A night passed, and as the sun shone on the mountain stream, morning arrived as expected.

In winter, the mornings are bright later, so people at the camp generally get up a bit late. Life has a balance, with military-style management during training, but not too strict a requirement in everyday life. If someone wants to sleep in, no one minds, as there is only so much work to be done, and everyone can complete it satisfactorily without unnecessary tension.

Around seven-thirty, Zhang Su woke up from bed. The first thing he did was check the temperature. Upon learning that it had not continued to drop and had stabilized at minus twenty-eight degrees, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Previously, morning exercises were conducted in Little Lucky’s courtyard, but this time was different. After dressing, he ran to the mountain gate, simply wanting to see the big tank brought back yesterday.

Upon leaving the courtyard, he saw people everywhere. With his excellent hearing, various sounds filled his ears, making him somewhat unaccustomed at first.

"Today, we must disperse the people out..."

Zhang Su pondered to himself. Having nearly a hundred people gathered in one place was a huge security risk. Triggering the zombies’ senses was like a metaphysical gamble he dared not take, and having everyone crowded together had no benefits.

Arriving at the parking lot, Zhang Su found that four or five people were already gathered around the tank, talking and laughing. They were all core members of the old team from Celestial Horse Island. It seems he was not the only one fascinated, much like when he once bought a Trek bike during cycling days and couldn’t resist getting up in the middle of the night to admire it under light.

"Brother Su!"

"Brother Su, you’re here."

"Haha, we just took a group photo with the tank. The first time in our lives, look, isn’t it awesome?"

Wang Xin showed Zhang Su the photo on his phone.

"Looks great! But taking turns to take photos with one tank feels a bit unimpressive. Next time, when we each have our tanks, that will be exciting! By the way, we’re heading north to find the Venom Zombie, who wants to come along!"

"I’ll go."

"I definitely want to go."

"Count me in, my eyesight is excellent!"

Whenever asked, everyone naturally wanted to go. They were used to adventuring and fighting outside, finding life at the camp a bit dull.

"Alright, just us, let’s not call anyone else. At most, we’ll take two cars. We can’t waste gasoline, even if we have a lot of it."

"Got it!" Wang Xin nodded with a carefree expression, then frowned: "Brother Su, yesterday Yubo, Sister Tan, and Xiaoshuai searched everywhere but found nothing. We can’t just roam the old routes, right?"

"We won’t revisit the old places. Yesterday, I learned from Xin Qi about the specific location of the chemical plant. We’ll circle around there today. If we find nothing..."

"Attention, attention, there’s a car coming from the south! Attention, attention, there’s a car coming from the south!"

Before Zhang Su could finish speaking, Duan Wuhu’s voice came through the walkie-talkie.

As Zhang Su took out the walkie-talkie to respond, the voice sounded again: "Attention, attention, an off-road vehicle is coming towards Celestial Horse Island, attention, attention..."

"Got it, Teacher Duan, I’m at the gate, I’ll handle it!"

Zhang Su replied.

"Is it coming straight at us?"

"Who could it be..."

"Damn, Brother Su, could there be a tracker on the big car?"

Lu Yubo’s expression tightened.

"It can’t be people from the Mountain and Sea District. Didn’t Old Duan say it’s just one car? If they came to seek revenge, would they bring just one car? A suicide-style attack?"

Zhang Su curled his lips; he suspected it might be people from Bridge Town coming to make a connection. Not many knew they were here.

"Damn, that’s bad..."

Wu Lue slapped his thigh and gesturing towards the tank beside him: "Once they reach the mountain gate, they’ll see the tank and our strength is exposed!"

"Yeah, maybe we should quickly cover it with some quilts?"

Wang Xin was equally shocked. He understood the logic of keeping wealth low-key.

However, Zhang Su was unconcerned and waved it off: "Times have changed. Unless we need to bait someone, there’s no need to hide now. I’d rather everyone be too scared to make a move on us. It would be great if we could place some inflatable tanks around the camp, not fearing who sees them."

If intimidation could prevent conflict, then deception held reasonable significance. But Zhang Su dared to say this because the real trump cards were not shown.

Soon, they heard the engine’s roar as the vehicle began to climb the mountain.

"Uncle, they’re here!"

Standing at the sentry post, Pang Dakun turned his head and informed the group.

Zhang Su and his group arrived at the mountain gate and, through a peephole, saw a Dodge Journey parked outside. A man around thirty got out, wearing an ear-covering cotton hat, with his face cleanly shaven, looking very proper.

"Hello, young man, I’m Xiao Xuejian, the captain of Squad One of the Survivor Alliance’s Vanguard Corps. In this freezing cold, I’m here on behalf of Director Gong Chengming to present some gifts to your leader."

Xiao Xuejian leaned against the car door and spoke to Pang Dakun standing at the sentry post.

"Damn, this guy’s really not someone to mess with!"

Wu Lue squinted outside, muttering with a strange expression.

Zhang Su looked at Wu Lue curiously, slightly surprised: "Luezi, you know him?"

"I don’t know him." Wu Lue shook his head earnestly: "Xiao Xuejian, just listen to the name, it sounds like he could cut you until your blood splashes out. Do you think he’s easy to deal with? And he’s part of a group..."

"Get lost!"

Zhang Su pushed Wu Lue’s head aside, thinking he had some important information, only to be making nonsense. Still, he felt the name Xiao Xuejian was a bit quirky, like a character from a martial arts novel...

The world is full of wonders. Maybe his parents were martial arts fans and intentionally gave him such a name, which wasn’t bad after all.

The others were also speechless by Wu Lue’s antics but found him quite amusing.

Standing outside the gate, Xiao Xuejian couldn’t see the banter inside nor hear the specific sounds. Seeing Pang Dakun’s strange expression as he stood in a daze at the sentry, Xiao Xuejian waved and said: "Young man, please inform them. I’m here by myself with gifts and no ill intent."

"Captain Xiao." Zhang Su walked up to the sentry post and said: "It’s considerate of Director Gong to remember us and even send a captain over with supplies. I just can’t figure out why?"

Regarding Gong Chengming’s goodwill, Zhang Su was very cautious. Gong Chengming was not Zhang Xin; simple interactions showed he had skills, power, and competence. Being the second-in-command of a team with over three hundred survivors wasn’t easy.

Xiao Xuejian had met Zhang Su before, though the lighting was dim that night, he could tell. He hadn’t expected Zhang Su to be right behind the mountain gate and paused for a moment before he responded: "The weather suddenly got much colder. In the city, there are supplies not found in the suburbs. Director Gong asked me to bring some over for... the leader."

In the Survivor Alliance, the term ’leader’ was used habitually, so using it outside wasn’t too out of place.