Chapter 297: Grab One If You Can

"Brother Zhang, hurry up and decide, or you'll miss your chance to be their second father!"

Pan Guoliang hadn't eaten in two days, only drank one bottle of water, and was severely wounded; if not for his sturdy physique and some baseline strength, he'd have been dead long ago, unable to hold on until now.

Zhang Su had hesitated because the number in his mind hadn't changed—it was still 【30/38】, meaning Pan Guoliang hadn't truly submitted to him. But the man was right: if he didn't act soon, Pan would be dead soon.

Inner thought: I originally expected to recruit a couple hundred men from the Green Dragon Corps to boost labor and combat strength, but now it's come to this—grab whoever you can…

Thinking this, Zhang Su unzipped his down jacket, reached into the inner pocket, fished around for a moment, and pulled out a small, dull gray object, about the size of a fingernail, flat and thin.

Plop, Zhang Su tossed the zombie's thalamus onto Pan Guoliang's chest and said, "Eat it. You'll recover fast."

Pan Guoliang had seen Zhang Su reach inside his clothes to pull this out. With effort, he extended two fingers, pinched the zombie's thalamus, and pressed it—it felt like an eraser, slightly bouncy and rubbery.

His expression twisted with disbelief as he teased, "Brother Zhang, are you Ji Gong?"

"What do you mean?"

"If you're not Ji Gong, how else could you roll mud balls to heal people? What even is this thing? How long hasn't you bathed? One Shenshou and you Cuo out a mud ball this big…"

Zhang Su paused, glanced around at the brothers and sisters who'd followed him, then said without much hesitation, "We may have lured the horde away, but this place is still unsafe. Don't bother with guard duty—I advise you not to do it either!"

"Alright, I'll try it after we get back today!"

Meng Changwei had already seen Zhang Su talking with the tank. He asked out of politeness, didn't wait for an answer, and continued, "The barracks have plenty of food—we can't even haul it all away. We plan to come back tomorrow and keep hauling."

Supplies are important, but if they cost the lives of comrades, it's not worth it. The three groups here all came from the south; we don't know if any survivor camps in other directions have heard of the Green Dragon Corps' destruction.

Zhang Su understood his meaning and gritted his teeth: "I don't think you're dying anytime soon… This is a top-tier gene-level healing medicine developed by a top biological scientist I rescued from a secret lab. Just eat it—I've got questions for you!"

Zhang Su didn't understand what the man meant.

Pan Guoliang was torn between laughter and tears, feeling the heavens were mocking him.

Zhang Su shrugged.

Pan Guoliang found the terms impressive and mysterious, and Zhang Su's demeanor didn't seem like lying. He looked again at the "mud ball" in his hand with new eyes, thought, Well, better than doing nothing, clenched his teeth, and shoved the gray sliver into his mouth.

At that moment, Meng Changwei and the Tianmayu members who'd helped them returned.

Meng Changwei frowned at the surroundings, clicked his tongue a few times, and sighed, "You're right. By the way…"

The Green Dragon Corps lost a lot of supplies in the battle against the horde, but even so, some stock remained intact. A dead camel is still bigger than a horse—what little remained was more than the grain stored in Daqiao Fortress Village!

"Guard duty?"

"Hehe…" Meng Changwei smiled. "I came to discuss this with you. I figure you won't be able to haul everything away today. Why not station some people here to keep watch? What do you think?"

As he spoke, he rummaged in his backpack, pulled out a walkie-talkie, walked over to the tank, and handed it to Zhang Su. "We just found this military-grade walkie-talkie. The specs look good. Already paired. Our straight-line distance isn't far—let's try to establish contact."

Zhang Su took the walkie-talkie with a strange expression. He'd always been the one giving others walkie-talkies; now someone handed him one—it felt oddly amusing.

"There's a survivor inside the tank?"

"Secret lab? Biological scientist? Gene-level healing medicine?"

"Master Zhang…"

"Fine, what you've earned is yours. We won't haul your grain. But I won't waste time guarding this place—if someone steals it, don't blame us."

Pats, Pats. Meng Changwei slapped the sturdy tank, grinned enviously, and said, "What a brutal piece of gear! Just park this at your camp, and who dares cause trouble? Hahaha, Master Zhang, we'll head out now. See you tomorrow."

"Alright, watch your step on the road. Goodbye."

"Goodbye!"

After parting ways, Zhang Su watched Meng Changwei walk toward the convoy, then handed the walkie-talkie to Zheng Xinyu to store.

He had a good impression of Daqiao Fortress Village's people. Their strength wasn't weaker than the old United Village. They operated with principles and restraint—a rare breath of fresh air among survivor factions.

Too bad their locations were separated by rugged mountains; otherwise, they could have united and grown together.

As the saying goes, great minds think alike. Meng Changwei held thoughts similar to Zhang Su's, but the sudden, silent aggression had startled him. Yet precisely that thunderous decisiveness was what kept control.

Moreover, Zhang Su's attitude toward Green Dragon Corps survivors and his promises to them were both highly principled.

Zhang Su naturally didn't know Meng Changwei's thoughts. While he was still pondering how to enter the underground lab, he heard an exclamation from inside the tank.

"Holy shit, this stuff is divine medicine! You really are Ji Gong…"

The voice was low, deliberately hushed, but Zhang Su's hearing caught it without issue.

Pan Guoliang lay on his side inside the tank. Earlier, his wounds had burned with unbearable itchiness and his whole body had felt feverish. He'd pulled up his clothes and watched, eyes wide, as the wounds slowly closed—so fast he couldn't believe it.

Minutes passed. The wound he'd thought would kill him had fully sealed, even new flesh buds had grown. He touched it—it felt real!

Pan Guoliang looked up at Zhang Su with wide, stunned eyes, as if he'd just seen a god.

Zhang Su looked down at Pan Guoliang, unimpressed by his shock. Everyone reacted this way the first time they saw the zombie thalamus's power—he'd been the same. What truly mattered now was another thing: the number in his mind had changed!

【31/38】

Clearly, the man beneath him, with his reverent gaze, had fully submitted.

Zhang Su was very satisfied with this result—and not surprised. If he were in Pan's place, he'd follow a boss who could instantly heal fatal wounds. The sense of security was overwhelming!

"This challenge task is great—it indirectly tests loyalty. Too bad the mechanism disappears after completion."

Zhang Su muttered to himself, crouched down, and extended his hand. "Can you move yet? If so, get out. Meet everyone."

Pan Guoliang stood up slowly, grasped Zhang Su's hand. He hesitated to apply pressure, but felt no pain from his wound—so he leapt up, scrambled out of the gunner's hatch with all four limbs.

When he saw the outside world again, the cold wind blew over him, giving him the feeling of being reborn.

"I thought I'd never see this world again. Hahaha! Thank you, Brother, for saving my life! From now on, I'll call you Brother Zhang!"

Pan Guoliang bowed deeply to Zhang Su with great respect.

"Good. I like people who know gratitude. Meet everyone—they're all brothers and sisters. Get acquainted."

Zhang Su patted Pan Guoliang's broad shoulder. This man wasn't shorter than him, his strong frame clearly indicated formidable combat ability, and his sharp expression wasn't that of a simple-minded brute.

Pan Guoliang looked around at the dozen or so eyes, bowed his hands, and said, "Hello everyone. I'm Pan Guoliang, thirty-three years old. From now on, I'll follow Brother Zhang like you all. Please take care of me!"

"Hello, hello…"

"Welcome, Brother Pan."

As time passed and they survived longer through trials, everyone's judgment improved. They could tell who was deceitful and who was sincere. Combined with Zhang Su's personal vetting, they all accepted Pan Guoliang well, introducing themselves and exchanging pleasantries.

The Tianmayu members weren't surprised by Pan Guoliang's rapid recovery—they knew Zhang Su had secret medicine. As for Xin Qi and the other three, they were puzzled but dared not ask.

"Brother Zhang, have these three joined Tianmayu too?"

After meeting everyone, Pan Guoliang pointed to Xin Qi and the others and asked.

"No, we haven't. We're just… uh… Brother Zhang's captives."

Xin Qi quickly clarified before Zhang Su could speak.

"That's not quite right," Zhang Su shook his head. "They've passed the probation period. They're not official Tianmayu members yet, but they're no longer captives."

"Really?"

"Holy crap, that's great!"

"So… we might join Tianmayu too in the future?"

Xin Qi and the other three were thrilled by Zhang Su's words.

Zhang Su nodded. "Yes, possible—depends on your performance. Oh, Pan Guoliang, right? I was going to use the tank to… hmm?"

Before he finished speaking, Zhang Su's heart tightened—the number in his mind changed again. The total survivors dropped from 38 to 37. Clearly, one Green Dragon Corps member had just died.

(End of Chapter)