Chapter 289: Don’t Come Back
"The workers survived before coming here," I reminded Xu Zhenlan and Zhou Chenghai. If they wanted to speak softly and be reasonable, then I could match them tone for tone. Only I carried a big stick behind my back at the same time. "They can continue doing whatever they were doing before."
"They were prisoners," Xu Zhenlan replied, his eyes turning fierce. "The compound controlled their food, shelter, and movement. They survived because someone else supplied what they needed. We took them from that stability and brought them out into the world. Now we need to step in and make good on our promises."
"I’m sorry," I replied with a confused look on my face. "Were we not just watching the same possessed TV? If you hadn’t taken them from the base they would be dead right now. If anything, they should be thanking us and offering to go out and get us supplies."
"You need to be more reasonable," hissed Xu Zhenlan. "This is our compound, we need to prepare it like it is."
Lingyun snorted. "Want to know the fastest way to make a woman unreasonable? Tell her to be more reasonable."
But that wasn’t the part of Xu Zhenlan’s statement my brain was fixated on. "Our. Compound." I repeated those two words, slowly cocking my head to the side as if that move would help me make more sense of what was going on in front of me. "Who said that this is our compound?"
"I did," said Xu Zhenlan. "This is what has to happen for us to survive in the future, and that includes supply runs. Whether you approve of them or not."
"And what part of the last two trips makes you believe there will be anything simple about that?" I demanded in return.
His expression tightened slightly, but he did not answer fast enough.
I crossed one leg in front of the other and rested my wrists on my knee. "So far, you are zero for two when it comes to supply runs. Are you sure you want to see if the third time is really a charm? What happens if you are the one who is going to die this time around?"
Xu Zhenlan’s face went blank, but he still opened his mouth. "We returned with what we needed both times," he announced like we had just gone to the grocery store and came straight back.
I laughed because I really thought he had made a joke. "The first time you left, we were kidnapped by zombies, taken to a hotel, and I almost died fighting the Devourer," I reminded him.
"But you survived and we came home with a SUV filled of food and supplies. The exact things that we went out to get," countered Zhou Chenghai.
"Okay," I nodded. I was actually impressed how well these two could dig their own graves. "So me dying would have still meant that it was a successful mission?"
Whatever he said next would determine everything for the rest of his life.
Xu Zhenlan stared at me for several seconds before answering with a slow shake of his head. "No. You dying isn’t something that I want at all." His words came out quickly enough that I almost believed him.
"Your death would’ve meant that the mission failed," he continued, his voice low. "But that doesn’t change the fact that we needed those supplies."
I leaned back, studying him. "So, it only counts as a failure if I die?"
"That’s not what I’m saying," Xu Zhenlan sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose like I was giving him a headache.
"It’s exactly what you’re saying. Everyone else can come back missing an arm, a leg, or half their blood, but as long as I’m still breathing and the trunk is full, you’ll stamp the trip as a success," I sneered.
His jaw tightened. "I’m saying that we can’t judge every supply run by whether something went wrong. Something will always go wrong. This isn’t like the old world where you go grab some groceries without a second thought. Now people will die for a single loaf of bread. People will kill for it. Injuries and death? You have to be prepared for that every time you leave the house."
Lingyun’s twisted smile turned that much brighter. "Such an easy thing to say when you weren’t the one carried home unconscious."
"I was there," snapped Xu Zhenlan. "I know exactly what happened."
"Then you should know why she doesn’t want you planning another one," sneered Yuche. He moved so that he was sitting beside me, his side pressed against mine as if to remind me that he was there.
"The world isn’t going to stop because you’re afraid to leave the house," bellowed Zhou Chenghai, throwing his hands up in the air like he was too frustrated to deal with me anymore.
I blinked.
Afraid.
He called me afraid.
I let the silence stretch while I decided whether strangling him with a vine would help or hurt the conversation. It would probably hurt, but at least I’d feel better.
"I’m not afraid to leave my house," I replied. "I simply don’t see the point in dying for twenty-three people I didn’t invite here."
"We invited them," Zhou Chenghai reminded me.
"Yes, and that sounds like something the two of you should work through together."
Xu Zhenlan exhaled through his nose. "The supplies we have won’t last forever."
I slowly turned my head toward the far wall.
Lingyun noticed where I was looking first. A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth while Yuche rose without being asked and crossed the room.
Xu Zhenlan and Zhou Chenghai watched him walk toward the paneling, neither one saying a word.
"Right," Lingyun murmured. "The room with the treasures."
Yuche pressed the hidden release, and part of the wall shifted inward before sliding aside.
The lights came on, revealing shelf after shelf of supplies.
Boxes of instant noodles filled one side of the room, while canned food, rice, flour, bottled water, toiletries, clothing, blankets, cleaning products, and everything else people needed to keep themselves alive took up the rest.
Xu Zhenlan stared at the supplies inside, his eye turning bright for a second before he suppressed it again. Zhou Chenghai’s expression didn’t change, but his eyes moved slowly over the shelves.
I picked up my Cheezies again. "Clearly, you forgot. We have supplies at home. I just don’t want to share."
For once, neither man tried to argue.
Xu Zhenlan stepped into the storeroom and looked around before turning back toward me. "This helps. But it is only a short term solution. We need more. This isn’t enough."
There was that word again ’enough’. "This solves the problem," I sighed picking up my Cheezies. I tossed one into my mouth and got comfortable again.
"It doesn’t solve anything. It simply delays it."
I stared at him and he stared back. Apparently, the man had looked at enough supplies to support a small village and still found a way to complain.
"There are things missing," he continued. "Proper work boots, replacement parts, fuel, medicine, and equipment we’ll eventually need. This room gives us time, but it doesn’t mean we’ll never have to leave again."
"We can plan," Zhou Chenghai promised. "We can prepare. We can choose who goes and what we’re willing to risk, but no one should expect every trip to end without injuries. Eventually, someone will die."
I nodded slowly. Fine. He wanted to go? That was fine with me.
"Then go on a supply run," I replied with a shrug of my shoulders. "But if you do; don’t bother coming back."
