Chapter 439: Who Becomes Leader Doesn

Click-click, click-click-click…

"Don't move!"

"Everyone, don't move…"

"Drop your weapons!"

The guards, seeing Liao Youzhi with a gun pressed to his head by Gong Chengming, wanted to rescue him but dared not risk his life—they all raised their guns and gestured wildly toward the front, staring anxiously at each other.

For them, the entire Survivor Alliance was divided only into guards and non-guards; that is, they considered themselves one group, while the Vanguard Squad, the Recon Team, or anyone else were not their own.

It wasn't just the guards who raised their weapons—the entire first squad of the Vanguard Squad moved even faster, their barrels already trained on the guards! The hostages, still wearing their hoods, endured unimaginable terror: unable to see, unable to scream, unaware of what was happening outside, their legs trembling.

As for the rest of the Survivor Alliance, along with members of the Little Eagle Society and the Apocalypse Squad, they were utterly bewildered—what the hell was going on? A rebellion during a prisoner exchange with the enemy?

This is too intense…

For a moment, the Survivor Alliance completely fell into chaos.

"Come on, follow me, hurry!"

Yang Xinqi barely had time to remove one subordinate's hood before crouching low and dragging his men away, fleeing from the heart of the conflict!

Ju Wuying stood frozen, unsure what to do; seeing Zhang Su slip away with a few members of the Apocalypse Squad, she followed closely behind.

Liu Yao stood with his Little Eagle Society comrades at a distance, his eyes filled with confusion and deep shock—he felt today's events would not end easily! Li Zongkai, still standing on the truck bed, frowned in disbelief, staring at Gong Chengming's profile; even he hadn't anticipated this absurd turn of events—but it was an excellent opportunity. After a second of astonishment, his mind began racing, searching for a way to survive this. In the midst of it all, Liao Youzhi's masked face revealed no expression, but his eyes betrayed furious rage—he was nearly apoplectic.

"Gong Chengming, I never thought you'd be a traitor. What have I ever done to you that you'd do this?"

At such a critical moment, he'd been betrayed by someone beside him—his second-in-command. This wasn't about shame anymore; it was a matter of life and death! "You haven't wronged me. Friends from Tianma Yu, let's settle some old scores first!"

Gong Chengming's loud voice rang out—he rarely spoke to Liao Youzhi in this tone, and his piercing words continued: "Liao Youzhi has done many things against the Survivor Alliance, betrayed the hardworking comrades who bled for it, betrayed the members who toiled day and night. If we let him continue leading us, we'll be doomed beyond redemption…"

Though Gong Chengming appeared refined and scholarly, his physical strength was formidable—he held Liao Youzhi tightly, leaving him no chance to break free, while relentlessly listing Liao's crimes. The scene fell silent.

The four Apocalypse Squad hostages had their hoods removed one by one; only then did Yang Xinqi notice someone was missing. "Where's Fan Dahai?"

"No idea…"

But the scene was too chaotic—the Apocalypse Squad members hadn't even had time to untie the ropes binding their comrades' mouths. Yang Xinqi waved frantically at his men, signaling: don't rush, we'll find him later…

The missing "hostage" now leaned against the side of a pickup truck, back resting against a tire, beside the barely noticeable Ju Wuying.

"Something's wrong."

Zhang Su's hands weren't bound at all—his wrists were tied separately, but together they looked like one bound pair; his mouth had no rope, and he'd already removed the cloth sack from his head, his expression grave as he strained his ears.

Ju Wuying wore a faint look of curiosity, glancing at Zhang Su with questioning eyes—her gaze spoke clearly: what could possibly be right about any of this now?

Zhang Su had no time to answer her. His mind raced: Liao Youzhi had said clearly, "I never thought you'd be a traitor." The subtext was: "I've suspected you for a while—I just didn't want to believe it, but now I see you're truly corrupt."

If that's true, then Liao Youzhi had suspected Gong Chengming before. So was it Gong Chengming who slipped up—or was there another traitor among them?

The answer came quickly…

"Captain Gong, if you don't want everyone to die with you, release Leader Liao and surrender with your hands up!" The voice came from the direction of the cargo container holding the fire zombie. A middle-aged man sat inside, pressing a control button as the container slowly rotated, aligning its open side toward the crowd. The fire zombie hung like a crucified Jesus on the steel X-frame, its faint red glow radiating overwhelming menace.

"Jiang Sanhe!"

Gong Chengming didn't move—he still held Liao Youzhi tightly, his back to the cargo truck—but he recognized the voice immediately: it was one of his own first squad members from the Vanguard Team. No one dared move, not just because the fire zombie now faced them, but also because of the dark muzzles of countless guns. "Hah! Gong Chengming, didn't expect this, did you? I've got men right beside you! Yes, you're cautious, your true intentions well hidden—but your strange behavior couldn't be concealed. Your ideological indoctrination is impressive—you only decided to act today, didn't you? Dragging so many people along with you? Not easy!"

Liao Youzhi's voice was loud too, voicing his contempt and indignation clearly.

The atmosphere was frozen. Beyond Liao Youzhi and Gong Chengming's factions, others were also within the fire zombie's attack range, terrified the man in the truck would pull the trigger. "Hey, we're not getting involved in your internal affairs!" Liu Yao shouted, sweat beading on his forehead.

"Non-involved comrades, please move aside—don't get caught in the crossfire!"

Jiang Sanhe called out from the driver's seat of the cargo truck.

In an instant, thirty or forty people scattered to either side—not just Little Eagle Society and Apocalypse Squad members, but even some from the Survivor Alliance fled.

Zhang Xin was among them, scrambling backward with several subordinates, looking up—and froze. A familiar face appeared before him. He nearly ran straight into the truck. "You—"

Before he could finish, Zhang Su grabbed him and yanked him aside.

"Holy shit, Brother Zhang, you've got balls! How'd you even get here?"

Zhang Xin's eyes bulged. His men, huddled behind the truck, stared in terror mixed with faint awe—this guy was incredible! "You… you were posing as a hostage?"

Zhang Xin quickly noticed the ropes on Zhang Su's wrists, the familiar clothes, and the Tianma Yu woman nearby escorting hostages—all became clear. He couldn't help but marvel inwardly.

"Don't talk now—deal with this first. Go find Liu Yao and Yang Xinqi. Tell them Liao Youzhi's goal wasn't just to crush Tianma Yu—he's also targeted the Civilization Guardians and both their groups. Wu Baokang told me this. Go!"

Zhang Su had no time to waste. He glanced toward the cargo container—the situation was temporarily stable—and immediately assigned Zhang Xin a task.

His position wasn't far back; from here, he could see many heads peeking from behind vehicles—but no one noticed him. The chaos was too great!

"Huh? But what if Gong Chengming kills Liao Youzhi?"

Zhang Xin asked anxiously—the situation was unpredictable.

Zhang Su shook his head: "Gong Chengming and Liao Youzhi are no different. It's just a change of leader—the plan will likely stay the same."

Since Gong Chengming chose this moment to strike—and already seized the ultimate weapon—he must have ambitions.

"What the hell is even going on here!"

Zhang Xin's face twisted—he was utterly overwhelmed. After confirming once more with Zhang Su, he crouched low and darted off in the right direction.

Xiao Hu edged closer to Zhang Su and whispered: "Brother Zhang, I think no one should lead us but you. Should we act?"

Zhang Su looked at Xiao Hu in surprise. He remembered this young man—he was astonished by his insight. While most were lost in chaos, this ordinary member had clear thinking.

"Hold your position for now."

After speaking, he focused entirely on the scene ahead.

(End of Chapter)