"Teacher Duan, I remember when you left Sheng Qin Home, you all set out with a group of six or seven people. How come it's just you now?"

Settling into the RV, Zhang Su unfolded the table and sofa, took out a pack of cigarettes, and placed it on the table, gesturing for Duan Wuhu to help himself.

Duan Wuhu didn't hesitate, lit a cigarette, and with a face full of sorrow said, "Damn it, the past is unbearable to recall, Brother Zhang, I regret it..."

"Phew..." Exhaling a puff of smoke, he continued, "Seeing you and Xiaozheng safe and sound now, I realize I chose the wrong path back then. To be honest, I was too obsessed with the idea that many people meant more strength..."

"I understand where you're coming from. Where did you all go afterward?"

Zhang Su didn't hold any grudges about those matters. At the time, the disaster had only been unfolding for about a week, and everyone was trying to break out of the 'beginner's zone.' It was normal for everyone to have different ideas. From their brief interactions, he thought Duan Wuhu was alright. If not for the burden of his younger brother, he definitely would have tried to recruit him.

"That day, when we left Sheng Qin Home, we headed straight for the safe camp at the Olympic Sports Center, but the reality was completely different from what we expected!"

"How so?" Zhang Su pressed on.

The Olympic Sports Center camp had given many people hope at the time. Zhang Su had even considered going there himself, but for various reasons, he decided against it.

"That place wasn't an official safe camp at all. When we got there, there were just seven or eight other people, but they had indeed sealed off the entire Olympic Sports Center area. The wandering zombies found it hard to break in, but as far as supplies go, there was basically nothing."

"It could only barely provide a place to stay. We had to figure out all the supplies ourselves, which was reasonable. Officer Qin led us on scavenging runs for supplies, and we managed to survive. Later, scattered survivors gradually joined the camp."

"Everyone thought things were getting better, but after about a week, out of nowhere, a massive horde of zombies suddenly appeared. It was really huge, impossible to count. I felt like there were more than students during assembly. They easily broke through the iron fence, and damn, it was at night when my brother died."

In Duan Wuhu's mind, the scene appeared vividly. Puffing on his cigarette, the scars on his face looked even more pitiful against the smoke.

"More than during assembly..." Zhang Su frowned, pondering internally, and clicked his tongue, "Wouldn't that be two or three thousand?"

Duan Wuhu nodded, "Yes, absolutely, they covered the sky and earth!"

When there are enough zombies, people inherently lose the courage to fight back. Once the momentum breaks, even armed, they lose the ability to fight back, leaving them to run.

"I remember Officer Qin had a kid with him back then?"

Zhang Su clearly remembered the little kid who lectured him on being a good person.

"You're talking about Liu Xuanyu." Duan Wuhu extinguished the cigarette and shook his head, "He's gone too."

"Gone..."

Zhang Su muttered lowly. He had a deep impression of that kid, and though he had long predicted it would be hard for him to survive in the apocalypse, hearing of Liu Xuanyu's death still left a bitter feeling.

He opposed Zhao Dezhu about having children, but he knew that children are the future, the hope. If their generation aged without successfully leaving descendants, human civilization would face extinction.

Though these were not his immediate concerns, he couldn't help but worry.

Zheng Xinyu leaned gently on Zhang Su's arm. Listening to others recount tragic stories, reflecting on their journey made her somewhat melancholic too.

"How many people did you lose during that zombie horde attack at the Olympic Sports Center?" Zhang Su asked.

"Xuanyu didn't die in that horde attack. Only my brother accidentally got caught then. Everyone else escaped, Officer Qin, Yu Nuo, Tian Fan, me, and three other survivors from the camp..."

"After we tried returning to the Olympic Sports Center, seeing the situation inside, we gave up. It was packed with zombies, looked like they were having a sports event. Later, we went to Xinmao Mall in the Development Zone, near University City, and that's where Liu Xuanyu died."

Zhang Su didn't press for details, but Duan Wuhu continued explaining Liu Xuanyu's death. In essence, the boy, craving snacks, was attacked by an old zombie stuck on a shelf in a store.

"The little kid was not even ten. Following us around was suffering. Honestly, passing on is sometimes a relief."

In the apocalypse, people often used this phrase to comfort one another. Whether they truly believed it, only they knew.

Duan Wuhu took out a bottle of purified water from his backpack, opened it, and took a sip before continuing, "On the night Liu Xuanyu died, Officer Qin sat on the rooftop smoking for a whole night. The next day, he disappeared, leaving behind all his supplies and just took his weapon and left.

I understand why Officer Qin left. We later learned he survived because of Liu Xuanyu's father. Liu Xuanyu's father had entrusted him to Officer Qin to look after, and yet..."

Duan Wuhu shrugged helplessly.

"Officer Qin was too hard on himself. It's lucky he didn't lose himself too..." Zheng Xinyu said in a somber tone.

Zhang Su nodded slightly in agreement with Zheng Xinyu's view. Without Liu Xuanyu, he might have persuaded Qin Ya to join him, as the remaining people, even if they were problematic, had potential. Even someone with a foul mouth like Yu Nuo could be trained!

But it was too difficult with a child under ten. Not denying a child's future potential was huge, but unfortunately, there was no protection in the apocalypse, stunting that growth.

"What about the others? Weren't there five or six of you left?" Zhang Su asked, understanding that sometimes fewer people could act more flexibly.

"After Officer Qin left, the three people who escaped with us from the Olympic Sports Center also sneaked away, those bastards even stole a lot of our supplies, leaving me, Yu Nuo, and Tian Fan. We lasted at Xinmao Mall for about half a month before a gang of bandits came and drove us out."

"Why didn't you join them?"

Zheng Xinyu curiously asked. Banditry, robbing, and killing were common in these times.

Duan Wuhu touched the scar on his nose and shook his head, "That group didn't reason with us at all. At the time, we had no ability to negotiate, so we had to run away..."

Zhang Su understood the situation very well. With the three of them against the bandits, they were only destined to be oppressed. He raised his hand, "What did you do after you left Xinmao Mall?"

"After leaving the mall, we went through several twists and turns. During an accident, Tian Fan got separated, leaving just me and Yu Nuo. Later... about half a month ago, we encountered a group called the Survivor Alliance and joined them!

Damned, once we joined, Yu Nuo climbed right into the alliance leader's bed. I thought she'd help me out a bit, but she claimed we were just acquaintances and not close at all, totally forgetting how I took care of her along the way!"

Discussing this matter, Duan Wuhu was furious, unusually swearing, his eyes filled with cold anger.

Zhang Su and Zheng Xinyu exchanged a glance, vividly recalling Yu Nuo's terrible attitude from before. They hadn't expected she'd go as far as having no boundaries.

It's not about her getting close to the leader. Using her own assets to gain resources was understandable, but abandoning the companions who shared life and death was just wrong.

Of course, that was if Duan Wuhu's words were trustworthy.

"We've heard of the Survivor Alliance. I think their headquarters is... at Jinyuan Mall?"

Zhang Su asked tentatively.

Duan Wuhu shook his head, "Not Jinyuan, it's at the nearby Lego Shopping Mall. I don't know what happened with Jinyuan Mall, but it caught fire some time ago and was burnt to a shell!"

Zhang Su and Zheng Xinyu exchanged another look. They knew the situation at Jinyuan Mall but were testing Duan Wuhu.

"So why did you leave with your friend? Wasn't the Survivor Alliance good for you?" Zhang Su asked.

Duan Wuhu shook his head grimly, "It's not about whether it's good or not. With my skills, I was doing okay in the Alliance, but some things are just unacceptable!"

"Oh?" Zhang Su was a bit surprised, "It's been quite some time in the apocalypse; we've seen the most outrageous things, what's unacceptable now?"

"Brother Zhang, there are things you'd never imagine! Hey, aren't you curious why I'm taking a disabled person everywhere in such a harsh environment?"

Duan Wuhu glanced at the van, asking mysteriously.

"Haha..." Zhang Su laughed dryly, "I was always wondering about that. Honestly, Old Duan, you seemed like a nice guy for looking after a disabled person even during the apocalypse, what's the story behind it?"

"Oh, that fellow is quite something!"

Duan Wuhu pointed at the van, "The guy in there is Fu Weijun. Don't be fooled by his paralysis; he's a PhD in the field of biomedical research, returned from studying abroad, not long ago achieved a lot academically. He was the chief researcher in the Alliance, mainly responsible for researching zombies!"