Chapter 429: Are You a Problem Baby?

"Pfft… this guy Zhang Su, the things he's done don't sound impressive at all—just his underlings doing all the work while he sits there yapping. What the hell is he?"

Liu Yao, after hearing Li Zongkai's account of Zhang Su's early behavior, was utterly dismissive.

"With such confidence, Commander Liu, you must definitely take him down when you meet Zhang Su!" Yang Xin, disgusted by Liu Yao's arrogant demeanor, egged him on.

Liu Yao didn't bite. He smirked coldly: "Whether I can take down Zhang Su is another matter—but I can definitely take you down."

"Your focus, though…"

Liao Youzhi shook his head in exasperation. "Old Li, old Li, what am I supposed to say? You've only known Zhang Su for half a day, but you've known me for two months, right? And you've known Team Leader Yang even longer. Two months of friendship means less than half a day? How are we supposed to feel about this?"

For the first time, Liao Youzhi truly had doubts. According to Li Zongkai's own words, he and Zhang Su weren't even sworn brothers—why had he chosen him? It made no sense.

At this, Liu Yao and Yang Xin fell silent, feeling Liao Youzhi's words held weight.

Li Zongkai naturally wouldn't answer such a stupid question. He kept his face cold and said nothing.

"So you don't know any more details, huh? Old Li, you're loyal and righteous—I'll see if Zhang Su even cares about you. You can contact him, right? Come on, let me speak to him."

Liao Youzhi spread his hands, ready to make full use of Li Zongkai as a card.

Li Zongkai froze, a sudden surge of excitement in his chest—Liao Youzhi was an idiot! Surprise was the only thing that worked. If he contacted Zhang Su now, Zhang Su would know what was going on here and prepare.

Liao Youzhi, usually so calculating, had made a mistake—this ignited hope in Li Zongkai's heart. He didn't dare object, afraid Liao would sense something wrong and back out. He merely feigned reluctant resistance, then grimaced and spoke.

"I'll go get the signal transmitter—it's in the car!"

"You go get it? Old Li, stop joking. Tell me where it is—I'll send someone."

Liao Youzhi would never let Li Zongkai go out alone, nor would he let someone escort him out—above all, no one outside could know what was happening inside, or chaos would erupt! "Send someone to bring in a guy called Big Head—he's the liaison, he's carrying the signal transmitter."

"Xiao Sun, go get it—just bring the device in."

A tall, slender teenager bowed and sprinted toward the mall entrance.

Was Liao Youzhi stupid? Of course not. But people sometimes swell with pride—and when they do, they lose sight of reality.

Soon, just two or three minutes later, Xiao Sun returned, carrying the signal transmitter as ordered.

"Here, hand it over to our Chairman Li."

Liao Youzhi gestured with his hand.

Li Zongkai put on a look of helpless resignation, sighed heavily, took the device, and began trying to make contact.

In Beidong Town, near the end of Tianma Yu, barricades lined the town entrance. At the end of the bumpy road, several steel cables served as tripwires. The barricades were easy to spot, but attention focused on them might cause one to overlook the nearby tripwires—a double trap designed to pin any approaching convoy on the rough stretch! If that failed, no matter—there was still a third layer: three-pronged spikes hidden between the barricades and tripwires!

As long as the incoming vehicles didn't run on tracks, they'd be stuck here—with no chance of luck.

"Bombs were planted in sections to cover the entire bumpy stretch. The blast radius is 150 meters, including the sidewalks in front of both sides' shops!"

About a kilometer from Beidong Town, thirteen vehicles stood in the fields, with the Jiujiu Heavy Tank beside them—out of place yet relaxed. Yu Qing was reporting mission completion to Zhang Su.

"Excellent. Now we wait patiently. We've dawdled long enough—it should be coming soon!"

Zhang Su glanced at the time—it was seven. The sky wasn't fully bright yet, but it was light enough to read.

In his hand was a crude remote control, plastic and cheap—even a ten-yuan toy car's remote was more refined. But hold it down for over three seconds, and it could blow a hundred-meter street into the air. Everyone stood in the field, including ten bound hostages, who now realized: there had been no bombs in Beidong Town yesterday—but now, they were truly planted. Recalling last night's explosion, all ten trembled, vividly imagining vehicles being flung into the air by fire and shockwaves.

Wu Daqiang and his men huddled nervously, gripping their communicators linked to Li Zongkai, hoping any trouble on the road would be reported.

Time ticked by. The sky grew brighter. As the first rays of dawn touched the distant mountain peaks, Wu Daqiang's communicator crackled to life. "Daqiang, Daqiang, reply received!"

Li Zongkai's voice came through, weak and strained.

Zhang Su walked over, snatched the communicator, and said: "Old Li, it's me. What's your situation?"

After a pause, someone replied—but the voice had changed.

"Hahaha, Zhang Su, hearing your voice isn't easy. Can you guess who I am?"

???

Most people present stared blankly—what the hell kind of joke was this at a time like this?

Zhang Su frowned, puzzled by what Old Li was up to.

Wu Baokang and the others stiffened, eyes wide with disbelief, hearts torn between joy and dread—joy that their boss had contacted Zhang Su through Li Zongkai, meaning he'd likely uncovered Li Zongkai's ties to Zhang Su; dread that their own situation would grow even more awkward and dangerous. "This… is bad!"

Wu Daqiang listened, froze for a moment, then snapped back, face twisted: "That's Liao Youzhi's voice—the leader of the Survivor Alliance! Yes, it's him!"

"Liao Youzhi?"

Zhang Su's heart sank. He turned to look at Wu Baokang and the others—they nodded, confirming it.

In an instant, he connected the dots: Li Zongkai's condition, his tone, Liao Youzhi's voice—no need to say more. Li Zongkai had been exposed.

"You five!"

Zhang Su pointed at Wu Daqiang and the others. "Last night—did someone leak info to Liao Youzhi?"

"Huh!?"

Wu Daqiang turned furious eyes on his men. "Speak up—did any of you do it?"

"No, no way!"

"Boss, you kept the equipment. None of us even touched it!"

Xiao Tiao shook his head. "It wasn't us. We never contacted anyone outside the Chairman."

The others nodded vigorously, like frightened chicks, terrified of being suspected.

"Fine. If not you, then Liao Youzhi has a mole among Old Li's people. Someone in Civilian Guardians is a traitor!"

Zhang Su's mind raced. Times had changed—there weren't many high-tech tools left for surveillance. The simplest, most efficient method was still human: people could accomplish anything.

While they were still discussing, Liao Youzhi's voice came again: "Hey hey, Zhang Su, bad signal? Or pretending not to hear? Surprised?"

Zhang Su frowned, took a deep breath, pressed the talk button, and said: "So it's Liao Youzhi, Leader Liao. Didn't expect our first contact to be like this. What do you want?"

Zhang Su didn't lie like Li Zongkai—he knew it was useless.

"No need for games. Smart men don't do stupid things, Zhang Su. You know I'm using this frequency to contact you—your connection with Li Zongkai is no secret. Since Li Zongkai chose to side with you, how do you plan to handle this?"

Liao Youzhi's mocking, casual tone was grating. A simmering anger rose in the crowd; several hot-tempered men showed signs of losing control.

Wu Daqiang and the others were frantic—their boss was under control! Zhang Su didn't lose his temper. His eyes flickered, then he curled his lips into a cold smirk and pressed the talk button to roar: "Are you a fucking problem baby? One question after another—just spit it out, stop this passive-aggressive crap!"

After the outburst, Zhang Su's side fell silent. The atmosphere inside LeGou Mall became deeply strange.

(End of Chapter)