Chapter 24: A Beautiful Man Strategy

If Mu Jiu hadn’t warned Gu Yang in advance, then in his current state—full of righteous passion and burning with ambition and hatred—he would’ve surely accepted everyone’s nomination on the spot.

“Thank you, uncles, for your trust, but taking on the Housekeeping Department is a serious matter.

I’m still young and inexperienced, and not fit for such a role. Please nominate someone else more capable.”

But the others weren’t planning to let him off that easily—especially the man who initiated the alliance: Lu Ming.

“Why wouldn’t you be qualified? Gu Yang, you’re far too modest!

You and your sister are the only ones who have survived a direct confrontation with the Housekeeping Department’s elite.

In the past, whenever the Housekeeping Department made a move, no one in the targeted villa survived!

You two now live in Villa 048, right?

As far as I can tell, the Housekeeping Department hasn’t shown up at your door to collect ‘protection fees’ in over two months.

Clearly, they fear you—they don’t want to provoke you!

If that’s not proof that you’re capable of leading our alliance, then what is? Stop being so humble!”

A middle-aged man beside him chimed in:

“He’s right! I live in Villa 049, just diagonally across from their house.

I used to think the Housekeeping Department only avoided Villa 050.

But ever since the siblings moved into 048, the collectors haven’t shown up there either!

At first, I was envious, but then I realized that the big shot from Villa 050 has dinner at 048 every night! That’s when I understood what was going on.

Gotta admit, kids these days are impressive—able to latch onto someone that powerful!

But to be fair, Gu Yang really is good-looking. Polite, refined—knows how to behave.

Unlike my own son, who just lounges at home and doesn’t even dare to greet the neighbors or show his face around!”

As he spoke, the man gave his son a pat on the shoulder, causing the boy to flinch.

The son wasn’t bad-looking—clean and fresh-faced—but nowhere near Gu Yang’s level, whose beauty made people forget his gender altogether.

Gu Yang may have been young, but he understood the implication perfectly:

That man was mocking him—suggesting he relied on his looks to curry favor with the woman next door and secure his safety.

He didn’t bother getting mad. His sister had warned him that these men were seasoned manipulators—don’t fall into their traps.

Yes, he and his sister had indeed “latched onto” his older sister (Mu Jiu), but not with seduction.

It was hard to pinpoint exactly when she started warming up to them—maybe after days and days of braving the cold and injury just to bring her wild game from the mountains, all without asking for anything in return. Maybe they’d simply proven sincere enough.

She had always kept a cautious distance from everyone. Even after all this time, she’d never invited them into her villa.

As for having feelings for him?

Please. The way she looked at him was the way someone would look at a child. Frankly, she looked at roast chicken or a lamb leg more affectionately!

“Oh? So Uncle lives in 049, huh? Right next to 050? That means you’ve been neighbors with my sister for almost half a year now and never said hello…

I see—it must be because your son didn’t want to! He must be really talented, then, huh?”

Everyone present heard the sarcasm in Gu Yang’s words:
Not getting close to the big shot wasn’t a matter of ability—but of choice?

So, what—failing to get into China’s top universities before the apocalypse was also a matter of choice, not capability?

Spreading slanderous gossip out of jealousy and using it as an excuse to brag about your own son? Shameless.

Instantly, all eyes turned toward the uncle from 049 and his son.

The older man’s face flushed red with embarrassment, while his son shot him a death glare, as if to say, Stop talking already. You’re making it worse.

Gu Yang seized the chance to throw off the burden completely.
“How about this? Why don’t you be the commander of the alliance instead, Uncle?

You’ve got more experience, and you’ve kept your family safe under the Housekeeping Department’s thumb.

If everyone thinks a greenhorn like me is good enough, then surely you’d do an even better job!

And hey—if anything goes wrong, you can always send your son to Villa 050 for help. I’m sure there won’t be any problems then!”

Gu Yang delivered it all in one breath, cleanly removing himself from the spotlight, leaving no room for rebuttal.

Immediately, the whole villa group exploded in discussion.

Some people thought Gu Yang had a point—if he wasn’t willing, they couldn’t force him.

And the 049 uncle was a close neighbor of Villa 050. Who knows, maybe they really could count on him and his son!

Others thought it was ridiculous. Picking a commander should be serious business, not something tossed around like a joke based on a kid’s sarcasm.

“Everyone quiet down, please! Let me say something!”

Lu Ming, the organizer of the meeting, spoke loudly, finally calming the room.

“Look, arguing like this gets us nowhere—it’ll only damage our unity.

I propose this: we all nominate our candidate for commander and write the names on this sheet of paper.

Then we vote. The person with the most votes becomes commander. Second and third will be vice-commanders.

Sound good?”

Everyone immediately agreed.

These fights were a waste of time—and if the Housekeeping Department overheard, they’d shut the whole thing down.

“I support that!” someone stood up. “I nominate Lu Ming!”

“I second Lu Ming!

He organized this whole meeting—from finding the secret location to quietly inviting everyone—he handled it all himself.

Calm under pressure, thorough in action, humble in demeanor. We can’t let a natural leader like that go to waste!”

“I nominate Zhang Shan!”

“I nominate Li Si!”

—-

Naturally, a few still nominated Gu Yang.

But after his clash with the 049 uncle and his repeated refusal, his support weakened considerably in the final vote.

In the end, the “Alliance Iron Triangle” took shape:

• 1st Place: Lu Ming – won by a landslide and became the overall commander.
• 2nd Place: Lou Zheng from 049 – secured vice-commander by a single vote over…
• 3rd Place: Gu Yang, who officially withdrew, citing his sister’s advice.

He said he still had to chop wood, cook, and care for his sister—no other relatives to help. He lacked the time and energy to lead the alliance and didn’t want to disappoint anyone.

Thus, the third vice-commander position went to the fourth-place candidate: You Li, a young university history professor.

Then came the formal, long-winded Alliance Mobilization Meeting.

Around 80 people attended—almost all the men from the villa district.

The three commanders decided that future secret meetings would be held near a hot spring in the mountains.

Everyone would head up separately to avoid attracting attention from the Housekeeping Department.

All members would meet every three days; the three commanders would meet daily to draft a thorough plan to fight back.

And everything that happened today in Villa 025—the bickering, the votes, the plans—

Mu Jiu, sitting in her Villa 050 garden sipping flower tea, knew every detail.