Apocalypse: the Most Ruthless Person

After listening to Qi Xiaoshuai, Brother Jie and the others asked a few more questions, and since all answers were fluent, they didn’t doubt him further.

“You have quite a few people in your camp, so why did you come out alone? Earlier, I saw you observing the zombies, what’s the point?”

Brother Jie asked thoughtfully.

He remembered very clearly that earlier they had secretly watched Qi Xiaoshuai from afar for quite a while, seeing him wandering outside a park specially made for large vehicles. They realized only after a while that he was seriously counting zombies.

This abnormality must mean something’s off; he didn’t believe anyone would be so weirdly idle in the apocalypse.

“Looking for large vehicles, oil, looking for oil.”

In desperation, Qi Xiaoshuai came up with a reason that’s hard to refute.

Brother Jie recalled the park did seem to have four or five large vehicles parked, so searching for oil made sense, yet he still thought the careful look was somewhat strange and planned to ask more later.

“Kid, how much do you think your life is worth in supplies? I noticed your rifle earlier was pretty good. Trading you for five rifles, plus five hundred pounds of food, your camp wouldn’t mind, right?”

Brother Jie had started considering the ransom price.

“No, no way… We, our camp, have only three guns altogether. The food, food isn’t a problem.”

This was Qi Xiaoshuai’s answer after his brain had spun rapidly. Three guns indicated low combat power, yet he was allowed to bring one, meaning he held a considerable position in camp worth buying back, and he generously implied food was no issue!

When being chased and blocked, his heart was furious, but in the crucial moment between life and death, the anger vanished, leaving only calmness. The closer to success, the easier it is to fail at the last moment; hatred was suppressed, reason overcame impulse.

Upon hearing the intermittent reply, Brother Jie and the others all showed satisfied smiles.

“If we could manage to get eight hundred pounds of food, maybe some medicines too, my car crash would be worth it!”

“Haha, who would’ve thought coming to the Cyan Dragon Corps for a deal could bring such a bargain.” Brother Jie waved to a companion, saying, “Come, tie him up, put him comfortably in the car, don’t let him get bounced to death. He’s now our rifle and food, got it?”

“Alright, Brother Jie, no worries, it’ll be all good.”

“Um… speaking of which, Brother Jie, are we heading to the Cyan Dragon Corps first or Grass Slope Town?”

As Brother Jie walked towards the Camry, he thought slightly conflicted upon hearing his subordinate’s question and said, “Since we need to pass the Corps entrance, let’s go to the Corps first. They have many tricks, who knows if the traders work in the afternoon; it would suck to waste a trip.”

“Haha, it’s never a waste of a trip, as long as we have him!”

“This bastard’s worth quite some bucks, get up now, you!”

“Are you a moron, he called us grandpas, you curse him as a bastard, so what does that make us?”

“Damn, so many useless talks, get to work quickly!”

The two continued their bickering as they tied Xiaoshuai’s hands and helped him stand up.

Supported by the two, Qi Xiaoshuai had no mood to respond to their insults; all his thoughts focused on the fact they were heading to Cyan Dragon Corps first!

He breathed a large sigh of relief inside, believing his companions were still in the camp and hadn’t left, lowering his head with blood-mixed saliva dripping down his mouth, suppressing the urge to let his lips curl upwards.

Soon, the few returned to the vehicle, tying Qi Xiaoshuai to the seat to avoid him swaying left or right and bumping inside the car since he looked fragile from torment!

Before leaving, the group didn’t forget to search through Qi Xiaoshuai’s van, but aside from the rifle, they only found a thermos flask with hot water and some packs of squid frozen into icy chunks…

Inside the camp, Zhang Su opened the cockpit door and jumped to the ground, patting the steel beast with satisfaction, feeling the charm of the land king for the first time. Unfortunately, he couldn’t drive freely; running out of oil halfway towards Celestial Horse Island would be ridiculous, yet there will be opportunities to drive on the way back anyway.

“Brother Su, how does it feel?”

Lu Yubo and the group crowded around Zhang Su, asking with envy, each eager to try.

Bang, bang.

Zhang Su patted the hard armor, smiling, “Alone above all!”

“Master Zhang, you drove so smooth just now! By the way… could you ask, what’s up with that tank? Are you guys not using it?”

Even Meng Changwei and others approached, pointing at the tank on the other side.

Hearing him speak, Zhang Su knew what he was thinking, smacking his lips as he said, “That tank has lost its engine, basically serving as a fixed artillery. Why, do you have plans with it?”

“Ah…”

Meng Changwei felt greatly disappointed after hearing Zhang Su’s words.

Given the current situation, the biggest use of tanks is not artillery, but crushing. Not having ammunition isn’t scary, but the absence of an engine is terrible!

The other Bridge Town folks felt dumbfounded by the news, knowing a broken engine could be repaired but not completely absent; it’s hard to handle…

Zhang Su shrugged, saying, “Interested? Shall I trade that tank to you guys?”

“No way, no way… fifty tons of thing, with no engine, how could I transport it? No way!”

Meng Changwei was greatly disillusioned, thinking there was just some minor issue with the tank that could be fixed, only to realize it was rotten to the core, totally unplayable.

“Then Master Zhang, we’re ready to leave, hope to meet again!”

Disheartened by the tank ordeal, Meng Changwei intended to stop dawdling in the camp.

“That’s what you said, until we meet again, who knows, maybe I’ll visit you someday, no shooing me away then!”

Zhang Su waved with a smile.

“Even if I didn’t welcome you for eating and drinking, I can’t show that on my face, haha, we’re off.”

After speaking, Meng Changwei waved, and the Bridge Town folks gradually boarded the vehicles, heading towards the camp’s south entrance in a convoy.

Watching the convoy drift away, Zhang Su turned around and asked, “Where’s Dachao?”

“Over there, what’s up?”

Lu Yubo pointed towards the warehouse direction, catching sight of Guo Dachao and Duan Wuhu carrying boxes out together.

Zhang Su strode over, waving to Guo Dachao, saying, “Dachao, come over here.”

“What’s up, Brother Su?”

Guo Dachao ran in front of Zhang Su, sniffing his nose with a face uncovered by a scarf, red from the cold.

“That tank has no engine, from your professional standpoint, which parts of the tank might be most worn? Let’s take them apart and bring them with us, leaving them here would be such a waste!”

Zhang Su wasn’t willing to let a beast go to waste and intended to make it useful.

“Dismantling parts?”

Guo Dachao scratched his head with gloved fingers, frowning as he said, “Brother Su, although the tank lost its engine, didn’t it fire shells the other night? So the other circuits shouldn’t have problems, we could give it an engine, maybe it could run!”

“Would that work?”

Zhang Su was startled, not expecting the imaginative idea; tank engines are highly specialized, having to move fifty tons is beyond ordinary engines!

“It should work, just less stable. But pulling and tugging back to camp shouldn’t be an issue, the problem is… finding an engine isn’t easy; truck diesel engines would be ideal, but they’re heavy, each over a ton, lifting them isn’t simple!”

Zhang Su couldn’t fix cars but had seen cars being repaired; without lifting equipment, removing and installing an engine is extremely tough, so he shook his head saying, “It’s conceivable, yet hard to manage right now, let’s write it down and study when we’re free.”

“Okay, once we find lifting equipment, trucks should be easy to find, leave the rest to me!”

Guo Dachao finished speaking and turned to head towards the warehouse, confidence in his craft.

“Plenty to do, but damn it’s cold…”

If saving was possible, Zhang Su wouldn’t abandon the tank, but there’s much to tackle at the moment and he’s overwhelmed.

The camp suddenly expanded with dozens of people needing proper management and allocation, plus the Venom Zombie issue also kept him vigilant; he’d sooner trade a tank for a Venom Zombie!

Thinking about the Venom Zombie, Zhang Su looked around, still not spotting Qi Xiaoshuai, muttering, “He’s been gone ages, has he discovered something?”

This thought led him to grab a walkie-talkie, saying, “Xiaoshuai, Xiaoshuai, respond!”

After a pause, there was no reply.

Right now, Qi Xiaoshuai was tied up in the pickup’s backseat, while his walkie-talkie had dropped onto the wasteland when the van crashed…