Apocalypse: the Most Ruthless Person

The mysterious woman’s lips, with their distinct outline, were tightly pressed together. It seemed she was aware her appearance would cause some impact on the opposite party, yet she showed no surprise, nor any turbulence in her eyes.

”Can you speak?”

Zhang Su closed the notebook, becoming fully alert as he conversed with the other party. After the apocalypse, this was the first person who, just by standing in front of him, gave him a sense of threat—and she was a woman!

The mysterious woman slowly shook her head, then extended her hand, signaling to return the notebook to her.

”Write down your situation clearly.”

Zhang Su tossed it lightly.

The mysterious woman deftly caught the notebook with an untroubled air, and then swiftly wrote a lot. This time she took some time and wrote quite a bit before tossing the notebook back.

The handwriting resembled that of a kindergartener, with oddly styled strokes and phonetics added in, expressing that her companion was seriously injured and resting nearby in a safe place, unable to move easily.

”Damn it, communicating with someone who can’t speak is such a damn hassle!”

Zhang Su was a bit impatient, but no sooner had he spoken than the other party began to speak.

She rattled off a whole lot, then swiftly nodded toward Zhang Su and Wu Lue.

Whoosh, a cold wind swept through, leaving Zhang Su and Wu Lue bewildered in the wind.

”This... How the hell did an island girl pop up out of nowhere?”

Zhang Su’s expression was intriguing. He wasn’t as much of a fan of learning from teachers as Wu Lue, but he had watched some anime, so he wasn’t unfamiliar with the Japanese language. Given her slow speech, he could naturally understand the language, and as for her intended message, he vaguely understood the last word, which seemed to be ”please”.

People in the car were also shocked, and Wang Xin couldn’t help but twitch his lips: ”Damn, it really is an Ishijima Oren here...”

”Luezi, aren’t you really keen on learning with teachers? Go, try communicating with her.”

Zhang Su gave Wu Lue a push.

”Brother Su, let’s not joke around...”

Wu Lue, with a peculiar expression, waved his hands continuously: ”What I learned was very basic, just a few phrases over and over, not sufficient for this... Right, right, I have a translation app on my phone. As long as she isn’t mute, it will work!”

Hurriedly, Wu Lue pulled out three phones from his bag, picked up one of them, and said: ”It has simultaneous translation, very convenient!”

”You kid, getting excited over every single Japanese female teacher!” Zhang Su watched Wu Lue happily open the software and, speechless, told the Japanese woman: ”I have a translation app here. Drop your weapons and come over to talk!”

Although the Japanese woman could understand Mandarin, she needed a brief moment to process, and adding Zhang Su’s request for her to disarm, she was conflicted. After some consideration, she obediently complied, gradually taking out the weapons hidden on her body and placing them on the ground.

”Brother Su, she has a gun!”

Wu Lue’s heart skipped a beat when he saw among the pile of random items next to the Japanese woman a handgun.

”It’s been several months into the apocalypse. Surviving till now and finding a gun isn’t surprising. Whether she has a second one is the key!” With that, Zhang Su addressed the Japanese woman who had approached: ”My friend suspects you still have weapons on you and needs to search you.”

”Come on, Brother Su, I don’t want to go...” Wu Lue was immediately anxious upon hearing this. Though he was interested in women, it was only that sort of teacher he was interested in, and the fierce appearance of this one was too terrifying.

The Japanese woman, as usual, processed Zhang Su’s words and, after understanding, frowned. She then pointed at the phone in Wu Lue’s hand, clearly applying for linguistic communication.

”See what she wants to say.”

Zhang Su gestured for Wu Lue to put the phone in front of her.

Quickly, the Japanese woman spoke a segment into the phone.

Wu Lue took the phone and looked at the screen with Zhang Su, unconsciously murmuring: ”I bear no malice toward you, including those in the car? Brother Su, she’s noticed Brother Bo and the others!”

Zhang Su waved to indicate Wu Lue not to make noise, then told the Japanese woman: ”You need to understand the situation. It’s you coming to us for help, so you must show the appropriate attitude. Body searching is a necessary step; you must cooperate, or all is off the table!”

After listening, the Japanese woman took a deep breath and raised her arm, lifting her head. The meaning was very clear: Go ahead with the search!

”Go.”

Zhang Su tilted his head at Wu Lue.

Wu Lue pointed to his nose, saying: ”Brother Su, do you really want me to go?”

”Given the chance, are you not going to use it?”

”Alright, alright, going, going.” Wu Lue, with a face like a mourner, handed the phone to Zhang Su, reluctantly stepping in front of the Japanese woman to start patting down, focusing his gaze on the spots to search, avoiding her sharp gaze with a mind clear of improper thoughts.

Complaints and worries aside, the task was done quite thoroughly, searching from front to back, top to bottom, ultimately finding only a metal-crafted Guardian Talisman, without any sharp weapon-like items.

”Only this Guardian Talisman could be harmful.” Wu Lue handed the found item to Zhang Su.

Zhang Su took it and examined it, noticing the familiar yet unfamiliar characters on the exquisitely made Guardian Talisman, which roughly inferred to blessings and prayers. What surprised him was the Talisman’s material—was it pure gold?

The texture, weight, and luster all resemble gold. If that’s true, then the background of the other party is likely not simple, but that’s all in the past. It no longer holds any meaning now.

Zhang Su raised his hand and tossed the Guardian Talisman back to the other party. In this world now, gold is useless. He needs something with more practical value.

”Can you tell me about your companion’s situation? Are they male or female, and which country are they from?”

The Japanese woman answered.

”Female, from your country.”

”From our country?”

Wu Lue was a bit surprised after seeing the words on the translation software and hurriedly said, ”Brother Su, someone from our country is injured. Do we rescue them?”

Zhang Su originally thought it was someone from Japan, but the unexpected answer caught him off guard. He didn’t answer Wu Lue’s question. Instead, he looked at the Japanese woman: ”Give me a reason to rescue your companion, just don’t say anything like ’compatriot’; I won’t accept that.”

The Japanese woman responded.

”You can make a request, and I’ll fulfill it.”

Zhang Su touched his chin. This offer wasn’t very enticing. After thinking for a moment, he said, ”You’ve brought so many weapons and lived in the apocalypse for this long; you must have killed zombies. How strong is your combat ability? And how about your companion’s battle skills?”

From the drone footage just now, it could be seen that the Japanese woman was quite skilled, but to what extent was unclear. If her companion also had some abilities, recruiting two fighters for the camp would be worthwhile. The camp was currently filled with laborers, and there was a severe shortage of combat personnel, requiring reinforcement.

After Zhang Su finished speaking, a faint smile unexpectedly appeared on the otherwise expressionless face of the Japanese woman. Her sharp lips curved slightly upward as she pointed to the weapons thrown behind her and said a lot in her native language.

”If you want to test my combat skills, you can send someone to spar with me. I guarantee not to hurt anyone, but if you lose, you must treat my companion.”

After reading the words on the translation software, Zhang Su gave a peculiar smile: ”Miss, do you have some misunderstanding? This isn’t a street fight. If you win, why should I treat your companion? Winning only proves your combat skills are good, and you definitely can’t win.”

After these words were said, the Japanese woman was silent for over ten seconds, probably thinking of a reason.

”If I can win, it proves that my combat skills are excellent, and I can do more things for you. You can make requests; whether killing zombies or people, I can complete them for you.”

”Ha, a hitman?”

Zhang Su slightly raised his eyebrow. Her tone seemed to suggest she had some skills. Coupled with her sharp looks, she gave off an impressive vibe. But that’s just an impression; the real situation needs verification!

”Now that shows some sincerity. Alright, then... come down, everyone.” Zhang Su turned and waved to the car. When the door opened, he said, ”Bozai, try her skills. Don’t hold back!”

Among those present, only Lu Yubo and Zhang Su could go all out against anyone. Zhang Su couldn’t possibly fight in person.

”Don’t hold back?” Lu Yubo was just getting out of the car. Hearing Zhang Su’s words, he grinned: ”Alright, then I’ll really let loose!”

While speaking, he drew out the grain sampler that had accompanied him all along, his smile gradually turning fervent.

Walking up to the Japanese woman, he said, ”How do you want to fight? Never mind, I can’t understand you anyway. Let’s go; we’ll fight up front!”

Lu Yubo felt great. After the disaster struck, he’d mainly fought zombies and hadn’t had a proper cold weapon fight with a human for a long time. Before, it was always attacking with firearms, and before the adrenaline kicked in, it was over—not satisfying!

The Japanese woman made a gesture of invitation, signaling Lu Yubo to step a bit into the middle of the road. Then she retreated backward to where she had placed her weapons and picked up the thinner steel rod from the pile.

”Brother Su, what’s this guy really up to?”

Wang Xin couldn’t help but ask.

Zhang Su crossed his arms and said, ”She said she has a companion injured, and she hopes we can help with treatment.”

”Huh? That sounds urgent, and she’s still proving her skills here?”

Wang Xin was puzzled.

Wu Lue shrugged with a peculiar expression and said, ”Isn’t that typical for the Japanese? Always a lot of fuss even before a big issue; maybe her companion’s injuries aren’t that severe...”

”Brother Su, I think... I feel... maybe...”

”What exactly are you trying to say?”

Zhang Su glanced sideways at the hesitant Chen Hanzhou. This wasn’t typical of him.

”I think that woman is dangerous. Maybe remind the other party not to go too hard.”

Chen Hanzhou whispered to Zhang Su as he sidled up next to him.

Because of Pei Lan, his relationship with Lu Yubo had always been strange—not particularly good or bad—just awkward. So when it came to Lu Yubo, he was somewhat careful.

”You noticed it too?”

Before, Zhang Su had only seen that the Japanese woman’s presence was strong, and her demeanor had a certain flair, suggesting she might have some skills. But when she picked up the thin, long steel rod, it immediately felt off.

If she had been a treasure sword in its sheath before, now she was a sharp-edged blade.