Apocalypse: the Most Ruthless Person

“Didn’t expect Celestial Horse Island to gather such ruthless survivors…”

The vehicle slowly moved forward. Gong Chengming looked back at the mountain and expressed his feelings.

Everyone in the truck fell into silence. They belonged to the elite team of the Survivor Alliance, but at the moment, they could not speak ill or sarcastic words. The fierce battle had just occurred not long ago, and they heard the violent explosion clearly. Coupled with so many bodies, they could indirectly determine the capability of the survivor team on Celestial Horse Island.

Gong Chengming turned back, changed the topic, and said with a smile, “But the kid working just now seemed a bit naive, not very clever.”

“Director, is there something special about the cigarette you gave him?”

A team member asked with curiosity.

Gong Chengming gave a mysterious smile, shook his head, “There’s nothing special about the cigarette itself, but the person just now has a good relationship with their leader. By getting closer to an influential but naive guy, if there’s a chance to recruit them, it could serve as a breakthrough.”

The cigarettes themselves weren’t an issue, but the act of giving them carried meaning. Unfortunately, Lu Yubo was completely unaware of it. If Gong Chengming knew his goodwill would be misunderstood, he would probably be quite frustrated.

“Does the director intend to bring them into the alliance?”

Another member asked in astonishment.

The others in the vehicle all wore solemn expressions.

Survival competition in the apocalypse was brutal. Although they hadn’t confronted people from Celestial Horse Island, they didn’t dare underestimate them. Regardless of whether they would join the alliance, if such a group of wolves and tigers truly entered the organization, where would their elite team stand?

“It’s not the right time yet, let’s head back first!”

Gong Chengming instructed the driver to turn left and return to Qin City.

The driver member asked in confusion, “Aren’t we going to chase Dr. Fu and the others?”

“If the roads are clear, they might already have escaped to Cheng City by now. Let’s leave it at that!”

When you run into a bunch of survivors outside, they’re as ferocious as expected. Who knows what kind of enemies we’ll encounter if we keep pursuing them? Outside is definitely not like the base camp in Qin City District, it’s best to return quickly!

Since the top core leadership had spoken, the other members also sighed in relief, as they didn’t need to face the leader directly.

In the vehicle carrying Zhang Xin, the four of them followed the vehicle in front heading to Qin City. The few exchanged glances, all letting out a heavy sigh of relief.

“Finally, it’s over…”

Zhang Xin leaned back weakly and rolled his eyes. This trip had put him under enormous psychological pressure, constantly ready to act, but not against Zhang Su, instead against the team that Gong Chengming brought!

After returning to the alliance last time, he had pondered a lot. Even though life in the Survivor Alliance was comfortable, full of sensual pleasures and plenty to eat and drink, he was in a low status, just a cannon fodder leader, feeling like walking on thin ice, which was very uncomfortable.

If there was a real opportunity, he planned to join Zhang Su’s ranks, which might be duller but offered more security to life.

“Captain Zhang, do you think when we go back, the leader won’t still trouble us?”

“Are you stupid? Gong Director is covering this trip. What does it have to do with us?”

Without waiting for Zhang Xin to answer, someone immediately explained on his behalf.

“When we go back, our team will definitely need to reorganize. Do you have friends in other teams or in logistics departments? Make connections quickly, strive to pull them into our team, and as long as you listen to me, I’ll let you live comfortably in the future!”

Zhang Xin didn’t mention the task but rather painted a rosy picture for his subordinates.

On Celestial Horse Island, Zhang Su was unaware of the many thoughts of Gong Chengming and Zhang Xin. All he needed to do was send the Survivor Alliance away. Holding a submachine gun, he walked toward the small yard where prisoners were detained and encountered Zhao Xue hurrying along the way.

“Brother Su…” Zhao Xue, upon seeing Zhang Su, walked up and pointed at a house in the distance, “Su Xiaoya over there seems a bit agitated, perhaps quite frightened. Do you want to talk to her?”

Su Xiaoya had been confined in a room, but she could see the fighting in the parking lot through the window. Precisely because of this, her little face turned pale with fright. People fell like wheat being cut, and the ferocious 003 displayed his might by slicing humans with a knife!

She had never seen such scenes, cowering in the dark room, trembling with fear, fearing she’d be the next to be eliminated. Her lips were bitten, filled with immense regret for agreeing to the village chief’s request to be a mole.

Zhang Su reached out to wipe the blood stains from Zhao Xue’s lips and said, “Why are you still running around? Internal injuries need rest too!”

The intimate gesture made Zhao Xue tilt her head away timidly and smile awkwardly, “It’s not that serious. I see there are a lot of things going on, so I’m helping out.”

Zhang Su looked towards the guest room where Su Xiaoya was detained and said, “There’s nothing much to discuss with that little girl. If we’re going to talk, it’s with Kuanzhuang’s boss. Just like that, I’m going to find out some information from the prisoners. You go rest quickly because wounded people should behave like wounded people.”

“Mmm… Okay.”

Zhao Xue tilted her head, didn’t say much more, and watched Zhang Su’s leaving figure with a slight smile at the corner of her mouth.

Zhang Su arrived at the small yard where the prisoners were detained and saw Chen Hanzhou standing guard outside the door.

“Hmm? Is it okay like this?”

Zhang Su walked up to Chen Hanzhou, pointing at his belly in surprise.

A closer look amidst the chaos reveals a bullet hole in Chen Hanzhou’s shirt over his abdomen. Clearly, he was shot before, but now he’s bouncing around energetically. His special ability must have taken effect!

Chen Hanzhou touched his belly, having been unlucky enough to get shot near the navel, right next to his petrifying skin on the chest…

He pulled off the fisherman’s hat made with petrifying skin from his head, his expression strange but excited: “It hurts, Brother Su, it hurts a lot, but the speed of healing is incredible, almost like a T-1000!”

Zhang Su touched his nose; he wasn’t as thrilled as Chen Hanzhou. Quickly healing might bring some negative side effects, he thought.

He asked concernedly, “Any unusual feelings?”

“Just feeling hot overall, the wound feels even hotter, but nothing else, doesn’t affect anything, it’s like free heating, hehe, but it will pass soon.” Chen Hanzhou shared his feelings truthfully with Zhang Su.

Zhang Su nodded, recalling that Chen Hanzhou had a high fever after his arm was severed before awakening; perhaps this was how zombie robots “worked” inside the human body.

He patted Chen Hanzhou’s shoulder, saying, “This ability is pretty awesome, but you should be cautious and avoid injuries if possible. We don’t know about any aftereffects, by the way, your hat is damn ugly…”

After saying that, Zhang Su pushed the door open and entered the house.

Three captives were stripped down to their underwear, bound in various ways and tossed in the corner, seemingly unable to escape even with wings!

Seeing Zhang Su enter with a submachine gun in hand, the three people’s eyes were filled with terror. With their mouths sealed by tape, they could only make muted sounds, twisting bodies into the corner looking utterly pitiful.

“Stop whining, I’m here to ask questions, who wants to answer?”

“Mmm mmm mmm.”

“Mmm mmm!”

“Ah ah mmm…”

All three nodded frantically, eager to get up, guessing this was a chance of survival they desperately sought to seize.

Zhang Su looked at the youngest guy, approached him and swiftly ripped the tape from his mouth, saying, “You answer!”

“Mmm… hurt, hurt, okay, I’ll answer, surely answer well, hoping for leniency.”

As the tape was torn away from the young man’s mouth, it felt as if he lost fur, causing him to grimace with pain, evident by the redness left behind where the tape had stuck…

“Mmm mmm.”

The other two’s eyes turned red, feeling gripped by anxiety as their only chance was taken away, making noise and crying out while desperately trying to plead.

“Enough with the noise, keep that up and I’ll kill you.”

Zhang Su was indifferent to their desperation.

No need for violence, the two remembered the decisiveness of the man earlier in front of them when taking lives, quickly shut their mouths, sitting against the wall without moving.

“What’s your name?” Zhang Su asked the young man.

“Hello, big brother, I’m Xin Qi, Xin like in ’hard work’, Qi like in ’strange’.”

The young man didn’t appear very old, at most twenty-four or five, sporting a short haircut that looked as if a dog had had a go at it, kneeling quietly, he seemed very honest.

“This name is rather strange…” Zhang Su muttered, then continued, “Now, tell me properly about your corps’ situation. If he says anything wrong, you two can speak up to supplement, got it?”

Zhang Su looked at the other two in the corner.

The two nodded vigorously, recognizing the opportunity, indicating understanding.

“B-big brother, I will definitely explain well, but… what do you want to know precisely?” Xin Qi asked cautiously.

“Start from your corps’ personnel configuration,” Zhang Su sat aside, leisurely watching Xin Qi.

Xin Qi licked his dry lips, pondering: “Uh, let me think… Internally, the corps is broadly divided into four departments: combat, logistics, operations, and science. Besides, there are some unaffiliated personnel temporarily managed by the operations department, comprising members who joined the corps but haven’t yet been assigned anywhere.”

Zhang Su nodded silently, the large survivor bases have established fairly comprehensive division systems, whereas his side still operates on basic division, efficiently flows with a small population, but would inevitably require a clearer system as the camp grows for personnel allocation.

“Let’s start with the combat department, by the way, how many people are in your corps altogether?”

“How many?” Xin Qi rolled his eyes pondering, glancing at his two companions, hesitatingly said, “Over two hundred? No, more, like three to four hundred, I’m not sure the exact number, but I know the combat department has ten squads, totaling a hundred people!”

Zhang Su understood, noting the Cyan Dragon Corps and the Survivor Alliance’s combat force structure was alike, divided by ten people per squad, which facilitates basic tactical coordination without demanding high command.

“From what your leader mentioned earlier, does each team serve different functions?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Xin Qi nodded: “Teams one and two are core elite teams with the best individual abilities and equipment, teams three to six form the backbone, while teams seven and eight are slightly weaker, typically handling resource scavenge and patrol tasks, and teams nine and ten are mainly reserve forces responsible for perimeter patrol and camp security.”