Apocalypse: the Most Ruthless Person

”No! They are not hostages! I’m telling the truth, King Yama, spare my life...”

Under the other party’s gaze, Skinny Monkey completely broke down, snot and tears flowing, babbling the whole situation.

There were never any captives or hostages; all twenty-six people were in on it together. They were survivors from several villages who later joined the Dragon Head Camp and maintained contact all along. Seeing the Dragon Head Camp on the verge of collapse, they decided to escape together.

Just as Zhang Su had anticipated, there were deserters from the Dragon Head doing reconnaissance up ahead, and they noticed far earlier, so early that they saw Yama Corps driving to the railway bridge...

”The scouts saw you all carrying guns and had wicked thoughts. I tried hard to persuade them not to stir up trouble, to avoid conflict, but... but the others in the team wouldn’t listen, their eyes fixed on your weapons, insisting on trying out Plan C. I really couldn’t convince them. I’m a good person!”

Skinny Monkey sobbed dramatically, sounding as if he was telling the truth.

Unfortunately, no one in Yama Corps believed him, not even the kind-hearted Yu Qing, who scoffed at his words. Is that even human speech?

”Come on, tell us what Plan C is.”

Zhang Su put on his sunglasses again, asking calmly.

Seeing the other party acting politely, Skinny Monkey thought there was hope for escape, believing his sincerity had moved them, and hurriedly replied.

Plan C was simple, using teenage boys and women as bargaining chips in exchanges. The children and women were highly deceptive; all seven people were specially trained. If a trade occurred, there would be heavy losses.

”And then they naively believed you, completely unaware that your real purpose was to make one of them a bomb! Right?”

Zhang Su’s heavy words struck a chord in everyone; the explosion just now couldn’t compare to a grape, but standing within ten meters, it was hard to escape unscathed!

Skinny Monkey nodded with difficulty, crying: ”This wasn’t my idea, really, it wasn’t. It was everyone’s decision, but now I’m the only one left alive. You can’t just let me take the blame alone, that’s too unfair. Let me go, hero, sir, King Yama, you noble...”

Swish!

A dull gleam flashed by; the Dog Leg Military Saber’s edge brought up a string of blood beads, cutting across Skinny Monkey’s neck, silencing him with a single slash.

”You’re really good at turning black into white, as if you weren’t trying to slander the dead and take the blame for them...” Zhang Su said, shaking his head, having judged from what he saw and heard that this guy was full of nonsense.

”Grkk... grkk... ugh...”

Skinny Monkey stared at the calm, death-bringing man before him, hands pinned down, unable to clutch his neck gushing with blood.

”Damn, with all those survivors we’ve taken in before, everyone was honest. I thought people’s moral conscience was gradually improving, but seeing these people now, it’s clear it hasn’t improved at all, it’s grown more sinister!”

Zhao Dezhu released his grip, after confirming Skinny Monkey was dead, gave him a slap on the face, wiped off his own bloodstain, and drove a Steel Rod through Skinny Monkey’s head to prevent him from turning.

With the last enemy gasping his last breath, Yama Corps members breathed a sigh of relief. During the fight, they felt fearless thanks to their bulletproof vests, plus the adrenaline kept them high-strung. Only after the battle ended did they realize their backs were soaked through.

As the smoke cleared and the enemies fell, everyone’s adrenaline faded, leaving them with a sense of lingering fear, helplessness, and irritation as they surveyed the bodies around them.

Few are born with a love for slaughter; eliminating enemies is a necessity. In outsiders’ eyes, the decisive Yama Corps does not kill for pleasure. If possible, they’d prefer to meet genuinely sincere survivors!

Among the two temporary members, Ke Zhiyu was fine as he had been with the Little Eagle Association and rarely fought with zombies, maintaining decent mental fortitude. Zhou Haotian, however, was different. After joining the Survivor Alliance’s science department, he had hardly engaged in battle and was shocked by today’s explosions and gunfights, his lips turning pale.

”The willingness of several divisions to submit to us owes much to each of their leaders’ contributions, and we promised many benefits. If you haven’t experienced others’ hardships, don’t advise them on kindness. But going through their hardships, you may not be as good as they are!”

Zhang Su spoke heavily, not overestimating the brilliance of human nature, instead tending to assume the worst in people.

”These people fled from Dragon Head Camp, indicating Dragon Head Camp’s leader had different ideas from these guys!”

Previously, it was likely people from Dragon Head Camp who led the zombie horde into Qin City District, but now they resolutely chose to stay in the Mountain and Sea District to fight the horde surging in from Beyond the Pass. It’s quite admirable!

”They even tried to rob us; let’s see what good stuff they brought!”

Zhang Su bent down to search the bodies, and Ke Zhiyu came running up: ”Brother Su, let me do this, I didn’t help much just now!”

”Yes, yes, we’ll handle these small tasks. Brother Su, you were so heroic just now, take a rest.”

Zhou Haotian nodded vigorously, eager to make an impression.

The newcomers wanted practice, and Zhang Su had no objections, standing straight to address the group, ”Does anyone think I was too cruel in ordering you to shoot?”

”I hesitated a bit because I didn’t expect them to be so deranged among themselves, but I didn’t think it cruel.”

”Not at all...”

”I truly thought those people were hostages, wanting to save them, not realizing... you can’t truly know a person.”

Yu Qing brushed her hair aside, smiling bitterly.

”Don’t even mention it, this time I thought it was real. Those people are so wicked, even deceiving their own. Not human, truly not human!”

Zheng Xinyu clenched her fists. In the past, she would compare some behaviors to Zhang Su’s black-heartedness, but not this time, because betraying your own teammates had crossed the line!

”Those kept in the dark are pitiful too, let’s go, huh?”

Zhang Su called everyone to pack up the luggage of the Dragon Head deserters. Turning around, he exclaimed in surprise, ”That woman isn’t dead!”

Pan Guoliang exaggeratedly said, ”Quite resilient, huh? Didn’t get blown to bits with such power? An anti-explosion expert!”

”Old Pan, I just realized, you’re damn good with hellish jokes.”

Zhang Su was speechless, leading everyone back.

The people shot dead had nothing special, but the bodies blown apart by explosives scattered across the tracks were a different story. Previously ignored due to the gunfight and chase, they became disturbingly clear upon return.

This bloody scene differs from hacking zombies; the juicy body parts lay glaringly before them, freezing and changing color in the cold environment, disturbing human nerves.

Not only did the female members, but even many men subconsciously diverted their attention, though one person straightforwardly approached the mangled corpses.

Ju Mumio, somewhat frustrated, searched through the bodies for the knife she had used as a Flying Knife. It didn’t take much effort to find it, but unfortunately, the wooden handle had half broken off.

She silently packed it away, intending to repair it slowly back home.

”Can you still speak?”

Zhang Su came to the side of the barely surviving woman and asked.

”Gurgle, gurgle... I...”

The woman’s back was a mess, and as she opened her mouth, blood gushed from her throat. She struggled to lift her eyelids to look at the person speaking, clearly wanting to say something, but struggled to make a sound.

”So only now you realize you’ve been used. Any regrets?”

Zhang Su looked at the woman, his voice steady as he asked.

The woman couldn’t speak, but her hearing was intact. Upon hearing Zhang Su’s words, she nodded tearfully, bloodied tears streaming down her filthy cheeks, utterly miserable.

Snap.

Zhang Su snapped his fingers and beckoned to Zheng Xinyu. Soon, a thalamus the size of half a chestnut appeared in his hand. He pinched the woman’s cheeks and stuffed the thalamus directly into her mouth, saying, ”Swallow it.”

According to routine, someone needed to be left to gather information, but that Skinny Monkey spun tales, certainly should not keep him around. Seeing the woman could be saved, Zhang Su chose to trust this woman, standing at the threshold of Ghost Gate with one foot.

The woman could not comprehend what the man before her had made her eat, but what was there to argue about now? Chewing wasn’t possible, so she painfully tilted her head back and swallowed hard.

Gulp.

The zombie thalamus went down into her stomach.

Zhang Su nodded, standing up to turn to the group, and said, ”Help gather those supplies together and haul them to the train. I’ll call someone to assist.”

The group knew that since they had fed the woman the thalamus, Zhang Su planned to get information from her, which had become a routine. They nodded and left.

Zhang Su looked down at the woman, observing no changes in her, pulled out a walkie-talkie, adjusted a frequency, and said, ”Liu Yao, Liu Yao!”

”Here, Brother Su, I’m here!”

Liu Yao knew there was a roll call in the afternoon, sharpening his spear at the last moment.

”Get two brothers, drive a truck to the railway bridge south of Beidong Town, we made some gains.”

”Alright, right away!”

Ending the call, Zhang Su removed his hat, brushed off the human remains, tucked it into his belt, took out a cigarette, lit it, glanced around, and quietly waited for the woman to recover.

Two minutes passed as he waited, yet recovery did not come.

”Hoo... hmm?”

Exhaling the last puff of smoke, about to stub out the cigarette, Zhang Su’s ears caught a change—the faint breathing beside him... was gone!

Turning his head, he saw the woman’s neck tilted, thoroughly dead.