Park Su was genuinely intrigued by this phenomenon. He leaned in closer to inspect the fallen zombies, only to find that their bodies were intact, with only their heads or necks missing.
More curiously, there was no excess blood or gore at the points of severance; the wounds were remarkably clean, as if it was meant to be that way.
Ordinarily, a normal person witnessing such a sight would be scared witless, or at the very least, would feel a sense of awe or fear towards Xu Nuo. However, Park Su, having survived the apocalypse for six years, had grown a soft heart, but when it came to facing zombies, he became incredibly decisive.
Over those six years, the zombies he encountered had become increasingly bizarre, and scenes of gore were nothing new to him. Not to mention, he had been torn apart by zombies himself, thus harboring a deeper hatred for them than most.
While ordinary people might still consider the humanity of zombies or hesitate when facing loved ones turned undead, Park Su would not. If you're a zombie and you attack, you must die! This had become his mantra for survival ever since he was ripped apart by zombies.
Therefore, seeing such a scene didn't scare Park Su; instead, it deepened his admiration for Xu Nuo. If he could have such strength, he wouldn't have ended up in the pathetic state he did. Even if betrayed, he wouldn't have died so miserably.
Moreover, Sun Mu Yang would likely have thought twice before acting so recklessly against him. In essence, all schemes and plots were futile before absolute power.
Park Su understood that since his betrayal, he had developed a tendency to distrust others, making it increasingly difficult for him to trust anyone completely as he once did.
Even now, his willingness to reveal his cards in front of Xu Nuo was simply because he had already identified Xu Nuo as the legendary Master Xu Nuo. In his eyes, a master of Xu Nuo's caliber wouldn't stoop to dealing with a small fry like him. Furthermore, he believed that if he didn't show some trust, Xu Nuo might not reciprocate. Thus, to cling tightly to this "big thigh," revealing a little secret was necessary.
However, to say he completely opened his heart to Xu Nuo now was impossible. At the moment, Xu Nuo was the only person Park Su could rely on, making him significant.
After observing the manner of the zombies' demise, Park Su, with stars in his eyes, followed Xu Nuo as they moved forward, quickly dispatching the zombies near the nearest household.
Park Su thought Xu Nuo would leave after dealing with the zombies, but to his surprise, Xu Nuo paused at the door of the house and knocked.
The residents hadn't opened their door despite the zombies banging on it for so long, and they wouldn't easily open it for Xu Nuo either. However, Xu Nuo's nonchalant threat, "If you don't open the door now, I won't mind destroying it myself, but if more zombies come, you might not even have this sanctuary to protect you. Think about it! I'll give you three seconds. One..." worked, and by the count of three, the door swung open, revealing a burly man with a sickly, sallow complexion.
His gaze was not particularly friendly as he looked at Park Su and Xu Nuo, and his tone was far from amicable, "What do you want?"
Xu Nuo stood calmly at the door, "What do we want? That's a joke. We helped you out of danger, shouldn't you show some gratitude?"
The man, Meng Qiang, seemed to find this amusing, raising an eyebrow, "What danger? I see you're just looking to take advantage of the situation, wanting to gain something from me. Let me tell you, don't think about getting anything from Meng Qiang."
Xu Nuo was not surprised by Meng Qiang's response. He narrowed his eyes, still maintaining a cold demeanor, and said casually, "Oh, really? Looks like I was indeed meddling in your affairs. Since you could have dealt with those zombies at your doorstep, I'll remember that. Next time a situation like this arises, I definitely won't bother."
With that, he didn't leave but turned towards the direction of the other houses. He raised his hand, igniting a broadcasting talisman, "Anyone else here thinks they can handle the zombies at their doorstep without my help, speak up now, and I'll deal with it once and for all. I don't want to work for free. If you don't want to pay for the help, I'll let you handle your own crises. I'd rather go home and take a nap. I certainly don't want to run into situations like his, where I help and get no thanks, only to be told I'm meddling."
Xu Nuo said this because he knew that since they had left their home, many residents had been paying attention to their actions. Although those people were far away and couldn't hear the conversation between them and Meng Qiang, they were likely waiting for their rescue after seeing Xu Nuo and Park Su save the first family. People often think that if you're strong enough to save others, you should naturally save them too.
Therefore, Xu Nuo's words were meant to cut off their expectations, making it clear that it was the family's behavior that made them less willing to help.
At the same time, he explicitly conveyed that they could be saved, but only if the residents showed some sincerity.
Park Su watched Xu Nuo's actions without any objection, especially after hearing Meng Qiang's words when he opened the door. He felt there was no reason to help these people for free. No one likes being dismissed after doing a favor, especially when it's treated as if it's an obligation. Not to mention, they probably had ulterior motives from the start.
Xu Nuo had no interest in Meng Qiang's thoughts. After his statement, he just gave Meng Qiang a cold glance and started walking away, saying, "Don't worry, next time your family faces such a situation, I definitely won't help. I won't meddle in your affairs again. After all, you look strong and capable; dealing with these zombies should be no trouble for you."
Park Su, seeing Xu Nuo about to leave, quickly followed. The burly man's expression was none of his concern.
Anyway, this so-called neighbor had never acted neighborly since Park Su moved in, so there was no neighborly affection to speak of. Besides, Park Su actually had some recollection of this man; he had sided with Meng Hu against him that day. Thus, there was no need to help someone who would only cause trouble for himself.
But just because they didn't want to deal with Meng Qiang didn't mean Meng Qiang was done with them. In the past, Park Su had not shown his zombie-killing skills in front of them. Although Meng Qiang had witnessed Park Su's display of power once, it was mostly Green Vine doing the work, so he didn't think Park Su's combat strength was that high. However, Xu Nuo's prowess was beyond what he had anticipated.
Being the closest, his family had the clearest view of the events of yesterday and today. Xu Nuo's iron-fisted approach and cold demeanor truly reshaped his worldview.
Last night, he had discussed with his wife how to take advantage of their new neighbor, as they had indeed benefited from Park Su's actions over the past days. Every time Park Su went out, he would deal with the zombies around their house, so Meng Qiang hadn't experienced the threat of zombies banging on his door daily, unlike what Meng Hu had described.
It was only late last night when he first experienced the sleepless fear. Yet, they held onto hope, believing that once their neighbor rested and got up in the morning, he would help them out, and their assumption was correct.
But while they were feeling smug, they hadn't expected Xu Nuo to come over and say such things. Xu Nuo was a man many villagers had only seen yesterday.
However, Meng Qiang had seen him three times. The first was when Xu Nuo looked very weak and was being carried by Park Su.
From his perspective, even if Xu Nuo was formidable, Park Su should have more say between the two of them, considering he had saved Xu Nuo. And it was clear that in any case, Park Su seemed easier to talk to (or manipulate).
Meng Qiang knew very well that he had also dealt with some zombies during this time. Although he was tall and robust, killing zombies was not as easy as he imagined. He couldn't quite understand how a seemingly frail youth like Park Su could so effortlessly slaughter those zombies.
Was it merely because he had that Green Vine by his side? Meng Qiang had contemplated targeting Green Vine, but its lethal power was too intimidating for him to make a move.
So, after yesterday's events, he observed that Green Vine indeed followed Park Su's commands entirely. He even considered if Park Su were to get injured, could he seize the opportunity to take control of Green Vine?
If he could get his hands on Green Vine, dealing with hordes of zombies should be no issue. After all, he had never encountered a mutated plant before, and in his mind, Green Vine was probably some kind of rare herb or treasure that Park Su had picked up.
If that frail boy could use it, so could he. In his view, there was nothing about him that was inferior to Park Su; in fact, he considered himself superior in many ways. Therefore, sometimes blind self-confidence can lead to folly.