059 Uncle Is Not a Good Man

"What?"

"Leave right now?"

"Hey, buddy, the downstairs is crawling with zombies!"

The sudden move by Zhang Su and his two companions completely startled everyone present.

Qin Ya frowned as he stood up, reached out to pat Zhang Su's arm, and said, "Xiao Zhang, Yu Nuo speaks without thinking, don't take it to heart over a woman. I actually wanted to team up with you—how can you just up and leave?"

Zhang Su shook his head. "Anyone driven by extreme hunger will do anything; I understand that. But I was planning to leave anyway, it has nothing to do with her!"

"Your gear shows you're not reckless people, but are you really sure now is a good time to leave?" Qin Ya tried once more to persuade them to stay.

Deep down, Zhang Su had no intention of sticking with everyone in the room. He didn't doubt the combat abilities of Qin Ya and Duan Wuhu, the physical education teacher, but those two would certainly refuse to abandon the people around them.

Everyone had companions they couldn't cast aside. Zhang Su understood their predicament, but he had no desire to form a team with a cowardly and gossipy woman, an unruly brat, and a shut-in.

"Yes, absolutely," Zhang Su said firmly. "The zombies that chased Teacher Duan came from the underground parking garage. Since those zombies were drawn out, the situation down in the garage should be much better now."

"This..."

Everyone froze for a moment.

"That may be true, but..." Duan Wuhu said with a hint of doubt, "Xiao Hai and I did lure quite a few zombies up from the underground garage, but those were from beneath Building No. 3. This is Building No. 4!"

Zhang Su tightened the straps of the backpack on his chest and nodded. "What you say is true, but I still plan to make a break for it."

Qin Ya frowned deeply. He could see that Zhang Su had no intention of going with them, but he made one last effort. "Brother Zhang, with more people, at least we can look out for each other!"

"Brother Zhang, let's go together! With over a dozen of us, our survival odds will be much higher!" Tian Fan couldn't help chiming in.

"At a time like this, we should think about the collective and the team. Can we drop the individual heroism?"

"Auntie Yu Nuo is right. Our teacher taught us that individual heroism is unacceptable and collective honor matters most. Uncle Zhang, you should think about the collective honor." Liu Xuanyu strongly agreed with Yu Nuo, speaking with utter earnestness.

The originally tense atmosphere suddenly turned somewhat comical under the kid's meddling.

Zhang Su was about to lose his temper, but after hearing Liu Xuanyu's words, he actually laughed.

"Kiddo, you're right, but Uncle isn't part of your collective."

With that, he looked up at Yu Nuo, a dangerous glint flashing in his eyes. "Yu Nuo, was it? I know you've had it in for me because of yesterday. Out of respect for Officer Qin, I won't argue with you. I wish you all unity, smoothness, and a pleasant cooperation!"

Having said that, Zhang Su walked toward the front door.

"Our Building No. 4 was perfectly fine until you guys led a bunch of zombies over to surround us. And now you just want to leave as you please? You're simply—you're simply inhuman!"

Having her inner thoughts exposed by Zhang Su, Yu Nuo felt even more mortified and angry.

"Yu Nuo, stop talking!"

Qin Ya felt a wave of awkwardness upon hearing this. To be precise, it was the Duan brothers who had brought the zombies over, not Zhang Su. He didn't want Zhang Su and his group to refuse joining while simultaneously driving the Duan brothers away.

"Ah... The zombies weren't brought here by Brother Zhang, that's on us."

Duan Wuhu was quite straightforward and took responsibility without hesitation.

Zhang Su paused, glanced back at Duan Wuhu, then swept his gaze over Yu Nuo, and finally said to Qin Ya, "Officer Qin, don't say I didn't warn you: a pig-headed teammate is more terrifying than a god-tier enemy!"

"What do you mean? Who are you calling a pig—"

Yu Nuo instantly flew into a rage, but Qin Ya intercepted her and pushed her aside.

"Xiao Zhang, I'm different from you. No matter what, I have to live up to my former profession. Regardless of everything, thank you, and I wish you good luck!"

Knowing he couldn't keep Zhang Su, Qin Ya smiled casually and offered his sincere blessing.

"Thanks, same to you. And Teacher Duan, good luck to you all!"

Zhang Su had a very favorable impression of Qin Ya, but unfortunately, he couldn't pull him into his squad. Otherwise, having a SWAT officer join would make things much safer.

Both men wished to team up, but each was constrained by his own circumstances.

***

"Brother Zhang, I..."

Just as Zhang Su pressed his eye to the peephole to check the situation outside, the milkman called out to him, "I'm coming with you!"

Catching Zhang Su's sharp gaze, the milkman instinctively flinched, but ultimately mustered his courage and met his eyes.

Zhang Su never expected that the milkman, with whom he had a previous grievance, would actively request to join his team.

"I haven't even settled scores with you for what happened earlier. You want to come with me, old man? Aren't you afraid I'll finish you off the moment we step outside?"

The milkman smiled awkwardly and waved his hands. "What I did back then was indeed a total jerk move, anyone would have lost their temper. But I can tell you won't actually kill me..."

Would he really not?

Zhang Su thought to himself—of course not. With so many people around, plus an armed SWAT officer, he had merely been venting his anger.

"Old man, I don't carry dead weight. You'd better consider Officer Qin's team instead."

A woman, a kid, and now a middle-aged-to-elderly milkman—the classic combination of the old, the weak, and the women was practically complete.

"No, no!" The milkman's weathered palms waved frantically as he forced an ugly smile. "I run fast, and I'm quite strong. Look."

With that, the milkman looked left and right, strode to the center of the living room, and with a grunt, hoisted the coffee table right off the floor.

Captain Liu's coffee table wasn't small. Though not made of solid wood, its thick design meant it wasn't light—weighing at least sixty or seventy pounds. Yet the lean, wiry old man managed to hoist it onto his shoulder!

The people sitting on the sofa nearby scrambled out of the way, terrified that he might lose his balance and that getting crushed by the table would be no joke.

"Alright, alright, old man, watch it, don't hurt anyone. Here, here, put it down gently, gently."

Startled by the milkman's stunt, Qin Ya rushed over to help him lower the table.

Zhang Su grinned inwardly. He had contemplated using an [Insight Tag] on the milkman, but decided against it in the end. Shaking his head, he said, "Old man, I still think you're better suited for Officer Qin's group."

The milkman's mouth twitched. He stepped forward with a firm resolve. "Little brother, I'm leaving this place today no matter what. Even if you don't take me, I'm going. You—you drive, and I'll run behind you all the way out."

Hearing this, Zhang Su was dumbfounded. This guy was sticking to him like a plaster...

"It's so dangerous outside, why do you insist on leaving?" Zhang Su asked, keeping his patience.

"I'm going to find my son at the Environmental University!"

The old man's expression was resolute, his lips trembling slightly.

"Ha..." Zhang Su let out a cold, humorless laugh. "If you wanted to find your son, you should have gone long ago. Why wait all these days?"

The milkman's expression darkened. "If I ran out alone, it would be a dead end. But it's different now—following you gives me at least a chance to get out of here."

A brutally realistic statement, full of sincerity and helplessness.

"Don't blame me for pouring cold water on you, but the situation at the university will only be worse than the compound. Your son..."

"The old man is just asking you to take him out. Either you take him or you don't. All this nagging and dithering—men who hem and haw are the most disgusting. Can you just hurry up and leave?"

Before Zhang Su could finish, Yu Nuo chimed in again with a sarcastic remark.

The atmosphere in the room instantly went quiet.

"Stinking b*tch, why do you have so much to say? Yap one more time and see if I don't rip your mouth off!"

Zheng Xinyu arched her delicate brows, pointing her baseball bat straight at Yu Nuo.

She knew Zhang Su didn't want to bicker with a woman, which made this her cue to step up!

Zhong Xiaoshan didn't hold back either, rolling her eyes at Yu Nuo and sneering, "Oh my god, a pathetic freeloader clinging to someone's coattails has the nerve to chirp? You're no help and only draw aggro. This team is a complete joke. Big Brother SWAT officer, care to consider leaving with us?"

Zheng Xinyu already had a foul mouth—otherwise, fans wouldn't have mailed her mouthwash—and Zhong Xiaoshan, having spent plenty of time among women, was no slouch at passive-aggressive insults either. As soon as the two women opened fire, they instantly knocked Yu Nuo into a daze.

"You, you..." Yu Nuo was used to office politics, but she was no match for these two. Distraught, she shrieked, "Shameless! Good grief, what kind of people are these? Trash!"

"Shut up! Stop talking!"

Qin Ya rebuked Yu Nuo harshly, then cast a deep, measuring look at Zheng Xinyu and Zhong Xiaoshan before turning back to give Zhang Su a helpless, bitter smile.

Zhang Su shrugged at Qin Ya and turned his attention back to the milkman, saying solemnly, "Since you insist on coming with us, I'm not going to tie you up or restrict your freedom. But I'll make things clear beforehand..."

"The road out won't be peaceful. If you make noise and attract zombies, I won't have time to save you!"

The icy words sent a chill through everyone present. Almost everyone thought Zhang Su was being far too ruthless.

"Uncle Zhang, that's wrong!" The little kid Liu Xuanyu hid half his body behind Qin Ya and mustered his courage to speak up. "Our teacher taught us that helping each other and showing bravery for a righteous cause makes you a good person!"

"Right, exactly!" Zhang Su nodded approvingly and smiled at Liu Xuanyu. "So you must never grow up to be like Uncle. Uncle is not a good person."

Everyone was left speechless, strange expressions dawning on their faces.

"Don't worry! If I get into trouble, just go—don't worry about me!"

The milkman replied readily, showing he was prepared to risk it all!

Things having reached this point, Zhang Su felt no need to drag things out further. Glancing at the situation outside the door, he waved his hand and commanded, "Let's move!"

***

Leaving Apartment 802 and entering the stairwell, Zhang Su led the group downward. Just as they reached the seventh floor, he made a hand gesture to halt.

Zheng Xinyu and the others paused in unison, keeping silent and planting their feet firmly.

Zhang Su listened intently behind the fire door, then pulled it open as the group filed through.

Zhang Su tried the door of 701, then glanced back at 702, finding both doors locked. He led the group back into the stairwell and continued downward.

Sixth floor, fifth floor, fourth floor...

When they reached the third floor, Zhang Su's face lit up upon seeing that the door to Apartment 302 was left ajar. He listened carefully to the movement inside, knocked on the door, and receiving no response, pushed it open and walked in.

Puzzled, the others followed Zhang Su into 302, their faces filled with suspicion.

"Xiaoshan, close the door!"

Entering 302, Zhang Su dropped his backpack onto the dining table and sat casually on a chair.

"Brother Su, what's the game plan?" Zheng Xinyu asked out of curiosity.

Zhang Su looked at the three wide-eyed questioners and shook his head with a smile. "Me, be the vanguard for those people? In your dreams! If we leave, we let them clear the path first!"

"This..." The milkman's face froze in bewilderment.

Zhang Su looked at the milkman and spread his hands. "I'm terribly sorry, old man. I repeatedly told you to go with them, but you refused. If you're in such a rush, you'll just have to go on ahead alone."

"Or you can head back upstairs and find them. Officer Qin certainly won't hold a grudge."

With a bitter expression, the milkman shook his head, slid down the wall to sit on the floor, and said, "Brother Zhang, I don't regret coming out with you. I don't know if those people will make it out, but I believe *you* can definitely get out of this compound!"

What Zhang Su said earlier had sounded so convincing that even his own companions had believed it; the others wouldn't doubt it for a second either.

The milkman was indeed anxious to find his son, but he knew better than anyone that sticking close to Zhang Su was his only possible ticket out of the compound. Otherwise, forget leaving the neighborhood—he'd be eaten the moment he stepped out of the building, down to the very bones!