Chapter 292: What Grudge, What Vengeance

When Zhang Su helped Zheng Xinyu rise to her feet, he turned his head and saw Meng Changwei and the others pale-faced, peering out from behind the vehicle's rear compartment.

"Zhang, Zhang's boss… this… this damn thing."

Meng Changwei's face twitched; faced with the scene before him, he was too terrified to utter a single coherent sentence.

They were formidable, but mainly against zombies—never had they experienced human-on-human conflict on this scale. They believed firearms served as deterrence, not for actually pulling triggers…

When bloody warfare erupted before their eyes, when rows of lives were mercilessly cut down, when the stench of smoke filled their nostrils, the people of Daqiaobao Village witnessed just how brutal combat among their own kind could be.

Far more intense, far more merciless than fighting zombies.

"If I don't act, he will!"

Zhang Su hastily explained, then turned to his companions, slowly rising from the ground, and asked: "Everyone alright?"

"Fuck, got hit hard, but my bulletproof vest held up!"

"Boss, they even had bulletproof vests…"

As they began cleaning up the aftermath, over thirty zombie figures staggered into view from the collapsed wall—no one knew where they'd been trapped, but now they all emerged.

Meng Changwei sighed: the gap between people was truly vast.

From his words, it was clear Daqiaobao Village rarely used firearms; indeed, their movements were decent enough, but their accuracy was poor—often two or three bullets were needed to kill a single zombie.

Zhang Su had a zombie brain in his pocket, but with so many eyes around, he didn't want to expose it. Zhong Xiaoshan hadn't come along; it would take less than half an hour to return to Tianma Island at full speed, plenty of time. And the vehicle he'd assigned to Lü Leiyang was loaded with zombie corpses.

Meng Changwei nodded vigorously: "Yes, exactly! Everyone, use your guns—this is a rare chance for live combat, seize it!"

Everyone immediately sprang into action.

"Boss, over there's trouble!" Chen Hanzhou frowned toward the wall, whispering.

"Oh, oh. Got it!"

This spectacle drew curious glances from Zhang Su and his group; from Daqiaobao's side came the rat-tat-tat and pew-pew sounds of gunfire, yet few zombies actually fell.

Soon, over a hundred zombies poured through the breach in the wall—more than had remained on the road earlier!

"Use guns, don't engage in close combat—what if there are toxin zombies still around?"

Zhao Dezhu patted his chest, his expression twisted.

Zhang Su called out to his companions, who were raising weapons to charge the zombies. Since they'd already endured a fierce firefight, there was no need to hold back now—if the distant zombies were drawn back, they'd just drive off and redo the morning's work.

"Stop the bleeding first! Lü, take that van and bring Master Jia back to camp—have Sister Zhong treat him! Hurry, no delays!"

Without Tianma Island's help, Daqiaobao Village alone could handle a hundred zombies easily—but killing them with gunfire was difficult, for they simply didn't have enough ammunition…

"Me too, it hurts so much!"

"Gear's fucking amazing!"

The Daqiaobao villagers, hearing Zhang Su's remarks, couldn't help but stare with envy.

If he knew Tianma Island didn't use bulletproof vests but material harvested from zombies, what would he think…

Lü Leiyang supported Jia Shiqin as they stepped out of the self-rescue team, their bond clearly close.

"Boss, Master Jia's leg was shot—what do we do?"

Finally, Zhang Su ordered a swift conclusion. After a volley of gunfire, empty casings clattered to the ground, and all the zombies lay dead, adding another layer of desolation to the already ruined barracks.

With zombie cleanup complete, no one relaxed—they feared more zombies might be drawn by the gunfire. Fortunately, the earlier-disturbed zombies had fled far enough and didn't return.

"Boss, I'm taking Master Jia ahead."

While others cleared zombies, Lü Leiyang had already treated Jia Shiqin's wound and placed him in the vehicle.

"Go. We'll finish here and follow. Drive carefully—if you meet zombies, floor it. Don't lead them back home."

"Got it!"

With that, Lü Leiyang jumped into the vehicle and sped off from the barracks.

"Hey, don't say it—when that little sissy gets serious, he's got some grit."

Zhao Dezhu chuckled.

"Zhu, don't make Little Yu sad now."

Zhang Su said it casually.

Before Zhao Dezhu could process it, Zheng Xinyu leaned close to Zhang Su, poking his waist, whispering: "You okay?"

Zhang Su was slightly surprised; seeing her gaze, he understood what she meant by "okay." He shook his head: "I'm fine."

Zheng Xinyu stared intently at Zhang Su for a moment, then pinched his cheek—seeming to confirm something—before finally relaxing.

At that moment, Meng Changwei approached with his group.

"Zhang's boss, you and them… what kind of grudge is this? Holy shit, you scared the hell out of me!"

As he spoke, Meng Changwei lifted the black cloth covering his eyes and wiped it—seemingly damp with sweat, uncomfortable.

He'd only heard rumors before: some survivor group allegedly clashed with another, dozens dead. Today, it happened right before his eyes—totally different.

"Grudge? Honestly, it's not a long story…"

Zhang Su pulled out cigarettes and passed them around, lit one, then told the Daqiaobao villagers the story between Tianma Island and Kuangzhuang.

"Just finished discussing compensation—before I could even bring up merging, they turned on us. I never expected it…"

After listening, Meng Changwei finished his cigarette, crushed it underfoot, and sighed: "People's hearts are hidden. Fuck, it's better not to deal with others. If not for the Qinglong Army provoking us, we'd have lived comfortably on the mountain. Come spring, we'd clear ten or so acres—enough to survive!"

Earlier, when Lei Youliang questioned him, Meng Changwei had felt nothing. Kuangzhuang, Tianma Island—he'd never met either before. But he'd just spent hours cooperating with Tianma Island.

If he could avoid choosing, he'd stay neutral, avoid getting tangled. But if forced to pick, he'd unhesitatingly choose Tianma Island—he at least understood them.

"No more talk about the Qinglong Army. Now it's turned into this—truly, they brought it on themselves!"

Zhang Su looked around with a sigh. Zombie corpses littered the ground; humans were harder to identify—only pools of blood hinted where someone had been devoured.

"Hah, Zhang's boss, you called them survivors. Look at this scene—even gods would be buried in the dirt. Where are the living? Let's just loot the place?"

He'd worked all day just for this final loot—already impatient.

Zhang Su wasn't as eager as Meng Changwei. His mind was elsewhere—still displaying 【3/38】 in his vision. Yet the vast barracks lay silent; besides these people, where were the others?

"Did everyone who survived just flee?"

Zhang Su frowned, muttering. If they'd all died, his challenge would've been complete. But this limbo? It was agonizing.

"What? Who's alive?" Meng Changwei hadn't heard clearly.

"Uh, Boss Meng, be honest—have you seen any survivors escape from the Qinglong Army these past two days?"

Zhang Su asked seriously.

Meng Changwei shook his head vigorously: "No. Not a single survivor from Qinglong Army—or anywhere else. Only you, Zhang's boss, and them… lying here."

He gestured humorously toward the pile of corpses by the warehouse door.

(End of Chapter)