Chapter 36: For Survival, There Is No Right or Wrong

“Listen, what’s that sound?”

The three were happily packing their backpacks when Zhang Su suddenly raised a hand to signal the two women to stop, then tilted his ear toward the door.

“Brother Su, it’s… sounds like the elevator?”

Zhong Xiaoshanjian glanced nervously at the door.

Zhang Su’s expression hardened; he grabbed the unopened case of mineral water he hadn’t yet packed, sprinted through the blood-smeared Xuanguan, confirmed the hallway was clear through the peephole, then yanked the door open.

Whirrr… whirrr… whirrr…

In the silent building, the elevator’s hum was unmistakable.

The red digits: 7, 8, 9…

“Someone downstairs is using the elevator!”

Zhang Su calculated the time—he was certain the elevator hadn’t started from the sixth floor; otherwise, in this much time, it couldn’t have moved only one level!

“Forgive me for this life of wild, unrestrained freedom—how could I fear… Aaow! Aaow!”

As the elevator ascended, a muffled tune blared from the cabin, mixed with the guttural roars and thuds of zombies.

“This is…”

Zhang Su’s head throbbed; he rushed back to 1101, waving his arms: “Quick! Zombies are coming up the elevator—go!”

“Coming, coming!”

Answering at once, Zheng Xinyu and Zhong Xiaoshanjian slung their backpacks on and followed Zhang Su out the safety door.

“Come on, Brother Su, what are you waiting for?”

Seeing Zhang Su standing by the safety door, leaning forward to stare at the elevator display, Zheng Xinyu anxiously tugged his arm.

“Eleven… eleven didn’t stop. Good, good, let’s go!”

Zhang Su burst out the door but didn’t head downstairs immediately—he listened intently.

Aaow… Aaow…

The elevator stopped at the twelfth floor; as the doors opened, a roar erupted—the song had stopped, likely because the playback device had been destroyed by zombies.

Zhang Su signaled to the two women; they silently retreated back to the eighth floor.

“Someone downstairs lured zombies up to the twelfth floor!”

Back in 801, Zhang Su felt his nerves relax. Though he hadn’t fought much, the tension had drained him.

“They’re doing this to escape the compound.”

Zheng Xinyu dumped the supplies from her backpack onto the coffee table as she spoke.

Zhang Su nodded: “Pretty much. Who’d waste time luring zombies unless they were trying to get out? I just don’t know which floor the survivors are on—they probably lured the zombies in the elevator…”

“But how did they make the zombies press the buttons?” Zheng Xinyu asked, puzzled.

Zhang Su thought a moment: “They likely preset the floor, then made noise. Once the zombies hear it, they’ll rush in and won’t block the doors. Once the doors close, it’s done.”

It sounded simple, but Zhang Su knew the process must’ve been extremely difficult.

Zhong Xiaoshanjian pinched her aching arm, grumbling: “We finally cleared the upper floors, and now they’ve brought us a whole new horde—seriously!”

Today was her first time facing zombies; with her companions’ help, she’d killed them—and that gave her confidence. Add to that the food and drinks they’d found, and her mood had been good. Now, it was ruined.

No matter if there were still usable resources upstairs, it had been a safe escape route—now all their hard work was wasted.

“Yeah, so annoying—selfish bastards!”

Hearing Zhong Xiaoshanjian’s complaint, Zheng Xinyu recalled the danger and effort of killing zombies, and her anger flared.

In contrast, Zhang Su calmly counted supplies, as if unaffected.

“Brother Su, you’re so calm—that’s not like you!”

Zheng Xinyu pouted.

“Not like me? You’re a little girl, and now you’re analyzing my personality?”

Zhang Su smirked at Zheng Xinyu.

“With your black-hearted, vengeful, petty, scheming personality, wouldn’t you be furious if someone ruined a floor you cleaned?”

Zheng Xinyu stood with one hand on her hip, tilting her head at Zhang Su, who was tearing open a Snickers and chewing it with relish.

“You’re giving me way too much credit—I can’t accept that.”

Zhang Su first replied sarcastically, then continued: “First, whoever’s using the elevator to move zombies isn’t wrong—it’s their right. Besides, the survivors downstairs may not even know there are people upstairs!”

“If you stand as a third party and sacrifice one group to save another, you can’t judge right or wrong—but if you sacrifice unrelated people just to survive, no matter how you look at it, it’s completely justified—even if I’m the one sacrificed!”

“Same logic: when the time comes to sacrifice others to save yourself, you two may feel guilt—but don’t hesitate!”

Zhang Su spoke with serious intensity.

Zheng Xinyu and Zhong Xiaoshanjian fell silent. Zhang Su’s words shattered their worldview—but when they looked around at this world…

Worldviews must be built on a grand framework, but the old world was nearly gone. Using old rules here would never work.

“This world is so cruel…” Zheng Xinyu sighed.

“This is just the beginning!”

Zhang Su narrowed his eyes. In ten years, he’d dealt with countless people—he’d seen deceit, betrayal, and treachery, and knew the depths of human malice.

“If order returns quickly, fine. But if this chaos lasts, you must shatter every traditional belief—no matter how unbelievable what happens, don’t be surprised!”

“Understood, Brother Su.”

Zhong Xiaoshanjian nodded solemnly.

Zheng Xinyu said nothing, but clenched her lips and nodded.

"Actually, I was worried about how to train you—now some good buddies have sent us a batch of zombies. I'm grateful!"

Zhang Su grinned, bouncing his leg.

“What do you mean… are you planning to kill all those zombies?”

Seeing Zhang Su’s grin, Zheng Xinyu instantly guessed his intent, and her face twitched.

Zhang Su picked up another Snickers from the coffee table, tore it open, bit off a piece, chewed it slowly, then stretched his feet onto the corner of the table.

“From what we’ve seen, this disaster won’t be contained anytime soon. This place is just a temporary shelter—we’ll have to leave eventually, leave the building, leave Sheng Qin Jiayuan, even leave the city!”

If anyone in the trio least wanted to leave, it was Zhang Su—this apartment was his home, in Qincheng.

"This building is like a beginner's village—we can't stay here forever. Yesterday, those five left the beginner's village and lost their first teammate. What about us? When will we lose someone? Who wants to get hurt? Who wants to die in a zombie's mouth?"

Zhang Su’s voice was quiet, but carried a chilling depth—the zombies’ roars, the pressure of death, made it hard to breathe.

“Don’t want to!”

Zheng Xinyu and Zhong Xiaoshanjian shook their heads vigorously—the image of the man being bitten yesterday was still fresh.

“Then train. Train hard! Starting today, no limits on food or drink—training intensity doubled!”

After checking several stores’ stockpiles, Zhang Su was confident: as long as they had the strength to leave, with the population decimated, supplies wouldn’t be lacking!

(End of Chapter)