Chapter 70

Xiang Qizheng knew that if he admitted it, he wouldn't get off easy, so he stubbornly refused to confess: "Just because I have a grudge against Cheng Zhiyu, you're targeting me. Waaah... Poor me, I've lost my son, I'm all alone in this apocalypse, just an ordinary person, and now I'm being bullied like this. Waaah..."

Cheng Mo narrowed his eyes and formed a ball of water to block Xiang Qizheng's mouth: "Quiet."

Xiang Qizheng choked, coughing until his face turned red, nearly passing out before finally catching his breath.

He didn't dare complain about Cheng Mo—the man clearly looked intimidating—so he just cowered and fell silent. But as for admitting to stealing the mutant seeds, he wasn't going to admit it.

Cheng Mo sneered; he had plenty of ways to make Xiang Qizheng talk and asked Cheng Zhiyu to let him handle him.

Cheng Zhiyu shook his head: "Send someone to search his home and bring his wife in for questioning."

Xiang Qizheng, who had been determined to stay silent, grew frantic upon hearing this and struggled desperately: "You... you can't do this! What right do you have to search my home? I can't go on like this! You're ruining my reputation! I might as well hang myself at your doorstep and come back to haunt you daily!"

Cheng Zhiyu glanced at him with disgust: "You're insufferable."

Xiang Qizheng was stunned into silence. In the past, whenever he criticized Cheng Zhiyu, the most he got was indifference. This was the first time he'd been spoken to like this.

Cheng Zhiyu had actually wanted to say it for a long time but felt it wasn't worth the breath on someone like him. Yet now he couldn't hold back: "Always acting like some elder—who owes you anything? You accuse me, a Superhuman, of bullying others with my power. Even if I really did bully you, what could you do about it?"

Xiang Qizheng: "..."

"Always going on about dying—if you want to die, then die. We'll just burn your body and be done with it." It was clear Cheng Zhiyu had had enough of him; he wouldn't normally say something so harsh.

Xiang Qizheng was stunned for a moment before breaking down sobbing: "I can't go on living!"

He had hoped someone would show mercy, but Fang Guowei remained cold-faced. The thought of their hard-worked seeds being dug up and stolen made him furious—show mercy? Not a chance!

Showing mercy to Xiang Qizheng would mean cruelty to those who might starve because of missing that one ration.

As for Cheng Mo, he didn't hold back either. He started clapping his hands: "Zhi Yu, well said! Couldn't have said it better."

Xiang Qizheng: "Waaah... People these days are so heartless! Waaah..."

He cried until his voice grew hoarse, but no one paid him any attention.

After a while, Xiang Qizheng's wife was finally brought in, along with a bag of flour.

"Take a look at this flour. It's clearly ground by them, and it doesn't look like it came from ordinary wheat. I can sense energy flowing through it—it's mutant wheat."

Xiang Qizheng's wife ducked her head, nervously twisting the hem of her clothes, trembling as she spoke: "Waaah... I tried to tell Lao Xiang not to do such a thing, that it's wrong, but he wouldn't listen!"

Xiang Qizheng, who had been stubbornly denying everything, almost spit blood in anger and started cursing: "You foolish woman! How did I end up marrying someone as stupid as you!"

"Lao Xiang, just admit it. They've even found the flour you ground. What difference does it make whether you admit it or not?" Xiang Qizheng's wife urged.

After saying this, she dropped to her knees: "I beg you, please! Lao Xiang was just momentarily foolish. Give him another chance, please!"

"Give him another chance? What about those who starve to death because of a missing ration?" Cheng Zhiyu said. "Who gives them another chance?"

Xiang Qizheng's wife was speechless for a moment before stammering: "I... we'll compensate. We'll compensate, alright?"

Fang Guowei was livid: "Compensate? With what? Do you know how valuable a single mutant seed is? Do you know how much grain it can produce? You have no idea! Let me tell you, with this many mutant seeds, your lives aren't even worth that much!"

Xiang Qizheng's wife was stunned; she hadn't realized they were so valuable and could only whisper desperately: "Please, just let him go. Give him another chance."

Xiang Qizheng, who had been putting on a brave face, could no longer keep up the act. He immediately switched to a pitiful tone, crying: "Little Cheng, Uncle was confused! I've been driven mad by this apocalypse. Please, since you watched me grow up, give Uncle another chance! These mutant seeds were given by you, right? If you just say the word, I'll be fine. I'm begging you, Uncle really begs you."

Cheng Zhiyu replied: "Many in the village are elders who watched me grow up. If we're counting, you wouldn't even rank high. Should I give each of them a chance too?"

Xiang Qizheng fumed: "Heartless! How can you be so cruel!"

With a sharp "smack," a slap mark appeared on his face out of thin air. Cheng Mo glared menacingly: "Say one more word?"

Xiang Qizheng shuddered and didn't dare make another sound.

Since the culprit was caught, to set an example, the people from the base were called in and informed about the incident.

Everyone was furious upon hearing. Before the apocalypse, they were farmers; after, those mutant seeds represented their future hope.

Yet Xiang Qizheng had dug them up and ground them into flour to eat!

"Disgraceful! Shameless! The base is distributing rice now—no one will starve. How dare he dig up mutant seeds? So shameless!"

"I knew he was no good even before the apocalypse. He was always into petty theft. My shovel was stolen by him once. Later, I saw it at his place and asked why it looked so much like mine. He had the nerve to claim he bought it from the street. As if I wouldn't recognize my own shovel!"

"He never learns! Everyone, keep a close eye on your belongings from now on. If he takes a liking to something, it might just become his."

"In my opinion, people like him should be expelled from the base!"

"Expelling him from the base is too harsh—he wouldn't survive outside. Let's not go that far."

Lin Kang, as base manager, also came but stated that this was the agriculture team's matter and he wouldn't interfere.

Cheng Zhiyu felt he wasn't part of the agriculture team either and didn't plan to get involved.

Finally, Fang Guowei said: "This is the first time we've caught someone, but stealing mutant seeds is too serious for a slap on the wrist. From now on, he'll work in the fields—no contribution points, no meals provided."

Xiang Qizheng panicked: "Are you trying to starve me to death?"

Starving to death wasn't likely—the base would still distribute basic supplies, like the rice before—but he would miss out on future benefits.

Not only would he have to do heavy labor, but he'd also only get minimal rations.

Fang Guowei: "However, now that there's a precedent, if anyone dares to do this again, they'll be expelled from the base immediately—including Xiang Qizheng. Everyone, watch out for each other and report any issues. If verified, there will be rewards."

Everyone nodded upon hearing. Even without rewards, they'd keep a close watch—this was the base's future, after all!

Those who had entertained similar ideas now didn't dare risk it. Being expelled from the base meant a death sentence.

Fang Guowei looked at Xiang Qizheng: "If you're not satisfied, you can leave the base right now. No one will stop you."

Xiang Qizheng immediately fell silent, his face flushing red, not daring to say another word.

He shot a resentful, venomous glance at Fang Guowei, never expecting him to be so ruthless. They were from the same village, and Fang Guowei had even eaten at his home before. Ungrateful bastard!

Xiang Qizheng seethed inwardly.

As he left, he felt the villagers' hostile stares burning him. What about them? Didn't they ever think of digging up the seeds? Why just blame him?!

Regardless of what Xiang Qizheng thought, the next day he was woken up early and sent to work in the fields under supervision.

The person overseeing him was a strictly rule-abiding young man who made him work nonstop. Except for noon, when Xiang Qizheng's wife brought a meal and he rested briefly while eating, he had to work continuously.

And that noon meal, because Xiang Qizheng's wife was overly frugal, was just watery, sparse porridge. There were no vegetables—who had vegetables to eat these days?

A bowl of watery porridge would have been tolerable before, but after a whole day of exhausting labor, by the evening, Xiang Qizheng was completely worn out and starving, so hungry his stomach was touching his backbone.

When he got home, he chewed out his wife: "You know what I've been doing all day! You give me that pitiful bit of porridge—are you trying to starve me to death?"

"Don’t you know what our situation is like?" Xiang Qizheng's wife retorted, feeling wronged. "The way you talk makes it sound like I’m deliberately mistreating you! Our rice is running out. If we don’t ration it, what will we make it through in the future? You’re not earning any contribution points for the family now—it's all up to me. I’m busy outside and at home, and I still have to find time to bring you food? Do you think it’s easy for me?"

The more she spoke, the more aggrieved she felt. It was all her husband’s fault for not knowing what was important—how could he just dig up those seeds from the base’s fields?

Now, because of him, how were they supposed to make it through in the future?

"You’re blaming me? Blame Fang Guowei, blame Cheng Zhiyu!" Xiang Qizheng gritted his teeth, but he was too tired to even curse right. "All I did was eat some seeds!"

Deep down, he felt some regret, but he refused to admit it out loud.

As his wife wept beside him, Xiang Qizheng felt anxious too. What were they going to do? Were they doomed to live this harsh life from now on?

——

Cheng Zhiyu and the others had some time and went to Lin Jiashu’s house to see the little tiger.

Lin Jiashu wasn’t originally from this village—she had married into it and lived with her husband’s family.

Lin Jiashu’s husband was a good-natured man, her father-in-law was quiet and reserved, but her mother-in-law was really chatty and came out to greet them.

As soon as Lin Jiashu’s mother-in-law saw them, she greeted them super enthusiastic: "Oh my, too bad we don’t have anything good to offer you right now."

"Don’t worry about it, no need to be so formal," Cheng Zhiyu replied with a smile.

Zhou Min and the others had already gathered around to pet the little tiger. Since Cheng Mo was getting jealous, Cheng Zhiyu reluctantly gave up the idea.

It didn’t matter much anyway—he could always ask Cheng Mo to turn back into Big Black later and pet him as much as he wanted!

"When Jiashu brought home a tiger that day, it really scared me half to death," Lin Jiashu’s mother-in-law said. "Who would’ve thought our family would ever end up raising a tiger?"

"Mom, the little tiger is good as gold. There’s no need to be afraid," Lin Jiashu said. After raising it for a few days, she had already grown attached to the cub.

"I know, otherwise I wouldn’t have let you keep it," her mother-in-law replied. "But this tiger eats so much, and it has to have meat every meal. I mean, even we humans don’t get to eat meat every day, do we?"

Lin Jiashu paused, clearly annoyed. She had promised to take good care of the tiger, and her mother-in-law’s comment made her feel embarrassed and resentful. "Mom," she said stiffly, "I'm feeding him with my own earnings."

"You child, what’s yours is the family’s too, isn't it?" Lin Jiashu’s mother-in-law thought she was being rude. "I just said a couple of words, and look at you!"

Zhou Min and Tian Qiao, who were petting the tiger, exchanged awkward glances.

Well… Lin Jiashu’s mother-in-law was really something else, but it wasn’t their place to comment.

They considered leaving and coming back another time when the mother-in-law wasn’t around.

Unexpectedly, Lin Jiashu’s mother-in-law began complaining instead. Wiping her tears, she turned to Cheng Zhiyu: "Tell me, what daughter-in-law talks to her mother-in-law like this? I only said a couple of things to her!"

Lin Jiashu was embarrassed. "Mom! Can you please not do this?"

"What did I do? Can’t I even cry?" Lin Jiashu’s mother-in-law wiped her tears, completely unapologetic. "I haven’t even said anything about you being a barren hen. You’ve been married into our family for so long without giving us a single child. If it weren’t for my kindness, who else would want a daughter-in-law like you?"

Cheng Zhiyu and the others: "…"

You call yourself kind? You’re shameless!

But since it was someone else’s family matter, they couldn’t really say anything. Cheng Zhiyu cleared his throat and prepared to take his leave.

To their surprise, Lin Jiashu’s mother-in-law persisted: "Cheng, please be the judge here. Look at her—what kind of behavior is this? She’s never home, and when she comes back, I have to cook for her and take care of her. And after all that, I still end up being the bad guy! Oh heavens, she has no conscience!"

Cheng Zhiyu’s mouth twitched.

Lin Jiashu had initially not wanted to argue—she found it humiliating. But seeing her mother-in-law being unreasonable and wouldn't let Cheng Zhiyu and the others leave, she grew furious: "Where do you think all the food in this house comes from? I work hard for it! When you’re eating, why don’t you complain about me not being home? I’d love to switch places with you—how about you go out and fight zombies, and I’ll stay home and cook!"

Lin Jiashu’s mother-in-law slapped her knee, furious. "Waaah… everyone, look at this! A daughter-in-law cursing her own mother-in-law! Just because she’s a Superhuman and the whole family depends on her, she thinks she’s so great! She’s a barren hen, and we’ve been nice enough about it. How dare she talk to me like this!"

Lin Jiashu remembered how kind her mother-in-law had been at first. But after years of not having children, the woman’s attitude had changed drastically, and she often brought up the topic.

Before the apocalypse, their family had argued constantly over this, and Lin Jiashu had almost got divorced. But before they could go through with it, the apocalypse hit. At that time, just staying alive was what mattered, so the issue was set aside.

She never expected her mother-in-law to bring it up again now. In the apocalypse, was having a child still that important?

Even if she had a child, wouldn’t it just suffer? Besides, as the only Superhuman in the family, she was the one bringing everything in. If she got pregnant, how would they survive for those ten months?

But for some reason, her mother-in-law just didn’t get it. Today, she seemed especially unreasonable.

"Our family only has one son. If you don’t give birth, you’ll be the reason our line ends!" Lin Jiashu’s mother-in-law cried, slapping her thigh repeatedly.

Cheng Zhiyu and the others were getting a headache from her wailing. Honestly, if it weren’t for the fact that this was someone else’s family business, they would have loved to give her a piece of their mind.

"Enough! Are you done yet?" Lin Jiashu brought the little tiger back to her room first, then finally had enough. "Cry, cry, cry—what’s the point? Do you think crying will make people feel sorry for you? Don’t make me laugh. Everyone just finds you annoying, you pain in the neck. Shut up!"

Lin Jiashu’s mother-in-law was too shocked to speak.

She never expected Lin Jiashu to dare curse at her like that. After a moment of stunned silence, she cried even harder: "This is rebellion! Lin Jiashu, when my son comes back, I’ll make him divorce you! You’ll be a widow!"

Lin Jiashu almost laughed. It was the apocalypse, and her mother-in-law was still using that threat? How ridiculous.

Not wanting to argue further—it was too embarrassing—she pushed her mother-in-law aside and saw Cheng Zhiyu and the others out.

"Sorry you had to see that," Lin Jiashu said bitterly.

Cheng Zhiyu didn’t say more about it to avoid making her more uncomfortable. "If you need any help, you can always come to us."

Lin Jiashu blinked. "Thank you."

She had once felt reluctant to abandon this family, thinking they were still family after all. But they were becoming more and more unreasonable.

Before, her mother-in-law would only make comments at the dinner table, but today she had gone too far.

Lin Jiashu pulled herself together and went back inside. Her mother-in-law had stopped crying and was now muttering: "So you decided to come back! When my son returns, I’ll make sure he divorces you! How dare you curse at me, your mother-in-law? You’ve really lost your mind!"

Lin Jiashu took a deep breath. "You’re not my mother. My mother would never say such things to me."

Her mother-in-law was stunned. "Fine! Now you’re turning against your family! Your real mother is dead and gone!"

Lin Jiashu’s face fell. Her parents hadn’t been with her when the apocalypse began, and she still didn’t know what had happened to them.

But she had always held out hope that they would reunite someday.

She never expected her mother-in-law to say something so cruel.

Realizing she had gone too far, Lin Jiashu’s mother-in-law backed down a little but still insisted: "What did I say wrong? It’s the truth."

Lin Jiashu returned to her room with a grim expression. A moment later, she emerged carrying the little tiger and pulling a suitcase.

Lin Jiashu’s mother-in-law, who had been thinking about how to complain to her son when he returned, stared in shock at the sight. "What are you doing?"

"You told me to get a divorce, didn't you?" Lin Jiashu said. "Since we can't do it now, I'll just move out. Just consider us divorced."

Before the apocalypse, she had already planned to divorce. During the apocalyptic period, she had almost forgotten how she had been tormented by this family.

"You... you think I'm afraid of you!" Lin Jiashu's mother-in-law puffed out her chest defiantly, still thinking Lin Jiashu was threatening her.

Lin Jiashu ignored her and left directly. The base had dorms for Superhumans. Since everyone had found their own places to live, those dorms were empty, and she could stay there temporarily.

On the other side, Zhou Min was still saying in disbelief, "Is Lin Jiashu's mother-in-law nuts?"

Tian Qiao added, "Several times, I couldn't help but want to curse at her."

But after thinking it over, he held back, afraid the old woman would start clinging to him.

Tian Manman patted his chest. "That was intense."

Cheng Zhiyu also clenched his fists. Someone like Lin Jiashu's mother-in-law, he had only seen in over-the-top soap operas.

She's unbelievable.

Not long after, they learned that Lin Jiashu had moved out of her home.

During this time, Lin Jiashu's husband also came looking for her.

That afternoon, after returning home and hearing his mother's account, he went to the Superhuman dorm to find Lin Jiashu, hoping to persuade her to come back.

"You know how my mom is, her temper is just like that," the weary man said, looking exhausted and helpless. "Just bear with it. At most, she'll just say a few words—just tune her out."

"Why should I bear it? Your mom says such hurtful things—why don’t you ever tell her off?" Lin Jiashu had heard these excuses so many times, she’d heard it all before.

It was always "bear with it, bear with it." She had had enough!

The man was stunned. "Jiashu, how can you say that? She’s my mom. What do you mean, 'why should I'? She’s an elder. Besides, you know her temper—how could I possibly say anything to her?"

"You’re right, she’s your mom, not mine." Lin Jiashu looked at this man, feeling increasingly disappointed. "If you’re willing to listen to your mom’s scolding, that’s on you. It has nothing to do with me. I don’t plan to go back, and trying to persuade me is useless. Since you listen to your mom so well, and she wants us to divorce, then let’s divorce. Don’t bother me again."

"How can you be so heartless?" The man was in disbelief. "I get it now. It’s the apocalypse, and our whole family is just ordinary people, so we’re weighing you down, right? Fine, then go. From now on, our family won’t burden you. I’ll take care of my parents myself. You go live your best life!"

After saying this, the man stopped trying to persuade her and turned to leave.

Watching his retreating figure, Lin Jiashu let out a bitter laugh. See? After all her hard work holding this family together for so long, in his eyes, she was just a selfish person.

Indeed, no matter how well you treat some people, the moment you fall short even once, they’ll dismiss all the good you’ve ever done.

Lin Jiashu had initially felt a bit soft-hearted seeing how exhausted the man looked, but now she doubled down on her decision. She didn’t want to go back. Time and again, she had given that family chances, making them think she was the one who couldn’t leave.

Her choice not to return was right. Lin Jiashu's mother-in-law waited at home for her son to bring Lin Jiashu back, thinking that this time, when Lin Jiashu returned, she would hold back for a while and find another opportunity to scold her later.

But she waited and waited, only to see her son return alone. Lin Jiashu's mother-in-law looked past him out the door. "Where’s your wife?"

"She’s not coming back, Mom. From now on, just act like you never had this daughter-in-law," the man said with a grim expression.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Lin Jiashu's mother-in-law was stunned.

"She’s not coming back, and she doesn’t consider you her mother anymore," the man said. "Her heart is no longer here. Even if we beg her, she won’t return."

The man continued, "I’ll take care of you from now on, so don’t worry. No one will curse at you or make you angry anymore."

Lin Jiashu's mother-in-law was stunned speechless. She never expected Lin Jiashu to really not come back. For some reason, though she had felt calm before, now she was getting nervous.

This shouldn’t be happening. No matter how fierce their arguments had been in the past, once her son went to smooth things over, Lin Jiashu would always give in as if nothing had happened. Why didn’t it work this time?

"Maybe you should go call her again?" Thinking about how Lin Jiashu was the family’s only Superhuman, even if her ability wasn’t particularly powerful, she was still stronger than ordinary people like them.

"Why should I call her? She’s a Superhuman now—she’s not the same as before." The man refused to swallow his pride and beg her to return. "Mom, didn’t you dislike her anyway? Isn’t this better?"

Better how? Lin Jiashu's mother-in-law was miserable. She watched helplessly as her son returned to his room, not knowing what else to say.

This Lin Jiashu, how could she be so cold-hearted!