Chapter 203: Mother-Child Zombies and Alice
Ma Dapao couldn’t hold back and blurted it out.
Everyone knew how Tan Yong treated Qu Jingwen—even a former small-time errand boy like him.
Was it really worth it to be so devoted to such a scumbag?
Qu Jingwen froze completely. After a long pause, she turned to Ma Dapao mechanically and asked, “…What?”
Seeing Su Tao’s expression darken, Ma Dapao didn’t dare say another word.
Qu Jingwen wanted to press further, but due to excessive blood loss, her vision blurred, and she felt dizzy. Within seconds, she collapsed unconscious.
Su Tao frowned slightly. She couldn’t leave Qu Jingwen alive.
Ma Dapao immediately sensed what she was thinking and quickly said,
“Boss, let me try convincing her to join us first. Qu Jingwen is capable—otherwise, as an ordinary human without abilities, she wouldn’t have made it to the position of second-in-command. She’s just blinded by that man. If I can’t persuade her, we can always kill her later.”
Su Tao thought for a moment and said, “Then she’s yours to handle. But if she escapes…”
Ma Dapao immediately vowed, “If she runs, I’ll resign from Panliu Mountain, track her down to the ends of the earth, and bring her back myself!”
Su Tao waved her hand. “Take her to Taoyang and have Doctor Zhong check on her.”
Ma Dapao received the order and hurriedly carried the unconscious Qu Jingwen away.
Meanwhile, Wei Xiang and the others were skeptical about Tan Yong’s death. One of them couldn’t help but ask,
“Tan Yong is really dead? You didn’t even try to use him for leverage before killing him?”
Ma Dapao scoffed, “With the way you all acted today, what leverage could he possibly give us?”
Wei Xiang felt embarrassed and grew even more convinced that Su Tao was ruthless. Staying here wouldn’t end well for them.
He nudged Xu Qi beside him and whispered,
“Old Xu, are you really planning to stay? Listen to me—no matter how well the Old Station develops, it won’t have anything to do with you guys. Once you’ve served your purpose, they’ll get rid of you.
“If we leave together, we’ll easily find a place. With our abilities, any base would welcome us with good benefits. Or we can form a mercenary group or buy land to build our own base. Any of those options are better than staying here.”
Xu Qi remained expressionless. “Sounds like a solid plan. Best of luck.”
Wei Xiang, realizing he couldn’t persuade him, became frustrated. He forced a smile and said,
“We’ll see what happens. Don’t delete my contact. If things go south, I’ll still remember our past camaraderie—you’re welcome to come find me.”
Xu Qi replied, “You should try convincing Alice and Nie Sibo instead.”
Wei Xiang scoffed.
One was a lunatic, the other a coward. He had standards—unlike Tan Yong, who took in any ability user regardless of their competence.
With that, Wei Xiang gathered his group and left without looking back.
Su Tao glanced at the remaining five people and asked, “Anyone else want to leave?”
After two minutes of silence, two more people stepped forward and followed Wei Xiang’s group.
Ma Dapao snorted,
“Giving them the option to stay was already a kindness. These days, who wouldn’t kill to get into Taoyang?”
Only three people remained—two men and one woman.
Both men were in their forties. One was named Xu Qi, and the other, Nie Sibo.
Ma Dapao leaned in and whispered to Su Tao, “Ten years ago, before Qu Jingwen arrived, Xu Qi was highly valued. Later, he either got pushed out or stepped back on his own.”
Su Tao nodded in understanding.
Xu Qi, with streaks of gray in his hair, carried himself with composure. He didn’t try to flatter or sweet-talk her. Instead, he directly demonstrated his ability—he could recreate any visual memory from a living being’s mind.
Su Tao couldn’t help but ask, “Even zombies?”
Xu Qi nodded. “In theory, yes. I haven’t tested it on a living zombie, but years ago, during a supply run, we encountered a very small one.
“We suspected it had either been a newborn that turned immediately or a fetus that zombified while still inside its mother.
“When we killed it, I used my ability to reconstruct its past, and sure enough—it had been born a zombie.”
Su Tao frowned.
“A mother-child zombie? I’ve heard those are especially dangerous. If you don’t kill both, the survivor will hunt you down for revenge.”
Xu Qi nodded. “Exactly. We made sure to eliminate both. Sibo felt bad and buried them together.”
Hearing his name, Nie Sibo tensed up.
Su Tao turned to him and asked, “What’s your ability?”
Nie Sibo’s face turned beet red. He fidgeted, unable to answer.
Xu Qi replied in his place, “He can make people lose control of their bladder and bowels.”
Su Tao grinned, revealing her small white teeth.
“Oh, so it’s you. No need to be embarrassed—at least you’re an ability user. Plenty of people would kill for an ability.
“And honestly, there’s no such thing as a useless power in the apocalypse. We’re all just trying to survive.”
Nie Sibo had always been ashamed of his ability. Tan Yong had looked down on him, and his teammates had ridiculed and excluded him.
This was the first time someone had acknowledged his worth. He stared at Su Tao’s smile, stunned.
Xu Qi smiled faintly. “Su Boss isn’t as heartless as the rumors say.”
Nie Sibo nodded vigorously in agreement.
Su Tao smiled. “Why did you choose to stay?”
Xu Qi thought for a moment before saying,
“I trust Boss Gu’s judgment. He wouldn’t have broken ties with Tan Yong over a woman. If he chose your side, it means you’re just as capable, if not more.
“Also, Ma Dapao is doing well under you.”
Ma Dapao grinned.
“You got that right. Our boss takes care of her people better than anyone. You’ll see soon enough.”
Nie Sibo answered honestly, “I didn’t want to follow Wei Xiang, and my wife and kid are here. I don’t want to move.”
Su Tao’s gaze shifted to the young girl in the corner.
She had golden hair, fair skin, big eyes, a delicate nose, and cherry lips. If not for her exaggerated, playful expressions, she’d be an undeniable beauty.
Su Tao tried asking her a few questions, but the girl only tilted her head and giggled foolishly. It was unclear if she even understood.
Xu Qi explained,
“Su Boss, don’t mind her. She calls herself Alice—no one knows her real name.
“She was brought here by a middle-aged female traveler staying at the inn. The next morning, the woman checked out but left Alice behind.
“Since Alice had an ability, we took her in.”
Su Tao immediately recalled something.
Lei Xing had mentioned Tan Yong had someone named “Alice” under him.
Her ability let her enlarge or shrink her head, and she supposedly saw everyone as rabbits.
Lei Xing had dismissed her as a lunatic with a useless ability.
Su Tao, however, didn’t mind. In fact, she found Alice’s round face and odd mannerisms somewhat endearing.
She rummaged through Lin Fangzhi’s storage space, pulled out a pack of milk candy, gently patted Alice’s head, and handed it to her.
“Here, go play.”
