Apocalypse: the Most Ruthless Person

”No need to worry too much about food and drink, but the barracks...”

”Chairman Li, something’s wrong!”

Li Zongkai was just about to reassure everyone when Wu Daqiang, carrying a communicator, ran to the shop’s entrance, his face full of urgency, still holding the communicator in hand.

Swish.

A dozen pairs of eyes inside the room all turned towards the entrance.

Zhang Su gestured and said, ”What’s the matter? Come on, tell us slowly!”

”Mr. Zhang, sorry, but... there’s no slowing down...” Wu Daqiang stepped into the shop, pulled out a table, thumped the communicator onto it, and said heavily, ”The camp... something happened at the camp!”

”What?”

Li Zongkai’s eyes bulged as he stared at Wu Daqiang, waving his arms urgently, ”Quick, tell us!”

Everyone present couldn’t help but swallow nervously, looking at each other with grave expressions. They were just discussing going to the barracks when something happened there — such bad timing!

Wu Daqiang took a breath, pointed to the communicator, and said, ”The camp, Dazhuang just sent a message, there’s... from the Mountain and Sea District, a group of people escaped, saying a huge horde of zombies is coming along Binhai Avenue towards Qin City!”

”How large is the horde, and how far is it?”

It wasn’t Li Zongkai speaking, but Zhang Su.

Wu Daqiang looked at Zhang Su and said, ”Dazhuang didn’t say; they’re negotiating with those from the Mountain and Sea District...”

”What?” Zhang Su’s eyes flickered as he said, ”You mean the people fleeing from the Mountain and Sea District have set conditions that haven’t been met, so they don’t want to relay the information?”

”Exactly, exactly! Brother Su, maybe... Chairman Li, could you speak to Dazhuang?”

Wu Daqiang hadn’t expected Zhang Su to pinpoint the issue so quickly. He felt that someone more shrewd should handle the matter.

Li Zongkai exchanged a look with Zhang Su, saw him nod slightly, and immediately picked up the communicator, pressing the talk button.

”Hello, Dazhuang, this is Li Zongkai. What’s the situation over there, report quickly!”

”Chairman? Finally got in touch with you, great. Just now, over thirty people fled from the Mountain and Sea District, claiming they’re from Bajiazi Village, looking very haggard. Each of them is armed, even with old rifles, saying their village was overrun by zombies. The horde is heading from Binhai Road towards Qin City, and it’s massive!”

???

The communicator’s volume wasn’t loud, but the room was silent enough for everyone to hear, and the news weighed heavily on everyone.

Over thirty armed people abandoning the camp?

A camp wouldn’t only consist of combat personnel. If over thirty people came out who were all combat trained, one might boldly assume they lost nearly a hundred support staff!

In other words, the horde is undoubtedly large.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Su’s expression tightened, but his primary concern wasn’t the horde not yet in Qin City; he urgently gestured to Li Zongkai, ”Ask them about the people from Bajiazi Village, have they taken refuge in the barracks?”

Li Zongkai nodded and inquired according to Zhang Su’s words.

Soon, the response came back, ”They’re out of bullets, running low on resources, but for safety reasons, Old He had their guns confiscated. They’re resting at the auditorium, and the brothers are gathering more information from them.”

Li Zongkai felt slightly relieved after listening and looked at Zhang Su with an inquiring gaze, serving mainly as a conduit for information.

”Old Li, how many combat forces are left at the barracks?”

Upon hearing Dazhuang’s words, Zhang Su wasn’t reassured and frowned, asking.

Without thinking, Li Zongkai replied, ”Thirteen combat personnel remain. If we scrape together, we can pull another ten from the support team, but their skills are average, especially in firearm handling.”

Hearing this result, Zhang Su’s frown deepened, and he said displeased, ”In this situation, how can they easily let people into the barracks? Those thirty people reportedly all possess combat abilities!”

To him, such behavior seemed like inviting wolves into the house.

”Well... I, previously I emphasized aiding survivors with a focus on rescue and assistance. They probably saw these people as no threat...”

”Old Li, this isn’t acceptable. It will be dangerous. Tell Dazhuang to find a way to strictly control those people, and immediately get more detailed information about the zombie horde. Don’t just blindly trust what those people say!”

Zhang Su drummed his fingers on the table, looking extremely tense.

How can one use past experiences to judge human nature in an apocalypse? That’s utter nonsense. Rescue as primary, assist as secondary — the story of the farmer and the snake plays out constantly!

Wu Daqiang stood aside, listening to Zhang Su and Li Zongkai’s conversation, firmly siding with Zhang Su this time, feeling that his perspective better suited the current situation, and he persuaded alongside.

”Chairman, I think Mr. Zhang makes sense; there are too many of them!”

If the barracks had full combat strength, they wouldn’t fear over thirty people, but currently, the internal defense is weak, making it easy for someone to exploit!

”Don’t worry, don’t worry, I’ll contact Dazhuang right away.”

Li Zongkai himself felt something was amiss too. If he were at the barracks, he wouldn’t be this hasty. His subordinates surely didn’t think things through thoroughly, sticking rigidly to the old instructions. Zhang Su and his subordinates’ words made him break out in cold sweat, which he wiped away before pressing the talk key again.

”Dazhuang, there’s uncertainty regarding the Bajiazi Village people; you must immediately find a way to control them. Remember, do not startle them to provoke resistance. Additionally, quickly deploy someone to investigate the details of the zombie horde, and do it quickly!”

In the communication room, Dazhuang was puzzled, control them?

This doesn’t align with Chairman Li’s usual approach....

He was just about to ask further when he heard a commotion, seemingly from the auditorium direction, so he picked up the communicator and said, ”Alright, Chairman Li, I’ll handle it immediately. I’ll contact you with any developments!”

Ending the call, everyone inside the pickled fish restaurant looked at one another, stunned.

”Oh jeez... this is really unlucky!”

”You can say that again...”

The previous plan was for everyone to head to the barracks together, but now a huge zombie horde is coming toward Qin City, and the barracks are directly in its path — what a trap!

Slap!

”No more waiting, we’re leaving now! Aside from the combat personnel from the Lego Branch, the rest, follow me!”

Suddenly, just when everyone was at a loss, Zhang Su slapped the table, turned, and walked out decisively.

”Hey, hey! You... take some stuff; I can’t carry it all!”

Zheng Xinyu hurriedly followed, spotting two bags on the ground and some items that hadn’t been packed.

”Bro, you this...”

”Mr. Zhang, shouldn’t we wait for more info from the other side before leaving?”

”In such a rush? Quickly notify the brothers!”

In a flurry, the entire Lego Mall bustled into action. Wu Baokang and Zhang Xin exchanged a forlorn glance; who knows what others thought, but they genuinely didn’t want to stay guarding the mall!