Chapter 159 - 151: Our Cruise Ship, Our Rules

Chapter 159: Chapter 151: Our Cruise Ship, Our Rules

After assigning rooms to the 61 people, Wang Dingbei marched over with four people whose hands were tied.

They were the same four people who had thrown a fit and been taught a lesson by the crowd.

Two men and two women.

Their leader, Sister Nizi, entered the cabins and looked around, hardly able to believe how nice and safe the accommodations were.

Wang Dingbei scoffed. "Go on, guess who prepared such a comfortable place for you to live? How’s this compare to your home? Huh? Speak up!"

Just thinking about what these people had said made Wang Dingbei fume.

He wasn’t as easygoing as Yu Dong. When dealing with bad people, you had to get nasty and put them in their place.

Sister Nizi’s expression changed. She looked back at Yu Dong, realizing he was responsible for all this. She gritted her teeth, finding herself in an awkward position with no easy way to back down.

Just then, of the other three troublemakers, one man and one woman immediately caved.

"Officer, I was wrong! I’m short-sighted and stupid. I just got swept up in the moment. I’m just a troll, please don’t take it personally."

"Sir, I’m so sorry. I misunderstood you. Please, let me go. I promise I’ll keep my head down and never spout nonsense again."

But the dark-skinned Wang Xinxin pursed his thick lips and stubbornly jutted out his chin. "In the end, aren’t you still relying on our ship to survive? Don’t act like you prepared everything in here. We’re the ones who moved all the supplies from the warehouse, bit by bit! Everything you eat, use, and drink from now on belongs to us!"

Yu Dong shook his head. "Hopelessly stubborn. I’ve never once disparaged the crew’s work. In fact, I’m trying to figure out how to save more of them, including you. I don’t understand where all this hostility is coming from."

"Dongzi, I don’t think this guy’s stupid. He’s just plain malicious..." Even a good-natured man like Zhou Jian Country couldn’t hold back, feeling like he had the man pegged.

He could understand people who couldn’t see reason at first, like the two who had just apologized—he felt they could be forgiven. But someone like this, who just ignored the facts... ’He could go sit at the same table with the toxic feminists.’

"I’ll think whatever I want to think! You have no right to arrest me! Let me go!"

Wang Xinxin was still struggling.

Wang Dingbei kicked him in the leg.

THWACK!

He went down, falling flat on his face.

"Yu Dong, what are you going to do with these four ungrateful bastards?"

Wang Dingbei watched Yu Dong, his eyes narrowed slightly, waiting to see how he’d handle the situation.

"Officer Wang, you’re the policeman here. How do you think a situation like this should be handled?" Yu Dong tossed the question back to him.

"Haha! Cops have never dealt with anything like this before. Aren’t you the one with the experience? Why don’t you tell us?"

Seeing the two of them passing the buck, Zhao Youcai opened his mouth, about to suggest a quick and permanent solution, but Yu Dong cut him off.

"Let’s lock them up separately for now. Everyone’s on edge, and we can’t let this kind of talk spread. We can decide what to do with them once our team is on the same page."

"Hmm... good idea. Let’s do as Yu Dong says."

Wang Dingbei was very satisfied with how Yu Dong handled it.

It wasn’t too extreme, nor was it too soft. The decision showed excellent judgment.

The last thing he wanted to see was Yu Dong suggesting they throw these people out to the zombies.

Just then, Cai Hong walked over, carrying a large bag.

He handed it to Yu Dong.

"The captain had me bring you some food. Your people must be hungry."

Yu Dong glanced inside. It was full of various convenience foods, along with some fruit and yogurt. It was quite a spread.

"Ah, thank you."

Zhao Youcai remarked, "So Chen does have some sense after all."

Just as he was about to be taken away, Wang Xinxin suddenly shot to his feet. He was so big that even Officer Xiao Dabe couldn’t hold him down.

"Captain Cai! Help me! They’re going to lock me up!"

"Huh? Aren’t you Wang Xinxin from security? What’s going on?"

"Yes, yes! Captain Cai, help me! I just said a few things, and these people grabbed me. They’re acting like tyrants on our own ship!"

Cai Hong said casually, "Officer Wang, this guard isn’t very educated. It’s normal for him to be tactless. Do me a favor—if it’s not a big deal, just let him go. We’re all brothers on this ship. He doesn’t mean any harm."

Yu Dong and Wang Dingbei looked at Cai Hong, their faces dark with displeasure.

"If you’ve got nothing better to do, go back to bed. This man was disturbing the peace, and I have to lock him up!" Wang Dingbei snapped.

"You don’t know what happened, so don’t try to make decisions for us," Yu Dong added coolly. "You don’t carry that much weight around here."

This Cai Hong was getting a little too arrogant today. Yu Dong didn’t like it.

Seeing that neither man was giving him any face, Cai Hong’s face flushed. He let out a cold snort, then turned and walked away.

Wang Dingbei and Yu Dong’s eyes met. They nodded and led their respective groups away.

That night, Yu Dong and his team held their first meeting.

Yu Dong, Huang Zhiqiang, Zhao Youcai, Zhou Jian Country, Liu Ye’ye, Shen Xinyi, Yan Yikai, Zhao Wenjie, Qiao Ping, Lin Mo, Wang Xiuying, Xia Yao, and Huang Henian.

There were thirteen people in total. Thanks to Yu Dong having laid the groundwork with everyone early on, and Lin Mo successfully placating the elderly Wang Xiuying, the first meeting went very smoothly.

They established a team structure with the Reincarnator, Yu Dong, as their leader, and their core principles were mostly aligned.

"We’ve made it through the hardest part today, but there are still many challenges ahead... We have to keep working hard."

Zhao Wenjie piped up, "Brother Dong, when are we going to kill zombies for Crystal Cores? I want to evolve. This mortal shell is too restrictive..."

Yu Dong: "?"

Huang Zhiqiang retorted, "Wen Jie, your top priority right now is to uninstall the Tomato Novel app!"

Zhao Youcai spoke up. "I think our biggest challenge right now is that fucking asshole Cai Hong. He’s always using his status as third mate to act all high and mighty and stir up trouble. He’s going to be a problem sooner or later. Why don’t we just... take care of him before he can pull anything?"

"Taking him out seems too risky, but that Cai Hong is definitely not friendly..." Zhou sensed it too.

"Let’s not be too hasty," Yu Dong said. "We’ll wait. The conflict hasn’t reached a breaking point yet. Let’s focus on what we need to do first. We’ll deal with the zombies, then we can talk."

"Everyone’s exhausted today. Let’s get some rest."

Yu Dong recalled the look Officer Wang had given him earlier. The two of them had reached a silent understanding.

That night, an undercurrent of tension flowed through the ship’s cabins.

...

On the second day of the apocalypse, at 6:00 AM, Yu Dong was jolted awake by a phone call.

"Hello? Lawyer Ji, what’s wrong?"

"Mr. Yu, I didn’t mean to, but I overheard you and Xufeng talking about Reincarnators. Your voices were quite loud. I thought about it all night. Given that you were able to predict the deaths of Xufeng and his team, as well as this whole disaster, I think there’s a high probability that what you said is true..."

"Yes, it’s true."

"Mr. Yu, I know we’re not well acquainted. Perhaps you’re a good man and will come rescue me, but perhaps you have no intention of saving an outsider like myself. Whatever you decide, I’ll understand. But could you please tell me... what’s going to happen to the world? I want to know about the future you’ve seen..."

"You’re overthinking it, Lawyer Ji. Once I’ve handled things here, I’ll come for you."

"Please, just tell me. Thank you, Mr. Yu! Just in case... something happens to you, I need to be able to try and save myself."

Since Lawyer Ji was so insistent, Yu Dong figured there was no reason to hide anything.

"After the apocalypse begins..."

He briefly explained about the common zombies, climbing zombies, and zombie hordes, as well as the movements of various governments and their armies, telling her everything that would happen in the next three months.

"I see... I understand now. Thank you, Mr. Yu."

After hanging up, Yu Dong got out of bed. He walked out of his suite and onto the 16th-floor deck, where he practiced with his spear for an hour, facing the rising sun.

Despite the intense training, the results made Yu Dong frown.

’My muscle mass and stamina... they’re nothing like they were in my past life after all that fighting.’

In his past life, they had spent every day stabbing zombies and undergoing grueling training. Yu Dong had deliberately bulked up, gaining muscle and weight to make his body better suited for combat.

After his rebirth... all of that was gone. Only his combat instincts remained.

’But... in this life, I have a teacher who can show me some real skills.’

Yu Dong looked out beyond A Port. Zombies were already clawing at the barricades.

’I’ll go down with Officer Wang in a bit, figure out a plan, and clear out the nearby zombies.’

Yu Dong took a shower. By the time he was done, Qiao Ping and Lin Mo had already prepared a meal in the adjacent high-end restaurant.

As everyone was eating, an announcement suddenly crackled over the ship’s PA system.

"Ahem, testing... This is Third Mate Cai Hong."

"All personnel, please gather in the third-floor main hall in one hour."

"We have an important announcement to make."

Hearing this, everyone felt a faint sense of dread.

「An hour later.」

Everyone arrived at the main hall.

Yu Dong saw that the ranks of the crew members... had nearly doubled.

Their numbers had grown from 17 yesterday to 33 today. They all sat behind Captain Chen Guangzong and Third Mate Cai Hong, presenting a united front.

"Well, well. Looks like they’ve set a little trap for us, eh?" Wang Dingbei remarked as he strolled in, munching on an apple. Behind him were not only his police officers and firefighters but also the retired soldier, Yang Ze, and two new recruits.

A slight smile played on Yu Dong’s lips. "Officer Wang, I smell trouble."

Once everyone else had arrived, Cai Hong nudged Chen Guangzong.

"Captain, make the announcement."

"Oh... right."

Chen Guangzong picked up his prepared speech. He glanced subconsciously at Zhao Youcai, then clenched his fist and began to read:

"Last night... all the members of our ship’s crew held a small meeting. We primarily discussed the matter of you all residing on our cruise ship."

"First, we will not be kicking anyone off the ship. It’s too dangerous outside. We will provide the necessary food, lodging, and assistance with living."

"However, this is not free. You will be required to take on jobs around the ship in order to receive your daily provisions. If anyone refuses to work, we will choose to cut off that person’s supply of food, water, and electricity."

"Furthermore, regarding matters such as daily food rations, electricity usage limits, and restricted areas, we have drafted a set of temporary rules and regulations. We will distribute them for you all to review. They go into effect starting today."

Looking at the "Cruise Ship Rules and Regulations (Temporary)" that a crewman handed him, Yu Dong let out a laugh that was devoid of any humor.

"Who gave you the right to write something like this?"

Cai Hong shouted, "It’s our cruise ship, so of course we make the rules!"

"This is the result of our collective discussion, and it’s perfectly fair!"

"If you want to stay here, you have to follow the rules. Otherwise... you can choose to get off the ship. We won’t stop you."