Chapter 15: The mobilization order

The sun had already hung low in the sky, and it was likely getting late. It wouldn't be possible to return now.

Light Chu would rather stay overnight in Bette Street than travel on the road at night. He had had several unpleasant experiences, and he knew how dangerous it could be. Surviving was nothing short of a stroke of luck.

Light Chu wrapped the purchased bolt-action rifle in a plastic bag and tied it together with the sharpened water pipe behind him. From the outside, no one could tell it was a gun.

Although Bette Street didn't restrict survivors from carrying weapons, Light Chu didn't want to attract the attention of the town mayor and reveal his private transactions with the outside merchant convoy.

50 grams of blue umbrella mushrooms in exchange for only 1 chip. It was truly remarkable what those blood-sucking leeches could come up with!

Passing through the gate of Bette Street, Light Chu saw a crowd gathered at the entrance of the recycling station. Men, women, young, and old were among them.

They were ragged, emaciated, carrying woven bags or frames on their backs, and holding plastic buckets or other containers in their hands.

Their daily routine was simple.

They exchanged the garbage they collected for chips and then used the chips to obtain the necessities of life.

"Newly arrived soap! Produced by the Boulder City Chemical Plant, only 3 chips to clean up the disgusting smell on your body. Hurry up and buy one for your wife, only 30 available, first come, first served."

"Cooking oil, no matter what it's made from, it's all fresh and good stuff. Delivered from Brown's Farm, only 10 chips per liter... a bit expensive, but there's a reason for the price. You'd better find someone to pool together with."

"Let me see... oh, there's also coarse salt! Thumb-sized pieces, only 5 chips... never mind where it comes from, do you want to eat something better? Come and buy it."

"And tobacco leaves, whether for smoking or for smoking meat, they're both good. Also from Brown's Farm... well, choose for yourselves, I'll take a break."

Old Charlie lazily shouted at the entrance, his attitude not at all like a business person.

In fact, it wasn't really doing business; it was more like a master's charity to his servants.

Not to mention Bette Street.

Within a radius of 2.5 kilometers, many things could only be obtained here. The people living here had no choice.

And don't think that five li is a short distance.

Although Springvale was located in the southern plains, it had long become a concrete graveyard more dangerous than the forest...

Old Charlie wiped his sweat and handed over the collection duties to his assistant inside the shop. He sat down on the side and closed his eyes to rest.

At this moment, a young man with a thin figure, wearing a gray coat, waved a wooden sign in his hand and walked in front of the crowd.

"Mobilization order! The orders of the town mayor!"

"Before the end of the month, each household must submit 100 kilograms of firewood and 2 bundles of fur."

"Spread the word to each other!"

The crowd stirred.

Complaints filled the air, but no one came forward to resist.

After all, it had been the same every year.

Bette Street didn't impose taxes, but that didn't mean life here was free. Apart from the soft exploitation in trading rights, the town mayor would always collect a batch of goods in one way or another.

The mobilization order was one of them and occurred every August or September.

As for what would happen if someone refused to comply?

The punishment was quite straightforward.

All individuals over the age of 16, regardless of whether they lived separately or as a family, as long as they were unmarried, were considered separate households. After marriage, two people became one household.

If they didn't contribute the required goods, the steward in charge of registering households would strike their names off the roster and seize their dwellings in Bette Street, expelling them from the survivor stronghold.

In this world where life was more fragile than paper, losing a place of refuge was no different from death.

Especially in the harsh winter.

Although Bette Street was not affluent, it was already better than the neighboring Brown's Farm. At least the survivors living here had a tiny bit of meager freedom.

"It seems like the town mayor intends to make another fortune before the last caravan arrives this year, enjoying a prosperous year with the acquired supplies."

Light Chu pondered in his heart, but he didn't take this so-called mobilization order seriously.

He would leave this place before winter.

By then, he wouldn't need anyone to chase him away; he would leave on his own.

Avoiding the recycling station, Light Chu walked straight toward his shack. However, before reaching the door, he saw lil Fishie Yu and a young man arguing at the entrance.

The young man was around seventeen or eighteen years old, not tall in stature, a teenager. Light Chu didn't know him well, but he vaguely remembered that he was the third son of the Wang family, named Wonderful.

His shack was located in the far corner of the settlement, diagonally across from the Yu family, and then the Wang family. Usually, there was no reason for him to visit that area.

Light Chu wondered what business the third son of the Wang family had with him.

"Move aside."

Wonderful impatiently pushed and shoved lil Fishie, who was blocking his way. The young girl stumbled backward, but she still extended her arms like a protective hen, refusing to give in.

"I won't move. This isn't your home!"

"Nor is it yours."

"But he asked me to help take care of the house!"

"What's the point of taking care of a dead person's house?"

"He's not dead." lil Fishie glared at him, her eyes like goldfish.

"Don't lie. That outsider hasn't come back for four or five days."

Wonderful continued impatiently, "The Yu family just wants to take advantage of the situation, but I don't plan on hogging everything for myself. So, I'll take the beams and this door, and the rest is yours."

Houses belonging to dead people were usually divided among the neighbors.

No one could say for sure that someone was dead just because they hadn't returned for a few days. But if someone hadn't been seen for several days, everyone assumed they were either captured by slave traders or taken away by mutants to feed their offspring.

No one could survive outside for several consecutive nights.

Even experienced hunters found it difficult.

lil Fishie Yu bit her lower lip until it turned purple. Her eyes, like small goldfish, stared fiercely, not letting up, but she didn't make any other moves.

Wonderful didn't want to wait any longer. If he waited longer, the men from the Yu family would return, and he wouldn't gain anything on his own. So, he prepared to forcefully push her aside.

However, at that moment, a hand rested on his shoulder.

"Who said I was dead?"

Wonderful's body shuddered, and he quickly jumped to the side, looking at Light Chu with a wary and fearful gaze. Fishie Yu swiftly slipped behind Light Chu, hiding, and whispered a report.

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

"Thank you."

Light Chu looked at Wonderful with a smile that wasn't quite a smile, then continued.

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

Wonderful knew he was in the wrong and couldn't argue, so after glancing at the blood-stained steel pipe on Light Chu's back, he ultimately chose to remain silent and left.

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

Especially when this guy was a lone wolf without any weaknesses.

Watching the figure walk away, Light Chu suddenly felt a sense of pity.

Some people, although alive, were no different from the scavenger dogs and vultures outside.

He had witnessed a mutated scavenger dog personally, biting off the injured companion's neck and feasting on its flesh. At that time, he didn't think much of it and regarded it as the law of nature. But now, he could somehow empathize.

He had been away for just a few days, and these people were already getting restless.

Lil Fishie Yu, who was hiding behind Light Chu, didn't leave. She thought that if she waited a little longer, she might be able to get some of the candies she had eaten that day.

She had never tasted anything so sweet before, and she almost chewed the plastic stick along with it.

She noticed the big eyes that were looking at her.

Light Chu was initially taken aback, but then he came back to his senses and smiled as he pulled out a forgotten lollipop from his pocket and handed it to the little girl.

"You've been helpful these past few days."

"No trouble at all!"

Lil Fishie Yu happily tore open the plastic wrapper and put the lollipop in her mouth, mumbling, "I don't have anything else to do anyway. I can watch over your house when you go out."

At that moment, the men from the Yu family, carrying their spoils, returned from the direction of the recycling station. The bulging packages indicated that they had made a good harvest.

Seeing her older brother, second brother, and father, Lil Fishie Yu quickly darted back into the house.

Earning candies was just a side business for her. The main task entrusted to her by her elders was to keep an eye on the outsider. Lil Fishie Yu hadn't forgotten the instructions given to her by her elders.

However, as fast as she was, she couldn't be faster than a hunter's eyes.

The patriarch of the Yu family, an robust man with wrinkles all over his face, glanced at Light Chu without saying anything and entered the house with his eldest son, who was carrying two bags of green wheat.

However, the second son of the Yu family, Tiger, stopped in front of Light Chu.

Light Chu recognized him.

The people here didn't pay much attention to him, but this young man, who was around eighteen or nineteen years old, was one of the few who would actively speak to him.

However, this person always spoke straightforwardly, just like his name implied.

"I thought you were dead these past few days while you were gone."

Light Chu said.

"It seems your intuition isn't very accurate."

Tiger was taken aback for a moment, then grinned and scratched his head.

This outsider was quite interesting, his way of speaking was different from others, always taking a roundabout route.

But Tiger didn't mind and continued speaking.

"I have to tell you, the mayor just issued a mobilization order. Before the end of the month, each household has to contribute 100 kilograms of firewood and 2 bundles of fur."

The Yu family had three adult males, so they needed to contribute 300 kilograms of firewood and 6 square meters of fur. They were considered a "major taxpayer" on Beta Street.

The former was manageable since there was vegetation everywhere in the city, and even further north in the outskirts, there were large forests visible. Even without the mayor's mobilization order, they would still need to chop some firewood to prepare for winter.

But the latter wasn't so easy to deal with. To obtain 6 square meters of fur, they would need to kill at least four, or even five, mutated scavenger dogs.

"I heard about it when I came back."

"That's good."

Tiger didn't beat around the bush either and spoke straightforwardly.

"We were just discussing with the Li's. We plan to try our luck in the northern forest. There are signs of deer herds migrating there. If we manage to catch two, we can not only get fur but also meat. Do you want to join us?"

"No, I'll figure something out on my own."

Light Chu politely declined but secretly took note of it.

The scavengers from Bette Street planned to go hunting in the north, and the Wetland Park happened to be slightly northwest of that area. He hoped they wouldn't run into each other.

Tiger naturally didn't know what Light Chu was thinking and assumed he was just being polite. He continued persuading.

"I can tell you're a capable person, but even a capable person has limits when alone. Wang's kid dares to bully you because he relies on strength in numbers."

"Here's the deal, my sister will reach marriageable age next year. How about you marry her? Then we'll be family."

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

Light Chu almost choked on those words and coughed.

"No need for that."

What on earth?

How did the conversation take such a turn?

Moreover, the marriageable age acceptable to these survivors was something that Light Chu, who came from a civilized society, couldn't accept.

He was still young, and it was too early for him to get married.

"Alright then."

Tiger didn't persuade further and expressed his regret.

People who came out of the shelter were quite shrewd. Just like that old man named Charlie, he had been working for the mayor since he could remember and was considered a big shot in the neighborhood.

Charlie said that Light Chu also came out of the sanctuary, so there should be no mistake. He must be quite shrewd as well.

If he could have a son with his sister, the Yu family might also produce a big shot like Charlie in the future.

Tiger even made up his mind to persuade his father.

But now it seemed like he was just daydreaming.

He carried his things back home.

Tiger stopped his sister.

"Lil Fishie, I'm asking you, do you want to marry the neighbor, Big Brother Light?"

Lil Fishie Yu's mouth was still filled with the lollipop as she mumbled.

"I'm okay with it."

After all, it was right next door, not far away.

In her eyes, getting married meant sleeping in a different place, and there wasn't much difference. Who knows, she might even get two more candies out of it.

Lil Fishie Yu didn't care much.

On the other hand, Tiger was enthusiastically calculating.

"Alright, I'll talk to Big Brother and Dad about it, but don't just sit there waiting. If you have time, go learn how to make pancakes from Mom... What are you eating? Let me taste a bit too."

"No!'

Seeing his younger brother trying to take her candy, Lil Fishie Yu instantly became unhappy. She dodged and ran away like a gust of wind, disappearing from sight.