Mobilization Order

The sun was already low on the horizon, and it was probably getting late. There was definitely no time to go back now.

Chu Guang preferred to stay the night on Bett Street rather than travel at night.

Having had several unpleasant experiences, he knew all too well how dangerous it was. Surviving was purely due to luck.

Chu Guang wrapped the newly bought pipe rifle in a plastic bag and tied it together with the sharpened pipe he had behind him. From the outside, no one could tell it was a gun.

Although Bett Street didn't restrict survivors from carrying weapons, Chu Guang didn't want the Town Chief's informants to discover his private trade with the caravan from outside.

50g of Blue Umbrella Mushrooms for just 1 Chip.

He really had to hand it to these blood-sucking leeches for coming up with that!

Passing through the gate of Bett Street.

Chu Guang saw a dense crowd gathered around the entrance of the Recycling Station. There were men and women, old and young.

They were dressed in rags, looking sallow and emaciated. They carried woven bags or baskets on their backs and plastic buckets or other containers in their hands.

Their daily routine was simple.

They exchanged the trash they collected for Chips, and then used the Chips to buy necessities for living.

"Freshly arrived soap! Produced by Boulder City Chemical Plant, only 3 Chips to wash away that disgusting stench from your bodies. Hurry and buy one for your wives, only 30 pieces, first come, first served."

"Cooking oil, don't ask what it's refined from, it's all fresh good stuff, transported from Brown Farm, only 10 Chips per liter... A bit expensive, but there's a reason it's expensive, you'd better find someone to split it with."

"Let me see, oh, and coarse salt! A piece the size of your thumb is only 5 Chips... Don't ask where it came from, how much better do you expect to eat? Come and buy."

"There's also tobacco leaves, good for smoking yourself or for curing meat, also from Brown Farm... Forget it, just pick yourselves, I'm going to rest for a bit."

Old Charlie was shouting lazily at the entrance, his attitude not at all like someone doing business.

In fact, it wasn't really business, but more like a master bestowing charity upon his servants.

Let alone Bett Street.

Within a five-mile radius, many things could only be bought here. The people living here had no right to choose.

Also, don't think five miles is a short distance.

Although Clearwater City was located on the Great Southern Plain, it had long since become a reinforced concrete graveyard more dangerous than a forest...

Old Charlie wiped his sweat and handed the money-collecting work to the shop assistant, while he himself sat to the side, squinting and resting.

Just then, a thin young man in a gray overcoat, waving a wooden sign in his hand, walked up to the crowd.

"Mobilization Order! The Town Chief's Mobilization Order!"

"Before the end of the month, each household must submit 100 kilograms of firewood and 2 cubic meters of hides."

"Spread the word!"

The crowd stirred.

Complaints arose, but no one stepped forward to resist.

After all, this was how it had been in previous years.

Bett Street didn't collect taxes, but that didn't mean living here was free. Besides the soft exploitation in trading rights, the Town Chief would always levy a batch of supplies through various means.

And the Mobilization Order was one of them, issued every year in August or September.

As for what would happen if you refused the levy?

The punishment was quite straightforward.

All men and women in the settlement aged 16 and above, regardless of whether they had moved out and lived alone, were considered a single household as long as they were not married. After marriage, two people formed one household.

If they failed to submit the supplies, the Steward who registered the household would cross out that household's name from the roster, confiscate their shack on Bett Street, and expel them from the Survivor Settlement.

In this world where life was thinner than paper, losing your shelter was no different from death.

Especially in the cold winter.

Although Bett Street wasn't wealthy, it was already much better than the neighboring Brown Farm. At least the survivors living here still had a little bit of pitiful freedom.

It seems the Town Chief plans to make another profit before the last batch of caravans arrive this year, using the exchanged supplies to have a prosperous year.

Chu Guang mused, but he didn't take this so-called Mobilization Order seriously.

He would leave here before winter.

When the time came, he wouldn't need anyone to chase him away, he would leave on his own.

He bypassed the Recycling Station.

Chu Guang walked directly towards his shack, but before he even reached the entrance, he saw Yu Xiaoyu and a man standing there, arguing about something.

The man was about seventeen or sixteen, not tall, a teenager. Chu Guang didn't know him well, only remembering that he seemed to be the third son of the Wang Family, named Wang Defu.

His shack was in the furthest corner of the settlement, diagonally opposite the Yu Family, and then the Wang Family. He usually didn't visit that far.

He didn't know what was going on, but the third son of the Wang Family had actually come to his place.

"Get out of the way."

Wang Defu looked impatient, reaching out and shoving Yu Xiaoyu, who was blocking his way. The young girl stumbled backward, but still spread her arms like a mother hen protecting her chick, refusing to yield.

"No, you can't! This isn't your home!"

"It's not your home either."

"But he asked me to help watch his place!"

"What's there to watch at a dead person's house?"

"He's not dead." Yu Xiaoyu glared at him, her eyes like goldfish.

"Stop lying. That outsider hasn't been back for four or five days."

Wang Defu impatiently continued, "Isn't your Yu family just trying to get a piece of the pie? I wasn't planning on taking it all for myself anyway. How about this: the shack's beams and this door are mine, you can take the rest."

An empty house belonging to a dead person was usually divided up by the neighbors.

There was no exact rule for how many days someone had to be gone to be considered dead, but generally, if someone hadn't been seen returning for several days, everyone assumed they had either been captured by slavers or marauders, or dragged off by mutants to feed their young.

No one could survive several consecutive nights outside.

Even experienced hunters found it difficult.

Yu Xiaoyu bit her lower lip until it was pale, her eyes wide like a little goldfish, refusing to move, but not doing anything else either.

Wang Defu didn't want to wait any longer. If he waited, the men of the Yu family would be back, and he wouldn't get any benefit on his own, so he prepared to push her aside forcefully.

However, just then, a hand landed on his shoulder.

"Who said I was dead?"

Wang Defu's hair stood on end. He jumped to the side, his eyes like a wild beast's, looking at Chu Guang with apprehension. Yu Xiaoyu quickly slipped behind Chu Guang to hide, reporting in a low voice.

"He came yesterday and wanted to tear down your house."

"Thanks."

Chu Guang looked at Wang Defu with a half-smile, then said.

"Are you leaving on your own, or should I help you?"

Wang Defu knew he was in the wrong and couldn't argue. He then glanced at the steel pipe on Chu Guang's back, its tip stained with blood, and finally walked away without a word.

He wasn't afraid of the Yu family, nor was he afraid of this outsider, but no one wanted to offend a strong man.

Especially since this guy was a lone wolf with no weaknesses.

Looking at the man's retreating back, Chu Guang suddenly felt a little sad.

Some people, though alive, were no different from the hyenas and vultures outside.

He had personally seen a mutant hyena bite off the neck of its injured companion and share its flesh. At the time, he hadn't thought much of it, just considering it the law of nature, but now he felt a strange sense of empathy.

He had only been gone for a few days, and these people were already stirring.

Yu Xiaoyu, who was hiding behind Chu Guang, didn't leave. She felt that if she waited a little longer, perhaps she could get the candy she had eaten that day.

She had never eaten anything so sweet; she had almost chewed the plastic stick as well.

Noticing the pair of big eyes looking at him.

Chu Guang was startled at first, then realized what was going on. He smiled and pulled out a lollipop he had forgotten to eat from his pocket, putting it in the little girl's hand.

"Thanks for your trouble these past few days."

"No trouble!"

Xiaoyu happily tore open the plastic wrapper and put the lollipop in her mouth, saying indistinctly, "Anyway, I don't have anything else to do. When you go out, I can help you watch."

Just then, the men of the Yu family returned from the direction of the Recycling Station, carrying their spoils. From the bulging bundles, it was clear they had a good haul.

Seeing her eldest brother, second brother, and father, Xiaoyu quickly scurried back into the house.

Earning candy was just a side job; keeping an eye on the outsider was the task her elders had given her. Xiaoyu hadn't forgotten her elders' instructions.

However, no matter how fast she was, she couldn't be faster than a hunter's eyes.

The head of the Yu family—a strong, wrinkled old man—glanced at Chu Guang, said nothing, and went into the house with his eldest son, who was carrying two bags of green wheat.

Yu Hu, the second son of the Yu family, stopped in front of Chu Guang.

Chu Guang recognized him.

Most people here didn't pay him much attention, but this eighteen or nineteen-year-old young man was one of the few who would actively talk to him.

However, this person always spoke directly, just like his name, which meant "tiger head, tiger brain."

"You weren't here these past few days. I thought you were dead."

Chu Guang said.

"Looks like your intuition isn't very accurate."

Yu Hu was stunned for a moment, then grinned and scratched his head.

This outsider was quite interesting. His way of speaking was different from others; he always liked to beat around the bush.

Not minding, he continued.

"I need to tell you something. The Town Chief just issued a Mobilization Order. Each household has to hand over 100 kilograms of firewood and 2 square meters of fur by the end of the month."

The Yu Family has three adult males, requiring them to contribute 300 kilograms of firewood and 6 square meters of animal hides, making them "major taxpayers" on Bett Street.

The former is manageable; vegetation is abundant throughout the city, and the far northern outskirts boast large forested areas. Even without the Town Chief's mobilization order, they would still need to chop some wood for winter.

However, the latter is more difficult to acquire. 6 square meters of hides would require killing at least four, possibly even five, Mutant Hyenas.

"I heard about it when I came back."

"That's good."

Yu Hu was direct and didn't beat around the bush.

"We were just discussing with the Li Family about trying our luck in the northern forest. They say there are signs of deer migration there. If we can catch two, we'll get not only hides but also meat. Want to join us?"

"Perhaps not. I'll figure something out myself."

Chu Guang politely declined, but he quietly made a mental note.

The scavengers from Bett Street were planning to hunt in the north, and Linghu Wetland Park was also slightly northwest. He hoped they wouldn't run into each other.

Yu Hu naturally didn't know what Chu Guang was thinking. He just assumed Chu Guang was being shy and continued to persuade him.

"I can tell you're capable, but one person's abilities are limited. The Wang Family kid dared to bully you because they have strength in numbers."

"How about this, my sister will be of marriageable age next year. Why don't you marry her? Then we'll be family."

"If you're in a hurry, we can even have the wedding feast tonight."

Chu Guang almost choked on his words and coughed, saying, "No need."

What?

How did the conversation jump to this?

Moreover, the acceptable age for marriage among these survivors was something Chu Guang, from a civilized society, couldn't accept.

After all, he was still young, and getting married was too early.

"Alright, then."

Yu Hu didn't press further, but inwardly expressed regret.

People from the Shelter were quite clever, like that old man named Charlie. He had been working for the Town Chief since Yu Hu could remember and was a big shot in the neighbors' eyes.

Old Man Charlie said Chu Guang also came from the Shelter, so it must be true. He probably had a good head on his shoulders too.

If he could have a son with his sister, perhaps the Yu Family could also produce a big shot like Old Man Charlie in the future.

He had even planned to convince his father.

But now, it seemed he was being overly optimistic.

He carried his things back home.

Yu Hu stopped his sister.

"Xiaoyu, let me ask you, are you willing to marry Brother Chu Guang next door?"

Xiaoyu, with a lollipop still in her mouth, mumbled, "Okay."

It was right next to their house, not far at all.

In her eyes, getting married was just moving to a different place to sleep. There wasn't much difference, and she might even get two more pieces of candy.

Yu Hu, who had almost given up, said happily, "Then Brother will try to convince him again for you."

"Okay."

Xiaoyu responded casually, focused only on eating her candy and not caring.

Yu Hu, however, was excitedly calculating.

"Alright, I'll talk to Big Brother and Dad, but don't just wait around. When you have time, go learn how to make flatbread from Mom... What are you eating? Let me have a taste."

"No!"

Seeing her second brother trying to snatch her candy, Xiaoyu instantly became unhappy, crouched down to dodge, and ran off in a flash.