Chapter 436: The Emergence of the Mutated Zombie

"Hey hey..."

Liao Youzhi no longer dilly-dallied, tapped the microphone, and immediately a burst of static crackled through the speakers, followed by his voice: "Who's Zhang Su from Tianma Yu? Step forward and speak!"

As his words fell, two figures emerged from the lead FJ Land Cruiser—one an older man wearing a felt hat, the other a tall, burly man with ear-flap cotton hat.

At a distance of about two hundred meters, it wasn't far enough to obscure details—even without optical aids, one could make out the basics. Liao Youzhi frowned inwardly: from these two, the elder clearly carried the aura of a leader, but Zhang Su's voice didn't sound like that of a middle-aged or elderly man...

"Is the one speaking over there Liao Youzhi? You've been dawdling for over ten minutes—testing my patience?"

Zhao Dezhu's voice boomed, loud and resonant.

"Huh?"

Liao Youzhi furrowed his brow—he'd assumed Zhang Su was the big guy, but why did the voice sound off?

He turned to look at Li Zongkai standing behind him and said: "Is this guy Zhang Su? Why does his voice sound different from before?"

Li Zongkai gazed at Liao Youzhi with an impassive expression, nodding calmly: "That's right."

"Something's wrong!"

Liao Youzhi signaled for someone to bring the communication device he'd used to contact Zhang Su earlier, and said: "Hey, Zhang Su, I can't hear you clearly over there—what's going on?"

Soon, he saw the man on the other side raise a hand to his mouth, and then his own side echoed with sound.

"You can't hear my high-definition speaker? Are you a descendant of the deaf?"

That single sentence nearly made Liao Youzhi choke with rage—the voice was unmistakable, and so was the foul-mouthed tone!

Zhao Dezhu stood at the front of the convoy, watching Liao Youzhi's reaction, barely holding back a laugh.

He wasn't worried about the danger of impersonating Zhang Su—his full-body protection was solid, even two layers of petrified zombie skin lined the inside of his cotton hat; a slight shift of his body made accurate aiming difficult. But he was deeply concerned they'd uncover his identity—that would be mortifying. He'd brought his father-in-law along precisely for emergencies.

Yet when he saw Liao Youzhi's reaction, he finally believed it: the world was vast, and strange things truly did happen...

He'd completely forgotten how drastically human information acquisition speed and precision had collapsed after the internet vanished!

"Hey you—Zhang Xin, come here!"

Liao Youzhi waved to someone far away; he still wasn't certain and wanted to ask one of his men for confirmation.

Zhang Xin, captain of the Vanguard Team Three, standing among the crowd, felt his limbs go numb. He'd never seen such a massive gathering in his life, already mentally rehearsing every possible scenario and his responses, when suddenly he heard his boss call his name—he hurried over to the pickup truck.

"Leader Liao, what is it?"

Liao Youzhi pointed across the way: "When you went north to track down Fu Wei's group, you met Zhang Su before—was that him?"

The moment Zhang Xin heard the voice, he knew it wasn't Zhang Su—he knew Zhang Su better than most, and this trick was totally in his style.

He squinted across, then raised his binoculars for a closer look, uncertainly said: "Leader, I only caught a distant glimpse of Zhang Su back then. His build seemed similar, but I didn't get a clear look at the details."

To avoid arousing Liao Youzhi's suspicion, Zhang Xin chose vague wording.

"Get lost!"

Liao Youzhi waved him off irritably.

Gong Chengming, who had stood quietly beside the pickup truck, felt turmoil churning inside him. Others not recognizing Zhang Su was fine—but Li Zongkai and Zhang Xin must know. So did he and the members of Vanguard Team One behind him, especially Xiao Xuejian! He met Xiao Xuejian's gaze, and both saw a string of question marks in each other's eyes.

Li Zongkai deceiving Liao Youzhi was understandable; Zhang Xin hiding the truth was more suspicious. And what about the members of Vanguard Team Three? Not one stepped forward to speak—had they all defected to Tianma Yu? If so, this was a terrible sign for Gong Chengming!

"Audio equipment distorts voices, Lao Liao—your voice has changed too."

Gong Chengming walked over to the pickup truck and spoke to Liao Youzhi.

Hearing this, many nearby nodded in agreement.

"Is that so?"

After repeated confirmation, Liao Youzhi reluctantly set aside his doubts, picked up the microphone again, and said: "Zhang Su, no more small talk—I have bad news. Just now, eight members of the Civilization Guardians have defected. That means I now hold eight fewer hostages!"

He deliberately avoided specifying the exact number, only saying eight were gone, intending to keep Li Zongkai as his final bargaining chip.

"Come and go as you please—those who stay are brothers. Enough talk—let's exchange now!"

With that, Zhao Dezhu gestured, and Ju Wuying led ten hostages forward.

Liao Youzhi didn't hesitate—he waved his hand, and his bodyguards brought twelve Civilization Guardians members to the front of the convoy.

"No other demands!" Liao Youzhi raised the microphone, his voice low and stern: "I only ask for one thing: sincerity. Don't try anything during the exchange. We don't want war—but that doesn't mean we lack the power to wage it!"

With that, Liao Youzhi clenched his fist and swung it.

Clang!

As Liao Youzhi made the motion, the side door of a cargo truck suddenly flew open, and a heavy metal plate crashed to the ground with a thunderous clang.

Not only did the Tianqi Corps and Little Eagle Society members jump back in shock—even many members of the Survivors Alliance didn't know what was inside the cargo box. When everyone turned their gaze inward, many faces twisted in horror!

When the Survivors Alliance convoy arrived, Zhang Su had noticed that peculiar cargo truck. In freezing weather, most vehicles emitted steam from their engine hoods—that was normal. But whose cargo truck emitted such intense heat that it warped the surrounding air? Inside must be something extraordinary: a body radiating scorching heat, its skin cracked like volcanic rock, its flesh like molten lava. Though its chest didn't rise and fall like a normal human's, its flesh pulsed like slow-flowing magma beneath the crust, emitting a faint crimson glow.

The searing heat meant it wore no ordinary clothing; its abnormal form was secured to a massive metal "X" frame, thick iron chains wrapped around its neck, waist, wrists, and ankles—the parts touching its skin glowed red-hot, their temperature unimaginable.

A heavy metal box sealed tightly over its head, the metal slightly reddened from overheating—pour oil on it and you could fry an egg without effort. Even before the box opened, people had felt a faint warmth; now that it was open, waves of heat rolled out, making the minus-thirty-degree air feel like a scorching summer afternoon breeze.

"What the hell is this thing... a mutated zombie?"

Liu Yao stared at the fiery figure, involuntarily swallowing hard.

He'd only heard of mutated zombies before—never seen one. This was his first time.

He hadn't seen this truck before departure and had no idea when Liao Youzhi had brought out this secret weapon. The moment the box opened, a wave of heat slammed into his face—its terrifying power filled him with dread. His face burned, yet his soles felt cold.

Yang Xinqi was also startled. Like Liu Yao, he'd only heard of mutated zombies, never seen one. He'd always bragged inside the Tianqi Corps: "No matter what mutation, one bullet solves it." Now he was silent, swallowing twice, his gaze grave.

His thoughts mirrored Liu Yao's: a mutated zombie was one thing—but the crucial point was that this one was in the hands of the Survivors Alliance.

He'd once believed that if the Tianqi Corps allied with the Civilization Guardians or the Little Eagle Society, they could stand against the Survivors Alliance. Now he saw it wasn't so simple—they had a secret weapon!

(End of Chapter)