Apocalypse: the Most Ruthless Person

"This... honey, what should we do?"

Yang Wenjie was completely stunned on the spot. Luckily, she had fastened her seatbelt, otherwise she would have been quite shaken.

She remembered that after driving this car back to the camp before, her husband personally repaired it. Who would have thought that a single bump would cause it to fail? The parts were too fragile, breaking down at such a critical moment.

Guo Dachao, as a veteran auto repairman, knew what had happened the moment he heard the bang. Cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead, looking at the zombies closing in from all directions, feeling his throat tighten, heart racing, and body overheating, as if he entered bullet time and life’s replay played out directly!

"Damn it, even Bozai who’s impulsive didn’t mess things up, Dachao, you screwed us over, damn it!"

An angry voice blared from the walkie-talkie, jolting Guo Dachao from his stupor, where he faintly saw through the gaps between the zombies that vehicles were rushing over from afar.

Seeing the Camry surrounded by the zombie horde, Zhang Su naturally couldn’t let it go unchecked, immediately calling all vehicles to charge forward.

Lu Yubo was also in the convoy, having been the first to set out attracting zombies, he had already returned early. Hearing Zhang Su’s words, instead of feeling upset, he felt a bit proud!

I’ve grown!

Zhang Su reacted quickly, but the zombies were faster. The Camry was not far from the zombies originally, and within around five seconds, the car was completely encircled, with frantic slapping of the vehicle body. To humans, the car windows were still considered sturdy, but under the zombies’ claws, they weren’t very strong, and after several slaps, cracks appeared...

Luckily, the glass was covered with a film, and the film’s quality was quite good, preventing the whole piece of glass from shattering immediately.

Guo Dachao and Yang Wenjie were trapped inside the car, with rescue at hand, but before that, they also needed to exert great effort to delay the time.

Both had brought weapons, and Yang Wenjie immediately darted to the back seat to provide some space for their actions, avoiding injuring each other while resisting the zombies.

The resilient car film couldn’t withstand the zombies’ strength; after holding up for a little while, holes appeared, and soon dry arms reached into the car. But the most terrifying thing wasn’t this; the entire right rear window glass was pushed out, and three zombies crazily squeezed inside, with dense, white teeth attempting to squeeze into the car to gnaw the occupants to death.

Zhang Su couldn’t see the situation of the Camry, and with thirteen vehicles (some had yet to return), rushed beside the zombie horde, honking the horns madly. In an instant, the sound shook the skies, even causing Fu Weijun and Xie Yanshan at the camp to feel a tightening in their hearts.

The overwhelming sound had an instant effect, drawing almost all the zombies’ attention. Now that the zombies were attracted, the next steps were easy: the vehicles lined up and led the zombies to a distant place. Speed didn’t need to be too fast since the zombies were slightly stiff due to the cold; just follow them.

As the zombies slowly moved away, the Camry caught in the zombie wave slowly emerged, with over twenty zombies refusing to leave by the car sides, some crawling halfway into the window, their lower parts hanging weakly on the door, seemingly already dealt with.

A large portion of the zombies left, but for Guo Dachao and Yang Wenjie inside the car, the crisis wasn’t completely over!

"Folks, it’s time to pitch in!"

Seeing this scene, Ma Changshou, along with several women who joined him in watching the spectacle, grabbed their weapons and charged towards the Camry.

Facing the thousands of zombies was impossible, but over twenty zombies were a battle they could handle. Coupled with Guo Dachao and Yang Wenjie’s vigorous fighting from inside, coordinated attacks made quick work, solving the zombies completely.

The zombie horde led away by vehicles was still visible in the distance, while the battle here had come to an end.

Squeak...

The car door opened, Guo Dachao stepped out, his collar and sleeves already torn, his face expressionless.

"Xiaoguo, you were reckless today!"

Ma Changshou held a Celestial Horse Island standard steel rod, speaking earnestly to the dazed Guo Dachao.

Yang Wenjie stood panting nearby, her expression still not completely calmed, gazing complicatedly at her partner, seemingly understanding why Guo Dachao did what he did, yet unable to articulate it, feeling conflicted.

"Ah..."

Guo Dachao let out a long sigh at Ma Changshou’s words, walked a clean distance, and sat down on the barren ground, bitterly staring at the car with a broken axle, his brows furrowed into a knot.

Over ten cars set out together only to draw away over six thousand zombies, naturally without any difficulty, but needed to go as far as possible, hence taking some time. After about half an hour, the car lights illuminated the dark wilderness, and vehicles started returning one after another.

The FJ Cruiser made a sudden stop in front of the despondent Guo Dachao, followed by other vehicles halting steadily.

"Get in the car, back to the camp!"

Zhang Su didn’t say much, waved to the people standing in the wilderness, signaling everyone to return to Celestial Horse Island. He glanced and found more than twenty zombie corpses neatly stacked to the side, presumably arranged by Ma Changshou and his people, not in a hurry to transport them back, there’s plenty of time later.

The convoy returned to Celestial Horse Island, and since almost everyone was part of the operation, there was no grand welcome ceremony, only a few people like Fu Weijun greeting them.

Not only the Elite Corps members but also the Reserve Team came to Celestial Horse Island, everyone gathered next to the parking lot, forming two distinct queues. Almost everyone felt joyous, the massive zombie threat dissolved invisibly, though the process had minor flaws, overall it was very good.

The atmosphere in the crowd was vastly different from the tense and oppressive mood before departure, now filled with relaxation and excitement, with many still basking in a sense of achievement.

Among these people, Wu Lue’s face stood out the most, standing in the team with pride and happiness written all over his face, the camping lamp illuminating his cheeks, seemingly glowing.

In stark contrast were Guo Dachao and Yang Wenjie, standing at the back of the team with dejected looks, heads hung in despair.

Zhang Su stood in front of everyone, first giving a comprehensive summary of the operation.

"First, let’s commend Zhao Xue in the monitoring room, she was the first to spot the zombie horde, her dedicated attitude is worth everyone’s learning. Next is Wu Lue, he swiftly dispatched the drone for further reconnaissance, providing us with accurate information for planning, very good. Their rewards..."

For excellent performance, Zhang Su naturally needs to commend them, as encouragement fosters a sense of contribution and reward for everyone.

"Excellent execution stems from routine training, everyone did great this time, almost nobody screwed up. Well, why do I say almost? Because someone acted on their own, nearly causing a disaster!"

As the commendations concluded, everyone knew it was time for the pointed critique.

Their gazes inadvertently glanced at Guo Dachao and Yang Wenjie...

"Dachao, what the hell were you thinking back then? Come on, share with everyone, don’t push the blame onto your wife, it sure wasn’t her idea!"

Zhang Su parted the crowd, walked up to Guo Dachao and Yang Wenjie, and said loudly.

Historically prudent, with little words but diligent work, Guo Dachao becoming a negative example today left many puzzled, like one day in school when the teacher asks the students without homework to stand, and unexpectedly the class monitor and the language class representative stood up...

Guo Dachao scratched his head awkwardly, bowed his head, and said, "I was hot-headed at the time, felt... felt I could handle it, so... wanted to take all the zombies away, actually if it wasn’t..."

"Actually, if it wasn’t for the car failing, you would have succeeded, right?" Zhang Su interrupted Guo Dachao, continuing, "Why did I have so many people ready to assist, constantly on standby? Because there are all sorts of unexpected situations, but no matter what happens, everyone’s life is always the top priority. You messed around recklessly, nearly getting yourself and Wenjie killed. What do you say about that!?"

Usually, whether in the camp doing tasks, Guo Dachao has always been diligent, volunteering for more work, but today’s incident can’t be generalized, dealing with zombies is no different than facing a battlefield, acting on one’s own can lead to unimaginable consequences.

For instance, if it wasn’t just the Camry’s axle breaking but an explosion, then a slight breeze igniting the remaining six to seven thousand zombies, the horde going berserk would be an unpredictable disaster...

"Uncle, these Elite Corps members are overly stubborn."

"Shut your damn mouth!"

"I’m just speaking the truth..."

While scolding Guo Dachao, Zhang Su suddenly heard someone gossiping nearby, his ears twitching slightly, easily discerning the owner of one voice as Yang Liehuo. Though the other voice was unrecognized, it wasn’t hard to deduce, since beside Yang Liehuo, the unfamiliar male voice had only one culprit!

Guo Dachao didn’t realize anyone was speaking ill of him, nodding with shame, saying, "Yes, Brother Su, this time I messed up big time, I overthought, really didn’t anticipate how fragile the car axle was under low temperatures, I’m willing to accept any punishment!"

"Still fretting over the car issue? If you had led the zombies to the designated direction and the car broke down, it wouldn’t have been your concern at all. Understand? Damn it, punishment, it has to be severe!"

Zhang Su took a deep breath, outwardly appearing furious, but internally calculating, pointing towards Satellite Village, saying, "Punish you by helping build Village No.2 for a month, except during training sessions, reflect properly over there instead. This matter isn’t related to Yang Wenjie, she won’t face punishment, damn it, you decided so quickly your wife couldn’t even persuade you fast enough?"

After speaking, Zhang Su squeezed Guo Dachao’s shoulder, as he looked up, Zhang Su gave him a puzzling look.

Hmm?

Guo Dachao thought he was seeing things, for with the night sky, only camping lamps and car lights illuminated the surroundings, but when he wanted to take another look to confirm, Zhang Su had already turned and walked away, talking about other matters.