39: Chapter 39 The Old Hand

While Chen Ze enjoyed the company of a beauty and had no worries about food or clothing, things were not going so well for Guo Changzheng.

Not only had he failed to gain anything from his previous ambush on Chen Ze, but five or six men in his team had died, severely reducing their combat power. Most importantly, Security Captain Lei Dayong was dead.

Security Captain Lei Dayong had been Guo Changzheng's most loyal subordinate and the strongest fighter in their team. Now that they had lost their backbone for battle, they couldn't even organize a decent counterattack.

At this moment, outside the steel structure factory, forty or fifty zombies were clawing frantically, and the factory's durability was dropping at a rate visible to the naked eye.

"You bunch of dogs, hurry up and grab your weapons to hold them off! The durability is about to hit zero!"

Guo Changzheng roared hysterically, grabbing a man who was curled up in the corner. "You go to the front line, or you die right now!"

The man lifted by Guo Changzheng was also a resident of Jinxiu Longwan named Yang Fei, who had only joined Guo Changzheng's team today.

At this moment, he was trembling like a sieve, unable to even stand straight.

"I... I don't dare, Boss!" Yang Fei pleaded with a crying voice. Bead-sized drops of sweat rolled down his forehead, mixing with the dust on his face to create streaks.

"Don't dare? F*** your mother! You eat my food and stay with me! Now it's your turn to contribute, and you don't dare?"

Guo Changzheng exerted force on the man's collar, shoving him far away. With a loud "bang," he slammed into the warehouse shelf. The shelf shook violently, and the miscellaneous items stacked on it came crashing down, burying Yang Fei.

"Ugh!" He groaned in pain and tried to scramble to his feet, but the next moment, he didn't dare move again. The reason was simple: Guo Changzheng was aiming a crossbow at him, his eyes filled with cold murderous intent.

"Die! Or go fight the zombies!"

Yang Fei's eyes widened, and fear engulfed him like a tidal wave. He knew that if he dared to say no, Guo Changzheng might really kill him.

"Boss, I... I'll go!" Yang Fei's voice trembled violently; he squeezed these words out through his teeth.

He knew that under Guo Changzheng's coercion, he had no way out. Rather than dying at Guo Changzheng's hands, perhaps fighting might give him a glimmer of hope.

Yang Fei tremblingly picked up an iron rod. His legs felt as heavy as lead, and he shuffled step by step toward the factory entrance. With every step, he could clearly hear his own frantic heartbeat, as if it were about to burst through his chest.

He regretted it now; he regretted joining this damn team. These people must have lost their minds to ambush Chen Ze. Now look at them—most of their combat power was dead, and even someone like him who just joined was being forced into it.

There were only about ten people left in the factory, with only four or five men; the rest were the elderly, weak, women, and children. Most of these people felt the same as Yang Fei, filled with regret. They had thought that following Guo Changzheng would provide them shelter and a stable life in this apocalypse, but they hadn't expected to be dragged into this hopeless situation.

"All men, go to the entrance with Yang Fei. As long as we survive tonight, I'll go find help tomorrow, and I'll definitely make sure you eat and drink well!"

Guo Changzheng turned to look at another man, a scruffy-bearded middle-aged man who had also been a member of the security team. He continued, "Er Xiao, go kill zombies for me. Don't you like Xiao Hu's wife? Xiao Hu is dead now. As long as we get through tonight, I'll call the shots—his wife will be yours. You can play with her however you want!"

Before the man called Er Xiao could speak, a fair-skinned woman rushed out from the crowd. She had red eyes, and there were still dried tear stains on her face. "Guo Changzheng, you animal! My Xiao Hu just died, and you're already trying to bully me?"

The woman sobbed, her body trembling uncontrollably. "He lost his life protecting you, and you're using me as a bargaining chip? Has your conscience been eaten by dogs?"

Guo Changzheng's face turned green and red from the insults, and he roared in shame-induced anger. "Cut the f***ing crap! In this apocalypse, whoever survives is the capable one! Your man died because he was incompetent. If you don't want to die, shut your mouth!"

The people around felt a chill in their hearts as they listened to Guo Changzheng's words. But with the threat of the zombies right in front of them, they didn't dare to resist too much.

"Xiao Hu's wife, everyone is just trying to survive. You're a woman and can't fight, so what's the harm in contributing a little?" Sister Hong said, while hypocritically stepping forward to support Xiao Hu's wife.

"Get lost! Don't touch me, you disgust me!" After cursing, the woman immediately picked up a steel bar from the ground, gripping it tightly with both hands. "If any of you dare to touch me, I'll fight you to the death!"

But just then, a figure lunged forward—it was the man named Er Xiao. He instantly snatched the steel bar from the woman's hand and subdued her.

"Good! Well done, Er Xiao!" Guo Changzheng nodded. What he needed now wasn't order, but violence. If they couldn't survive the night, order was useless.

"As long as you dare to kill zombies, after tonight, you'll have women if you want women, and supplies if you want supplies!"

These words were like a shot of adrenaline. The remaining few men looked around the crowd, immediately causing panic among the women. "Haha, to die under the peony flower, even as a ghost, I'd be romantic. I'll do it!" "Manager Guo, you must keep your word. After tonight, I want to be the second-in-command!" ...

The warehouse wasn't like a normal building; it had no windows. To kill the zombies, they had to open the main gate partially. As soon as the men opened the door, seven or eight zombies swarmed in.

Yang Fei was at the very front. Before he could react, he was scratched by a zombie, and a system notification instantly exploded in his mind: [Warning, warning, you have been attacked by a zombie. The virus is spreading. Please inject an F-grade or higher anti-virus serum as soon as possible!]

"It's over, I've been scratched by a zombie! Save me!" Yang Fei roared like a madman, trying to retreat, but he was met with Guo Changzheng's size 44 boot. With a "bang," Yang Fei was kicked directly into the horde of zombies. Instantly, the surrounding zombies swarmed toward that spot, and a brief vacuum period appeared at the gate.

"Kill! Now's our chance! Kill them all!" Guo Changzheng roared at the dazed men. The remaining few finally snapped out of the shock of the previous scene and, urged by Guo Changzheng's roar, gritted their teeth and charged toward the zombie horde.

"Damn it, Guo... Guo Changzheng, you bas... tard!" Yang Fei let out a desperate and angry scream from within the zombie horde. He swung his iron rod frantically, trying to drive away the zombies swarming him. But there were too many zombies, and they instantly overwhelmed him. He felt pain everywhere in his body; the sensation of his flesh being torn away felt like hot, sharp blades cutting wantonly into his body.

"Ah... ah! Save me! Save..." Yang Fei's voice grew weaker and weaker until it disappeared completely.

Taking advantage of the gap while the zombies were swarming Yang Fei, the few men suddenly attacked, swinging kitchen knives and axes. Tonight was destined to be a brutal battle of mountains of corpses and seas of blood; the sounds of killing, screaming, and wailing hardly ever ceased.

It wasn't until dawn that the battle finally subsided. More than half of the people in the factory were gone, and almost all the men were dead, except for the one named Er Xiao, who was now covered in scratch wounds from the zombies.

"Guo... Manager Guo, we won. I want... cough, cough!" Before Er Xiao could finish, his chest heaved, and he began to cough violently, dark red blood foam spilling from the corners of his mouth. His wounds were gruesome and gaping, his strength had been completely drained by the night of fighting, and a glimmer of hope for survival still remained in his eyes.

"Wait until you have the life to survive before you ask for it!" Guo Changzheng's eyes were as cold as ice, without a shred of pity.

He lifted his foot and kicked Er Xiao hard in the lower abdomen, sending his frail body flying out the door like a kite with a broken string. With a dull "bang," the heavy warehouse iron door was tightly shut, and the sound of the lock clicking into place was exceptionally jarring in the deathly silent factory.

Outside the door, Er Xiao's roar immediately followed. "Manager Guo, what are you doing? You promised me! F*** you! You won't have a good death!"

The elderly and weak who survived inside the warehouse turned pale, but no one dared to say a word. Previously, Guo Changzheng had personally pushed Yang Fei into the zombie horde, and now he had abandoned the severely injured Er Xiao. Everyone saw his ruthless methods, and no one wanted to suffer the same fate.

Guo Changzheng took a deep breath, his eyes churning with malice. "Chen Ze! It's all because of you, all because of you! I will settle this score sooner or later!"