All Scores Settled

Facing Qu Jianlei's question, Fat Sister shook her head decisively. "No. Would I bother taking a few pounds of charcoal?"

"A few pounds?" Qu Jianlei stared at her thoughtfully.

Fat Sister knew she had let something slip, so she frankly admitted, "Morrison took it too, but I didn't accept it."

"That bastard really has a death wish," Qu Jianlei muttered before turning and leaving.

After watching him go far away, Fat Sister spat bitterly. "Peh!"

"You got hold of two guns and think you're something now... If you don't die, who will?"

Qu Jianlei's ears twitched. He could actually hear Fat Sister's quiet muttering.

But he could not be bothered to argue with someone who only dared curse behind his back. If you've got the guts, say it to my face!

He was not in a hurry to recover the Tricycle. The facts had proven that it would return to his hands sooner or later.

Over the past six years, he had assembled only three Tricycles.

One of them had probably been completely dismantled and repurposed as scrap. It would never return.

As for the other two, no matter where they were lost, they would eventually return to him. The only difference was how much he had to pay to get them back.

That included the Tricycle that had fallen into the Fallen's hands. If it was not dismantled, it would return to him sooner or later.

Nobody else could do his kind of business.

Scavengers with money had motorcycles, or even cars. They had no need to hire a Tricycle.

Scavengers without money could not afford one. They could only rent public Transport Goods vehicles or carry their trash away on their own backs.

Qu Jianlei's little Tricycle was entirely human-powered. Not only was it slow, but it also charged more than public Transport Goods vehicles. Its sole advantage was discretion.

With his tiny volume of deliveries, even the public Transport Goods vehicles did not consider him competition.

Still, sparse business was inevitable. At most, he got three jobs a day, and there were plenty of days when he got none at all.

The problem was that he had to guard it from beginning to end and could not leave.

It was hard labor, exhausting, and poorly paid... He did not believe there was a second person willing to do this kind of business.

So he went home and slept. Early the next morning, he headed to the Mine, armed to the teeth.

He did not have much of a sense of security and truly did not want to draw attention, but several days had passed. Everyone should know about Mr. Sai by now.

There was no point hiding it anymore. If anything, people might think he had some ulterior motive and wanted to set them up.

So he simply brought two guns and a blade to the Mine.

His little nest was less than fifteen kilometers from the Mine. Any closer was impossible, while any farther would be inconvenient.

When he arrived at the Garbage Dump, he immediately saw everyone working in full swing.

For Scavengers, there was no such thing as clocking in or out. Something like "996" was the truly unimaginable thing.

If the Garbage Dump actually enforced a 996 schedule, the Scavengers would definitely curse and stomp their feet—"We don't want to miss a single opportunity!" In the end, working for a boss and working for yourself were fundamentally different.

Qu Jianlei was in no rush. Seeing that no one was coming out of the several exits, he began practicing his stance.

Stance training really had many benefits. Besides strengthening the body, it could also cultivate inner energy.

But he had only practiced for a few days, after all. After standing there for around ten minutes, he relaxed his stance.

It was never something that could be achieved overnight. Too much was as bad as too little.

Just as Qu Jianlei relaxed his stance, a battered truck drove over from the distance. It was one of the public Transport Goods vehicles.

Five or six Scavengers sat in the truck bed, surrounded by heaps of broken trash.

The truck Driver spotted Qu Jianlei from far away and noticeably slowed as he approached.

He had already heard that Qu Jianlei had connected himself with an important figure from the Hong Character Main Settlement.

After all, several people had died, including ruthless figures like Third Master and Tie Shou. The news had long spread among the Scavengers.

That reminded him of a rumor: Silly Qu might have been ordered to inspect cargo.

The Driver was not a Scavenger himself, merely a support worker. He had no interest in challenging a force that dared kill people so casually.

But when he saw that Silly Qu did not raise a hand to stop the truck, he drove past at low speed.

Qu Jianlei truly had no intention of stopping the truck. He had never planned to inspect every Scavenger.

Along the more than one hundred kilometers of Mine route he knew, there were three to four hundred Scavengers, but that was not everyone.

The Garbage Dump was simply too vast. Even now, Qu Jianlei had not figured out exactly how large it was.

If Mr. Sai meant for him to ask every Scavenger for information, he would never be able to keep up.

Even if he only inspected the three to four hundred people in this area, he would still be too busy.

More importantly... why would they accept his inspection? Mr. Sai only wanted information. He had given Qu Jianlei no authority and had not assigned anyone to accompany him.

Was it worth making enemies of three or four hundred Scavengers over two tubes of Nutrient Solution? He only needed to remember those twenty Scavengers and inspect them—that was enough. Besides, those people had all been deeply impressed by Mr. Sai.

Just as the truck drove past Qu Jianlei, someone cried out in surprise, "Stop!"

Once the truck stopped, someone jumped down from the truck bed with a long blade on his back.

This man was called Gap Tooth. He was lean and wiry, but quite strong. He loved bullying the weak and fearing the strong.

He had bullied Qu Jianlei plenty of times before.

He swaggered over and said with a grin, "Silly Qu, you've got some skills, huh? You actually got yourself a gun?"

"Come on, let me see it. How good is it?"

Bullying people was truly addictive. He did not even consider that the other party might have the guts to fire.

There were many desperadoes among the Survivors, but there was no shortage of people timid as mice either. Qu Jianlei had always seemed weak and afraid of trouble.

Gap Tooth used to own a Gauss Automatic Rifle, but it had eventually broken. He had long wanted to replace it with a new gun.

As he watched the other man swagger over, Qu Jianlei frowned slightly. "Why should I show it to you?"

Gap Tooth continued forward with an arrogant crablike swagger, then grinned. "Oh? You've got a gun now, and you actually dare talk back?"

Then he turned to look at the others on the truck and laughed. "Silly Qu's gotten brave, huh? Isn't that hilarious?"

Seeing that he was already within a little over twenty meters, Qu Jianlei reached toward his waist.

But then Gap Tooth's laughter abruptly stopped. "You... what are those expressions for?"

A Scavenger with his cap tilted crookedly and a cigarette dangling from his mouth spoke from the truck bed.

"Gap Tooth, I really admire your courage. That automatic rifle belongs to Tie Tou."

Another Scavenger leaning against a pile of trash added, "He's also got Third Master's Laser Pistol at his waist. Gap Tooth, you'd better watch yourself."

Gap Tooth froze on the spot. He had heard that Third Master and Tie Tou were dead.

But he had not looked into the details. At the time, he had been busy with Taobao.

Once he came to his senses, he turned and started walking away. "Just kidding."

Qu Jianlei had already opened his holster and drawn the Laser Pistol. "Gap Tooth, stop. Let me see that blade on your back."

Gap Tooth immediately stopped, then turned around and forced out a smile. "Little Qu, it's just a crappy blade."

Qu Jianlei released the safety on the Laser Gun and asked calmly, "You don't intend to show me some respect?"

Gap Tooth hesitated, then gritted his teeth and spat out a single word. "Fine!"

As he spoke, he drew the long blade and threw it onto the ground. Robbery was a gamble to begin with. If you gambled, you had to accept the loss.

He did not forget to console himself silently. There was a better one at home anyway.

No wonder Mr. Sai looked down on Scavengers. Some Scavengers truly lacked a bit of backbone.

He did not take off the Knife Sheath as well. That was his final act of defiance.

Qu Jianlei did not press the issue, because as far as he remembered, although Gap Tooth had bullied him, he had never actually robbed him.

One Super-frequency Oscillation Blade, and all their grudges were settled.

The truck Driver grew curious instead and leaned out to ask, "Little Qu, weren't you going to inspect the cargo?"

Qu Jianlei gave him a surprised look. "I'm only checking those who were present that time. Do you really have to volunteer?"

"I was just asking," the truck Driver said with a forced smile before starting the vehicle and driving away.

Only after the truck had gone quite far did Gap Tooth ask curiously, "How did this Silly Qu... get those two guns?"

The man with the crooked cap snorted. "Third Master's Laser Pistol was forcibly taken from Greedy Wolf by Silly Qu."

"Greedy Wolf... that lone Hunter?"

"That's right. That Greedy Wolf."

Gap Tooth immediately fell silent. After a long while, he snorted. "Well, I didn't give him the Knife Sheath."

"This guy really is a bit foolish," the truck Driver sighed. "He has power he can borrow, but insists on biting down on hard bones."

"Then let him smash his head bloody against them," Gap Tooth said gleefully, though his heart still ached faintly.

That was a Super-frequency Oscillation Blade, after all...

Qu Jianlei did not take the matter to heart. Since they were even now, he was not worried that Gap Tooth would retaliate.

The Wasteland was a place that respected strength. Scavengers understood best how to seek advantages and avoid harm. Those without any sense had long died by the roadside and been buried in ditches.

Since Qu Jianlei was not pursuing the matter, there was no reason for the other man to come looking for death.

Two motorcycles passed by one after another. Both slowed when they saw Qu Jianlei, then sped away only after seeing that he did not react.

Clearly, there were not many people as blind as Gap Tooth.

How big could the Scavenger circle be? Several ruthless people had died at once, so the news spread faster than birds could fly.

But soon after, someone still came looking for trouble.

It was a slightly chubby young man. "Silly Qu, did you get my First One's Laser Pistol?"

This man was one of Third Master's subordinates and could be considered half a disciple.

Third Master had lost a leg, making it inconvenient for him to move around the garbage mountains. He was also getting old, so he had taken in two helpers.

Scavenging required sharp eyes. Third Master's eyesight was not bad, but his mobility was lacking, so he had taught the two of them quite a few things.

Tie Tou was different. Although he had replaced his skull with an Alloy Skull, it did not affect his movement, and he still worked alone.

He was young and strong, after all, and had no need to share his gains with others.

Third Master treated his two subordinates fairly well and even equipped them with weapons. The young man before him had a Super-frequency Oscillation short blade.

Just by looking at his build, one could tell that he lived fairly well. On the Wasteland, gaining a little weight was truly not easy.

Qu Jianlei frowned. "I picked it up. What are you trying to say?"

(During the new book period, please give all kinds of support.)