[Lucius: Hahahaha, beauties, if you’re really that tough, why do you still have to beg so pitifully in the group like beggars?]

[Lucius: Isn’t it just that you want more supplies? I’ve said it, as long as you’re willing to come, any amount is not a problem.]

[Radhika: Heh heh, if you’re so capable, why don’t you show us your dinner tonight?]

[Radhika: As a Shelter leader with thirty or forty people under him, you must be eating really well, right?]

[Radhika: Show us, let us see. If you’re as capable as Big Boss Vikram in our group, of course, we’d be willing to join your Shelter.]

Originally, Lucius was smiling, revealing his yellow teeth, upon hearing Radhika finally relent.

But when he clearly saw her request, his smile immediately froze.

In these times, as long as one has enough territory to be a master, recruiting Survivors is not too difficult.

To put it bluntly, everyone is just living together; most Shelters can’t really say who supports whom.

His Shelter leader position was a typical example.

He was just a guy who relied on his members to collect supplies and grow some half-dead vegetables to survive.

As a leader, he only ate rotten vegetable leaves; how could he really show off his dinner?

But of course, he wouldn’t give up just like that.

Clicking on the dinner photos Anjali had taken earlier, Lucius looked at them again and again.

He tried to find some flaws in that table full of dishes to refute.

However, after much searching, he miserably realized that not only could he not find fault, but he also found himself drooling.

Unable to think of anything, Lucius could only reply stubbornly:

[Lucius: Beauties, what are these dishes? I’ve already had dinner today, so I don’t have a chance to show it.]

[Lucius: If you two want to see, you can rush to my Shelter tonight after the black fog ends. I guarantee that the breakfast I treat you to tomorrow morning will be better than what your so-called Big Boss Vikram eats for dinner.]

When outside, one’s status is self-proclaimed. Lucius made a grand boast to win the two women’s favor.

Little did he know, Bobby, who had been left hanging for a long time, had not left and immediately spoke up when he saw this opportunity:

[Bobby: Heh heh, I’ve been listening to you talk for a long time. Why do you only know how to type? If you’re capable, just send a photo, right? If you just finished dinner, can’t you send a photo from your gallery?]

[Bobby: At the very least, showing us your Shelter would be the same.]

[Radhika: Exactly. Is it that you don’t have a chance to show it, or that you have nothing to show at all?]

[Geetanjali: Hahahaha, Radhika, you’re too mean. You’re hurting his pride so much. I wanted to tease him a bit longer.]

[Radhika: Do you believe that if we didn’t expose him today, he’d be saying he’s eating an Imperial Feast in the Wasteland later?]

[Geetanjali: Hahahaha!]

After so much time had passed, the number of people in the group gradually started to increase.

After understanding the full story, they also started to laugh.

Some female Survivors even found his behavior extremely disgusting, escalating to the point of insults.

For a time, the group was filled with endless mockery of Lucius.

Because most of the members in the group had unusual backgrounds.

Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that this Lucius was just a boastful show-off.

In comparison, Vikram himself never came out to explain a single word from beginning to end.

He was supposedly acting as a shield, but in reality, he didn’t have to do anything; he just watched the show.

Vikram was naturally happy to be left in peace about this.

Watching the increasing ridicule in the group, Lucius’s dream of seducing women with words instantly shattered.

The insults in his private messages made him feel like he had fallen into an ice cave, burning with rage.

At this moment, he saw Vikram’s dinner photos again, and the anger in his eyes intensified.

"Damn it, we’re all survivors on the same planet, so why are you so lucky to find so many supplies?"

"And I have to eat rotten vegetable leaves here, suffering."

"It even made me unable to get two gold-digging bitches?"

Lucius’s breathing was heavy. Looking at the abundant food in the picture, compared to what was on his own plate, it looked like leftovers.

The huge disparity made him knock over the dinner plate in front of him, along with the food inside.

"Crash!" The dinner plate fell to the ground and shattered, and Lucius’s chest heaved.

Besides envy and jealousy for Vikram’s dinner, there was more shame that he couldn’t compared to the other person and was despised by two women.

Especially for a man like him, who usually loved to seek validation from women.

Even though Vikram had done nothing, Lucius’s hatred for Vikram instantly maxed out.

Seeing that the people in the group had already figured out his background, Lucius no longer had any thoughts of showing off.

Compared to attracting the two women’s attention, what he wanted more was to ruthlessly trample Vikram, this Survivor who was above him.

"It’s just one dinner, and you even took photos to show off. What kind of big shot are you pretending to be? Watch how I deal with you."

Lucius’s mind raced.

There was nothing wrong with the table full of dishes, but he had a mouth; wasn’t it easy to spread rumors?

His eyes darted around, and soon an excellent idea popped into his head.

With a cold sneer, Lucius reopened the group chat.

[Lucius: I said the treatment in my shelter is good, and I’m definitely not lying. Believe it or not, it’s up to you.]

[Lucius: But as for Big Boss Vikram’s dinner in your group, I’m very curious.]

[Lucius: In today’s Wasteland, what kind of creature can still provide normal meat? Your Big Boss Vikram is good, with three meat dishes and two vegetable dishes every day. I just wonder if the source of this meat is clean.]

[Lucius: I heard that many Survivors are starting to kill each other, just for a bit of human flesh from the other party.]

[Lucius: Brother Chen, can you tell us how you get your food? Just share it with the brothers in our group.]

He wasn’t wrong about this.

At this stage of survival, there were actually quite a few Survivors who had resorted to cannibalism.

It’s just that most people wouldn’t openly talk about it.

If discovered, such a Survivor would inevitably be shunned by everyone else.

After all, no one wanted to be with a Survivor no different from a zombie.

His move was truly vicious.

If Vikram didn’t explain himself, who would dare to be with him in the future?

Sure enough, not long after he spoke, many members who had eaten immediately started discussing it in the group.

"Yeah, Big Shot, come out and explain."

"It can’t be true, right? No wonder you never told me how you got your food when I asked before."

"Tsk tsk tsk, I thought he was some amazing person, but it turns out he’s just someone who has lost all his bottom lines. What a waste of my feelings."

"Hehe, I knew this person wasn’t anything good a long time ago. Last time, I followed his method to plant crops, but it was completely useless, and I wasted my seeds for nothing."

"Damn it, living by eating your own kind, are you even human? You’re an animal!"

It must be said that some people, when it came to distinguishing right from wrong, had no ideas of their own at all.

As long as a somewhat plausible viewpoint appeared, regardless of its correctness, it could always resonate with some brainless people.

And as soon as suspicion fell upon someone, everything they had done before would be brought up as their strong evidence.

On Lucius’s side, seeing the group chat messages turn from cursing him to attacking Vikram, he felt indescribably pleased.

He was not like those brainless group members; he knew for sure that Vikram’s dinner photos were not human flesh.

One could tell by looking closely at the pictures; the roasted chicken, steamed fish, and other distinct foods in the pictures, how could they be human flesh?

The problem was, these fools didn’t care about such details; once they accepted an idea, these idiots would only seek corroboration from their own perspectives.

Even if they truly saw the situation in the pictures, they would just pretend not to see it.

Indeed, Radhika and Geetanjali, seeing the situation was not right, immediately used this as evidence to defend Vikram.

She just wanted to use Vikram to get rid of this disgusting Lucius, and also trade some supplies with Vikram; she didn’t want to offend Vikram because of this.

This was true for both trade and friendly relations.

In the Wasteland, finding such an approachable and powerful friend was incredibly difficult.

[Radhika: Can’t you open your dog’s eyes and see clearly before spreading rumors? Can what’s in this picture be human flesh? Or are your hands naturally like pig trotters?]

[Geetanjali: I don’t think it’s as simple as hands like pig trotters; their brains are pig brains too.]

[Geetanjali: @Lucas, you were the one who said Big Boss Vikram’s seed method was good last time, and now you’re saying it’s useless. Do you think everyone is blind and can’t see the messages?]

Vikram only then noticed that the Survivor who said his free planting method was useless had previously said his plants were growing well. Now, only a few days later, he had changed his tune so quickly.

That Lucas, who had been coming on strong, instantly disappeared after hearing this, clearly aware of his own behavior.

However, this was just an isolated case. A group of people, after hearing these words, not only didn’t believe them but became even more rampant.

Were they truly fools who couldn’t distinguish facts at all? Not necessarily.

Perhaps some individuals were indeed like that, but most Survivors had other motives entirely.

What they wanted was not some explanation that Vikram wasn’t eating human flesh; whether Vikram ate human flesh or not was none of their business, as he couldn’t find them through the group chat even if he did.

What they truly wanted was Vikram’s method for obtaining these foods.

Last time, Vikram didn’t share his method of obtaining food for free in the group, and most people were still resentful but unwilling to exchange supplies for it.

Now there was a good opportunity to force out the answer for free, and these members certainly weren’t going to let it go.

"Who knows if it’s true or false? Unless Vikram himself provides evidence, we won’t believe it."

"Exactly, at the very least, he needs to explain where these foods come from. Otherwise, we’ll kick this man-eating beast out of the group chat."

"Right, if he doesn’t explain, kick him out of the group chat."

These newly joined members, who hadn’t even understood the group rules, were already spouting nonsense, demanding Vikram leave.

Vikram was stunned by this.

He wondered what kind of weirdos Kashif Ali had let in.

And the two women, hearing this, looked desperate. They had finally understood what these people meant.

They weren’t here to reason; they were just here to fulfill their mission of getting something for free.

In the Shelter, Divya and Anjali looked at the messages in the group, their eyes filled with anxiety.

The two women, at a loss, were left with nothing but endless regret.

They thought that with Vikram’s strength, the other party would retreat in the face of difficulty, thus solving the trouble for Radhika and her companion.

And also, they could secure some precious gasoline resources for the Shelter.

But who would have thought that this Lucius would be so shameless, full of lies, and most importantly, these members actually believed his slanders.