Chapter 236: Found the Target

"Master Wang Xin is different from before—much nicer tempered and more polite to people."

Tan Huajun leaned out, watching the distant Tank Thirty-Thousand, and sighed.

On the pitted road, Zhang Su drove the RV with focus; hearing Tan Huajun's words, he smiled and nodded: "Yeah, people change with their environment. Back at Phoenix International, he was the lofty leader of the Savior's Guild; now he's just a squad leader in the Survivor Alliance. What else can he do but keep his tail between his legs? Fuck, does this guy even know how to drive?!"

As he spoke, Zhang Su saw the front FJ Cruiser swerve violently to dodge a pothole—the right rear wheel lifted high, wobbled twice, then slammed back down, barely avoiding a rollover.

Zhang Su picked up the radio to yell, but thought better of it and put it down. Zhao Dezhhu's driving was already terrible; if he got distracted now, it'd only get worse.

Originally, Tan Huajun was supposed to drive, but Zhao Dezhhu begged and pleaded, claiming his skills had improved and he wouldn't crash into the greenery again—yet here he was, same as ever.

"Man, big brother, this damn vehicle is hard to drive, and this road's a wreck—I'm exhausted. Never driving again."

They made it through the bumpy stretch without disaster; the radio on the Mercedes RV crackled to life. Zhao Dezhhu started complaining first, trying to cover up his near-rollover embarrassment.

Aowu…

After watching a moment, Zhang Su returned to the vehicle, retrieved a modified riot fork, and said: "Dezhhu, you drove like shit just now. Punishment: go lure zombies. Bring back two, and I won't tell anyone about your embarrassment. Bring back three, and everyone finds out your driving's a pile of shit. Bring back four, and you skip dinner. Deal?"

Zhang Su picked up the radio and gave Zhao Dezhhu a forced chuckle in reply, then tossed it aside. He picked up the dedicated radio for contacting Xida Ying Village, hesitated, then put it back. He needed a proper moment to talk to him.

Zhao Dezhhu was extremely arrogant.

"Yeah, in this world, just staying alive is… hmm?"

Zhang Su observed for over half a minute, then used comparison to spot the clearly different ones among the zombies—unless he was wrong, those were the petrified-skin zombies from the quarry!

They'd always avoided zombies; rarely did they charge toward them. The two vehicles rolled slowly along the narrow country dirt road, soon approaching the shambling zombies on the field ridges.

"I told Da Kun too—the kid's well-behaved, no tantrums, said he'd focus more on training from now on."

"Get to work—grab one and take it back for study!"

"Got it, Brother Su. I never talk about this with Lanlan."

"Heh…"

Tan Huajun added: "I won't tell Lanlan either. By the way, Brother Su, I noticed Lanlan's been getting close to Xiao Lu—what's going on between them?"

Tan Huajun's lips twitched at Zhang Su's words—what kind of nonsense was that? "A bit heartless, but nice to girls"? Contradictory.

Zhang Su, seeing Zhao Dezhhu's sleazy grin, tilted his head to the two beside him: "This doesn't feel right. Get ready for combat!"

The zombie, unexpectedly attacked, turned its head. Its crimson eyes flickered like breathing—then suddenly flared bright red. It let out a howl.

"Who are you looking down on? You two wait till you cry!"

At that moment, Zhang Su caught a flicker in his peripheral vision and instantly turned his head toward the distant left side of the road.

"One pack's too little—I want two. And I pick the brand myself."

Tan Huajun and Chen Hanzhou said nothing, only nodded, then drew their personal cold weapons.

"Dezhhu, zombies spotted—stop the vehicle!"

Hearing this, Chen Hanzhou turned away with a strange expression—he felt awkward. Though Pei Lan had chosen not to be with Lu Yu, he hadn't rejected her confession either. He couldn't shake the sense of distance now between him and Lu Yu.

"You've lured them far enough—they've all come here!"

Swoosh—thud!

The clod of dirt flew—remarkably accurate, striking the nearest zombie squarely on the head.

Think of how tragic the United Village was—facing petrified-skin zombies was bad enough, then they got set on fire, nearly wiped out.

"Yiya, fuck!"

"Good—there are petrified-skin zombies. Let's find a way over!"

Zhang Su smiled at Tan Huajun's words: "I heard from Bozi. Don't worry, Old Tan. Bozi's a bit heartless, but he treats girls well—his reputation on that front is solid."

"Hah, you noticed Da Kun likes your daughter too? I've talked to him—love's a two-way thing. Can't force it."

"Don't tell anyone about today's incident with the Survivor Alliance. I need to observe Duan Wuhu and Fu Weijun's reactions."

He felt Ma Changshou had handled this matter extremely well. Of course, his main motive was Xida Ying Village's interest, but he'd balanced many factors—it was truly difficult. If it had been Tianmayu in his place, he might not have handled it better.

Zhao Dezhhu patted his chest—he'd already spotted a lone zombie that looked suspiciously like a petrified-skin zombie.

Zhang Su nodded: "Fine. Two packs. But if you bring back more than four, you owe me one pack. Deal?"

The two vehicles slowed to a stop by the roadside. Zhang Su pulled out his binoculars and stared far ahead—not pretending this time. The zombies were too distant, scattered in a vast cluster; only optical zoom could reveal whether any petrified-skin zombies were among them.

Before Zhao Dezhhu could accept the bet, Chen Hanzhou raised his hand: "I'm in too—same stakes as Brother Su!"

With that, Zhao Dezhhu rolled up his sleeve with his bad arm, crouched low, and crept toward his target. He'd watched Zheng Xinyu lure zombies many times—he thought he'd learned something.

As they drew closer, the view opened up. Only then did they realize dozens of zombies were scattered across the open fields. At this distance, besides Zhang Su, the others could now see the differences among them.

Chen Hanzhou nodded. Young couples lost in each other had no time for anything else.

Ordinary zombies had bluish skin; petrified-skin zombies were uniformly gray—not just in color, but in texture, their skin bore rock-like patterns. But this difference meant nothing at long range—only face-to-face could ordinary people spot it.

Though hard to distinguish from afar, petrified-skin zombies were clearly stronger up close—their hardened skin held greater strength, and their stone-like hide made one of them worth three ordinary ones.

He was in a foul mood, but to be safe, he lured away and eliminated the lone zombie before searching for new targets.

"Fuck, you're looking down on me? What if I only bring back one? And I'll bring back a petrified-skin zombie—what then?"

Zhao Dezhhu crept closer and realized the lone zombie wasn't a petrified-skin zombie at all—he'd missed it because it was alone, with no comparison.

He could dispatch zombies efficiently with only one arm—impressive, but Zhang Su and the others couldn't help holding their breath for him.

"Heh, betting against me? You'll lose everything!"

Smiling inwardly, he didn't slacken his caution. Zhao Dezhhu crept forward slowly. About thirty meters from the petrified-skin zombie, he picked up a clod of dirt from the field.

Zhang Su told the two behind him—and, feeling he hadn't emphasized enough, added before they could answer: "Old Tan, don't tell your daughter either. Xiao Chen, same with you—don't tell Pei Lan!"

Soon, Zhao Dezhhu found a good opening: two petrified-skin zombies stood together. But he had a clever idea—kill one first, then he'd win for sure…

Tan Huajun and Chen Hanzhou also pressed against the window, straining their eyes—only distant black dots were visible, even whether they moved was unclear.

"I don't mean anything else—just don't let her hurt Lanlan. The rest, I don't care. I see they're both happy. It's just Da Kun who's a bit heartbroken."

"Hah! If you really bring back just one petrified-skin zombie, I'll personally buy you a pack of cigarettes!"

Aowuowu!

The howl seemed to carry some message, drawing the attention of nearby zombies!

Zhao Dezhhu crouched at the field's edge, drawing his Tianmayu-issue steel rod. As he imagined fighting while retreating, he suddenly saw a dozen zombies turn and charge toward him—like a horde of refugees lunging at a roasted whole ox.

(End of Chapter)