Apocalypse: the Most Ruthless Person

“Such behavior is just too… sigh.”

Yuwen wanted to express his feelings, but in the end, he just shook his head and said nothing.

Zhao Dezhu looked around and pointed towards the deep fields in the west, saying, “Bro, look, there’s a village over there too. Should we go over and ask about the situation?”

Zhang Su was observing the surroundings to analyze whether they should head to the village, and suddenly saw a figure riding a bicycle in the distance across the river, seemingly coming towards them.

“Someone’s coming!”

Everyone turned to look at the cyclist, and before long he had reached the broken bridge on the other side.

“Take another route, go west, the bridge at West Camp Village is still fine!”

The man cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted to Zhang Su and his group.

Even at a distance of dozens of meters, Zhang Su, with his keen hearing, could easily hear him. After listening, he asked, “Local, what’s the situation in the nearby villages?”

The man paused, seemingly trying to understand what Zhang Su had said. After seven or eight seconds, he took a deep breath and said, “No one’s left, everyone from the nearby villages has fled to our side. No one’s left! But don’t go!”

No one’s left, but don’t go.

No need to say more, what’s left must be zombies…

“Thanks a lot!”

Zhang Su waved to the man across the river.

The man politely waved back, then leisurely pedaled his bike back to the village.

“Looks like Brother Su was right; this bunch of crafty villagers must have intentionally blown up the bridge, turning the river into a natural barrier for them, just too selfish!”

Chen Hanzhou gritted his teeth, his face a picture of frustration.

Zhang Su shrugged, “It’s the villagers’ natural advantage. Not using it would be foolish. From our standpoint, they seem selfish, but if it were us watching zombies pour into the village from the bridge every day, we’d definitely blow it up too!”

Frustration aside, losing our cool is not an option. Understanding things from another perspective reveals that others’ actions are actually quite natural.

“Mr. Zhang, what should we do now? Find another path or look for a place to settle?”

Yuwen adjusted his glasses and asked.

“Hmm…” Zhang Su put his hands on his hips and looked around, “Let me think.”

“Damn it, it’s all because of those idiots, and now we’re stuck here awkwardly in the middle of nowhere!” Lu Yubo was fuming, picking up stones and throwing them across the river to vent his frustration.

Wu Lue and Zhao Dezhu followed suit, using this powerless method to release their pent-up emotions.

In post-apocalyptic survival, any setback is possible, and when the way ahead is cut off, it’s disheartening. Team members can be frustrated, complain, or even curse, but as the leader, Zhang Su must maintain the necessary rationality to make decisions.

He looked west, the sun was nearly set behind the mountains, and the sky was getting darker. He said, “That villager just mentioned going west; the bridge at West Camp Village is still there, but it’s already late. Heading west would mean going back to the city, and traveling overnight is too risky.”

“He said the nearby villages are empty, but zombies are sure to be there! Two options: stay on a field ridge overnight, where the open terrain offers good visibility to prevent zombie ambushes, but can also easily be seen by other survivors passing by…”

“Or go to a village, clear a small area—just enough to stay overnight. This way, we’d need to guard against zombies, but passing survivors would find it hard to spot us. Put simply, one option focuses on preventing zombie attacks, the other on guarding against people. Which do we choose?”

Zhang Su already had a decision in mind, but he wanted to see what the group thought.

Everyone looked at one another, pondering for a moment before Lu Yubo spoke first, “I’m not afraid of people; I think zombies are scarier, one bite and you’re gone…”

“Xiaolu, you’re still too young…” Yuwen followed, “Guarding against people and zombies, it’s definitely more important to guard against people!”

“Yes, Teacher Yu is right,” Chen Hanzhou agreed.

“But I also think zombies are more dangerous…”

One by one, everyone shared their thoughts, leaving only Lu Yubo and Yu Qing feeling that zombies were the bigger threat, making them a bit awkward.

“Well then, majority rules… no, Brother Su, tell us, surely zombies are more dangerous, right?”

Just as Lu Yubo was about to back down, he suddenly remembered that the person with the final word hadn’t spoken yet, eagerly looking at Zhang Su with a face full of “I know I’m right; you just agree.”

“Ahem…”

Zhang Su couldn’t help but cough, awkwardly saying, “Bozai, truth sometimes doesn’t rest with the few.”

He understood Lu Yubo and Yu Qing’s mindsets well. The former was a tough guy, unafraid of people and ready to fight whoever came, while Yu Qing still held a hopeful belief in human goodness, thinking people couldn’t be that bad.

“Oh…”

Upon hearing Zhang Su’s response, Lu Yubo immediately deflated, gloomily saying, “What’s so scary about people? If you don’t agree, fight. But if bitten by a zombie, you’re done for—how terrifying.”

“Xiaolu, zombies don’t have deceitful tricks, but human minds are hard to fathom; they could use a hundred methods against us!” Yuwen patted Lu Yubo’s shoulder.

Lu Yubo still thought he had a point and argued, “Look, we could just park our vehicles at the edge of the fields, or stay in that ransacked riverside restaurant, arrange for night watch, and see any vehicle lights from a kilometer away—there’s no fear of sudden attacks, nor of slow zombies, right?”

Zhang Su didn’t stop Lu Yubo from expressing his opinion. Elevating his team didn’t come from blindly suppressing them but exploring diverse ideas.

After hearing Lu Yubo out, Zhang Su said, “We now have two camper vans and two large SUVs. Any survivor team would be envious, but we haven’t found a secure place where we can park and hide our vehicles and supplies. If exposed out there, people with bad intentions would make us regret it.”

“Didn’t you just mention seeing vehicle lights from a kilometer away? First, why must you drive with lights on at night? And even so, do you know how long it takes to cover a kilometer? At fast speeds, less than a minute. Do you think that’s enough time to respond?”

“And imagine, someone wedges a stick in the gas pedal, sending an empty car towards our camp. Whether we’re at the field or buildings, how many could be injured or killed? I’m not saying hiding in a village has zero danger, just that exposure brings more risks…”

“Survivors who’ve made it out of the city are absolutely no novices. Never underestimate anyone!” Zhang Su seriously warned everyone.

“It’s indeed better to choose the village…”

Lu Yubo’s expression grew more serious as he listened, eventually realizing the bigger picture. In his worldview, confrontation was always an option, but he hadn’t considered that perhaps others wouldn’t even give him that chance!

Zhang Su checked the sky again, clapped and said, “It’s decided then. Xinyu, the villages to left and right—choose one.”

“Why do I have to choose? I don’t want to…”

Zheng Xinyu, standing leisurely to the side, suddenly found the responsibility thrust upon her shoulders and was puzzled.

“Just pick one, hurry up!”

Zhang Su urged.

Zhao Dezhu and Lu Yubo quietly gave Zhang Su a thumbs up. That’s our Brother Su, asserting his domestic authority.

Zheng Xinyu looked around helplessly, saying awkwardly, “What’s the difference, really? They’re all similar houses. Oh well, let’s go to that one!”

Everyone followed Zheng Xinyu’s pointing finger westward, where several streetfront shops had been ransacked already. The restaurants inside were stripped bare, possibly taken for firewood. From the middle of the shops, a four-to-five-meter wide cement road led into the depths of the fields, where villagers’ houses stood.

Zhang Su didn’t want anyone to misunderstand and explained, “There’s something you don’t know. Xinyu has pretty good luck. In the early outbreak days, she narrowly escaped danger several times through sheer luck.”

“Oh?”

“Wow, Sister Xinyu, you have this special ability! So impressive!”

“Fortunate holy body, sister-in-law is awesome, blessed with great fortune!”

As everyone flattered her, they boarded the vehicles. With such a lucky team member, what’s there to hesitate about? Just forge ahead.