Apocalypse: the Most Ruthless Person

“Master Zhao, it’s not as simple as you see. Firstly, the cigar-shaped object itself is unusual; even if it’s a meteorite, the aspect ratio wouldn’t be as exaggerated as ten to one. Therefore, experts highly suspect it is a construct rather than a naturally formed object!”

“And then escaping the Solar System, don’t you find it strange? The Sun is the gravitational center of the entire Solar System, with countless celestial bodies orbiting it. The cigar-shaped object accelerated towards the outer Solar System; think about it, why would it accelerate?”

“Why would it accelerate?” Zhao Dezhu scratched his head, “Step on the gas pedal and it accelerates!”

“Exactly, that’s why experts suspect it’s not a natural celestial object. More bizarre events followed; after the cigar-shaped object was discovered, NASA kept monitoring it and then released even more shocking news: the object’s trajectory changed, making a turn in space towards Mars.”

“And then?” Lu Yubo was engrossed and pressed further when Yuwen paused.

Yuwen spread his hands, “Then there was no further report.”

Lu Yubo and Zhao Dezhu both felt deflated; what was this with no beginning or end?

“Young people should have imagination; what if that object changes direction again in space and heads towards Earth?” Yuwen voiced his speculation.

“That’s impossible…” Lu Yubo immediately refuted, “Teacher Yu, you mean something hit Earth? Then it would definitely not be as simple as a zombie virus outbreak, we’d end up just like the dinosaurs, wouldn’t we?”

“Exactly, these experts are just blindly researching, getting high salaries while talking nonsense. Damn, I could also be an expert.” Zhao Dezhu shook his head disdainfully.

Yuwen sighed helplessly and didn’t continue. He felt that if that object was indeed, as experts judged, not naturally formed but a construct, the possibilities were endless. But obviously, there was no one on this vehicle with him to discuss such matters…

…

The vehicle turned the corner, and Zhang Su subconsciously looked at a car from which a distress signal had been sent to him days ago. In a hasty glance due to time constraints, he had forgotten exactly which car it was; anyway, he didn’t see any living people.

“Hope she got away.”

Mumbling a bit, he continued driving ahead. From here to the convenience store is a two-kilometer drive, and the road conditions are slightly better than the main road at the entrance of Phoenix International District. The number of wrecked cars greatly reduced, though horrific scenes were still evident everywhere.

Fortunately, the temperature was low, so the severed limbs were well-preserved with no apparent signs of decay, yet this also served as a constant reminder of the apocalypse’s arrival.

“Damn it!”

Suddenly, the screech of an emergency brake echoed on the street.

Zhang Su slammed on the brakes, and the van came to a halt in the middle of the road at an awkward angle. The Haranda behind had no time but to swerve left to avoid a collision, stopping alongside the van without incident.

In the H6, Tan Huajun reacted quickly, coming to a steady stop two or three meters behind the van.

Bang.

The H6, just stopped, was nudged several meters forward by a Prado braking too late, left only an arm’s length from the van.

Luckily, the speed of the vehicles wasn’t too high, just around thirty-four km/h; otherwise, at least two vehicles would be scrapped!

“Damn…”

Lu Yubo held his head in frustration, “It’s all your fault, Zhuzi, chatting with me while I’m driving!”

“What happened?” Zheng Xinyu jumped out of the passenger seat, just in time to see Zhang Su walking out of the van with a livid face.

Zhang Su didn’t speak, first looking around. On one side of the street was the demolition area wall, and on the other was the estate’s ground-floor shops, with no suspicious individuals in sight.

However, due to the vehicles’ noise, it did draw some zombies from all directions starting to roam towards them.

“Someone’s setting traps!”

Zhang Su crouched at the front of the van, flicking at the steel wire less than thirty centimeters away!

“Damn, that’s brutal!”

Lu Yubo rushed forward and was about to admit fault when he saw the steel wire glinting sharply, making his scalp tingle.

Everyone gasped at the sight.

Looking along the steel wire, they found one end fixed to a tree trunk and the other looped around a fire hydrant.

This trap posed no threat to pedestrians; as long as one isn’t blind, they would notice it. But if driving or riding a motorbike, due to the high speed, it’s easy to overlook. It might not stop a car, but a two-wheeler would definitely end up in a sorry state!

Everyone looked at Zhang Su with appreciable admiration; finding such hidden dangers gave them a substantial sense of security.

“Let’s deal with the zombies first!”

Zhang Su drew a hand axe from under the driver’s seat, taking the lead in bashing a one-armed zombie to the ground.

The surrounding zombies were just eleven or twelve, posing no threat to Zhang Su’s group. They cautiously battled and withdrew, handling them easily. Zombies quite a distance away, seventy meters or so, wouldn’t notice unless a loud commotion was made.

During this, Lu Yubo quietly checked the Prado’s front, finding the damage not severe, only slightly bent license plates, slightly easing his concerns.

Had a vehicle been scrapped because of his fault, that would be a huge blunder!

“What’s the point of setting a trap here… No one showed up, it’s insane and self-defeating!”

Zheng Xinyu tapped the steel wire with a baseball bat, watching it bounce.

Zhang Su’s gaze kept sweeping through the store’s dark windows, but no figures or movements were spotted. Smirking slightly, he said, “I bet whoever set this up didn’t expect to encounter so many of us at once and didn’t dare show up!”

“Could be!” Zhao Dezhu glared stupidly at the shop, “If it were just one car flipped by the wire, surely a bunch of bastards would rush out to grab stuff!”

Kuang Miao scratched his head and asked, “Could it be that guy from before?”

Everyone knew he was referring to the person who provided information about firearms.

Zhang Su firmly shook his head, “He didn’t head this way, and he wouldn’t have time to set these up!”

Lu Yubo, with a darkened face, said, “Brother Su, let’s search this area and drag that bastard out!”

“Such behavior is too heinous, little brother, I’ll join you!”

Always amiable with Lu Yubo, Zhao Dezhu eagerly responded, lifting a fire axe and ready to advance.

“Stop!”

Zhang Su called out to Zhao Dezhu, “Zhuzi, Bozai, don’t be reckless! In the future, without my consent, don’t act rashly!”

“Exactly!” Lu Yubo quickly pulled Zhao Dezhu back, “Brother Su hasn’t agreed to my suggestion, why are you so hasty?”

“Seeing such behavior makes me furious, apologies, Brother Su, I won’t act impulsively anymore.” Zhao Dezhu quickly admitted his mistake, then proceeded to exchange mischievous looks with Lu Yubo.

Zhang Su listened intently, trying to find clues but to no avail. The row of shops, including a laundromat, refrigeration equipment, a nail salon, and a few restaurants, all bore traces of looting from their shattered signs.

“Old Tan, Zhuzi, disassemble the steel wire and take it with us; let’s move on!”

Zhang Su didn’t want to stir any trouble.

Tan Huajun deftly took a toolbox from the bag, passed a pair of pliers to Zhao Dezhu, and the two got busy dismantling it. The several meters of steel wire might come in handy later and wouldn’t get in the way when hung on the vehicle.

Unbeknownst to the group, from a second-floor dry cleaning store on the side of the street, four eyes were fixedly watching them.

Two men and two women crouched in the dark, gazing with resignation and frustration as the wire was cut, and the four vehicles slowly drove away.

“Damn it, there are too many people in that survivor team!”

A woman in jeans spoke first.

A man seated on the ground picked up and squeezed a stone, angrily saying, “Even if there were half, even just half, as long as the vehicle flipped, we’d have hit the jackpot!”

“The leading junky van is suspiciously sharp. Initially, I thought it was cannon fodder, but it turns out to be their leader. The leader drives a junky van, giving the Prado to a subordinate; this guy’s very cunning!”

Another person chimed from the darkness.

“Should we follow them and see? They have about ten people; joining them could make things a lot easier!”

The woman in jeans looked towards the direction the vehicles had gone, eyes filled with longing.

“No!” The man sitting refused her proposal decisively, “I don’t like dealing with sneaky bastards, nor will I let a clever bastard be my boss.”

If Zhang Su knew he was being called a sneaky bastard by these guys, one doesn’t know how he’d react.