As the jeep's bulky rear flashed past, the brother with the Rocket Launcher on his shoulder stood there dumbfounded.
"Holy shit, the boss just... left?"
"Uh... looks like the boss abandoned us."
For a moment, the men beside the compound wall looked at one another, unsure what to do next.
Seeing Long Tai flee in the jeep, Han Bing glanced sideways at Liu Feng beside him. He leaned closer, nodded ingratiatingly, and whispered into his ear, "Brother Feng, Long Tai's run off. Should we send a few men after him?"
Liu Feng considered this for a moment, then looked at the compound's still tightly locked gates. "No need. He didn't take many supplies. Even if he does break through the zombies surrounding us, he won't last more than a few days without food and water."
Han Bing nodded, turned his gaze toward the compound wall, and gestured with his lips. "Brother Feng, what should we do about them?"
Following Han Bing's gaze, Liu Feng looked toward the now-silent compound wall.
At the gates, the compound's only entrance and exit, sharpened wooden stakes had been set out in rows. Behind them stood an iron gate more than twice a man's height, with plenty of spikes welded onto its bars. Any zombies charging straight in might well end up skewered like kebabs.
Long Tai had escaped through the rear entrance, so there had to be a huge hole in the iron gate that had been sealed with cement. If they sent a squad through the rear entrance now, those men would surely die without even a place to be buried.
But...
Liu Feng glanced back at the men behind him. Counting everyone in the camp, they had only thirteen men in total. In the apocalypse, every life was precious. Resolving a conflict through force was the stupidest approach of all.
"What would you do?" Liu Feng looked at Han Bing, leaving the question to him.
Han Bing froze for a moment, but quickly recovered. Looking earnestly at Liu Feng, he said respectfully, "Brother Feng, in principle, any mercy in the apocalypse is bound to bring disaster. I understand that perfectly well. But they're still fellow humans, so..."
Before he could finish, Liu Feng raised a hand and cut him off.
"Men, split yourselves into two squads. One will follow me in a frontal assault, and the other will follow Han Bing through the rear entrance." Liu Feng swept his gaze over them, then his expression hardened. "Stay sharp, all of you. Once we reach the platform inside the compound, accept anyone willing to surrender. If anyone keeps resisting, kill them without hesitation! Is that clear?"
"Clear!"
After that deafening shout in unison, the dozen or so men quickly split into two squads.
Seeing how fired up everyone was, Han Bing was overwhelmed with emotion. When had his ragtag squad ever been as united as they were today? Yet today, simply because Liu Feng had joined them, everything had changed.
Perhaps this was the commanding presence of a born leader!
As the two squads advanced, they quickly subdued the dozen or so remaining members of Long Tai's gang inside the compound. Of course, some among them were willing to fight to the death for Long Tai. One was the young man entrusted with the Rocket Launcher in the midst of the crisis.
But just as he readied the Rocket Launcher to fire at Han Bing, Liu Feng arrived in time and instantly sent thousands upon thousands of Iron-toothed Insects into the attack. In the blink of an eye, all that remained on the ground was a loaded Rocket Launcher and a foul-smelling pool of blood.
Looking at the dozen or so gang members kneeling with their hands on their heads, Han Bing turned to Liu Feng. "Brother Feng, everyone's surrendered. Including the four women and one old man in the compound, there are nineteen people altogether."
Liu Feng swept his gaze over the men and women kneeling on the ground. Of the fifteen men, only one was older and somewhat balding; the rest were strong young men.
After all, in the apocalypse, there were no rules to follow.
The strong preyed on the weak, and only the fit survived. Most of the elderly, disabled, and sickly had been infected when the Zombie Virus broke out. Those who managed to stay alive were people with abilities no one else could replace.
Liu Feng walked over to the balding middle-aged man and studied him thoughtfully.
"What's your name?"
The middle-aged man kneeling on the ground dared not raise his head. Trembling, he stammered, "I... I'm Uncle Ge. You can call me Old Ge, or you can call me... Uncle."
At those words, Han Bing's expression instantly darkened behind Liu Feng.
"Fuck you! Is that any way to talk to Feng? You only kept your worthless lives because he gave the order. Now you've got the nerve to make him call you Uncle? You must have a death wish!"
As he spoke, Han Bing raised his arm, pretending he was about to slap him.
At that critical moment, a pair of strong hands suddenly blocked Han Bing's attack. Han Bing looked closely and realized it was Liu Feng.
"Feng, what are you...?"
Liu Feng's thin lips curved slightly into a faint smile. "Let me ask him a few questions."
Seeing this, Han Bing quickly withdrew his arm and looked at Liu Feng with a self-reproachful expression, as though he had done something wrong.
Looking at the balding middle-aged man kneeling on the ground, Liu Feng crouched down halfway and asked softly with a smile, "Old Ge, tell me, what did you do under Long Tai? Knowing his temperament, I doubt he'd keep anyone around who didn't earn their keep."
At that, Uncle Ge's eyes instantly lit up, as though he had found a lifeline.
"Feng, you're right. I'm the only doctor in this compound."
"A doctor?"
With that answer, Liu Feng felt reassured.
In the apocalypse, a doctor was far more important to a team than a woman.
Liu Feng slowly stood up and nodded at Uncle Ge in satisfaction.
"Han Bing, your camp doesn't have a doctor, does it? We've struck gold this time!"
"Yes, yes, you're absolutely right, Feng!"
Now standing, Liu Feng swept his gaze over the others. All four women wore seductive expressions; they were probably Long Tai's playthings. The remaining men were also exceptionally tough. With them joining, the squad's fighting strength would rise to another level.
Liu Feng stood on the platform, watching the sunset and listening to the roars of the zombies nearby. He turned his back to the sunset and waved to the others.
"It's getting dark. We'll make camp here. Han Bing, take a few men and hurry up and repair the wall that was smashed. We can't let the zombies slip into the compound under cover of darkness."
(End of chapter)
Before you continue