"Ah, so fragile?"
Zheng Xinyu was astonished. It was the first time she saw someone faint from fear in the real world. Even she and Zhong Xiaoshan hadnât been this scared during the disaster.
"Oh no, Brother Lu, did we scare the little girl to death?"
Zhao Dezhu spread his arms with a quirky expression.
"Canât be..." Lu Yubo waved his hands exaggeratedly, although he himself wasnât sure.
"Hey, stop playing dead, do it any longer and Iâll really hurt you!"
Zhang Su knew for sure Su Xiaoya wasnât dead, not even fainted. She was acting, trying to bluff her way out.
Bang bang.
He walked up and kicked Su Xiaoya. Her soft body bounced on the ground.
"Damn... really quite the performance!"
Zhang Su frowned, flicked open a self-sealing plastic bag, and sniffed gently. A peculiar scent wafted toward him, neither unpleasant nor pleasant, uncertain of its ingredients.
"If you donât get up, Iâll make you eat the green powder!"
Zhang Su threatened.
Su Xiaoya lay motionless on the ground.
"Wonât shed a tear until she sees the coffin!"
With that, Zhang Su pinched a bit of green powder from the plastic bag, crouched down, pinched Su Xiaoyaâs cheek to open her mouth, and without hesitation, stuffed it in. Unexpectedly, the powder clumped slightly due to moisture, so he simply smeared it on her tongue and oral cavity.
"Shit, thatâs disgusting..."
Afterward, Zhang Su felt his fingers sticky, looked for a leaf on the ground to wipe his hands but finding the camp spotless, ended up wiping them on his pants leg.
The crowd around them all winced.
"Wow, doing it for real..."
Zheng Xinyu had a "so terrifying" expression, even retched a little.
"Big Brother, she really seems to have fainted, maybe we should stop for now."
Zhao Dezhu, whoâs had a heart of stone after three years of gutting fish, felt a little sorry.
Zhang Su frowned at the limp Su Xiaoya on the ground, stood and said, "Lock her up somewhere first, weâll interrogate her when she wakes! Most likely sheâs here from the Cyan Dragon Corps to sabotage us, damn it, carrying laxatives. Probably planning to incapacitate us completely, so when the Grain Collection Team arrives, weâll be defenseless!"
Despite getting no answers from observation, it didnât stop Zhang Su from making a reasonable judgement.
The crowd all nodded, finding this assumption very plausible.
Later, Zheng Xinyu and Yang Wenjie took Su Xiaoya into a room and locked her up. To save manpower on guarding, they specially tied her hands and feet to the bed, forming a "big" character.
For humanitarian reasons, they thoughtfully covered her with a blanket to prevent her from freezing in the cold.
After dealing with Su Xiaoya, Zhang Su asked Wang Longzhong about skinning livestock, only for Zhao Dezhu, standing by, to immediately raise his hand.
"Big Brother, why didnât you ask me about this? Iâm good at it!"
Zhao Dezhu, eager to show off, feared his skills would go unnoticed.
Zhang Su curiously asked, "Youâre a fish cutter, and you can skin large livestock? Pigs or cows, can you handle it?"
Zhao Dezhu patted his chest confidently, "As long as I have a good knife, itâs not a problem!"
Seeing Zhao Dezhuâs confidence, Zhang Su believed him and said, "Alright, Iâll arrange a good job for you later."
"Luckily, Boss Zhangâs crew has plenty of skilled people. We didnât even have a butcher for skinning..."
Wang Longzhong said, originally there was a pig killer, but unfortunately, he died during the last village massacre.
"Each has their expertise, itâs fine. By the way, Old Wang, among the people you brought, is there a tailor?"
Zhang Su suddenly thought of Fu Weijunâs crude handiwork. Even with the petrified zombie skin, it might be hard to make decent equipment!
"A tailor?" Wang Longzhong scratched his head, "Those few ladies can sew, not high-level, but itâll do in these times."
Rural women, unlike city ladies, still possess some traditional skills.
"Good, as long as they can. Ask them if they can make simple clothes or vests, pick two out, I need them!"
Even if petrified skin canât be mass-produced, some will certainly be, so the demand for equipment production must be considered.
By noon, over ten people were dining in the restaurant.
"Iâve been vigilant all along, thought the weekâs notice from the other side was a ruse, in case of a sudden attack, but now it seems different. They only sent a little girl to spy!"
Zhang Su ate while discussing with those around him about handling the Cyan Dragon Corps.
"Those in the Cyan Dragon Corps are meticulous, probably not easy to deal with!"
Tan Huajun, rarely voicing opinions, said thoughtfully.
"Prepare for confrontation, but if theyâre too strong, we shouldnât force it. Thereâs hope as long as we live! Old Yu, is everything ready?"
Momentary bravery isnât true courage; striking with certainty is!
"Rest assured, Mr. Zhang. Just in case, Iâve prepped food stock proportionately, so if things go south, we can surrender the grain to save lives, no problem. That little girl Zhao Xue marked the grain bags with fluorescent powder along the way, allowing us to track the Cyan Dragon Corps!"
Yuwen responded earnestly, then added, "Also, the weapon stash disguise is set, no matter the plan, thereâll be no oversight!"
"Brother Su, I checked out that bugging device. Itâs a pretty basic model, only thirty meters max, like a toy. I thought they mightâve come up with something high-tech, what a letdown."
Wu Lue pouted, having dismantled the hair clip and quickly figured out its components. Besides the disguise, there was little to commend.
"What, are you unhappy the enemies arenât strong?" Lu Yubo looked puzzled at Wu Lue.
Wu Lue shook his head, "No, I meant if the listening receiver is in the Cyan Dragon Corps, we could plant false information to mislead them."
"Lueziâs idea isnât bad, but itâs unfeasible. This afternoon, you all continue practicing..."
"Ah..."
Before Zhang Su finished, everyone in the restaurant heard a long scream from a house nearby.
"Whatâs that?"
"Isnât it the voice of that girl we caught before?"
"Seems like it, looks like sheâs awake!"
Everyone discussed curiously, wondering whatâs going on, waking up and shouting like that, donât they know to stay calm in enemy territory?
"Iâll go re-interrogate, see if I can extract useful information!"
Zhang Su quickly shoveled down his food and just as he stood, saw Zheng Xinyu walking in with an odd expression, heading straight for him.
"Well, thereâs a problem."
Zheng Xinyu frowned, looking hesitant to speak.
"Could it be..."
Zhang Su seemed to realize something, his face freezing as he briskly walked out of the restaurant.
He and Zheng Xinyu arrived outside Su Xiaoyaâs room, already catching a whiff of something not right.
When they pushed the door open, Zhang Suâs breathing hitched.
"Let me go, let me go, I need to use the bathroom! Youâre bad people, demons, boo hoo..."
Su Xiaoya, lying in a "big" shape on the bed, began crying again upon seeing the door open, heartbrokenly so, never having been this upset in her life.
Su Xiaoya didnât know why she fainted earlier, probably out of anger, urgency, and fear, but never expected to be woken up by a...
A mess in her pants!
"Honey, what should we do?"
Zheng Xinyu pinched her nose, at a loss, looking at Zhang Su.
"What do we do?" Zhang Suâs face turned cold, "Itâs not me who needs the bathroom in a rush, wanting to go is fine, even bathingâs fine. Just tell us honestly who sent you!"
The stench might be repugnant, but if the other side is more anxious, itâs a good interrogation chance.
"I... I, Iâm from Kuanzhuang, Kuanzhuang to the north. Our village chief sent me to check on, check on your situation, see, see if youâre surrendering grain to Cyan Dragon Corps or resisting..."
"Boo hoo... Iâve told you everything, let me go!"
After speaking, Su Xiaoya cried more heartbrokenly.