Chapter 482: Fucked by Fate!

Zhang Su flipped through the notebook, glancing over it briefly; Liao Youzhi's notes were a chaotic mix—records of search progress in nearby residential areas, rough analyses of combat strength from other survivor camps, and assorted rumors gathered from hearsay, every kind of information imaginable.

"Xinyu, catch."

Clearly not the time for study, Zhang Su tossed the notebook to Zheng Xinyu to stash in her bag, then opened the drawer beside it, where lay a wildly out-of-place women's shoebox.

"Damn, Liao Youzhi's hobby… no."

Zhang Su gave a strange smile. He'd once watched a crime drama where a man had an obsession with women's high heels—he wondered if Liao Youzhi shared this peculiar taste. Just as he pulled the shoebox from the drawer, ready to voice his suspicion, he noticed the weight felt wrong.

How heavy could a pair of women's shoes be? Yet the box in his hands was unnaturally heavy, dense as if filled with books.

"Holy shit, this shoebox is booby-trapped!"

Zhang Su placed the box on the table and opened it—inside was a bomb with a timer, two detonator wires connected to the trigger, the timer's pulse light blinking rhythmically, meaning it could still receive signals!

"I fucking swear!"

"Bro Su, be careful!"

The people at the door tensed instantly at the word "booby-trap"—the vivid purple from yesterday still lingered in their memories; they had no desire to become martyrs to the art of explosion.

"Fuck, this is… this underneath is C4!"

Zhang Su examined the bomb inside the shoebox closely, beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead—the detonators weren't the main threat; the massive lump beneath was!

C4 plastic explosive might not match the power of Ascension Original Slurry, but half a shoebox full? It wouldn't just blow up the fifth floor—if planted on the first floor, the entire LeGou Mall would go with it; even if placed in a corner of the roof, it could blast a massive hole through the entire building!

It wasn't hard to guess Liao Youzhi's intent in placing this here—he planned to take out anyone who reached headquarters, a tactic he favored; there might be similar devices hidden elsewhere in the building!

As for the remote detonator's whereabouts, it was easy to guess—it likely went up with Liao Youzhi in Beidong Town.

"Bro, if this thing goes off, it'll be catastrophic—let's just remove the trigger mechanism first…"

Zhao Dechu returned, heard Zhang Su's words, and leaned in to peer into the secret room.

Zhang Su gave Zhao Dechu a deadpan look: "You think I'm a bomb disposal expert? I'm not touching it… hey, we can just cut the detonators! Right! Pan Ru, hand me a pair of scissors."

Though he knew cutting detonators wouldn't cause an explosion, Zhang Su still didn't want to use his dog-leg combat knife for such delicate work—it looked terrifying! "Big Brother Zhang, here you go."

Soon, Pan Ru fetched a pair of scissors from inside and handed them to Zhang Su; seeing what was inside the box, she couldn't help but shudder—she had no idea such a terrifying device was buried in the place she lived in every day. Zombie attacks still offered a sliver of hope—if Liao Youzhi had triggered this…

Better not think about it.

The bomb itself was crudely made—the detonators and C4 were taped together with electrical tape, no complex wiring to prevent disarming; a few snips severed them cleanly.

"Done, that's safe now. Keep these detonators. The C4 is stable—wrap it in something. Not a bad find!"

Chen Hanzhou stared at the contents of the box in disbelief, frowning: "This kind of thing is strictly controlled in our country—how did Liao Youzhi get it?"

Zhang Su looked at Li Zongkai—if anyone could get weapons of this caliber, it could only be through the shadow behind Li Zongkai.

Li Zongkai felt the eyes on him and shrugged helplessly: "We only traded ordinary firearms with Liao Youzhi—we never even brought out special equipment. And this kind of thing? The military camp doesn't have it!"

"Oh? Then where the hell did this come from?"

Zhang Su knew Li Zongkai wouldn't lie. If the military camp didn't have it, then Liao Youzhi either found it—or acquired it from another faction. If so, that meant another faction still had this stuff. Such high-casualty weapons wouldn't be fully traded away—if they were, it meant that faction had something even stronger. "Maybe it came from the Beihe District—conditions there are far more complex than the city," Li Zongkai pointed south.

Zheng Xinyu placed her backpack on her lap and pulled out the notebook: "There should be records here—should we check first…?"

BOOM!

Before Zheng Xinyu could finish, an explosion erupted from somewhere unknown—she nearly dropped the notebook, everyone present dropped to the ground, except Pan Ru and Ouyang Qiao, who stood frozen. "Fuck, did something happen at the lab?!"

Zhang Su was startled too—he had sharper hearing than most; the explosion had roared like thunder beside his ear. For a moment, he thought the C4 beside him had detonated—cold sweat burst from his back pores.

"Uncle… uncle, cough, come quick, uncle…"

Before anyone could respond to Zhang Su's question, a panicked, tearful cry came from the entrance—Pang Dakun.

"It really is the lab… Xinyu, you and Sakura guard this place—keep the C4 safe!"

Saying that, Zhang Su bolted out the door, sprinting toward the lab.

Those on the ground snapped out of their shock and followed Zhang Su outside, faces etched with dread—the explosion still haunted them.

"Da Kun!"

Zhang Su rounded the corner and froze—Pang Dakun lay on the ground, blood covering his head and hands, debris scattered everywhere, the lab's entrance blown open, its door hanging crookedly from a rope, flames already raging inside.

"Fire! Get the extinguishers! Fuck! Da Kun, how are you?!"

Zhang Su dashed to Pang Dakun's side in three strides.

"Fucked… fucked my luck—I was just poking the lock… and it fucking exploded! Uncle, my hand—I can't feel my hand!"

Pang Dakun struggled to move his left arm, but only his shoulder twitched spasmodically, his face twisted in agony.

"Extinguisher's coming! Extinguisher's coming!"

Zhao Dechu, hearing the fire, remembered the large and small extinguishers in Liao Youzhi's living room corner, ran back, grabbed the big one, while Chen Hanzhou carried the small one, sprinting over.

Lu Yu didn't get an extinguisher—he held two un-frozen bottles of Nongfu Spring, Liao Youzhi's stored drinking water. Li Zongkai was the craziest—he held a mop.

"Don't go in! Fuck, the bastard rigged everything with self-destruct devices—don't trigger a second explosion! Help move Da Kun to Gong Chengming's room!"

Zhang Su called for help, mentally cursing Liao Youzhi a hundred and eighty times—a lunatic who planted bombs everywhere in his own territory. If he'd had some earth-shattering secret to hide, fine—but in this apocalypse, what secret could possibly matter? His brain must've been crushed by a donkey's ass!

The explosion was loud—it instantly alerted everyone downstairs.

Yu Wen, along with Tan Huajun and others, had been recording the abilities and strengths of LeGou Branch members for future assignments—when the thunderous boom overhead made them all flinch, then turn pale and sprint upstairs.

Outside, Wang Xin and Pan Guoliang, guarding the fire zombie cargo container, were chatting idly when the top floor exploded—the glass wall, over ten meters wide, shattered and flew outward, shards landing across the street, papers scattered, two test platforms crashing down below with heavy thuds…

"Fuck! Did something happen to Brother Good?" Pan Guoliang still privately called Zhang Su "Brother Good."

"Ask quick!"

Wang Xin immediately reached for his walkie-talkie pocket—then remembered he'd taken off his coat near the container because it was hot, so he ran to the car, grabbed the walkie-talkie, and shouted: "Bro Su, Bro Su, are you okay?!"

"Bro Su's fine, but Da Kun's injured!"

A reply came quickly—Chen Hanzhou's voice.

"Good, good…," Wang Xin exhaled heavily, then tensed again: "How bad is Da Kun's injury? Do we need to come up?"

"Da Kun's vital signs are stable—hold your positions. Anyone approaching with hostile intent—shoot on sight!"

Zhang Su's voice crackled from the walkie-talkie—he didn't want anyone exploiting the chaos.

(End of Chapter)