Apocalypse: the Most Ruthless Person

Chapter 183 135: A Difficult Choice

"It's really the sound of zombies!"

"Didn't Brother Su say it was people..."

"I mean, is it people or zombies?"

Everyone couldn't help but discuss, tightening their grips on their weapons.

Zhang Su squinted slightly, shining his flashlight on the wooden office door. After a dozen seconds, there was no response.

He spoke again: "I'll say it again, come out, hands above your head, don't try anything, don't force us to act."

A few seconds after saying this, everyone saw the discolored wooden door slowly open, and then a woman in tattered clothes appeared under the flashlight, seemingly unaccustomed to the dazzling light, with one arm raised and the other shielding her eyes.

The few who were holding flashlights shifted their beams to the nearby ground, finally allowing the woman to reveal her face.

"See, I told you, who wouldn't be scared to death seeing this? Doesn't she look like a ghost? You guys say!"

Lu Yubo got excited upon seeing the woman's appearance.

It's understandable that he jumped earlier; the woman was unkempt, her short hair blown up like a Saiyan transformation, her face both black and white, indistinguishable in appearance, paired with the dark and gloomy warehouse environment—it was somewhat frightening.

"You..."

Zhang Su didn't know what to ask for a moment, then suddenly heard the sound of zombies from the office again and said: "Ma'am, why are there zombie sounds coming from inside?"

"What's a zombie?"

The woman shook her head cluelessly, her voice clear and crisp, then said, "It's my daughter inside. My daughter is sick. I beg you to be kind and not harm us."

Done.

Zhang Su and his group looked at each other, immediately understanding what was going on inside.

He gave Zhong Xiaoshan a look, as it's better for a woman to step forward and talk at such moments.

"Sister... we wouldn't harm you, come on, tell me any difficulties you have. Hungry? Let's talk outside." As a nurse, Zhong Xiaoshan was as gentle as a lake that nourishes the heart.

"I-I'm not going, I need to take care of my daughter. Don't lie to me—I won't fall for it."

The woman was obviously very guarded, not moving an inch, and her toes were pointed towards the office, unwilling to leave.

"You guys wait outside."

Zhong Xiaoshan whispered to the people beside her.

"Be careful, don't let your guard down!"

Zhang Su cautioned as he led the group out of the warehouse, seeing Zheng Xinyu peering in the car, he walked over and roughly explained the situation to her.

About five or six minutes later, as Zhang Su couldn't hold back his urge to go in, Zhong Xiaoshan walked out of the warehouse alone and shook her head at everyone.

"What's happening?"

Zhang Su asked.

Zhong Xiaoshan led everyone to the RV and said: "Xiaopang, is there a Panggezhuang nearby?"

Pang Dakun nodded vigorously, pointing southwest, "Over there, not far."

Zhong Xiaoshan continued, "That sister's name is Pan Guihua, she lived in Panggezhuang before. When the virus outbreak happened, she was home with her second daughter, whose corpse changed. She's been thinking the girl is just sick..."

"The survivors in the village refused to take Pan Guihua when evacuating unless she killed the corpse-transformed child. Pan Guihua refused, took the child, and ran away, hiding here since then."

This outcome matched everyone's guess. Even when the hypothesis proved true, their hearts bore inevitable sighs.

"What about her husband and the older child?"

Tan Huajun asked.

Zhong Xiaoshan pointed towards the city district: "Her husband is working at Qin City Building Materials City, living in the city with a few comrades, the older child is boarding at Qin City Third Middle School..."

"Third... Middle School?" Tan Huajun's mouth twitched, recalling the scene while leaving Yihe Car Shop, where the zombie attacking them was a student's corpse from Third Middle School—probably doomed.

"How old is the corpse-transformed little girl?"

Zhang Su furrowed his brow and asked.

"Four years old..." Zhong Xiaoshan replied, her face complicated.

"Such a sin." Yu Qing, feeling a bit upset, turned away and leaned against her father, Yuwen, unwilling to hear any more of this tragic story.

Zombies attack, kill or be killed, and don't care if there are children or the elderly involved, but the current situation makes one's heart unconsciously sad.

"What the hell should we do now..."

Zhang Su scratched his head in distress. They were planning to temporarily rest at the Nonghua Glass Factory, so it was naturally impossible to keep a zombie there...

Killing the zombie is not difficult, but to do it right in front of the kid's mother would be too cruel, and Pan Guihua would definitely not allow it, possibly leading to a bloody conflict.

It's easy to kill criminals, but for Zhang Su, it's truly difficult to harm the innocent.

"Brother Lu, you're the bravest usually, why not show us what you've got?"

Zhao Dezhu gestured towards Lu Yubo.

Lu Yubo rolled his eyes at Zhao Dezhu, saying angrily, "I'm not going. Killing a daughter right in front of her mom? Can't take it. No, not doing it..."

After saying that, he nervously glanced at Zhang Su, afraid he might be ordered to kill the little zombie, but saw Zhang Su was just frowning and worried, finally feeling relieved.

"How does Pan Guihua control her child?" Zhang Su asked.

Zhong Xiaoshan pursed her lips and said, "She wraps the child in a blanket and ties her up with ropes outside, even covering her head and wearing two masks."

"It's pretty secure, but still, it's not enough. Even so, it's too dangerous."

Zhang Su thought about it; although Pan Guihua has tightly bound the little zombie, no one can guarantee there won't be an accident. If she gets bitten and turns into a zombie in the middle of the night, that'd be scary.

Everyone was troubled, knowing the little zombie must be killed but unable to handle it directly.

Many people again tasted the difficulty of being decision-makers. They could easily wait for Zhang Su to make the decision and then execute it, thus carrying less psychological burden.

But being a decision-maker is different; it requires bearing the burden of conscience and the risk of failure.

Zhang Su paced back and forth by the RV, then suddenly had an idea and said to Zhong Xiaoshan, "Xiaoshan, go talk to Pan Guihua again. If she can move elsewhere, we can offer her some supplies."

"Brother Su..." Yu Qing said quietly, "Pan Guihua came here first..."

She didn't finish, but everyone knew what she meant, and the atmosphere was awkward.

The original team members knew Yu Qing's character, smacked their lips helplessly, but the new members of the Tuguan trio had different thoughts. Liu Tianji and Wang Xin were just waiting for the outcome, while Zhou Litao's eyes brightened as he looked at Yu Qing.

Zhang Su took out a cigarette, lit it, and exhaled smoke, saying, "By previous moral standards, yes, first come, first served. But now is different from the past. I'm interested in this place, and to let the team rest in a safe place, we must eliminate unstable factors. Now, Pan Guihua's daughter is the unstable factor."

"Brother Su is already very benevolent to offer her food and supplies to leave..." Zhao Xue spoke leisurely, "Remember what Wu Lue and I went through?"

As soon as she said this, Yu Qing pursed her lips and didn't speak again.

"I don't want to kill the little zombie in front of Pan Guihua, but if she refuses to leave..." Zhang Su said as he touched his knife's hilt, "So Yu Qing, if you really want to help her, go with Xiaoshan to persuade her to leave."

Everyone felt warm but also chilled upon hearing Zhang Su's words. For the team's safety, he can break boundaries, warning everyone not to cross the line or face severe consequences.

"If Pan Guihua hides here alone, not only won't we drive her away, but we'll give her food. But she's bringing a zombie, which she sees as her daughter, but we see as a zombie. It's too dangerous, I support Brother Su!"

Zheng Xinyu leaned out of the car window, raised her hand to express her stance, but her gaze fell on Zhao Xue.

"Didn't you see that even her village doesn't take her away? We're still willing to give her food, what more? Agree, agree, big brother is really merciful!"

Zhao Dezhu seconded, but with a smile looked at Yu Qing. On one side, there was a good brother, on the other, a wife, very challenging.

Lu Yubo raised his hand high: "I don't mind even if they kill them both, just don't make me do it, haha."

Soon, almost everyone agreed to Zhang Su's proposal.

Yuwen looked at Zhang Su awkwardly, saying, "Mr. Zhang, in the future there's no need to listen to my daughter's opinions on such matters. Her ideas are somewhat old-fashioned."

A fifty-something Chinese teacher criticizing a thirty-something chemistry teacher for outdated thinking, even in the apocalypse, is quite an explosive comment.

Yu Qing looked incredulously at her dad, puffing up in frustration, not knowing what to say. Then she told Zhang Su, "I'll go with Nurse Zhong to talk to Pan Guihua."

Yu Qing felt Zhang Su was right; if it was for Pan Guihua's own good, they should convince her to compromise.

"Alright, go ahead."

Zhang Su didn't blame Yu Qing; after all, she only grumbled a bit, but was usually reliable, coupled with Yuwen and Zhao Dezhu's good skills, somewhat making up for Yu Qing's behavior.

In a vague sense, Zhang Su felt the need for someone with a bit of kindness in the team, to occasionally remind everyone not to forget their human baseline, even if survival requires doing anything.