Chapter 553

"Good!"

Zhang Su stepped forward, patted Li Zongkai on the shoulder, and said solemnly: "Lack of experience can be learned— I trust your ability!"

The real reason behind this ruling, except for Zhang Su himself, no one else could guess.

Yang Xinfeng and Liu Yao, who had envied Li Zongkai just moments ago, now felt no envy at all—everything had been going so well; he wasn't exactly on a pedestal, but he held high rank and power, and now it was gone in an instant—this whole mess.

"Yang Xinfeng!"

"Here!"

He had just been silently lamenting for Li Zongkai, but hearing Zhang Su call his name, he quickly responded.

"You'll temporarily take charge of all matters for these soldiers in the barracks; the kindergarten side goes to Old Liu!"

Having dismissed Li Zongkai, someone had to be appointed to manage these soldiers.

Yang Xinfeng and Liu Yao exchanged glances, then looked at Li Zongkai's impassive face, and nodded to Zhang Su: "We'll follow whatever you arrange, Brother Su."

"Brother Su, what do we do now? Should we notify the brothers over there to come?"

Liu Yao stepped forward, pointing toward the Leigou Mall, his shoulders burdened heavier than ever, his face bearing a steadiness rarely seen before.

"Uh…"

Seeing the complex, confused expressions on the faces of the barracks personnel, Zhang Su said: "Everyone's been through a huge shock today—rest if you need to, work if you need to. We'll notify you if anything comes up. Old Yang…"

Zhang Su gave Yang Xinfeng a meaningful glance—clearly, the new man should get to work.

Li Zongkai understood immediately and waved to the crowd: "Cheer up, everyone! Yang Xinfeng is the former leader of the Tianqi Team—you must listen to him, listen to Brother Yang, and cooperate with his work!"

"Nice to meet you all. I'm still unfamiliar with many things, and my methods may differ from Chairman Li's—please give me your support. Let's go together; if you have questions or difficulties, we'll talk as we walk…"

Yang Xinfeng wasn't a pushover—he could handle pressure when it came, and he organized the dozens of people, leading them away from the parade ground.

The situation at the barracks was largely settled, but over twenty kilometers northeast, things were far from over!

On the ruined rooftop, Qi Xiaoshuai and Pang Dakun exhaled smoke, white mist hanging bleakly under the dark sky—a scene that, even without filters, captured an icy, desolate atmosphere.

"These zombies are so awkward—so many of them jammed together, unable to move. No brains, really."

Qi Xiaoshuai muttered boredly, then flicked ash into a broken shoe beside him.

"Hehehe…" Pang Dakun chuckled foolishly, then his face hardened: "I really want to ask Uncle for a bunch of grapes and blow every last one of them to ash—no, to dust! Damn it, these things are so disgusting!"

"A bunch of grapes? You've got to be kidding… I don't know how much stock we have, but I'm sure it's not much. You make it sound so easy—just 'a bunch'? Do you think Brother Su is Zhang Xin, some fruit vendor?"

Qi Xiaoshuai's face darkened.

Pang Dakun shrugged: "Yeah, true—if we really had that many grapes, we could carpet-bomb the place. I can't promise the whole region, but at least Qin City would be clean. Then we'd rule as the Yama Army—how awesome would that be?"

"Damn, you make it sound easy—rule the world… Look at the Civilization Protectors: well-armed, strong defenses—what happened? Nearly wiped out by a bunch of bandits. Can't even protect their own lives, let alone some damn civilization…"

"Human conflicts don't matter. Zombies are the real threat," Pang Dakun said innocently, waving his hand.

Qi Xiaoshuai sighed, gave up correcting him, stared at the gloomy sky, and suddenly asked:

"Dakun, if one day all the zombies are dead—or no longer a threat—and human society's stabilized, like you said—what would you do then?"

"If things really stabilized, I'd…"

Pang Dakun fell silent for a moment, then smiled dreamily: "I'd find a wife, open a kindergarten—real one, where kids play games. I'd bring all the kids from the camp to my kindergarten and play with them!"

Happy people heal their whole lives with their childhood. Unhappy people spend their whole lives healing their childhood.

Pang Dakun belonged to the latter. His rural hometown, close to Qin City, had once developed a kindergarten industry.

Private kindergartens existed solely for profit; his family's conditions were too poor to afford one. He could only stand outside the wall, watching the children inside play happily. Luckily, there were several other kids like him—they all got laughed at together, which slightly eased the psychological pain…

"Holy shit…" Qi Xiaoshuai turned his head, surprised: "You're barely grown, and you're already thinking about finding a wife, having kids, opening a kindergarten? That's impressive…"

"No, I just said find a wife and open a kindergarten—I never said anything about having kids. You didn't even listen."

Pang Dakun corrected Qi Xiaoshuai with serious earnestness.

"Huh? So you find a wife, but don't have kids—just open a kindergarten? Why?" Qi Xiaoshuai didn't understand. Was the wife just for fun? Pang Dakun sucked the last puff of his cigarette, crushed the butt, and gave a strange smile: "I just don't want kids. Forget me… Xiao Shuai, what do you want to do?"

"Me? "

Qi Xiaoshuai grinned brightly, dreaming: "The camp will be huge someday, full of people—there'll be restaurants. I'll open a delivery station, become the station chief, hire ten—no, twenty guys, whatever—I'll monopolize all the running errands and deliveries in the whole camp. Hehe!"

Another poor soul using his whole life to heal a single painful phase.

As he finished, Qi Xiaoshuai was happy—but the joy lasted only three seconds. His smile faded, his voice sinking: "Our dreams sound nice… but what if humans just… have no future?"

"No way! We must have a bright future! Don't worry, Xiao Shuai, our dreams will come true! Hey, should we report this to Uncle?"

Pang Dakun cheered him up, though his own confidence wavered—he quickly changed the subject.

"What's there to report? They haven't moved in minutes. They'll take forever to reach the barracks—we should figure out how to deal with them!"

Qi Xiaoshuai tilted his chin toward the zombie horde—a vast, dark mass lying motionless in the distance, like a black melanoma on the earth, barely moving, as if stuck.

"Then let's—wait, no, Xiao Shuai, what's that over there?"

Pang Dakun picked up the radio to report to Zhang Su, but then spotted a moving light in the sky! Beneath the cold, dark heavens, nothing should move—certainly not birds—but the light moved fast. Soon, two more appeared, then five—five glowing points floating in the air!

"Drones! Those are drones!"

Qi Xiaoshuai shot to his feet, eyes fixed on the distance. Five glowing points circled overhead. Drones meant human control. Their purpose was unknown—but they were up to something. "Where are these drones coming from…?"

"Hey, Dakun, Xiao Shuai, what the hell's going on over there? Why so quiet?" At that moment, Zhang Su's voice crackled from Pang Dakun's radio.

Pang Dakun, focused on the moving lights, jumped at the sound, nearly dropping the radio—but caught it in time and pressed the talk button.

"Uncle, I was just about to report—then I saw something! Five drones! Wait, no, only four now—wait, one's light went out… Oh wow!"

Inside the barracks, Zhang Su stood before the Yama Army. Everyone heard Pang Dakun's chaotic report and wore awkward expressions.

"If there are drones, there must be another faction nearby. Xiao Pang's probably panicked…"

Yu Wen didn't want Zhang Su to scold Pang Dakun in front of everyone, so he quickly smoothed things over.

Zhang Su licked his lips, took a deep breath, and said: "Can you just speak clearly?"

Through several experiences, Zhang Su deeply felt that the Emotional Release Source was useful—but its flaws were obvious. When he wanted to release emotion, he'd need to find somewhere alone, especially for negative emotions.

Yes—he should test the range of its effect. While waiting for a reply, he thought. But the most important test was the "switch"—if he could control it on demand, it'd be truly useful! "Brother Su, here's the situation: the zombie horde was moving extremely slowly—barely noticeable without binoculars. But just now, from the northeast end of the horde, five drones appeared, hovering above them. They're low quality—one malfunctioned."

This time, it was Qi Xiaoshuai speaking—not the incoherent Pang Dakun.

"Northeast direction… drones… five at once? Mr. Zhang, only the largest faction in the Shanhai District could muster this kind of power!"

Yu Wen analyzed calmly.

"No other groups come from that direction. I think the Shanhai District has only one camp left."

Zhang Su frowned. Based on the past few months' trends, small survivor camps had no reason to exist independently—whether peaceful or not, they inevitably converged into larger ones.

"What are those drones planning?" Zhang Su mused.

Drones could handle zombies in many ways: gently lure them away, violently drop bombs, douse them in gasoline and burn them—all if you didn't mind the horde going berserk and endangering you…

Zhang Su was about to press the talk button and order Qi Xiaoshuai and the others to monitor closely—when his radio crackled first.

"Uncle, something's wrong—those damn drones are trying to herd the zombies toward us! They're flying in multiple directions. I didn't hear noise, but the zombies on the ground… already…"

"Stop talking—let me handle this!"

Qi Xiaoshuai, impatient with Pang Dakun's jumbled words, cut in, grabbed the radio, and spoke:

"Brother Su, five drones split toward north, west, and southwest, scattering to draw the horde. Most are heading straight for us. The zombies are agitated and moving faster! They clearly aren't aiming for Qin City—they're trying to get away from the Shanhai District…"

"That's right—one drone's light's out. Everything else is as Xiao Shuai said. Oh wow!" After Qi Xiaoshuai finished, Pang Dakun added.

Everyone in the barracks drew a sharp breath.

"Those bastards!"

Zhao Dezhu slammed his fist against the nearby iron fence—CLANG!

Yu Wen waved: "Don't curse—it's useless."

Cursing meant nothing. Whoever was luring the zombies was doing it for their own camp's safety—otherwise, why risk it? Qi Xiaoshuai's analysis was objective: the enemy's goal was likely not to trap Qin City survivors, just to protect themselves.

Zhang Su clearly felt the tension rising around him—only a few remained calm. He didn't reply immediately. He patted his pocket—no cigarettes. He gestured to Lu Yu, whose face was grim.

As he lit the cigarette, Zhang Su calmed his mind, forcing himself into stillness. He exhaled smoke—and the anxious expressions around him slowly eased.

"As Old Yu said, things are bad—but cursing won't help, panic won't help. We must stay calm. Zhu, Bo—go notify all combat personnel: drop everything, assemble on the parade ground for deployment. Old Tan, you and Zhang Ya go tell Yang Xinfeng: pack everything. We may not leave—but be ready."

"Got it!"

"Right away…"

The men nodded and left, footsteps urgent.

"If we really plan to evacuate, it'll be no small task…"

Yu Wen subtly gestured toward the tanks and warehouses hidden deep in the barracks. Supplies might not be abundant, but in military equipment, the barracks had the most among the Four Tigers of Beicheng. Evacuation wasn't impossible—just exhausting.

That was why Zhang Su had wanted to relocate people here—to build a camp around the barracks…

"I'll ask for specifics first."

Zhang Su pressed the talk button: "Xiao Shuai, how's the horde?"

"Two drones turned back—probably out of range. The horde's gone berserk and can't stop. And the numbers… more than fifty thousand. I think it's a hundred thousand—same scale as the horde that attacked Qinglong Battalion. Shit, the whole Shanhai District's zombies are here!"

On the rooftop, Qi Xiaoshuai held binoculars in one hand, swiveling his head, and the radio in the other, reporting to Zhang Su.

For some reason, the horde had been tightly packed—but now, under the drones' guidance, it scattered like a collapsing ant colony. Black masses of zombies sprinted across the land, vast and terrifying in scale.

"The Shanhai District's permanent population is barely over two hundred thousand… Xiao Qi isn't exaggerating."

Yu Wen's face twitched—he'd witnessed firsthand the horde that crushed Qinglong Battalion. Even now, the memory shook him.

Of course, if these were just ordinary zombies—even a hundred thousand—they could still be handled with their current strength. But these were the enhanced, rabid zombies!

"Hmm… survivor camps should sign a 'Mutual Non-Luring Zombie Pact'!"

Zheng Xinyu said with a strange expression.

"No faction is powerful enough to enforce such a pact."

It was meant as a joke—but Yu Wen took it seriously, nodded thoughtfully, and shook his head, looking troubled.

Zhang Su was amused by their serious faces. He smiled wryly: "Even if we signed such a pact, what binding power would it have? Haven't we lured zombies away ourselves? At a time like this—who's going to follow a pact? Are you crazy?"

(End of chapter)