Chapter 90: Another Hypothesis (6K chapter, second update in the afternoon)

"It's your turn to come up and practice!"

Zhang Su said, stepping back to clear the way.

Zheng Xin stepped forward to fill the gap. Seeing the zombie rushing over with its tongue lolling, she felt no fear at all, only cautious readiness. With a low, sharp cry, she raised her baseball bat high and struck the fastest zombie squarely on the head.

The two zombies following closely behind were intercepted by Lu Yu and two other female members.

The immense impact of the baseball bat knocked the zombie back two steps. Before it could regain its footing, another swing of the bat slammed straight into its face, followed by a kick to its chest and abdomen. The continuous barrage caused the zombie to completely lose its balance and fall to the ground.

This was Zheng Xin's goal. Killing a standing zombie is difficult, but once it's on the ground, it's simple. She unleashed a flurry of strikes, and the high-strength metal soon shattered the zombie's skull.

On the other side, Tan Hua used the measuring claws of her vernier caliper to pierce a zombie's eye socket, pinning it dead on the spot. The formidable combat power surprised even her; it turned out that a good weapon really could make one as powerful as a tiger with wings.

Lu Yu's movements were even faster; he dispatched his zombie in almost a single exchange and was now cautiously standing guard nearby.

Zhang Su, following behind the others, was naturally not idle. He fished a mobile phone and cigarettes from the zombie's pockets and tossed them into his backpack. However, just as he continued to loot the corpse, a sudden change occurred.

"Look out!"

Zhong Xiao only felt something flicker through the low bushes and lunge toward Zhang Su, who was bent over looting gear.

*Eewoo! *

No sooner said than done, a figure less than a meter long scrambled out of the bushes, let out a strange cry, and shot toward Zhang Su.

Zhang Su had exceptional hearing, but because the sounds during the battle were too chaotic, his brain couldn't analyze the incoming data, causing him to completely ignore the movement in the bushes. By the time he saw the child zombie flying toward him, it was less than two meters away!

"Get lost!"

Lu Yu reacted quickly, seeing the child zombie only a moment after Zhong Xiao. Being the closest to Zhang Su, he stepped forward and kicked out at the child zombie.

*Eee-ah! *

Who would have thought the child zombie's reactions would be so agile, completely unlike the mechanical movements of the adult zombies? It actually twisted its body in mid-air and viciously clawed at the leg kicking toward it.

Unfortunately, while it was agile, its brain was simple; it hadn't considered defending its flank while there was another enemy in front.

Zhang Su's reaction was naturally the fastest among them. He hadn't noticed it before, but once he did, he instinctively swung his axe upward!

*Thump, swish! *

*Awoo, awoo. *

The child zombie's head was struck heavily, and it flipped to the side, but its fingers still grazed Lu Yu's calf, accompanied by a series of tearing sounds.

"Go to hell!"

Lu Yu took the opportunity to thrust his grain sampler into the head of the fallen small zombie. The gleaming steel pipe instantly pierced the skull, finally quieting the small zombie, which had been twitching like an electrocuted frog.

"Brother Su, don't, don't, I'm fine, I'm fine!"

Lu Yu pulled out his weapon and turned his head, only to see Zhang Su drawing his dog-leg machete, his eyes fixed intently on his calf.

The three women gathered around. Zheng Xin and Tan Hua faced outward for protection. Zhong Xiao asked, "Are you two okay?"

"I'm fine, but Bozi got scratched!"

Zhang Su said with a serious expression.

"Brother Su, look, even my long johns aren't torn, I'm perfectly fine. Please, don't point that military knife at me, it's too scary."

Lu Yu looked terrified. He knew what Zhang Su was about to do—cut off his leg to save his life. This was understandable, but if he hadn't been injured and still lost a leg, that would be too unjust.

"Are you sure the skin isn't broken?"

Zhang Su nervously squatted down and felt relieved when he saw that only the outer pants on Lu Yu's calf had been torn in three places.

"Hopping on one leg is better than losing your life. You were quite reliable at the critical moment, thanks!"

Zhang Su patted Lu Yu on the shoulder. He hadn't noticed the zombie in the bushes earlier, but being ambushed wasn't without a solution. However, Lu Yu's unhesitating kick was something he noted in his heart.

"Damn, Brother Su, don't say that. If I hadn't been following you, I might have been done for yesterday. We're a team, we have to cover each other, right? Hehe, I stole a kill from you, you don't mind, do you?"

Lu Yu was pleasantly surprised and a bit embarrassed by Zhang Su's thanks.

"Yes, we are a team, we are teammates!"

Zhang Su felt the importance of the team once again. No matter how strong his individual ability was, there would always be a limit.

Soon, the five of them composed themselves and continued to push forward. After killing three more zombies, they finally rendezvoused with the eight people on the other side.

Cold air drifted through the garden. The thirteen people breathed out hot, steaming air, white mist spraying from their mouths. The atmosphere was inexplicably quiet.

Looking closely, it wasn't hard to see that the people on Zhang Xin's side had completely lost their previous ferocity. Even the tallest and sturdiest one in the knit cap didn't dare to meet Zhang Su and Lu Yu's eyes. Only the lecherous man still stole glances at Zheng Xin and Zhong Xiao from time to time.

Zhang Xin's gaze moved past Zhang Su's group to the zombie corpses lying or sprawled behind them. He felt both happy and fearful.

He was happy that killing this group of zombies in the garden had solved a big problem for the residential complex, and fearful that, fortunately, a conflict hadn't broken out just now...

When his side was killing zombies, he couldn't help but pay attention to the other group's situation. Zhang Su's group's combat power and coordination made him wonder if these guys were soldiers who had changed into civilian clothes!

Their decisiveness and ruthlessness in striking were like chopping wood. Did these people have no fear in their hearts?

How could Zhang Xin know that while they were eating, drinking, playing, and chatting, Zhang Su and his group were training frantically? While they were studying how to find some fun, Zhang Su's group was still studying cooperative combat.

The psychology of fear had been overcome on the very first day. If one couldn't even take that step, the road to survival ahead would be exceptionally difficult.

"Hey, you guys lost!"

Zhang Su tilted his head and waved his axe casually behind him.

Counting the small zombie that had suddenly jumped out of the bushes, there were twenty zombies in the garden. Zhang Su's group of five had killed thirteen, while Zhang Xin's eight had only killed seven. The disparity was clear at a glance.

"Yes, we lost, and we lost with full conviction. Brother Zhang, you guys are really... too damn hard for me to understand!"

Zhang Xin didn't make any more threats, but instead wore the smile he used to have when doing business.

They hadn't fought with all their might, but had the other side? He had seen with his own eyes Zhang Su looting corpses from the ground.

"Brother Zhang, I don't know where you're going, but I still want to ask: have you thought about staying? In the future, the entire Phoenix International will be run by us Zhang brothers!"

Zhang Xin issued the invitation very solemnly. He desperately wanted Zhang Su's group to stay. Such formidable combat power made him drool with envy. If Zhang Su's group joined, they could clear out the entire complex in less than half a month.

By then, they could establish a safe zone with the apartment buildings as a base. The resources within the complex alone would be enough to live on for a long time, and they could use this time to scavenge for supplies in the surrounding area.

Unfortunately, Zhang Su shook his head as he had expected.

"Thanks for the high regard, but we really don't plan on staying here. I'll also give you a piece of advice: this kind of apartment complex is not suitable for long-term survival."

Zhang Su fished out a cigarette he had just scavenged, lit it, and handed the pack to Lu Yu beside him.

Zhang Xin wiped the bloodstains off his hands and said in a low voice, "It's because of the water source, right?"

"Exactly!" Zhang Su nodded. "If water, electricity, and gas are all flowing, the complex can barely be maintained. But once those are gone, the complex becomes a reinforced concrete coffin. No water, no food, and you can't even find soil to farm!"

From the development of human civilization to the construction of a village, nothing can exist without a water source. This was why Zhang Su was determined to head to the suburbs; there were rivers and lakes there, and at the very least, the countryside had wells and fish ponds.

With water and land, plus complex terrain and a sparse population, the chances of survival were much higher.

Zhang Xin shook his head helplessly and looked toward Building No. 5. "We can't leave, at least not now. Brother Zhang, you don't know our situation... If the stinking hags in the association could all be like the three women by your side, I'd think there was hope!"

He didn't understand how Zheng Xin and the other two women had overcome their fear. In terms of combat power, there were some women, especially when fighting for food, they were quite fierce, but as soon as they saw a zombie, their legs would turn to jelly, they couldn't even hold their weapons, and they couldn't fight at all.

Zhang Su smiled. Seeing Tan Hua hesitating on the side as if she wanted to say something, he understood what she wanted to express and asked Zhang Xin, "I heard there was a self-rescue team in Phoenix International before. Do you have any news about that?"

Zhang Xin nodded and said, "I know. That was... the day before yesterday, no, three days ago. They climbed over the wall on the southeast corner and left. There were more than twenty of them, men, women, old, and young, carrying a lot of supplies. As for where they were going, I don't know."

He didn't tell Zhang Su that if the self-rescue team had left one day later, a large-scale bloody conflict would have broken out in Phoenix International, and only one of the self-rescue team or the Salvation Association would have remained!

"Brother Zhang, let me ask one more thing: what are your plans for next?"

Zhang Xin asked.

Zhang Su shook his head toward all directions and said, "The plan is to go to the suburbs, find a place with few people, water, and land to live in first, and then wait for the outside to slowly recover. If the authorities solve the problem in a month or two, we might even be able to go home for the New Year."

"It's hard!" Zhang Xin's face turned bitter as he shook his head. "This disaster broke out without any warning, and it's an indiscriminate infection. We were counting on the military to rescue us, but thinking about how dense the military camps are, it's terrifying to think about when the virus broke out!"

Everyone fell silent at the mention of this.

Although news was cut off, modern people weren't fools. Based on the situation around them, they slowly began to see some clues. This sudden disaster had instantly collapsed the original order.

"This doesn't look like a virus outbreak at all..."

The man with glasses beside Zhang Xin suddenly spoke up. Seeing everyone looking at him, he said, "No virus can cause such a large-scale, indiscriminate infection. This violates... well, it violates the rules anyway."

"He's starting again..." Zhang Xin shrugged helplessly at Zhang Su and said, "This brother of mine likes to talk nonsense. Don't mind him."

Zhang Su shook his head, looked at the man with glasses, and pressed, "Then what do you think it is, if not a virus?"

"An arrival!"

The man with glasses blurted out, his face serious and solemn. "A higher civilization arrived on our planet, then sowed evil seeds, instantly crushing human civilization."

Everyone looked at each other. This theory was a bit too wild, but thinking about it, it seemed to explain things.

"Alright, alright, don't talk about that mysterious stuff. The zombie virus is already sci-fi enough, and now you're bringing in aliens? Are we still going to live or what?"

Zhang Xin clearly despised the man with glasses' theory.

"No matter the cause, what we are experiencing now is not fake. The future is bleak, but at least it's good that we're still alive!" Zhang Su laughed freely. "It's getting late, we should go too. Leave the zombies outside to us!"

Turning to leave, Zhang Su pondered the hypothesis of a higher civilization's arrival and curled his lips helplessly. Regardless of the cause, it was not a power they could contend with.

"Wait!"

Suddenly, a young man in the crowd on Zhang Xin's side stepped forward and said with great difficulty, "Boss Xin, I... I want to go out with them, is that okay?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere at the scene immediately became strange, as if even the wind blowing across everyone's faces had turned a few degrees colder.

Zhang Su saw that the speaker was only twenty-three or twenty-four, likely having just entered society, and looked quite refined, but he hadn't expected him to be so outrageous in his words and actions!

Even Lu Yu, who had the least brains, frowned. He was reckless, but he understood some basic rules within a team. In his view, the young man's behavior was no different from treason!

Sure enough, after Zhang Xin heard the young man's words, the faint smile on his face instantly stiffened, but only for a moment before he smiled again. "Little Zhao yearns for the outside world, hahaha. You have to ask this Brother Zhang about such things. If he has no problem, I have no problem."

Zhang Su waved his hand without any hesitation and shook his head. "We don't take people."

Refusing people must be done decisively; the most taboo thing is to be wishy-washy!

The young man became a little anxious upon hearing Zhang Su's such decisive refusal. "Brother, I'm an architecture student. I know a lot about construction. If you need to build defensive fortifications or something, I can help!"

Zhang Su nodded as if it were a serious matter. "Very useful skills. Staying in the Salvation Association will surely allow you to achieve something. Don't follow us out to live a life of fleeing for your lives!"

"But..."

"But what? Don't you understand that they don't even look down on you?"

The man in the knit cap slapped the young man on the back of the head very rudely, his words clearly carrying a hint of chill.

The young man was slapped on the head and immediately cowered, lowering his head and not daring to say anything more.

"Hahaha, let Brother Zhang see a joke."

Zhang Xin showed a smile that didn't look very good.

Zhang Su waved his hand and said cryptically, "This is how the world is now. Leaving, take care."

"Take care!"

Zhang Xin also waved at Zhang Su. As the group walked further and further away, the smile on his face gradually disappeared.

"Brother Su, I think that guy might be in trouble."

Zheng Xin pretended to look at the puppy in her backpack and glanced back. She happened to see someone rubbing the young man's head, with a malicious smile on his face.

Zhang Su naturally knew who she was talking about and said very firmly, "The best case is being marginalized, the worst case is not living past tonight. It's highly likely he'll be used as cannon fodder."

"Ah, this... it can't be that miserable, it's a human life after all." Tan Hua asked in surprise, unable to understand.

*Awoo, awoo. *

Zhang Su's group arrived at the entrance gate. Two zombies wandering outside the gate sensed the scent of living people and immediately lunged at the gate, baring their fangs and brandishing their claws at the group. The sturdy gate railing was pushed until it creaked.

*Puff, puff! *

Lu Yu took them out one by one, dispatching the two zombies nimbly. He smiled and said, "Sister Tan, you don't understand this culture of 'worshipping a big brother.' Even in the past, a guy like him who openly betrayed wouldn't have a good ending, let alone now. Look, look quickly!"

Zhang Su and the others looked in the direction Lu Yu pointed and saw that the young man had already been hoisted up by two burly men, one on each side. One could imagine how miserable his future would be.

"Hubby, I will definitely not betray you, don't kill me."

Zheng Xin suddenly hugged Zhang Su's arm, acting in a pitiful and playful manner.

"Are you crazy! Is your brain short-circuiting..."

Zhang Su knew she was using this way to adjust the atmosphere, but he still felt a bit speechless.

Zhong Xiao stood to the side, smiling awkwardly. Rational and steady as she was, she really couldn't play such tricks.

"Ah... I really envy you, Brother Su, having two sisters-in-law in your arms, and they can fight and kill, it's simply invincible, isn't it? When will I have this blessing?"

Lu Yu looked at Zhang Su and the others with envy.

"Didn't you used to be quite capable, kid? Riding a 'ghost fire' scooter, taking two or three 'bad girls' out for a spin. Right, speaking of this, I damn well remembered you still have two boxes of condoms you haven't paid for!"

Zhang Su squinted at Lu Yu, remembering one evening in mid-August when Lu Yu brought two beauties to the convenience store to buy cigarettes and condoms. As a result, the three of them couldn't scrape together a hundred yuan in their pockets, and in the end, they put it on credit, claiming the money had to be saved for renting a room by the hour...

"I... that... wasn't I short on cash then? Later I forgot, hehe, now I don't have to pay it back anyway."

Lu Yu laughed heartlessly.

Tan Hua looked at Lu Yu with a fascinating expression. The world of young people opened her eyes, and at the same time, she began to worry about her own daughter. At fifteen or sixteen, she was most easily seduced by yellow-haired punks!

"Dog thing."

Zhang Su rolled his eyes helplessly and then shifted his gaze to the street outside the complex.

Just as they had expected, the explosion at the gas station had attracted the vast majority of zombies nearby. On the street, apart from abandoned vehicles lying in all directions, there were only bloodstains and severed limbs. The landscape trees broken by the roadside had been burned to charcoal, and even a breakfast cart had not been spared, burned into an empty shell.

And the shops across the road were already in a mess due to the earlier explosion and fire. What was miserable was that one could still see the figures of zombies in the pitch-black ruins, reaching out their arms and waving mechanically from under the broken walls and rubble.

Those zombies looked harmless, but if one got close, there was still a risk of being bitten. They had to be handled carefully; danger was everywhere.

"In a moment, we'll go to the other side of the road first, then move bit by bit toward the gas station, and then play it by ear!"

Zhang Su turned his head and said to the group, then lifted the gate railing to signal them to go first.

Arriving outside the complex, Zhang Su raised his vigilance to the maximum, looking nervously in all directions. After confirming the situation nearby, he waved at the group and took the lead in running toward the street.

The street in front of Phoenix International was considered a major urban thoroughfare, with eight lanes in both directions, quite wide. Even with many accident vehicles blocking the middle, it wasn't impassable.

Those cars with their hoods bulging high up looked like they couldn't be used anymore, and some even had their hoods blown off.

*Awoooo. *

"Ugh!"

Just as Zhang Su and the others were weaving through the vehicles, Zhong Xiao suddenly let out a muffled grunt, looking at her feet with horror.

From the driver's seat of an SUV flipped upside down on the road, a withered hand reached out and grabbed Zhong Xiao's ankle!

This almost scared her to the point of peeing.

The fear of attacking zombies head-on was easy to overcome, but the terror of a sudden attack was hard to suppress.

"Hey!"

The first to react was Tan Hua, who was following closely behind Zhong Xiao. She raised her foot and stomped down. Whether it was because of her heavy weight or because she stepped on some meridian, the zombie's hand miraculously let go.

Zhong Xiao jumped away quickly, expressing her thanks to Tan Hua, still shaken.

"Awesome!"

Zhang Su gave Tan Hua a thumbs-up. The growth speed of this chubby mother surprised even him.

"Be careful when walking close to the cars; many trapped drivers and passengers have turned into zombies!"

It wasn't obvious from far away, but upon getting closer, it was discovered that many zombies couldn't escape because the vehicles were deformed, which directly dispelled Zhang Su's plan to search the vehicles.

After the small interlude, the five of them successfully arrived on the other side of the road and entered a burned-down car wash to stay temporarily.

"A car wash can catch fire?"

Lu Yu was a bit puzzled seeing the charred plastic water-blocking boards on the ground.

"Obviously the fire came from next door, and the water was cut off..." Zhang Su explained, then led the group to roughly check the situation. Only after finding no zombies hiding in the dark did he feel at ease.

The car wash was more than a hundred meters away from the gas station in a straight line. Due to the angle, they couldn't see the situation inside the gas station.

"Someone!"

Zhang Su, who was leaning out to look toward the gas station, suddenly whispered, then shrank his body behind the blackened wall.

"Who?"

Zheng Xin asked instinctively.

Zhang Su made a shushing gesture. In less than two seconds, he frowned because he heard footsteps approaching their side. Clearly, those guys had discovered them!

"Huff, huff, huff, huff..."

The rapid panting grew louder. Now, not only Zhang Su, who had exceptional hearing, but even the others heard the sound.

*Swish. *

Without Zhang Su needing to give instructions, the group had already tacitly raised their weapons.

When encountering zombies, one must be careful; when encountering one's own kind, one must be even more vigilant!

"Ah, my mom, finally saw living people. Hey, hey, brothers and sisters, we aren't bad people, don't, don't be like this."

A young man rushed to the front of the shop. Before he could catch his breath, he spoke, but when he saw the row of various weapons, his face turned pale with shock, and he instinctively took a step back.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 91 =====