Chapter 181 - 170: A Pack of Cigarettes

Chapter 181: Chapter 170: A Pack of Cigarettes

Yu Dong shot Huang a questioning look. "?"

"Oh, come on, it’s just about a pack of cigarettes. We found tons of them out there, so why not let everyone have a little treat? Besides... yesterday, Brother Yang came to grab a pack, and the blond punk got all tough with us."

Wang Dingbei waved his hand dismissively. "So what if it’s about cigarettes? I was the one who let Yang Ze go get them. What’s the big deal? I love to smoke. If I can’t have a cigarette, I’m useless all day. If I get to smoke... then other people should get to smoke, too."

"But our points system is about to be implemented. Once it is, everyone can use their points to buy things for themselves... That would create a sustainable system."

"Alright, alright, just think of it as a perk for the fighters. A pack of cigarettes per person isn’t going to bankrupt us. How are you supposed to get anything big done if you’re always sweating the small stuff?"

Wang Dingbei hated bureaucracy the most. His philosophy was that to do great things, you couldn’t get caught up in trivialities.

"True that. I like to have a smoke now and then myself..." Xiao Dabe agreed.

Huang Zhiqiang said, "Don’t worry, Dongzi. With a master hoarder like me around, we won’t be short on cigarettes. I can easily clear ten-some cartons out of a single convenience store. Leave it to me."

For once, Zhao Youcai also agreed with Wang Dingbei’s point of view.

"Dongzi, didn’t you yourself say there’s no problem with giving the fighters the best treatment? It’s just a small perk. No one’s going to complain. If people want to enjoy the benefits, then let them come kill zombies, right? See... didn’t those three guys just join our team?"

Yu Dong’s instincts told him something wasn’t quite right, but after thinking it over... he had to admit the outcome was good.

’If slightly better perks can attract more people to join the combat team and go out to kill zombies, then why should we be stingy with our supplies?’

"Alright then, let’s do it that way. We’ll announce it tonight so everyone knows, and we can also use it to recruit more people for the fight."

And just like that, without much discussion, the combat team’s perks were increased to a daily ration of one bottle of liquor and one pack of cigarettes.

This decision made everyone in the combat team very happy.

Even the non-smokers were pleased, feeling their compensation was more substantial now that they had a pack of cigarettes to use as they saw fit.

With the new points system just around the corner, it was obvious that having more personal supplies would be a huge advantage.

Yu Dong, Wang Dingbei, and the others were looking at the total amount of supplies on the cruise ship. Because of this, they believed their resources were abundant and felt secure enough to recruit people boldly.

But the average crew member only ever saw the communal meals served from a large pot each day. Almost no one had any personal assets to their name!

For the people of the Dragon Country, who culturally valued saving, this created a profound sense of insecurity.

It meant that if the ship stopped providing food tomorrow, they would starve. There was virtually no safety net.

Even the combat team was in the same boat. Yu Dong didn’t allow them to keep personal stashes; everything they found had to be turned over to the warehouse for communal distribution.

But now, with the new policy, the members of the combat team had two valuable assets coming in every day that others didn’t.

Cigarettes and liquor were valuable luxuries, and there would always be a market for them.

What a delightful prospect!

After the good news was announced, the combat team members killed zombies with renewed vigor!

Having mastered her new skills, Shen Xinyi finally achieved the dual-flight plan that she and Liu Ye’ye had dreamed of in their previous life.

Each piloting an FPV drone equipped for dropping payloads, they lured out all the zombies on the hotel-lined street.

They dropped fire after fire, until every last one of them was burned to a crisp!

The combat team moved inside the hotels to clear out the remaining zombies. The blond punk and his two friends were surprisingly daring. Though their technique was clumsy, they managed to follow along and stab a few zombies to death.

By the fifth day of the apocalypse, the hotel-lined street was completely clear of zombies!

They rescued 34 survivors from that street of once-packed hotels!

The population of the cruise ship surged once again!

That evening, the blond punk and his friends got what they wanted, collecting three packs of cigarettes from Qiao Ping.

"See? That’s how it should be. Just lay out the rules for how to collect them. Us brothers aren’t afraid of a little work, we just hate it when things are unfair."

"And you, old lady. Can that dog of yours kill zombies? If you’ve got the guts, let it go out there and have a go. I’d love to see just how ’smart’ it is."

"*Whistles* Any pretty ladies want to join me on deck for a smoke?"

The three young guys swaggered off, arms slung over each other’s shoulders. Killing zombies was physically exhausting, but it didn’t stop them from enjoying the high.

What’s the point of working hard if you can’t flex a little?

Wang Xiuying, left fuming, turned to see Qiao Ping trying to stifle a laugh. Her expression darkened.

"You’re still laughing?! I was sticking up for you, you know! Let’s go, son. We’re not working for her today. There’s no respect for elders or dogs around here!"

WOOF!