Chapter 440: He Dares Not Kill Me!

Gong Chengming did not retreat even though Jiang Sanhe had temporarily gained control of the fire-spitting zombie; he tightened his grip on Liao Youzhi and declared loudly: "Everyone listen! Do you think today's operation is aimed at punishing Tianma Yu for luring zombies into Qincheng? You're wrong!"

"The truth behind this whole affair is nothing like what Liao Youzhi claimed—none of those repeated attempts to lure zombies into Qincheng were his doing; it was all a play he staged himself!"

As his voice faded, a brief silence gave way to a roar of uproar.

"This… this was all done by Leader Liao himself?"

"Damn, that's insane—was he deliberately framing Tianma Yu?"

"Even a fool could see it—he wanted an excuse to expand northward!"

"You're lying—"

"I'm not framing anyone!" Gong Chengming cut in as Liao Youzhi tried to speak: "The last one—the zombie horde we found on North Second Ring yesterday—had nothing to do with Liao Youzhi. I suspect it was sent by our friends to the north, but only once. The first three were all his doing—I swear on my head!"

Liu Yao, standing far away, poked his head out from the roof of an SUV and shouted: "So the zombie horde that attacked my Xinglong Kindergarten over half a month ago was also Liao Youzhi's doing?"

The Little Eagle Society's base was a sizable community kindergarten inside a high-end residential compound; the compound's own defenses were already strong, and with the kindergarten's tall walls modified slightly, it became an excellent shelter!

But over half a month ago, this hidden safe haven was suddenly attacked by a zombie horde that appeared out of nowhere, throwing the Little Eagle Society into chaos. Fortunately, they had prepared well—though they lost vast supplies and one life, they managed to resolve the crisis.

"Lies!"

Liao Youzhi strained his neck in protest, his face flushed red with rage: "Gong Chengming is spouting nonsense! If you believe him, you've fallen for his trap! This hypocrite, this monster in human skin, will say anything to smear me!"

"That's right, Deputy Leader Gong—can you produce any concrete proof? We can't just take your word for it!"

Yang Xinqi spoke up now too, though his courage was far smaller than Liu Yao's—he shouted from behind a car engine, knowing full well that car doors didn't stop bullets—that was movie magic; only the engine could. The power struggle within the Survivors' Alliance had nothing to do with outsiders, but if the reason for this operation was all fake, then everything was absurd—everyone needed an explanation! "Of course there's proof—but the person who told me all this isn't here. It's one of our Leader Liao's four wives!"

In the apocalypse, powerful men taking multiple wives was common, but if one's own wife became a spy planted beside him, that was deadly. Hearing Gong Chengming's words, Liao Youzhi felt his heart skip two beats.

Li Zongkai stared at Gong Chengming with a strange expression, thinking how strange the world was—someone had used the exact same tactic as him. He was just pondering who Gong Chengming's spy might be when he saw someone waving at him…

"Huh?"

This discovery startled Li Zongkai—he nearly fell off the truck bed when he looked closer.

No one noticed Li Zongkai's lapse; everyone's attention was fixed on Gong Chengming's explosive revelation.

Most members of the Survivors' Alliance were whispering among themselves, let alone the Little Eagle Society and the Tianqi Corps.

Liu Yao growled: "Liao Youzhi, this matter's gotten complicated. You owe all of us an explanation—or it's not over!"

Yang Xinqi's face was grim—he'd learned more from Zhang Xin. Without Gong Chengming's revelation, he wouldn't have believed it, but now, everything fit: Liao Youzhi's ambition was plain as day! "Commander Liu!"

Yang Xinqi shouted loudly: "It's worse than we thought! Liao doesn't just want to seize the north—he wants to wipe out all of us at once!"

"What?!"

Liu Yao's heart tightened at Yang Xinqi's words—he immediately signaled his men to raise their weapons and prepare for battle, but their gear looked pitiful—few rifles, mostly handguns.

The Little Eagle Society and the Tianqi Corps were at odds, but precisely because of that, Liu Yao trusted Yang Xinqi more—he couldn't possibly be joking about something this serious. There were no eternal enemies, only eternal interests; loyalties shifted constantly.

Liao Youzhi caught the Little Eagle Society's reaction from the corner of his eye, his face trembling with rage—then he suddenly laughed. "Hah! Hahaha…"

Liao Youzhi's laughter made the atmosphere utterly bizarre.

On Tianma Yu's side, Zhao Dezhu had ordered the men who brought the hostages to be disarmed and detained; the group was in heated debate, mainly over whether to launch an attack now and coordinate with Zhang Su to seize the Survivors' Alliance outright.

In the end, they concluded: the situation was unclear—don't act rashly…

"Do you know why Gong Chengming is holding me but dares not kill me?"

After his bizarre laughter, Liao Youzhi took a deep breath and asked the crowd.

"Because this bastard is insane—he built a weapon capable of turning all of us into zombies!" Gong Chengming didn't let Liao Youzhi build suspense—he revealed the answer immediately.

"Hahaha!"

Liao Youzhi laughed wildly again, twisted his body with a surge of waist strength and a powerful tail-sweep, wrenching himself free from Gong Chengming's grip. His eyes burned with fearless madness.

Aaao, aowu.

At that moment, a group of zombies emerged from between storefronts onto the street—no more than a hundred—charging toward the nearest Little Eagle Society members.

"Motherfucker!"

Liu Yao's mind screamed with panic, yet he had no choice but to order his men to kill the zombies drawn by the noise. To his surprise, the Tianqi Corps, under Yang Xinqi's command, joined the fight against the zombies.

Some Survivors' Alliance members who had fled to the outskirts also drew cold weapons and joined the slaughter.

When facing an external enemy, humans always briefly united—but Liao Youzhi's and Gong Chengming's factions still stood coldly opposed, not daring to move.

Fifty-odd men against a hundred ordinary zombies—handling them was effortless. Soon, zombie corpses littered the storefront entrances, never even reaching the road.

After the zombies were cleared, Liao Youzhi slowly stepped back a few paces, spread his arms wide, utterly unafraid of the dozen guns pointed at him, and sneered: "Everyone knows how terrifying zombification is—no need for me to explain, right?"

Those who had killed the zombies panted heavily, staring at Liao Youzhi—no one answered, unsure what he meant.

As if expecting no reply, Liao Youzhi didn't care—he pointed at his own chest and said: "If my heartbeat stops, a bomb capable of turning everyone here into zombies will detonate. Hahaha—so Gong Chengming dares not kill me!"

After hearing Liao Youzhi's words, many in the crowd were utterly bewildered—what nonsense! How could there be a bomb that turns people into zombies? Ridiculous! Even the members of his personal guard looked confused—they had no idea he possessed such a weapon. Though terrifying, it was inhuman!

Wu Baokang's face twitched slightly—he was one of the few who knew part of the truth. He was still bound, gagged, powerless to act—yet as he watched, he spotted a ghostly figure slipping between cars, moving toward the cargo truck!

Their contact had been brief, but he recognized the figure instantly—it was Zhang Su. The realization stunned him—he had no idea how Zhang Su had gotten here. Seeing him sneak toward the cargo truck, it was obvious: he intended to seize control of the fire-spitting zombie. In the past, he would have shouted a warning—but now he wouldn't. Not because his mouth was gagged with rope, but because deep down, he didn't want to alert Liao Youzhi. A weapon that turns people into zombies was too evil—he was afraid.

"I need to hide!"

Wu Baokang felt the fragile balance about to shatter. He glanced at his bound companions beside him, then at Gong Chengming's Vanguard Team One—all eyes fixed on Liao Youzhi.

He began slowly shifting toward the back of a car, inching with his toes…

(End of Chapter)