Chapter 17: The Friend Zone Card

Before the team had finished mocking the trio of Shi Yuebai, Shi’s mother—the madwoman with a swollen belly—was brought back. The ones escorting her were the Xiangcheng Mercenary Corps. To make a show of force, Yi Zhe had personally brought all his mercenaries, each armed to the teeth. The burly men, broad-shouldered and fierce, immediately drew every eye in the gathering as they escorted Shi’s mother inside. The weapons they carried instilled a palpable fear in everyone present.

Someone lowered their voice and whispered, "I didn’t expect Shi Yi to have such influence—even dead, he still had connections in the mercenary corps."

"Yeah, I heard Shi Yi and the mercenary captain were life brothers," another added.

"Tsk tsk."

Within the team, feelings were mixed. Those who had openly looked down on Shi Ersao (Shi’s second sister-in-law) suddenly tempered their expressions upon seeing Yi Zhe and his mercenaries arrive. In an instant, Shi Yuebai understood Yi Zhe’s flashy purpose: to send a clear message to all survivors in the team that these frail and disabled members of the Shi family had the backing of a mercenary corps.

A sigh of relief—he was a good man.

Shi Yuebai mentally gave Yi Zhe a “good guy” card, then turned to look at the returned Shi mother—his mother in this wasteland.

"Hahaha, Yuebai, Yuebai," Shi mother laughed as she ran up to him, jubilant, hopping and calling out, "Yuebai, have you seen your father? Where did your father go?"

Before Shi Yuebai could answer, she spun around and tried to run off. Yi Zhe reacted swiftly, pulling her back with practiced ease.

"Auntie, didn’t we agree? I’m going to find uncle. You stay right here and don’t run around."

Yi Zhe had always had a good impression of Shi mother. When she sent food to Shi Yi, she would usually send an extra portion to Yi Zhe, the orphan. So he felt a certain affection for her.

Shi mother nodded, her confused face marked by urgency.

"Then you have to hurry. Yuebai’s father hasn’t been back for days—could it be he’s off chasing some fox spirit?"

"No, no," Yi Zhe reassured her. "If uncle really has a fox spirit on the side, I’ll kill that fox spirit myself."

He coaxed Shi mother gently and handed her over to Shi Ersao’s care. Then he glanced at Shi Yuebai and Shi Yaoyao.

Yi Zhe sighed deeply. The Shi family was just something else…

Behind him, the mercenaries exchanged glances, equally speechless at the elder’s madness, the child’s foolishness, the fat one, and the blind one.

They looked with sympathy at a mattress placed outside the Shi family’s tarp shelter. Shi Yuebai guessed they were thinking the same as the team—why bring back a mattress for the Shi family?

But she was too lazy to explain. She grabbed a plain handcart and called to the strange neighbor next door, "Get me an iron chain."

Shi mother was crazy and about to give birth at any moment. If left unattended, she would run off. Shi Ersao was blind; if she had to chase after Shi mother everywhere, there’d be no time for anything else.

Yi Zhe frowned, disapprovingly watching Shi Yuebai. His lips moved slightly, but Shi Yuebai shot him a fierce glare.

The mercenary corps had more important matters than babysitting Shi mother. That was why Yi Zhe insisted on bringing her back.

If Yi Zhe and his men couldn’t manage, they shouldn’t interfere with the Shi family’s affairs. Now, it was up to Shi Yuebai to take charge in her own way.

Yi Zhe said nothing further. He sighed and took from his chest a stack of points cards, looking at Shi Ersao. Although Shi Ersao was the only one in the Shi family with clear thinking and the ability to act, it seemed that Shi Yuebai was the real decision-maker.

He handed the points cards to Shi Yuebai and said kindly, "Yuebai, take these points. I’ll send you more every month from now on. You... take good care of your mother, okay?"

He hoped that, considering the points cards, Shi Yuebai would treat Shi mother a little better.

Without hesitation, Shi Yuebai reached out and took the cards.

"Fine, you’re welcome to come by," she said, as if it were only natural.

The mercenaries behind Yi Zhe felt a flicker of discontent. Honestly, Shi mother wasn’t their captain’s own mother, just the mother of his once-brother. The captain was willing to give points to the Shi family every month—couldn’t Shi Yuebai be a bit more gracious? Now it seemed as if their captain was begging for alms.

Shi Yuebai ignored their displeasure and patted Yi Zhe’s shoulder. Each pat infused a few ounces of fat energy into Yi Zhe’s body.

"Let’s go. Stay alive and well."

Yi Zhe had been running around all day and felt a bit hungry. But after Shi Yuebai’s friendly pats, suddenly he wasn’t hungry anymore. Surprisingly, he felt a bit energized, the fatigue swept away.

He didn’t think much of it, just nodded to Shi Yuebai and led his men away.

The mercenaries also left two large boxes for the Shi family. The team craned their necks, curious to see what was inside. But Shi Yuebai’s sharp gaze swept the area, and she tugged on the iron chain binding Shi mother.

"Mom, Guai Guai, come help carry the boxes inside."

"Guai Guai" was the nickname she gave to the strange neighbor. The gaunt man shot her an angry glare and growled, "Don’t call me that—I have a name!"

"What’s your name?" Shi Yuebai asked eagerly.

Guai Guai just shut his mouth. He would never reveal his real name to anyone.

"Alright then, Guai Guai, help move these."

Shi Yuebai directed the Shi family, and even Shi Ersao came to help. Together, they moved the two boxes into the Shi family’s tarp shelter.

As soon as the boxes were set down, Shi mother tried to run out again, calling, "Yuebai’s father, where is he? Where is Yuebai’s father?"

"I’ll go look for him, just wait," Shi Yuebai said, gripping the iron chain tied to Shi mother’s wrist.

"Mom, come back. You’re about to have a baby—you can’t go anywhere."

Guai Guai had returned to his own tarp at some point. Shi Yuebai sat Shi mother down by the fire.

Shi Ersao began counting the contents of the two large boxes and suddenly exclaimed with delight, "Yuebai, there are 300 small potatoes here and 700 small loaves of bread."

Each loaf was individually wrapped, complete with a small desiccant inside—items from before the apocalypse.

Shi Yuebai’s expression darkened.

"Seven hundred loaves of bread past their expiration date? I’d rather have the small potatoes."

At least she could use a purification spell to completely remove the radiation contamination from the small potatoes. But how could she purify bread that had expired five years ago?

You couldn’t say it was inedible—it wasn’t spoiled, just expired. These individually wrapped loaves could last forever. But eating expired bread was still questionable.

For Shi Yuebai, this deal was a bit of a loss.

"Let’s sell them. Tomorrow we’ll set up a stall outside and let the team trade goods or use points to buy them."