Chapter 81 - 76: A Fierce Warrior

"Damn it!"

Zhang Su yanked the steel rod from Qiu Shuo’s head, feeling hot blood rush to his head, causing a dizzy spell.

His relationship with Qiu Shuo wasn’t exactly close, but they were acquaintances. Taking his life with his own hands was a huge challenge. Thankfully, Qiu Shuo had almost completely turned into a zombie, so the psychological burden wasn’t as heavy.

"Oh, Brother Shuo, oh..."

Lu Yubo was kneeling and bawling on the ground.

"You owe me, get over there and deal with Xiaoshuo’s body! I swear..."

"Forget it, forget it..."

"Brother Zhang, don’t be mad."

Zhang Su, seeing the sobbing Lu Yubo, was infuriated and wanted to kick him, but was held back by Zheng Xinyu, Zhong Xiaoshan, and Old Wang.

In the filthy convenience store, the smell of blood mixed with the lingering aroma of instant noodles, dropping everyone’s spirits to rock bottom, leaving them speechless.

The apocalypse was brutal, everyone knew that, but they didn’t expect brutal events to occur right beside them, among people they knew.

Zheng Xinyu and Zhong Xiaoshan stayed by Zhang Su’s side, gently caressing his hands, comforting the sorrow in his heart.

They knew the pressure of killing Qiu Shuo was far greater than that of Ma Xuechuo, as there was no burden at all in killing a hundred like Ma Xuechuo.

Lu Yubo, with a grief-stricken face, dragged Qiu Shuo’s body to the back of the convenience store, looking for a place to bury him. But since it was all concrete, digging was impossible. He had to leave the body in a clean ditch and symbolically cover it with potting soil as a final resting place.

"Brother Su."

After busying himself, Lu Yubo knelt before Zhang Su, face tear-streaked.

"Don’t call me, get out."

Zhang Su glanced at Lu Yubo irritably.

"I, Brother Su, I want to follow you from now on."

Lu Yubo sniffed, pleading.

"Follow me? Your best friend’s final wish was for you to send him off, and you couldn’t do that. What use are you?"

Zhang Su, growing angrier the more he thought about it, kicked Lu Yubo, sending him sprawling backward.

"Brother Su, I can kill zombies. I’m not scared, but I just couldn’t bring myself to harm Brother Shuo."

Lu Yubo crawled over to Zhang Su on his knees.

Not mentioning it might have been better; bringing it up made Zhang Su even angrier. He sprung up, grabbed Lu Yubo by the collar, and raised his fist to hit him.

"Honey, don’t...don’t hurt your hand."

Zheng Xinyu quickly stopped Zhang Su, the affectionate nickname slipping out unintentionally.

Zhang Su was stunned by the sudden use of "honey." They had never used such terms before between them.

"Damn it!" Zhang Su’s anger subsided a bit. He let go, saying angrily, "Everyone knew Xiaoshuo would turn into a zombie. He was your best friend, but you couldn’t do it, leaving me to owe the debt. Damn it, you owe me big time!"

"Yes, yes, Brother Su, I owe you. Let me follow you; I’ll repay you with my actions. I won’t disappoint you."

Lu Yubo knelt down again, looking at Zhang Su with a sincere face.

"Brother Zhang, he’s just a kid, doesn’t have that strong a mind. I think he’s sincere. Give him the dirty and tiring jobs, consider it."

Wang Guangjun looked at Lu Yubo, reminiscent of his own son, who was about the same age, unable to help but speak up.

"Yes, yes, uncle is right. Brother Su, I can do the dirty and tiring jobs. I’ll listen to you from now on!"

Lu Yubo promised earnestly.

"Anyone can say nice things. Go stand over there and let me have some peace!"

Zhang Su gestured him away.

Lu Yubo saw Wang Guangjun give him a signal, so he quickly crouched in the corner, not daring to make a sound.

"What do you two think?"

Zhang Su sat back down, quietly asking Zheng Xinyu and Zhong Xiaoshan beside him.

"If we’re going to Qing County, just the three of us will find it very tough. We can take on a few partners, but it’s still up to you."

Zhong Xiaoshan quickly offered her opinion.

Zheng Xinyu nodded in agreement: "I’m with Xiaoshan. If someone seems reliable and pleasant to be around, let’s team up, strength in numbers, not everyone is like Ma Xuechuo."

"Let me think about it."

Zhang Su frowned, pondering. He knew very well the strength of a collective, but the team members had to be reliable and controllable!

"Use him once..."

Thinking of this, Zhang Su looked towards Lu Yubo in the corner, and a thought flashed through his mind, instantly displaying three labels over his head.

[Fearless][Mindless][Reckless]

"This..."

Zhang Su was left speechless, and two words sprang to his mind: reckless brute.

This kind of person shouldn’t be entrusted with important tasks, but tasks solved by brute force could be handled well.

A real enforcer!

Unfortunately, no loyalty-related tags appeared, leaving him without a parameter for consideration.

"Come here!"

Zhang Su decided to have a proper chat with Lu Yubo.

Lu Yubo, hearing Zhang Su call him, quickly crouched in front of him, eagerly asking, "Brother Su, are you letting me follow you from now on?"

"Don’t rush. Let me ask you a few questions first," Zhang Su said. "Why do you want to follow me so much?"

"Brother Su, you’re amazing! Brother Shuo told me that four years ago, a group of troublemakers came to Brother Dong’s karaoke bar one night. You happened to be there and knocked out three or four of them. It was incredible!"

Lu Yubo looked at Zhang Su with admiration. Being a low-level punk, he had a mysterious admiration for combat power.

Zhang Su remembered the incident Lu Yubo mentioned. He went to Pang Haidong’s karaoke bar several times mainly to expand business channels and also because the waitress there was very pretty...

"Damn, thinking about that still irks me. I sold Pang Haidong some goods, and I ended up playing bouncer for free!"

"Heh heh, Brother Dong praises you to everyone for being righteous and having great skills, but he says your goods are a bit overpriced..."

Lu Yubo’s voice trailed off as he finished.

"When have I ever overcharged..." Just about to retort, Zhang Su glanced at a broken blade on the ground and said, "Okay, sometimes the stuff isn’t that great, but I never charged Pang Haidong high prices. You get what you pay for, I’ve never cheated. Blame yourselves for expecting five-star treatment on a one-star budget."

However, his defense sounded feeble, and the others around him still looked at him with skeptical eyes.

"Ahem! Back to business," Zhang Su coughed, looking at Lu Yubo. "Following me might not be safer than being on your own. Some dangers you might evade if alone but I might ask you to confront them. What then?"

"Brother Su, just give me orders. I’ll face anything. But...if you end up like Brother Shuo, I still couldn’t do it..."

"Shut up!" Zhang Su scolded.

The first part sounded genuine, but what was that last part?

"I really couldn’t bring myself to do it..."

Lu Yubo muttered, looking away, avoiding eye contact with Zhang Su.

"Is this about doing it or not? You really have no brains!"

Zhang Su realized this Insight Label was spot on.