The woman's heart skipped a beat at Park Su's pause. She quickly pleaded in terror, "Don't kill me, please don't kill me! I won't do something so foolish again. Just let me go, I was just angry, I really won't do it again!"
Seeing the woman's face shift from hatred to terror in an instant, Park Su couldn't help but marvel at how fast she could change her expression. However, he was still somewhat hesitant. When he didn't know that this woman targeted him out of hatred, he thought it was just the villagers' jealousy for his frequent expeditions to gather supplies without including them, so bringing people here was merely a way to teach them a lesson.
But this woman harbored hatred towards him, and Park Su wasn't foolish enough to let her go. Once someone held a grudge against you, it was like a ticking time bomb in the apocalypse. You never knew what opportunities they might encounter; they could end up being devoured by zombies or gain some advantage, perhaps even causing him trouble.
Although Park Su wasn't cruel, after living through the apocalypse for so long, he wasn't naive enough to act like a saint. So, without responding to the woman's pleas, he stood up, turned to Xu Nuo, and said, "You're right, maybe we should indeed kill the chicken to scare the monkeys. She's yours to handle; I'll go wash the dishes."
Xu Nuo frowned at Park Su's soft-hearted nature, which he didn't much appreciate. However, if it weren't for this trait, Park Su might have thrown him out of the car that day, let alone have the chance to leverage him later. At least he would have had to put in extra effort to survive.
However, Xu Nuo saw that while Park Su might be soft-hearted, he was still clear-headed in certain situations. For instance, with this woman, Park Su didn't want to do the deed himself but entrusted her to Xu Nuo, meaning to eliminate future trouble rather than foolishly letting the tiger return to the mountain.
But this was still not enough. To survive in this world, Park Su's nature needed to be hardened. As for his softness, Xu Nuo felt that experiencing some hardship would teach him a lesson. After all, Xu Nuo himself had learned the harsh realities of human nature through many bitter experiences.
Moreover, the current world was different from the past. Being too soft-hearted could potentially endanger one's life. Xu Nuo sighed internally. He found Park Su's nature somewhat contradictory; he was decisive and efficient when dealing with zombies but hesitated when it came to humans.
Having seen the darker side of humanity, Xu Nuo thought that sometimes humans could be more terrifying than demons. That's why he felt compelled to help someone as pure-hearted as Park Su, especially since Park Su had shown him kindness.
After Park Su went inside to wash the dishes, he knew Xu Nuo would handle this more efficiently. Whether it was in his past life or this one, Park Su hadn't killed many people. When dealing with zombies, he understood that if he didn't act, they would kill him, so for survival, he had no choice but to strike.
But humans were different; they had thoughts, feelings, and were individual beings. Park Su always believed that in this world, survival wasn't easy for anyone.
Therefore, he was reluctant to take a life lightly. Of course, with his past life's abilities, he could only assert himself among ordinary people. Against ability users, he might not be much of a match.
That's why ability users generally didn't bother antagonizing support-type users like him. Firstly, it was embarrassing to kill someone with low combat ability, and secondly, they could provide food, so there was no need for conflict. As for ordinary people, as long as ability users didn't provoke them, they wouldn't go out of their way to challenge an ability user. In his past life, unless he encountered someone particularly malicious, Park Su would avoid killing them at all costs. And sometimes, even when faced with such individuals, he lacked the strength to do much, so he would avoid them if possible.
However, in those six years, although he lived cautiously and didn't offend many, he was also quite fortunate due to his good nature, not experiencing much hardship. The only significant hardship was when the one he trusted the most, his lover, betrayed him to his death!
Therefore, while he knew he should be more decisive and ruthless in the apocalypse, he often couldn't bring himself to do so. However, this didn't mean he was a fool. In the current situation, killing the woman was indeed the best solution because even if he spared her, they wouldn't be grateful; they would only deepen their hatred, and given the chance, they might bite back.
As for his earlier concerns about offending the villagers and causing more informants to appear, he had already thought of a solution. Since this woman was Meng Hu's lover, her standing in the village wasn't likely to be good. Killing her would serve as a warning far more effectively than keeping her alive.
Moreover, with so many supplies brought to his doorstep, he couldn't possibly take everything, nor could he eat it all. Appropriately sharing some with the villagers could also help win their hearts, especially since he had been quite conspicuous with his scavenging activities lately.
He didn't think the commotion today had gone unnoticed by the people outside; in fact, he could say with certainty that many were watching him. Jealousy was a terrifying thing; those people, seeing him gain more supplies, would inevitably harbor more greed, potentially sending more people like this woman.
Although after witnessing Xu Nuo's ability, he felt less need to fear these individuals, the saying "an elephant can be brought down by enough ants" still held true, not to mention they also had to guard against zombies. And as for how many people Xu Nuo could control with his ability, Park Su wasn't entirely sure.
From what he could tell, Xu Nuo's control ability was likely at the first stage, and how long he could maintain it wasn't clear. What truly impressed Park Su was Xu Nuo's Daoist magic, especially the talismans he used, which seemed to have unique effects.
In fact, he planned to ask Xu Nuo for one of those talismans to examine after he finished dealing with this situation.
Xu Nuo was always straightforward in handling matters, especially since he understood Park Su's intention. Without waiting for the woman to plead further, he ended her life with a single swift motion. His speed and cold demeanor made even the only awake convoy leader shiver.
When Xu Nuo's gaze fell upon him, the man, with his face swollen like a pig's head, couldn't help but tremble, "Please, don't kill me. I have no real grudge against you. I was just misled by this woman and momentarily blinded by greed. You saw the supplies I brought; I'm willing to compensate you with all of it. Just let me live, and I'll be at your service."
Watching the man cry with his beaten face, Xu Nuo felt somewhat repulsed, but considering the amount of supplies he had brought, Xu Nuo was willing to spare his life, provided he didn't cause further trouble. However, after such a lesson, he doubted the man would be foolish enough to come back.
Moreover, in Xu Nuo's view, dealing with them wasn't difficult, especially since most were unconscious. If he wanted to kill them, it would be as easy as cutting through melons. But killing them would complicate matters with disposing of the bodies; he didn't have talismans for that, and leaving the corpses in the yard would only attract more zombies.
What Xu Nuo aimed to do was to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys, not to paint himself as a demon to the villagers. Killing one person, especially someone who harbored resentment, would instill fear, but massacring a group in front of others might make them worry they could be next, leading them to cause him more trouble out of self-preservation.
Besides, this burly man was a strength-based ability user. After their encounter, Xu Nuo didn't think much of him, but he also recognized that in this world, having more ability users like this could mean more zombies killed, potentially hastening the end of this chaotic era.
After considering all aspects, Xu Nuo decided to spare the man's life. He looked at the leader and said, "In that case, hand over the keys to the vehicles outside."
The leader of the convoy felt a pang of pain at this; those supplies outside were the result of much effort on his part. However, he was well aware that standing in front of him was a merciless figure, not someone with a kind heart. Since Xu Nuo had spoken these words, it was likely he had agreed to let him live.