Chapter 331: The Five Elements Lack Stability (Happy Holidays, Everyone)

Lu Yubo saw Su Xiaoya approaching, his expression odd as he slipped into the crowd and crept beside Zheng Xinyu, whispering: "Sister-in-law, why is Brother Su so attentive to Su Xiaoya?"

Zheng Xinyu pouted and shot Lu Yubo a sidelong glance, slightly annoyed: "Big man, so nosy!"

She knew perfectly well why Zhang Su cared about Su Xiaoya—simply because of his ex-girlfriend, Su Lei—but her demands were perfectly reasonable.

Mo Qianlan, daughter of Tan Huajun, was a living example: in this world, you must have the ability to protect yourself—whether against zombies or humans!

"Cough." Lu Yubo looked embarrassed and changed the subject: "I wonder if she'll miss?"

But things weren't as bad as he'd feared.

Su Xiaoya's mind raced like a film reel—her gaze gradually shifting from panic to resolve. Following Zhang Su's instructions, she loaded the magazine, disengaged the safety, pulled back the bolt, aimed, and squeezed the trigger.

Her movements were clumsy and awkward, yet they were properly executed!

Tap-tap!

Zhao Dezhu had maintained the firearm impeccably—jamming was almost unheard of. The recoil jolted Su Xiaoya's shoulder; her frail frame trembled in the cold wind as the bullet, flashing from the muzzle, struck the man's head with precision.

Puff-puff.

No surprise—the man on the ground twitched briefly, then passed away peacefully in unconsciousness, the luckiest among this group, at least spared the terror before death. But it was all their own doing!

The scene fell silent. Su Xiaoya stared at the man lying in a pool of blood, her heart a storm of emotions. Tears slipped down without warning. She bravely sniffled, turned—and found Zhang Su standing behind her.

"Well done!"

Zhang Su took the rifle from Su Xiaoya's hands and said: "When facing invaders, don't be soft. Who you were before doesn't matter—what matters is who you'll become. Your performance today was excellent. A for you. Double rations tonight as a reward."

He patted her head, then turned and tossed the rifle to Zhao Dezhu.

One moment stern, the next a warm older brother—Su Xiaoya felt this man was more terrifying, yet more lovable, than Lei Youliang…

"Not bad, little girl didn't let you down."

Zheng Xinyu walked up beside Zhang Su, nudged his abdomen with her elbow, speaking like an old buddy:

Zhang Su shrugged. "He's lived through the apocalypse for months—he should've prepared mentally. Let's go, back to work!"

"Brother Su, earlier I found a spot near Daqiaobao Township where zombies were trapped. I watched for a long time—no toxic zombie sightings. Looks like they're really rare!"

After resolving the matter, Qi Xiaoshuai reported the earlier information to Zhang Su.

Zhang Su stood at the rear of the Camry, holding two warm raccoon dog pelts, clicking his tongue. "As Xin Qi said, the fertilizer plant had barely any staff on duty. Finding even one toxic zombie was already lucky—it cost three brothers from Daqiaobao Township their lives to get it. If we'd been less lucky back then, we might've lost one ourselves!"

Recalling the encounter with the toxic zombie sent chills down their spines. Knowing in advance helped—but what if it hid among ordinary zombies, striking without warning? No one could handle that.

"Actually… we can't be certain the toxic zombie came from the fertilizer plant. Shouldn't we go straight there and search?"

Lu Yubo suggested.

Zhang Su thought for a moment, then nodded. "We'll go—but not today. We'll ask Xin Qi for the exact location when we get back. Tomorrow. For now, get the tank home—this place can't wait."

The raw toxic fluid was priceless. The Type 99 tank couldn't afford damage.

"Big brother, these pelts are awesome! After processing, we'll have no trouble staying warm on the road. Ha! Turns out they're comfy—no wonder girls and young wives love them. I've got to pick a good one for Qingqing, hehe."

Zhao Dezhu happily rummaged through the trunk, selecting raccoon dog pelts.

"Damn, Zhu, you're a wife slave…"

Zhang Su didn't stop him. There were fifty pelts total—the camp couldn't give one to everyone, but every core member would get one.

The group emptied the remaining supplies from the barracks warehouse, then began loading zombie corpses onto the vehicles. They now had three extra cars, but since they hadn't expected to capture any, drivers were limited. Zhang Su had to drive the tank, so they could take at most two. They'd even had to make Su Xiaoya ride in one car to help steer—otherwise, they'd have had to leave another behind.

In the afternoon, the rumble of tank tracks echoed through the barracks as the massive steel beast rolled out the southern gate, flanked by escort vehicles, the convoy moving with grandeur toward Tianma Yu.

On the return journey, the convoy rolled on, vast and imposing. In the old world, a Type 99 tank on the provincial highway would've made headlines for miles around, drawing crowds kilometers long. Now, silence reigned—no one in sight for ten kilometers.

Vroom-vroom-vroom—the tank rolled down the highway, embodying supreme dominance. But the driver wasn't relaxed.

Even after the apocalypse, Zhang Su had never suffered from fuel anxiety—but now he did. Watching the fuel gauge needle drop visibly, the feeling was agonizing.

Gasoline was easy—any village or town had plenty of abandoned cars. Even low-grade fuel was fine; shortages wouldn't come until widespread expiration. But diesel? Hard to find—especially in northern winters…

"Everyone, stay out of my way! I'm maintaining steady speed. Damn, this fuel's draining fast—if I run out on the road, it'll be a nightmare!"

Zhang Su announced over the radio.

Quickly, the vehicles ahead accelerated, clearing space for him.

But the problem wasn't just fuel. The tank's noise drew scattered zombies from nearby field ridges.

These zombies seemed to lack any ability to sense human magnetic fields—they hadn't joined the main horde, instead wandering alone in the fields. Now, drawn by the noise, they happily sprinted toward the road.

Zhang Su, with limited visibility, didn't notice the approaching zombies—but he noticed the vehicles behind him suddenly speeding past him on both sides.

"These bastards are so impatient, damn it."

The Type 99's top speed was about sixty kph—but driving that fast burned fuel too fast. Zhang Su had to throttle down to conserve fuel.

Zombies were faster than before, but they couldn't catch a normally moving car. They could, however, catch a tank moving at twenty to twenty-five kph.

Thump-thump! Thump-thump!

As Zhang Su brooded over the distant vehicles, he suddenly felt impacts against the tank's armor. His heart jolted—he instantly understood why they'd sped up.

"You bastards! Zombies are coming and you didn't warn me!"

He cursed nonstop—but inside, he was thrilled. For the first time, driving a vehicle, he wasn't afraid of zombie attacks.

"Come on! Still dare to slap my tank? I'll crush you if you block the road!"

As he spoke, zombies appeared on both sides of the road, charging straight at the tank.

Thud-thud. Creak-creeeeak…

Poor zombies had no chance against the tank—not even as effective as a rock. The tank plowed through without slowing, crushing them flat, leaving behind pulped tissue and shredded fragments caught in the treads—utterly satisfying.

"Hah! This is awesome!"

Zhang Su reveled in the crunching sounds of zombies under the treads, the vibrations thrilling his nerves—pure bliss.

The thing he'd wanted since the disaster began—finally achieved. Back then, if he'd had this machine, escaping the city would've been effortless—assuming he had enough fuel.

Bang-bang-bang. Creak-creeeeak…

Slowly advancing, zombies swarming around were methodically crushed.

"Big brother, the tank's so badass! The Green Dragon Corps must've been idiots—how could they get overrun even with this? I just don't get it!"

Zhao Dezhu watched Zhang Su crush zombies through his rearview mirror, heart pounding. He grabbed the radio.

"The Green Dragon Corps' problem was internal—not weapons. Zhu, focus on driving—wait, what the hell?!"

Zhang Su was responding to Zhao Dezhu when he saw his vehicle veer off the road into the field. Fortunately, the drop to the field wasn't steep—the car bounced awkwardly but kept running…

"It's your fault for talking to me! Damn, I nearly cracked my skull. No more talking!"

Zhao Dezhu's embarrassed voice crackled over the radio—heard by everyone. Except Su Xiaoya, who didn't know him well, all others grimaced.

"Damn, this guy's missing stability in his five elements…"

Zhang Su sighed, shook his head, and stopped watching Zhao Dezhu's reckless driving. He looked at the distant landmark, estimated the distance, and concluded he had enough fuel to reach Tianma Yu. He increased his speed to thirty-five kph, eager to avoid further zombie entanglements.

(End of Chapter)