyrdom on Zhao Youcai’s behalf.

Afterward, everyone in the Combat Team received medals, as did a few members of the Logistics Team.

Lin Mo did not receive a medal. After careful consideration, Qiao Yunliang had decided to keep her on to manage the economy and ship affairs. After all, she was the foundation of their stability.

Among the military personnel... there was truly no one more capable than Lin Mo.

Even though Qiao Yunliang felt Lin Mo had ’betrayed’ him before and lacked Yang Ze’s level of conviction, he had no choice but to hold his nose and continue using her.

Lin Mo wasn’t one for dramatics. She simply continued her work. Power had changed hands many times, yet she always remained in her position... irreplaceable.

...

Yu Dong, Huang Zhiqiang, Zhou Jian Country, Liu Ye’ye, Shen Xinyi, Yan Yikai, Zhao Wenjie, Xia Yao, Jiang Zhuoyu, Yu Chengfei, Sun Yu, and other core team members gathered in front of Zhao Youcai’s gravestone.

Each of them wore the medals and awards they had just been given.

They had buried Zhao Youcai in a small, open park in B Port.

Next to the gravestone of the old woman, Wang Xiuying, a few other fallen soldiers were also buried here.

Yu Dong hung the Medal of Martyrdom on Zhao Youcai’s gravestone, adding a splash of red to the grayish-white stone.

Sunlight streamed down, filtering through the branches, its scattered rays illuminating the gravestone.

"Youcai, this is what they owed you."

"Your name will be engraved on the cruise ship. In the future, everyone who comes aboard will pay their respects to you, commemorating your contribution to this post-apocalyptic world. You will not be forgotten."

"You’ll always be my best brother... If... if I really do have a next life... I’ll give you a better future. In this life, following me... you only suffered."

Many people only remembered them smoking, drinking, and feasting on the cruise ship, but how bitter those days of killing zombies in the ice and snow were... only the members of the Combat Team knew.

Yu Dong would never forget how Zhao Youcai had risked his life to save him in this lifetime.

Huang Zhiqiang wiped his tears and said, "Youcai, I told you that you couldn’t do it! If you had let me go first... I would have succeeded. I’m so much stronger... You just had to be a hero! Why did you have to be a hero!"

"SOB SOB SOB... I know you cursed me out and knocked me unconscious because you knew it was dangerous... you didn’t want me to try. Well, look at you now. You’ve made everyone cry, and you’ve become Dongzi’s best brother. Are you happy now?"

"If there’s a next life... you’d better die after me. I’ll make you cry too! Cry your damn eyes out! SOB SOB SOB SOB..."

Huang Zhiqiang wailed uncontrollably. Of course he knew that Zhao Youcai had cursed him out to protect him...

Yu Dong patted Huang Zhiqiang’s shoulder. "You’re my best brother too. We’ll always be brothers..."

Yan Yikai clenched his fists. "Brother Dong! Shouldn’t we get revenge for Brother Youcai? Are we just going to watch Qiao Yunliang and his people succeed in their takeover and let it go with these stupid medals?"

Yu Dong had no more tears left. He caressed the medal on his chest.

"This isn’t a stupid medal... This is a life-saving talisman for all of us. With this, Qiao Yunliang and his people won’t touch us or target us. Whenever they see us, they’ll have to be polite."

Yu Dong had traded his power for a life-saving talisman for everyone.

Soldiers aspire to honor. If someone who has earned honor is retaliated against by their leader... that leader would be digging their own grave.

Sun Yu said, "You guys can have your life-saving talisman, I don’t want it! Brother Youcai was so good to me... I have to avenge him. Tonight, I’m going to get a knife and stab that son of a bitch Qiao Yunliang to death!"

"Absurd!" Yu Dong scolded. "Do you want all of us to die with you?! Do you want to turn everything I’ve done into a joke?! I don’t care if you live or die, but you can’t drag everyone else down with you! If you still see me as your leader, don’t ever say anything like that again. Let me live in peace and see what the future holds..."

Yu Dong didn’t want his men to get into a bloody conflict with those innocent soldiers. He just wanted to live longer, to see a more distant future.

But the vaccine he had placed all his hopes on... was completely gone. Professor Meng was dead, the lab was destroyed, and besides some experimental data, there was nothing left...

Seeing Yu Dong’s anger, Sun Yu didn’t dare to speak and could only mutter curses to himself.

After everyone had paid their respects one by one, Yu Dong left.

Things had already come to this. Dwelling on the past was no help. He had to do what he could, both in this life and for that... extravagant hope of a next one.

After Yu Dong and the others left, Huang Zhiqiang, Yan Yikai, and Xia Yao were still unwilling to leave.

Xia Yao was wearing a beautiful outfit, one of Zhao Youcai’s favorites. She leaned against his gravestone like a lost stray cat, lying in a pile of grass in winter, imagining she was in her owner’s arms.

Beside the nearby gravestone of Wang Xiuying, little Teddy lay against the stone, mimicking Xia Yao’s posture.

"Take me with you, Youcai!!! I don’t want to live anymore!"

Huang Zhiqiang was still on the ground, slapping the floor and crying.

Yan Yikai’s expression was complicated. After the apocalypse began... Yu Dong rarely managed him directly. As the leader of the cruise ship, Yu Dong had too many people to see, and was too busy.

Yan Yikai spent most of his time with Zhao Youcai.

He was the most influenced by Zhao Youcai. Zhao Youcai had shown him the taste of power, and he too wanted to be someone who stood above the rest. He had transformed from an overlooked high school student into a valiant warrior.

He had also copied Zhao Youcai and played around with several women...

To this underage high school student, Zhao Youcai had been both a mentor and a friend. For a long time, he couldn’t let it go.

"Brother Qiang, don’t you think... Brother Youcai and Brother Dong are like the two protagonists from that story?"

"What story?"

"’The Gift of the Maggie’... It’s about a young, poor couple. They’re struggling to get by, but they love each other deeply. The husband has a family heirloom, a gold watch that means the world to him. The wife has beautiful long hair, which is her most prized possession. On Christmas Eve, they both want to buy a precious gift for the other. The wife decides to sell her long hair to buy a platinum watch chain for her husband’s gold watch. At the same time, the husband decides to sell his gold watch to buy a set of exquisite combs for his wife’s beautiful hair. When they exchange gifts on Christmas... they realize that their gifts have lost their original use, but their love has grown even deeper."

"You’re saying... Dongzi traded his power for Youcai’s safety, and Youcai traded his life for Dongzi’s safety, but when they finally met, they found out... they were both safe already, and the gift wasn’t needed."

"Yeah. It’s just a shame Brother Youcai didn’t succeed. Otherwise... even if he had turned into a zombie, we could still sit together and talk."

"Sigh... If only we had known Dongzi had another card up his sleeve. Who knew he was hiding it so well? He didn’t even tell us, just settled everything in one final move."

"If we had known earlier, we wouldn’t have let Brother Youcai get the injection... Brother Dong usually tells Brother Youcai everything. He just forgot this one thing..."