Chapter 359: Those Guys Lied

"Wait!"

"Hold on…"

The three turned to leave when two voices sounded at once.

One voice was naturally Zhang Su's; the other came as a surprise—it was Yi Xiaoling, standing beside Ju Wuying.

Seeing everyone staring at her, Yi Xiaoling smiled shyly, leaned close to Zhang Su's ear, and whispered two sentences.

Zhang Su listened without expression, then laughed and looked at the three tense men: "No problem, no problem. My little sister says I didn't think things through—she thinks we should invite you all to our place for some tea since friends have come from afar."

"Huh?"

The parka man loosened his grip on the pistol in his pocket and smiled: "No need to trouble you all—it's freezing out here. Hey, hey, big brother, don't be hasty, let's talk this through calmly…"

Before he could finish, the parka man saw the opposite group raising their rifles; his smile vanished—clearly, the other side had turned hostile.

"Take your hands out and put them where we can see them. Try anything funny, I'll blow your head off!"

Lu Yubo aimed sideways, hating these bastards—because of them watching in the shadows, Ju Wuying had shown off again.

"Guys and ladies, it's not that serious. We've just met. If there's a misunderstanding, let's clear it up. Why resort to weapons?"

The parka man kept smiling, though it was now stiff, and quickly raised both hands above his head.

His two companions followed suit, their faces expressionless—no panic, no fear.

"I hate being lied to. You're treating me like a fool. I'm not happy."

Zhang Su shook his head, hands behind his back.

"Big brother, this is a terrible injustice! I didn't lie to you at all!"

The parka man pleaded frantically, looking more wronged than Dou E.

"Kill them."

Zhang Su refused to waste more words. If they wanted to explain, let them explain to the King of Hell.

As he ordered the shooting, he brought his hands from behind to the front, simultaneously swinging his shoulder-mounted rifle to aim at the three across from him.

Tap-tap-tap, tap-tap, tap-tap…

Without hesitation, Lu Yubo and the others opened fire. Bullets struck the fleeing parka trio with perfect accuracy—no chance of survival.

Zhang Su felt a faint gratitude toward them; without their appearance, he wouldn't have discovered the energy slot's utility so quickly—but there was no turning back.

"Ah…"

Yi Xiaoling was startled by the sudden, deafening gunfire.

Ju Wuying pulled her into her arms and comforted her.

Su Xiaoya showed far more composure than Yi Xiaoling—she stood calmly beside them, watching Zhang Su's group gun down the others. Whether she was faking calm or had genuinely grown bolder, it was a good change.

The parka trio had no chance to resist. They never expected things to change so fast. Each carried a pistol, but never even got it out before they were shot dead.

"Dumbasses. How dare they lie to us? They got what they deserved!"

Lu Yubo stepped forward to check the three corpses. Only when he saw their skulls were pierced did he relax.

"I think Liu Shijie and his group lied."

Zhang Su lowered his rifle, pulled out cigarettes, and passed them around, his expression thoughtful.

"Huh? After everything they went through, they still lied? What about?"

Chen Hanzhou found it unbelievable. When they dealt with Liu Shijie's group at the camp, they'd been at death's door—still lying? That was impressive.

"I suspect their camp's size was much larger than they claimed."

Zhang Su exhaled a smoke ring, thinking inwardly. According to Liu Shijie's men's earlier testimony, their camp had little combat strength, and after losing six men, they were stretched thin. Now they'd sent three out to investigate, and the parka man even said he'd bring more to massacre their camp—there couldn't possibly be just a handful left!

If the parka man had made threats directly to Zhang Su, exaggeration would be likely. But he'd been discussing it with his own people—his words were likely truthful.

"Boss, how are you sure they're connected to Liu Shijie?"

Wu Lue wasn't worried Zhang Su had made a mistake—he was just curious.

"Pay attention, and you'll find clues," Zhang Su replied vaguely, his gaze sweeping over Ju Wuying's face.

The simple gesture caught everyone's attention except Lu Yubo's. All eyes turned involuntarily to Ju Wuying. Everyone knew Yi Xiaoling had whispered something to Zhang Su—and that message had come from Ju Wuying.

Everyone was curious: what had that message been? Why had Zhang Su killed them so quickly? In the past, he always interrogated first, confirmed no value, then acted!

Zhang Su knew what they were wondering, but didn't explain. He inhaled the cold air and said: "Watch out for any survivors drifting in. Oh? Zombies are coming. Kill them, loot their gear, then get in the cars and leave. Lue, you drive one. Chen, you drive another. It's not far."

As he spoke, he spotted five or six zombies approaching from afar, drawn by the gunfire.

Chen Hanzhou waved his mechanical prosthetic and grinned: "Don't worry, Boss. No problem!"

"You're fine, but the car isn't," Wu Lue dryly pointed to the Corolla: "One tire's been shot out."

"Minor issue. You three, go change the tire," Zhang Su pointed at the three women.

The freezing cold had slowed the zombies' movement. The group dispatched them easily. Su Xiaoya and the others were competent—within ten minutes, the spare tire was changed, and they were back on the road, leaving the three corpses beside the highway, stripped of clothing and looted clean.

As the vehicles drove away, the highway fell silent again, only the bloodstains remaining as proof of what had just happened.

"Boss… what did Xiao Ling say to you just now?"

Once in the car, Su Xiaoya couldn't help asking.

Zhang Su had been thinking about it. Hearing her question, he shook his head slightly, signaling her not to press.

"Oh…"

Su Xiaoya wisely fell silent.

"Holy crap, Boss, where the hell did you guys go?"

"Master Zhang's mission? Always a success!"

"Haha, Sister-in-law, Brother Zhang brought back two hot girls! Come see!"

They'd left Tianmayu in two cars. Now, returning to camp, they arrived with five. As the convoy entered the gate, the waiting crowd erupted in praise.

Especially Zhao De—when he saw two attractive women stepping out of the vehicles, he started shouting, his voice echoing across the entire camp.

"Shut the hell up!"

Zheng Xinyu pushed through the crowd. Her focus differed from Zhao De's—she first checked Zhang Su's condition. Seeing he was unharmed, she finally relaxed.

"Wangwang!"

The corgi, Haoyun, darted to Zhang Su's side, circling him affectionately—his direction showed he'd just returned from patrolling the mountain ravine.

"Xiaoshan is on duty in the monitoring room. Honey, was your trip tiring?"

Zheng Xinyu took Zhang Su's weapons and backpack.

"It was tiring, but the haul was excellent. Ha! We gathered several trucks of supplies—and recruited two outstanding new members!"

Zhang Su draped his arm over Zheng Xinyu's shoulder, a faint weariness on his face. He wouldn't say empty words like "it wasn't hard"—his efforts weren't cheap, and he deserved proper recognition.

"Master Zhang and the young men have worked hard for the camp."

Yu Wen knew how to respond perfectly. His heartfelt words stirred emotion in the others.

"Come on, let's talk about other things later—first, meet our two new members!" Zhang Su cut in, nodding toward Yi Xiaoling and Ju Wuying: "Ladies, introduce yourselves."

"H-hello everyone. I'm Yi Xiaoling. She… she's Ju Wuying." Yi Xiaoling clasped her hands tightly, nervously introducing them.

(End of Chapter)