Chapter 337: Chapter 286: Blessing and Misfortune Intertwined

"Hmm... where did those guys run off to?"

Zhang Su rubbed his chin, feeling a bit frustrated. Just as he was straining his ears to listen for any movement...

Thump thump, wheeze.

A sound came from deep inside the warehouse!

Zhang Su looked carefully and saw a wooden door being lifted from the ground, the tarp covering it thrown aside. The door to the basement had been opened.

Soon afterward, he saw some people emerging from the underground, looking dirty and disheveled...

Of course, this was only in Zhang Su’s line of sight.

For the others, they only knew there was a commotion in the warehouse, completely unable to see anything in the darkness!

"What’s that noise?!"

"Is it the people from Kuanzhuang?"

"Yeah, I remember there was a guy named Uncle Huo. Haven’t seen him in a while, is he hiding in the warehouse?"

In an instant, everyone from Celestial Horse Island became tense, immediately finding cover and raising their weapons.

If there were remnants of Kuanzhuang, who knows what kind of deadly weapon could be in the warehouse, and who could withstand it if it were used?

People from Bridge Town became alert as well, displaying nervousness and hiding behind cars, feeling quite jumpy.

"Stay vigilant!"

Zhang Su naturally saw everything clearly, but he didn’t reveal the truth. Instead, he joined the others in staying alert outside the door as the survivors from the basement slowly walked towards the warehouse door.

After about two or three minutes, he saw a middle-aged man’s figure appear in the sunlight, squinting against the harsh glare.

His filthy cotton coat was stained with large patches of dark red, clearly dried blood. Yet, judging by his condition, he seemed unhurt.

As the first person appeared, many others squeezed their way out behind him.

These people’s spirits were depleted, ignoring the corpses lying at the warehouse door like a group of dull scarecrows.

"Holy shit!"

Suddenly, everyone heard Zhang Su curse, and then they saw him emerge from behind a car.

"Old Village Head, long time no see, huh?"

Zhang Su looked oddly at the thirty or so people in front of him, recognizing the leader as none other than Ma Changshou from West Camp Village!

At this moment, Ma Changshou no longer had the grandeur of when he was a local tyrant in West Camp Village, now just a shriveled, grubby, miserable old man who trembled as he walked.

"Zhang... Boss Zhang?"

Seeing Zhang Su’s face, Ma Changshou collapsed onto the ground, first stunned, then bursting into tears, his face stained with dirt and tears looking utterly pathetic.

This gesture triggered a chain reaction, and everyone else around Ma Changshou—young and old, men and women—sat down in despair. The more composed ones merely kept silent, while emotionally broken ones cried along with Ma Changshou.

Meng Changwei came closer to Zhang Su, his singular eye filled with curiosity, and asked, "Master Zhang, another acquaintance?"

Zhang Su rubbed his brow, smiling awkwardly, "That’s a long story. Boss Meng, if you’re in a hurry, just go grab the supplies yourself and take any weapon you find, but don’t touch those two tanks!"

Meng Changwei raised an eyebrow. At this point, he wasn’t in such a rush to leave, grinning, "No rush. I’m interested to see what happens. If Master Zhang needs help, I can lend a hand."

Zhang Su looked at Meng Changwei irritably, thinking if he wanted to watch the drama, he could have just said so without being so pompous.

He signaled to Lu Yubo and the others to keep an eye on the people from Bridge Town, then approached Ma Changshou, helping him up, face full of helplessness.

"Old Village Head, what’s going on? Are they all from West Camp Village?"

"Sob... sigh." Ma Changshou drew out a long breath, calmed his crying, and said, "Forty-six people, Boss Zhang, we came from West Camp Village with forty-six people, now only twenty-five remain, half are dead, half are dead!"

At the mention of sadness, Ma Changshou beat his chest and stamped his feet. Just imagine, if he were ten years older and had some cardiovascular conditions, this agony could be fatal.

Zhang Su swept his gaze over the scene—twenty-seven people—and said, "Where are the other two? Are they from the Cyan Dragon Corps?"

"These two ladies are from the logistics department. Rest assured, Boss Zhang, none of us are bad people."

Ma Changshou wiped away his tears and entered the crowd, patting the shoulders of two women in their thirties and forties.

"Old Village Head, why is it that only people from your village survived while others perished?"

Zhang Su had many questions and cut straight to the point, too impatient for small talk. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"Boss Zhang, do you have any water, I..."

"Here you go."

Zheng Xinyu handed Ma Changshou a thermos cup and added, "It’s yours, don’t worry about it."

"Oh, oh, thank you, thank you, you’re a savior like a Bodhisattva."

At this moment, Ma Changshou was all sweet talk, opening the thermos cup, feeling the warm steam on his face, taking a few gulps before passing the cup to the people behind him.

"Boss Zhang, I loathe them..."

Ma Changshou slapped his thigh and began to recount the experience of West Camp Village after joining the Cyan Dragon Corps.

As the saying goes, ideals are plump, but reality is bony as hell.

Before coming, they thought of using various supplies to cement relationships, allowing all the brothers and sisters from West Camp Village to stay in the logistics department, doing low-risk work and enduring some grievances for long-term stability in a safe place.

Never did they think things would be that simple. On the first day in the camp, all the supplies they brought were confiscated. The person who had helped them before was just a low-level soldier, with no influence whatsoever, let alone finding a solution for them.

"Those Cyan Dragon Corps leaders are a bunch of beasts!"

Ma Changshou displayed a fierce expression, "Not only did they take all our supplies, but they also crammed us all into one barrack—forty-plus people, Boss Zhang, can you imagine, squeezed together like sardines!"

"So why did only your people survive, what happened to the combatants?"

Zhang Su noticed that those accompanying Ma Changshou were either women or elderly, or disabled people, not a single strong man among them.

"They were all taken away, called out one night and not a single capable man was left. I sensed something was off, noticing the guards in the camp becoming lax, all moved to the perimeter. Suspecting a zombie attack, we hid in the basement of the warehouse, thanks to the guidance of those two ladies, thus surviving the ordeal!"

Ma Changshou’s lips quivered. In reality, he never harbored grand ambitions, only wanting to lead the villagers to live well, even if just surviving, but ultimately failed to achieve that.

According to him, the two Cyan Dragon Corps women were responsible for delivering meals to them in the logistics department. When the Cyan Dragon Corps took away the strong men from West Camp Village, it was right after dinner, and they were tidying up the utensils, completely oblivious to the unfolding events.

In a way, these two women guided Ma Changshou, saving his life.

Many people admired Ma Changshou for sensing danger in the first moment and saving over twenty people, truly acting as a competent leader. As for those who perished, it was solely due to previous incorrect decisions. Once joining the Cyan Dragon Corps, losing control over their fate was inevitable.