Apocalypse: the Most Ruthless Person

”I have a way to contact Chairman Li!”

After a moment of hesitation, Wu Daqiang told Zhang Su something with a determined expression.

”Yeah?”

Zhang Su looked at Wu Daqiang in surprise and asked urgently, ”What way?”

”We have a high-power signal transmitter in our car, which can theoretically reach communications within a hundred kilometers.”

Wu Daqiang was initially reluctant to mention it because these were military equipment hidden away at first and not disclosed to Zhang Su. But after all, even if it wasn’t mentioned, it was no use. The car was in the opponent’s hands, and a quick flip would reveal everything.

”Then what are we waiting for? Quick, go get the equipment!”

Upon hearing there was a way to contact Li Zongkai, Zhang Su became very excited.

First, he wanted to verify the effect of the [Loyalty Brand]. If there were no issues, the next step would be to figure out what exactly the Survivor Alliance was up to. He believed Li Zongkai would have more information and more real-time updates.

Following Zhang Su’s instructions, Wu Daqiang returned to the parking lot, only to find their car untouched, sitting perfectly fine on the side, while the other three cars had been turned upside down. When someone saw him coming, they didn’t ask much, just nodded in greeting.

It’s clear this was all arranged by Zhang Su, and no one would act rashly. Everything seemed unusual, leaving Wu Daqiang puzzled. But now wasn’t the time to ponder these things, so he took the equipment from the car and ran toward Little Lucky.

Soon, the equipment was powered up and functioning normally. Wu Daqiang began to tune the frequency, and when a green light lit up, indicating the signal was connected, he took a deep breath, picked up the communicator, and said, ”Chairman, Chairman, this is Daqiang, Chairman, Chairman...”

After repeating it three times, Wu Daqiang put down the communicator and patiently waited for a response from the other side.

Zhang Su patted the military signal transmitter on the table, smirking intriguingly, ”Where did you dig this thing out from? Why didn’t we see it when we were at the barracks?”

”That’s how it is.”

Wu Daqiang knew there was no avoiding this matter, so he had been thinking of an explanation. It wasn’t until he went to get the equipment and was blown by the cold wind that inspiration struck him, enabling him to speak naturally.

”The situation at the barracks was very chaotic at that time. As you know, only two people were packing up, so they didn’t notice these types of equipment, including those night vision goggles and thermal imaging binoculars, which were found later.”

Zhang Su nodded with a half-smile, ”Oh, so they were found later. That makes sense. I said our soldier brothers wouldn’t lie; if they had good stuff, they surely wouldn’t keep it to themselves, right?”

Wu Daqiang forced a smile, answering the question with a grin.

Over time, the other three also learned about some of Zhang Su’s connections to Civilization Guardian, marveling at the wonders of fate, feeling more secure about their fates.

Unconsciously, two or three minutes passed, with Zhang Su staring at the unresponsive equipment, questioning, ”Is it reliable?”

Wu Daqiang nodded confidently, ”It’s reliable, Mr. Zhang. Don’t worry. Chairman Li also needs to use specialized transmitting equipment to contact us; otherwise, he can only passively receive.”

Less than five seconds after he finished speaking, the speaker suddenly produced a burst of static, followed by a voice.

”Xiaowu, where have you all gone? Liao Youzhi is not clear-headed, insisting you depart so late at night. Is everything okay?”

Li Zongkai indeed heard Wu Daqiang speaking first, but he was leaning against the bedhead smoking, musing over something. Upon hearing the communication, he hurriedly put on a coat and ran to the communication room to open the signal transmission device, causing some delay.

”Chairman, um... we are now at Celestial Horse Island, um, the leader of Celestial Horse Island, uh, is... heh heh... is Zhang Su. Do you remember him? He was with us during the zombie cleanup back at the barracks.”

Wu Daqiang laughed awkwardly.

”Younger Brother Zhang?”

This time Li Zongkai responded quickly with urgency, ”Xiaowu, you’ve arrived at Younger Brother Zhang’s place? Celestial Horse Island is Younger Brother Zhang’s place? Oh my! Did you all not have any conflict?”

”No... things are a bit complicated, so perhaps you should talk to Mr. Zhang directly?” With a dry laugh, Wu Daqiang looked at Zhang Su, who nodded in agreement.

”Is Mr. Zhang right beside you? Okay, let me talk to Mr. Zhang immediately!”

Zhang Su took the communicator from Wu Daqiang, pressed the call button, and laughed, ”Old Li, who would have thought we would meet again by running into your men first, haha.”

”Mr. Zhang, is it really you? Haha, finally, we have news of you. I told you that day, I hoped you wouldn’t leave, but you insisted on going. No matter how I tried, I couldn’t stop you. It’s been such a big responsibility to manage things alone; I would’ve been much more relaxed with you around!”

Li Zongkai started with a string of complaints, but his tone was familiar.

Wu Daqiang and the others exchanged looks, finding the chairman’s attitude peculiar but couldn’t pinpoint exactly how.

Zhang Su wasn’t sure either about the other’s attitude, feeling the need to confirm further, and said, ”It’s said that one mountain cannot contain two tigers. You are a person with leadership talents, and I can’t restrict your growth.”

”You’re overthinking it, Mr. Zhang. At the time, we were all overthinking it. My abilities were somewhat useful before the catastrophe, but in the apocalypse, I’m struggling. Every decision feels like walking on thin ice. As we originally planned, once you get settled, you must take over my responsibilities here. No shirking this time!”

??!!

With these words, both Wu Daqiang and Xiaotiao were shaken to the core. How could they not understand Li Zongkai’s meaning? So they had secretly discussed future matters, and it involved such a significant decision?

The two felt their world had turned upside down, while the other three displayed an expression of sudden realization, similar to the look on Yuwen’s face at the moment.

It all made sense now.

Yuwen couldn’t help but nod slowly, finally understanding why Zhang Su was so welcoming to Wu Daqiang and the five others. They were already like family; how could he not be?

Yet, he shared the same doubts as Wu Daqiang: when did Zhang Su actually discuss this with Li Zongkai?

Never mind others, the person involved, Zhang Su, also felt bewildered because he knew very well that he had never had such conversations with the other side. If anything, it existed only in Li Zongkai’s memory, meaning his memory had been altered!

Indeed...

Past events cannot serve as proof because memories can be erased and rewritten—an incredible feat.

Zhang Su sighed inwardly, amazed by this great power.