Chapter 139: A Tragedy Is Unfolding

"Su Ge, don't worry, we've got this!"

Zhong Xiaoshan, confident, turned and walked away.

"Wait!" Zhang Su called out to Zhong Xiaoshan and Yu Qing, who were heading toward the warehouse; he took a pack of wafer cookies and a bottle of water from the car and said, "Show some sincerity—tell her that if she leaves here, she can have a backpack full of food and water."

Zhong Xiaoshan took the items and nodded firmly: "Got it."

Inside the dim, damp warehouse—wet from the recent rain—Zhong Xiaoshan and Yu Qing stepped in and shone their flashlights, finding Pan Guihua standing nervously by the office door.

"Sister Pan, I brought you some food and drink."

Zhong Xiaoshan held the wafer and water in one hand, while clutching a dagger hidden behind her back.

"You've come to force my daughter and me to leave, haven't you?"

Pan Guihua spoke with a forlorn tone.

Those words made Zhong Xiaoshan and Yu Qing freeze—they knew she had overheard their conversation.

"Sister," Zhong Xiaoshan said gently, "we understand you want to save your daughter, but staying here won't help her. You need to go outside, find a doctor—right?"

Yu Qing stared at Zhong Xiaoshan in shock; the words she had prepared stuck in her throat, unsaid.

"Yes, yes, you're absolutely right—there's no doctor here, no food or water. My girl won't get better. Thank you, thank you for reminding me."

Suddenly, Pan Guihua seemed transformed—once lifeless, now energized after hearing Zhong Xiaoshan's words.

"Exactly, Sister Pan, pack up and leave. We even prepared some food and water for your journey—go find treatment for your daughter without worry."

Zhong Xiaoshan spoke sincerely.

Yu Qing never expected this to go so smoothly—she turned and walked away…

She felt her presence was unnecessary; Zhong Xiaoshan's lie made her uneasy, but she wouldn't intervene—it had been achieved peacefully, after all.

Lying is easy; convincing is hard.

The world needs lies…

"Huh? Why are you out here alone? Where's Xiaoshan?"

Zhang Su, seeing Yu Qing step out of the warehouse, asked in surprise.

Yu Qing smirked, her expression strange: "You can prepare the supplies for Pan Guihua."

"Oh? Efficient!"

Zhang Su was stunned—settled so quickly?

Though puzzled, he immediately told Tan Huajun to pack a backpack with food and water.

Tan Huajun stepped down from the vehicle, carrying the pack; the warehouse door opened, and Zhong Xiaoshan led Pan Guihua into the sunlight, accompanied by muffled growls.

Aao aao aao, aowu.

The small zombie squirmed and struggled on Pan Guihua's back, making her frail body sway violently.

Everyone present felt a pang of sorrow.

Zhong Xiaoshan saw the backpack in Tan Huajun's hands and knew it was meant for Pan Guihua; she walked over, took it, and caught Zhang Su's questioning gaze—she merely shook her head slightly.

"Sister Pan, there's enough here to last you many days. Conserve it on the road."

"Oh, oh, thank you, thank you so much."

Pan Guihua took the backpack from Zhong Xiaoshan, slung it over her shoulder, and nodded to the group.

"Sister, I still need to warn you one last time!"

Zhang Su's tone turned grave: "This illness is nearly incurable. Letting your daughter go sooner is the best choice—it spares you danger too. If you're willing to ask, we'll do it for you!"

Do what?

Of course—end the little zombie…

Pan Guihua stiffened at Zhang Su's words, her expression twisted: "No, no thank you. We appreciate your kindness."

Then she walked toward the factory gate.

Once Pan Guihua passed through the iron gate, Zhang Su couldn't help asking: "How did you talk her into it? She didn't resist at all—and she left in a hurry. What happened?"

Not just Zhang Su—everyone was stunned. They all expected a fierce argument, a reluctant, tearful departure. This outcome was nothing like they'd imagined.

Someone asked Yu Qing, but she said nothing.

"Sigh…" Zhong Xiaoshan sighed, no longer hiding it—Yu Qing already knew, and everyone would find out soon enough. She spoke slowly: "I told her staying here wouldn't cure her daughter—that she needed to find a doctor."

…

…

Everyone stared, jaws nearly dropping.

Seeing their stunned expressions, Zhong Xiaoshan shrugged: "Giving her a false hope is better than crushing her last pillar of strength. Don't you notice how her spirit changed when she left? Before, she was terrified, anxious, hollow—now, she smiled."

Undeniable—when Pan Guihua walked out of the warehouse, she was smiling. Before, only fear, unease, and despair had been on her face.

"Whoa, Xiaoshan, you're a master liar! Do you ever lie to Su Ge?"

Zheng Xinyu, sensing the gloom, quickly cracked a joke.

Zhong Xiaoshan shot her a playful glare: "You little thing… Su Ge's too sharp. Do you think I could fool him? Besides, I never lie to any of you—only to outsiders, okay?"

The two women bantered, lightening the mood; others said nothing, only smiled. One difficult problem was solved.

"Alright, alright! Clean up the place—you've been crammed in the vehicles for two days. Let's move somewhere more spacious. Zhu Zi, Teacher Yu, let's figure out how to set up defenses here."

As soon as the words ended, everyone scattered to their tasks. In the apocalypse, even cleaning up was a rare luxury.

Yet just as everyone was busy, a scream pierced the air.

"Murder! Robbery! Help! No—don't!"

Zhang Su and the others, who had been discussing guard post placements, froze.

"That's Pan Guihua's voice?!"

Zhao Dezhu pointed toward the highway outside the factory gate.

"Yes!" Zhang Su strode to the gate and looked out—two men were kicking Pan Guihua, while a woman rummaged through her backpack.

"Damn, this woman really…"

Zhao Dezhu's face twitched as he added: "Bro, do we step in?"

At that moment, the two men beating Pan Guihua noticed Zhang Su and the others at the gate.

"Hai Ge, there are people over there!"

The man stopped, tugged his companion, and pointed toward Zhang Su.

"Hey, what're you looking at?"

Hai Ge tilted his head toward Zhang Su and called out loudly.

The distance between them was thirty to forty meters—shouting was no problem.

"That woman you're robbing? I just let her go. That backpack? I gave it to her."

Zhang Su spoke calmly.

Yu Wen and Zhao Dezhu exchanged glances—none of them understood why Zhang Su was suddenly so mild-mannered.

"Oh?" Hai Fei feigned surprise, kicked Pan Guihua again as she lay sobbing on the ground, and grinned: "Then I'll thank you for your generosity, brother. Hah!"

Zhang Su shook his head: "What you're doing makes me feel like I'm the one who killed her."

Hai Ge and his companions froze. He tensed: "Then what do you mean, brother?"

"I just want to ask—why rob her?" Zhang Su's tone remained calm, as if he already knew the answer.

"Damn, that's such a dumb question, brother. She's a woman carrying a kid and a backpack full of food and water—why wouldn't I take it? Should I rob you? You wouldn't let me, right?"

Hai Ge spoke as if it were obvious.

"Exactly. Survival of the fittest. Fine. Now hand over everything you've got. Congratulations—you've been robbed."

Zhang Su unslung his crossbow from his shoulder—he'd expected this exact reply, and had been waiting.

"Bro, bro, let's talk this out—we don't need to go for weapons, do we?"

Because the crossbow was slung behind him, Hai Ge and his group hadn't noticed it; now they were alarmed.

Tap-tap-tap—rapid footsteps echoed.

In Hai Ge's stunned gaze, over a dozen figures gradually appeared at the factory gate—his hope of fighting back turned to ice.

"I finally try to do something kind—and you idiots ruin it?"

Zhang Su raised his crossbow and stepped toward the highway, genuinely angry.

"Bro, come on—you don't need to make an enemy over some worthless woman, right? I'll give the stuff back to her. Here, sis, I—don't move!"

Hai Ge snatched the backpack from his female companion, stepped to Pan Guihua's side, then suddenly pulled a dagger, yanked her up by the neck, and pressed it to her throat: "Everyone freeze! Move and I slit her throat!"

Zhang Su aimed his crossbow—but Hai Ge had hidden his head behind Pan Guihua, clearly experienced in standoffs.

"Ah… zombie!"

Before the man could finish his threat, a scream rang out.

Puch.

Something unexpected happened.

The little zombie on Pan Guihua's back had bitten off a chunk of flesh from Hai Ge's cheek—his bloody, mangled face looked horrifying.

During the struggle, the mask on the zombie's face had somehow fallen off. Now it was chomping greedily on the meat, clearly starving and eating with relish.

"Aaah! Zombie! Aaah, I'll kill you—!"

Hai Ge, wracked with pain and realizing he'd been bitten, went berserk, stabbing the little zombie wildly with his dagger.

Puch-puch-puch…

Either mentally shattered or driven by rage, he stabbed the zombie repeatedly—never once aiming for the head.

"No! Don't kill my daughter! I'll fight you to the death!"

Pan Guihua, who had already lost all strength, her face streaked with blood, felt her daughter being attacked by Haige; somehow, she found the strength to turn around and clamp her hands around Haige's throat.

Women's fights usually consist of three moves: pulling hair, choking, and kicking below the waist. Pan Guihua instantly used the choking and kicking moves, causing Haige, who had just drawn his dagger to attack, to collapse to his knees.

"Ah, ah… daughter…"

The most unexpected thing happened: as Pan Guihua bent over, intending to strangle Haige, the little zombie on her back—due to the jolts and movement—gained more room to shift, turned its head, and bit down hard on Pan Guihua!

"Oh no…"

Even Zhang Su and the others were taken by surprise. He and Tan Huajun had only been aiming their crossbows at Haige and his men, just moments ago relieved that the little zombie had bitten Haige—now the situation had flipped, and the zombie had bitten Pan Guihua!

"Tan, can you take them out?"

Zhang Su turned to ask Tan Huajun.

"No, no."

Tan Huajun shook her head vigorously; the little zombie swung violently with Pan Guihua's movements, making it impossible to aim!

"Take out those two!"

Zhang Su whispered, then pulled the trigger at the woman standing nearby watching the spectacle.

Whoosh. Whoosh.

Two sharp whistles cut through the air; the woman rummaging through the bag and Haige's thug had no chance to beg—they both dropped dead.

"Don't rush, daughter, Mommy will kill the bad people and then feed you. Don't rush, don't rush."

Pan Guihua had completely lost her mind; her hands clamped like iron bands around Haige's throat, unaware that his body had already gone limp, while her own shoulder was a bloody, mangled mess.

"Sister Pan, he's already dead."

Zhong Xiaoshan couldn't help but speak up to remind Pan Guihua.

"Dead?" Pan Guihua panted, uncertainly shook Haige's corpse—seeing no reaction, she tossed it aside and swiftly pulled the little zombie wrapped in the blanket from her back.

"Daughter, so you wanted meat? Eat, eat, there's meat here."

As she spoke, Pan Guihua placed the little zombie beside Haige.

The little zombie wasn't picky—it devoured the freshly dead Haige with equal appetite, sinking its teeth into his neck, blood streaming from its lips onto the damp highway, a gruesome sight.

Pan Guihua seemed to forget her own pain, stroking the little zombie's withered hair, a tender smile spreading across her face, radiant in the sunlight.

(End of Chapter)