Apocalypse: the Most Ruthless Person

”Nothing happened later last night?”

Zhang Su rubbed his face. He was the only combatant not on guard duty last night.

Zheng Xinyu volunteered to take the second half of the night shift. She spat out her mouthwash and said, ”Nothing happened in the first part of the night. It was quiet in the second half too until around four or five, when over a dozen ordinary zombies appeared from the west. The Fruit Man and his team dealt with them easily. Then... two survivors came asking for help, an older man and a young guy.”

”What?”

Zhang Su pulled out a wet wipe to clean his face, sensitive to the news of survivors: ”Survivors? Where did they come from? Are there any issues?”

”Wu Baokang recognized the older man. Apparently, they used to be a small group holed up in an old building to the southeast. The Survivor Alliance tried to recruit them several times, but they were refused. Later, that group came to our territory to scavenge, and since they were somewhat capable, we left them alone...”

”Hold on, didn’t you say only two people came? How did it become five?”

Zhang Su scratched his head, thinking he might still be groggy from sleep.

”It was five before. Suddenly three of them died yesterday...”

”Damn, they crumbled just like that! Wu Baokang said they were capable. What kind of capability was this? Their combat skills seem lacking...”

Capability doesn’t necessarily mean combat skills, but in today’s world, lacking fighting ability makes one seem vulnerable.

”I don’t know the specifics, but the older man seems alright, with decent weapons. You know, his knife looks a bit like the military knife you use. But the one beside him is just... so-so. Anyway, we’ve temporarily assigned them to the logistics department. Check them out when you have time.”

Zheng Xinyu shrugged.

”Alright, I’ll find time. How’s the weather?”

More concerned about the weather than the two distressed survivors, Zhang Su asked.

Zheng Xinyu made a strange face and pointed at the window: ”See for yourself.”

”Couldn’t you just tell me... Damn it!”

Zhang Su walked to the window and pulled open the shutters. His pretty good mood immediately felt dampened.

Because of the cold climate, the windows above the mall were mostly shuttered, so even if it was sunny outside, indoor lighting was poor.

Zhang Su opened the shutters and looked at the sky, thinking the clouds would have dispersed overnight, but he found that the sky was still dark. The weather hadn’t changed at all from yesterday. The thick layers of clouds seemed embedded in the dome, showing no sign of clearing.

”Initially, people thought this was just normal snowfall until the clouds stayed, and then they realized the seriousness...”

Zheng Xinyu mimicked those marketing accounts’ tones, grumbling.

”These clouds feel suffocating.”

Yuwen appeared in the corridor with a cigarette. He turned fifty-nine after the New Year, and slept little, already awake for a while. Hearing noise from Zhang Su’s side, he came over.

Zhang Su clicked his tongue, also lighting a cigarette, and exhaled towards the sky, saying, ”It looks like it could snow at any moment, which is really unnerving.”

Clouds covering the sky aren’t much by themselves, but the constant threat of precipitation is a big issue. It’s like the old saying ”God knows,” except now even the heavens probably don’t know when it’ll rain again...

”Brother, I thought of something last night. It might sound absurd, don’t laugh at me.”

Zhao Dezhu scratched his messy hair, still holding a bottle of mouthwash.

”Go on. I’ll only joke about your driving skills being trash; everything else is fine.”

Zhang Su teased, still gazing at the heavy clouds.

”You know, apart from the first rain, the two snowfalls were tiny. Could it be because the precipitation is global, spreading the rain over every place so it’s small?”

Zhao Dezhu roughly expressed his idea, leaving everyone around stumped.

”Hey, I’ve got to say, Brother Zhuzi’s theory is interesting!”

The first to speak was Wang Xin.

His girlfriend Zhang Ya followed, ”If Brother Zhuzi’s theory is correct, could we also think that the massive first rain depleted the accumulated moisture in the sky? And with the subsequent temperature drop, the atmosphere’s ability to absorb water vapor slowed, making the snow small...”

”So after the first snowfall, it got even harder to absorb moisture, which delayed the next snowfall by almost two months?”

Wang Xin quickly understood Zhang Ya’s meaning, and immediately followed up.

Zhang Su looked at the couple with a strange smile: ”You two are something else, fully in sync even in thought. Not bad, not bad...”

”Hey, what’s the deal with you guys? It was me, look at me, I was the one who brought it up first. Praise me!”

Zhao Dezhu protested with a displeased face. It was rare for him to come up with such an awesome theory, only for others to steal the limelight, which couldn’t happen.

”Uncle Zhuzi, you’re amazing! Such a sharp mind, truly brilliant!”

Pang Dakun quickly chimed in.

”Though Zhuzi’s, Xiaowang’s, and Xiaoya’s guesses lack factual basis, I think their logic makes some sense!”

Zhang Su nodded, affirming their opinions.

Lu Yubo, seeing Zhao Dezhu praised, disdainfully said, ”Da Zhuzhi’s words are useless. Even if we know, what can we do, cover the sky to stop it from absorbing moisture? Useless, useless!”

Being good friends, he wouldn’t feel right not mocking him.

Zhang Su seriously shook his head: ”Bozai, that’s not right. We indeed can’t stop the moisture evaporation, but if this guess is correct, at least it proves precipitation has a pattern, and we might be able to grasp it!”

”If we understand the pattern of zombie enhancement, we can plan and prepare in advance, ensure we’re not caught off guard!” Yuwen promptly added.

”What’s up?”

Li Zongkai appeared at the shop entrance, slightly tense, asking, ”Are we at war again?”

”No, we’re studying the precipitation problem, seems there’s some pattern,” Zhang Su explained briefly then asked, ”How’s everyone preparing? When can we head out?”

Li Zongkai pointed towards their residential area, ”Everyone’s up, ready whenever.”

”Good, Bozai, go notify Old Liu and Old Yang, get Wu Baokang and Zhang Xin here, let’s have a meeting first, and, go grab some food. After the meeting and eating, we’ll head out!”

Zhang Su unscrewed a water bottle, took a sip, his stomach empty, the coldness shooting straight to his gut.

”Hey, Fruit Man, sneaky over there?”

Suddenly, Zheng Xinyu shouted at the door.

”Haha, no, well, I just heard Brother Su calling my name. Haha, I’m coming.”

Zhang Xin knew Zhang Su and others were setting out to the Civilization Guardian early, intentionally coming by early to check.

”Yeah, calling you guys over for a meeting, to talk about... Huh?”

Zhang Su turned his head and noticed the knife at Zhang Xin’s waist, curious, he pointed and asked, ”Old Zhang, that knife? Haven’t seen it on you before, where’d you get it?”

”Brother Su, you mean this?”

Zhang Xin proudly took the knife sheath off his waist, grinning, ”Haha, this knife...”

”That’s the knife from the older man who came today, you took it from him?”

Before Zhang Xin could explain, Zheng Xinyu exposed the matter, instantly freezing the atmosphere.

”Did you really rob a fleeing survivor?”

Zhang Su looked strangely at Zhang Xin, knowing this might be a common occurrence, but seeing it up close was distasteful, especially since it involved a junior manager who needed to provide an explanation!

Plus, the knife looked familiar to him; previously, he didn’t pay much attention to Zheng Xinyu’s words, but now it seemed suspicious!

”No...I...”

Zhang Xin awkwardly smiled, shaking the knife in his hand, saying: ”I traded, I traded for it, I swapped something with him, a pack of beef jerky and two packs of cigarettes, didn’t rob, really, I wouldn’t do such a thing!”