Chapter 277: Strange Pheromone

Zhang Su had no time to linger over Kuang Zhu's traces; as long as the message got through, the rest was up to Lei Youliang to figure out.

What he needed to think about now was how to strengthen Tianma Yu's defenses and how to take over the mess left by the Green Dragon Battalion.

Based on the situation when leaving Qingxian and the feedback on the battalion's troop count in his mind, it was clear the Green Dragon Battalion was finished—but he couldn't just ignore it because the zombies had crushed them.

The Green Dragon Battalion had lost many people to zombies, but their supplies, equipment, and weapons were still largely intact—even with losses, there'd be plenty left, especially tanks; zombies couldn't dismantle tanks, except Zero Zero Four…

"Boss Zhang, you think those guys at Kuang Zhu will just abandon this little girl?"

Lu Yu Bo, uneasy, muttered: "We should've grabbed more people back then—that'd give us more leverage!"

"Bozi, we're not officially at war with Kuang Zhu; it's all about interests, understand? Interests!"

Zhang Su smirked; Kuang Zhu's material resources were one concern, but its population was another he was eyeing.

The casualties in the Green Dragon Battalion chilled him; from what he'd learned, there were barely a thousand survivors in the Qingxian area, and over two hundred had just died!

This made him realize the importance of population…

Just now, the number representing the Green Dragon Battalion's population dropped again—and rapidly. While Su Xiaoya interrupted him for half a minute, it fell by ten people!

"Hmph." Su Xiaoya didn't argue; she thought to herself: just do the work.

"Absolutely not!" Su Xiaoya clenched her fists. "Uncle Lei isn't that kind of person!"

Zhang Su noticed the others staring at him with surprise, gave a half-hearted explanation, then looked toward Qingxian through the rearview mirror.

Lu Yu Bo also felt something was off—he knew Zhang Su wouldn't snap at a little girl like this.

Zhang Su got out of the vehicle and saw the camp's Liushou personnel approaching with camping lanterns. He said at once: "Starting tomorrow, initiate Phase Two of defense upgrades—walls, weapons, protective gear, and trenches all go on the agenda. Yu Wen, Xiao Liu, write down what materials you need—this can't wait!"

"Man, it's like a free gift the moment you click." Zhang Su couldn't help thinking.

Imagine the entire Qingxian region—or even more wildly, Qin Cheng emptied out—and Tianma Yu became the only camp. Then, it'd face a tidal wave of zombies alone!

"What now?"

"Hey, seriously—I think that Lei guy's sneaky. What if he just leaves you?" Zhang Su turned to Su Xiaoya.

Soon after, the convoy returned to Tianma Yu.

And the population decline hadn't stopped—in barely over a minute and a half, it dropped from around a hundred to fifty-two…

Unexpectedly, Su Xiaoya merely huffed—and triggered an intense reaction from Zhang Su. His relaxed posture snapped upright, his face grim with urgency.

"How well do you really know your Uncle Lei? I won't feed you for free. Starting tomorrow, you work the fields—or you get no food. When Kuang Zhu comes to pay your ransom, you'll be freed from hard labor."

"Huh? Oh, okay!"

"Nothing. Just suddenly needed to use the toilet!"

Problems like attracting zombies or internal unrest could be solved through management, authority, or suppression—but if there are no people left…

"Huh?!"

Zhang Su said slowly.

Suddenly, a wicked thought struck Zhang Su: if everyone in the Green Dragon Battalion except Xin Qi and two others perished, wouldn't the challenge task be handed to him on a silver platter?

Given current trends, this was actually possible…

At the same time, the number "1" in front suddenly changed to "3": 3/52.

Liu Tianji thought returning to camp would mean some rest, but barely stepped out of the vehicle before receiving an urgent task.

Yu Wen said nothing, only nodded heavily—he saw the urgency in Zhang Su's expression.

After witnessing the Green Dragon Battalion being surrounded by the zombie horde, Zhang Su felt an indescribable sense of urgency.

At first, he thought Tianma Yu could withstand attacks from a thousand-zombie horde and was safe enough—but now he wasn't so sure.

As time passed, the global zombie population was indeed slowly decreasing, but scattered zombies were also slowly gathering into massive hordes.

In the future, people might rarely encounter lone or small groups of zombies; when they did, it'd be a tidal wave…

Of course, by then, humanity would have advanced, and with more firearms reintroduced, their ability to resist zombies would improve!

Provided that…

No more monsters like Zero Zero Four are ever created.

Just like in the era before the disaster, uncontrollable technology should remain locked in labs—if it ever surfaces, it's a catastrophe!

Zhang Su couldn't imagine how much burden a monster like Zero Zero Four would inflict if it escaped control; he felt uneasy.

On the way back, he hadn't thought of any good way to deal with Zero Zero Four—maybe fire was the only reliable method, but it would come at a heavy cost.

This was just one. This was just in Qin Cheng. Forget global scale—even nationwide, it's a tiny corner. Thousands of cities like this exist; who knows how many madmen are researching zombies like the Green Dragon Battalion's fringe squad?

"I hope humanity doesn't keep digging its own grave…"

Zhang Su silently prayed.

He'd planned to talk to Xin Qi and the others, but felt tired and weighed down by thoughts, so he intended to lie down and consider how to resolve the Green Dragon Battalion's mess.

As he turned back, he noticed the cargo container holding Zero Zero Three was wide open—empty inside.

"Ah!"

Zhang Su shouted, startling everyone nearby.

"Where's Zero Zero Three? Where's the big zombie?"

Zhang Su pointed at the cargo truck, urgently asking.

Zero Zero Three wasn't as strong as Zero Zero Four, but if it went berserk, it'd still be a nightmare for Tianma Yu!

"Here, Mr. Zhang, don't panic."

Fu Wei's voice came from the other side of the cargo truck.

Zhang Su then realized Zero Zero Three had been moved out of the truck and was now sitting against the opposite side—previously overlooked in the chaos.

"Brother Zhang, don't worry—we've got our gear. If it tries to riot, we'll zap it with the electric cannon!"

Duan Wu Hu stepped out from behind the truck, waving his taser.

Wang Xin Gui was nearby too, but his expression was far less relaxed than Duan Wu Hu's—guarding a demon like this wasn't easy.

"Dr. Fu, any progress?"

Zhang Su stepped closer, frowning at Zero Zero Three, which looked like a slime.

"Yes!"

Fu Wei was thrilled—it was already 11 p. ., yet he showed no sign of fatigue.

"I've found the critical voltage to induce pseudo-death: 180 volts!"

"Hmm…" Zhang Su wasn't interested in the number—he always used much higher voltage to ensure Zero Zero Three was fully controlled. He asked: "Do you know what the pheromone's made of?"

After obtaining the pheromone, Zhang Su had kept a sample for Fu Wei to study—if they couldn't crack it, Zero Zero Three would remain in permanent pseudo-death.

"Ahem… this is interesting."

Fu Wei's face showed an unusual, strange expression upon hearing Zhang Su's question.

"Interesting? How so?"

Zhang Su was now intensely curious because of Fu Wei's odd reaction.

"If I'm right, the so-called pheromone is… dried human male reproductive cells. Commonly known as… sperm."

??

Zhang Su's expression froze. Duan Wu Hu and Wang Xin Gui also stared blankly.

"Pfft…" Zhang Su burst out laughing, face twisted: "Dr. Fu, you're serious?"

"I once worked on a reproductive study—deeply researched it. I remember that smell…"

Fu Wei shrugged.

"Damn… that's wild," Zhang Su gave a thumbs-up. "Zombies got some weird tastes."

Knowing what it was was enough—and it was easy to get. With the pheromone, Zero Zero Three became a powerful weapon.

"By the way." Zhang Su recalled the scene of Zero Zero Four fighting through flames. "Dr. Fu, can you research fire-resistant fabric? Zero Zero Three doesn't need bulletproof armor—fireproof clothing would be far more practical!"

"Sure, I'll figure it out," Fu Wei readily agreed.

(End of Chapter)