Chapter 38: Expulsion

"Whoosh..."

The torrential rain brought with it the only benefit - no more water shortage.

It had been seven days since the last "weekly rent."

In other words, as long as the rain stopped, Bai Yu would have to find new supplies to pay the rent.

Otherwise, she would be thrown out of the shelter by someone.

With zombies rampant outside, it was terrifying.

Bai Yu was unwilling to go out, so the only thing she could do was collect water during this torrential rain.

Normally, water could serve as goods for the weekly rent.

Therefore, in the shelter, on the dilapidated rooftop of the building, Bai Yu found many basins.

After these basins were filled with water, she transferred all the water into empty mineral water bottles.

She was busy like this all day.

Until a backpack was filled with water.

When the busy day ended, it was already midnight.

---

Bai Yu was extremely tired, so she had to put the backpack full of water in the corner of the rooftop.

Then she covered it with a few boards.

Thinking to herself, she would use a rope to lower the backpack down the next day and hand the water over to the rent collector.

Bai Yu was very tired and quickly returned to her room to rest.

The room was very simple, with straw spread on the ground, some old cloths, and many empty mineral water bottles.

The walls were made of concrete and were unpainted.

Of course!

After all, this building was unfinished before the zombie outbreak.

---

The next morning, Bai Yu woke up a bit late.

She was awakened by a burst of crying.

But she was not in the mood to watch the excitement.

When she saw that it was already bright outside, she was just surprised and sighed inwardly that it was not good.

"I have to feel that if I don't deliver the water, they won't want it anymore..."

Bai Yu rushed to the rooftop anxiously.

However, what caught her eye first was a bald middle-aged man carrying her backpack on his back.

With a face full of flesh, the bald man ignored Bai Yu and was about to walk downstairs with the backpack.

"Stop, that's my water!"

Bai Yu panicked and quickly stretched out her hands, blocking the bald man's path.

The bald man tilted his mouth and stared, "Just because you say it's yours, it's yours? Is your name written on it?"

"It is written, it's written on the label of the backpack, give it back to me!"

The bald man didn't expect Bai Yu to have actually written her name on it.

But he wasn't going to return it to her.

He just said irritably, "Get lost!"

Then he directly pushed Bai Yu to the ground.

Bai Yu exclaimed as she fell to the ground.

Seeing that the bald man was about to leave, Bai Yu grabbed his leg.

"Give it back to me, this is my water!"

She was somewhat excited, like a mad little cat.

The bald man was annoyed, grabbed her hair, and as Bai Yu tried to alleviate the pain by grabbing his hand, he kicked her in the stomach.

"Bang!!!"

Bai Yu's body was kicked three or four meters away.

The intense pain made her curl up on the ground like a shrimp.

For a moment, she was even too pained to speak.

"Damn it, eat your words!"

The bald man spat at Bai Yu fiercely.

Then he decisively left with the backpack.

In no time, he disappeared.

"Cough, cough..."

Bai Yu coughed violently while lying on the ground.

"That's mine, it's my water..."

Her voice was filled with grievances and a hint of crying.

Tears swirled in her eyes.

But tears didn't fall.

---

In peacetime, as long as a child cried out in a crowd, many uncles and aunts would come forward to help.

Whether sincerely or just for show.

The crying child always got help; this seemed to be an eternal truth.

However, it didn't apply to the apocalypse.

Bai Yu had cried many times.

But instead of getting help from others, she mostly encountered trouble.

---

Some found her annoying and warned her to shut up.

Some, with malicious intentions, would pretend to console her and then slap her.

And some even resorted to direct violence and threats.

When her luck was particularly bad, it would even attract zombies.

---

Everything was superficial.

Tears in this era were worthless.

The era where crying would lead to someone lending a helping hand had long passed.

---

"No, I can't..."

There was a stubbornness in her heart.

Bai Yu refused to let her water be taken away by others.

She didn't know what to do.

At this moment, she just wanted to catch up; this matter couldn't be left unresolved.

After lying on the ground for two or three minutes, Bai Yu finally stood up.

She limped downstairs.

Her speed wasn't fast, but at least it was urgent compared to normal walking.

---

When she reached the ground floor, she saw a middle-aged woman crying while holding her tattered bag.

Several women beside her were comforting her, their expressions helpless.

"Woo... Once I go out, how am I going to survive..."

The woman cried bitterly.

But no matter what, it couldn't change the imminent tragic fact.

---

Bai Yu was well aware that the reason why the woman was crying was simply because she couldn't pay the "weekly rent."

Such people were everywhere, and it was no longer novel.

Bai Yu was too busy with her own affairs and naturally didn't have the mood to meddle in other people's business.

She just limped towards the place where the ruling class collected rent.

---It was a two-story small building.

At this time, there was already a long queue outside the door.

Around it, there were people carrying weapons such as machetes and axes on their backs or in their hands, all henchmen of the ruling class.

They were the main figures in maintaining order in the shelter.

---

Among the people lining up, everyone had goods on them.

Either food or salt and seasoning.

In short, they were all things scavenged from the ruins outside.

All for paying the "weekly rent."

Bai Yu quickly spotted the bald man at the front of the crowd.

She hurried over and shouted:

"Thief, give me back my water!"

The bald man didn't react much, just glanced back and then smirked before entering the house.

---

Bai Yu was stopped by a man holding a large machete in one hand, who shouted:

"Hey, hey, line up to pay rent, no cutting in line!"

But Bai Yu didn't care, she just wanted to retrieve her water.

---

Getting too excited led to losing control, and she was about to rush forward.

"Smack!"

But she was slapped to the ground by the man.

"Damn it, can't you understand human language? Do you want a beating?"

The man brandished his machete in front of Bai Yu.

The blade shimmered, scaring Bai Yu into not daring to move recklessly.

She could only protect her swollen right cheek, which had been slapped, with a sad expression.

The man looked Bai Yu up and down, his eyes slanted, and asked:

"Did you bring the weekly rent?"

Bai Yu just pointed in the direction

 where the bald man had just been, stammering:

"I did, I did, but... but he stole it..."

"Then you didn't bring it!"

The man sneered, waving his machete, and pointing to the exit of the shelter, he said:

"Are you going out on your own, or do I have to throw you out?"