Apocalypse: the Most Ruthless Person

Niuquanzi Town is still the same as before, the barbed wire untouched, which shows that there really aren’t many survivors nearby. No one has come here to look for supplies; two excavators that Zhang Su had his eye on stand quietly at the town’s entrance.

“In the end, it’s just a handful of yellow earth, a pile of white bones…”

Zhao Dezhu saw the bodies of the group that attacked him originally, now highly decomposed after so many days, exposing ghastly white bones.

His arm wasn’t fully healed yet, but he couldn’t stand being idle, wanting to do some work, so he joined in to do whatever he could manage.

“Wow, Zhuzi, found yourself an educated father-in-law, your speaking skills have shot up!”

Zhang Su teased.

Zhao Dezhu waved his hand in front of his nose, smiling helplessly, “That’s right, I have to improve. Hey, buddy, this stinks too much, give me a cigarette.”

The stench filled the street, and as Zhang Su was about to light a cigarette, he squinted at Zhao Dezhu, “Hey, my cigarettes are counted, alright? Where’s yours?”

“Hehe, I’m saving mine for later.”

“Get lost, get to work!”

Zhang Su couldn’t be bothered with shameless Zhao Dezhu and walked ahead first.

There were quite a few barber shops on the street, and three were cleared out. Two were quite ordinary, but one was slightly more upscale, with scissors that seemed better made and a variety of hair dye products.

When the group returned to the camp, Zhang Su handed a big bag of barber tools to Lü Leiyang, who was so moved that he cried and laughed, treating it like a treasure.

“Damn, just a few pairs of scissors, is it really that big a deal? Quick, give your big bro here a stylish haircut!”

Zhao Dezhu tossed his head flamboyantly, scattering dandruff all over, scaring Guo Dachao to step back quickly.

In the afternoon, Lü Leiyang gave all the men in the camp a haircut. It might not be a stylish cut, but from a bunch of shaggy beasts, they all returned to a neat appearance, their spirits much improved.

This unremarkable little improvement yet subtly enhanced everyone’s sanity score, because only with things getting better can everyone’s survival desire become stronger.

“Teacher Tony, when will you arrange something for us girls too!”

After dinner, sitting in the warm dining hall, Zheng Xinyu tugged at her hair, which had lost any semblance of a style, making a goofy face after seeing each man with a new look.

“As long as you all are willing, it’s fine by me, but let me say in advance, I’ve never done styles for women before, so be understanding if you’re not satisfied…”

Lü Leiyang said with a laugh.

This afternoon was the happiest half-day since the apocalypse, not just because of stable living conditions, but more importantly, for truly contributing to the team and receiving a sincere thank you from a teammate, a satisfaction well above basic needs.

“Who cares about satisfaction or not, who even cares about hairstyles now, just cut it short, easier to manage! Okay, tomorrow carve out some time for our haircuts. Come on, ladies, line up, I’m first!”

“I’m second!”

“Don’t cut in front of Nurse Zhong…”

“Alright, I’m third.”

Amidst the laughter and chat, Zhang Su rubbed his buzz cut and said to the people around him, “I really hope we can keep living like this, in this carefree state, it’s just so comfortable.”

Once back at the camp, the world within the walls seemed secluded from the world, and seeing the smiles on people’s faces, the hot meals on the table, Zhang Su felt like he was back to life before.

As for video games, variety shows, fishing, and skiing, they could be completely replaced by farming, tree chopping, and firearm practice.

“Honestly, buddy, I feel like my life’s better after the apocalypse, more fulfilling!”

Zhao Dezhu glanced over at Yu Qing chatting with some women, gave a knowing smile, and unwittingly handed out cigarettes to everyone. Only after everyone lit up did he remember there’s a quota for cigarettes…

“I worked at a supermarket for eight years, three years doing stock, then five years cleaning fish, living through the same routine every day, no house, no car, no wife. My colleagues thought I lived freely, but was that freedom? That was helplessness…”

“Look at me now, cleaning fish has become killing zombies, occasionally knocking off a few scumbags, I have a house, have a car, have a wife. Damn, buddy, do you think I’ve progressed or regressed?”

Zhao Dezhu’s words made everyone around feel something.

Wang Xin and Liu Tianji had some savings, yet sat at their computers every day coding without end, not knowing where their path led.

Lu Yubo mixed with a few gangsters doing security in karaoke and billiard halls, living day by day. Although it seemed carefree, whenever he had no money or women, all worries began to attack him.

Qi Xiaoshuai, riding his little e-bike, spent at least ten hours a day weaving through city streets, delivering food rain or shine, earning a salary controlled by algorithms, his future blocked by big data, unable to escape the framework.

Pang Dakun sneakily dabbling here and there, his future was clearer, his end would inevitably be in jail…

Lü Leiyang, who got along well with women, had a decent job but was quite troubled in finding a partner, and estranged from his parents for various reasons, although he had some money, he wasn’t happy.

Jia Shiqin and Yuwen were considered to have very clear life goals; because they had families, everything they did was to keep the family running smoothly.

“Hey, Dachao, what were you doing before?”

Zhang Su suddenly remembered that he hadn’t asked Guo Dachao about his past.

“Me?” Guo Dachao stubbed out his cigarette and said, “I worked in auto repair!”

“Huh?”

Zhang Su exchanged a glance with Zhao Dezhu and Jia Shiqin, then asked, “What aspect of auto repair?”

“Bodywork, mechanical repairs… But Brother Su, don’t ask me to fix those two blown-up cars down the mountain. Even a 4S shop can’t fix them; there’s nothing I can do…”

Guo Dachao scratched his head helplessly.

“Not those wrecks, regular family cars don’t matter. Can you work on excavators?”

Zhang Su asked hopefully, never forgetting the two big machines in Niuquanzi Town.

“Excavators? I see, you mean those two machines in Niuquanzi Town today, right? I took a look; I can’t say they’re completely unrepairable, but they’ll need tools and time. I can give it a try.”

Today was Guo Dachao’s first time going with Zhang Su to Niuquanzi Town.

Zhang Su slapped Guo Dachao on the shoulder and said, “We’ve got plenty of tools. This is Master Jia Shiqin; he used to be an electrician, so he can lend you a hand. Also, Old Tan has some knowledge of mechanical repair. You all should take a look tomorrow!”

“If we could get an excavator to dig a three- to five-meter trench in the field, zombies would just jump right in. We’d be sitting pretty, hahahaha.”

Zhao Dezhu clapped his hands repeatedly.

“Everyone, it’s snowing!”

Suddenly, Yang Wenjie pushed the door open and entered the dining room from the monitoring room, pointing at the sky with a hint of delight on her face.

“Snowing?”

“Let’s go and see!”

The group moved to the courtyard. The sky was dark, but under the lights, they could see flakes floating down sparsely. The snow was so light that it would vanish as soon as it hit the ground.

Zheng Xinyu reached out to catch a snowflake, but it melted before she could even feel the cold.

“Everyone seems so happy today, and we happen to have this unusual snowy weather. Mr. Zhang, why don’t we establish a new calendar?”

Yuwen suggested with a smile.

“Huh?”

Zhang Su was thrown off by Yuwen’s words—calendar? haircut? what…

“Calendar, the solar calendar, lunar calendar, it’s about renewal—ending the old and starting anew. The old era drowned in disaster, the new era reborn in darkness.”

Yuwen spoke with great fervor.

However, the others seemed indifferent to the idea.

A calendar is too grand—it wasn’t even a decision a country could make back in the day!

“Uncle, can we really decide something like this ourselves? Isn’t it unnecessary?”

Zhao Dezhu was the only person in the camp who called Yuwen “Uncle.”

“You don’t understand!” Yuwen waved dismissively, too bored to explain to the dull son-in-law, but he turned to Zhang Su, saying, “Naming carries a belief and has great influence—Mr. Zhang, think about it?”

Zhang Su wasn’t particularly interested either, as the previous calendars were already sufficiently detailed. Changing them seemed odd, but as Yuwen mentioned, the old era’s remnants would eventually fade away, replaced by new ones.

Even if human civilization flourished on the planet again someday, it would no longer be that former civilization. As for whether other survivors would embrace it, there’s no need to worry for now—at least internal acceptance matters.

Perhaps someone had already started a new era after the disaster; who knows?

“Today is…” Zhang Su glanced at his wristwatch.

“Today is December 7th on the Gregorian calendar. What a coincidence, today is ‘Heavy Snow’… October 25th on the traditional calendar. If we are to replace, then today would be the last day of the Gregorian calendar, and from tomorrow, we’ll begin the new ‘calendar era.’ Our traditional calendar remains unchanged!”

Earlier, people didn’t think much of it, but when Zhang Su mentioned “today is the last day of the Gregorian calendar,” everyone’s expressions shifted, becoming serious. This matter didn’t seem so absurd after all; it even had a hint of sacredness?

That was the feeling in many people’s hearts.

“Mr. Zhang, please name the new calendar!”

Yuwen raised his hand solemnly.

“Name it…”

Zhang Su lifted his head to gaze at the sky, which was bright to him, took a deep breath, and said, “Let’s call it the Bright Calendar!”