Thick-Skinned and Shameless

The slightly plump young man wanted to say something—did it even need asking? He had long regarded himself as Third Master's heir.

"Third Master's weapon should of course be left to me. If you know what's good for you, hand it back right now!"

It was not as if he did not know Mr. Sai, and he also knew Qu Jianlei had accepted Mr. Sai's commission.

But... wasn't it only right for him to demand what had originally belonged to him?

He was seven or eight years older than Qu Jianlei. He had grown used to looking down on Silly Qu, and since he felt he was in the right, his tone came out somewhat aggressive.

Qu Jianlei blinked. This was the Laser Pistol he had snatched from Greedy Wolf's hands. The other man had even threatened to kill someone! If Qu Jianlei had not stepped in, the pistol would definitely have gone to Greedy Wolf, yet none of the other Scavengers had spoken up.

He asked in confusion, "Why should I give it to you?"

"Third Master was my boss!" the slightly plump young man replied without hesitation. "He's dead, so his things should be mine!"

Qu Jianlei could not be bothered to say another word to this idiot. He casually clicked off the safety and stared coldly at him.

"Fine. Very fine," the slightly plump young man said, nodding at the sight. Then he turned and left. "This isn't over!"

To be honest, Silly Qu's usual presence had been far too weak. Even with a gun in his hand, most people still looked down on him.

Whether it was this slightly plump young man or Gap Tooth from earlier, they could not help habitually bullying him.

This was also a true reflection of Qu Jianlei's six years at the bottom of society. He had been bullied far too many times.

He had indeed kept a sufficiently low profile, which was why he had avoided any major trouble.

But reinforced by their fixed impression of him, even a gun could not intimidate them.

After returning, the slightly plump young man went straight to find Red Hair, another of Third Master's men.

Red Hair had a gentler temperament and was not as impulsive as the slightly plump man. "The boss's gun nearly got taken by a Hunter."

"But it wasn't taken, was it?" the slightly plump man said resentfully. "I'm not asking for anything else. I just want the pistol back."

He did not mention that all the other belongings combined, even multiplied tenfold, would not be worth as much as that pistol.

After thinking it over, Red Hair said, "But... hasn't he connected with the Hong Character Main Settlement?"

"Why are you being such a nag?" the slightly plump man flared up. "That guy is alone, with no family or backing. Killing him is no big deal."

This was Qu Jianlei's greatest weakness.

Red Hair still hesitated a little. "But... those are people from the Hong Character Main Settlement."

"What could the Hong Character Settlement possibly see in Silly Qu?" The slightly plump young man gave a cold snort, wearing a smile as though everything was under his control.

"He's just a lucky bastard who stepped in shit. You don't need to think so much."

"A man has to be ruthless to stand firm. If we can't even get the boss's gun back... can we really hold on to what little the Mine has?"

Red Hair instinctively felt something was off. Silly Qu had only ever done hard labor before, yet had he not survived all the same? But he was mild by nature and said nothing more—Silly Qu's old life had been far too miserable, and no one wanted that kind of life.

"So what now? Gather some people and ambush him?"

Third Master had only just died, and some favors still remained. It would not be hard to find a few helpers—after all, it was only killing one person.

Wasteland Survivors were pragmatic, but there was no shortage of people willing to risk their lives.

In the end, human lives were simply too cheap.

"No need," the slightly plump young man shook his head. "The two of us will go talk to him, then take the chance to kill him."

Deep down, he still despised Silly Qu—that guy was not only weak, but had never done anything out of line.

Red Hair knew what he was thinking and privately disagreed. Silly Qu was, after all, associated with the Hong Character Main Settlement.

But on second thought, they did have a Justifiable Reason... demanding their boss's belongings back could not possibly be wrong, could it? Some wrong steps were not caused by stupidity, but simply by a lack of sufficiently high-level information, leading to bad decisions.

Still, he ultimately made a suggestion. "How about bringing Wolf Destroyer along?"

Wolf Destroyer was also a Scavenger. He was not very bright, but his combat strength was astonishing.

More importantly, he possessed half a set of pre-Doomsday powered armor, passed down through his ancestors.

The armor even came with a matching Vibrating Blade. Its attack power was formidable, and its defense was equally terrifying.

It could not really withstand a Gauss Automatic Rifle, but it had no problem blocking an ordinary Laser Pistol.

"No need." The slightly plump man shook his head and answered indifferently, "He can't keep his mouth shut... and a big mouth only causes trouble."

He was not as stupid as Qu Jianlei thought. He might look down on Silly Qu, but he truly did not underestimate the Hong Character Main Settlement.

Killing the man and creating a fait accompli—that was the proper course of action.

The Wasteland's rules were simple: dead people had no value. Only in this way could they cut off Silly Qu's External Support.

The two discussed it for quite a while before finally settling on a plan.

But before acting, they first needed to borrow a Gauss Automatic Rifle.

The two of them only had two Super-frequency Oscillation Blades. Those were enough to keep them alive at the Mine, but not enough to kill someone carrying two guns.

Third Master had treated them well. Many Scavengers who made their living at the Mine had nothing more than a short dagger on them.

They quickly borrowed a Gauss Automatic Rifle from an outsider woman named Sister Na.

They did not have that much influence, but Third Master had only recently died, and his favors still carried weight—the key was that they used their territory as collateral.

After discussing the plan for a while longer, they saw that it was getting late. The two exchanged glances. "Let's go."

If they waited any longer, Qu Jianlei might go home to sleep.

What they did not know was that Qu Jianlei had run into a little trouble at that moment—he had encountered the thief Morrison.

Morrison was quite handsome, handsome enough to say, "Auntie, I don't want to work hard anymore."

Later, he swindled several aunties. It was not just a matter of living off women; the problem was that his hands were not clean either.

That was why his face had been slashed up, leaving it a horrible sight.

But out in the Wasteland, a face like that was actually useful—if you had no ability, how could you end up looking like that?

It was probably like how someone in the Jianghu seemed more acceptable with a tattoo on their body.

Yet after Morrison arrived near the Mine, he remained especially dishonest, doing every kind of swindling, cheating, and stealing.

The Scavengers dealt with him several times in succession, teaching him the rules here.

Morrison was merely lazy and greedy, not stupid, so he quickly accepted the rules.

But the rules clearly did not cover people like Silly Qu.

When he noticed that Silly Qu had not returned for several days, he casually went to Silly Qu's home and took some things.

Morrison did not consider it theft. As far as he was concerned, Silly Qu should have been dead.

Since he was dead, then naturally it was first come, first served. Quick hands got the goods; slow hands got nothing.

Unfortunately, Silly Qu's home was truly poor. Aside from a Tricycle, several Metal Rods, and a little charcoal, there was nothing else.

In any case, Morrison took everything he could carry—he did not take all the charcoal, though. What if Silly Qu was not dead? On Blue Star, this was called leaving room for future meetings. In the Wasteland, it was a lesson paid for in blood.

After that, he stopped caring whether Silly Qu was dead or alive and went outside the Mine to look for a way to make a living.

He truly had no interest in hauling goods with the Tricycle. He only wanted to sell it.

But the junky vehicle was human-powered, so it was not worth much.

Still, if he came across hauling work, he would do it. Making money was nothing shameful.

When there was no work, he wandered around and asked about potential buyers.

Since he was not a Scavenger and was not part of their circle, he did not know Qu Jianlei had returned.

Of course, he did not think he needed to care—he could openly bully someone like Silly Qu without consequence.

He had left the Tricycle some distance away and was currently soliciting business nearby.

He had only done one hauling job in total, but he had spread the word that the Tricycle was for sale.

But the instant he saw Qu Jianlei, he froze. "Silly Qu?"

Then he saw the automatic rifle slung across the other man's body. "You... where did you go?"

Morrison was a true coward. Seeing that Silly Qu had a gun, his legs could not help going weak.

He knew Silly Qu was timid, but he truly did not dare gamble on whether the other man had the nerve to kill.

Qu Jianlei frowned and asked in a low voice, "Where's my Tricycle?"

"Your Tricycle... I don't know," Morrison hurriedly denied it.

The lie was easily exposed, but that did not mean he was stupid. As long as he could bluff his way through this moment, he would immediately flee.

Without another word, Qu Jianlei drew the Laser Pistol from his waist and pointed it at him.

Expressionless, he said, "I'll allow you to reorganize your words."

"Y-you... come with me," Morrison immediately changed his tune, then turned and walked away.

"I was only keeping it for you temporarily. I was worried someone else might steal it."

This was the Wasteland. Some people were hot-blooded, some were cunning as foxes, and some were thick-skinned and shameless...

The Tricycle had been hidden two kilometers away, concealed beneath a pile of inconspicuous trash.

Remarkably, Morrison had actually cleaned the Tricycle, making it look much more presentable.

He wanted to sell it for a higher price! Qu Jianlei saw through him at once.

He drew the long blade he had gotten from Gap Tooth and spoke without expression. "Now we can discuss compensation."

"Compensation..." Morrison's scar-covered face twisted into a knot. "Silly... Brother Qu, I really didn't mean any harm."

Without another word, Qu Jianlei raised his hand and slashed at him.

Morrison reacted quickly, leaping back and barely avoiding the strike.

Qu Jianlei flicked his wrist and swept his blade sideways again. "You still dare dodge?"

If I don't dodge, I'm dead! Morrison dodged again. "Brother Qu, we can talk this out!"

He wanted to turn and run, but seeing how Silly Qu drew his blade at the slightest disagreement, he knew that if he dared run, the other man would absolutely dare shoot.

Qu Jianlei's skills were decent, but he was not using his full strength. He was holding back somewhat.

Meanwhile, Morrison was exceptionally agile as he leapt and dodged, making him genuinely difficult to hit.

So Qu Jianlei reached out and drew the Laser Gun again.

With a blade in one hand and a gun in the other, he said coldly, "Compensation!"

Seeing how ruthless Qu Jianlei was, Morrison no longer dared argue. After taking two steps back, he answered with a miserable expression.

"I'm even poorer than you. How am I supposed to compensate you?"