Apocalypse: the Most Ruthless Person

Zhang Su’s roar echoed in everyone’s ears.

He didn’t bother to pay attention to Zhang Zhikai, who was curled up on the ground. That guy wasn’t worth mentioning. What he needed now was to process this matter, making everyone aware of the seriousness of the situation!

”I... I...” Yang Liehuo looked at Zhang Su, then at the familiar faces of the Reserve Team, and finally at the son of his old acquaintance lying on the ground, tangled up beyond measure.

In his heart, he knew Zhang Su was right. But knowing and doing were separated by a chasm. He had once thought Zhang Zhikai would strive to succeed, yet Zhikai took advantage of his tolerance without restraint, and managing him had become an overwhelming task...

”Report, Brother Zhang, may I say something?”

At this moment, a middle-aged woman in the Reserve Team raised her hand and said.

Zhang Su turned around to look at the crowd. He recognized the speaker, whom others called Sister Liu, a woman in her forties with a few bloody cracks at the corners of her eyes, her face weathered by time. She was known for her diligence during training and had previously belonged to West Camp Village.

”You’re Sister Liu, right? Go ahead.”

”Yes!” Sister Liu responded earnestly to Zhang Su and continued, ”In our village we once had a boy like him. His father sacrificed himself killing zombies, and the boy lived off his father’s achievements, under Village Chief Ma’s care. But he lacked ambition and merely idled his days away. Later, to please the enemy, he wanted to sell out the entire village, and Village Chief Ma shot him on the spot...”

The leisurely voice entered the ears of the crowd, those unaware looking at each other in surprise. No one had expected such a story to have occurred in West Camp Village!

Zhang Su knew about it, having once heard Zhang Xin from the Survivor Alliance mention it, and bringing it up now was apt, also serving as a reference for Yang Liehuo!

”Old Huo, you heard that, right? I don’t want to praise and criticize at the same time. Old Ma isn’t here, but I want to commend him: he handled this matter effectively! Empathy doesn’t lead troops, and benevolence doesn’t govern. We decision-makers often face the trolley problem; you must choose what’s beneficial for the majority!”

”Brother Zhang, you just say the word. Whatever you decide, I’ll follow it, even if it means taking this boy’s life as compensation. I won’t back down!”

Yang Liehuo realized there was no escaping Zhang Zhikai’s predicament today, so he thought it better to take the plunge, hoping for a chance of survival.

”Heh heh! Old Huo...” Zhang Su sneered, walked over to Yang Liehuo, patted his shoulder, and said, ”If a reserve team member makes a mistake, the captain should punish them, especially since he followed you from Kuanzhuang. Do you really want me to handle it? If I speak, this boy probably won’t have any way out!”

He could see that Yang Liehuo was still soft-hearted.

”Uncle Huo, save me, don’t kill me! I’ll change, I promise! Tell me, just spare my life, I beg you!”

Normally, Zhang Zhikai cared about saving face, but now he couldn’t care less about the sixty or seventy people watching his spectacle, and he kowtowed repeatedly just hoping to survive.

”Brother Zhang, you administer the punishment. I... I will not interfere with him anymore, and I have faults too. I covered up, I indulged, I’ll accept the punishment with him!”

Yang Liehuo closed his eyes, sighed deeply, uncertain whether from anger or heartache, his skin quivering.

”Brothers and sisters!”

Zhang Su didn’t waste time. He looked at the crowd, greeting them, and then pointed at Zhang Zhikai, saying, ”Reserve Team Captain Yang Liehuo assigned Zhang Zhikai to clean the south warehouse for use as a watchpost. Zhang Zhikai delayed on various grounds. If Village No.2’s watchpost moved one kilometer south, we could have spotted the zombie horde earlier; with sufficient distance, today’s disaster wouldn’t have happened, Qiu Hui wouldn’t have been bitten!”

In previous companies, such procrastination wouldn’t have had much impact, merely requiring more reminders. But in the zombie apocalypse, even a little slack could lead to massive losses. This time, Zhang Su indeed could give stern reminders, but he opted for harsher measures to warn everyone!

”Now I give you two choices!”

Zhang Su looked down at Zhang Zhikai kneeling on the ground and said, ”Either you break your legs to apologize to Qiu Hui, or... fight ten!”

Fight ten?

The familiar yet strange term caused a weird sensation among the crowd, even the people from Celestial Horse Island looked puzzled.

”Brother Su... what does ’fight ten’ mean?”

Lu Yubo asked awkwardly, unable to resist glancing at Ju Mumio, wondering if there were even a handful of zombies here to make ten.

”Ahem!” Yuwen caught Zhang Su’s glance, cleared his throat, and said, ”Fight ten means to fight ten zombies barehanded within a fixed range! It’s not for fun but to make the one who made the mistake feel the despair of the apocalypse, while also serving as a warning to those watching, reminding them of the environment we live in, allowing no slack!”

In order to prevent random speculation, Yuwen directly explained the deep meaning of ”fight ten.” It was a punishment he and Zhang Su discussed, quite brutal, but necessary in the apocalypse to maintain deterrence.

Especially as the camp’s population grew, proper management required severe penalties; methods like a day’s hunger, resource withholding, or extra laps in training simply couldn’t be intimidating.

The cost of mistakes was too low; thus, error would become routine!

The crowd slowly nodded with enlightened expressions, all questioning themselves seriously. Facing ten zombies barehanded in a contained space was indeed despair-inducing.

After hearing the two choices, Zhang Zhikai was dumbfounded. Breaking his legs on one hand, or fighting ten on the other—one way was worse than death, the other ten paths to certain death?

”I, I...”

Zhang Zhikai knelt on the ground, under the dim light, gazing at one pair of eyes staring at him, his heart chilled, realizing that the only person able to save him, Yang Liehuo, had turned away, not looking at him, which made him feel even more like plunging into an icy abyss.

”No one will save me... then I must save myself!” Zhang Zhikai quietly pondered, his gaze shifting from dazed to firm, making a decision in his heart.

He struggled to get up and said to Zhang Su, ”I... I choose the first option, I’m willing to cut off my own legs to apologize to Sister Qiu!”

”Damn, this guy really dares?”

”He even said he’d cut off his legs, can he really do it?”

”I somewhat doubt it!”

Hearing Zhang Zhikai’s words, the members of the Celestial Horse Island Elite Corps whispered among themselves, not believing that someone who usually lacks ambition and is lazy would have the guts to cut off his own legs.

”Cut off your own legs? Are you serious?”

Zhang Su looked at Zhang Zhikai, whose face was twitching, with skepticism.

”Yes!” Zhang Zhikai shouted, then stepped forward and extended his hand, ”Give me a knife!”

Yang Liehuo turned his head and looked at Zhang Zhikai in surprise, not understanding where he suddenly got the courage from.

However, Zhang Su didn’t move at all; the Dog Leg Military Saber hung at his waist, the fine leather sheath having developed a patina after months of wear, shining with a strange color in the dim light.

”A few months ago...” Zhang Su clasped his hands behind his back and paced slowly, ”I remember very clearly, it was the day when I escaped from the community with Xinyu and Xiaoshan, and we met a guy at a gas station. I gave him a weapon to kill zombies, but the moment he got the weapon, he swung it at me!”

While speaking, Zhang Su looked at Zhang Zhikai, who was trying to remain calm, with a half-smile and said, ”Are you planning to stab me once you get the weapon?”

Others didn’t believe it, so why would Zhang Su? He didn’t think Zhang Zhikai had the courage to cut off his legs.

”No, no, how could I...”

Upon hearing Zhang Su’s words, Zhang Zhikai’s expression twisted instantly, his plan exposed, and his entire body went numb in a literal sense. He didn’t know which hormone was frantically secreting, causing his arms to tremble uncontrollably.

People around involuntarily rolled their eyes, wondering if Zhang Su was being overly worried, seeing how Zhang Zhikai was looking like a shaking leaf, did he even dare to launch a sudden attack?

”Brother Zhang, I’ll do it...”

Yang Liehuo knew that if he didn’t speak now, Zhang Zhikai’s life would be completely forfeited. He swiftly drew the axe hanging at his waist and stepped forward, saying, ”Let me carry out the punishment!”

”He’s going crazy.”

In the crowd, Zheng Xinyu heard Ju Mumio mutter quietly beside her.

”No, don’t, Xiaokai, don’t...”

Before Ju Mumio could finish speaking, Yang Liehuo rushed toward Zhang Zhikai with his eyes wide open, filled with disbelief, trying to stop his foolish behavior.

Unfortunately, he was too far to make it in time.

After a fierce internal struggle between his insane ideas and rational judgment, Zhang Zhikai completely lost his mind, pulled out the hidden dagger, and charged at Zhang Su without even a roar, truly embodying the saying, ”A barking dog never bites”!

This unexpected turn of events was something almost no one present could have anticipated...

Even with his motives exposed by the others, he still insisted on making this move; was it a testament to sincere persistence or stubborn foolishness?

The Elite Corps members were stunned, almost everyone simultaneously took a step forward, then held back their movements because Zhang Su was facing Zhang Zhikai directly, rendering their intervention unnecessary...

Indeed, Zhang Su, initially furious, now gazed at Zhang Zhikai with calm eyes.

Previously, in Zhang Su’s eyes, Zhang Zhikai was a member of Celestial Horse Island, even if he was a hopeless case. But at this moment, Zhang Zhikai was no different from a dead man in his eyes. Why be angry when seeing a dead man?

Zhang Su extended his palm toward Zhang Zhikai, reaching forward into the direction of the stabbing dagger!

The crooked dagger precisely pierced between the fingers, while Zhang Su’s palm effortlessly grasped Zhang Zhikai’s fist.

Thud...

One must admit, Zhang Zhikai still had some ideas, even considering how to attack if the dagger missed its mark. However, all his actions were transparent to Zhang Su; another fist aiming for Zhang Su’s head was similarly caught...

Before Zhang Zhikai could make any other moves, a sharp pain shot through his wrist, followed by a chill spreading from the root of his tongue, and then he blacked out, losing consciousness completely...

In a flash, Zhang Su twisted Zhang Zhikai’s hand holding the dagger, enormous force driving his hand straight into his jaw, with a squelch, the dagger embedded beneath the jawline, leaving only the hilt visible outside, blood trickling down the neck. From the side, it appeared eerily like Zhang Zhikai was stabbing himself with the dagger...

A dagger haft growing from the chin?

That’s not a good look... better off dead.

Zhang Zhikai might not have anticipated this; his body simply collapsed to the ground.