Chapter 133: Will You Fire the Signal Shot Yourself, or Shall I Do It for You?

Within minutes, the escort and medical teams departed toward the safe zone, carrying the injured Zhang Yi.

“Boss, these new recruits are so reckless. Won’t that affect your prestige and authority?” Chen Er, always eager for some excitement, asked Guo Jun, who had been scowling the entire time.

Already harboring some grudges, Chen Er took particular pleasure in seeing Guo Jun suffer silently, unable to express his frustration.

These greenhorns clearly rattled Guo Jun, and Chen Er intended to tease him a bit more to deepen his discomfort.

Guo Jun snorted coldly. Who could have guessed Qin Sheng’s luck was so great? If Shen Shi couldn’t handle her, it was one thing, but he even gave a precious medicine he had guarded for years to Zhang Dong, and yet Zhang Dong still failed to subdue her.

Truly, all worthless!

The more Guo Jun thought about it, the angrier he grew. He said with a stern expression, “This safe zone isn’t some paradise. The zombie forest is just the beginning. If they think enduring the zombie forest means they can run wild throughout the entire safe zone, they’re seriously underestimating me as the captain of the first squad.”

Chen Er forced a wry smile and flattered, “Of course not. You’re the big boss of the entire escort team. What can a small group do to you? Sooner or later, they’ll bow to your authority just like the captain of the fifth squad.”

Hearing this, Guo Jun felt much better. Though still displeased about Qin Sheng’s incident, Chen Er’s reminder was comforting.

Qin Sheng wasn’t the only one who had defied him before; there was precedent. And now that person was still under his command, eking out a living.

“Well said. Let’s give a proper welcome to the arrival of the seventh squad captain.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Meanwhile, Qin Sheng had already ventured deep into the zombie forest, having eliminated every sporadic zombie she encountered. Apart from running into Zhang Yi, she hadn’t met a single other person who had left the camp.

Pouting with boredom, Qin Sheng thought, “Just a few broken ribs, and now no one dares to come out?”

Luckily, they left her camp, or else she certainly wouldn’t have accepted such cowards under her wing.

Given the situation, with no one to find, it was time to head back to camp—just about lunchtime.

Rubbing her belly, Qin Sheng recalled the snacks she’d eaten during the fight with Zhang Yi; her stomach was still quite full.

Glancing around, a sly smile tugged at her lips.

Those people didn’t dare to come out and face her?

Then she would take the initiative to find them.

Without hesitation, Qin Sheng leapt onto a tree branch. From this height, she could see several spots with smoke rising—it had to be them.

Raising an eyebrow, she gathered her strength, quietly moving to another tree branch. After getting into rhythm, her speed quickened, and soon she reached the first location.

A man, just lighting a fire to warm some water, froze when he sensed a chilling presence behind him.

He turned sharply, eyes widening in terror, dropping the torch he’d just picked up.

He hadn’t expected Qin Sheng to come seeking him out.

He wasn’t far from the previous scene and likely knew roughly about the escort and medical teams’ arrival, with word that the injuries were severe.

So he had planned to wait it out—but hadn’t anticipated Qin Sheng’s proactive approach.

“What do you want, Qin Sheng?” he stammered, backing away, terrified of becoming the next Zhang Yi.

Qin Sheng crossed her arms, a faint smile playing on her lips. “Time is tight, and the task is heavy. Sorry to intrude.”

With that, she leapt forward, standing before him, making his legs tremble.

“Qin Sheng, we have no quarrel! Please don’t hurt me!”

The man shouted, desperate to flee, but Qin Sheng’s speed was too fast; before he could react, she was already in front of him.

In that instant, all thoughts of becoming the seventh escort squad captain vanished. All he wished was for Qin Sheng to show mercy and spare his life.

Qin Sheng hesitated briefly, pursed her lips, and asked, “Do you want to fire the signal gun yourself, or shall I do it for you?”

Her choice was blunt: admit defeat and avoid suffering, or be knocked down and have Qin Sheng call the escort and medical teams for you.

The man didn’t hesitate, choosing to give in.

“I’ll do it! I’ll do it!”

Qin Sheng nodded, motioning for him to hurry; she had another task waiting.

Though furious, he knew better than to fight Qin Sheng. He obediently pulled the signal gun from his pocket and fired into the sky.

Reluctantly, but before absolute power, he had no choice.

The signal gun’s red flare streaked across the heavens.

“I’ve fired it. Can you let me go now?” he asked, looking away from the sky, only to find Qin Sheng had vanished without a trace.

She was truly moving on to the next target.

As soon as the signal gun fired, she climbed back into the trees and quickly found the next location.

And so it went, the same method repeated.

“Want to fire it yourself, or shall I do it for you?” Qin Sheng, now familiar with the routine, asked the third man without any preamble.

Most chose to fire the signal guns themselves.

But a few stubborn souls refused to give in.

“Ah!”

“Bang!”

Qin Sheng’s stomach was starting to growl, so for the last two, she decided to take them on together.

The two glanced at each other, surprised that Qin Sheng would propose a two-on-one fight. Believing she might be serious, they accepted.

But once combat began, they realized their combined strength was less than a fraction of Qin Sheng’s, and their numerical advantage counted for nothing.

Both were kicked out almost simultaneously.

Qin Sheng landed firmly, steadying the slightly wavering Tang Dao on her back, and looked down at the two sprawled on the ground, unable to get up.

That was it—the last of them.

Without further ado, Qin Sheng stepped forward, took the signal guns from their backpacks, and fired one after another into the sky.

The two could only watch helplessly as their signal guns soared upward; they had no energy left to resist.

Each fired shot marked the end of their bid to become the seventh escort squad captain.

“Sorry for the intrusion,” Qin Sheng said politely to the two.

They snorted coldly but dared not show too much displeasure—after all, they were simply outmatched and could only grumble silently.

Because the signal guns were fired one after another from within the zombie forest, the escort and medical teams camped nearby would quickly rush toward the source upon seeing the signals.

Having just taken away one eliminated candidate, within minutes another signal gun fired—sometimes even two.

It was strange—had everyone in the zombie forest agreed to fire their signal guns all at once today?

Naturally, the escort and medical teams had no idea what was happening inside the zombie forest.

After a day’s hard work, Qin Sheng had thoroughly dealt with everyone except those remaining in the camp, and only then was she satisfied enough to return.

The camp had witnessed the continuous flares, and as they debated and wondered, Qin Sheng arrived.

“Qin Sheng, did you see that? So many signal shots went up today,” Wang Qiang said excitedly as he approached her, eager to share what he had seen.

Qin Sheng nodded. “I saw.”

Not only did she see, but some of the shots were fired by her own hand.

“That means fewer opponents for you. You're one step closer to becoming captain. Aren’t you excited?” Wang Qiang said, glowing with the pride of seeing a young woman mature.

Qin Sheng chuckled, amused by Wang Qiang’s exaggerated enthusiasm.

“Why don’t we have something to eat and fire the signal guns ourselves afterward? After all, we only recognize Qin Sheng as our captain,” Little Fatty said as he walked over, laughing.

“Yeah, after dinner we’ll fire several shots together. It should look pretty spectacular against the sky,” Xiao Xiao added eagerly.

Xiao Nuo and Yu Yong said nothing but nodded and smiled in agreement.

Qin Sheng pursed her lips, surveying the lively camp filled with laughter.

Her heart was full of emotion.

After this excursion into the zombie forest, her team seemed to have grown significantly stronger. There would be more people she had to protect from now on.

Qin Sheng smiled softly and took a sip of water.

“Sis, you’re about to be the seventh squad captain. Don’t you have anything to say?” Xiao Nuo leaned close, smiling.

Qin Sheng curved her lips slightly, honestly unsure what to say.

“Come on, Qin Sheng, say something!”

“But if the captain doesn’t want to, we won’t pressure her,” others chimed in.

Qin Sheng patted Xiao Nuo’s head, lifted her cup, and stood.

“Thank you for your trust. With me, Qin Sheng, here, I will do my utmost to support you all!”

Shen Shi, who had been silent the entire time, smiled for once upon hearing Qin Sheng’s words and even raised her cup in a toast.

“From now on, we’re one family!”

“One family!”

Laughter and cheer rose from the camp, a rare warmth in this end-of-the-world scenario.

Qin Sheng was not stingy; she pulled out plenty of food from her tent, mostly retrieved from her space stash.

No one questioned it—likely, it was support from that Song Qing’an again.

With Song Qing’an as a shield, Qin Sheng felt completely at ease.