Apocalypse: the Most Ruthless Person

“Where did he come from?”

Zhang Su walked over to Tan Huajun and asked.

Tan Huajun pointed to the opposite side of the street and said, “From over there, I didn’t see exactly which shop.”

Zhang Su looked in the direction indicated by Tan Huajun. Others couldn’t see, but he could clearly see a few pairs of eyes hidden behind the glass on the third floor of a beauty and health salon.

The eyes weren’t important, what mattered was the pitch-black gun muzzle!

Woof!

Corgi Good Fortune also sensed the danger. After a low growl, it gently tugged on Zhang Su’s pant leg.

Zhang Su nodded at Good Fortune and discreetly stepped back a few paces behind the RV. He was confident that as long as the other party wasn’t equipped with something like a Barrett, they couldn’t penetrate the RV’s multiple layers of steel plating!

“Hello! I’m alone, unarmed, no need to be nervous, I’m here to talk with you!”

The man looked to be around forty years old, with a calm and steady demeanor. He wasn’t overtly aggressive, but possessed an authoritative presence.

“Since you’re here to talk, come over a bit closer, everyone gather around me.”

Zhang Su gestured to the scattered crowd, instructing them to move to the side of the RV.

No one had ever heard Zhang Su make such a request, but given the unusual situation, they immediately became vigilant and quickly moved to the side of the RV.

The newcomer raised an eyebrow at this sight, but said nothing. He walked to a position even with the side of the RV and said, “You’re very cautious, brother. My surname is Li, may I ask yours?”

“No need for formalities, my surname is Zhang. In these times, there are too many people who like to shoot from the shadows, can’t be too careful.”

Seeing as the person neither confirmed nor denied his concerns, Zhang Su brought it up himself.

“Shoot from the shadows?”

Hearing this term, everyone immediately understood. Tan Huajun aimed the crossbow at the man with the surname Li, while Chen Hanzhou reached into his coat, and everyone watched the man warily.

“Younger Brother Zhang, don’t misunderstand. My companions are also worried about my safety, I hope you understand… To be honest, this street was cleared by me and some of my brothers. You can have whatever you want, but it requires an exchange of supplies.”

The man named Li didn’t understand why Zhang Su suddenly became cautious, but he respected the effective precautions Zhang Su had taken—it was impressive!

Standing behind cover, Zhang Su relaxed a bit and said, “Old Li, right? The street is certainly quite clean, but if you claim that all the zombies were cleared by you, how can I believe that?”

Old Li pointed to the end of the northern street and said, “There’s a junkyard there where we lured most of the zombies. The bodies of the zombies we killed are also piled there. You can send someone to check. If it were just passing survivors, they wouldn’t bother doing this, right?”

Zhang Su walked to the back of the vehicle and took a look. He could indeed see a gantry crane in the distance dedicated to the junkyard. Choosing to momentarily believe the man’s words, he looked back at Old Li and said, “I admire you for coming to negotiate supplies with us alone. Even if you have a gunman providing cover, aren’t you worried about accidents?”

Old Li shook his head and said, “Society’s framework has collapsed, but we are survivors from a civilized world. I believe the vast majority of people are still willing to follow some semblance of order, even if it’s incomplete. Don’t you think so, Younger Brother Zhang?”

Everyone nodded silently. This statement indeed carried a certain truth. To survive, there must be exchanges with various survivor groups, and resource exchanges will occur. No one wants every exchange to be filled with anxiety.

An order emerging from post-apocalyptic survival will gradually establish itself, albeit slowly, but there must be order.

Zhang Su removed the crossbow from his shoulder, aiming it casually, and said, “I’m willing to follow the order, but who sets this order? Why is it you? Because you have guns? I have them too. What if I don’t agree to the exchange, what will you do?”

Immediately, the atmosphere became tense!

When Old Li saw the weapon in Zhang Su’s hands, his expression became serious. The two of them were only about twenty meters apart, and he could clearly see that the two crossbows in Zhang Su’s hands were of excellent quality, leaving no doubt as to their power.

“You’re right, the strong set the order. From the current situation, you’re indeed stronger than us. If you take things, I can’t stop you…”

Everyone was stunned. Can’t stop you, yet you’re here to stop us? Are you hoping for pity?

However, Old Li’s next sentence made Zhang Su furrow his brows.

“If Younger Brother Zhang insists on not wanting to exchange, then it’s a shame you’d be missing a very important opportunity for cooperation.”

Old Li’s measured words made it hard to lose one’s temper. Before the disaster, he must have held some position. It’s hard for a lower-tier worker to cultivate such a presence.

“Oh? Can you give a hint?”

Zhang Su became intrigued. In these times of almost no communication, any piece of information was very valuable. Plus, the fact that the other party could remain calm under the aim of two crossbows gave him a feeling that there was something more.

Old Li smiled, carrying a hint of mystery, and said, “Earlier, one of our lookout brothers saw you head east.”

This sentence was harmless in itself, nothing more than someone tracking their movements. But when Zhang Su saw a flash of shrewdness in Old Li’s eyes, his heart skipped a beat. Clearly, the man meant more than just knowing his whereabouts!

After a brief thought, a “light bulb” went off in Zhang Su’s mind, and he understood the man’s implied meaning.

“How many people do you have? How many guns?”

Zhang Su asked.

Old Li smiled slightly after hearing the other party’s question, gesturing a six with his hand, and then said: “Five people, one gun. Not many, but we have an important person among us!”

“Important person?”

Zhang Su muttered softly, and there were also subtle murmurs around him.

Among the twenty or so people present, only one or two knew what Zhang Su was discussing with the other party. The others were puzzled and unable to connect each sentence. Perhaps given some time they could figure it out, but for now, they stood aside looking a bit dazed.

“Everyone, be quiet!” Zhang Su waved his hand at those behind him, then said to Old Li, “Okay, tell me, how do we make an exchange?”

People weren’t sure why Zhang Su suddenly compromised, but it didn’t matter. They believed Zhang Su wouldn’t make a losing deal.

“I can see you’re very interested in communication equipment. You can take everything in this shop. I only need food and water for five people for a week. Once it’s done, if successful, we’ll split everything fifty-fifty, how about that?”

Old Li held out two palms, indicating a fifty-fifty split.

Zhang Su shook his head without even thinking: “We have about twenty people, you have five people, a fifty-fifty split? Impossible, if that’s the case, forget the first condition.”

The people around were even more puzzled. What exactly were they discussing, and why did it suddenly turn into talking about dividing things?

Old Li was straightforward as well, changing his gesture: “Forty-sixty. Us four, you six. It’s a fair deal!”

“I don’t feel it’s a fair deal. I can only agree to a thirty-seventy. You three, us seven!”

Zhang Su said firmly.

However, to his surprise, Old Li agreed extremely readily: “As you said, three for me, seven for you, deal!”

??

“Brother Su, you gave too much!”

Zheng Xinyu didn’t know what Zhang Su was discussing with Old Li, but it didn’t prevent her from seeing the issue.

“Uh… it’s okay.”

Zhang Su awkwardly put down the crossbow. The other party’s expectations were lower than he thought. Judging by Old Li’s readiness, an eighty-twenty split might be possible, but a ninety-ten was out of the question.

“Younger Brother Zhang, what do you say, should we exchange the supplies first?”

Old Li raised his hand to indicate that the transaction could proceed.

Zhang Su shook his head and said, “First call your people out, it’s the basic trust, right?”

Old Li hesitated a little, locking eyes with Zhang Su for a few seconds, then scanned the faces of over a dozen people, finally nodding and turning around to wave his hands towards the opposite street.

“I’m talking about trust, and you’re playing tricks with me. Should we continue this cooperation?”

As Old Li called out, a cold taunt came from Zhang Su’s side.

This time, everyone didn’t understand what Zhang Su meant, except for Old Li…

“What do you mean by this?”

Zhang Su mimicked the small gestures Old Li used when waving, normally when calling people over, your fingers are open and waving towards yourself, but Old Li wasn’t, his thumb was bent!

Normally, people tens of meters apart can’t notice this, but binoculars aren’t uncommon, and since the other party has a gun, it’s highly likely they have a scope attached!

This made Old Li genuinely awkward. With over twenty meters of distance and angle issues, he thought those behind the motorhome couldn’t notice the subtleties, but damn, the other party saw through it in one glance.

It’s clear that someone capable of becoming the leader of a large team isn’t an average person…

Old Li switched to a normal gesture to beckon again, then explained: “We must have a degree of caution in dealing with others. Since you’ve seen through it, I won’t hide it. We actually have six people, two guns.”

“Damn, you are really dishonest!” Lu Yubo was immediately agitated.

Old Li rubbed his nose, slightly sheepish: “I did it only to protect myself, with absolutely no intention to harm any of you, please don’t misunderstand.”

“Mr. Li, that’s incorrect! Concealing strength in cooperation definitely harms our interests!” Yuwen severely reprimanded Old Li’s inappropriate behavior.

Zhang Su said indifferently: “Old Li, I find you quite polite and indeed caring about maintaining so-called order, but if you consume my trust again, there will be consequences. Remember, this is your last chance!”

The words weren’t heavy, but each hit Old Li’s heart. He’s good at reading people and could see the severity in Zhang Su and his people’s expressions, fully aware of what the so-called consequences were.

“No more, Younger Brother Zhang, we’ll definitely have a pleasant cooperation!”

“Hopefully!” Zhang Su neither agreed nor disagreed.

During the conversation, five people, four men, and one woman, crossed the road. Among them, four were unremarkable, but one had a different identity, easily distinguishable as a soldier by his attire, wearing combat camouflage with a standard Type 95 on his chest, looking quite imposing.