Chapter 20: Sincerity Is Always the Ultimate Trump Card
“Twinkle, twinkle, little star~ shining brightly near and far~”
Mibao was singing with great focus and devotion.
But that didn’t change the fact that she was singing terribly.
And because she was so concentrated, she was practically shouting the lyrics at the top of her lungs, which only made it worse…
Everyone’s ears were in pain.
“Stop! Enough already!”
Bald Man couldn’t stand it anymore and shouted loudly.
Mibao was startled. She froze and looked blankly at Bald Man.
W-what… what happened?
“You—”
“Mibao, we’re in the middle of discussing something. Singing here might not be very appropriate,” Chaoyang quickly cut in. He hopped down from his chair, grabbed Mibao’s hand, and said, “Brother Baldy, I’ll take my sister outside to sing. We’ll be back in a bit.”
Bald Man, though displeased, still gave a nod.
“Go, but don’t take too long.”
Chaoyang nodded, then pulled Mibao out with him.
“Mibao, that sudden singing and dancing—was it your alien brother who told you to do that?”
As he led her out, Chaoyang lowered his voice and asked.
“Mhm!” Mibao nodded, not hiding anything from Brother Chaoyang. “Big brother said I don’t have enough points left. I have to complete tasks to earn more points.”
Chaoyang’s expression turned thoughtful at that.
Tasks? Points?
That sounded like…
“That key last night—you exchanged it with points?”
Mibao nodded again.
Chaoyang led Mibao back to their room. He bent down slightly, his expression grave as he looked at her.
“Mibao, from now on, don’t use points to exchange for things in front of others. And don’t let anyone else know about this.”
Mibao was still far too naive.
Possessing a treasure invites trouble—since Mibao had such a golden finger, it would be far too easy for others to take advantage of her.
“Don’t even tell me or Chaolu the exact uses of the points,” Chaoyang added.
He and Chaolu wouldn’t covet what belonged to Mibao, but he still hoped she could learn to protect herself, to keep some privacy of her own.
After all, they hadn’t known each other for very long.
“Why?” Mibao tilted her head, clearly puzzled by Chaoyang’s last sentence. “It’s fine not to tell others, but why can’t I tell you and Sister Chaolu?”
Her words were so earnest and matter-of-fact that Chaoyang froze for a moment.
“You and Sister Chaolu are both very good people. I trust you.”
Mibao’s big eyes were wide open, brimming with sincerity as she looked at him.
“Brother Chaoyang, I know I’m little and don’t understand many things, but I’m not stupid. I can tell good people from bad ones.
You and Sister Chaolu are good people. Skinny Uncle and Baldy Uncle are bad people.”
So, it wasn’t that she told everyone everything—she only trusted Chaoyang, and that was why she was willing to share her secret with him.
In that moment, as Chaoyang met Mibao’s gaze, he felt a warm rush in his chest.
A line surfaced in his mind without him even realizing it—between people, the most important thing is sincerity.
And right now, that sentence had taken on flesh and form.
He had never encountered anyone as genuine as Mibao; even among children, such a pure kind of sincerity was rare.
Children had their own little schemes too—one should never think they were brainless.
“You…” Chaoyang’s throat felt a little dry. “How do you know we’re really good people? What if we’re just pretending?”
Hearing that, Mibao couldn’t help but laugh. Then she tiptoed and reached out to pat Chaoyang’s head.
Chaoyang: ?
“Brother Chaoyang, you’re so silly. If you and Sister were bad people, why would you save me? If you were bad people, why would you agree to take me home to find my dad?”
Hearing that, Chaoyang naturally couldn’t say anything like “we’ve only just met not long ago”—that would be far too hurtful.
“Then thank you, Mibao, for trusting me and Chaolu.” Chaoyang reached out and patted her head too. “But you must remember what I just said—don’t reveal this secret to anyone too easily. Not even to people you think are good, understood?”
Mibao nodded obediently. “Okay!”
“Then you stay here and keep singing. I’ll go back for now.”
“Alright~”
Before long, Chaoyang returned to the room and resumed discussing the armory with Bald Man and the others.
One had to admit, though Chaoyang was still young, he truly had a sharp mind.
“…Zombies are drawn to sound, so we can use a diversion—lure a horde to one side.
Also, I don’t think zombies are the greatest threat here. What I worry about is other mutated creatures inside. So we need to establish a signal. If someone spots a mutant, they can send the signal immediately to alert the others…”
Chaoyang spoke clearly and thoroughly, listing out every possible danger they might face.
The discussion lasted the whole afternoon. By the time the armory raid plan was fully laid out, night had already fallen.
So the group naturally moved on to dinner. Monkey even volunteered to fetch Mibao from her room.
“…Boss, we don’t have much food left, maybe enough for a week or so,” Old Wolf said during the meal.
In the apocalypse, the most important things were weapons and food. Without enough to eat, nothing else mattered.
Bald Man nodded. “When we were looking at the map earlier, I remember there’s a supermarket about ten kilometers away. Tomorrow, we’ll go and collect supplies.”
“Alright.” Old Wolf nodded. “Tomorrow we’ll send half the brothers, the rest will stay behind to guard this place.”
This sort of thing had nothing to do with Chaoyang or Mibao, so the two little ones just lowered their heads and quietly ate their food.
But clearly, someone wasn’t willing to let them remain so carefree.
“Boss, why don’t we bring these two kids along?” Old Wolf suggested with a grin. “It’s the end of the world—children can’t be coddled. They need to see the real world, learn how to kill zombies. Otherwise, what happens when they grow up and don’t know a thing?”
Those words made Chaoyang frown. He looked up at Old Wolf. “I can go, but my little sister doesn’t have to.”
“A little girl doing nothing but eating our food—does that sit right with you?” Old Wolf sneered. “What do you think this is, a daycare?”
Chaoyang’s face instantly turned cold.
This Old Wolf…
“Wolf, isn’t that unnecessary?” Monkey couldn’t help but interject, trying to smooth things over. “She’s just a kid, after all…”
“What are you so afraid of—that I’ll kill the brat?” Old Wolf smirked dismissively. “Relax. I know my limits. These two may be kids, but they’re still part of our group now. Why would I stab my own people in the back?”
Monkey still hesitated. “But bringing her along will just slow you down, won’t it?”
“I can lift her with one hand. How could something that light slow me down?” Old Wolf scoffed. “Don’t underestimate me.”
Monkey had no choice but to turn to Bald Man.
But the bald man remained calm, unfazed. “I trust Wolf knows his limits. If you want to bring them along, then bring them. Just don’t play them to death.”
After all, the plan for raiding the armory was already set. The kid’s usefulness now was only in reacting to the unexpected.
As long as they came back alive and intact, he wasn’t afraid the boy would turn on them.
Being alive at all was good enough—what more could they ask for?
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