[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-fiercest-man-in-the-end-times":3,"chapter-the-fiercest-man-in-the-end-times-the-fiercest-man-in-the-end-times-chapter-71":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Fiercest Man in the End Times",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2319309,4536,"Chapter 71: Come Out!","the-fiercest-man-in-the-end-times-chapter-71",71,"\u003Cp>“Fuck, this shitty batch of dried shiitake costs ninety-nine per bag? Are you fucking kidding me…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Su walked up to the pile, picked up a bag of dried shiitake, and shook his head repeatedly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Bro, stop picking, there’s so much stuff here—just pack it all.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Xinyu squinted her uneven eyes at Zhang Su.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Su chuckled at Zheng Xinyu’s silly expression, feigning anger: “You wanna get your ass slapped? I’m telling you the truth—where’s there even anything to pack?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I mean load it onto the vehicle, bro!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Xinyu shot Zhang Su a glare, grabbed two twenty-kilo bags of flour, and walked out, her baseball bat tucked inside her backpack strap—looking utterly ridiculous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Load it onto the vehicle… sure, but first we gotta take the convenience foods. Why are you loading flour? That doesn’t make sense. I remember there were tons of water here—where’d it all go?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Su frowned, scanning the area. He’d felt something was off—and now he saw it: the water display racks and piles were all empty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone took it, of course. The water’s been cut off—everyone’s fighting for water. Hey, unlock the car doors!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Xinyu thought her logic was flawless, and proudly hauled the flour out of the convenience store.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There’s no reason they’d only take water… uh, I’m gonna use the restroom. You two sort out the supplies here—take whatever you can carry.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, Zhang Su headed toward the small door beside the counter—he remembered there was a back exit leading to the restroom. Even though no one would be sneaking a peek these days, he still kept the basic habit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the moment Zhang Su stepped into the small door, his ears twitched—and he froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Swish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dog leg was in his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come out.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Su spoke sternly to the desk piled high with bottled water, assuming a defensive stance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhong Xiaoshanjian and Wang Guang, who had been gathering supplies outside, immediately ran to his side. Zheng Xinyu, still loading items onto the vehicle, had no idea what had happened inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhong Xiaoshanjian looked at Zhang Su with a questioning gaze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Su nodded, repeating: “I’ll count to three. If you don’t come out, I’ll burn this place down!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, no, no!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Between her words, a middle-aged woman with matted hair and a classic perm emerged from beside the desk, wearing layers upon layers of gas station uniforms, bulging and disheveled, staring at Zhang Su and the others in terror.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come out, stand still!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Su relaxed slightly when he saw only one middle-aged woman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With his current hearing, he hadn’t noticed anyone hiding inside the store at all—truly surprising. He could only marvel at how patient she’d been.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, he’d caught a faint breath as he passed by—if anyone else had walked through here without moving the bottled water, they’d never have known someone was hiding behind it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The middle-aged woman stood up timidly, accidentally knocking into the mountain of bottled water. Confused, she stared helplessly as case after case collapsed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Su blocked Wang Guang’s instinctive move to catch the falling water, waiting silently until the last case settled, then said coldly: “I advise you not to cause trouble. Any accomplices? Call them out!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He suddenly lost some confidence in his hearing—if someone stayed perfectly still, finding them was still damn hard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, no, big brother, I’m the only one here!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The middle-aged woman waved her hands frantically, huddled helplessly against the wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey, what are you all doing here? Is there someone?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Xinyu returned to the convenience store and found everyone gathered by the employee office door—she rushed over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Someone got it wrong—the water’s all right here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Su pointed at the floor covered in bottled water, then added: “Take her outside and question her. I’m going to the restroom. Old Wang, stay alert!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t worry, Brother Zhang.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Guang nodded firmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come out, sister, let’s talk!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Xinyu swiftly drew her baseball bat, posing like a tough little delinquent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Su found Zheng Xinyu mimicking a street thug amusing, shook his head, and kept walking toward the back—but now he moved more cautiously, ears tuned, listening intently. If one person could hide, why not more?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Looks like the fat sister wasn’t lying—good… hmm?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Su had just reached the restroom and hadn’t even unzipped his pants when text appeared in his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【How to handle gas station female employee: A. Kill, B. Recruit, C. Drive away】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【00:01:29】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s so special about this woman that she triggers a challenge? Weird…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Su was puzzled, but quickly focused his attention on the choices.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is this a test of human nature?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Su frowned. Deliberately killing survivors clearly wasn’t his original intent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey, boss, what’s the standard for recruitment?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Su asked inwardly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As usual, no response came.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Su shrugged. Since there was no answer, he naturally interpreted “recruit” as bringing her along as a teammate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Recruit or drive away… recruiting seems unnecessary, but why is ‘drive away’ option C? C is way too low!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Su wrestled with indecision as time ticked away second by second.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, Zhang Su’s eyes lit up, a faint smile tugging at his lips: “B. I choose B—recruit.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dead people can’t come back, but recruited members can always be dismissed later…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Separations and reunions—common enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【How to recruit: A. Intimidate and bribe, B. Sincerely invite, C. Ruthlessly coerce】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Su glanced at the three options and cheerfully picked A.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew using ruthless methods to coerce the middle-aged woman would be easy—but that wasn’t his style, and it was the lowest-scoring option, unsuitable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Su didn’t know why “intimidate and bribe” had the highest coefficient, but he felt it was the simplest approach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Completion deadline for challenge: A. One day, B. Five days, C. Ten days】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This choice gave Zhang Su trouble—unlike the previous two, he wasn’t confident here. Completion wasn’t the issue; the problem was timing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Take Wang Guang—he wanted to recruit him, and Wang Guang was willing, but Old Wang still had an important task to finish before he could join.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That made the timeline unpredictable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Take a gamble—one day? No, no…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Su muttered to himself, then added: “Fine, compromise—five days. If it’s done in five, great. If not, a few more days won’t matter…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What if this woman, like Wang Guang, had to find her son studying far away? Then time wouldn’t even be the issue—Zhang Su would rather fail the challenge than risk his life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, pick B!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Challenge generated: Recruit the gas station female employee using intimidation and bribery within five days. Difficulty: B. Timer started: 119:59:59】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1111,"2026-06-20T15:15:14.526Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","47a50ea280671b687852f23e29aa5ef44fed149fc8a2744539bbe16476a559f1","the-fiercest-man-in-the-end-times-chapter-72","the-fiercest-man-in-the-end-times-chapter-70",694,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-fiercest-man-in-the-end-times-cover.jpg"]