Apocalypse: the Most Ruthless Person

“Even you guys know about the Survivor Alliance?”

Zhang Su was surprised; the people of West Camp Village were quite informed.

“We didn’t know at first, but recently… maybe four or five days ago it started, broadcasting every day. How could we not know? Boss Zhang, don’t you receive the broadcasts over there?”

Ma Changshou secretly probed, trying to determine where Zhang Su and his group were coming from based on the signal reception.

“Oh? Haha, we’ve been busy squabbling with those guys from Beita Camp lately, totally forgot about the radio. Anyway, I’ve prepared a thousand pounds of grain, just contact me if there’s any news! Take care!”

Zhang Su waved his hand, got back in the car, and stepped on the gas, leaving West Camp Village.

“Village chief, what’s up with that Zhang and his group with Beita Camp?”

Someone beside Ma Changshou couldn’t help but ask.

“I’m just as clueless as you… But seeing him with injuries on his face, and that young guy also roughed up, things aren’t looking good. I fear this area might get chaotic!”

Ma Changshou frowned, looking towards the direction the motorhome left.

A young man said, “Village chief, should we help them find Beita Camp?”

“Beita Camp is definitely active around Niuquanzi Town. How could they come this way? Just pay a bit of attention when maintaining the river and clearing zombies; we probably won’t earn that thousand pounds of grain.”

Ma Changshou shook the walkie-talkie, turned around, and headed back to the village, a profound glint in his eyes.

He never planned to wade into these troubled waters. According to his thoughts, managing his own acres and fields was enough, without randomly getting involved in other forces’ disputes.

Driving away from West Camp Village, Zhang Su stopped the car by the roadside and began adjusting the radio frequency.

In recent days, their focus had been on building the Celestial Horse Island safety base, so they hadn’t listened to external news for a long time. After a while, a clear female voice emerged from the speaker.

“Survivor Alliance, your warm haven in the apocalypse. The Lego Shopping Mall has been crafted into a fortress impenetrable by zombies. We successfully repelled two horde attacks, with noteworthy achievements! Here, you have hot food when hungry, soft blankets when cold, and professional doctors when sick, ensuring maximum protection for living necessities!

Survivor Alliance welcomes all survivors hearing the broadcast to join our warm family and jointly build our apocalyptic home! Rain or shine, we’re waiting for you at Lego Shopping Mall!”

After listening to the broadcast thoroughly, Zhang Su and his team looked at each other.

“Guo Dachao or the broadcast, one of them lied; who do you think is more credible?”

Zhang Su asked with a peculiar expression.

“Hehe… Who can’t spew this official jargon? They even use a fancy-sounding woman to broadcast it, trying to fool who? I believe Guo Dachao!”

Lu Yubo smiled, rolling his eyes.

In recent days, Guo Dachao and Yang Wenjie had diligently worked at the camp, behaving very properly, and got along quite well with the others. It was clear they wanted to integrate.

Tan Huajun pursed her lips and said, “The broadcast only mentioned the advantages of the Survivor Alliance and glossed over the shortcomings. What’s more, they didn’t mention what survivors need to contribute or do upon joining. Obviously, it sounds like a scheme to lure people in and then exploit them!”

Zhang Su nodded and analyzed, “The Qin City District’s permanent population was about eight hundred thousand. Based on the survival rate we’ve determined these days, the city’s survivors might number less than five thousand. Half must’ve left like us, pessimistically estimated, the survivors remaining in the city might not exceed fifteen hundred.”

“According to Guo Dachao, the Survivor Alliance has between one hundred to two hundred people, and it hasn’t been long, so their expansion speed is quick. In an apocalyptic world, people’s tolerance and acceptance are high. Even if bitter and exhausting, as long as there’s a stable environment, enduring hardships isn’t a major issue.”

Qi Xiaoshuai’s eyes sparkled with an idea, “Brother Su, why not wave the flag ourselves? We have land, we have guns; it’s a prime opportunity to expand. More people, easier handling of affairs!”

“Exactly, Brother Su. I think Xiaoshuai’s proposal is very feasible. You, as our leader, run around outside, enduring hardships daily. If we establish a name, we can call ourselves the Celestial Horse Army. It sounds impressive, many survivors would definitely come. Then we’d be the first batch of old ministers and wouldn’t have to work, staying at the safe base, enjoying good food and drink, hahaha.”

Lu Yubo indulged in his delightful fantasy and couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Zhang Su looked at Lu Yubo like he was a fool, silencing his laughter with a mere gaze.

“Su, Brother Su, what’s wrong with me? Did I say something wrong?” Lu Yubo asked awkwardly, looking at Zhang Su. “Is Celestial Horse Army not catchy? Then changing the name would work too, Celestial Horse Gang?”

“Old Tan, aren’t you going to voice an opinion? You’re our team’s top female warrior.”

Zhang Su teased.

Tan Huajun waved her chubby hand, smiled awkwardly, “The struggle for power is a passion exclusively for men; what do I know? Regardless of future developments, just as long as we get a little care for Lanlan and me.”

“Bozai, you’ve thought it through well. Do you know why our safe haven is united like a solid block of steel right now?”

Zhang Su lit a cigarette and glanced around at the fields. After a month or two without cultivation, they were already in a semi-abandoned state.

Lu Yubo nodded cluelessly and said, “Brother Su, your leadership is excellent, our team cohesion is strong.”

“It’s not as simple as you say…” Zhang Su knew this guy had limited growth in his mind, so he explained, “Because our group of twenty went through thick and thin and fought life-and-death battles. Those who joined later didn’t go through those struggles with us, so there’s always a gap.”

“I’ve been pondering base expansion for a while, but suitable people are so few. If we can get people like Guo Dachao and Yang Wenjie, it’s already quite good. Perhaps we should change our strategy a bit…”

At this point, Zhang Su abruptly stopped talking. He had a rough idea that was somewhat immature and not suitable for public disclosure; it would be best to implement it slowly after refinement.

“Let’s go, see if we can get a couple of cars from the nearby villages to take back!”

With that, Zhang Su started the car and drove forward, turning onto a nice cement road through the fields.

The Mercedes RV is quite strong in safety and functionality, but it lacks agility; it’s challenging to turn around in narrow places, and the high fuel consumption is not suitable for everyday use. Meanwhile, the Prado and the van are scrapped, leaving the camp with only a drafty Haranda, urgently needing a few more vehicles.

Soon, Zhang Su found a village called Beiyashan nearby, geographically belonging to Beidong Town.

In Qin City, apart from a few villages and towns in the mountains, the rest completed rural construction planning. The villagers built their houses neatly; the village is small, with only about ten rows of houses from afar. Each row has only eleven to twelve households, so even if there’s some habitation in the fields, the population wouldn’t exceed a thousand.

The situation in this village is quite tragic. Unlike Shuwa Village, which had time to set up roadblocks against zombies, zombies were rampant in the entire village, wandering everywhere. Some rotten limbs were scattered all over, and even in cold temperatures, they had already decayed.

Clearly, there were no living people in this village, or maybe no one escaped alive.

Zombies were wandering in the fields, but there were also zombie corpses lying on the ground, seemingly cleaned up by someone. However, it’s unknown which force did it.

Looking remotely at the village, many vehicles could be seen, most having varying degrees of damage.

The remaining cars in the village also showed that the villagers had slim chances of survival, not even having the chance to drive away—indeed, quite a tragedy.

“There are plenty of cars, but with so many zombies, who knows where the car keys are? We can’t do anything…”

Lu Yubo, holding a weapon, got out of the car and looked worriedly at a fairly well-preserved GL8 parked outside a courtyard gate in the distance.

More than twenty zombies wandered on the street in front of them, and approaching would undoubtedly trigger a commotion. If one thing led to another, and the zombies in front of two more rows of houses joined the attack, it would be dangerous!

“We can look for keys inside the houses. Many cars have two sets of keys; do you always keep the spare key on you?”

Zhang Su drew a weapon, frowned while looking into the distance, and began thinking about how to deal with the zombies.

The surrounding situation was complex, and with limited manpower, luring them away was definitely unrealistic.

Finally, the group decided to set up some obstacles on the road leading to the village and then move closer to lure the zombies out to eliminate them, as using noise would be uncontrollable. Using themselves as bait was the safest bet!

The four of them, all experienced veterans, even Tan Huajun, the only female, was quite fierce. They quickly set up the roadblocks, and Qi Xiaoshuai volunteered to use himself as bait.

“The zombies are faster than before; don’t let your guard down.”

Zhang Su cautioned Qi Xiaoshuai, who was lightly geared up.

“Don’t worry, Brother Su. I used to be a gold-medal food delivery guy. You think every apartment complex has an elevator? I could run up six floors without catching my breath. I have no fear of running, hehe!”

Qi Xiaoshuai set off with confidence.

As it turned out, just as he had said, he caught the zombies’ attention and then dashed back, jumped over the obstacles, and readied his weapon for battle.

Seventeen or eighteen zombies rushed towards Zhang Su’s group, screeching and flailing. From their appearance, it was clear these zombies were from the first wave of direct infections; besides their clothing that decayed under sun and rain, there were no other wounds visible on their bodies.

“We’re all elite fighters here; we can’t afford any slip-ups!”

Zhang Su picked up a meter-long steel rod, with gloves on, looking quite professional. Axes and hammers had been mostly discarded, dangling at his waist as backup weapons.

Lu Yubo still used his usual grain sampler, crafted from special materials and uniquely designed, making it hard to damage when used properly.

Tan Huajun hadn’t changed her weapon either, still swinging the caliper given by Zhang Su. Heavy and sharp, if her strength was enough, it had plenty of lethality.

Qi Xiaoshuai used a steel rod similar to Zhang Su’s.