Chapter 165: Who Supports? Who Opposes?

"Ah..."

The villagers gathered around were terrified by the gunshots and scrambled backward in panic.

They had all harbored doubts, assuming the woman who had pleaded with them so earnestly wouldn't dare shoot—turns out they were wrong.

Blood pooled across the ground; Yu Qing's face was streaked with tears, her expression shifting between laughter, sorrow, and cold detachment—her emotions wildly complex.

"I did it... Evil people deserve to die, deserve to die, deserve to perish! I did it, didn't I?"

Yu Qing mumbled incoherently, then turned to look at Zhang Su, as if she had fulfilled some sacred mission.

"Yes, you did it! You used ruthless force to punish the evil man who tried to harm you—this is your transformation. Remember what I just said: don't blame or shame yourself. Zhu Zi, take your wife back to the vehicle and rest!"

"Got it, got it, honey, come on, let's go..."

Zhao Dezhu quickly helped Yu Qing toward the RV.

"Mr. Zhang, thank you for giving Qingqing the chance to grow."

Yu Wen walked up beside Zhang Su and spoke softly; as Yu Qing's father, he had repeatedly urged her—warning her that in the apocalypse, human hearts were treacherous, that she must learn to be ruthless—but to little effect...

Lu Yubo had initially not understood Zhang Su's intent, but now, upon hearing him speak, he immediately grasped it. He hurried forward with a grin on his face, though his eyes were icy.

Zhang Su raised his voice, causing everyone in the United Village to freeze.

Zhang Su spread his hands.

After eliminating three men, the remaining villagers were like birds startled by arrows; hearing Zhang Su's voice, they felt a chill run through their bones.

"Hey, damn it, you're running some kind of rotating government in this tiny village? Fine... then come on! Whoever wants to live, bring out the people from Xiguanying!"

"Hehe, Brother Su, I'll help you."

"I'll speak! I'll explain!"

Instantly, someone moved—several hands grabbed six men and pinned them to the ground.

"Hey, what are you doing? You can't kill us! On what grounds are you killing us?!"

Zhang Su looked at the men gasping on the ground and nodded inwardly: yes, these were the ones who had been the loudest and most aggressive just now.

"Hey, are you just standing there? Come on, a few of you help!"

"I heard earlier about Xiguanying—someone explain what's going on?"

A young man in his twenties gathered his courage and said: "Our United Village was formed by merging eight surviving villages. Xinxin Zhuang, Wangge Zhuang, and Xiguanying had the most people, so we rotate leadership among the three. This week, it's Xiguanying's turn."

Immediately after, Zhao Xue pulled Wu Lue along, and Yu Wen joined them, all three walking up to Zhang Su.

Zhang Su nodded without saying more, clapped his hands, and stepped to the center. "Alright, now let's discuss what to do with all of you."

"Huh? So it's not my problem anymore? Fine, you each pick one."

Zhang Su intended to clean out Xiguanying's people, but glanced aside and saw his own group standing idly by, staring.

Zheng Xinyu and Zhong Xiaoshan said nothing, silently walking to Zhang Su's side—they both knew exactly what he planned to do, and were willing to help shoulder the burden.

"Ah..."

"On what grounds? Because you robbed travelers and preyed on women? I'm not some righteous avenger—but you crossed me. Now you ask me why I'm killing you?"

Bind!

Anger mounting, Zhang Su pulled out his pistol and shot the shouting man point-blank.

The Xiguanying villagers pinned to the ground, seeing the gun approach their faces, finally understood what was coming—they panicked violently, but each was weighed down by two or three others, utterly immobilized.

The villager pressing hard on the man's neck felt a faint tremor travel up his arm, then saw a bloody hole open in the man's skull—he screamed, collapsing onto his rear.

"Do it!"

Tap-tap, tap-tap...

At Zhang Su's command, the others didn't hesitate—they raised their guns and executed the men on the ground one by one.

After the gunfire ceased, blood stained the ground; silence fell over the scene.

"I saw you leading the arrest of Xiguanying's people—what's your name?"

Zhang Su walked up to a man.

"I... I'm Wang Xinggui!" The man's heart pounded wildly, but he forced himself to answer.

"Wang Xinggui, I ask you: you were the most eager to arrest Xiguanying's people—why? Personal grudge?"

Wang Xinggui felt a surge of tension, then hardened his resolve: "They're utterly evil. They eat food but do nothing human. If they stole just to survive, fine—but they had more than enough to eat..."

He went on to describe the atrocities committed by Xiguanying villagers: they treated people like animals, not out of necessity, but purely for pleasure—torture, abuse, murder, all for amusement.

The other villages had long despised Xiguanying, but due to their alliance and lack of direct conflict, they had no way to act against them.

"Big Brother, you've done heaven's work today... honestly, those Xiguanying people are worse than zombies!"

At the end, Wang Xinggui spat on the ground.

"So no one in Xiguanying was good? If they were so evil, why did you merge with them?"

Zhang Su felt a flicker of doubt—he wasn't fully convinced by Wang Xinggui's words.

"Xiguanying used to be the largest village. It split into two factions—the good ones were all killed off... leaving only these bandits. We had no choice but to merge—otherwise we'd have torn each other apart, and nobody wanted that."

"Only during Xiguanying's turn as leaders do they drag everyone out to rob and ambush—none of us want to do it!"

Wang Xinggui explained again, and others nearby nodded vigorously.

Without the subtle observations Zhang Su had made earlier, he might have doubted Wang Xinggui—but now, seeing the villagers' reactions, it all fit his expectations.

"Wang Xinggui, right? You seem capable. You're in charge now—anyone in favor? Anyone opposed?"

Zhang Su looked at the villagers of the United Village.

Who is in favor? Who is opposed?

They exchanged glances—over ten men holding rifles asking who opposed?

Unanimous approval. No opposition.

"Now that all the Xiguanying people are dead, will you face trouble when you return?"

Zhang Su asked.

Wang Xinggui shook his head without hesitation: "If those women they kidnapped find out, they'll be overjoyed—they'll worship you as a savior!"

"No need for worship. I have another question: where did all the zombies in Beidong Town go? Don't tell me you got wiped out by them!"

Zhang Su voiced his original suspicion.

"Wiped out? No way—there were too many. We took turns luring them to an abandoned quarry over there."

Zhang Su exchanged a glance with those beside him—there were still clever people in this world.

"Brother Su, now that you mention it, I think some of the zombies near Xida Ying might've been lured away too!"

Chen Hanzhou frowned.

"That's right, that's right!" The man who answered quickly chimed in: "This young man's right—we learned it from Xida Ying! They lured most of their zombies downstream..."

"Downstream..."

Zhang Su grimaced—downstream was exactly where Shuikou Village was. He sighed inwardly: farmers really knew how to improvise.

"Do you have any usable minivans in your village?"

Zhang Su changed the subject.

Wang Xinggui rubbed his head: "Yeah, we've got several. Uh, Brother, what's your surname?"

"I'm Zhang."

"Oh oh! Brother Zhang, you want a minivan? I'll give you one!" Wang Xinggui said generously.

Zhang Su shook his head: "I want food. After I cleared out Xiguanying, your poisonous tumor, shouldn't you show some appreciation? Fill one minivan completely with rice, flour, oil, vegetables, meat—doesn't that sound like a fair deal?"

"Fair? More than fair! Two vans—I'll prepare two vans, Brother Zhang!"

Wang Xinggui paused, then nodded vigorously.

The supplies stored by Xiguanying were clearly spoils of war.

"Bozi, Teacher Yu, Master Jia—go back to the village with the villagers and tell them Wang Xinggui is now in charge of the United Village!"

Zhang Su waved to the three.

Lu Yubo and Jia Shiqin didn't understand Zhang Su's intent, but Yu Wen's heart stirred—he smiled faintly, and his demeanor toward the villagers grew noticeably warmer.

After arranging everything, Zhang Su walked over to Tan HuaJun and noticed Mo Qianlan standing beside her, pale as a startled quail.

"Pretty girl, did that scene scare you?"

Since joining the group, Mo Qianlan had spoken little—besides chatting with her mother and Zheng Xinyu about anime, she rarely talked. Hearing Zhang Su address her, she froze, unsure how to respond.

"Lanlan, Brother Zhang is talking to you."

Tan HuaJun saw her daughter lowering her head like a silent pot, and patted her shoulder.

"Thank you for your concern, Uncle Zhang... I'm... I'm fine. I'm not afraid of dead people, just zombies."

After speaking, Mo Qianlan lowered her head again.

"Hey!" Zhang Su turned to Zhong Xiaoshan. "Hey, Xiaoshan—you're the same: afraid of zombies, not dead bodies."

"No way! Nurse Zhong's so brave, and she's scared of zombies?"

Someone immediately questioned.

"Come on, that was right at the start of the disaster! It takes time to adapt!" Zhong Xiaoshan rubbed her forehead.

Zhang Su chuckled and patted Tan HuaJun's shoulder. "Old Tan, you're the toughest fighter in our group—your daughter should match your spirit."

Tan HuaJun's curly hair was tied back, her face sharp and confident as she smiled: "Brother Su, don't worry—me and my daughter together are more than two!"

Everyone understood: even if Mo Qianlan lagged slightly, Tan HuaJun would make up for it.

About half an hour later, Zhang Su's group resumed their journey. Between the two RVs, there had been only one Prado—now two additional minivans joined them.

From Yu Wen, Zhang Su learned what had happened in the village—further proof that his observations and Wang Xinggui's words were both correct: only Xiguanying's people were truly evil.

"Brother, no wonder those Xiguanying guys loved robbing travelers—these two vans are full of loot pulled straight from Xiguanying's warehouse. Very rich indeed!"

On the minibus, Zhao De held up a walkie-talkie and spoke cheerfully.

"Xida Ying Village handed over six hundred jin of rice and flour, and Lianhe Village loaded over two thousand jin of various supplies—this would've taken us so much effort to scavenge ourselves!"

Zhong Xiaoshan roughly tallied the supplies, logged them into her phone, and shook her head with a sigh.

"This isn't sustainable—we need to find a place to settle down."

Zhang Su felt no great joy over the unexpected haul; the team now numbered twenty people, consuming roughly forty to fifty jin of rations daily, plus forty liters of water—no matter how much stock they had, it wouldn't last long. Only by finding a place with sustainable resources could they truly be secure.

"Tianma Yu?"

About two kilometers after leaving Beidong Town, Zhang Su spotted a brown tourist sign indicating that continuing north five kilometers would lead to Tianma Yu, a 4A scenic area.

(End of Chapter)