Apocalypse: the Most Ruthless Person

“Ready, fire in bursts! Flank, provide support!”

Click, click, click.

A series of bolt actions sounded. Zhang Xinyu and four others, through day in and day out of training, were very proficient with their automatic rifles. The stocks were firmly braced against their shoulders, heads tilted to aim, fingers pulling the triggers!

Rat-a-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat.

The five fired in unison, striving to hit the zombies in the head. Even if they missed slightly, it didn’t matter much. The sound of bullets hitting their targets was unending, and rows of zombies quickly fell under the gunfire.

Each had thirty rounds; even with controlled bursts, they would empty their magazines in just over a minute.

Everyone carried four extra magazines loaded to the brim. Changing magazines was also part of their regular training, ensuring that no one would delay due to unfamiliarity.

“Stop, cease firing, we’re back!”

As the fourth magazine emptied and Zheng Xinyu was about to switch to her last one, she heard Zhang Su’s voice over the radio.

“Brother Su and the others are back!”

At the same time, Wu Lue climbed the wall and pointed down the hill, “Brother Su and the others are stuck in the car surrounded by zombies!”

Everyone immediately understood that the tail of the zombie horde was cut off by Zhang Su’s team.

“Withdraw guns, charge out!”

With her rifle slung over her shoulder and her steel rod tossed somewhere, Zheng Xinyu drew the baseball bat from her back, jumped onto a pile of corpses, and engaged the zombies in close combat again.

“Charge, we won!”

The others weren’t going to let Zheng Xinyu fight alone. Those without shooting tasks and unable to get to the wall’s edge to kill zombies were ready. At a command, they charged into the fray once more.

Seeing victory at hand, everyone’s depleted energy surged back, hormones rushing through their bodies, fighting spirit soaring. Even the youngest, Mo Qianlan, gritted her teeth and fought fiercely against the zombies.

Zhang Su’s team parked their RV on the mountain road, leaning out to kill zombies, ensuring their own safety while maintaining high efficiency. Soon, four piles of corpses appeared next to the vehicle.

“Brother Su, the lady boss is leading the charge!”

On the vehicle, Lu Yubo saw a group charging down the hillside and became ecstatic.

“Focus, don’t get distracted!”

Zhang Su reminded, as there were still twenty to thirty zombies surrounding the vehicle. The crisis wasn’t over yet; complacency when victory seemed near was when tragedies were most likely to happen!

“Charge!”

“Finish them off!”

“Hahaha, we won!”

After dealing with the remaining zombies at the mountain gate, the group charged down the mountain like tigers into a flock of sheep, bravely taking down the last zombies surrounding the RV, their faces filled with exhilaration.

A moment later, after the last zombie fell with a thud to the side, the mountain road to Celestial Horse Island fell into a brief silence, followed by a frenzy of joyful shouts.

“Oh oh oh!”

“Haha, we’ve won!”

“What’s a zombie horde? Humans are invincible!”

Someone plopped onto the ground. As hormone levels in their bodies began to drop, exhaustion spread throughout them. Despite their uncontrollable excitement, their limbs trembled, their faces displaying unrestrained smiles.

Zhang Su and his team stepped over zombie corpses and descended from the RV, all bearing traces of filth on them.

“Is anyone injured?”

The first thing Zhang Su asked about was injuries.

“None!”

“Report, Brother Su, zero injuries!”

“Heck, I think my bones shifted again!” Zhao Dezhu sat on the ground adjusting the strap on his arm.

“Does my sprained foot count as a work injury?”

Wang Xin limped a few steps. Earlier, when climbing the horse-rejecting devices, he fell. Luckily, he landed on piled corpses, only twisting his ankle. If not, whether impaled on the devices or falling into the zombie horde, his life would be forfeit.

“Yes, any injuries should be reported to Nurse Zhong. She will distribute supplies, and it’s good that everyone is okay. This defense battle was quite successful. Well done, everyone!”

Zhang Su encouraged them as he stood on the zombie corpses, exchanging a simple glance with Zheng Xinyu and Zhong Xiaoshan. They nodded slightly, everything understood without words.

“Thank you for your hard work too, Brother Su and team!”

“If we knew it would be this easy, you needn’t have rushed back!”

“Exactly, you handle matters outside; we’ll manage the rear here. Rest assured!”

If a pompous leader gave a speech after everything was over, everyone would roll their eyes. But not Zhang Su and his team. Though they returned late, they killed no fewer zombies.

Their absence was due to more important matters, not laziness.

“Even though the zombie horde has been dealt with, we must not let our guard down. Be cautious while disposing of the zombie bodies. This can be done slowly; drag them all to the field below and burn them if possible.”

Zhang Su descended the pile of bodies and spotted Guo Dachao and Yang Wenjie amidst the crowd. Both were armed and naturally had participated in the battle. Approaching them, he asked, “How do you feel?”

“It was quite thrilling, Brother Su!”

Guo Dachao swung the steel rod in his hand, covered in filth but unable to hide his excitement, his lips trembling slightly.

“It’s great to fight side by side. From now on, you both keep these weapons!”

After saying this, Zhang Su looked at Liu Tianji and said, “Xiaoliu, come with me to check the surveillance footage. The rest of you, start cleaning up, bring out those electric scooters and the Haranda to transport the bodies!”

“Surveillance?”

As Zhang Su and Liu Tianji hurried away, the others looked at each other in confusion.

“Could it be… there’s something wrong with this zombie attack?”

Lu Yubo was the first to voice the doubt in everyone’s mind.

“Big bro is already investigating this, so let’s not speculate and get back to work!”

Compared to killing zombies, cleaning up their bodies was a considerably huge task, but fortunately, the camp had enough manpower, with more than ten people working together.

“Brother Su, do you think there’s something off about this zombie horde?”

Liu Tianji followed behind Zhang Su, asking in surprise.

“Don’t ask too much. Let’s take a look first!”

Zhang Su walked briskly towards the camp, looking at the ground littered with corpses, feeling uneasy because he sensed that this zombie attack was rather peculiar!

Soon, the two of them arrived at the surveillance room.

“Brother Su, look, this is the surveillance footage facing the highway from earlier.”

Liu Tianji skillfully brought up the footage from an hour ago for Zhang Su.

Due to angle and equipment limitations, the camera facing the highway couldn’t record distant scenes clearly.

Zhang Su fast-forwarded through the footage, and upon finding the relevant timestamp, slowed it down to watch.

“I knew it!”

Under slow motion, Zhang Su quickly spotted the issue.

“What did you find, Brother Su?”

Liu Tianji, who had been watching alongside, hadn’t noticed anything unusual.

“Focus on this area, before the zombies appear, look!”

At the top of the surveillance footage, obscured by trees, only a very blurry scene was visible, and before the zombies appeared on screen, a few extremely strange figures flitted by. Even if they weren’t living people, it was the handiwork of living people!

Clearly, this wave of zombies wasn’t naturally attracted by gathered people but was guided by humans.

“This…”

Liu Tianji pointed at the screen in shock, unable to believe it. “Someone’s leading zombies to our camp?”

Zhang Su replayed the video and, after viewing it repeatedly, nodded, “While this poor-quality footage wouldn’t work as evidence in a police investigation, it’s enough for us to understand the situation!”

“Then… could it be people from Beita Camp?”

Liu Tianji instinctively asked.

Zhang Su lit a cigarette, pondered for a while, and said, “It’s either a force we’re unaware of, or it’s done by people from Beita Camp!”

For now, there are four known forces in this area: West Camp Village, guarding the bridge and collecting protection fees; United Village, farming and raising livestock near Beidong Town; Celestial Horse Island where Zhang Su was located; and the elusive Beita Camp!

Further north, there must be other forces, but they are far away and shouldn’t bother causing trouble without reason!

“Indeed, it’s probably Beita Camp!”

After finishing his cigarette, Zhang Su concluded based on his earlier reconnaissance.

“Xiaoliu, you’ve never been to Niuquanzi Town, so you’re unaware of the situation there. Thousands of zombies are trapped in a street block, and they couldn’t have gathered naturally there. It must be the work of Beita Camp’s people, who seem to have unique methods for leading zombies!”

Any group surviving in the apocalypse must have a signature skill, and from what Zhang Su had discovered, Beita Camp excelled at leading zombies, making bombs, and concealing their movements!

“Damn, Brother Su, these bastards are really despicable, trying to wipe us out like this!”

After hearing Zhang Su’s analysis, Liu Tianji felt a chill down his spine.

Luckily, the walls on the mountain road were mostly completed, and Yuwen had crafted a batch of extraordinarily effective spiked barriers, or else defeating the zombie horde today would have required at least ten times the ammo, and might have resulted in casualties!

It’s not that the ammo was unaffordable, but the feeling of being framed was immensely frustrating!

“First, they set up bombs on our regular routes to weaken our combat power, then lured zombies to attack our camp. This series of actions was meticulously planned. However, if they could execute this to such an extent, they must still be nearby, hiding in some village!”

Zhang Su was no longer as furious as after the explosion. The enemy’s malicious cunning was unfathomable, and only by staying calm could he deal with them; fury would only lead to a quagmire!