Apocalypse: the Most Ruthless Person

“Master, we’re fleeing from the city, there’s really nothing on the car. If you don’t believe me, take a look. If there is anything, I’ll give it to you!”

A tall, strong man explained with a frown, his body language extremely expressive, gesturing frantically at the car, showing obvious anxiety in his words and expression.

“No, no, our village’s rules are that no one can pass without supplies. Take another route, or you could go over the riverbed. According to the rules, we only guard the bridge and don’t care about the river!”

The bridge guard shook his head firmly, adhering to his principles.

“I’m traveling with a person with a leg disability, it’s very hard to go over the riverbed. Please, make an exception, I really don’t want to cause trouble!”

The tall, strong man’s eyes narrowed as he touched his waist, but before he could pull out his gun, the other party had already pointed two firearms at him.

“I advise you not to think about causing trouble. We here at West Camp Village charge a toll and we’re not afraid of troublemakers!”

The bridge guard spoke seriously, holding the firearm steadily at the tall, strong man.

“Even if there were twenty of you, we still wouldn’t be afraid. I suggest you stay calm!” another person chimed in.

“Damn it…”

The tall, strong man looked troubled, glancing back as if very worried about being pursued from behind. Just as he was about to get in the car and leave, he suddenly saw several figures approaching from the distance, two of whom left him stunned.

“You, you’re… you guys…”

The tall, strong man pointed at Zhang Su and Zheng Xinyu, who were across the barrier. He was at a loss for words, his face full of disbelief.

“This person…”

Zhang Su also frowned at the tall, strong man across from him, finding him a bit familiar, though his face was scarred with a slanting scar across the nose, dramatically changing his appearance, leaving Zhang Su unable to recall who he was at that moment.

Ma Changshou, seeing this scene, quickly gestured for his men to put away their guns. There was no telling if the man on the other side was an old acquaintance of Boss Zhang—at this critical moment, it was better to avoid unnecessary trouble. The toll wasn’t much, but starting a feud with Zhang Su’s group over small gains was not worth it…

“Brother Su, he is, he is… damn, he’s the gym teacher!”

Zheng Xinyu’s eyes widened as she pointed forward with a baseball bat.

“Duan Wuhu?”

Zhang Su blurted out, and instantly, a flood of memories surged in.

The tall figure appearing during the zombie battle at the unit door, beckoning him to take a last look at the house consumed by flames from the window, and taking out instant noodles to ease tension with Qin Ya…

Those scenes seemed like just yesterday, but now they felt so far away.

“801!”

The tall, strong man was indeed Duan Wuhu, who had once lived in the same unit as Zhang Su. After all this time, he’d forgotten Zhang Su and Zheng Xinyu’s names, only remembering that this couple lived in 801!

Like Zhang Su, memories flooded Duan Wuhu’s mind at the moment.

“You’re the two from 801!”

Duan Wuhu excitedly pointed at Zhang Su and Zheng Xinyu.

“Quickly, let these gentlemen through!”

Ma Changshou was very agile, and seeing that Zhang Su knew Duan Wuhu, he immediately instructed his men to move the barrier.

“Wait a moment!”

However, Zhang Su waved his hand, stopping the villagers who were working, and looked at Duan Wuhu with a complicated expression: “Your surname is Duan, right? The gym teacher from Seventh Middle School?”

“Yes, it’s me. Sorry, brother, I forgot your name…”

Duan Wuhu, looking a bit embarrassed, shook his hand.

Over two months had passed, and upon meeting again, Zhang Su and Zheng Xinyu’s appearances hadn’t changed much; they were a bit unkempt, looking slightly weathered, with rougher skin, while Duan Wuhu seemed to have changed completely.

This left Zhang Su sighing, harboring doubts about Duan Wuhu’s experiences, and he didn’t immediately have the barrier removed.

“Teacher Duan, how many of you are there? Where did you come from?”

Zhang Su cautiously asked.

Duan Wuhu didn’t mind Zhang Su’s caution. After surviving in this post-apocalyptic world for so long, he understood many things and replied, “Brother, there are just two of us. Sigh…a lot has happened. I can tell you slowly, but can I pass now? Let’s find a place and talk slowly!”

“I can hand over all my weapons to you to ensure I pose no threat to you.”

While speaking, Duan Wuhu pulled out a handgun from his waist and tossed it toward the barrier to dispel their concerns.

Zhang Su reached out and caught it, his gaze still fixed on Duan Wuhu, as there’s always a chance the other might pull out another gun while throwing one.

Zheng Xinyu, having hung around Zhang Su, had also become more suspicious, inserting a baseball bat into her backpack, and was holding a gun aimed at Duan Wuhu…

“Brother, this lady… I just have one gun, nothing else, damn, you guys have rifles, that’s amazing!”

Duan Wuhu shook his hands, patting himself all over to show he really didn’t have anything hidden.

Click.

With a soft sound, Zhang Su removed the handgun magazine, checked that it had bullets, then reinserted it. He said, “Type 64, this is a police handgun. Where did you get it? Qin Ya found it for you?”

“Qin Ya…”

It was as if the mention of this name had some magical power, making Duan Wuhu fall into deep thought, murmuring, “No, it wasn’t Officer Qin…”

After speaking, Duan Wuhu seemed to drift into memories, lowering his head without saying another word.

“Boss Zhang, you see…”

Seeing the silence, Ma Changshou pointed to the barricade in front, indicating whether to move it.

Zhang Su saw Duan Wuhu’s despondent appearance and nodded, saying, “Move it aside!”

“Thank you, thank you, brother. What’s your last name again, and this lady with the gun…”

Duan Wuhu’s disappointment subsided a bit when he saw the barricade being gradually moved aside to let them cross the bridge.

“Zhang, Zhang Su. You tell them…”

Zhang Su nudged Zheng Xinyu with his elbow.

“My name is Zheng Xinyu, Xinyu with ‘yu’ from ‘female’. Uncle, if you want to connect with people, at least remember their names!”

Zheng Xinyu put away her alert stance, but still held the rifle against her chest, clearly not to be messed with.

“Right, right, Brother Zhang, Miss Zheng, I remember now, it’s all coming back… Ah, these days, don’t even bring it up.”

Recalling scenes from back at Sheng Qin Home, and comparing them to recent times, Duan Wuhu couldn’t help but get teary-eyed.

Seeing familiar yet unfamiliar faces, Zhang Su felt touched. Once the barricade had opened a path, he said, “My car is parked at the entrance of the village ahead, a motorhome. Drive over there and we’ll chat!”

“Sure, okay!”

Duan Wuhu readily agreed and got into the car, quickly stepping on the gas pedal, slowly driving over the bridge.

As the car passed by Zhang Su and the others, through the dark tinted car windows, he saw someone else in the back seat. When he looked towards that person, the person was also looking at him. Due to the car’s tint, it was hard to discern their features.

“Hold on!”

Zhang Su called out to stop Duan Wuhu from driving further.

“What’s up, Brother Zhang?”

Duan Wuhu responded in surprise.

“Is that person in the car your brother?”

Zhang Su didn’t remember Duan Wuhu well but clearly remembered Duan Sihai, who’d lured the zombies by driving a train in the underground parking garage.

If not for Duan Sihai, Zhang Su and his group would have left Sheng Qin Home two days earlier and never met the milkman Wang Guangjun.

“No…”

Duan Wuhu was quite despondent, shaking his head, “Not Sihai, just a friend. Later, Brother Zhang, I’ll explain in detail.”

Zhang Su noticed Duan Wuhu giving him a barely noticeable wink, guessing he was concerned about too many people overhearing, and nodded, gesturing for him to continue driving.

He wasn’t worried about the other party driving off in a hurry because he could discern something from his eyes.

After the car had driven a while, Ma Changshou walked up to Zhang Su, “Boss Zhang, you sure have connections all over, friends everywhere, haha.”

“Are you blaming me for delaying your business?”

Zhang Su joked as he walked forward.

“How could I! Old Ma’s not that petty.”

“I believe you!” Zhang Su nodded with a mildly amused expression.

Earlier, Zhao Dezhu and Guo Dachao, seeing a car approaching, had already prepared for vigilance. As Zhang Su got closer, they inquired with their eyes.

“Zhuzi, Dachao, go with Village Chief Ma to grab some things, and remember to choose a couple of decent tricycles, nothing too shabby!”

“Oh, got it!”

“Understood!”

The two glanced at the tall, strong man stepping down from the van, saying nothing more, holding their guns as they followed Ma Changshou towards the village, leaving the leader to handle his business while they managed theirs.

“Teacher Duan, isn’t your friend in the car getting out?”

Zhang Su knocked on the car window.

“Weijun, say hi, Brother Zhang’s an old friend; we used to live in the same community block!”

Duan Wuhu leaned into the car and called out.

The somewhat deformed car window squeaked open, revealing the face of a scholarly-looking man, his greasy long hair draping over his shoulders. He wore glasses, but the left temple was broken and wrapped with several rounds of tape.

Despite this, he still maintained a scholarly appearance with a quiet demeanor.

“Hello, Mr. Zhang, I’m Fu Weijun. My legs are paralyzed, so I won’t be getting out of the car, please understand.”

Zhang Su saw Fu Weijun shake his legs naturally, unable to support his weight, clearly indicating lower body paralysis.

“Hello, Mr. Fu. Please rest well, I’ll go chat with Teacher Duan in the car.”

“Go ahead.”

Fu Weijun nodded with a smile.