Chapter 78: Parting

Lu Yubo let out a forced laugh and scratched the back of his head: "Back in my village, my teacher said I had no brains, my dad said the same, Dongge said it too, Shuoge said it as well, hehe."

Zhang Su rubbed his temples, utterly speechless at this fool; he suddenly lost interest in assessing Lu Yubo’s loyalty, because this guy’s thought process was unlike anyone else’s—even his thoughts from one second to the next could be completely different.

No brains at all, his brainwaves are all over the place.

"It’s fine to follow me, but use your head! Oh, go clean out the toilet’s feces!"

Zhang Su gave this bizarre order out of nowhere.

Lu Yubo froze in shock, then stood up and asked Tan Huajun: "Sis, do we have a shovel around here?"

"I’m just kidding!" Zhang Su called out to Lu Yubo, pointing at his clothes: "Your and Qiu Shuo’s clothes are all caked in blood—wasn’t that from killing zombies?"

Lu Yubo’s jacket was covered in grime; he shrugged and said, "Shuoge said rubbing zombie blood on ourselves hides our scent so other zombies won’t notice us."

Zhang Su’s eyes lit up and pressed further: "Did it work?"

Lu Yubo shook his head: "It didn’t work at all… otherwise we wouldn’t have gotten surrounded."

"Alright…" Zhang Su sighed and spread his hands helplessly; he’d thought of this idea himself but never tried it—now someone else had, and paid with their life.

"Have you eaten yet?"

"I haven’t eaten since last night!" Lu Yubo patted his empty stomach.

"Just grab something to eat—over there you can boil water," Zhang Su pointed to the water heater.

"Boiling water? Ha! I’m making instant noodles!" Lu Yubo bounced off to find some instant ramen.

"Brother Zhang, that kid doesn’t seem bad—just a bit single-minded. Well, it’s getting late, I should be off!"

After speaking up for Lu Yubo, Wang Guangjun shifted tone, solemnly clapping Zhang Su on the arm: "Brother Zhang, thanks for getting me out of Shengqin Community. Man, that 3,200-yuan-a-month job nearly got me killed, haha!"

Zhang Su glanced at the time—it was just past noon—and said reluctantly to Wang Guangjun: "Old Wang, sometimes you need to be more flexible, don’t get stuck in a rut—sometimes looking at a problem from another angle makes it much easier to solve!"

This paternal advice left Wang Guangjun momentarily stunned, then he chuckled and shook his head: "Brother Zhang, I know I’m stubborn—that’s definitely a flaw. Thanks for the reminder; I’ll work on it!"

With that, Wang Guangjun picked up his backpack and turned to Tan Huajun: "Young lady, if you can, stick with Brother Zhang—he’s capable!"

Zhang Su felt a quiet surge of joy—unexpectedly, Wang Guangjun had just given him a boost right before leaving; truly a lucky charm.

Tan Huajun rubbed her hands nervously: "Brother Wang, I… I’m not skilled at all. I’ll just hold everyone back."

"Everyone has their role, Lao Tan. You can kill zombies, and your mechanical skills are solid—we need people like you. Take Old Wang’s advice seriously."

Zhang Su said earnestly; if originally he’d only planned to dismiss Tan Huajun after completing the challenge, now he was genuinely considering keeping her.

"Ha! Young lady, Brother Zhang means he’s willing to take you along!"

Wang Guangjun said cheerfully.

Tan Huajun hadn’t expected Zhang Su to agree to let her join—she was momentarily flustered, stammering: "I, Brother Su… I really want to… I mean…"

"I know you’re worried about your family—they’re just next door, right? Rest tonight, we’ll go check on them tomorrow—but prepare yourself mentally!"

Zhang Su warned her in advance, not wanting her to break down upon seeing the horrific scene—losing a skilled technician would be bad enough, but his challenge would be ruined too.

Tan Huajun nodded anxiously; she didn’t need anyone to tell her—she’d been mentally bracing herself all along. The world had turned upside down; anything could’ve happened at home!

"Huh? Uncle Wang, you’re leaving already?"

Lu Yubo, holding a bowl of instant noodles and a bag of crunchy snacks, froze when he saw Wang Guangjun slinging his backpack and grabbing his weapon.

"I’m heading to Environment University, kid. Listen to Brother Zhang and don’t be an idiot!"

Wang Guangjun affectionately patted Lu Yubo on the head.

"Got it, Uncle Wang!"

Though Lu Yubo was reckless, he could sense genuine emotion—he really liked this uncle, because Uncle Wang always stood up for him.

"Come on, Old Wang, I’ll see you off!"

Zhang Su checked the outside conditions, listened carefully, then opened the door, and the group stepped out of the convenience store.

No one paid attention to the corpses littering the ground—except Tan Huajun; everyone else had walked through mountains of blood and corpses by now and had grown used to it…

"This electric scooter’s great—silent and perfect for weaving through alleys and streets! Haha, take care, folks—hope we meet again!"

Wang Guangjun jammed his crowbar diagonally into the scooter’s basket, still wearing his backpack—it offered protection and kept him ready to move at any moment.

"Old Wang, remember what I said—don’t be stubborn. If something’s hopeless, don’t force it!"

Zhang Su warned.

"Got it, got it—you’re more nagging than the milk shop owner! Haha! I’m off…"

With that, Wang Guangjun twisted the throttle, and the electric scooter began to move slowly.

"Uncle Wang, stay safe."

"Uncle Wang, I wish you safety!"

"Brother Wang, watch your step."

Everyone said their goodbyes, using all sorts of informal terms—each person called him differently.

Wang Guangjun’s eyes were misty; he didn’t look back, only waved his hand before riding the scooter out of the gas station, vanishing quickly around the corner.

"Brother Su, do you think Uncle Wang will find his son?"

Zheng Xinyu asked, sounding a little down.

In this apocalypse, people could kill each other over a word, yet form deep bonds in moments. Though they’d only known Wang Guangjun briefly—and had started off on a terrible note—their relationship had become warm and genuine.

"Old Wang’s survived alone in an unfamiliar place for four or five days—he’s impressive! Don’t worry, I’m sure he’ll be fine!"

Zhang Su smiled, gazing in the direction Wang Guangjun had disappeared.

"Uh, Brother Su…" Lu Yubo crept up beside Zhang Su, whispering: "That hatchet’s useless—do you have any better weapons?"

"Old Tan, what weapons do you have here at the gas station?"

Zhang Su asked, turning to Tan Huajun, who was still lost in thought.

"Huh? Weapons? Oh, yeah, we do!"

Tan Huajun snapped back to reality and led them to a grimy cabinet beside the fuel pump. As she fished out her keys, she said: "We bought some riot gear before—see what you can use."

"Wait… these aren’t just toys? You’re seriously going to use these to kill zombies?"

Zhang Su stared at the cabinet full of rubber batons, utterly dumbfounded.

"What?!"

"Don’t say that!"

"Ahem."

The three women instantly turned bright red—none of them were minors, but saying something so bluntly was still embarrassing.

(End of Chapter)