Fight If You Can Win, Run If You Can't

Ignatius looked at him approvingly. "Just as you thought, they're not actually from our country. They're from the R country. Since the apocalypse, they've experienced several major earthquakes and tsunamis on their island, and their living conditions are dire. They initially wanted to migrate to our area, but I refused. Not long after, the pirates appeared."

"Later, I sent people to investigate and found out that those pirates are from the R country, especially targeting us."

"Since they're so arrogant, why not wipe them out? Let bygones be bygones," Hurley said coldly.

Ignatius gave him a look. "You think I don't want to? They're a bunch of desperados, plus they have military support. We're no match for them."

He didn't have the authority to mobilize weapons on that scale yet; all he could do for now was endure and seize an opportunity to deal with them later.

Speaking of weapons, Hurley remembered the firearms at Peach Blossom Village.

"If I give you weapons, will you dare to use them?" Hurley asked.

"Of course. I've never been afraid of anything," Ignatius said casually. But seeing Hurley's serious expression, he was taken aback. "What do you mean? Are you planning to steal?"

Hurley looked at him speechlessly. "Where would I steal from? Don't worry about it. I'll find a way to get the weapons for you when I have the time."

Ignatius looked at him somewhat puzzled. Should he believe this?

...

Alice returned home, and immediately the whole family rushed up, anxiously inspecting her.

Alexander immediately asked, "Little sister, did you encounter pirates?"

That's right, they had only recently found out about the spies and learned that there were pirates at sea. If they had known about the pirates earlier, they would never have agreed to let her go out to sea.

"We should have investigated thoroughly. Your reckless decision to go out to sea scared us half to death. We didn't know how to find you," Blanche said, her heart in turmoil these past few days. Seeing Alice return safely, she finally felt relieved.Alice felt a bit embarrassed as she said, "Sorry, I actually knew about the pirates, but I'm not afraid.""If you can fight them, then fight; if you can't, then run," she shrugged. She was confident she could take on those pirates, so she wasn't afraid at all.

The Allen family fell silent, as quiet as chickens.Was all their worrying for nothing?

Alice looked at them guiltily, scratching her head. "Um, I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry. But this time, I have experience. Next time I go out to sea, you won't have to worry."

"You still want a next time?" Atticus looked serious. "No, you're not allowed. Those pirates are ruthless killers, extremely dangerous. They have well-equipped ships and plenty of weapons. On land, you can run if you can't fight, but how will you run on the sea? Jump into the water? Let me tell you, the sea is even more dangerous."

Alice fell silent. She hadn't expected her family to be so afraid of pirates.She didn't push the topic further. She hadn't planned to go out to sea these days anyway. She'd think about it next time.

"How about making braised fish today?" Alice changed the subject.

The Allen family knew they couldn't convince her, so they dropped it.

Home was still the most comfortable place. After taking a bath and washing her hair, Alice did a simple skincare routine. By the time she finished, dinner was ready.

"Mom, is everything okay at home these days?" Alice asked while examining the electric fence on the wall, which showed no signs of damage.

Blanche shook her head. "Those people don't dare to come in. They just stand outside and hurl insults."

Alice raised an eyebrow. "Which people?"

"Who else could it be? Florence and her family. Her brother got electrocuted, and I heard he's recuperating at home. They didn't receive any compensation, so they came to argue for two days. But they didn't dare touch the electric fence, and we didn't go out, so we just had a war of words."

Florence came to argue twice, but seeing that the Allen family didn't budge and weren't going to compensate them, they could only leave disappointed.

Alice didn't pay them much mind. She never went looking for trouble, but she wasn't afraid of those who did."Come one, take them down one by one; come two, take them down as a pair. We're already in the apocalypse, no need to suffer," Alice muttered to herself as she finished her meal and then watched a movie while snacking on some fruit. She didn't go to bed until midnight.

The next morning, she arrived at the rented fish pond, just as Hurley showed up.

"Why didn't you wait for me?" Hurley frowned.

"It's okay, I can handle this bit of work," Alice smiled. She was not one to fuss or wait around for someone else if she could do things herself. She didn't see any point in being overly delicate about it.

They rented a tricycle to transport the fish for sale, with Hurley taking the wheel.

The K base was well-developed, with not only small shops but also a marketplace. Of course, this market was nowhere near as bustling as it was before the apocalypse; anyone with goods to sell could set up shop.

Alice rented a transaction machine. Since their points were stored on cards and not readily available as cash, they needed a machine to process transactions. They didn't plan on doing business indefinitely, but selling fish this time was both to avoid wasting time making fish jerky and to experience the fun of selling things.

The fish in the tricycle were large and fresh, attracting quite a crowd. Alice had already decided on the pricing: "Two points for a pound."

Compared to the three points per fish she had suggested earlier, this pricing was more reasonable.

Alice had brought an electronic scale from her space, so she took charge of weighing and collecting payments while Hurley handled the fish gutting.

"One fish is too big for me. Can I buy just this portion?" one customer asked.

"Sure," Hurley replied, swiftly preparing the fish and cutting out a piece of meat.

Alice weighed it. "Three pounds and one ounce, I'll count it as three pounds. That'll be six points."

Since they didn't have plastic bags, the customers brought their own baskets to carry the fish.The first sale went smoothly, and more people started crowding around their stall.

"This fish looks great, so fresh. Perfect for making sashimi," one person with a discerning palate remarked, eyeing a large fish. "How much for this fish?"

"We charge by weight, two points per pound. We can clean it up for you," Hurley replied.

The customer waved his hand generously. "Just weigh it. For sashimi, it has to be fresh enough. I'll handle the rest at home."

In less than half an hour, only three fish were left in the tricycle.

Florence, upon hearing about the fresh fish, hurried over. Seeing Alice selling, she haughtily demanded, "I'll take this fish. Clean it thoroughly, remove the bones, slice the meat, wash it, and put it in plastic bags with ice packs to keep it fresh."

The people around were astonished by these demands. It wasn't like pre-apocalypse times where such services were readily available. Where were they supposed to find plastic bags and ice packs now?

Alice remained composed. "Sure, but a pound won't be two points. It'll be twenty points."

Florence immediately protested, "Why are you selling it for two points per pound to others but charging me twenty points?"

"Ma'am, others didn't ask for such extensive service. If you want additional service, it comes with a higher price," Hurley interjected, his tone icy.

But Florence's attention was fixated on the term 'ma'am' that Hurley used.

"Who are you calling ma'am? I'll report you," Florence exclaimed in frustration.

"Suit yourself. Please step aside and don't block us. You're hindering our business," Alice coldly ushered her away.

The onlookers, seeing that there were few fish left in the cart, immediately crowded around Florence, "If you don't want to buy, leave. We want to buy."

Despite being near the seaside, there were surprisingly few live fish available. One reason was the prevalence of pirates, which deterred fishermen from going too far out to sea, resulting in limited catches. Secondly, to prepare for potential crises at the base, most fishermen preferred to preserve their catches as dried or salted fish. If households ran out of food, they could then exchange dried fish for points.