Chapter 568: Please take me as your apprentice!

"Boss Zhang, I am responsible for today's accident one way or another. I shouldn't have been so concerned about so many things; if I had just spoken up earlier, none of this would have happened, and now I've even caused you to get hurt."

Seeing the many scars on Zhang Su's face, Meng Changwei felt a great deal of emotion, and felt a bit irritable about some of his own stubbornness.

"This little scratch of mine is nothing. Look at them, then look at me—isn't this much better?"

Zhang Su pointed to the corpses of the Flying Wolf Gang members being carried away one by one.

Meng Changwei smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Boss Zhang, no matter what, I must make compensation. We brought a lot of supplies on this trip, and the vehicles are parked in the village. When the time comes, you can take people to take inventory and turn it all over to Heavenly Ma Yu; consider it an apology."

Many people around, including members of the Yama Legion and people from Daqiaopu Township, were stunned to hear such a generous gift from Meng Changwei.

In this day and age, the importance of survival supplies goes without saying. To be able to so resolutely donate all supplies to the camp—what a great spirit that must be!

Zhang Su's heart also skipped a beat. According to previous precedents, such as with United Village or Kuanzhuang, they were able to retain about thirty percent of their supplies for autonomous control. He hadn't expected Meng Changwei to be so decisive.

The people from Daqiaopu Township felt a subconscious sense of urgency, and many showed expressions of anxiety, but they quickly restrained themselves. They had always understood one truth: Meng Changwei would not screw them over, and knowing that was enough!

"Old Meng, the supplies you brought don't belong to you alone, so how can you make the decision for everything? Since you've chosen to join Heavenly Ma Yu, let me handle these matters!"

Zhang Su patted Meng Changwei on the arm.

He was aiming for long-term development, and human hearts were the key to that. A few supplies weren't critical for Heavenly Ma Yu, because even if these supplies weren't turned over to Heavenly Ma Yu, they would still be in the hands of its members. It just required flexible allocation, but the feeling it gave people was completely different.

"Does it hurt a lot? I told you not to show off, wanting to fight nine of them... Don't move, let me wipe it for you."

"The wound isn't deep. Once Xinyu cleans it up and applies some medicine, it will heal quickly. It won't leave a scar, you'll still be a handsome guy."

"It really takes the two sisters-in-law to be so careful; we couldn't do this kind of work."

"Exactly, exactly..."

Zhang Su had originally said he would treat the wound after returning to Heavenly Ma Yu, but Zheng Xinyu and Zhong Xiao insisted on treating it as soon as possible, so the group from the Yama Legion accompanied him by the side of the road.

Since the Yama Legion wasn't leaving, the others naturally couldn't set off either. In any case, their destination was close at hand, and everyone was quite relaxed.

Zheng Xinyu's quirky imitation of Zhang Su's way of speaking made everyone smile; she was the only one in the whole group who could make such jokes.

"Brother Su, seriously, it was a bit dangerous today. We didn't even know the strength of that group. When you said you'd fight nine of them, we were all shocked!"

Wang Xin said with a solemn expression.

"That's right. If it weren't for that god-sent kick you landed at the start of the fight to take out that fatty, your injuries would have been even worse!"

"Brother Su must have considered these things before deciding to act, but I also think it was very risky..."

Everyone nodded one after another. They rarely felt Zhang Su was reckless, but today's affair was somewhat impulsive, though fortunately, it ended perfectly.

Zhang Su smiled mysteriously and said: "Strength is something that can be analyzed through side details. That group looked very cunning at a glance, and the traits of being cunning and being formidable rarely appear in the same person!"

"Oh?" Zheng Xinyu tilted her head, looking at Zhang Su with a very comical expression, and drawled: "Is that so?"

"Of course it is!" Zhang Su straightened his face and then hurriedly changed the subject: "The main thing is that someone passed a message to me!"

"Damn, so that's how it is. Who was it?"

"It must have been someone from Daqiaopu Township, right?"

"I think it could only be Meng Changwei, who else could it be?"

Everyone guessed one after another, but Zhang Su just smiled without saying a word. His basis for analysis was Xie Guangfa.

Based on the attitude of the Flying Wolf Gang members toward Xie Guangfa, as well as Xie Guangfa's display of strength, it wasn't hard to judge many things. This was the fundamental reason he truly dared to initiate a one-versus-nine fight.

It wasn't convenient to tell anyone these things; keeping it mysterious was best. It was just a pity that while he wouldn't say it, someone wanted to clarify it.

"Are you sure someone passed you a message, and not some other reason?"

Tachibana Mai Sakura, holding a long, thin steel rebar rod, asked softly. Her voice wasn't loud, but it had strong penetrating power.

She was always inconspicuous standing in the crowd without speaking, but once she spoke, she immediately attracted the attention of many, and everyone focused their eyes on her face.

Pang Dakun said happily: "Sister Orange, do you know something? Hurry and expose Uncle's lie and tell us."

"Lie your grandfather!"

Zhang Su rolled his eyes at Pang Dakun, then said to Tachibana Mai Sakura: "Of course someone told me secretly. You are too suspicious, that's not good!"

"Yama King, Zhang, Brother Zhang!"

Suddenly, someone outside the crowd shouted, startling many members of the Yama Legion.

Wang Zhetao, with a face full of worship, stood at attention with a straight posture. Seeing that everyone noticed him, he slipped through a gap into the crowd and said: "Brother Zhang, please take me as your apprentice! I want to learn combat techniques from you!"

After finishing, he bowed very respectfully, his attitude quite sincere.

???

The members of the Yama Legion looked at Wang Zhetao in confusion; many didn't even know who Wang Zhetao was.

"Damn, he beat us to it. You, you're always late for everything!"

On the other side, Ding Yongguo was lecturing Zheng Ziwen with great frustration.

"This... Uncle, how can you blame me for this? He ran too fast. It's not too late for us to go over now, right?"

Zheng Ziwen felt aggrieved.

Previously, seeing Zhang Su as brave as a heavenly soldier, Ding Yongguo had intended to swallow his pride and plead with him to teach his good-for-nothing nephew. However, Zheng Ziwen felt that using connections was somewhat beneath him. The two had bickered for a while, allowing Wang Zhetao to beat them to it.

"Go, go, go to hell. Wait for next time!" Ding Yongguo ignored Zheng Ziwen.

Ding Yongguo didn't know that being first in such matters didn't necessarily mean it would be useful.

"Where is the rope on your hands?"

Zhang Su looked him up and down, then suddenly pointed at Wang Zhetao's hands.

Logically speaking, everyone who came over from Niuyazi had their hands tied, but now Wang Zhetao's hands were free to move!

"I..." Wang Zhetao became embarrassed, scratched his head, and said: "I, I just untied them."

Zhang Su's face darkened slightly, but he didn't flare up on the spot. Just as he was preparing to send him away, his ears twitched and he heard Wang Guangjun in the distance calling "Xiao Tao, Xiao Tao..."

"Old Tan, Old Wang is looking for him. Take him over there to find Old Wang, and also, tie his hands back up."

"This... I." Wang Zhetao instantly withered, dejected.

Tan Huajun nodded, walked up, and patted Wang Zhetao on the shoulder, saying: "Why are you running around without telling your dad? Don't you know what your dad's situation is? How dangerous is that!"

Wang Zhetao kept his head down and didn't speak. When he brushed past Zheng Ziwen, he turned his head and glanced at the Yama Legion crowd.

With clusters of people gathered, it was easy to make comparisons. The mental state and attire of the Yama Legion members were on a completely different level from the other survivors; it had the feeling of a regular army rescuing refugees.

Wang Zhetao's face was full of envy. Unfortunately, he didn't belong to that group. Turning his head to see the direction where the Niuyazi survivors were gathered, he couldn't help but frown.

"This guy is just too damn unreliable. His dad is deaf and blind, yet he actually ran over here to climb the social ladder and try to become an apprentice. Unreliable, extremely unreliable!"

Pang Dakun, acting like a little adult, shook his head and criticized Wang Zhetao.

In the past, Zhang Su would have lectured Pang Dakun about being precocious, but this time he didn't. Watching the backs of Tan Huajun and Wang Zhetao, Tan Huajun was still earnestly trying to teach him, but Wang Zhetao's level of acceptance wasn't high.

"Xiao Wang's personality is the exact opposite of his old man's. He probably takes after his mother."

Zhong Xiao said thoughtfully.

She had spent as much time with Wang Guangjun as Zhang Su had, and understood Wang Guangjun's behavioral patterns quite well. One could basically see no trace of Wang Guangjun's personality in Wang Zhetao.

"Don't say it, they don't even look alike."

Zheng Xinyu added, nodding thoughtfully.

"Damn, stop researching. If you keep talking, Old Wang's name is going to have an extra 'eight' added to the end..."

Pan Guoliang grinned.

"What 'eight' added to the end? You're not allowed to speak ill of Uncle Wang!"

Lu Yubo looked at Pan Guoliang with some displeasure.

Zhang Su waved his hand with a smile: "Bo-zai, no one is speaking ill of Old Wang, just discussing his son's affairs. You and Wang Zhetao are about the same age, what do you think of him?"

Things weren't as exaggerated as Pan Guoliang said. The era in which Wang Guangjun married and had children was still quite simple; basically, that kind of thing wouldn't happen. It wasn't hard to understand why Wang Zhetao's personality was so different—his living environment was completely different from Wang Guangjun's, and the education and ideas he received were all different.

"That guy..." Lu Yubo wrinkled his nose, made a cross-eyed face, and said: "Brother Su, do you remember Kuang Miao? I think he's a bit like Kuang Miao, quite good at handling things, but it seems so deliberate. I don't like him!"

Kuang Miao was one of the four-person group that escaped from the technical school with Chen Hanzhou and Pei Lan. Later, another member of the four-person group, Song Yijun, had a falling out with Zhang Su, and Kuang Miao left the team with Song Yijun.

"I think... Kuang Miao is different from him!"

Chen Hanzhou was on the side, very rarely picking up Lu Yubo's thread, and even doing so with a nature of rebuttal. To avoid misunderstanding, he explained.

"Kuang Miao had a truly warm heart, and many times he didn't seek rewards; it wasn't the fawning of someone climbing the social ladder. When we were at school, he was quite proactive about many things. But that person just now is different; his purpose is very strong, and he knows... well, he knows how to use relationships to get the benefits he wants."

Lu Yubo had been a bit angry when he heard Chen Hanzhou rebutting him, but after hearing the latter part, he felt it made a lot of sense. However, with his level, he didn't know what to say, so he just nodded silently.

Zhang Su had already applied the ointment to his face and lit a cigarette, saying: "I hope he doesn't use Old Wang's relationship to cause trouble, otherwise it would be really annoying..."

"Uncle Wang, Uncle Wang!"

When Tan Huajun reached the end of the convoy, she saw Wang Guangjun anxiously looking around and hurriedly walked up to grab his arm.

"Uncle Wang, you're looking for Xiao Tao, right? I've brought him back for you."

"Ah, Sister Tan, thank you, thank you so much."

Wang Guangjun vaguely saw Tan Huajun's figure and thanked her repeatedly. Then, discovering his son behind her, his anger surged, and he raised his hand to strike: "You little beast, where did you run off to? You didn't even say a word. What would you do if something happened?"

Zhang Su and the others felt that Wang Zhetao was currently equivalent to Wang Guangjun's eyes and ears, and that running off suddenly would put Wang Guangjun in a crisis. But in reality, Wang Guangjun was more worried about Wang Zhetao's safety; being in a strange environment surrounded by strangers, one should be cautious! Wang Zhetao also knew his old man was concerned about him. He dodged and ducked, then leaned in and said loudly: "Dad, this is the foot of Heavenly Ma Yu, the territory watched over by the Yama King. How could anything happen? Didn't I come back..."

"What were you doing?"

Wang Guangjun pressed.

"Xiao Tao was probably excited seeing Brother Su's previous battle and came to talk to us for a few words. Uncle Wang, don't be angry. Oh, they're announcing that we're about to set off in front."

Seeing the father and son arguing, Tan Huajun hurriedly tried to smooth things over. She didn't expect that when she turned her head, she would see Zhang Su shouting, telling everyone to go up the mountain together.

Wang Guangjun took a deep breath and said: "Thanks, thanks, Sister Tan, you go ahead and get busy."

"Uh..." Tan Huajun rubbed her hands in great embarrassment and said: "There's still something that needs to be resolved. That, Uncle Wang, where did the rope that was tying Xiao Tao go?"

"Ah?"

Wang Guangjun turned his head to look at his son. If Tan Huajun hadn't mentioned it, he wouldn't have known his son had secretly untied the rope.

"You little brat, how dare you! Where is the rope?"

"Here..."

Wang Zhetao very aggrievedly took the rope out of his bag.

"You just wait for me... Sister Tan, sorry to trouble you! Come here, I'll tie you up myself. If you dare to untie it again, I'll break your legs!"

Wang Guangjun was truly enraged. This son, let alone bringing him honor, was losing face to the point of no return. Their hands were all tied in front; this time he intended to give Wang Zhetao a triple-knot reverse tie! "No, no, Uncle Wang, that's not good... let's just keep it like before."

Seeing this, Tan Huajun put in a good word for Wang Zhetao again. In truth, she also had slight reservations about Wang Zhetao. The young man looked decent and was smooth in his dealings, but in some aspects, he was overly utilitarian—a feeling she couldn't quite put into words.

The convoy did indeed set off. Many people chose not to squeeze into the vehicles but instead walked up the mountain. The one or two-kilometer distance wasn't strenuous, and it had a feeling of a company team-building event—very strange, and very nostalgic.

Walking onto the self-built road leading to the foot of the mountain, the scene in the fields further north made people slow their steps involuntarily.

On the wilderness, pile after pile after pile—all were zombie corpses. Anyone with trypophobia would faint on the spot upon seeing it.

Many people stood on the spot, their scalps tingling. The peace of Heavenly Ma Yu wasn't due to luck, but was carved out by hard strength! The vehicles following behind all stopped, and everyone paused to admire this spectacular scene.

Those who had participated in the defensive battle a few days ago were in high spirits, telling their companions about their heroic deeds, and the listeners couldn't help but be moved.

"No wonder the Yama King dared to boast that he would guarantee our heating. This... this is simply too exaggerated."

Someone recalled the promise Zhang Su had made to everyone outside the Le-Gou Mall, and the confidence was rooted in this.

As zombies were once fellow humans, this was indeed somewhat sad, but now these zombie corpses were precious fuel. In other words, these were a guarantee for survival! Of course, to ensure these supplies, one needed powerful strength—such as the formidable Yama King and the Yama Legion, such as sophisticated weapons and equipment, and such as more combat personnel!

Not wanting to linger too long, the people walking continued to head up the mountain, with the convoy slowly following behind.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 569 =====