Chapter 323: I

"Brother Su's learning ability is insane—he figured out how to operate a tank just by thinking about it."

"Only Brother Su could pull this off—awesome, absolutely awesome."

In front of the entire group from Daqiaobao Township, Lu Yu Bo and the others lavished praise on Zhang Su—after all, your own leader must be praised by your own people.

In reality, Meng Changwei and the others had no interest in listening to them; they were too busy watching the tank stroll calmly through the camp, their hearts brimming with envy.

"Boss, there's another tank over there—can we talk to Brother Zhang and trade something for it?"

Someone suggested this to Meng Changwei.

"That one's definitely broken—Zhang Su didn't even glance at it once," Meng Changwei sneered; in the post-apocalypse, everyone's ability to read people was sharp.

"Could it be? Maybe they only had enough fuel to get one tank back?"

"Fine, whatever—let's ask later. Damn, this turn's smooth—so cool."

As they discussed, everyone watched Zhang Su drive the tank with growing confidence, his speed steadily increasing.

Many workers inside the warehouse were drawn out by the rumbling noise to watch the spectacle.

"Oh, oh, oh! My husband's turned into Beta! Go on, go on!"

Zheng Xinyu beamed, clapping her hands.

"Damn, if we just parked this thing at the Shanmen gate, who wouldn't be stunned?"

Zhao Dezhu was so excited his nose ran.

"This is incredible..." Su Xiaoya, standing by the wall checking gear, paused at the noise. Her fear and revulsion faded considerably when she saw the steel beast crush through a pile of corpses.

Zhang Su focused intently inside the tank, observing the road through the narrow window—he heard none of the chatter, and had no idea that Qi Xiaoshuai was currently being chased and cornered by a crowd!

Four or five kilometers east of the camp, Qi Xiaoshuai slammed on the brakes and spun his van off the highway onto a makeshift road leading to a village. Through the windshield, his face was tense—his eyes darted between the road ahead and the rearview mirror, clearly terrified something was following.

Less than ten seconds after turning onto the makeshift road, a large SUV appeared on the path behind him, followed by a pickup truck. Both vehicles moved with far greater stability than Qi Xiaoshuai's van—not necessarily due to better driving skill, but likely because their drivers were calmer.

"Damn these bastards, they won't leave me alone!"

Qi Xiaoshuai gritted his teeth, muttering through clenched jaws, gripping the steering wheel tightly as he floored the accelerator down the narrow road, terrified of veering into the ditch beside him.

After leaving the camp, he'd driven east along the road, since that area had been patrolled by Daqiaobao Township the day before—he didn't know the exact zombie locations, only a rough direction.

But with the sheer number of zombies, traces were still visible; he quickly found their trail near a rubber products factory, though poor visibility prevented him from spotting any toxin zombies.

Not wanting to return without information, he kept searching for new zombie groups.

Desolate, empty roads, ample light—searching wasn't hard. Within about ten minutes, Qi Xiaoshuai found a large vehicle yard packed with swarming zombies.

Compared to the enclosed rubber factory, the vehicle yard offered excellent visibility. Qi Xiaoshuai drove slowly around the perimeter, scanning for toxin zombies—but found none. Instead, he was spotted by a group approaching from the east.

After contact, they asked if he was from the Qinglong Army. When he denied it, they said nothing more—ordered him to hand over everything and leave on foot.

Qi Xiaoshuai was still seated in his van, his path blocked—but he wasn't intimidated. He silently cursed their ancestors, shifted into reverse, and stomped the gas, speeding backward with perfect ease, slipping past their blockade.

Unfortunately, before he could celebrate five minutes later, their vehicles appeared on the road back toward the camp. The return route was cut off; he had no choice but to head further southeast.

His first instinct was to call for help—but when he picked up the radio, he found the battery was too low to transmit beyond a few kilometers.

In the freezing cold, radio batteries drained rapidly.

This realization tightened his chest, but the pursuers gave him no breathing room—they kept chasing.

Qi Xiaoshuai, used to riding electric scooters, was never truly comfortable driving cars. He could manage fine on his own, but when compared to others, he was hopelessly outclassed. Their three vehicles easily surrounded him.

First time, he escaped by reversing unexpectedly. Second time, he rammed forward with sheer aggression, forcing them to open a gap. Now, the third time was coming.

The large SUV and pickup raced behind him; Qi Xiaoshuai was deeply uneasy, because the Camry was still missing. Based on earlier patterns, that sedan was clearly hiding some trick.

As he pondered, the Camry appeared, slowly blocking the road ahead.

Clearly, their driving skills surpassed his, and they knew this area well—otherwise, they couldn't have orchestrated the ambush.

The Camry came to a stop, completely blocking the narrow five-meter-wide cement road—its message was unmistakable: you're not going anywhere.

Last time, they hadn't blocked him because there were people inside—he feared a collision might injure them. This time, both occupants had stepped out and stood to the side, smirking like spectators waiting for a show.

"Fucking hell!"

Qi Xiaoshuai clenched his teeth, planning to repeat his old trick—force his way out. But when he saw the two men beside the car holding weapons, his heart sank—he knew escape was impossible now.

One held a standard pistol, the other a submachine gun—combined, their firepower didn't match his rifle, but there were still two more vehicles behind him. Two fists couldn't fight four hands.

"What would Brother Su do in a situation like this... Damn, why am I so cursed?"

Qi Xiaoshuai's mind was a storm—he wanted to stop but couldn't bear to surrender, yet dared not charge forward, terrified they'd gun him down. What else? Fight back with his gun?

As he hesitated, his van slowed involuntarily, finally coming to a stop about ten meters in front of the Camry.

Hssss.

Several brakes screeched. As the van stopped, the SUV and pickup also halted behind it. Five men leapt out—two with guns, the other three wielding homemade iron spears and fire axes.

From their weapons, it was clear this group was poorly armed—far below the standard of Tianmayu's team—but still a serious threat to Qi Xiaoshuai.

"Get out! I'm only saying this once!"

The man with the submachine gun, standing by the Camry, tilted his head toward Qi Xiaoshuai, grinning like a hunter who'd finally cornered his prey.

Qi Xiaoshuai sat inside, breathing heavily. Facing human enemies felt worse than fighting zombies.

Get out or not?

Getting out meant certain death—maybe even humiliation before dying. Not getting out?

Not getting out wasn't an option either—delaying wouldn't help.

"I'll fight you to the death! All of you die!"

Anger and desperation surged—he roared, grabbed the rifle from the passenger seat, and fired straight through the windshield.

Taptaptap. Taptaptap.

CRASH— the windshield shattered under the bullets' impact. The recoil slammed into his shoulder, making the van's seat shake violently.

Unfortunately, his training against zombies didn't translate well against humans—especially now, with his emotions running wild.

The burst caught them off guard, but caused no real damage—only a momentary shock.

The boastful submachine gunner dropped to his knees and scrambled behind the Camry. The pistol-wielder reacted faster, diving into a nearby ditch, his face pale with terror.

"Let me go, and we leave each other alone. Otherwise, we all die!"

Seeing them hide, Qi Xiaoshuai stopped firing and shouted.

But no reply came.

Instead, zombies in the fields, drawn by the gunfire, shuffled toward the four vehicles, moaning and groaning.

The zombie threat was secondary now—the danger from humans was immediate.

Taptaptap.

Seeing they wouldn't respond, Qi Xiaoshuai fired again at the submachine gunner's hiding spot. The bullets slammed into the car's body, punching through the thin steel—but couldn't penetrate multiple layers. Useless.

The men ahead remained silent. Qi Xiaoshuai turned his attention to the rear—then froze when he glanced in the rearview mirror: all five figures had vanished.

Before he could process it, he heard a roar of engine.

The SUV surged forward, slamming into the rear of his van—yet no driver was visible in the seat; they must have crouched low to avoid gunfire.

THUD!

Before Qi Xiaoshuai could react, the SUV struck at an angle. His van, without the handbrake engaged, spun out of control, lurching forward. His rifle flew from his grip, bounced off the roof, then tumbled into the back seat.

If the van had gone straight, he might've crashed into the Camry and still had a chance to fight. But the SUV's impact was precisely angled—the van slid sideways into the roadside ditch.

CRASH!

A one-meter drop, combined with the van's lack of safety features, sent Qi Xiaoshuai reeling—his vision swam with stars.

"Ugh... damn it..."

Time felt distorted in his dazed state. He felt like he hadn't even passed out for two seconds when the door was yanked open—he was dragged out violently. The first pull caught on his seatbelt; someone then unbuckled it, and he was hauled out.

(End of chapter)