143 A Heated Argument!

It was clearly the middle-aged woman who was in the wrong in this situation. Yet, how did Bai Lu’er handle it? She didn't call the woman out; instead, she spouted some platitudes that sounded correct but accomplished nothing. She failed to resolve the underlying friction within the group. There were serious problems deep within this base.

However, Xue Feng’s attention remained focused on Bai Lu’er’s ability from just moments ago. He had no idea how she had done it, but she had forced the burly man to the ground instantly. That required a massive amount of energy. Either way, Xue Feng couldn't make sense of it yet.

"Exactly! What we need is unity. We should divide the labor; we can't get anything done here without the men," the middle-aged woman continued, picking up where Bai Lu’er left off. Yet, between her words, she was still demanding more manpower.

"Fine! Then I want women to join us in scavenging for supplies, too!" the burly man said through gritted teeth, refusing to back down.

"Women? What do you want women for? You aren't going to use them as bait, are you? Or are you planning to act like animals the moment we leave the base? Don't even think about harming our women," the middle-aged woman retorted.

Faced with the woman’s relentless taunts and accusations, the burly man didn't speak this time. But his eyes were locked onto her, making no effort to hide the hatred within them. The middle-aged woman was startled by that cold, chilling gaze and subconsciously shrank her neck back. Still, she muttered a few things about him being a "useless loser." This time, the man didn't lash out; he simply buried his hatred deep inside.

Many others raised their own complaints afterward. The core issue was always the same: distribution. Some felt they worked harder and deserved more supplies, while others claimed they needed special care. Some even demanded to stop living with others, or complained that their current living quarters lacked sunlight and requested a housing reassignment.

Xue Feng was left stunned listening to all of this. What kind of demands were these? If anyone dared to bring up such trivial nonsense in his own base, Xue Feng would have kicked them out immediately. But he soon realized the cause: there were simply too many people in the meeting. When a group is too large, disagreements and disputes multiply. Everyone was fighting for their own interests.

"Why are there so many people in this meeting?" Xue Feng couldn't help but ask Hu Bo. There were forty or fifty people present.

"The boss feels that a large number makes it seem fair and impartial," Hu Bo said, shrugging helplessly. It seemed that any rational person could see that this kind of meeting did the team no good.

Fairness? In the apocalypse, talking about fairness is a joke. Everyone’s abilities differ; there is no such thing as fairness. Furthermore, fairness has never existed in any era. What fairness is there between a wealthy heir and an ordinary citizen? The only thing that exists is justice. It is justice when a wealthy heir and an ordinary citizen receive the same punishment for the same crime. Unfortunately, even justice is often compromised.

To be a leader of a base, fairness isn't enough; you must have justice. Take the burly man and the middle-aged woman, for example. The man was capable of doing much more, yet he received the same treatment as the woman. Could that be called fair? The woman kept provoking him, yet faced no punishment. That is what justice would have required.

The meeting dragged on for over an hour before finally coming to a close. Xue Feng had managed to glean some intelligence from the proceedings: the base was in dire straits. Because the headcount was so high, the scavenged supplies were dwindling. At this rate, there would be a crisis within a month. Although they had started planting vegetables early, the yields were low, and the lack of cooperation from the middle-aged woman and her group only reduced the output further. A food crisis was already beginning to take hold, and all the conflicts stemmed from this shortage.

Bai Lu’er’s solution was to keep scavenging for more supplies, heading to areas they hadn't visited before, especially those swarming with zombies. Hearing this, Xue Feng couldn't help but shake his head. That was like drinking poison to quench thirst; it wasn't a long-term solution.

When food is scarce, there are usually only three ways to solve it. First, raid more resources by going to larger cities where supplies are more abundant. Second, expand into the suburbs and villages, start farming and hunting, and build a base centered around a village. Third, do what Xue Feng was doing: clear out the zombies in the city and utilize the vacant urban land to create new farmland. However, the cost-effectiveness of that approach is low.

Xue Feng could pull it off because he had an abundance of supplies to sustain the ecological cycle. Specifically, the yield of his super-potatoes guaranteed a food supply even when planted in the city. Bai Lu’er, on the other hand, was failing. She was only growing basic crops like eggplants, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Based on Xue Feng’s observations, Bai City didn't have much left to scavenge. Venturing into areas heavy with zombies was a disaster waiting to happen, with the risks far outweighing the rewards. They didn't have many guns, either, so encountering a mutant meant certain death.

The best option would be a total migration. He wondered if anyone had suggested that.

"Alright, the meeting is over. I'll take you to see the boss," Hu Bo said, leading Xue Feng to the entrance of a villa. Hu Bo went in first and emerged shortly after. "Let's go, the boss wants to see you," he said.

"Fine," Xue Feng nodded.

Upon entering the villa, he saw Bai Lu’er sitting in the middle of the living room. She no longer looked as vibrant as she had earlier; instead, she appeared exhausted. Managing so many people and a base was incredibly draining, and with her limited management skills, the accumulated problems were overwhelming.

"Hello. I heard you saved Hu Bo and his team. Thank you!" Bai Lu’er stood up and gave a faint smile as she saw Xue Feng enter. She invited him to sit opposite her, appearing very approachable and without any airs.

"It’s nothing. Just a small favor, don't mention it," Xue Feng said, sitting down.

"I forgot to mention, the boss saved us before, too. She has saved many of us, which is why we’ve been following her," Hu Bo added with a smile from the side.

So that was it. Xue Feng nodded inwardly. No wonder this loosely structured base had managed to survive this long, even growing to an astonishing size of over five hundred people. It turned out that Bai Lu’er was a savior to many of them. But what does being a savior actually count for? Shen Ruyan had saved many people once, and they had rebelled against her in the end. There had to be another reason Bai Lu’er was able to maintain the base.