Seeds of doubt do not need watering.

"You..."

Director Yu was rendered speechless by Chen Yu's retort.

His imposing manner inexplicably withered by several degrees.

But his long-held air of authority made him persist: "Student Chen Yu! I am the school's Administrative Director! These are extraordinary times, and we should prioritize discipline and unity even more!"

"Your behavior of demanding special treatment and charging fees has seriously undermined our cohesion! I order you to..."

But before he could finish his sentence, Chen Yu interrupted: "I order you to get the hell off my Vehicle!"

"?"

Director Yu was stunned, not expecting the other party to be so unyielding... Chen Yu slowly stood up, and a fire axe appeared in his hand: "I'm telling you, Director Yu, the school is gone."

"Can your identity be traded for a single piece of wood?"

"This is my Vehicle, and I call the shots. The minute you purchased... is almost up. Either get lost, or initiate another trade. Do you understand human speech?"

Director Yu's face turned beet red as he pointed a finger at Chen Yu: "You—do you have no respect for your elders, no sense of camaraderie with your classmates!"

Chen Yu approached step by step: "It seems you don't understand..."

Carrying the fire axe, Chen Yu walked to within a meter of Director Yu.

Director Yu quickly raised both hands: "Wait a moment, Student Chen Yu, I'll pay again..."

This scene made the students inside the Vehicle find it hard to keep a straight face.

Zhang Wanyue and Li Mengyao exchanged a smile, while the few who had just boarded the Vehicle were full of disdain.

He was just talking about benevolence and morality, yet he couldn't stand the cold himself.

Director Yu's old face flushed as he explained: "I... as the teacher in charge, I need to understand the situation. I'll stay here for five minutes to investigate..."

As he spoke, he hurriedly pulled up the trade interface.

But immediately following that, his expression changed drastically.

"???"

Director Yu cried out in alarm: "Where are the items in the Public Backpack? Who touched my backpack!"

He lunged toward the window!

Looking outside!

He discovered that things had already descended into total chaos!

"Damn it, who secretly misappropriated the supplies in the Public Backpack again!"

"What 'facing this together'? It's all bullshit! Everyone's just trying to take advantage for themselves!"

"Whoever the hell dares to touch the public supplies again, I'll fight them to the death! Fuck! It's out of control! Then I'm taking some too!"

"I should have known, what cooperation? It's all fucking selfishness!"

In the apocalypse, the seeds of suspicion don't even need watering to instantly grow into thorns... Trust was already expensive.

A makeshift team, naturally, would never possess it.

The crowd that had originally gathered around the bus quickly dispersed, with people warily distancing themselves from one another.

Inside the bus, it was as warm as spring... Deng Yuxin whispered to Chen Yu: "They seem to have completely fallen into chaos."

Wang Mengmeng curled her lip: "Serves them right. Who told them to try and take the moral high ground against us?"

Li Mengyao, however, was lost in thought... She looked at Chen Yu, who was resting with his eyes closed, and a sudden realization dawned on her.

Zhang Wanyue also sensed something. She suddenly leaned in and whispered in surprise: "Chen Yu... you... from the very beginning, you never wanted their supplies?!"

She took a deep breath:

"You were dismantling potential threats. If you let them unite and become a cohesive force, we would have become targets after entering the Outpost!"

"But now, they can't even take care of themselves and are wary of each other. After entering the Outpost, their first consideration will be self-preservation, not teaming up against us!"

Deng Yuxin covered her mouth, only reacting after hearing the Class Monitor's words.

Wang Mengmeng also showed an expression of realization and lingering fear.

Chen Yu didn't answer, merely looking at Director Yu by the door: "Time's almost up. Why haven't I received Director Yu's trade invitation yet?"

Director Yu's body stiffened violently, his face turning various shades of red and white.

Where did he have any spare supplies? Everything in his personal backpack was for saving his own life, and everything in the Public Backpack had been carved up by those little bastards!

"Chen, Student Chen Yu,"

He forced a hideous smile: "Look, I'm a teacher, and I'm also worrying for everyone. It's really too cold outside, and I'm old; I can't take it."

"When the mission starts, we can act together. I have experience after all, I can..."

*Creak—*

*Thud!*

Chen Yu kicked him out the door, sending him crashing heavily onto the snow, kicking up a spray of white powder!

He let out a muffled groan, struggling in the snow, unable to get up for a long time, his glasses lost somewhere... Chen Yu stood at the door and spoke loudly: "We agreed on payment from the Public Backpack, but then you go back on your word? Did you really think my place is a village convenience store where you can buy on credit!"

Outside the Vehicle, there was initially a dead silence.

Then, someone let out an undisguised sneer, followed by more mocking laughter.

Not a single person stepped forward to help him up.

Even the members of Director Yu's original team just watched coldly.

After Director Yu was kicked out.

The others who had boarded also excused themselves one after another, because they could no longer produce supplies from the Public Backpack either.

After everyone got off, the bus door closed completely.

Only Chen Yu's team remained... Chen Yu sat back in his seat and looked out the window: "Prepare your cold-weather gear."

"Mhm."

Zhang Wanyue nodded, then suddenly asked: "Aren't we going to..."

She made a rare gesture of slitting a throat.

Chen Yu hadn't expected the Class Monitor to follow suit so quickly; her apocalyptic mindset was improving fast.

He spoke calmly: "No rush. The mission hasn't started yet. Don't act rashly, or we'll provoke public anger and all the effort just now will be wasted."

Zhang Wanyue realized: "That's true."

After the farce just now,

The girls on the bus felt even more admiration for Chen Yu's methods... and even a hint of fear.

This was exactly the effect Chen Yu wanted.

Only in this way,

Could his own Public Backpack be safe and ensured that what happened outside wouldn't happen here.

[Countdown: 59... 58... 57...]

The cold mechanical voice shattered the last bit of tranquility.

Chen Yu slowly rose and stretched his neck: "Let's go, ladies."

He turned his head, his gaze sweeping over the women.

Zhang Wanyue wore a heavy black long down jacket that wrapped her up tightly, and on her lower body were thickened fleece hiking pants, covering her fair legs.

Under the hood, only a small portion of her cool face was visible, her gaze calm.

Deng Yuxin was wrapped in a milky-white short down jacket, fluffy and soft. The circle of fur on the hood made her face look even smaller, and she also wore fleece-lined pants below.

The clothes for both women were given by Chen Yu, originally exchanged for crayfish to prevent them from freezing to death.

In comparison, Li Mengyao and Wang Mengmeng appeared somewhat "bundled up haphazardly."

Li Mengyao wore a slim sweater and a skirt inside, with two knit cardigans of different thicknesses over them, wrapped in that lamb wool short coat... Wang Mengmeng had a loose hoodie over a base shirt, a down jacket over the hoodie, and then a cloak draped over that.

When the best friend duo looked at Zhang Wanyue and Deng Yuxin... envy and bitterness almost overflowed from their eyes.

Deng Yuxin's eyes curved into crescents: "Chen Yu, thank you~~"

Zhang Wanyue subconsciously turned her body slightly, avoiding direct eye contact.

She was different from Deng Yuxin.

Chen Yu being so good to her made her feel a sense of burden.

Chen Yu waved his hand at the best friend duo: "You don't need to be envious. I don't have clothes to wear either. The two of them are the team's food and water source; it's only right to ensure their safety."

"As long as you are obedient, clothes and bread—you'll have them all."

[Countdown: 9... 8... 7...]

After briefly reassuring them, Chen Yu stepped directly off the Vehicle.