Chapter 46: Good Brothers, Go Together

“Just two zombies…”

Zhang Su rubbed his chin; the answer was unexpected, but remembering how someone downstairs had used the elevator to transport zombies, it made sense—there were only so many people in the entire unit, counting those who’d left the underground parking lot.

“I see your weapons are spotless—didn’t you kill the zombies?” Zhang Su pointed to the fire axe and crowbar lying nearby.

“Oh my god, big brother, don’t you know? Those zombies are deadly—get bitten once and you get infected, turn into one of them! I saw it with my own eyes—I dare not touch them!”

Chongzi looked as if he’d heard something unbelievable, his face filled with fear as he frantically waved his hands.

Zhang Su fell silent; this was classic bullying the weak and cowering before the strong—daring to attack people but too scared to face zombies.

Zheng Xinyu and Zhong Xiaoshan exchanged glances, then turned to Zhang Su with strange looks, as if saying: Only you, this madman, would drag us out to kill zombies…

“Hmph!” Zhang Su’s temper flared after his silence; he pointed at the fire axe and crowbar on the ground: “Cowardly bastards—tremble before zombies, but punch women without mercy. Are you carrying these weapons just to eat shit? You’re fucking dogs!”

Chongzi mumbled: “We didn’t dare kill zombies, but these weapons can still be used to defend against danger…”

“Defend against danger? What did you do about the zombies on the first floor?”

Zhang Su spoke irritably; if he hadn’t been too lazy, he’d have already slapped Chongzi across the face.

“That… my brother and I noticed zombies are sensitive to sound. One apartment on the first floor had no security bars—I climbed in and knocked on the door, making noise. Those zombies just stupidly pounded on the door, so my brother and I slipped up the stairs.”

Chongzi spoke with pride, convinced he’d been brilliantly clever.

But to Zhang Su and the other two, this behavior was practically suicide—it only considered the immediate problem, never imagining what would happen if there were wandering zombies upstairs, leaving them trapped between two fronts!

“Leave the gear. You can go.”

Zhang Su suddenly waved his hand listlessly.

At first, seeing Chongzi’s slick, clever demeanor, he’d thought he might learn something useful.

But now he realized Chongzi was just a petty schemer—useless when real danger came—and lost all interest.

???

Zheng Xinyu, Zhong Xiaoshan, and the kneeling Chongzi were all stunned—just like that?

The two women had expected Zhang Su, given his nature, to never let this guy off so easily—but he’d dismissed him so casually.

Chongzi felt like heaven had opened; compared to his brother lying outside, he’d just been handed back his life.

“Thank you, thank you so much, big brother! You’ll live a hundred years!”

In one swift motion, Chongzi leapt up, as if freed from execution, heading for the door—though he lingered a moment to glance at the crowbar and backpack on the floor, his and his brother’s entire worldly goods, now too dangerous to claim.

“No.”

Zheng Xinyu’s voice suddenly rang out.

Zhang Su’s lips twitched faintly, half-smiling, saying nothing as he sat quietly watching.

“Miss, you… big brother said I could go, but what else do you want?”

Chongzi smiled obsequiously.

Zheng Xinyu’s face darkened, speaking without mercy: “You came after me, tried to rob me. He let you go—that’s his choice. But did I say you could leave?”

“This…” Chongzi turned to Zhang Su, only to see him shrug helplessly—his face instantly fell.

“Sister, I made a mistake—please, with your compassionate heart, forgive me. I’ll repay you in my next life as your ox or horse!”

Chongzi began begging again.

If someone had pleaded like this before the zombie outbreak, Zheng Xinyu would’ve almost always relented—but now…

Hss!

Thud…

A gust of wind—Zheng Xinyu swung the baseball bat hard against Chongzi’s left arm.

“Ahh… you, you… my arm! Aah, hiss… it’s broken, broken!”

Chongzi’s face turned ashen, his body trembling violently, beads of cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

Curses choked in his throat, swallowed back—his mind already sharpened with cruel revenge plans.

“Not broken—just a hairline fracture. With proper care, you’ll recover in over a month. But with no medicine now… probably two or three months.”

Zhong Xiaoshan explained patiently; her recovery timeline assumed one crucial condition: adequate nutrition.

In this time of food and water scarcity—even with a stable environment to heal—recovery would take at least half a year!

“Now you can go!”

Zheng Xinyu’s chest heaved, pointing to the door, her eyes complex—furious, yet tinged with guilt after hurting him.

Chongzi gritted his teeth, his left arm useless; he suppressed the cold fury in his eyes, forcing a look of pitiful suffering, nodded silently, and continued toward the door.

“There’s one thing you must take with you.”

As Chongzi’s hand touched the doorknob, Zhang Su spoke behind him.

Chongzi froze. After five seconds, he turned, lips trembling: “Big brother… you… you say.”

“Your brother came with you. Remember to take him with you. Good brothers—go together, right?”

Zhang Su pointed toward the door; he’d already checked the gear—Xiangge had nothing on him; everything was in the backpack.

…

“Zhang Su… do you think we were too harsh?”

Behind the door, Zheng Xinyu watched through the peephole as Chongzi painfully dragged Xiangge’s corpse out of the safety gate, leaving a gruesome trail of blood—her emotions churned.

“You gave him a lesson. Back then, that would’ve been enough—you could’ve been a gang boss in half a block. But now… you’re still too soft.”

Zhang Su leaned against the wall, speaking slowly.

Zheng Xinyu’s face paled, her voice dry: “Are you saying I should’ve killed him…?”

Hearing this, Zhong Xiaoshan’s heart lurched—she hadn’t imagined they’d already reached the point of human cannibalism.

“Asking that means you already know the answer.”

Zhang Su turned to Zhong Xiaoshan: “Xiaoshan, what would you have done?”

Zhong Xiaoshan, lost in thought, paused, then said: “I… I’d probably have done the same as Xinyu—beat him up and let him go.”

Zhang Su shook his head slightly: “You both think this is cruel enough, sufficiently intimidating—but remember: if you don’t kill the snake, it’ll bite you back. I’ll show you something interesting in a moment.”

(End of Chapter)