Huang Zhigang somehow had already hidden behind those people.
He looked at Zhang Ye with a triumphant expression.
"Director Zhang, we've reached the machine room, and I've fulfilled my promise to you."
"Now it's your turn to repay me."
Upon hearing these words, Zhang Ye suddenly realized and said, "Oh! You mean how I managed to come up from downstairs?"
"Well, actually, it wasn't really anything to brag about."
As he spoke, he lowered his head to look at the knife and the stun baton he was holding in his hands, a look of nostalgia appearing on his face:
"You know about the Thirteen Taibao of Daoxiang Road, right?"
"I was the boss."
"Back then, I fought my way from Daoxiang Street to the hotel with this knife and stun baton in hand."
"For hours on end."
"Didn't even blink an eye."
"The streets were so clogged with corpses that I finally ran into the hotel."
Listening to Zhang Ye's obviously ridiculous story, Huang Zhigang's greasy face twitched incessantly. Fucking hell, you're still making up stories on the brink of death?
Do you really think my head's stuffed with lard?
And "Thirteen Taibao," my ass.
Where are they?
Where are the other twelve Taibao?
Thinking this, Huang suddenly got a little nervous and hastily looked back down the corridor.
There were only a few bodies that Zhang Ye had taken down with the stun baton on the ground.
Phew—
Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief, and then with a mocking look at Zhang Ye, he said, "Kid, you don't have some kind of delusional disorder, do you?"
"Going on about owning a company, having the audacity to have me call you Director Zhang."
"Look at what level you're at first!"
"You ought to be sitting at the kids' table for meals, and you think of being a boss like me?"
"Pah!"
After spitting out a mouthful of saliva, Huang Zhigang felt a clear-headed pleasure, venting all the bad air in his heart in that moment.
Zhang Ye looked at his hysterical behavior and felt rather helpless.
He had been telling the truth from the beginning, yet the other party not only disbelieved it but also verbally abused a young man of such excellent moral, intellectual, physical, and aesthetic caliber like himself.
Wasn't this outright bullying an honest person?
Unacceptable.
There had to be a lesson taught.
With the principle of voluntary action first, Zhang Ye asked, "How would you like—"
But before he could finish, he was interrupted by Huang Zhigang's loud, uninhibited laughter.
"Hahaha!"
"How would I like what?"
"Kid, at least you're sensible!"
His eyes suddenly narrowed into slits, and his greedy gaze swept over Zhang Ye, finally resting on his backpack.
Inside, aside from a few articles of clothing, there was only bulging food left.
This was Huang Zhigang's objective.
The moment he laid eyes on Zhang Ye, he had noticed the backpack filled with supplies and his overly tidy appearance.
The key question was, where had all these things come from?
Picked up along the way?
Unlikely.
Though he had been trapped in the hotel, the situation outside was still very clear from the windows.
Sanjiang City was swarming with zombies, and the shops on the streets were no exception.
But on Zhang Ye, there were no signs of combat.
As spotless as if he were on a spring outing.
Moreover, he mentioned that he came to the hotel for the generator.
Putting two and two together, the answer was evident; this kid had found a safe haven somewhere, stocked with plenty of supplies, so he didn't need to scavenge the shops at all.
And it was likely nearby.
"I guess I'm right, aren't I, Director Zhang?"
Huang Zhigang looked at Zhang Ye, his face filled with smugness, as if trying to read something from his expression.
Zhang Ye couldn't help but applaud in his mind.
"Impressive, impressive!"
"True to form of a salted fish who's fought through many years in the marketplace!"
"But what a pity, I am quite particular about whom I employ."
"Old men with ill intentions like you are not within our company's recruitment range."
Huang Zhigang was taken aback, his face suddenly darkening.
The kid must be sick in the head.
He barked sharply, "Cut the crap! Tell me where the shelter is, and maybe I can consider sparing your life!"
The six subordinates listening by his side had faces full of ruthlessness, a stark contrast to when facing zombies.
Fighting zombies was one thing, fighting people was another.
They were quite proficient at that.
Several people stared fiercely at Zhang Ye, just waiting for Huang Zhigang's order.
"What if I don't tell you?"
Zhang Ye's remark immediately set them all off laughing.
"You won't tell?"
"Hahaha!"
"Kid, have you not recognized the situation yet?"
Huang Zhigang looked at Zhang Ye with a mocking face as if he was looking at an idiot.
"You think I'm joking with you?"
"It's fine if you don't tell."
"So, which will it be, break the left leg or the right one?"
Two of the subordinates by the side were already getting impatient, swearing, "Director Huang, why waste words with him?"
"Break his legs first and see if he'll talk!"
"If he still won't talk, break his arms!"
"Then the ribs last!"
As they spoke, they laughed unabashedly as if they could already see Zhang Ye kneeling on the ground, begging for mercy.
Huang Zhigang's face was full of triumph, "Kid, you don't really think you can take on six of us, do you?"
He glanced around at his subordinates again.
Six against one, how could they lose?
The advantage was clearly his.
Sure enough, as soon as Zhang Ye heard this, he immediately shook his head, "Can't beat them."
Huang Zhigang's expression brightened with joy, thinking the kid had finally come to his senses and was about to ask for the location of the shelter, but then he saw Zhang Ye suddenly flash a grin.
"But what makes you think I'm alone?"
"Hahaha!"
"The kid's gone crazy, right?"
"It's all because you talked about breaking arms and legs; look, you've scared him silly!"
The security guards immediately burst out in loud laughter, and Huang Zhigang asked with a mocking expression, "Well then, call them out!"
No sooner had he spoken than he felt something grab his foot.
At the same time, Zhang Ye's voice was already sounding by his ear, "What if, there's a possibility, all those bodies lying on the ground are my people?"
"Aargh!"
A deep, guttural roar erupted instantly.
The corpses in the hallway all seemed to rise at once.
Huang Zhigang looked down at the zombie clutching his ankle tightly, and a high-pitched scream with a quiver immediately burst from his throat:
"They've come alive!"
"All these corpses have come alive!"
He wanted to call to his subordinates for help, but turning his head, he saw that they had already panicked and were fleeing towards the other end of the corridor.
Soon, someone fell to the ground, then was overwhelmed by the horde of corpses behind them.
Useless bunch!
Huang Zhigang cursed inwardly, his mind filling with growing confusion.
What the hell is going on!
Zombies are supposed to be dead, right?
His body suddenly lurched, as he was yanked to the ground by the zombie, while footsteps slowly approached his ear:
"Didn't expect that, did you?"
"You've actually been surrounded by me for a while now."