Chapter 154: Gave Too Much

Where did he come from?

Zhang Su walked over to Tan Huajun and asked.

Tan Huajun pointed to the opposite side of the street and said, "From over there. I didn't see which shop exactly."

Zhang Su followed the direction Tan Huajun indicated. Others couldn't see it, but he clearly spotted several pairs of eyes behind the glass on the third floor of a beauty and wellness clinic.

The eyes weren't important—what mattered was the black barrel of a gun!

Woof!

Good Luck also sensed the danger, let out a low growl, then tugged gently at Zhang Su's pant leg.

Zhang Su nodded to Good Luck and subtly stepped back a few paces toward the back of the RV. He was confident that unless the shooter had a Barrett-level weapon, no bullet could penetrate the RV's multiple layers of steel.

"Hello! I'm alone, unarmed, no need to be tense—I'm here to talk with you!"

The man looked around forty, his face calm and composed, not overtly aggressive, yet radiating an aura of quiet authority.

"Since you're here to talk, come a bit closer. Everyone, gather by me."

Zhang Su waved to the scattered group, signaling them to stand on the inner side of the RV.

No one had ever heard Zhang Su make such a request before, but something unusual was afoot—they instantly grew alert and quickly moved to the side of the RV.

The newcomer raised an eyebrow at the sight but said nothing, stepping to a position level with the RV's inner edge. "You're cautious, brother. My surname is Li. What's yours?"

"No need for formalities—Zhang. These days, too many people like to shoot from the shadows. Can't be too careful."

Zhang Su saw the man avoided the topic outright, so he brought it up himself.

"Shoot from the shadows?"

At the word, everyone understood. Tan Huajun raised his crossbow and aimed at the man named Li. Chen Hanzhou slipped a hand into his chest. All of them watched the man warily.

"Brother, please don't misunderstand. My companions are just worried I might get hurt. I hope you understand… To be honest, this street was cleared by me and a few brothers. You can take anything you want—but you must exchange it for supplies."

Li didn't understand why Zhang Su had suddenly become wary, but the man's precautions were effective—impressive!

Behind cover, Zhang Su relaxed slightly. "So you're Old Li, right? This street is clean enough, but claiming you cleared all the zombies? How am I supposed to believe that?"

Old Li pointed to the far end of the northern street. "There's a landfill over there. We lured most of the zombies there and piled up the corpses. Send someone to check—if you were just passing survivors, you wouldn't bother with all this, right?"

Zhang Su walked to the rear of the vehicle and glanced. He could indeed see a distant landfill crane. He reluctantly accepted the claim, turned back to Old Li, and said, "I admire you. Coming alone to negotiate supply exchanges—even with snipers watching from the shadows—aren't you afraid something might go wrong?"

Old Li shook his head. "The social system collapsed, but we're survivors from a civilized world. I believe most people still want to uphold order—even if it's incomplete. What do you think, Brother Zhang?"

Everyone nodded silently. His words held truth. To survive, you must interact with other survivor groups, exchange supplies. No one wanted to dread every trade.

Order under the apocalypse would slowly form, though the process would be painfully slow. But order, no matter how fragile, must exist.

Zhang Su lowered his crossbow from his shoulder, aiming as he spoke. "I'm willing to follow order—but who gets to define it? Why you? Because you have guns? I have them too. If I refuse to trade, what will you do?"

The atmosphere tightened instantly!

Old Li's expression hardened as he saw Zhang Su's weapon. They were barely twenty meters apart—he could clearly see both crossbows were top-tier, their power undeniable.

"You're right. Order is set by the strong. Right now, you're clearly stronger than us. If you take what you want, I can't stop you…"

Everyone was stunned. If you can't stop us, why even show up? Are you hoping for charity?

But Old Li's next sentence made Zhang Su frown.

"If you insist on refusing the trade, it's a pity—you'll miss a chance. A very important opportunity for cooperation."

Old Li's calm tone made anger hard to summon. Before the disaster, he must have held some status—no common laborer could carry such an aura.

"Oh? Care to elaborate?"

Zhang Su's interest sparked. In this era of dead communications, any scrap of information mattered. And the fact this man remained composed with two crossbows aimed at him gave Zhang Su a sense he was no ordinary survivor.

Old Li smiled, slightly mysterious. "Earlier, our lookout saw you heading east."

The statement itself meant little—just that someone had tracked their movements. But Zhang Su caught the fleeting glint of cunning in Old Li's eyes. His heart skipped. He knew the man wasn't just telling them they'd been watched.

After a moment's thought, Zhang Su's mind lit up—he understood what the man meant.

"How many of you? How many guns?"

Zhang Su asked.

Old Li smiled slightly, held up six fingers, then added, "Five people, one gun. We're few, but one of us is important."

"Important person?"

Zhang Su murmured softly. Whispered murmurs rose around him.

Of the twenty-odd people present, only one or two knew what Zhang Su was discussing with the man. The rest were confused, unable to connect the dots. They might have figured it out given time—but now, they just stood there, bewildered.

"Quiet!" Zhang Su waved his hand behind him, then turned to Old Li. "Fine. How do we trade?"

No one understood why Zhang Su suddenly conceded—but it didn't matter. They trusted he wouldn't make a bad deal.

"I can see you're interested in communication gear. Take everything in this shop. All I ask is five people's worth of food and water for a week. If it succeeds, we split the haul fifty-fifty. Deal?"

Old Li held up two palms, signaling an even split.

Zhang Su didn't hesitate—he shook his head. "We're twenty-plus people. You're five. Fifty-fifty? No way. If that's your first offer, we're done."

The confused onlookers grew more puzzled. What were they even talking about? How did it turn into splitting loot?

Old Li was quick to adjust—he changed his gesture. "Four-six. We take four, you take six. That's a fair deal!"

"I don't see it as fair. I'll accept only three-seven. You get three, we get seven."

Zhang Su spoke firmly.

To his surprise, Old Li agreed instantly. "Fine. Three for me, seven for you. Done."

??

"Boss, you gave too much!"

Zheng Xinyu didn't know what Zhang Su and Old Li were discussing, but she could tell something was off.

"Cough… It's fine."

Zhang Su awkwardly lowered his crossbow. The man's expectations were lower than he'd assumed. Given how quickly Old Li agreed, a one-nine split might've been possible—two-eight was definitely negotiable.

"Brother Zhang, shall we begin the exchange?"

Old Li raised his hand, signaling the trade could proceed.

Zhang Su shook his head. "First, call your people out. That's basic trust, right?"

Old Li hesitated, locked eyes with Zhang Su for several seconds, then scanned the dozen faces around him. Finally, he nodded, turned, and waved both hands toward the opposite side of the street.

"You talk about trust, but play tricks on me. Is this partnership still worth continuing?"

As Old Li signaled, Zhang Su's cold sarcasm came from beside him.

No one understood what Zhang Su meant—except Old Li…

"What do you mean by that?"

Zhang Su mimicked Old Li's hand gesture. Normally, people wave someone over with fingers spread, palm facing themselves. Old Li didn't—he curled his thumb.

At dozens of meters' distance, most people wouldn't notice. But binoculars weren't rare, and with a gun in hand, the man likely had a scope.

Old Li was genuinely embarrassed. Twenty meters away, with the angle, he'd assumed those behind the Mercedes RV couldn't spot such a detail. Turns out, the man saw it instantly.

He silently thought: Only a true leader could be this sharp…

Old Li waved again, this time with the normal gesture, then explained: "Better safe than sorry. Since you saw through it, I won't hide it—we actually have six people, two guns."

"Damn, you're not honest at all!" Lu Yu boomed in outrage.

Old Li rubbed his nose, slightly uneasy. "I did this only to protect myself. I mean no harm to any of you. Please don't misunderstand."

"Mr. Li, you're wrong! Hiding your strength in a partnership will inevitably harm us!" Yu Wen sternly condemned Old Li's unprofessional conduct.

Zhang Su spoke calmly. "Old Li, you're polite, and you do seem to value order. But if you test my trust again, you'll pay the price. Remember—this is the last time."

His words weren't loud, but each struck Old Li's heart. He was good at reading people—he saw the lethal aura in Zhang Su's group. He knew exactly what "price" meant.

"Never again, Brother Zhang. We'll cooperate smoothly!"

"We'll see," Zhang Su replied noncommittally.

As they spoke, five people crossed the street—four men and one woman. The four were ordinary, but one stood out: clearly a soldier, clad in combat camouflage, with a standard Type 95 rifle slung across his chest, radiating authority.

(End of Chapter)