Chapter 194: It Must Hurt a Bit, Huh

"Shh, don't make a sound!"

Zhang Su's gaze instantly sharpened, locking onto the source of the sound, while gesturing to those beside him to follow.

As the time since he gained his ability grew longer, he had gained a deeper understanding of his hearing range; judging from the environment just now, the others were likely eighty to one hundred meters away in a straight line.

He moved slowly, not directly toward the sound's origin, but slightly off to the side—far off, he could clearly see two people sitting on the rooftops of two different courtyards, one with a cigarette between his lips, the other hugging his arms and dozing off; in the quiet surroundings and cold moonlight, who wouldn't want to sleep…

Zhang Su led the group to a blind spot in the sentries' line of sight, pointed with his hand, and said: "That direction, three courtyards—everyone's inside."

Everyone exchanged glances.

"This… this is the southeast corner? Damn, these guys are really sneaky—no wonder we always lose when we clash with them, they're too crafty!"

Wang Xin's expression was grim; fighting such people was no wonder he kept losing, but he was deeply puzzled—how could Zhang Su, just by glancing, gather so much intelligence?

"Brother Su, what's the plan now?"

Those who had followed Zhang Su felt no curiosity—as if Zhang Su was born with the ability to see through everything.

Zhang Su smirked at Wang Xin and said: "Gui Zi, the info you gave was wrong—all the vengeful spirits are coming for you."

"Who? The King of Hell is here to take your lives!"

Zheng Xinyu remembered that direction was where Lu Yubo and Tan Huajun were.

Soon, four teams were assigned; apart from Guo Dachao and Qi Xiaoshuai who stayed put, everyone else moved slowly toward their positions, while Wang Xin crouched motionless in the shadows, watching from the sidelines.

Jia Shiqin voiced a hesitant concern—these were live human lives; if they killed the wrong ones, the guilt would be hard to bear.

The four words "shoot directly" sent a chill through everyone's hearts.

"I… this… it's right, it's definitely right."

The number of people in the three courtyards was unknown; Zhang Su brought Zheng Xinyu to the southeast corner, checked the distance, then pulled from his backpack a large explosive made by Yu Qing.

He snapped the half-meter fuse, leaving only five centimeters, pulled out a lighter, lit it, and hurled it toward the rooftop where the smoker sat!

But before he could act further, he saw the smoker on the rooftop suddenly flash on a flashlight, shining it toward a direction, shouting angrily: "Who's there?"

Immediately after, Zhang Su pulled another grenade from his waist, pulled the pin, and hurled it toward the dozing man!

"Attack! Attack!"

Since the enemy had already spotted their people, it was time to strike!

"Enough useless talk—I'll assign teams. Teacher Yu and Jia Shiqin, hold the northeast corner. Me and Xinyu…"

Zhang Su no longer hesitated and roared.

The sentries screamed in alarm, their flashlights sweeping toward the direction of the shout.

"Understood!"

"Gui Zi, your job's done—this is none of your concern anymore. The eight of us will block all exits at the four corners; if anyone runs out of the courtyards, shoot them on sight!"

"Yes, Brother Zhang, anything you need me to do, just say the word!" Wang Xin felt he should show his worth now.

In the shadows, Wang Xin's lips trembled—he was terrified. The King of Hell truly was the King of Hell!

"Brother Su, could we… could we be making the same mistake as with Beitaizi Camp?"

"Bo Zai and Lao Tan are exposed!"

Wang Xin was stunned, waving his hands frantically to insist he wasn't wrong.

Combat isn't a tug-of-war—you don't need to count "one, two, three" to begin.

The large explosive arced through the flashlight beam; the smoker never saw what it was, thinking it was a coconut, and it landed precisely on the rooftop!

"No good! Run—!"

When he saw the smoking "coconut," a chill ran down his spine, every hair on his body stood on end—he didn't care how high the roof was, he leapt straight down.

Too late.

BOOM!!

A fireball shot skyward, the thunderous blast shaking their very bones; those guarding the four corners felt the ground tremble beneath their feet, exchanging stunned glances—was this power… too much?

The truth proved it: the large explosive was truly the large explosive. If a grenade was a five-year-old swinging a stick, the large explosive was a sixteen-year-old hacking wildly with an axe!

No screams—perhaps drowned out by the explosion and collapsing debris…

Only fragments of the smoker were seen flying from the roof into the courtyard; several parts had vanished entirely.

Rural self-built houses used sturdy materials, able to withstand a magnitude 6 or 7 earthquake—but not the large explosive. With the blast, the buildings collapsed instantly into rubble; even the courtyard walls were not spared, suffering significant damage.

The people inside were utterly cursed—even if they weren't killed by the large explosive, they'd be crushed by falling concrete slabs!

"Holy shit… how much explosive did Yu Qing pack into that?!"

In the shadows, Zhang Su, who had thrown the large explosive, was stunned, clutching his head—the shockwave's dust and sand still stung his skin.

He couldn't help feeling a wave of dread over having snapped the fuse so short—thankfully, Yu Qing's fuse data was reliable; otherwise, he and Zheng Xinyu would've been reduced to ashes!

Lu Yubo grinned broadly: "Heh, blown apart by a large explosive—must've hurt a bit, huh!"

Tan Huajun stared at Lu Yubo, speechless.

"Teacher Yu, your daughter's explosive… that's a lot of material…"

In the darkness, Jia Shiqin gave a strange look to Yu Wen.

Yu Wen's face was complex—he could only offer an awkward smile in return.

Far away, Wang Xin and Zhang Ya sat atop their respective RV roofs, both gazing toward the glowing fire.

"It's started!"

Wang Xin's voice carried uncontainable excitement.

Zhang Ya hugged her arms and murmured: "I hope Brother Su and the others stay safe. But that explosion… wasn't a grenade."

"A grenade couldn't have that power—it's definitely Xiao Yu's large explosive. My god, that's pure explosive art!"

Wang Xin stood on tiptoe, straining to see something through the flames—unfortunately, he couldn't make out anything.

Dust from the collapsed courtyard rose thickly; no one had escaped yet, but the grenade-blasted courtyard was filled with cries.

Instantly, Zhang Su's ears picked up a flurry of movement—Beitaizi Camp had reacted, organizing a counterattack.

"Flashlights!"

At Zhang Su's shout, eight beams of light flared simultaneously, crisscrossing to illuminate every inch of the streets before and behind the courtyards—no hiding place remained.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The timing was perfect—the moment the lights lit up, the first man burst out of the courtyard, firing the first shot of the counterattack.

"Brothers, break out! Kill these bastards!"

Those inside knew they faced ruthless enemies and didn't hesitate—they fired back immediately. They had no other choice; if they stayed inside, they'd likely get another grenade. Only by charging out could they survive!

But they didn't know who they were facing…

Taptaptap, taptaptaptap…

Bang! Bang!

As the men of Beitaizi Camp charged out of the small courtyard, they were met with a torrent of gunfire.

Though it looked like an exchange, it was a one-sided massacre—homemade firearms stood no chance against modern automatic rifles.

Accuracy, power, and ammunition capacity were on entirely different levels…

Beitaizi Camp had initially held a numerical advantage—but after the large explosive killed a whole group, that advantage vanished.

Feeding five bullets a day wouldn't make a sharpshooter, but now, in real combat, the training was already paying off.

After one volley, the four men guarding the northwest and northeast corners emptied their magazines—the field was suddenly clear, not a single standing figure left.

Behind them, the southwest and southeast corners had killed five escapees who tried to climb over the walls.

"We surrender! We surrender!"

From the moment Zhang Su threw the large explosive to the moment the enemy cried surrender, less than three minutes had passed—real combat was this swift, this brief; victory required only a moment.

"No surrender! Reload! Storm the courtyards! Leave no young men alive!"

Zhang Su's voice reached every ear present.

Not only did the men of Beitaizi Camp feel their hearts sink—those who followed Zhang Su were stunned too.

"Brother Su, they surrendered…"

Zheng Xinyu couldn't help reminding Zhang Su.

"Think back to when we faced the horde—did the zombies accept our surrender?"

Zhang Su declared loudly—not just to Zheng Xinyu, but to everyone.

"Yeah, kill them!"

Lu Yubo's blood boiled—he removed his empty magazine, clipped it back to his belt, inserted a fresh one, and charged into the courtyard, still shooting down wounded men on the ground—he no longer cared about ammo consumption, his eyes red with rage.

Tan Huajun followed him—she agreed with Zhang Su's words.

"You're from Tianmayu, right? We can talk! It's not what you think!"

This time, the voice from inside the courtyard was louder—someone had even pulled out a loudspeaker, probably fearing they wouldn't be heard.

"Tianmayu…"

Wang Xin, crouched in the corner, clutching his head in terror, suddenly understood—he now knew the exact location of Zhang Su's camp.

But even if he had a hundred times the courage, he wouldn't dare plot anything—Beitaizi Camp was the living proof.

"You shot my men without cause, planted bombs on the road outside my camp, lured zombies toward my base—and now you want to talk? What do you think you can bargain with? I'll wipe you out!"

Zhang Su's tone was icy, especially in this smoke-choked night.

(End of Chapter)