Apocalypse: the Most Ruthless Person

“Be careful on the road!”

At two in the morning, Zheng Xinyu, who was on duty in the surveillance room, skipped work to stand in the parking lot and put a windproof cap on Zhang Su, checking the weapons and equipment he carried.

“Don’t worry.”

Zhang Su didn’t refuse and let Zheng Xinyu arrange things for him.

“Hey? Why are you… Why are you bringing these with you?”

While inspecting, Zheng Xinyu discovered that Zhang Su had brought explosives and grenades!

“What’s so strange about that? I usually carry them too! Alright, after you change shifts, make sure to rest quickly and keep the walkie-talkie open at all times!”

Saying this, Zhang Su turned down the volume of his walkie-talkie to the lowest level to avoid sudden loud noises that could expose his whereabouts; he could still hear it anyway.

After giving instructions, he rode his electric scooter and left Celestial Horse Island.

“Mr. Zhang is off?”

Yuwen walked out of the yard, looked in the direction Zhang Su left, and asked.

Zheng Xinyu was startled, nodded, and said, “Teacher Yu, you didn’t sleep?”

“Couldn’t sleep.” Yuwen shook his head, tightened his clothes, and said, “I’ll go check the facilities outside again; you should go back inside.”

“Okay!”

Zheng Xinyu dashed back to the surveillance room, turned on the monitor facing the self-built road, but found nothing…

“Damn, is he really not using any lights?”

She thought Zhang Su was joking, but after waiting for a long time without seeing a trace of the electric scooter, she confirmed Zhang Su really didn’t use the lights. She racked her brain but couldn’t figure out how he distinguished directions.

Zhang Su didn’t want to dwell on this issue; if he did, his special ability would be exposed. Leaving Celestial Horse Island, he rode his little electric scooter quickly onto the provincial road, heading north.

After the power shortage, the night in the suburbs and the city was no different. The sky was bright with sparse stars and the moon; if it weren’t for the chilly wind, speeding on the road would be quite thrilling.

Zhang Su felt as if he was back to sending goods to nearby businesses before the disaster erupted, except there were streetlights then, while now, only moonlight accompanied him.

Night vision allowed him to clearly see the surroundings; in the distance, zombies stood dazed under the moonlight like scarecrows. Rows of village houses filled with dead silence, even the chirping of insects disappeared as temperatures dropped, occasionally hearing low zombie growls from afar.

“What a broken world.”

On the night road, Zhang Su sighed, looking around.

“Hoping to return to the past, what a dream…”

Looking around, he couldn’t help but mutter to himself.

Zhang Su didn’t remember where he read a piece of educational article stating that around the first year AD, the global population was about 130 million, which decreased to about 90 million around 200 AD due to various factors.

He estimated that the world’s population now had fallen to the level of 200 AD…

Given the current situation, rebuilding industry and civilization was very difficult. It must be done before this generation is wiped out; otherwise, with the next generation, cultural knowledge, scientific technology, and so forth would face disruptions, making recovery even harder.

“Why consider something so far away, a place like Qing County is already fragmented… Eastern Han Dynasty ended with the Three Kingdoms, constantly engulfed in war… Hmm, I’ve just passed the road to Niuquanzi Town, there should be at most three kilometers left… Using both open and covert schemes…”

Thinking of 200 AD and today’s world structure, Zhang Su unconsciously hummed a tune, galloping along yet as if like a ghost.

“Turning here, then heading over there… Yes, that’s right!”

From the main road, he took a small path planning to walk another one or two kilometers to spot Kuanzhuang, intending to find a place to hide from a distance.

“Hmm?”

The path was bumpy; Zhang Su was pushing the scooter slowly forward when suddenly, he noticed a spot of light in the corner of his eye!

He quickly halted, turned his head towards the north of the provincial road, and was startled to see the glimmer of car lights.

“Could it be the Cyan Dragon Corps!”

Zhang Su’s heart tightened, standing by the roadside!

“Damn it, those bastards are indeed playing tricks!”

Zhang Su peeked through various obstacles, realizing there wasn’t just one car, but one car had its lights on ahead, followed by a large motorcycle and a scattered string behind. Clearly, only the Cyan Dragon Corps could have such a setup!

If he didn’t have night vision, he wouldn’t see the cars behind; he’d surely be fooled.

Knowing that the Cyan Dragon Corps would never come for grain collection unprepared, nowadays, businesses aren’t conducted peacefully; conflicts are the norm, and smooth transactions are exceptions.

Night raids aim to catch other forces off guard!

Zhang Su pondered deeply, feeling like all this was already destined. If not for Su Xiaoya’s appearance, he wouldn’t have come out early and witnessed this scene.

“How considerate, saving me from freezing. Let’s see what the situation at Kuanzhuang is, whether we can handle this wave!”

Zhang Su was about to push the scooter towards Kuanzhuang, but the convoy seemed not intending to turn; according to the map, from the north to Kuanzhuang, there was another big road to take, and the convoy continued straight south!

“This… damn, guessed it right, indeed intending to collect grain from south to north!”

Zhang Su frowned, pushed the electric scooter to hide behind a large tree, planning to understand the situation clearly and then notify the camp.

In his eyes, the world was bright; he instinctively felt the other side could see him too, hiding behind the tree, showing only his eyes, staring at the provincial road closely.

Although the car lights didn’t seem to illuminate far, they actually weren’t near at all. About two to three minutes passed before he finally saw the vehicles appear in view; during this time, they covered four to five kilometers.

Leading was a flashy cruiser motorcycle, riding under the box truck’s lights; it didn’t have its lights on, acting as a pathfinder.

Then followed a box truck imprinted with some moving company…

Following closely were vans, rugged SUVs, sedans, another box truck, yet another box truck…

The massive convoy comprised about ten vehicles, half of which were box trucks; coming for grain collection, it’s ridiculous if they couldn’t fit the goods.

Judging by the convoy’s organization, this group shouldn’t be doing this for the first time. Their division of labor is clear, business proficient.

“A total of thirty people!”

From where Zhang Su stood, the convoy was about two hundred meters away. Whether or not they had their lights on, in his eyes, it was as if they passed at twenty to thirty meters away; while he couldn’t see every expression on their faces, the gear each person carried didn’t escape his eye.

Logically, people could be packed inside the box trucks, but given the convoy’s condition, the cabins weren’t fully occupied, probably not packing people in the cargo boxes; otherwise, where to put the grain?

The convoy hadn’t completely passed him when he already took out the walkie-talkie, saying, “Hello hello, everyone, spotted the Cyan Dragon Corps convoy heading south, expected to arrive at Celestial Horse Island in about ten minutes! Repeat, spotted…”

Soon, he received a response, Yuwen said, “Received, Mr. Zhang, which plan number?”

From seeing the convoy, Zhang Su was considering this question. After pondering a few seconds, he said, “Based on my observations… Plan C!”

There are four plans from A to D, for different situations. Plan A is the most aggressive, involving no negotiation process, direct action, suitable for when the Cyan Dragon Corps’ grain collection team is very weak.

Plan B would seem slightly gentler, at least involving “friendly” negotiation; whether an agreement is reached or not, there’s action, suitable for when the grain collection team is robust, and direct confrontation might cause casualties.

Plan C is an upgraded version of Plan B, showing a pretended compromise after “friendly” negotiation fails, then attacking unexpectedly, suitable for the current situation where the grain collection team is well-armed, posing a significant threat.

The last Plan D is used when there is no hope for success, complete compromise, showing no resistance at all, genuinely trading grain for peace.