Apocalypse Showdown: Carrier Conquest

Chapter 53: Fish and Plants, Fish and Water

Zhou Lin never expected that when Wu Xue said "let's try," she wasn’t referring to aquaponics, but to fish water...

"Does it not feel good?"

Resting her head on Zhou Lin’s arm, Wu Xue slightly furrowed her brows. A faint blush still lingered on her face, and under the light, her skin had a new, watery glow. At first, it was difficult, but Zhou Lin was undoubtedly a good teacher, and once she managed to keep up, she began to savor the experience.

Honestly, it was wonderful.

"Good." Zhou Lin withdrew his arm, letting Wu Xue lean in closer. "I just think you don’t have to... even if you did... we wouldn’t treat you as an outsider."

"Not entirely." Wu Xue whispered, "In this chaotic world, a woman like me, powerless and vulnerable, can only rely on men to survive. Rather than waiting for someday to die in an unknown way or be forced into something, I might as well accept someone I like. Yes, I just want your body!"

"Do you like me?" Even the smartest women have moments when they reveal their true nature.

"I like you." Zhou Lin kissed Wu Xue’s forehead. "Sleep now, you’re tired."

Zhou Lin turned off the light and lay down.

The next day, as they came out of the room, they saw Cheng Yali sitting on the sofa with a big smile on her face.

"Auntie..."

"Still calling me Auntie? You brat! Here, I’ve got the red envelope ready. Your dad isn’t up yet, so I’m taking charge."

"Mom..." Wu Xue bit her lip, slightly embarrassed as she took the red envelope.

"I don't have one?" Zhou Lin asked.

"Do you want a lump of coal? How dare you ask for a red envelope! You should be asking me for child support instead!"

Well, household status -1.

"Wow, Mom, what a big gold bar!"

The moment Wu Xue held the red envelope, it didn’t feel like money. In fact, paper bills were so hard they could barely even be used for wiping. If someone gave a red envelope with paper money, it was more for celebration than anything else.

But Cheng Yali wouldn’t do such a thing. She directly stuffed a 300-gram gold bar into the red envelope.

"Where did this come from?" Zhou Lin was stunned when he saw it. He thought the family had used up all their money before the apocalypse.

"You don’t understand! Xue Xue, come over here. If he dares bully you, just tell me, I’ll teach him a lesson!"

Compared to the increasing chaos outside, Zhou Lin and Wu Xue’s official union filled the Zhou family with joy for several days.

Newlyweds, Zhou Lin was too lazy to go out collecting supplies. He spent his time cherishing his moments with Wu Xue while leisurely continuing the modifications on the Lu Xiaofeng.

However, this peaceful life was shattered five days later by the sound of a security alarm.

The surveillance screen showed a group of people, including Xu Zhiyuan and Wu Jiancai.

"What are they doing here?" Cheng Yali asked nervously.

"What’s going on?" Zhou Lin asked through the camera.

"This is Xu Zhiyuan. Is Zhou Caijun or Cheng Yali home? We need to discuss something."

"They’re looking for me?" Cheng Yali sighed in relief. As long as they weren’t here to arrest Zhou Lin, it was fine. Perhaps out of her usual trust in the government, Cheng Yali was about to open the door, but Zhou Lin quickly grabbed her and gestured for her not to speak.

"My parents are sick. If you have something to say, tell me directly."

"Just like that?" Xu Zhiyuan’s face changed slightly. Zhou Lin’s attitude made him feel disrespected.

"My family has elderly and children. It’s not convenient. How about you come in alone?"

"Zhou Lin, right? We should have arrested you last time. I advise you to be careful!" Wu Jiancai couldn’t help but speak out.

"If you’re going to talk like that, there’s no point." Zhou Lin said calmly. "Either don’t say anything or do it my way."

"You!"

Wu Jiancai was about to argue, but Xu Zhiyuan stopped him. Today, they weren’t here to argue with Zhou Lin, nor to defend that person, Ai Bing.

"Fine, I’ll come in alone!"

Xu Zhiyuan thought Zhou Lin meant to invite him in, but he didn’t realize there was still a security door in the middle!

He had missed the last “rescue” of Yang Qiqi, so when he saw two security doors, he was surprised. "You’ve been prepared for this, haven’t you?"

"No, we’re just habitually cautious." Zhou Lin set up a small tea table in the hallway, with two small stools and even a tea set. The warm steam from the teapot carried a faint fragrance, making Xu Zhiyuan’s stomach grumble.

Tea is also a luxury nowadays, even the most ordinary kind. For someone in Xu Zhiyuan’s position, finding a cup of hot tea was no easy task.

"Good tea. Your family’s lifestyle might even surpass the division commander’s."

Zhou Lin didn’t respond to that remark but simply poured Xu Zhiyuan more tea, waiting for him to speak.

"I don’t mean anything else. I just want to ask about the livestock at your farm. I heard that a few days before the disaster, your parents sent the workers away?"

"Shutting down the farm was always part of the plan. I came back this time to take them to Deep City. There are more opportunities there." This was the story Zhou Caijun’s family had prepared in advance to deal with situations like this. In Asharan, when the government wanted to investigate something, it was rare that they couldn’t accomplish it.

Xu Zhiyuan shook his head. "Alright, we won’t discuss that. Let’s talk about the livestock. They didn’t all freeze to death in the snow, did they?"

"They were all slaughtered. Some were sold, the rest were frozen."

"Good!" Xu Zhiyuan slapped his thigh. "How much did you freeze? Where is it?"

Zhou Lin looked at Xu Zhiyuan with an expression as if he were looking at an i***t, but didn’t say anything.

"Ahem, resources are tight, and the shelter has tens of thousands of people who need that meat." Xu Zhiyuan tried to persuade Zhou Lin with casual words, but once he saw Zhou Lin’s indifferent expression, he knew that approach wouldn’t work.

"Here’s the deal. What do you want for this meat?"

Zhou Lin took a sip of tea. "Director Xu, you know that we have everything at home, except for a bit of security."

Security?

Xu Zhiyuan looked at the two security doors in the front and back. You’ve got more than enough security!

"Not enough." Zhou Lin shook his head and then explained the incident when Yang Qiqi, Tang Yili, and Sun Chenghao attacked Zhou Caijun and Cheng Yali. Even now, the couple was still unable to get out of bed, and they might not recover for days.

"Such a thing happened? What kind of security do you want?" Xu Zhiyuan felt uneasy.

Then he saw Zhou Lin make a gesture with his hands.

"Impossible!" Xu Zhiyuan nearly jumped up, almost overturning the table!

This was a taboo in Asharan.

"Special times, special measures. We’re all good citizens. We only want this to protect ourselves."

"Sigh, if anything happens to my parents, my sister and I might not be able to handle the blow. We might end up jumping off a building one day."

Xu Zhiyuan’s face turned grim.

Before coming here, he had thought Zhou Caijun and Cheng Yali might ask for something outrageous, but he didn’t expect Zhou Lin to be this bold!

Strictly speaking, what Zhou Lin wanted wasn’t valuable, but it was extraordinarily expensive because Zhou Lin wanted a privilege!

"I don’t believe that no one else outside has it. Director Xu, if you can guarantee that no one else in the private sector has it, I’ll be happy to give you all that meat. But can you guarantee that?"