Sharing spicy strips

The young man walked along, rubbing his ears and muttering.

"...Being a superhuman isn't all good. My senses are too sharp. All that noise makes my ears hurt!"

"Xuanxuan, Lele, come back here!"

Seeing a superhuman approach,

the two parents immediately stood up with smiles plastered on their faces and hurriedly told the two children to stop making a fuss.

"Huh? So you can keep them under control after all."

"It's fine. Carry on with whatever you were doing. I'm just here for those two."

Qin Mao waved a hand and called the two children over with a friendly expression.

"Kids, you were playing rock-paper-scissors and arguing over who lost, right? How about I settle it for you?"

"Yes, yes! It was him! He lost and won't admit it. He won't give me the spicy strips..."

"No, I didn't! He threw late! He cheated! The spicy strips should be mine..."

"It's okay. I'll settle this for you."

"Okay!"

Two pairs of big, innocent eyes stared straight at Qin Mao.

He first looked at Red Scarf. "You threw late. That counts as cheating, so you lost."

Black Shirt let out triumphant cries of "Woo, woo, woo!"

Red Scarf's face immediately fell, and he glared hatefully at the man before him.

Then Qin Mao immediately told Black Shirt, "You threw scissors, and he threw rock. You lost too."

"???"

Before either child could react,

he snatched the spicy strips from Black Shirt, tore open the bag, tipped the whole lot into his mouth, and chowed down.

The spicy strips were delicious, but something even better had happened.

He sensed that the ownership ritual for [Just Verdict] had finally budged!

Meanwhile, both children burst into tears. Anger appeared on their parents' faces, but they quickly suppressed it and began comforting the children.

They knew they couldn't afford to offend this man who could repair boats.

"Don't cry, Xuanxuan. Be good. Uncle just helped us fix the boat. Let's let Uncle have the spicy strips, okay?"

"Waaah, bad uncle! Uncle's a bad guy..."

"He's no damn uncle! I hate him..."

"Xuanxuan, shut up..." Alarmed, the woman tried to cover the child's mouth, but it was already too late.

Qin Mao, who had been in a good mood, abruptly darkened and raised his hand.

Smack, smack, smack, smack!

Four hefty slaps: two adults, two children, one to each face. Fair and square, with just enough to go around.

"You! How could you hit people for no reason!"

"Exactly! And you stole the children's spicy strips!"

The two adults, a man and a woman, instantly erupted.

They could tolerate being bullied themselves, but hitting their precious children? Absolutely not!

"Everyone, come look! Boohoo... A superhuman's hitting people for no reason..."

"He's hitting people today, and tomorrow he'll dare to kill! We refuse to stay with a murderer like him!"

The woman was worked up, spittle flying as she spoke. She glared daggers at Qin Mao, wishing she could devour him alive.

The commotion drew a crowd, and soon the area was packed solid with onlookers eager to watch the drama.

Before the apocalypse, being surrounded by so many people, plus two fiercely protective parents, might really have scared Qin Mao weak at the knees.

Now, he felt completely unfazed, even a little excited.

"You two old fossils! Those little shits were making all that racket, and you couldn't keep them in line? Don't you know to keep your voices down in public? You're like someone pushing a millstone naked-making a spectacle of yourselves at every turn!"

His words immediately drew agreement from the watching survivors.

"Mr. Qin's right! We finally get to come out for some air during the day, and those two little brats were so loud I couldn't stand staying here!"

"Heh, you've messed with the wrong person this time..."

"Don't have kids if you can't control them! Little bastards with no upbringing..."

"You don't know, do you? That little brat even bumped into an old fellow like me just now! Infuriating..."

Seeing everyone turn against them, the two parents grew a little frightened, but the woman still instinctively refused to back down.

"Oh, come on! You're a grown adult. Why are you picking a fight with a child? He's just a child. What does he know? Didn't you make a fuss when you were little? You think you're so precious?"

"He's only a child."

Those words seemed to flip a switch.

The children, who had been stunned by Qin Mao's two slaps, suddenly came to their senses and burst into loud sobs.

The woman hurriedly fussed over them.

"Don't cry, baby. There, there, be good. My poor baby was scared to death! It's all that bad uncle's fault. How can he be so vicious, hitting little children so hard!"

Qin Mao's face darkened. Without another word, he delivered another four slaps.

After four crisp smacks, the children stopped crying and glared viciously at Qin Mao, their fists clenched tight.

The woman went mad with fury. "You fucking..."

She made up her mind. So what if he was a superhuman? What gave a newcomer the right to swagger around?

Wasn't Team Leader Yang always polite to them?

She was just about to lunge at him and claw a few gashes into his face when she suddenly spotted the walnut pistol grip tucked against Qin Mao's chest.

She immediately stopped moving, and her tone instantly softened. "...Are you going to be reasonable or not!"

Qin Mao gritted his teeth too, forcing out a sentence word by word.

"I hate being called Uncle more than anything-I'm only twenty-two! Call me that again, I dare you!"

The man covered his face, aggrieved. "I didn't call you that just now. Why did you hit me?"

"Oh, everyone in a family should be treated fairly."

Soon, the disturbance on deck caught the attention of three superhumans, and Yang Fan and the other two squeezed through the crowd.

Yang Fan wore his usual cold expression, trying hard to look like a mature, ruthless adult.

The woman wept pitifully.

"Team Leader Yang, you have to stand up for us! This man's hitting people from your fleet on his very first day aboard! He has no respect for you. He's challenging your authority!"

Yang Fan ignored the woman and first looked up at Qin Mao.

"Qin, come over for a meeting later."

Then he turned toward the woman and said in a clear voice, "All right. Your family can apologize to Mr. Qin and leave."

"Huh? Who? Us, apologize? To this bastard?" The woman looked shocked, unable to believe her ears.

"Yes. You don't have to apologize, either. My little fleet has no room for such grand personages as you two."

She immediately exploded. "Fine! You officials all protect each other! You superhumans..."

"Shut up! Can't you see what's going on?"

The woman was about to keep shouting about the injustice, but the man clamped a hand firmly over her mouth.

In the end, the two of them pulled their children along and bowed, apologizing to Qin Mao.

"M-Mr. Qin, we're sorry."

"Mm, no problem. Oh, right, you two kids! Was the way I settled things for you just now fair?"

The children froze and instinctively tried to hide behind their parents, but wherever they ducked, Qin Mao's stare stayed fixed on them.

"B-Big brother... You divided it fairly..."

"...We have no objections, big brother..."

As their words fell,

"Fair judgment" was successfully validated.

The ownership ritual for [Just Verdict] was one-third complete.

"What a letdown. I thought I'd get to kill a couple of people to establish my authority."

Qin Mao sighed in feigned dissatisfaction, frightening the couple into retreating again and again with their children in tow.

In truth, he was delighted.

He pulled out [Just Verdict] and admired it happily.

"Sure enough, I'm the embodiment of fairness! Had this gun never met me, Qin Mao, its trajectory would remain in eternal night!"

The crowd gradually dispersed.

Before leaving, Yang Fan announced a new fleet rule: parents with children aboard were to keep them under control. Making noise or roughhousing wherever they pleased was prohibited, with each violation punishable by a fine of one loaf of bread or an equivalent amount of food.

"Tsk... What a toothless new rule. If it were me, I'd write: keep your dogs leashed aboard."

Qin Mao made a snide remark.

Ye Xuanyin sidled up to him and secretly gave him a thumbs-up.

"Nicely done! I hate those little brats who call me Auntie too... I'm only seventeen, damn it!"

Yan Qi patted his shoulder. "Hey, my friend! That temper of yours is like meat sizzling with fat in a naan oven!"

...That made Qin Mao hungry.

But the +1 to [Just Verdict]'s progress, the couple's resentful looks as they left, wanting to take him down but unable to, and the two children's cowering expressions had already given him three mental orgasms.

Where next?

Qin Mao wandered along. Soon, his keen superhuman vision picked something out.

Delight crossed his face, and he headed straight over with a smile.