Apocalypse: the Most Ruthless Person

“Bright Calendar, finding brightness in the dark, Bright Calendar, great!”

Yuwen nodded emphatically, leading the applause.

Everyone joined in, and there was a growing, indescribable feeling in their hearts, an addition of something they didn’t have before.

“Brother Su, if tomorrow is the first day of the first month of the first year of the Bright Calendar, shouldn’t we celebrate? It’s like a new year!”

Lu Yubo suggested happily.

Zhang Su nodded: “Since we’ve decided, it must be ceremonial. If the snow gets heavier, we won’t go out tomorrow, and everyone will prepare a grand new year feast together. If there’s no impact, we should still go out for our tasks. Cooking will be left to the camp people!”

“Brother Su, should we invite the United Village people to join us?”

Wang Xin asked.

“Yeah, Brother Su, such a grand event, shouldn’t we inform United Village? They’re like our affiliate village now!”

Lu Yubo felt quite thrilled after visiting United Village today, having not experienced being revered since the disaster erupted, today he felt it again.

Zhang Su waved his hand: “No need, with the old and new village heads of United Village transitioning, Wang Longzhong has a lot on his plate. We’ll notify them later on, tomorrow we’ll just enjoy among ourselves! That’s it, everyone, rest up.”

The group dispersed, with much of the discussion focused on the new calendar, which was quite novel to everyone.

Lu Yubo stood in the corner, watching Pei Lan and Chen Hanzhou walking closely together, pursed his lips, and was about to turn and leave, planning to take a walk around the mountain gate when a voice stopped him.

“Brother Lu Yubo.”

“Hmm?”

Lu Yubo looked back to see Mo Qianlan standing under the light, her plain cotton jacket simple, but her youthful aura couldn’t be hidden despite her bare face.

“Lanlan, what’s up?”

“Do you have time?” Mo Qianlan asked with a cheerful smile.

Lu Yubo might be slow to react to many things, but when it came to romance, he was sharp. Hearing Mo Qianlan’s words, he knew what she meant, his heart skipped a beat, and his eyes darted around, searching for Tan Huajun.

He saw that she had already left with Zhang Ya and Zhong Xiaoshan, showing no concern for Mo Qianlan’s whereabouts, but could she really be indifferent?

Lu Yubo speculated that Tan Huajun already knew about Mo Qianlan coming to find him!

“I have time, Lanlan. Want to go for a walk?”

When a girl takes the initiative, if there’s mutual interest, there’s no reason to refuse — taking the initiative is a better choice.

“Sure, let’s go for a walk. I heard you used to work at a KTV? Whose songs do you like to listen to?”

“Me? There’s so many…”

Lu Yubo suddenly felt capable again, and as he walked out with Mo Qianlan, he subconsciously wanted to hold her hand, but after hesitating twice, he still didn’t, just casually placed his hand on her shoulder.

“Stop watching, they’re all gone!”

Zhang Su puffed out smoke, tossing a cigarette to Pang Dakun, who sat in the corner looking dejected.

“Uncle, how am I not better than Brother Bo? Why doesn’t Lanlan like me?”

Pang Dakun muttered in frustration.

Zhang Su sat next to Pang Dakun, placing a hand on his shoulder: “Kid, matters of love are about feelings, can’t be simplified to who’s better or not, and your status in pursuing Lanlan makes it a bit odd for her, you know?”

Pang Dakun is Tan Huajun’s godson, and Mo Qianlan’s godbrother, such a relationship is pretty good as long as it doesn’t concern romance.

“But I just think Lanlan is great, I like her.”

Pang Dakun took a deep drag on his cigarette.

Zhang Su rubbed Pang Dakun’s buzz cut, saying, “Have you been bored recovering at the camp, idly thinking about all sorts of things? Tomorrow come out with me for a change, don’t keep fixating on who you like. Next time, try liking someone who likes you, and I assure you, it’s a surefire win!”

“Does anyone like me?”

Pang Dakun perked up immediately, his eyes brightening somewhat.

“Isn’t it just that we’ve incorporated United Village? Plenty of young girls and wives there, frequently interacting, seeing how smart and capable you are, surely someone will like you!”

Zhang Su understood Pang Dakun. At sixteen or seventeen, his male hormones were surging, and once the pressure of survival was gone, he started thinking about romance; it was quite normal.

“Got it, Uncle. I’m going to watch Mom and the others play cards. Remember what you just said, if we can go out tomorrow, take me with you!”

Pang Dakun’s mood was quick to come and quick to go, and after a little consolation, he was fine.

“Hey, Brother Su, you’ve made arrangements for everyone else. Are you not gonna do something for your loyal sidekick here?”

Seeing Pang Dakun leave, Wu Lue stood up from the corner and shrugged helplessly.

Zhang Su smiled at the dry-looking Wu Lue and said, “Serves you right, who told you to try to take advantage of others from the start? Now no one wants to play with you!”

Ever since the issue with the cameras, Wu Lue had been strongly condemned by all the women collectively. Now, except for Tan Huajun, all the women in the camp were pretty cold towards Wu Lue. However, this emotion was limited to private matters; they still maintained basic communication for protection efforts.

“I have already repented and started anew, Brother Su, give me some advice.” Wu Lue said, grinning.

“Luezi, in the apocalypse, women aren’t lacking; men are the scarce species. What you need to do is strengthen yourself, and whatever you deserve will surely come!” Zhang Su patted Wu Lue on the shoulder.

Wu Lue scratched his head, somewhat skeptical, and said, “That’s not right, Brother Su. Look at our camp; there are more men than women. How can men be the scarce species?”

“This is just the beginning, not even three months in yet. Wait until half a year later, then you’ll see! Women generally have weaker combat abilities; even within survivor organizations, most are involved in logistics work. We men have to work harder, search for resources, and fight zombies. Think about it, one’s staying in the camp, one’s constantly going out; which is more dangerous?”

Zhang Su shrugged with a peculiar expression. He didn’t mind shouldering the man’s responsibilities because he also enjoyed the well-deserved benefits that came after shouldering responsibilities.

After hearing Zhang Su’s words, Wu Lue nodded thoughtfully and said, “So you’re saying, if we just hold out, it’s a victory?”

“Yes, it’s just like fighting wars in the past. If you want to be a general, at least you can’t die on the battlefield. As long as you make it back home alive, wealth and beauties will be yours. So train hard, stay sharp during tasks, don’t screw up, or you’ll lose everything!”

“Got it, Brother Su, don’t worry, I’m terrifyingly strong now!”

“Get lost…”

Zhang Su smacked Wu Lue on the head just like he used to do at the convenience store, and went back to his room to rest.

The next morning, in the warm room, Zheng Xinyu was the first to get up. She walked to the window, lifted the curtain, and puffed up her cheeks. She couldn’t see even a bit of snow on the ground. If they hadn’t witnessed the snowfall themselves last night, they wouldn’t even know it happened!

She hoped for the snow to block the mountains, so Zhang Su wouldn’t have to go out to collect materials and could hold a peaceful New Year’s banquet in the camp. If the snow continued, the safe zone wouldn’t worry about food supplies, and the Cyan Dragon Corps wouldn’t be able to come over to collect debts in the snow, granting temporary peace.

The snow would certainly impact zombie movements, maybe allowing them to pass this winter peacefully.

Overall, continuous snowfall would be great. Unfortunately, it stopped, leaving no traces…

However, the lack of traces was only apparent to people. Some changes were subtly happening, like with zombies!

“Happy New Year!”

Since they had set a new calendar, everyone in the camp naturally followed it; the first thing they said upon seeing each other was a New Year’s greeting.

If outsiders saw this, they’d find it absurd, but to the people on Celestial Horse Island, it didn’t feel that way. Whether it’s cutting ties with the past to embrace the future or seeking redemption from the old era, the point is, the chapter has turned, and everyone is creating a new era together—belonging to the era of brightness!

“What kind of lousy snow is this? It’s like it never snowed. Let’s keep working!”

After finishing breakfast in the dining room, Zhang Su said to everyone, “Old Tan, Master Jia, Guo Dachao, Pang Dakun, Zhao Dezhu, Zhang Ya, Wang Xin, get ready; we leave in ten minutes.”

Celebrating the New Year is certainly important, but given the current living situation, they’re still far from a leisurely life. Even on New Year’s Day, they have to go out and work.

“Hey!”

Zheng Xinyu stood behind Zhang Su, hands on hips, and said, “You’ve taken both chefs with you; how are we supposed to make the New Year’s feast?”

“That’s right, Brother Su. With Old Tan and Master Jia gone, who will cook…”

“At least leave one!”

Everyone in the camp knew Tan Huajun and Jia Shiqin were great cooks. While not exactly top-notch chef level, in terms of home-cooked meals, they were the best. After all, several people couldn’t even make decent fried rice…

“Hey, um, I don’t have any objections to that!”

Zhao Dezhu was about to speak up for himself since he was also good at cooking, but then he thought it through. He finally had the chance to go out and take a stroll; it’d be quite depressing to be left behind to cook, so he hurriedly shut his mouth.

“Let’s do something different today! Let’s have hotpot! Didn’t we bring back plenty of meat and veggies from Xiang Village? If we don’t eat it soon, it’ll go bad. Let’s get it all in there, set up three tables, big hotpot, hahaha!”

Eating hotpot on a cold day is pure enjoyment, especially when the camp has all kinds of ingredients ready. They even got some hotpot soup base from Niuquanzi Town. It’s a simple yet grand feast!