You Were Unfair

Qu Jianlei was not being modest. His ability to imitate sounds surpassed most people's, but it had not reached a professional level.

The only reason he had managed to fool those two was because Scruffy Hair... or rather, Mohawk Head's voice was far too distinctive.

Even so, Second Brother, who carried the Gauss Automatic Rifle, still noticed something was wrong.

Unfortunately, he noticed too late and had no time to dodge.

Qu Jianlei had killed three people in a row, yet he felt no satisfaction.

He carefully searched the surrounding area and only relaxed after confirming that those three were indeed the only ones who had followed them.

When he checked the spoils, he was stunned to discover that Second Brother's Gauss Automatic Rifle had been damaged.

That left him even more dispirited. What had I even been busy with all night?

Just then, Morrison hurried over excitedly. "Brother Qu, I did a pretty good job cooperating, right?"

Not only had he punched open his own wound and let the scent of blood spread, he had also not exposed Qu Jianlei afterward.

Instead, he had worked with him to fool their opponents.

Of course, if he had exposed him, Qu Jianlei would most likely have shot him dead on the spot.

But by keeping quiet, he had effectively tied himself to Qu Jianlei's chariot.

If the other side had won, he still would not have escaped death.

Considering that Morrison had not known how many people were lying in ambush, this had been quite a gamble for him.

Qu Jianlei knew this man was irritating, but stealing a Tricycle... was not a crime deserving death.

Rewards for merit and punishment for wrongdoing—that was the proper way.

So he nodded. "Mm, you did well. Our debt is settled. You can leave now."

"You're not... I..." Morrison was dumbfounded. If Qu Jianlei had said this half a day ago, he would have been overjoyed.

But now that Qu Jianlei had five guns in hand, Morrison was reluctant to leave.

That afternoon, he had been able to fish in troubled waters and intercept some goods, and that night, he had been able to afford Blue Beauty—all because he had ridden on Qu Jianlei's coattails. "Since we're even now, can I follow you from now on?"

"What would you follow me for?" Qu Jianlei frowned. "You can't do anything right."

"Why would I specifically find someone to cause trouble for me? Wouldn't that be asking for it?"

"I have strengths!" Morrison quickly declared his value. "I'm good at communicating with people. Everyone knows that."

"You're good at begging for mercy!" Qu Jianlei answered bluntly. Good at communicating... Is he mocking me?

"Begging for mercy is also a form of communication," Morrison replied without caring. "If I weren't good at communicating, I'd have died more than a dozen times already!"

Qu Jianlei rolled his eyes speechlessly. "You're so shameless, and you're actually proud of that?"

That was what he said, but he did somewhat agree inwardly.

Morrison was lazy and had a bad reputation, but his social skills were definitely far better than Qu Jianlei's.

"Staying alive is what matters most." Morrison did not care about the mockery at all.

He even said, "If you take me in, leave all those embarrassing, disgraceful things to me in the future."

For an instant, Qu Jianlei was tempted. Having such a subordinate would be a great help to his development.

But it was only for an instant. The next moment, he thought of Rogers.

Rogers was someone he had saved, someone whose evil deeds had not been particularly notorious, yet he had still betrayed him in the end.

His reason had been the same: he wanted to live a better life.

So Qu Jianlei ultimately shook his head. "You've offended too many people. I have no interest in making enemies of everyone."

"Those are all minor matters," Morrison replied without hesitation. "If they were major grudges, would I have lived until now?"

Qu Jianlei shook his head just as decisively. "I don't want to be distracted by uncontrollable factors."

Once he sorted out the matters before him and resolved the hidden danger of the Modified Potion, he would devote all his attention to becoming stronger.

Morrison froze for a moment, a trace of disappointment appearing in his eyes.

But he quickly adjusted his mood. "Since the debt is repaid, does that mean we're equals now?"

"If you say we're equals, then we're equals," Qu Jianlei said lazily, not wanting to argue with him.

Having come from Blue Star, he believed people should be born equal. But Lao Mo, you had already gone crooked!

Talking to me about equality now was a little disrespectful!

Morrison's eyes shifted. "Then I have a suggestion. Want to work together on something?"

Qu Jianlei pondered for a moment, then slightly raised his chin. "Let's hear it first."

"The one who leaked your information was definitely Cripple," Morrison asked directly. "You don't deny that, do you?"

After thinking it over, Qu Jianlei replied, "I can only say that he probably isn't completely innocent."

His compulsiveness was not severe, but whenever a matter needed to be defined, he would do his best to ensure his wording was precise.

"Fine, not completely innocent." Morrison did not want to quibble over that—it was unnecessary.

"Since you've established that, it's only right to ask him for some compensation, isn't it?"

Qu Jianlei shook his head. "I don't think that's necessary. Why must there be compensation?"

As long as his life got back on track, he was not worried about being unable to make money. How much could a grocery store possibly compensate him?

He had never considered himself petty. At worst, he simply would not deal with that grocery store again.

Being kind to others was the true meaning of life. Being overly calculating... was not good.

Is he being foolish again? Morrison felt that he was having trouble understanding him.

But that still did not matter. "Brother Qu, you think it's unnecessary... but can I seek justice for you?"

Trying to act as my agent? Qu Jianlei narrowed his eyes. "If you seek justice, that's your business. I can't control it."

He was determined not to get involved, especially since this fellow's reputation was already utterly ruined. "If you can't control it, that means you don't object." Morrison smiled. This guy's emotional intelligence... really was strange.

"But if they come after me, you won't stand by either, right? Otherwise, people will look down on you!"

I'm seeking justice for you, after all. You can distance yourself from it, but can you allow others to slap you in the face?

Qu Jianlei had a headache. He truly was not good at handling interpersonal relationships.

He did not want to be used, but he also did not want to be looked down on.

After thinking for a long time, he finally said, "You're not allowed to use my name. I get half the proceeds."

He was indeed confident he could make money, but... he had not made it yet.

People could say money was worthless, but people ate grain and vegetables, and those needed manure to grow, didn't they?

"No problem." Morrison nodded readily. As long as Qu Jianlei was willing to take a share, this would be easy to handle.

Whether he used Qu Jianlei's name or not did not really matter. Did he really think others would not make wild guesses?

Seeing how readily he agreed, Qu Jianlei pondered for a moment before saying, "If someone pushes you into a corner, you can come ask me for temporary protection... provided you haven't done anything excessive."

"Of course," Morrison answered without hesitation. "If I behaved improperly, how would I have the face to ask for your protection?"

"Then it's settled," Qu Jianlei said decisively. "Take care. I won't see you off."

"Th-that's it? We're parting like this?" Morrison was stunned.

It was the middle of the night, out in the wilderness. Not only were there three corpses nearby, but his wound had split open again! Qu Jianlei looked at him curiously. "What, did you want a late-night snack or something?"

Morrison did not know what a late-night snack was, but he knew that nothing serious ever came out of this idiot's mouth.

So he said directly, "Can you lend me a gun? Deduct it from my future proceeds."

Qu Jianlei asked curiously, "It's not that I can't lend you one, but do you dare fire it?"

"I need to keep up appearances," Morrison replied frankly. "At least I'll have a gun in my hand... right?"

"Then I'll lend you one." Qu Jianlei handed him a Gauss Automatic Rifle, along with some ammunition.

After handing it over, he turned around and pedaled the Tricycle away.

By the time he returned to his little nest, it was already dawn. Qu Jianlei did not bother with anything else and slept soundly.

The next day, he went to Fat Sister's grocery store. "Fat Sister, I'm selling a knife."

Fat Sister offered far more than Cripple had. "Five tubes of Nutrient Solution!"

But Qu Jianlei still thought it was too little. "Add more."

Gap Tooth's knife was indeed somewhat worn, but it could still last for quite a while.

"Trade it for charcoal," Fat Sister said, not dwelling on their argument from yesterday. "I can give you more charcoal... winter's coming!"

"If I trade for that much, am I just waiting for someone to steal it?"

"Who would dare steal from you?" Fat Sister asked disdainfully. "You're someone with a gun now."

"People with guns die faster," Qu Jianlei replied casually. "Do you have meat? Meat works too."

This was not some kind of code. He meant actual meat. There really was meat to eat in the Wasteland, but it was much more expensive than Nutrient Solution.

It certainly tasted better than Nutrient Solution, but ordinary people could not afford it.

Usually, it came from domesticated livestock and poultry, but under Wasteland conditions, it was hard enough for people to survive, let alone raise animals.

There was also wild beast meat, but most beasts here had mutated, and few species were edible.

Even so, the meat people usually got to eat was Mutated Beast meat. Farmed meat was too expensive.

He had not eaten meat in over six years, and Qu Jianlei decided to indulge himself.

If he had truly been a native of the Wasteland, he might not have eaten natural meat even once in his life.

Fat Sister gave him a strange look. "Mutated meat? Your knife can only get you a small piece."

Qu Jianlei paused, swallowed, then snorted coldly. "One day, I'll buy a big piece!"

It sounded rather weak, but Qu Jianlei said it naturally. If he wanted to spend everything he had, he could afford it now.

It was just that the timing was wrong.

In the end, he traded the longsword for charcoal, but he was not in a good mood.

He had more and more spoils in his hands, yet he could not turn them into cash. It was frustrating.

Over the coming period, he would likely need a great deal of money... or rather, energy.

Previously, his life had only been about keeping himself fed and clothed. Even when he had ideas for making money, he had not dared to act on them.

Now that a turning point had appeared, if he grew stronger by riding this momentum, he would basically be able to ward off most covetous eyes.

So aside from resolving the hidden danger, what he needed to consider now was making money.

But from the looks of it, getting rich through robbery seemed rather difficult?

Two hours later, he rode his Tricycle to the outskirts of the Garbage Dump.

The moment he stopped, a figure shot out from beside him. "Brother Qu, what you did was a little unfair!"