"Crack!"
With one swift motion, Sun Yuan plunged his blade straight into Old Xu's heart.
Old Xu's eyes widened in shock. He struggled for a moment, but eventually, his body went limp—dead.
The people around him didn't show the slightest bit of pity. In fact, they looked rather satisfied.
In a post-apocalyptic world, the worst thing you can do is be softhearted—especially to someone like Old Xu.
If Su Chen hadn't killed him today, there was a real risk Old Xu would hold a grudge and betray him later. That would be far more dangerous.
The safest solution was to eliminate the threat entirely. No loose ends.
"Boss Su, we've done everything you asked," Song Shuai said with a polite smile. "Our boss sent me to ask—can we settle the deal we made earlier? The supplies?"
"No problem," Su Chen nodded and gave Sun Yuan a subtle look.
Sun Yuan understood immediately and left the meeting room.
A few minutes later, he returned with seven or eight of his men.
But strangely, none of them were carrying any supplies. Instead, each of them was armed with a compound crossbow.
"Boss Su… what's the meaning of this?" Song Shuai's heart sank. A wave of dread washed over him.
His answer came in the form of a volley of deadly arrows.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
In a single coordinated strike, Song Shuai and the men he'd brought along were turned into human pincushions.
"Toss their bodies in the back courtyard," Su Chen instructed. "And remember—just like before—tie them up with nylon rope."
Just like what he did with Zhou Shixian. His corpse hadn't been disposed of either. Instead, Su Chen had it tied up and dumped in a small courtyard behind the building.
Everyone was confused.
These people were already dead—why bother tying them up?
But since Su Chen didn't offer an explanation, no one dared ask.
Following his orders, they tied up the corpses of Old Xu, Song Shuai, and the others, and hauled them away.
After the cleanup, He Wang chuckled and said, "Su, my brother, you're truly brilliant. Just a small sacrifice and you've taken out that thorn, Gao Qiqiang!"
"But now that Gao Qiqiang is dead," Sun Yuan said with concern, "won't the other survivor teams join forces again?"
"Don't worry. With Gao Qiqiang gone, their alliance will crumble," Su Chen replied coldly.
That's right.
Su Chen had never truly intended to provide supplies to Gao Qiqiang's alliance. Compared to the vast stockpile in his spatial storage, feeding 300 people was nothing.
But Su Chen hated being threatened.
He had only pretended to cooperate with Gao Qiqiang. In truth, it was all a ploy to divide the survivor factions from within.
Su Chen might not have liked Gao Qiqiang, but he had to admit—the man had influence. Among all the leaders, Gao held the most authority.
Now that he was dead, paranoia and distrust would spread among the remaining teams.
That was why Su Chen had no problem turning on Song Shuai and falling out with Gao Xiangjun.
"You bastard, Su Chen!"
Inside a homestay shelter, Gao Xiangjun flew into a rage upon hearing the news that Song Shuai had been killed.
He had taken an enormous risk to help Su Chen eliminate Gao Qiqiang—all for the sake of securing those promised supplies.
But Su Chen had gone back on his word!
Like a dying man springing up in bed, I realized—the clown was me all along!
"Boss, we can't let him get away with this!" one of his underlings growled.
"Yeah! That guy's got no shame!"
They were just as furious. Like Gao Xiangjun, they were still dreaming of those promised cartons of Huazi cigarettes and bottles of Moutai liquor.
"If he won't play fair, then don't blame me for getting dirty!"
Gao Xiangjun took a deep breath and barked out orders.
"You, go contact A'Biao, Xia Bowen, and the others. Tell them I was fooled by Su Chen before, but now I'm ready to fight back."
"If they're willing to join me against Su Chen, I'll give them a cut of my supplies."
"And once we take over the Yourton Hotel, they get first pick of Su Chen's stash!"
Coming from someone as stingy as Gao Xiangjun, this was a massive offer. It was clear just how deep his hatred for Su Chen had grown.
"Yes, boss!"
Several of his men hurried out, bundling up in down jackets and rushing toward the other survivor camps.
They trickled back in one after another not long after.
But the news they brought was nothing short of disastrous.
A'Biao had already sent word to Xia Bowen and the others—Gao Xiangjun had been behind Gao Qiqiang's murder.
Now, Xia Bowen's group didn't want anything to do with Gao. They were doing everything they could just to stay away from him, let alone team up to take down Su Chen over a few supplies.
Who knew if Gao Xiangjun wasn't setting up another ambush?
None of them even agreed to meet his messengers face to face.
A'Biao's response was even more ruthless.
Of the two men Gao sent, one was killed outright.
The other returned gravely wounded, barely managing to report back before succumbing to his injuries.
When he heard the full account, Gao Xiangjun felt a chill run through his soul.
Not only had he failed to get any supplies, he had also made deadly enemies out of A'Biao, Zhao Xiong, and even alienated the rest of the survivor groups like Xia Bowen's.
A complete backfire. I tried to steal a chicken and ended up losing the rice too!
"Su Chen… you'd better watch your back!" Gao Xiangjun hissed, his teeth clenched so hard they nearly cracked. His eyes burned with venom.
Achoo!
Back inside the Nomadison RV, Su Chen suddenly sneezed.
"Master, are you alright? Did you catch a cold when you went out?" Lin Yingying asked with concern, hurrying over.
Ever since Su Chen helped her take care of Zhou Shixian, her admiration had only grown deeper—bordering on infatuation.
"It's probably nothing. My guess is Gao Xiangjun is cursing me somewhere," Su Chen chuckled, completely unbothered.
So long as the survivor teams on Phoenix Mountain couldn't unite, none of them posed a real threat to him.
And if Gao Xiangjun was dumb enough to try something, Su Chen wouldn't hesitate to deal with him too.
"In that case, Master, how's this pressure?" Lin Yingying smiled sweetly as she continued massaging his shoulders.
"Very nice," Su Chen replied with a satisfied sigh, sinking into the couch with his eyes half-closed.
"Master, here—have some fruit!"
Liu Ling'er brought over a plate of freshly sliced fruit.
With two stunning beauties doting on him like this, Su Chen figured—even gods would envy his current lifestyle.
Although Gao Qiqiang's death had stirred up some waves among the survivors, things quickly returned to normal.
After all, ever since the apocalypse began, people had been dying nonstop.
And for those left alive, what mattered most was figuring out how to survive another day.