Chapter 237: Capture the Zombie

"Holy shit!"

Zhao De's face looked worse than he was crying; he forgot all about the bet and sprinted away, first and foremost ensuring he wouldn't attract more zombies!

"Fuck, this guy's a living dad!"

Zhang Su wore a look of utter disbelief—he'd guessed Zhao De might cause trouble, but never imagined it'd be this bad!

Eleven zombies, three of them with petrified skin—this ratio was normal, within acceptable limits…

The three remained silent, gripped their weapons, and moved to intercept Zhao De's direction; they couldn't let him face danger alone—this debt would be settled back at camp!

Pfft!

Zhang Su reached close range and encountered the fastest ordinary zombie; since it was obsessively chasing Zhao De, he struck from the side, driving a steel rod through the skull's fissure and piercing its brain—clean and efficient.

Thud.

Zhang Su gripped the steel rod tightly to alert everyone.

"This zombie's attack power is too strong—both offense and defense have improved! No wonder the United Village couldn't hold out, and they even got set on fire—just thinking about it is terrifying."

"It seems possible. Should we open the door and test it?" Chen Hanzhou suggested.

Duan Wu hurried back to his quarters and delivered the news to Fu Wei immediately.

"Caught it? Come on, quick, take me to see it!"

Yu Qing was equally confused and wanted to know what had happened.

"Here we are, here we are! Brother Zhang, we're here!"

Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished cursing, the carriage fell silent.

"Be careful when handling zombies—petrified-skin zombies are different from the ordinary ones!"

Fu Wei nodded politely to Zhang Su.

As Zhang Su was giving orders, Duan Wu pushed Fu Wei speeding over—the wheelchair moved faster than a bicycle.

Everyone exchanged glances; they knew Zhao De was formidable, but hadn't expected him to be this unreliable.

Suddenly, Zhang Su felt something and turned his head—right there, he spotted Zhao De sneaking away.

"Heh heh…" Zhang Su chuckled and shook his head: "I don't have the authority to take away anyone's freedom to drive, but I sincerely advise—no one should ever let Zhuang drive again. Also…"

Both turned their heads—Chen Hanzhou moved like lightning, lunging to Zhao De's side; Liu Tianji was a split second slower but followed right after.

"Seems a bit dull and gray?"

"What's the big deal? I'm not running—I just need to pee! Seriously, bro, is it really worth it over a few packs of cigarettes?"

Plop.

Zhang Su suspected this might be an energy-saving program.

Zhang Su released the steel ring; the zombie struggled but couldn't even stand, collapsing to the ground and wriggling like a giant silkworm cocoon—its hands and mouth, once dangerous, were now useless, posing almost no threat.

The zombie fell to the ground.

"Mr. Zhang, I'll go ahead then—thank you again!"

Lu Yubo and the United Village group hadn't returned yet; nearly everyone left at camp had gathered around the vehicle—they'd never seen a mutated zombie before and were buzzing with excitement.

"This damn thing's got insane strength!"

"Xiao Chen, Xiao Liu, hold that thing down!"

Then Zhang Su recounted every glorious "achievement" Zhao De had pulled on the way—this time, he left no room for mercy.

"Brother Su, this guy's too violent—how do we get him back? Won't he tear the vehicle apart?"

"I've figured it out—I'm suited to be a warrior. Let me lead the charge from now on, but leave strategy and command to others—deal?"

Zhang Su wasn't idle either—his task was most critical: capturing the petrified-skin zombie. Holding a steel rod in one hand and an explosion-proof fork in the other, after dispatching two ordinary zombies, he focused entirely on the petrified-skin one before him!

Everyone moved in unison, using long ropes to bind the zombie tightly from a distance, and secured its mouth with a steel bar—its biting made a loud crunching sound.

"Got it!"

Since many zombies still wandered in the distance, the group fought with extreme restraint—faces twisted with tension, yet not a single unnecessary sound escaped, only the crack of weapons tearing through flesh echoed.

The zombie let out a roar—immediately, the explosion-proof ring snapped around it, restraining its movement again; enraged, it clawed and scratched wildly, its eyes blazing with terrifying crimson light.

Yu Wen was extremely tense—he'd already accepted this son-in-law and didn't want to see him get hurt.

Zhang Su parked the vehicle, ordered everyone to step back, had Chen Hanzhou and the others prepare, then pressed the door-release button.

Aowu!

"Hey!"

"Mr. Zhang, what happened to Xiao Zhao?"

Zhao De's face flushed crimson—he knew full well the series of things he'd done today were embarrassing, and he had self-awareness.

Thud-thud-thud!

The imprisoned zombie naturally didn't stay calm; freed from the steel ring, it frantically slammed against the garage door, roaring with rage.

The group exchanged glances.

The one-armed Chen Hanzhou was equally formidable—he'd trained in karate before, and after losing half an arm, he'd trained his remaining one relentlessly; the fire axe swung by his dragon-arm whistled through the air—he held his own against a single petrified-skin zombie and only needed a little more time to kill it!

"Let's try first!" Zhang Su said: "Xiao Chen, open the RV's trunk—the button's on the left knee level—you'll see it right away!"

"Ordinary zombies stay agitated for about four to five minutes after losing their target—could it be that these zombies stop moving once enclosed?"

With that, Fu Wei turned his wheelchair and steered toward Cuilengxuan.

Zhao De was caught, sheepishly scratching his head.

"Hey, this zombie's a coward—it got scared…"

Fighting as they retreated, by the time they reached the RV, all zombies except the one tightly restrained by Zhang Su's custom explosion-proof fork had been eliminated—the incident was resolved smoothly.

"Wei Jun, Brother Zhang's back—he brought back a petrified-skin zombie!"

Fu Wei sat impatiently in his wheelchair, desperate to stand and rush forward to study the petrified-skin zombie.

"What's the difference between this zombie and the ordinary ones? Besides strength, anything else?"

"Everyone, spread out!"

Zhang Su gripped the steel rod tightly, struggling to control the frenzied zombie—thankfully, it was high-quality riot gear; if it had been a regular dog-catching net, it would've snapped in seconds!

Zhao De and the others rushed to grip the steel rod and help restrain the zombie.

"Arrogant bastard—can't get out now, huh? Heh, once we get back, I'll slice you up for research!"

"Step back, everyone—watch out! This zombie's incredibly strong!"

Inside the room, Fu Wei, who'd been rewriting his lab notes, dropped his pen instantly and spun his wheelchair toward the exit.

"Don't just gawk—Lue Zi, bring something to bind it! And send someone to notify Dr. Fu!"

"Coming! Rope's here!"

Zhao De awkwardly pointed at the carriage.

Zhang Su and the others knew he was joking, but the zombie's sudden silence still puzzled them.

"Thanks for the warning!"

Tan Huajun felt the tension on the steel rod and grew concerned.

"Mr. Zhang, this is such a bother—but could I trouble you one more time? Could I have a quiet room? And perhaps we need to bind this zombie securely."

"Holy cow, hubby, you guys are amazing—you actually brought one back! Eee, this zombie's terrifying!" Zheng Xinyu held a screwdriver; she'd just been modifying the barricades at Shanmen and had followed the vehicle over.

Zhang Su had never noticed this phenomenon before—he thought carefully and realized Zhao De had repeatedly failed when assigned solo missions; this made him cautious—he'd never again assign Zhao De any important task alone!

Zhang Su gave an order.

The instigator of this incident, Zhao De—who could only use one arm—glared silently, jabbing and thrusting with his steel rod, single-handedly luring three ordinary zombies and one petrified-skin zombie, retreating as he fought, soon leaving three ordinary zombie corpses in the fields!

"Xiao Zhao's mindset still isn't stable!"

Zhao De shook his head repeatedly.

As the RV's garage door slowly opened, the previously calm zombie suddenly became frenzied.

Aowu! Aowu!

The zombie trapped in the ring was wildly agitated, twisting its body, swinging its arms through the air, clawing at Zhang Su from two meters away—but the rod held it back, preventing any approach.

"There seem to be some spots on its skin!"

Wu Lue sprinted over, carrying a coil of hemp rope.

The four dashed back to the vehicle, floored the accelerator, turned the vehicle around in the fields, and returned to the road without causing further trouble.

Zhao De panted heavily—killing zombies was easy; capturing one alive exhausted him.

Chen Hanzhou sprinted onto the vehicle, performed a quick operation, and the RV's garage door slowly lifted.

"No, no, no," Zhang Su quickly shook his head, pointing far away: "This place is too dangerous—if we attract all those zombies over, it'll be trouble—let's deal with it back at camp!"

"The room's already prepared for you—second floor, corner of Cuilengxuan. Lue Zi, get a cart to help Dr. Fu move the zombie over!"

Zhang Su and Zhao De worked together, Tan Huajun stood guard, Chen Hanzhou stood ready to close the door—the four coordinated perfectly and finally shoved the zombie into the garage.

Close-quarters combat—luckily, Zhang Su's group had exceptional combat strength; they fought while retreating, showing no signs of weakness!

Tan Huajun, after two months of intense training, was no longer the fat woman who struggled to climb walls; she wielded her caliper with fluid grace, retreating with agile footwork, and every strike drove her claws straight into a zombie's eye socket—ordinary zombies couldn't survive two rounds against her!

Yu Wen silently shook his head—he'd long seen this son-in-law as a reckless brute; he'd hoped Zhang Su's focused training would help him grow, but alas, a soldier remains a soldier—he'll never become a general. He could only hope the man would slowly improve.

This small farce didn't dampen anyone's mood—it added some levity. No one looked down on Zhao De; his combat strength was formidable, second only to Zhang Su in the entire camp. With reliable leadership, having a teammate like him was reassuring.

(End of Chapter)