Chapter 99: I know a secret

"Good, good, that's simply perfect! Pack up, we're packing up right now!"

Upon hearing that they could find medicine for his daughter, Yu Wen immediately perked up. He had Yu Qing sit in the corner and began to bustle about.

"Dad, I feel a little better. I'll come help you guys."

Yu Qing stood up with difficulty, swaying unsteadily for two steps.

Zhang Su finally got a clear look at Yu Qing's face. Her delicate features looked very gentle, but the high fever gave her cheeks a sickly flush. Her eyes were listless, and her breathing was somewhat heavy.

"Teacher Yu, you'd better just rest..."

Seeing Yu Qing struggling to even walk, Zhang Su waved his hand. He thought to himself that if she could just walk two steps on her own, that was help enough.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Zhang, I... *cough, cough*, my body is quite weak. I'm causing you trouble."

Yu Qing coughed a few times, her face turning even redder.

"Fine, fine, fine. Uh, Zhong Xiao, I remember you still have masks, right? Get a few for Teacher Yu."

Zhang Su was worried that Yu Qing's cold might be viral; it would be troublesome if it spread.

The group worked in a flurry of activity.

Upon learning that Zhang Su didn't intend to drive the Prado, Lu Yubo unceremoniously claimed it for himself.

To everyone's surprise, there was quite a bit of food and supplies in the Prado, enough for Liang Dacheng and his two men to survive for five or six days. It seemed they had already looted a few places beforehand.

Fortunately, having an extra vehicle not only solved the transportation problem for the new members but also allowed them to carry much more supplies.

By this time, the students realized that Zhang Su's group's main goal wasn't the convenience store at all, but the three vehicles!

None of that mattered anymore. Now, with eleven people, four vehicles, and abundant supplies, they felt a great sense of security.

Not only was there plenty of food and drink, but Tan Huajun also used a generator to restart the gas station's power, filling up all the vehicles and even filling a few extra barrels of gasoline for backup.

"Woo woo woo woo, woo woo woo!"

Watching the group moving things in and out, the two guys tied up in the corner, their mouths gagged, could only howl, a bad premonition rising in their hearts.

"Brother Su, how should we deal with these two?"

Once everything was finished, everyone except the sick Yu Qing returned to the convenience store to discuss how to dispose of Liang Dacheng's two lackeys.

Lu Yubo was munching on a bag of candied fruit with relish and suggested, "How about we kill them? Then we can be completely at ease."

"That might be too brutal. How about... we think this over carefully?"

Yu Wen asked tentatively, feeling that killing people who posed no threat was a bit too cruel.

Zheng Xinyu rolled her eyes at Lu Yubo and said, "Eating sweet candied fruit while saying such vicious things, you're really something!"

"Hehe, I was just saying. Brother Su has to be the one to decide, anyway." Lu Yubo shrank his head; he didn't dare mess with the little demoness by Zhang Su's side.

Zhang Su also felt that these two guys hadn't reached the point where they *had* to be killed. Outside, danger lurked everywhere, and the chance of meeting them again was slim. Now that he was the leader of ten people, he had to be slightly mindful of the impact of his actions.

"Then let's... hmm?"

Just as he was planning to leave them here to fend for themselves, he caught a glimpse of resentment in one of their eyes. Although it was only a fleeting flash, it left him with a feeling like a fishbone stuck in his throat.

Hatred is like a seed; as long as it's buried in the heart, it has a chance to grow!

"Bo-zai is right, these two can't be left alive!"

Zhang Su changed his tune.

The group remained silent. Since Zhang Su said they couldn't be left alive, it didn't matter if anyone had an opinion. They couldn't help but mourn for the two men for a second.

"Mr. Zhang's decision must have its reasons!"

Yu Wen stood firmly on Zhang Su's side, abandoning his previous stance.

"Woo woo woo woo, woo woo woo woo..."

Hearing Zhang Su's verdict, the two men immediately began to writhe, as if they had a thousand words they wanted to spill, but unfortunately, their mouths were tightly sealed, and they couldn't get them open no matter what.

"Uh... Brother Su, didn't you say we should be democratic? I think we should use a vote to decide whether to kill them or not."

Unexpectedly, a weak voice spoke up.

Everyone turned to look; it was Song Yijun, standing at the very edge.

Kuang Miao secretly glared at Song Yijun, but the other party ignored him completely, his eyes shifting and unfocused.

Lu Yubo immediately took offense and glared at Song Yijun: "You brat, is it your place to speak here? I haven't even settled the score with you yet. When we were pushing the car, who was so scared they lost all strength in their limbs? Damn it, if it weren't for Lanlan saving the day, so many zombies would have gotten out! And you dare to challenge Brother Su?"

During the previous life-and-death struggle, Lu Yubo hadn't had the chance to talk about the process of luring the zombies away. Everyone didn't know such a thing had happened, and they all looked at Song Yijun with strange expressions.

"Fear is a reasonable human emotion. I just haven't learned how to overcome it yet. Is, is that such a big deal? Besides, it was Brother Su who said we should be democratic..."

Song Yijun felt ashamed, but he couldn't help but defend himself.

Zhang Su calculated secretly. This guy had been the most active in asking about the settlement camp earlier; his mind clearly wasn't here. Was he picking a fight on purpose because he didn't like him?

"What I said before was just to confuse Liang Dacheng and his group. I believe keeping these two alive will pose a threat to us, so they must be dealt with. We don't need a democratic vote. Understand?"

Song Yijun's face turned pale. Seeing Zhang Su's eyes, an inexplicable fire rose in his heart, and he stubbornly said: "You kill whoever poses a threat. If one day we pose a threat to you, will you kill us too?"

"Hahaha!" Zhang Su suddenly laughed and said indifferently: "Trying to manipulate people with me? You were a cadre in school, right?"

"Yes, he's the vice minister of the student union!"

Lu Yubo suddenly said.

He certainly didn't know this; it was Pei Lan, whose face had changed beside him, who said it.

"So, a vice minister. Listen well: I said whoever poses a threat to *us*—not just me, but this team! You're right; whoever poses a threat to the team will be removed. So I advise everyone not to do anything detrimental to the team!"

Zhang Su's gaze swept over everyone's faces. Seeing that they were all nodding naturally, he felt much more at ease. It seemed everyone still had the ability to discern, and wouldn't be easily manipulated by the brat's words.

"Also, if you think you have the ability to form a democratic team, you can take whoever wants to go with you and leave right now!"

Zhang Su pointed at the door.

Song Yijun pursed his lips, lowered his head, and said nothing more.

"You shark-brained idiot, you're really asking for a beating..."

"Come back. Don't you see we're doing important work?"

Zhang Su grabbed Lu Yubo, who was about to beat up Song Yijun, and glared at him.

As the leader of the team, if he couldn't even tolerate a few dissenting voices, he would inevitably lose people's hearts.

Even though Zhang Su was indeed annoyed by Song Yijun's unreasonable behavior of seeking attention, it wasn't appropriate to retaliate directly in front of everyone, because there were too many newcomers present!

"Alright, that's enough! Uh, Kuang Miao, Zhuzi!"

Zhang Su looked at the two of them.

"What's up, big brother?"

"Brother Su, I, I'm here..."

Being called by Zhang Su, both of them felt a sense of unease.

"Each of you take care of one, then we head out!" Zhang Su gestured to them.

The fire axes brought by Liang Dacheng's trio had now become the weapons for Zhao Dezhu, Kuang Miao, and Chen Hanzhou.

Hearing Zhang Su's order, both of them looked constipated.

"Ugh, I knew this crappy task would fall on me... Oh man, I only know how to kill fish, not people. What do I do?"

Zhao Dezhu sighed at the sky, clutching his axe.

Kuang Miao's face twitched, and he looked at Zhang Su with a mournful expression. Although he didn't speak, his plea was self-evident.

Killing zombies had no psychological burden, but killing a person was different.

"Since you've joined the team, you can't skip any of the necessary tasks. Set an example for your former companions. In the apocalypse, there are no fairy tales!" Zhang Su said very seriously.

"This is a 'certificate of submission' (toumingzhuang); you two had better not refuse." Yu Wen gave Zhao Dezhu a profound look.

"I'll do it!"

Suddenly, Chen Hanzhou stepped out from behind, strode forward, and with unparalleled decisiveness, raised the fire axe and brought it down on one of them.

The man being hacked was scared silly on the spot, staring blankly as the axe fell from above, not moving an inch.

"Chen Hanzhou, you..." Kuang Miao was shocked.

This action was something no one, including Zhang Su, had expected...

*Thwack, thwack, thwack! *

After three clean chops, the man, who had been stunned with fear, didn't even have time to make a sound before he collapsed into a pool of blood.

"Woo woo woo woo, ah ah..."

Watching his companion die miserably beside him, the last man was so scared he collapsed to the ground, crawling away on his hands and feet as if he could escape his fate of death that way.

"Brother Su, I apologize for what I said before. I thought you were cold-blooded and evil, until I saw a *real* bad guy! You were right; good people can't survive. I won't be a good person!"

Chen Hanzhou's face was twisted, and he was breathing heavily.

Zhang Su's eyebrow twitched. He knew Chen Hanzhou had been severely traumatized, his worldview shattered and his personality inverted. This phenomenon might not be a bad thing in the current situation.

He walked up and patted Chen Hanzhou on the shoulder: "Calm down. Kuang Miao, take him to the car!"

"O-okay!"

Kuang Miao had been scared silly, and only reacted when Zhang Su called him. With a complex expression, he took Chen Hanzhou and left the convenience store.

"Even a little brat dares to take action, what else can I say? Come on, Fatty Fish..."

Seeing everyone looking at him, Zhao Dezhu rubbed his hair, pulled out the short dagger he used for self-defense, walked up, and ripped the gag from the man's mouth, saying: "I have humanitarianism. Do you have any last words? Hurry!"

"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey, ah-ptoo." The man spat wildly to the side, looked at Zhang Su with teary eyes, and said: "I have a secret, I know a secret! Don't kill me, don't kill me!"

"A secret?"

Zhang Su frowned. What kind of secrets were there in this world? Everything was the same everywhere. He waved his hand at Zhao Dezhu.

"No, no, big brother, I really know a secret! I know where there are guns!"

"Wait!" Zhang Su stopped Zhao Dezhu, walked up to the man, and said: "You know where there are guns? Real guns, not toy guns?"

Although firearms weren't great for dealing with zombies, they had unparalleled deterrent power among humans. If they could get their hands on firearms, their survival would be more guaranteed.

"Real gun, absolutely a real gun. Big Brother, if I'm lying to you, I'm a dog, a mongrel!"

The man spoke with tears and snot, terrified that Zhang Su wouldn't believe him.

Zhang Su said, "Stop swearing and making vows for a moment, tell me the specific situation! Don't tell me about police stations, SWAT team barracks, or things like that—I already know about those!"

"No, it's not those places, but... if I tell you the specific details, I won't be able to live!"

The man was quite straightforward, knowing how to use information to save his own life.

Zhang Su smiled, said nothing, just patted the man on the shoulder, stood up, and then made a throat-slitting gesture to Zhao Dezhu.

"Big Brother, I'll talk, I'll talk, don't kill me!"

The man panicked instantly, not expecting Zhang Su to not even give him a chance to negotiate, resorting to violence at the slightest disagreement—it was too ruthless.

"Yihe Car Dealership, there are guns at Yihe Car Dealership! Don't kill me, I beg you..." The man shouted this almost crying, then collapsed on the ground.

Zhang Su frowned at the man lying on the ground and asked suspiciously, "Yihe Car Dealership? The Yihe Car Dealership on Wenming Road that sells luxury used cars?"

"Yihe Car Dealership has guns?"

"This, that can't be right."

"My god, I went there to look at a Harley-Davidson Glide a month ago. Could it be that they hid guns because the vehicles are so valuable?"

Those at the scene who knew the place immediately started discussing it.

Yihe Car Dealership was quite famous in Qingcheng, a business specializing in high-end luxury used cars. The cheapest items were used motorcycles like Gold Wings, Glides, H2s, and Hayabusas, while the most expensive were custom Rolls-Royces and supercars worth tens of millions.

The man nodded weakly and said, "That's right, it's that place."

"I remember the boss of Yihe Car Dealership is surnamed Cai. Don't tell me you know him! Tell me, where did you hear this news, and is it reliable?"

Zhang Su asked cautiously; he had only heard people mention Boss Cai, and at his level, he couldn't reach such a high-level big boss.

"Big Brother, I... this news is what I heard from Liang Dacheng. He is a general distributor for a bearing brand and has business dealings with Boss Cai. He said that one night while drinking at the dealership, Boss Cai showed them the real deal!"

The man recalled and spoke slowly.

Zhang Su stared at the man and suddenly asked, "What do you do, and how do you know Liang Dacheng?"

"I... I am a night shift security guard at the Guanghua Glass Factory. These, these clothes were all taken by me, he, he is also..."

The man answered truthfully and pointed to his colleague lying in a pool of blood nearby.

"Come on, tell me from start to finish how you first met Liang Dacheng." Zhang Su raised his hand, signaling him to begin.

"It's like this, the third day of the disaster, no, let me think, it should be the fourth day..." The man knew Zhang Su was testing him and didn't dare to fabricate anything, telling the story exactly as it happened.

Zhang Su listened carefully, analyzing it thoroughly, and found no logical flaws. To ensure authenticity, he asked a few more questions from different angles; the answers were consistent with no discrepancies. He believed that if it were a made-up story, it couldn't reach this level of detail.

"Good, I'll believe the information you provided for now, but the value of this news isn't very high. Even if Boss Cai has guns, we don't know where they are now—at the dealership, at his home, or if he took them away; there's no way to know."

The man hurriedly shook his head and said, "At the dealership, they're at the dealership! They're in a German-imported Mercedes camper van. That vehicle was still there the day before the disaster broke out; it's highly likely it wasn't driven away! Liang Dacheng guessed that Boss Cai specifically imported that new camper van directly from Germany at a high price just to get that batch of guns!"

"That batch?"

Zhang Su immediately caught the important information in the man's words.

The measure word "batch" implied something significant.

The man also knew he had let something slip and gave a sheepish smile: "Liang Dacheng said there was a weapon rack in that Mercedes camper van. He only took a secret peek and guessed there were quite a few!"

Zhang Su took a deep breath and asked, "Last question, where were you planning to go before?"

Hearing the word "last," the man knew it was critical. His bladder tightened; this was definitely a life-or-death question!

"Liang Dacheng said he has a friend who runs a farmhouse resort in Niuquanzi Town to the north, and they planned to collect some supplies and settle down there."

The man answered in a split second, dispelling Zhang Su's suspicion that he was making things up.

Zhang Su stroked his chin in thought, his gaze wandering over the man's face. The guy who was full of venom toward him had already been dealt with by Chen Hanzhou, and this guy was quite cooperative, winning himself a chance at survival.

Thinking of this, Zhang Su looked at the man on the ground and said, "Congratulations, you're free. Go!"

"Ah? Oh, okay, okay, thank you, thank you!"

The man was overjoyed, crawled to the door using his hands and feet, grabbed a discarded shared bike nearby, pedaled, and ran, not daring to look back.

Zhang Su watched the man leave the gas station, turned back to the others, and said, "Let's go too!"

"Brother Su, are we going to Yihe Car Dealership?"

Lu Yubo asked excitedly, his eyes glowing—guns, his childhood dream.

Zhang Su shook his head slightly: "Yihe Car Dealership is three or four kilometers away from here. Even if we go, it won't be today. It's already late; we need to find a place to spend the night!"

Everyone nodded in unison and walked out of the gas station convenience store one after another. Although it was only a short stay, everyone felt a bit of attachment to the place; after all, it had provided them with a large amount of supplies.

"Everyone come out for a meeting!"

Arriving at the gas pumps, Zhang Su looked at the incredibly quiet street and clapped his hands.

Everyone gathered, only Yu Qing was leaning weakly against the passenger seat of the H6.

Zhang Su looked at the people in front of him, never imagining that in one day, his team would expand to eleven people (not counting himself). There were pros and cons to having more people; now, what he had to do was maximize the benefits and minimize the harms.

"I believe you have all seen the cruelty of survival in the apocalypse. Now everyone has a weapon in their hands. These are tools to save your lives; you must carry them even when you go to take a dump, and always be vigilant against those 'old six' zombies jumping out from the shadows!"

"I have experienced sending off an infected friend with my own hands, and I don't want a second time!"

Hearing this, Lu Yubo lowered his head in sadness, not daring to meet Zhang Su's eyes; that was the pain deep in his heart.

"I'll assign the vehicles." Zhang Su pointed: "I'll drive the van, Xinyu, Xiaoshan, and Old Tan, you three take the Highlander; Bo-zai, you take Zhao Dezhu, Old Yu, and Little Yu in the Prado; the rest of you, Kuang Miao, you four take the H6! Let's go!"

"Report, Brother Su... I have something to say."

Just as they were about to leave, Kuang Miao raised his hand awkwardly.

Zhang Su looked at the four of them and frowned: "Don't tell me you can't fit. There are a lot of supplies, just squeeze in!"

"No, it's not about squeezing in, we... we don't know how to drive."

Kuang Miao shook his hands, very helpless. Beside him, Chen Hanzhou, Pei Lan, and Song Yijun all looked sheepish and quite embarrassed.

Zhang Su looked at them speechlessly for a while, then shook his head and said: "What are you all doing? You had time to play games but didn't know to get a driver's license? Damn it! Old Tan, do you know how to drive?"

Tan Huajun nodded reluctantly; holding the steering wheel meant taking on a heavy responsibility.

"Then Old Tan, you'll have to work hard; switch with Pei Lan. That car is at its limit with four people..."

Zhang Su made the adjustment.

After reassigning, everyone sat in their cars. With a slight roar, the vehicles started one after another. The blood-stained van drove out of the gas station first, followed by the Highlander, then the H6 driven by Tan Huajun, and finally, Lu Yubo happily drove the Prado at the rear.

After driving out of the gas station, Zhang Su made a left turn onto the main road.

The scattered zombies on the road a few days ago had been attracted to the gas station by the explosion and then led away by Lu Yubo. Now, the road was very clean, with only the occasional zombie in a discarded vehicle stretching out its withered arms, trying to grab passing cars.

First, thank you to book friend Feitian Dadao for the 1500 reward.

One chapter today. I went to see a doctor after registering; I haven't fully recovered since the flu. Now the whole left side of my head feels terrible—left-sided headache, left eye tearing, left nostril blocked, and even my left gums are swollen. Damn... it's bizarre.

(End of chapter)