Chapter 310: Good Person, Bad Person

Yang Liehuo looked around at the villagers; no words were needed—just glances conveyed everything.

"Brother Zhang, we're willing to join Tianma Yu, but I want to tell you something beforehand."

"Go ahead, speak your mind."

Zhang Su raised a hand to signal—he never refused rational negotiation, but despised tantrums and insolence.

Yang Liehuo said: "I noticed many women in your group. Before you arrived, these village women were talking to me, wanting to join the combat unit, pick up weapons, and kill zombies. What do you think?"

Zhang Su turned his gaze to the women Yang Liehuo pointed to—simple peasant women, their tear tracks dried, eyes still red, hair tangled by the winter wind.

Three months of the apocalypse had etched hardship and wrinkles on every face; their builds showed they'd always worked hard—not the thin, frail kind.

"Good! Even if you hadn't mentioned it, I was going to say this myself!"

Zhang Su turned to the crowd and said: "Before you, Tianma Yu took in survivors from Ni Quanzi Town's United Village. When the horde attacked, over half died. Of the dozen or so survivors, only three or four had decent combat ability. They…"

He pointed toward Xidaying Village: "All able-bodied men from Xidaying were dragged off by the Qinglong Corps to fight the horde—and all died. The survivors there, like those from Kuangzhuang, are also weak in combat."

"To be honest, Tianma Yu believes in universal conscription—everyone here has extensive experience killing zombies. But if we must protect ever more people who can't defend themselves, our burden will become unbearable!"

Both Xidaying and Kuangzhuang villagers nodded vigorously, fully agreeing—five world champions teaming up to farm co-op is easy, but two carrying three—or even one carrying four? You'd drop dead from exhaustion!

Seeing no one speak, Zhang Su continued: "Going forward, besides my elite squad, I'll form a reserve unit. Suitable candidates will be chosen from among you. Prepare yourselves. In this apocalypse, I don't care about your gender. Understood?"

In the past, his words would've drawn a unified "Understood!" But now, people had subtly learned not to shout—so they nodded in quiet unison, murmuring "Understood."

Some women in Kuangzhuang clenched their fists—not with hatred, but with determination. They'd long wanted training, to become warriors capable of self-defense, but Lei Youliang looked down on them, thinking women were fit only to carry shoes!

Zhang Su was different—he gave them equal opportunity. They felt respected. Some dared not speak, thinking it inappropriate, but inwardly they'd already accepted this new leader.

As Zhang Su said, the two sides had no grudge—they could've been one camp. But Lei Youliang's selfish ambition nearly dragged all of Kuangzhuang to their doom. To others, Lei Youliang's entire conduct had always been about securing power for himself!

Xidaying's situation differed—the village women didn't feel it as deeply, but thought if they could fight, maybe it wasn't so bad.

"I know some of you had close ties to those who died. You might hate me. But I repeat: the true culprit isn't me—it's Lei Youliang. From the start, I wanted to merge with Kuangzhuang. So… if you don't want to join Tianma Yu, step forward now. We'll give you supplies, weapons. The world is vast—go wherever you want!"

"Don't plot revenge. Otherwise, you'll end up like that guy dragged over there!"

Zhang Su pointed toward the direction where Xin Qi and the others were handling corpses, staring at all of Kuangzhuang. This was the final step before absorption—weed out the stubborn ones.

Had he announced the battle that wiped out Kuangzhuang's fighters right away, at least four or five would've jumped up in protest. But after time to reflect and face reality, they accepted his words: the one who caused this mess was Lei Youliang!

"Brother Zhang, we… we want to join Tianma Yu!"

One woman glanced around, confirmed with her sisters, then stepped forward to report to Zhang Su.

"Yes, we do."

"My husband followed Lei Youliang—that was his fate. I choose my own."

"Right, sisters! From now on, we follow Brother Zhang!"

A group of women clenched fists, raised arms, faces resolute.

"Good! I welcome you all—you're all heroines! Keeping you only for chores would've been Kuangzhuang's greatest loss!"

Zhang Su didn't hesitate to crown the Kuangzhuang women with high praise.

No one dislikes flattery—especially praise from someone stronger. Instantly, the last barrier melted away.

The atmosphere eased. Zhang Su had no intention of lingering: "Any other matters? If not, go back and pack. Tomorrow, everyone moves to Tianma Yu!"

Looking at Kuangzhuang's people, he thought: had Lei Youliang not acted so madly, he might've gained over a dozen combatants. Such is the unpredictability of fate.

"Uh… we've got a lot of food and weapons. Could you send someone to help us move them…"

Yang Liehuo stood with one hand on his hip, gazing at the village lit by headlights, heart heavy with reluctance.

Zhang Su nodded: "Easy. I'll send vehicles tomorrow morning. Just get ready. By the way… do you have diesel?"

"Diesel?" Yang Liehuo thought, then asked: "What grade?"

"Damn, there's a choice? What grades do you have?" Zhang Su hadn't expected Kuangzhuang to be so well-stocked—he'd scavenged every drop of diesel along the way, all fed into that excavator…

"Two types: minus ten degrees and minus twenty degrees. Both light diesel."

Yang Liehuo answered swiftly.

"How much?"

"Not much. About eighty liters of minus ten, a bit more of minus twenty—over a hundred liters."

Yang Liehuo managed these supplies—he knew exactly.

"Come on, bring it all! Now! I'll pay double the food!"

"No food…" Yang Liehuo waved a thin hand, leading people toward the diesel storage, then leaned close to Zhang Su's ear and whispered.

In the end, he traded all the diesel for Zhang Su's promise to let every woman who wanted to join the combat team be accepted.

"Brother Zhang, Lei Youliang may have done many wrong things, but our village still suffered. When you return, please treat Xiao Ya well. Her sister followed Lei Youliang—she's the only family Xiao Ya has left…"

While fetching the diesel, Yang Liehuo whispered to Zhang Su. He didn't know Su Lei's connection to Zhang Su, nor Lei Youliang's purpose in taking her.

Zhang Su froze, said nothing, only nodded, then patted Yang Liehuo's shoulder.

When the convoy left Kuangzhuang, it had one more vehicle—original trucks were already full, couldn't fit over two hundred liters of diesel, so they took one from Kuangzhuang. After all, they'd return tomorrow to help move things!

In an instant, the once-bright Kuangzhuang village basketball court plunged back into darkness—only a few dim lamps lit the ground, stained with ash and blood.

"Uncle Huo, do you think Brother Zhang is good or evil?"

After a moment of silence, someone suddenly asked.

Yang Liehuo reclaimed his weapon, watching the convoy fade into distance, and said gravely: "In this world, how can you simply label someone good or evil? Lei Youliang did many good things for the village—but nearly dragged us all to death. Zhang Su killed many of our people, yet offered us shelter. Who's good? Who's evil?"

"Can you answer that clearly?" Yang Liehuo looked at the crowd.

No one spoke. The situation was too complex to simplify.

"My husband was killed by Zhang Su. I don't hate him—but I hate that I can't avenge him!"

One woman spoke through gritted teeth.

At the mention of revenge, everyone sighed. If traced back, the conflict started with Lei Youliang—his scheme to send spies to Tianma Yu, his entire chain of chaos.

But he was dead…

"Forget it," Yang Liehuo shook his head, waving his hand. "Let the past die. Let go of grudges. Move forward. Go—pack up. We're moving tomorrow!"

Kuangzhuang's wounds would take time to heal.

(End of Chapter)