Apocalypse: the Most Ruthless Person
Chapter 434 - 383: Returning to the Team
"The Reserve Team’s combat capability is slightly lacking. Our speed was already quite fast, yet someone still got bitten!"
In the Little Lucky restaurant on Celestial Horse Island, Zhang Su shook his head dejectedly, facing Yuwen, whose face was shrouded in smoke.
"Undeniably, the results we achieved, even at the cost of a life, are indisputable. Everyone, including the members of our camp, greatly benefited from this exercise."
Yuwen objectively evaluated the incident, referring to the core members of Celestial Horse Island as our camp, and added, "The life I’m referring to isn’t Zhang Zhikai’s."
Regardless of whether there was a zombie horde attack or not, Zhang Zhikai’s matter would be handled with utmost seriousness. It was actually Qiu Hui who suffered unwarranted misfortune, but she is still in a coma, and whether she’ll turn into a zombie remains unknown.
Zhang Su nodded and said, "After this serves as a warning, we can have stability for quite some time. I certainly hope people like that won’t appear again."
The late-night discussions lasted until midnight, and the restaurant’s lights didn’t go out until dawn. No one paid attention to Zhang Su and Yuwen’s conversation, as these were matters for the high ranks to worry about, and the ordinary members focused on such matters would only be wasting their energy.
It wasn’t just Zhang Su and Yuwen having deep discussions during the night, others were doing the same too.
Wang Longzhong and his nephew Wang Xingui were passionately discussing Zhang Su’s combat situation, now having taken Zhang Su as an absolute spiritual idol, worshiping him fervently, which in old terms would be called fanatical loyal followers.
Pan Guoliang, along with Lü Leiyang, who later learned what had transpired, were consoling Yang Liehuo, hoping he wouldn’t let Zhang Zhikai’s matter affect his future and urging him to quickly pull himself together.
Fu Weijun was chatting away with Duan Wuhu, hoping he could help find out if anyone had been bitten, constantly seeking new research subjects.
Zheng Xinyu was responsible for the night shift in the monitoring room, but instead of resting, she rushed to the monitoring room to pull Zhong Xiaoshan aside, whispering about some odd behaviors of Ju Mumio, thinking that the Japanese woman was incredibly strange...
As the night passed, the sun rose as usual.
As if nothing happened the night before, everyone returned to their work.
"Mr. Zhang!"
In the courtyard of Little Lucky, Fu Weijun greeted Zhang Su enthusiastically as he exited the restaurant, as if he had been waiting for him to come out.
"Dr. Fu, why aren’t you eating inside, where is Old Duan?"
Zhang Su glanced curiously at Fu Weijun, questioning why he was sitting in a wheelchair, alone in the courtyard on such a cold day.
"Well... I heard there was heavy fighting last night and that an unfortunate Reserve Team member got bitten by a zombie. Do you know how’s she doing?"
Fu Weijun asked, with concern evident on his slightly reddened from the cold cheeks.
Zhang Su internally rolled his eyes, having forgotten to tell everyone not to talk about it to avoid attracting the attention of the lab people. Given the chatter, silencing it now would be difficult.
"Hmm, she’s doing fine. We performed an amputation right away, and her condition is quite stable, so I don’t expect any issues."
"I see... well, if there’s anything we can help with, just say the word, Dr. Xie and I are more than willing to assist the injured."
Fu Weijun said eagerly.
"Hmm..."
Zhang Su gave a perfunctory response, thinking that it’d be better if they didn’t wear the poor girl out...
Suddenly remembering the matter of cultivating mutated zombies, he softly asked, "Dr. Fu, is there a plan for cultivating mutated zombies?"
"A few days ago, we finalized a plan, but... execution might be rather challenging, so we’re working on optimizing it. If you’re not concerned about the manpower and resources, we could give it a try."
Fu Weijun replied hesitantly, not quite satisfied with the current experimental plan.
"No problem, provide me with the detailed procedure. Time waits for no one, so let’s get it started; which direction are you planning for cultivation?"
Zhang Su inquired expectantly, as the mutation of zombies requires numerous factors to align, and currently, time is the only solver in the game.
"Good morning, Brother Su. Good morning, Dr. Fu."
"Good morning!"
"We’re going to eat, you guys continue to chat."
Right then, Chen Hanzhou and Pei Lan came over for breakfast, greeting Zhang Su and Fu Weijun energetically before slipping into the restaurant without missing a beat, very insightful.
Once the restaurant door closed, Fu Weijun said, "Based on current known factors that trigger zombie mutations, we’re planning to simulate three different environments for cultivation. One is the most convenient, freezing, then the more troublesome one, flames, and the third, which we both anticipated, is simulating the highly toxic environment of a biochemical factory!"
"Freezing, flames, and toxins, that’ll work."
Zhang Su nodded with satisfaction, spotting Duan Wuhu yawning as he came down the stairs, saying, "Alright, for now, go eat."
"Alright then, Mr. Zhang, if needed, you could have the bitten member of the Reserve Team stay in the lab, as we have a wealth of experience in handling such situations."
"Alright, alright, damn it, you went on about it all night, and now you’re pestering Brother Zhang in the early morning, aren’t you tired of it!"
Duan Wuhu appeared quite vexed, showing a puzzled expression toward Zhang Su from behind the wheelchair.
Zhang Su chuckled and waved it off, saying, "Alright, if there’s a need, I’ll trouble you for sure."
Bidding goodbye to Fu Weijun, Zhang Su exited the courtyard, hopped onto his scooter, and headed towards Satellite Village from Celestial Horse Island.
Typically after a crackdown, people enter a period of mental slackening, thinking that since there was just a crackdown, it won’t happen again for a while, so they might as well slack off a bit. Zhang Su’s purpose is to see if such a mentality is present.
Fortunately, in the apocalypse, everyone’s sense of responsibility is relatively high. People like Zhang Zhikai are in the minority, and after last night’s incident, everyone’s enthusiasm for work was particularly high.
Yang Liehuo had already set out early in the morning to oversee the post’s affairs. His awareness was commendable, not harboring resentments because of punishment, but feeling ashamed for his errors and actively trying to rectify them, which was precisely what Zhang Su appreciated.
The internal management of the two Satellite Villages was orderly, and Zhang Su, spotting minor issues, had them corrected immediately without a moment’s delay.
In the afternoon, it was time for the Elite Corps training. After nearly twenty days, Zhang Su stood before the group again; the men were standing tall and cocky, ready to welcome his return.
"I haven’t trained with you for a while, and I presume you all know what I’ve been up to, right?"
"We know!"
Nearly everyone replied in unison. Initially, aside from a few who had witnessed Ju Mumio’s prowess, there was skepticism regarding her combat capability, but after the previous night’s battle, no one dared to doubt it.
Lu Yubo might not be convinced by Ju Mumio, but he fully acknowledged Zhang Su. A feat where zombies fell like wheat being harvested was something he aspired to master as well!
"Miss Ju is somewhat socially anxious and reluctant to step forward to teach you, so I’ve had to learn it first. Consider that I’ve gained some proficiency. Do you want to learn it?"
Zhang Su asked with a half-smile.
Ju Mumio, standing at the edge of the crowd, rolled her eyes discreetly upon hearing Zhang Su’s words. He had lied three times in one sentence without so much as a blush, how devious!
"We want to learn!"
"Come on, Brother Su, we can’t wait!"
"Exactly, we must learn it. Brother Su, just being somewhat proficient isn’t enough. We need to master it completely!"
Everyone responded one after another, not just the men being enthusiastic; women members like Zheng Xinyu, Zhao Xue, and others showed eagerness too. Even Mo Qianlan and Yang Wenjie, despite their introverted nature, showed a longing for power on their faces.
Such is the martial culture on Celestial Horse Island, a spirit of competitiveness instilled by Zhang Su, where no one is willing to remain weak, all embracing a mindset to strive for strength, not merely for protecting others but to carve out a space for themselves in this apocalypse!