Chapter Fifty: The Scholar Meets the Soldier

“We don’t mean anything by it, we just want an explanation.” Liu Xiuguo appeared as if he wished to reason things out, yet he made no move to disperse the crowd.

In this moment, Jiang Huan suddenly understood all too well why it’s said that a scholar cannot reason with a soldier. Besides, these people had already made up their minds that she was in the wrong.

Closing her eyes briefly, Jiang Huan pulled a handgun from her pocket, raised it, and aimed directly at the man closest to her.

“She’s got a gun!” the man cried, stumbling backward in terror, nearly wetting himself.

A gap opened in the circle, but Jiang Huan was in no hurry to leave. She turned the gun on another man, and at last, within seconds, the ring of people encircling her split apart, all of them huddling behind Liu Xiuguo.

Liu Xiuguo forced a stiff smile. “Miss Jiang, there’s no need for this.”

“Oh, but wasn’t it you all surrounding me, trying to pin a crime on me?” Jiang Huan leveled the gun at the man who had just scrambled to his feet. “Now, you have five seconds—tell me who started these rumors about me.”

“Five.”

“Four.”

“It was her! She told us! She said you were having an affair with Wu Gang and that you bullied people in the neighborhood all the time!” The man burst into tears, his self-proclaimed just image crumbling to dust. His hand shot out, pointing straight at Chunmei.

Jiang Huan clicked her tongue.

This neighborhood was actually rather decent—not far from the city, yet close to the outskirts, making it easy to find supplies. The base paid attention to them, so they received updates quickly. The temporary leader here was reasonable. But inevitably, there were always a couple of troublemakers who just couldn’t leave her alone.

Jiang Huan walked toward Chunmei; with each step she took, Chunmei cried out for help. Residents from all around came over to watch.

Ignoring everyone’s stares, Jiang Huan aimed at Chunmei’s calf and pulled the trigger.

A shriek pierced the air—Chunmei collapsed heavily to the ground and crawled toward Liu Xiuguo, pleading, “Help me, Xiuguo, please! I’m scared, I’m hurt! Hold her down, and you’ll get her gun! Then the whole neighborhood will be yours!”

Jiang Huan scoffed, watching Liu Xiuguo sidestep Chunmei’s desperate pleas and instead turn to explain, “You see, Miss Jiang, this is all a misunderstanding. I just chatted a bit too much with Sister Chunmei and thought she was telling the truth.”

Wu Gang, having just received word, rushed over and saw Jiang Huan holding a gun on Liu Xiuguo’s group. He cursed inwardly.

Damn it, I take these people in and they cause me trouble.

“Miss Jiang, what did these people do to make you so angry? By the way, ammunition is pretty precious—no need to waste it over trivial matters. Let me handle this, all right?”

Jiang Huan holstered her gun. “I’m sick to death of being slandered over and over just because I’m a woman. They say ‘third time’s the charm’—well, this is the third time. Chunmei must be severely punished, so that everyone remembers.”

Wu Gang felt utterly exasperated. He’d vouched for Chunmei, just to give the security nomination some face. He’d merely given her a warning. She’d promised not to cause trouble—so why did she have to provoke Jiang Huan?

Jiang Huan dragged her bag of fish over, called a younger man to take it upstairs, and tossed him half a pack of cigarettes.

Now, even the dimmest among those who’d misjudged her could see that Jiang Huan didn’t need to trade her body for survival supplies. She was sitting on a mountain of resources herself.

Jiang Huan had no patience to deal with them further. Wu Gang watched her go upstairs, then waved the group over. “Let’s go to the management office first.”

Chunmei, still wailing in pain, was helped over to the pharmacy by two people. After a rough bandaging, it was clear that if the bullet hadn’t gone clean through muscle, she’d have needed to go to the hospital immediately.

But with no contribution points or supplies, a hospital visit would be pointless.

Liu Xiuguo followed Wu Gang inside, only to be met with a torrent of rebuke.

“When you all first arrived, did I not tell you? Jiang Huan found a lot of supplies, helped out management early on, then bartered for the right to use those floors. It might look like she’s privileged, but she earned it—risking her life, trip after trip, to bring things back. Didn’t I say all this? Or is it that you’ve all got your own agendas? I refuse to believe a casual word from a random survivor in our neighborhood could make all of you fall for such a trick.

Liu Xiuguo, I know you’re ambitious and don’t want to be someone’s assistant forever, but this isn’t the workplace for your little schemes—this is a refuge in the apocalypse! Must you stir up chaos here?

Why would a healthy young man like you go after a woman nearly forty? What, you wanted to use her—so you targeted Jiang Huan, the most prominent survivor here. And then what? What’s your next move? Am I next?”

Liu Xiuguo denied it at once.

“Ha! What difference does it make whether you admit it or not? Maybe I should learn from you all—only believe what I want to believe. If all of you left, the neighborhood wouldn’t suffer a single loss. You’ve contributed nothing and already started stirring up trouble. Was life so easy where you came from that you can’t see how things are now outside?”

Wu Gang had truly wanted to accept these young men, to make them the backbone of neighborhood security. But now his face was full of disappointment.

Among the crowd, someone, unable to stand the scolding, stepped forward. “Captain Wu, we were tricked too! Who knew she’d be so convincing? It turns out it was all lies. We didn’t mean it. I’ll go apologize to Miss Jiang right now, all right?”

“Yeah, I’ll apologize too. Please, don’t blame Coach Liu.”

“Coach Liu didn’t have any designs on Jiang Huan—he even worked with her before, checking tires together for sabotage. Please, Captain Wu, let us apologize.”

The man who’d been beaten flushed crimson. “If it comes to it, I’ll go and beg her forgiveness with a switch on my back.”

“Enough, you’d best not show up and risk another bullet. I know what Jiang Huan’s like. Don’t get in her way or bother her again. She’s got no time or energy for your nonsense. In a few days, offer a sincere apology—bring something meaningful, make amends. We’re all men here, and I’m ashamed for you.” Wu Gang shook his head, mentally crossing off any idea of bringing these men into the core management. After another stern warning, he went to check on Chunmei.

Chunmei thought Liu Xiuguo had come to see her, but when she saw Wu Gang, her expression was briefly awkward.

She’d promised before not to stir up trouble, swore she wouldn’t cause Wu Gang any more headaches. And yet—

“Ms. Chunmei, I’ve always been grateful that you gave me this job without prejudice. But to be honest, it’s just a job—one that became meaningless after the world fell apart. Do you think it’s worth it, bringing trouble again and again?”

Chunmei clutched her leg and looked up at him. “I was just standing there, I didn’t—”

“There’s no point playing dumb, Chunmei. Let me be blunt: if Jiang Huan had shot you dead today, she wouldn’t have faced any punishment. Your death would just be idle gossip for a couple of days, nothing more. Do you believe that?”

Seeing Wu Gang’s cold expression, Chunmei was overwhelmed with fear.

Even after being shot, she’d tried to comfort herself: it was only her leg, and Jiang Huan wouldn’t dare kill her in front of everyone—it was just intimidation.

But thinking it over now, what if Jiang Huan caught her somewhere alone?

All the cameras were frozen, everyone too busy scrambling for food and survival.

If she really did end up dead, it would be no different from a crushed ant at the side of the road.