Fight, Flight, or Freeze: The Healer's Story
Chapter 330: First Hurdle Down

Chapter 330: First Hurdle Down

"Are you sure about this?" asked Hu Wen Cheng as he and Zhao Jun Jie read through the stack of papers we had put in front of them. The guys and I, as well as Hu Wen Cheng and Zho Jun Jie, were seated around a table in the middle of a large room.

The sun shone through the massive windows as a new day dawned in City D. Hopefully, the first of many.

We had found a conference room of sorts on the main floor of the hotel and decided to use it as the main room for city planning. It would make everything easier if people knew where to find us, and we could also keep everything in one central location.

"I’ve spent the majority of my life on the other side of the law. I don’t think that I am the best person to now be enforcing it," he continued, passing the paper in his hand to Zhao Jun Jie. His face had a variety of emotions crossing over it, and I couldn’t even start to guess half of them.

"And we’ve all seen just how well I ran City A. Maybe you should find someone else for that role, too," suggested Zhao Jun Jie as he tossed the paper onto the stack and folded his hands on the table. Xi Feng was strapped to his chest, contently asleep as she listened to her father’s heartbeat.

I don’t think I have seen him even for a moment without her.

Looking at both of them, I shrugged. "Who better to enforce the laws than someone who knows how to break them? You would be able to see all the signs better than the rest of us and would have no problem handing out the appropriate punishments for breaking them."

Hu Wen Cheng studied me for a moment. "Are you still thinking about handing over people who break the law to the zombies?" he asked, picking up the paper we had written a few guidelines on.

"This isn’t going to work if people aren’t willing to put the work into it," I sighed, leaning back in my chair and closing my eyes. "I would love to say that there were no consequences for anything, that anyone could take what they wanted and needed, regardless of how other people felt about it. But that’s not possible... or practical. Humans always want to take the easy way out, and I won’t let a handful of people work hard just because the majority doesn’t want to."

Hu Wen Cheng slowly nodded his head as he considered my words. "I bet that was hard for you to say."

"You’d be surprised," I shrugged. "Do I want to help rebuild this world so that future generations can have what we had? Yes. Am I willing to be a doormat to absolutely everyone in order for that to happen? Not a chance."

"Fine, I’m in," nodded Hu Wen Cheng. "But I want to do things my way."

"By all means, have at it. I am not interested in any type of leadership role," I replied, letting out a sigh of relief as one major hurdle was taken care of.

"And that leaves me, now, doesn’t it?" mused Zhao Jun Jie as he leaned back in his chair and started absentmindedly rubbing Xi Feng’s back.

"I am not going to dictate anything to anyone," I started, copying his position. Zhao Jun Jie looked at me incredulously as he motioned to the papers in front of him on the table.

Shrugging my shoulders, I give him a half smile. "That was me stressed. The more stressed I get, the more papers I end up with. For the sake of the environment and the trees, how about you take over everything?"

"Like I said, after City A, I am not sure that I am the best person for the job," the man replied, letting out a long sigh.

It had to be hard for him, spending his whole life with certain expectations about what the future held and his role in it, only for the carpet to be yanked out from under his feet.

"Most, if not all, of what happened in City A is not your fault. It’s on Wu Bai Hee," I argued.

"Who I let into the city and into such a prominent role that she was able to screw everything up," shot back Zhao Jun Jie.

I could see the guilt on his face as he thought about everything that happened in City A.

"Look," I replied. "We can’t go back and change the past, and even if we could, I don’t think you would want to."

He gave me a look as if I was stupid, and I smiled back at him. "Xi Feng is a direct result of all of those decisions. Would you really be willing to give her up because you hate her mother? Would you hold her responsible for everything that her mother did?"

"Of course not," hissed the man as he leaned forward to glare at me. The movement caused the baby to fuss for a moment before settling back down. "She is innocent."

"Then, if she is innocent and can’t be blamed for someone else’s actions, then neither can you."

"It’s different."

"It’s always different," I scoffed back. "But that doesn’t make it wrong. Fine. Let me put it a different way. If you really feel bad or guilty about everything that happened in City A, then you should be trying to make amends for it in City D. Don’t repeat the same mistakes."

The man once again leaned back in his chair, his eyes narrowing on me.

"Fine," he grunted after a moment of deliberation. "I’ll do it."

"Perfect," I answered with a smile that was definitely not a smirk. "And may I suggest Lai Dan Dan as your assistant? She seemed to be a good one at the Retribution Guild and she must have an eye for detail as well as a love for organization if she could handle all of those teams."

"Wait? Then what am I going to do?" demanded Hu Wen Cheng.

"You have enough guild members here; I am sure that one of them could step up and help you out."