Chapter 390

Zhang Su's roar echoed in everyone's ears.

He was too lazy to pay attention to Zhang Zhekai, who was shriveled on the ground; that guy wasn't worth mentioning. What he needed now was to handle the process of this matter, and he had to make everyone realize the severity of it!

"I... I..." Yang Liehuo looked at Zhang Su, then at the faces of the reserve team he spent every day with, and then at the son of his old friend on the ground. He was extremely conflicted.

From the bottom of his heart, he knew Zhang Su was right, but there was a chasm between knowing and doing. He had once thought Zhang Zhekai would strive for self-improvement, but he had taken his tolerance and pushed for more, and he himself felt powerless in managing him...

"Reporting to Brother Zhang, can I say a word?"

At this moment, a middle-aged woman in the reserve team raised her hand and said.

Zhang Su turned his head to look at the crowd. He recognized the person speaking; everyone called her Sister-in-law Liu. She was in her forties, with several bloody cracks at the corners of her eyes and a face full of vicissitudes. She was usually very hardworking during training and had previously been from Xidaying Village.

"You are Sister-in-law Liu, right? If you have something to say, go ahead."

"Yes!" Sister-in-law Liu responded to Zhang Su very seriously and then continued, "Previously, our village also had a kid like him. His father sacrificed himself while killing zombies, and the kid relied on his father's merits to freeload. Village Chief Ma took good care of him, but he didn't think of making progress and just lived his days. Later, in order to please the enemy, he actually wanted to betray our entire village, and was shot dead on the spot by Village Chief Ma..."

The leisurely voice reached everyone's ears. Those who didn't know about this looked at each other in dismay; they didn't expect such a story to have happened in Xidaying Village!

Zhang Su naturally knew about it. He had heard Zhang Xin from the Survivor Alliance mention this matter. It was perfect to say it here, and it could be considered as giving Yang Liehuo a reference!

"Old Huo, you heard it. I don't want to pull one up and step on another. Old Ma isn't here, but I have to praise him—he handled this aspect very well! Compassion doesn't command troops; kindness doesn't make an official. Those of us who make decisions will face the trolley problem at all times. You must make choices that are beneficial to the majority!"

"Brother Zhang, you say it. Whatever you want me to do, I will listen to you. Even if you want this kid's life as compensation, I will not shirk!"

Yang Liehuo knew that Zhang Zhekai couldn't escape this disaster today, so he might as well go all out. Perhaps there was still a glimmer of hope.

"Hehe! Old Huo..." Zhang Su sneered, walked to Yang Liehuo, patted his shoulder, and said, "When a reserve team member makes a mistake, it should be punished by the captain. Besides, he came over from Kuanzhuang with you. You really want me to say it? If I open my mouth, I'm afraid this kid won't have a way to live!"

He could see that Yang Liehuo was still soft-hearted.

"Uncle Huo, save me, don't kill me, I will change, I will definitely change, you say it, spare my life, I beg you."

Zhang Zhekai usually cared a lot about his face, but at this time, he couldn't care about the sixty or seventy people watching the fun. He kowtowed, hoping only to survive.

"Brother Zhang, you decide. I... I won't care about him anymore. And I also have faults. I shielded him, I indulged him, I will accept punishment together!"

Yang Liehuo closed his eyes and sighed heavily. He didn't know if it was out of anger or heartache; his face was trembling.

"Brothers and sisters!"

Zhang Su stopped dawdling, looked at the crowd, and greeted them. Then he pointed at Zhang Zhekai and said, "Reserve team captain Yang Liehuo assigned Zhang Zhekai to clean up a warehouse in the south for the purpose of establishing a sentry post. Zhang Zhekai used various excuses to delay and prevaricate. If the sentry post of Village No. 2 had moved one kilometer south, we could have discovered the horde earlier. As long as the distance was sufficient, today's disaster would not have happened, and Qiu Hui would not have been bitten!"

If it were in a company before, this kind of procrastination wouldn't have much impact; at worst, a few more reminders would suffice. But now it was the zombie apocalypse. A little bit of slackness would lead to huge losses. This time, Zhang Su could indeed have emphasized reminders, but he used more severe means to make everyone get a warning!

"Now I give you two choices!"

Zhang Su looked down at Zhang Zhekai, who was kneeling on the ground, and said, "Either you break both legs to apologize to Qiu Hui, or... fight ten!"

Fight ten?

The familiar yet unfamiliar term made everyone feel strange. Even the people from Tianma Island were full of confusion.

"Brother Su... what is fighting ten?"

Lu Yubo asked with an embarrassed face, and couldn't help but glance at Ju Wuying, thinking to himself, there is only one Japanese person here, how can there be ten.

"Ahem!" Yu Wen felt the look Zhang Su gave him, cleared his throat, and said, "Fighting ten means fighting ten zombies with bare hands within a fixed range! Note, this is not for abuse or fun, but to let the person who made the mistake feel the despair of the apocalypse, and at the same time let those watching the punishment empathize, always remembering the environment we are in, and not allowing the slightest slack!"

In order to avoid everyone guessing wildly, Yu Wen directly explained the deep meaning of "fighting ten." This was a form of punishment he and Zhang Su had explored together. It was very cruel, but in the apocalypse, special means must be used to have a deterrent effect.

Especially as the camp's population grew, to manage it well, one must use heavy codes. Things like starving for a day, deducting supplies, or running a few more laps during training simply wouldn't have any deterrent power.

If the cost of making a mistake is too low, then making mistakes will become the norm!

Everyone nodded slowly with a look of realization. Asking themselves, facing ten zombies with bare hands within a limited range was indeed very desperate.

Zhang Zhekai was stunned after hearing the two choices. Either break both legs or fight ten. One path was worse than death, and the other was ten deaths and no life?

"I, I..."

Zhang Zhekai knelt on the ground, looking at the eyes staring at him in the dim light. His heart was cold. He felt that the only person who could save him, Yang Liehuo, had turned his head away and wouldn't look at him, which made him feel like he had fallen into an ice cave.

"No one is coming to save me... then I can only save myself!" Zhang Zhekai thought secretly. His eyes went from dazed to firm, and he made a decision in his heart.

He climbed up with difficulty and said to Zhang Su, "I... I choose the first path. I am willing to break my own legs to apologize to Sister Qiu!"

"Holy crap, this guy really dares?"

"He even said he would break his own legs, this... can he bring himself to do it?"

"I don't quite believe it!"

Hearing Zhang Zhekai's words, the Tianma Island elite group whispered to each other. They simply didn't believe that a guy who was usually lazy and slack could be ruthless enough to break his own legs.

"Break your own legs? Are you serious?"

Zhang Su looked at Zhang Zhekai, whose face was twitching, with suspicious eyes.

"Yes!" Zhang Zhekai roared, then stepped forward and reached out his hand, "Give me the knife!"

Yang Liehuo turned his head and looked at Zhang Zhekai in surprise, not understanding where he suddenly got the courage.

However, Zhang Su didn't move at all. The dog-leg machete was hanging at his waist. The exquisite leather scabbard had been polished for several months and had developed a patina, emitting a strange color in the dim light.

"Several months ago..." Zhang Su put his hands behind his back and paced slowly, "I remember very clearly, it was the day I took Xinyu and Xiaoshan and just escaped from the residential area. At that time, I met a man in a gas station. I gave him a weapon to kill zombies, but the moment he got the weapon, he swung it at me!"

As he spoke, Zhang Su looked at Zhang Zhekai, who was pretending to be calm, with a half-smile, and said, "Are you also planning to give me a knife after getting the weapon?"

Others didn't believe it, let alone Zhang Su. He didn't think Zhang Zhekai had the courage to break his own legs at all.

"No, no, how, how is that possible..."

After hearing Zhang Su's words, Zhang Zhekai's expression suddenly became distorted. His plan was guessed by the other party, and his whole person went numb. It was a real sense of numbness. He didn't know which hormone in his body was secreting wildly, and his arms began to tremble involuntarily.

The people around rolled their eyes involuntarily, feeling that Zhang Su was a bit overly worried. Looking at Zhang Zhekai's trembling appearance, did he have the guts to launch a surprise attack?

"Brother Zhang, let me..."

Yang Liehuo knew that if he didn't speak now, Zhang Zhekai's life would be completely lost. He drew the axe hanging from his waist with a swish, stepped forward, and said, "Let me execute the punishment!"

"He is going to go crazy."

In the crowd, Zheng Xinyu heard Ju Wuying mutter a few words softly.

"Don't, Xiao Kai, don't..."

Less than a second after Ju Wuying finished speaking, Yang Liehuo lunged at Zhang Zhekai with his eyes splitting, filled with deep disbelief, trying to stop his stupid behavior.

Unfortunately, he was a bit too far away and couldn't make it in time.

After a battle between Zhang Zhekai's crazy ideas and rational judgment in his brain, he went completely insane. He pulled out the dagger hidden on his body and stabbed at Zhang Su. He didn't even let out a roar, truly confirming the saying "a biting dog doesn't bark"!

This sudden change was something almost everyone present hadn't expected...

Since his motive had already been exposed by the other party, he still insisted on launching this attack. Was it persistence born of sincerity, or stubborn stupidity?

The elite group was stunned. Almost everyone stepped forward at the same time, and then stopped, because Zhang Su was facing Zhang Zhekai, and they didn't need to help at all...

In fact, this was indeed the case. Zhang Su had been very angry before, but at this moment, his gaze toward Zhang Zhekai became calm instead.

Previously, in Zhang Su's eyes, Zhang Zhekai was a member of Tianma Island, even if he was a piece of useless mud. But at this moment, Zhang Zhekai was no different from a dead person in his eyes. Seeing a dead person, why be angry?

Zhang Su stretched out his palm toward Zhang Zhekai and reached forward in the direction the dagger was stabbing!

The crooked dagger was inserted between his fingers, and Zhang Su's palm easily grasped Zhang Zhekai's fist.

Thud...

It must be said that Zhang Zhekai still had some ideas, even considering how to attack after the dagger strike failed. Unfortunately, all his movements were invisible in Zhang Su's eyes. Another fist smashing toward Zhang Su's head was also grasped...

Before Zhang Zhekai could make any other movements, he felt a pain in his wrist, followed by a coldness at the root of his tongue, and then his eyes went black, and he completely lost consciousness...

In a flash of lightning, Zhang Su turned the hand holding the dagger. The huge force brought the other party's hand straight down to his jaw. With a pfft, the dagger went into the jaw, leaving only the handle outside. Blood flowed down his neck. From the side, it looked as eerie as if Zhang Zhekai had stabbed himself with the dagger...

A dagger handle growing on his chin?

That doesn't look good... might as well die.

Zhang Zhekai probably hadn't thought of this yet, and his body went limp and fell to the ground.

(End of chapter)