The scene was filled with awkwardness for a moment.
Xu An, pulling Zhou Haimei, didn't know whether to advance or retreat.
Behind them, a crowd of people were waiting, grumbling impatiently.
The shop owner in front also looked at them as if they were troublemakers.
Xu An felt conflicted.
If she were facing zombies, she could have unhesitatingly drawn her blade and attacked.
But now, facing a group of chattering humans, and elderly ones at that, left her at a loss.
The plump shop owner, her face showing undisguised disdain, spoke with considerable impatience.
"Are you two deliberately causing trouble? You've been waiting in line for half the day, showing no regard for the rules, and now you're clashing with everyone. You're still standing here; are you buying anything or not?"
Zhou Haimei was indignant.
"Who says I'm not buying? You refused to sell me ten skewers and then chased after me, scolding me. Now it's my fault?"
Zhou Haimei could endure the hardships of fighting zombies, but she absolutely refused to suffer the injustice of being misunderstood.
"Shop owner, if you ask me, there's no need to waste words with this woman. Just call the enforcement team and have these two women locked up. They'll know if they're troublemakers after interrogation."
A young, strong man spoke up, and many around him readily agreed.
"You want to resort to vigilante justice?!" Zhou Haimei's eyes widened.
"A little liar like you deserves vigilante justice!"
The shop owner chuckled and stepped forward. While she appeared to be mediating, she was actually fanning the flames from behind the scenes.
"I run a business. I welcome anyone who comes to buy. But if someone comes to cause trouble, I won't indulge them."
"Don't you all agree!"
Almost as soon as the shop owner finished speaking, Xu An sensed that the emotions of the surrounding crowd were escalating.
It felt as if they could pounce on her and Zhou Haimei at any moment.
She drew the long saber at her waist, gripping it tightly just in case.
At the same time, she didn't forget to remind Zhou Haimei to be prepared.
"The mood of these people doesn't seem right. Let's be careful. If necessary, we'll run first. There are too many of them; don't confront them head-on."
Zhou Haimei was not someone who acted recklessly just because she was angry. After Xu An's reminder, she gradually realized something was amiss.
Ever since they arrived at this stall, she had felt restless, her mind solely focused on eating the grilled meat quickly, disregarding everything else.
Especially under the shop owner's few words of instigation, she had become heated and started arguing with people.
Now, with a moment of calm, she realized how absurd her behavior had been.
When people open a business, they set their own rules. This is the apocalypse; naturally, they can do as they please.
But at that moment, Zhou Haimei stubbornly insisted on buying ten skewers, as if she wanted to eat her fill.
Xu An had just reminded her minutes ago not to be greedy.
As the crowd pressed closer, Xu An and Zhou Haimei stood back-to-back, being pushed into a tightening encirclement.
However, at that moment, a deep, hoarse male voice cut through the air.
"What are you doing here?"
Hearing the voice, the surrounding people turned to look. Upon seeing the newcomer's appearance, their faces immediately broke into smiles.
As if welcoming a hero, their previous resentment vanished.
"Captain!"
"It's Captain Chu Yu!"
"Are you back from your mission?"
"Lord Chu Yu, have you found the new continent?"
"Captain Chu Yu, have you found a new land suitable for habitation?"
Accompanying the greetings, a pair of military boots, though somewhat worn, gleamed brightly as they entered everyone's sight.
A dark green, one-piece army combat uniform, sharp short hair, piercing eyes, and that characteristically pale, almost sickly complexion.
All these confirmed that the man appearing before Xu An was the same person on the lighthouse, who always wore a hooded sweatshirt and seemed listless – their good neighbor.
Zhou Haimei looked over curiously. Upon seeing the newcomer's appearance, she almost blurted out the name "Chu Yu."
But Xu An quickly grabbed her, firmly restraining her.
Zhou Haimei swallowed the words back.
Xu An saw Chu Yu's gaze sweep in their direction, as if he didn't recognize them, and then move on.
However, the slight ripple in his eyes was caught by Xu An.
This made her certain that the person before her was indeed Chu Yu.
"The progress of the land reclamation will be announced on the base bulletin board later. You can check it yourselves."
He then looked at the tense atmosphere before him and asked the crowd.
"What is happening here? Fighting is prohibited within the base."
"Captain Chu Yu, you may not know, but these two women are likely survivors from somewhere else. I suspect they are here to cause trouble."
"That's right! They must be envious of the liveliness of our base market and want to deliberately disrupt it. Perhaps they are acting on someone's orders."
The crowd chimed in, one after another.
In the blink of an eye, a trivial matter was turned into an accusation of espionage, intended to provoke war.
Xu An knew what it was to misrepresent facts, but this was the first time she had seen someone directly frame another person.
If they admitted to it, she and Zhou Haimei would likely never leave this Southern Base.
As the crowd finished speaking, Chu Yu's cold gaze fell upon Xu An.
He thought to himself, these two are quite sensible for not exposing his identity here.
If these people knew about the lighthouse, these two might find themselves in the Southern Base's dungeon the next second.
Chu Yu strode forward in his heavy military boots, the rhythmic sound of his soles hitting the ground.
As Chu Yu stepped closer, the oppressive aura Xu An felt intensified.
Until Chu Yu reached them, his deep, hoarse voice slowly spoke, accompanied by a chilling gaze.
"Is what they're saying true? Are you deliberately causing trouble?"
Xu An looked at the same face, yet a completely different personality, and a strange thought suddenly crossed her mind.
Either Chu Yu was an Oscar-winning actor before the apocalypse, or he had a split personality.
"No, your name is Chu Yu, isn't it?"
Xu An lowered her head, her long eyelashes drooping slightly, casting a shadow that obscured the unreadable emotions in her eyes.
"Captain Chu Yu, my sister and I are indeed outsiders. We've heard all along that the grilled meat here is delicious and unforgettable, which is why we wanted to queue up and buy a few skewers to try."
"However, my sister didn't understand the rules here and wanted to buy too many. But the grilled meat seems to be limited, which led to this misunderstanding."
After speaking, Xu An tugged at Zhou Haimei's sleeve.
She gestured for her sister to say something as well.
Zhou Haimei immediately understood. She took a deep breath, and when she looked up again, her face had taken on a pitiable expression.