Chapter 550: You Call This Mercy?

"We won't fight! We surrender! Surrender!"

"Spare us! Have mercy!"

"I won't resist—I surrender! Help, please help me…"

Five or six villagers from Bajiazi Village crawled out from between the rows of seats, kneeling in panic and begging for mercy.

Last night, fighting the zombies cost us dearly—many villagers stayed behind—but at least we had the strength to escape. This ambush left us utterly defenseless, nearly annihilated! If someone had told us this would be the outcome ten minutes ago, the people of Bajiazi Village would have laughed in their faces; after seizing the barracks, they were arrogant enough to believe no one in Qincheng could touch them!

But now the bloody reality lay before them—whether they believed it or not, they had to accept it…

Tap-tap-tap.

A rapid clatter of footsteps filled the hall as a line of men poured in and swiftly bound the remaining Bajiazi Village thugs.

"Save… save me…"

A man with both legs blown off lifted his upper body, desperately reaching for salvation.

"I can't stand to see others suffer—I'll help you."

Zhang Su glanced at the man, raised his rifle, and fired a single bullet.

A flash of fire—the man collapsed, yet a smile spread across his face…

"Better to die in relief than suffer in agony—Yanluo Wang is merciful!"

Yu Wen burst into the barracks just in time to see this, his eyes darting, then raised his arm and shouted loudly:

Logically, you don't pursue desperate enemies—you've already won the battle, no need to keep killing—but since the boss had already acted, his duty was to minimize the impact or change its nature!

After hearing Yu Wen's words, Zhang Su secretly admired him—he had long tried to learn the art of language from Teacher Yu, yet always fell short.

Wu Lue, who had been pinning down the man with the broken legs, stood up awkwardly, thinking to himself: You call this mercy? Fine, you're the Chinese teacher—you decide.

"Finish off the dead—ensure no one survives. Zhu Zi, take ten men and drive the vehicles in through the gate. Then station at least four guards—shoot anyone unfamiliar who approaches!"

After giving the order, Zhang Su turned to the people huddled and trembling in the corner.

In the chaos, the survivors of Civilization Guard remained silent, utterly confused— they only knew the man calling himself Yanluo Wang was "merciful," and hadn't even noticed familiar faces among those storming the hall.

"It's over now—everyone relax. Da Qiang, bring your men over!"

Zhang Su holstered his weapon, opened his arms, and walked toward the stage to comfort the shaken members of Civilization Guard.

"You… this is… Qiangzi!"

"Da Zhuang!"

Wu Daqiang, seeing his comrades in such a pitiful state, couldn't hold back his tears—if they'd returned even a moment later, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

"How are you? How's everyone?"

Li Zongkai rushed into the hall—he had been assigned by Zhang Su to the neighboring broadcast room, tasked with broadcasting to prepare Civilization Guard for an internal uprising, ideally to coordinate an inside-out attack. But not a single person reacted.

These soldiers were too rigid! "Director Li! I didn't hear wrong—it really is Director Li!"

"Ah, Director Li and his team are back!"

"Oh my god, so… w-w-wah…"

"We're saved! We're really saved! Thank heaven and earth!"

When the survivors of Civilization Guard saw Wu Daqiang and the others, most were still in shock—but when Li Zongkai appeared, their minds finally connected. The hall erupted in sobs of overwhelming joy; people rolled on the ground, laughing and crying, as if insane.

No one mocked them. To fall from heaven to hell, then be dragged back to heaven—this rollercoaster of emotion, even in the apocalypse, tested the human spirit to its limit!

"Brothers and sisters, calm down, calm down and listen to me—listen!"

Li Zongkai was equally emotional—he strode forward, waving his arms, swallowed hard, and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Today, you've been saved thanks to Yanluo Wang's great merit. Many of you may not know Yanluo Wang—let me introduce him to you. Look at this man…"

All eyes followed Li Zongkai's pointing finger—to the man who called himself Yanluo Wang.

"Zhang Su, leader of Tianma Yu, known as Yanluo Wang. His Yanluo Army is fearless and valiant. Today's battle was a resounding victory—credit belongs entirely to the Yanluo Army. Don't thank heaven or earth—thank your true savior!"

With that, Li Zongkai led the applause—his old-school demeanor was flawless.

Civilization Guard's survivors had many questions, but all were washed away by the joy of rebirth—they erupted in heartfelt gratitude toward Zhang Su and his men.

"Everyone, quiet down—this isn't the place to talk. Quickly, free your brothers and sisters—let's move somewhere else!"

"Mr. Zhang…"

Zhang Su was about to order the survivors freed when Li Zongkai stepped beside him, waving his hand to signal him to wait.

"What's wrong?"

"It's like this… you know there are infiltrators from the Survivor Alliance in the barracks. Don't free them yet—I'll question them first."

Li Zongkai whispered into Zhang Su's ear.

Zhang Su knew about this—he nodded, signaling Li Zongkai to proceed.

Li Zongkai stepped forward, scanning the faces of familiar people, his expression grim: "Brothers and sisters, among us is a traitor. Give me a moment—I'll find him!"

"Uh… Director, are you talking about the Survivor Alliance's infiltrator?"

Da Zhuang spoke up.

? Li Zongkai turned to Da Zhuang and nodded: "Correct. You know about it?"

Not just him—we all know. All eyes turned to the corner of the stage…

"Guan Senmiao—he confessed to being an infiltrator to save his own life, but he's probably dead now."

Da Zhuang grimaced and nodded toward Guan Senmiao's corpse.

Li Zongkai walked over—sure enough, Guan Senmiao had been shot multiple times, lifeless, eyes wide open in disbelief.

"Why bother…"

Zhang Su stepped behind Li Zongkai and patted his shoulder: "Old Li, do you know how to eliminate infiltrators?"

Li Zongkai turned, confused, then shook his head. How could you prevent it? Would you refuse to save any survivors? What if someone was turned? Zhang Su whispered: "When a region has only one camp, there are no infiltrators." Li Zongkai suddenly understood—this made sense—but how large was "a region"?

Zhang Su didn't elaborate—he waved his hand, ordering the survivors of Civilization Guard freed, then walked toward the burly man: "Da Zhuang, I told you to scout the zombie horde—any news?"

Da Zhuang stood at the outer edge of the crowd, the first to have his ropes cut. Only when Zhang Su approached did he finally recognize his face—the memory flashed back—he was the man who had entered the barracks with them to grab weapons…

If so, then the Yanluo Army was the group from that time—the precise shot, the crisp female voice—that was the goddess shooter who won the shooting contest!

Hearing Zhang Su's question, Da Zhuang snapped back to reality, rubbing his numb arms, embarrassed: "We didn't even get a chance—I… damn it! After I finished talking with Director Li, I stepped out of the comms room and got ambushed—I barely escaped with my life!"

Without hesitation, Zhang Su pulled out his radio: "Xiao Shuai, Da Kun—drive northeast along the main road and scout the zombie horde. Only observe—no unnecessary actions. Stay safe!"

These two were the best in the team for driving and mobility—perfect for reconnaissance—but their personalities were unstable; he always worried they'd do something reckless, so he had to emphasize caution.

"Relax, relax!"

"Got it, Uncle, don't worry—Oh Wah!"

At the barracks gate, Qi Xiaoshuai and Pang Dakun drove off immediately.

One by one, the ropes were cut; emotions in the hall gradually calmed.

A middle-aged woman stared at Zhang Su with a puzzled expression, then, as if making a decision, stepped forward.

"Boss?"

Zhang Su was still questioning Da Zhuang and others about the Bajiazi Village attack when he heard a voice behind him—unfamiliar, but clearly addressed to him.

He turned—slightly familiar. "Sister, who are you?"

Li Zongkai and the others stared at the woman approaching Zhang Su—some tension rose in their chests. Others didn't know her—but they did.

"Liu Xixi, what are you doing?" Wu Daqiang asked sharply.

This woman was never quiet in the camp—she blatantly ignored the ban on romantic relationships, trading her body for supplies all the time!

It wasn't a major moral violation, so everyone turned a blind eye—but now she was approaching Yanluo Wang? That was a whole different problem!

"I-I'm just saying hi to an acquaintance—don't be so harsh…"

Liu Xixi shrank under Wu Daqiang's glare, smoothed her messy hair, wiped her face vigorously, then turned to Zhang Su.

"Boss, it's me—Liu Jie, uh… cough… Boss, Ai Xi Huan Bian, three thousand thanks. Do you remember now?"

Zhang Su's face went blank. When she wiped her face, he remembered—wasn't this the madam who came to his convenience store every night to buy a pack of cigarettes? He didn't even know her full name—just that she was Liu, worked at an entertainment complex, and occasionally mentioned she managed a group of girls.

"Cough…"

Liu Xixi cleared her throat—Zhang Su choked on his own breath. Qincheng had so few people left—how could he run into someone he knew? But thinking about it, it wasn't strange—he'd run a convenience store for years; countless customers came and went, most forgotten.

"I remember—you're Liu Jie. Fine, go ahead—I'm busy now. We'll catch up later."

Zhang Su felt unusually awkward—this woman had always teased him when buying cigarettes, and he'd always fired back—but now, in this setting…

Hearing Zhang Su acknowledge her, Liu Xixi beamed, grinning like she wanted to bite someone, nodding rapidly as she backed away from the crowd.

"Uh… that's the lady who used to buy cigarettes at my store—nothing to worry about. Let's get back to business."

After fifteen minutes of activity, the hall was empty—bodies of Bajiazi Village members and Civilization Guard survivors had all been cleared away, leaving only pools of blood. Even at minus twenty degrees, the hall still reeked of thick, lingering blood.

Inside the weapons warehouse, people crowded tightly. Five Bajiazi Village members knelt on the ground, surrounded by dozens of eyes burning with fury.

"Boss, according to the odometer on the vehicle, we drove about twenty-five kilometers from the barracks. I'm now six or seven kilometers from the horde—it's a massive, dark sea of them, moving painfully slow. These zombies are way too damn many!"

Binhai Road was the main artery connecting Qincheng and Shanhai District. Qi Xiaoshuai stood atop a shop roof, binoculars in hand, staring at the distant horde, his face filled with irritation.

Zombies—endless zombies. When fuel wasn't an issue, he truly didn't want to see these things…

Zhang Su stood in the middle of the crowd, holding the radio, internally rolling his eyes. Around him were all the Civilization Guard survivors—couldn't they at least be professional?

"'Way too damn many'—what unit is that? Be precise!"

"Uncle, I'd say it's more than all the zombies we blew up with grapes combined—at least thirty thousand, no, fifty thousand! I can see tons of big ones, Oh Wah!"

Pang Dakun's voice came through—rarely serious, yet still ending with his trademark phrase.

Fifty thousand. At least. Many big ones…

The description weighed heavily on everyone who heard it. Civilization Guard didn't know what "big ones" meant—but they knew what fifty thousand meant.

"Understood. Keep monitoring. Report any changes immediately. If danger arises, retreat—no heroics!"

Zhang Su clipped the radio to his belt and turned his gaze to the five Bajiazi Village members.

"You guys are clever, huh? Heard you planned to use live people as bait to lure the zombies?"

"No, I… "

"It wasn't our idea—it was Big Dog who led us!"

"Big Brother, spare our lives! We didn't want to do this!"

The five men had been slumped in despair, but seeing Zhang Su finally speak to them, they immediately banged their heads on the ground, their bound hands behind their backs not hindering them at all—thud, thud, their bows were sincere, their knocks loud; one had to admit these fellows had strong core strength.

"Kneeling to me won't help. You deceived the brothers and sisters of Civilization's Guardians, who cherished kindness, exploiting their compassion and trust to slaughter them—your actions are too heinous. Your lives must be judged by them!"

Zhang Su turned to face the crowd and called out loudly: "Everyone, what do you think should be done with these men?"

"Kill them!"

"They should be killed…"

To Zhang Su's great surprise, though the crowd was filled with righteous anger, few voiced their opinions; many faces bore anger, yet clearly waited for one person's stance—Li Zongkai.

"Cough… cough…"

Li Zongkai, naturally aware of the situation, stepped forward and said: "Brothers and sisters, there's something I planned to announce grandly after we finished cleaning up, but I feel now is a good moment. After careful thought, I have decided that from today onward, Civilization's Guardians will merge into Tianma Yu!"

This news had already begun spreading during the cleanup of the hall; most had heard whispers, but only now, hearing Li Zongkai declare it aloud, was it finally settled. Everyone's expressions remained calm, yet their hearts were filled with mixed emotions.

(End of Chapter)