Apocalypse: the Most Ruthless Person

Chapter 386 - 335: A Wasteland

"Let’s go, move out, and keep busy with our own tasks!"

Zhang Su waved his hand, signaling for the group to get off the car.

The emergence of the Righteous Dao Association is undoubtedly good news for humanity. Rebuilding civilization requires people, and extending civilization requires even more people!

To ensure that the human gene pool doesn’t degenerate, which means avoiding inbreeding, you need at least over five thousand people. This is just the most basic situation; if civilization is to be extended or even rebuilt, the population needed would be ten or even a hundred times the five thousand!

Whether it’s five thousand, fifty thousand, or five hundred thousand, for the current survivors, these are astronomical numbers. The number of people in most survivor camps does not exceed double digits; reaching three digits in a city is rare, let alone four digits. According to the provincial units from before, those are exceedingly rare!

The two vehicles set off again, quickly entering the town of Qing County. The streets on both sides of the road are uniformly decayed, with signs of looting very apparent. Somewhat reassuring is that there are no zombies in sight.

This small town has been raided back and forth countless times by the Cyan Dragon Corps, and the resources that can be collected are already very scarce, making it not very meaningful to explore. Zhang Su did not linger and headed straight for the fertilizer plant Xin Qi had told him about.

Leaving the town and entering the northwest suburban direction, the open view reveals a factory area with walls in the distance. Whether it’s a fertilizer plant or not is unknown, while zombie sightings are also present; this is the place where they previously lured the barracks zombies.

The herd of zombies wanders aimlessly in the wilderness, not knowing how long it will take for them to re-sense human communities and start moving together. When the Cyan Dragon Corps conducted experiments on the zombie herd, one parameter was not added: distance!

Xie Yanshan later mentioned this matter, because without the condition of distance, it is impossible to know the relationship ratio between the triggering time and distance for the zombie herd to sense humans, but it’s certain that the farther the distance, the longer the time required!

The zombie herd is vast, making it impossible for vehicles to get close for observation; otherwise, it would inevitably cause the herd to riot. This is when Zhang Su’s super vision comes into play.

The two vehicles parked by the roadside while Zhang Su looked into the distance. Even with his extraordinary vision, it’s difficult to identify the Venom Zombie from the herd, because its characteristics are not obvious enough. However, with the help of binoculars, the zombie herd several hundred meters away seems as if it’s within reach.

Su Xiaoya sat beside him, seeing Zhang Su looking intently into the distance and didn’t dare to disturb him, feeling quite puzzled.

The people on the big van were also observing with binoculars, but their efficiency was much lower. It took them a long time to move the binoculars from each observation area.

"Let’s go, it’s not there!"

About twenty minutes later, Zhang Su picked up the walkie-talkie and notified, reluctantly putting down the binoculars. Among the thousands of zombies staggering in the distance, not all were ordinary types; there were a couple of Petrified Skin Zombies mixed in, and it’s unknown where they wandered from.

Although the Petrified Skin Zombies are precious, it’s not worth specifically alarming a herd of zombies numbering at least three or four thousand for them!

"Can I ask... what are you looking for? Is there anything I can help with?"

Su Xiaoya finally couldn’t resist her curiosity as Zhang Su started the car again and inquired.

"A kind of zombie,"

Zhang Su didn’t hide it and spoke straightforwardly, "A special kind of zombie with light purple patches on its skin, not very noticeable normally but becomes very prominent when it attacks!"

"What’s so unique about the kind of zombie you’re talking about? Is it worth coming out specifically to look for it?"

Su Xiaoya pursed her lips, already knowing from her observations on Celestial Horse Island that zombies can be used as fuel for combustion, but since they’re specifically looking for a particular type, there must be something special about it.

"Why do kids need to know so much? Just use the binoculars to keep watch and let me know if you find anything unusual!"

Zhang Su was too lazy to answer Su Xiaoya’s question, recalling the route Xin Qi had told him and driving towards the fertilizer plant.

The road was clear, and in a short while, the two vehicles arrived outside the gate of the fertilizer factory.

"Nongxing Fertilizer Plant?"

Stopping the car about a dozen meters from the gate, Zhang Su looked at the factory sign, then focused on the factory area, clicking his tongue.

The scale of the fertilizer plant wasn’t too large, and judging by its architectural style and equipment, it appeared somewhat outdated, obviously not a modern chemical plant built in recent years; it had been around for a while, but those are not the key matters.

At this moment, the warehouses in the factory area had collapsed, chimneys were toppled, and the ground was stained with various chemicals, turning it into a riot of colors. Even from a distance of several dozen meters, a faint yet pungent smell could be detected.

"There’s no way to go in and have a look at this shit!"

Frowning, Zhang Su exhaled a turbid breath, picked up the walkie-talkie, and said, "Let’s go, leave here first, this makes me tear up, might be toxic!"

The two vehicles finally stopped two hundred meters away at an upwind location.

"Zombies are coming!"

Just as Zhang Su was about to open the car door, Su Xiaoya pointed tensely at the wasteland by the roadside. Three staggering zombies with less agile steps were walking towards the vehicle, evidently attracted by the sound.

"So what, why are you shouting? Here, take this and poke at their heads!"

Zhang Su handed the steel rod beside his seat to Su Xiaoya, then opened the door, ignoring her astonished expression.

The four people in the big van had already gotten off, ready to counter the zombies without needing Zhang Su’s orders. However, before they could take action, Zhang Su spoke.

"Leave the zombie with white cloth strips to Su Xiaoya!"

"Ah... okay!"

"Got it!"

Lu Yubo and the group paused for a moment and then charged in after nodding.

Su Xiaoya hesitated a bit getting out of the car; seeing the big brothers dispatch two zombies easily, the fear on her face faded quite a bit.

"Go on, the cold makes zombies a bit sluggish, perfect for a rookie like you to practice!"

Zhang Su gave Su Xiaoya a gentle push and also signaled to Chen Hanzhou.

He intended to train Su Xiaoya, but wouldn’t let her meet with any mishaps.

"Got it!"

Su Xiaoya felt a bit resistant, but seeing five capable men standing behind her, she wasn’t too afraid. Imitating Lu Yubo’s method of killing zombies with a grain sampling tool, she rushed forward with the steel rod.

"Ah!"

With a soft cry, due to the weight of the steel rod, she couldn’t manage a single-hand thrust, so she had to use both hands to aim at the zombie’s face. However, instead of the expected zombie head bursting scenario, she missed and stumbled forward, causing her hair to stand on end, as she saw the zombie about to nuzzle her face.

Thud!

Chen Hanzhou kicked the zombie and forcibly knocked it back four or five steps before it fell to the ground.

"Having the courage to make a move is your first step, watch closely!"

Zhang Su took the steel rod from the still-startled Su Xiaoya, stepped forward, and planted a foot on the zombie’s chest, "When you can’t guarantee a one-hit kill, the best attack method is to first knock the zombie down! Then..."

Squelch.

The steel rod pierced into the open mouth of the zombie. Zhang Su pressed down with his body weight, and the steel rod punctured through the zombie’s skull, rendering the writhing body still.

"Did you understand?"

Screech, Zhang Su withdrew the steel rod and wiped it on the zombie’s body.

"Got it!" Su Xiaoya nodded earnestly, then turned to Chen Hanzhou and said, "Thank you, brother, thank you."

Chen Hanzhou raised his mechanical arm, gesturing that it was no trouble.

"Luezi, did you bring the drone?"

Zhang Su handed the steel rod to Su Xiaoya and then looked at Wu Lue.

"That’s right!"

Wu Lue ran to the back of the big van, opened the trunk, took out a large box, and said gleefully, "Reconnaissance drone, the whole set is fully charged and brought over!"

"Alright, look for anything in the factory, especially inside the collapsed warehouses. There might be some zombies trapped, and there’s a chance of mutations occurring!"

Zhang Su gestured for Wu Lue to hurry up.

"Alright, leave it to me!"

Wu Lue sniffled, instantly energized. He rarely had moments to show off, and now finally got the chance to shine!

He found a flat spot, set up the stand, turned on the screen, then started the drone, gently pushing the remote control joystick...

Bzzzz...

The drone’s precise rotors whirred rapidly, smoothly taking off and immediately speeding towards the direction of the fertilizer plant like an arrow, its speed astonishing.

"This acceleration to 100 km/h is incredible... simply amazing!"

In the blink of an eye, no more than three seconds, the drone was already hovering over the fertilizer plant, and meanwhile, the screen on the stand started displaying the imagery inside the plant area.