Apocalypse Cockroach

Chapter 122: How heavy is this toy?

Zhang Xiao Qiang got the women to run a few rounds as training, while he went to the workshop. The moment he entered, he saw a few burly men, they were He Wen Bin and his subordinates, whom Zhang Xiao Qiang had not met for a few days. He Wen Bin immediately nodded and bowed slightly to greet him.

He pulled out a packet of Huanghelou cigarettes and lit one for Zhang Xiao Qiang. He took a deep breath, before asking: “It’s been a few days, what’re you busy with?”

“Haha, it’s the same old thing, I found some survivors yesterday, These 3 wanted to eat their fill, so I brought them to get some weapons made.”

He Wen Bin pointed to the men behind him as he explained.

They were all in their 20s or 30s, one even looked extremely fierce. He had some bumps on his face and was most likely taken care of by He Wen Bin before he was brought here. Seeing Zhang Xiao Qiang looking over, he also followed He Wen Bin’s example and bowed. However, he seemed awkward, evidently having never done it before. To them, since this person even got Brother He to be so polite, they had better do the same.

“Oh yes, Brother Cockroach, I found 3 women yesterday, one of them’s not too bad, shall I send her to your room later?”

He Wen Bin wanted to send Zhang Xiao Qiang a woman as a means of gratitude for saving his life. Zhang Xiao Qiang immediately observed He Wen Bin, who found himself slightly troubled with Zhang Xiao Qiang’s scrutiny.

Zhang Xiao Qiang had never expected this He Wen Bin to actually think of him first before Brother Long and Brother Yi, it seemed like this fellow knew how to repay his favors. Such people were rare in this world, not to mention even before the apocalypse, he was a true man of honor.

He didn’t say anything, and pulled out an M1911 and threw it to him. He Wen Bin looked at the gun in his hands, his mind blank, unsure what Zhang Xiao Qiang was driving at.

“I appreciate you, this gun is for you, live well!”

Zhang Xiao Qiang spoke indifferently, and He Wen Bin didn’t put on airs, as he kept the gun and said: “I’ll send the girl to your side later!”

“It’s fine, you keep her, treat her well. Who knows, she might bear you a child and follow your surname!”

Zhang Xiao Qiang did not lack women, in fact, he was satisfied with just Yuan Yi. And once the little lass grew up, hehe.... Zhang Xiao Qiang wasn’t interested in the woman that He Wen Bin was offering. He was even able to turn down Shangguan Qiao Yun, someone so beautiful. It was still important to find someone who was of a similar mindset.

The few men behind He Wen Bin saw the gun, and their eyes were full of greed. They looked towards Zhang Xiao Qiang expectantly, after all, having a gun meant some form of protection and assurance. However, Zhang Xiao Qiang did not know them and wasn’t a philanthropist. He Wen Bin had done something he appreciated and was forthright, that was why he gave the extra gun. As for the lives and deaths of the others, what’s it to him?

Those men saw Zhang Xiao Qiang ignoring them and they were disappointed. One of them was seething with jealousy. This sort of character was the sort who felt everything revolved around them. If others didn’t have it, it’s not so bad. But the moment others had it, and he himself didn’t, his heart would be bitter and jealous, and he would gripe, and not even wonder whether he deserved it in the first place.

Zhang Xiao Qiang saw the look in the man’s eyes, and he felt pissed off, stepping forward intending to punish him. He had to learn about the new world. He Wen Bin had noticed that subordinate, after all, one had to thoroughly understand one’s members. When he saw that glint in that man’s eyes, he did not say anything further and just sent a kick to the guy’s stomach. The man doubled in pain, while He Wen Bin grabbed a nearby steel bar and without seeing its thickness, he started to pummel the guy.

The man hugged his head as he rolled around in pain, shouting in agony. From time to time, blood would splatter about. Zhang Xiao Qiang watched, disinterested, as though He Wen Bin wasn’t hitting a human being, but a disobedient dog. The rest of them looked at their friend, their faces pale, but no one dared to step up to stop or say anything. The past few months of camaraderie crumbling like ash.

When He Wen Bin was exhausted, he stopped and asked: “Brother Cockroach, shall I feed this guy who doesn’t have eyes to the monsters?”

Zhang Xiao Qiang eyed the man, who had started to kneel and kowtow profusely the moment He Wen Bin said those words. Zhang Xiao Qiang said: “Not everyone possesses the right to eat rice!”

He Wen Bin nodded to show that he understood, and pulled the man out like a dead dog. The rest of them followed closely behind, it seemed that there would be one more person eating chicken feed.

Now, only Zhang Xiao Qiang and the old weaponsmith remained in the room. He saw Zhang Xiao Qiang looking over, and quickly grabbed a bag full of things in front of him.

The blades and the shields didn’t need to be mentioned, the item that was the most eye-catching was a 1.7m-long steel mace, its entire body made of steel, and its head rounded off like a bat. The head was covered in about 20 or 30 protruding steel caps, each of them polished well, to the point that reflections could be seen. Zhang Xiao Qiang held it and realized he couldn’t hold it in one hand. He had to use both and exert strength just to raise it.

The mace stood tall and straight on the ground, giving it a steady feel and aura. This shiny mace seemed no different from those top-tier weapons in those martial arts novels.

Zhang Xiao Qiang asked: “How heavy is this toy?”

“89.5 jin!”

He looked at it and his heart went cold. Such a terrifying mace could even shatter stone. 90 jin plus Yang Ke’er’s strength, shattering a D2’s knee was no issue! If Yang Ke’er ever used this one him? He didn’t dare imagine further, it was truly a dangerous weapon.

The Beast Horn Spear had changed formed as well. Other than the Beast Horn itself which remained the same, the body had been reinforced and strengthened, with a little more sturdiness and weight. There was more friction on the shaft itself, preventing slips. He wouldn’t have to worry about sweaty palms as well. He assessed it carefully and noticed that the Horn and the shaft was not shaky anymore. He felt truly satisfied.

12 small triangular spikes sat neatly in a row, laying on a leather pouch. He took one up and tossed it at a wall. The entire dart penetrated through the beam by half, and when he walked over to pull it out, a small hole was revealed, as sunlight poured in from the hole.

“The workmanship is decent, what is your name? What did you do in the past?” Zhang Xiao Qiang admired those weapons and was interested in the weaponsmith.

“Keke, I’m Wang Le, and I used to work in a cable factory. I’m good with all sorts of work, and can repair cars, just that it’s been awhile.”

Zhang Xiao Qiang’s heart jolted, this was a capable person. If he could bring him along, he wouldn’t worry about his vehicles failing in the future. Plus, he was adept with his hands and was truly a talent hard to come by. All those so-called ‘geniuses’ of the past were useless in this world. There were no cheques, gold, schemes or whatever. Even if they lived, they had nothing. There was only hard work, and skills that were important right now. He did not have the build of a strong man, nor the skills of a fighter, but with him, there was insurance in the future.

As the ancient saying goes: “A hundred miles can wear down a general”, without a good logistics support, who would he find to help repair any possible broken equipment? Brother Long actually got him to eat chicken feed? What a waste! If he could be taken care of and handed all the materials, then each of them would have a fearsome sniper crossbow. What would the zombies be then?

Zhang Xiao Qiang made his mind to bring this man along, with Yang Ke’er and Yuan Yi to protect his back, he didn’t need to give him weapons yet, but he could afford to observe him for a while. If he was decent enough, there should be no problems including him in the faction. At the very least, he seemed more reliable than Shangguan Qiao Yun.

Zhang Xiao Qiang pulled out a cigarette to give to him. Wang Le accepted it with reluctance, not lighting it, instead, he just smelled it. It seemed as though he was an old smoker as well, and when he saw Zhang Xiao Qiang looking at him curiously, he laughed with embarrassment, placing the cigarette behind his ear, while patting his chest to deliver what he promised.

“Are any of your family members alive?” Zhang Xiao Qiang opened his mouth to ask. He had to ensure that those who followed did so out of their own free will, and not for any selfish reasons.

When Wang Le heard this, he became somewhat depressed, he didn’t say anything, just shaking his head, before lowering it.

“How’s your life here?” Zhang Xiao Qiang knew the truth though, how good would eating chicken feed be?

Hearing this, Wang Le immediately raised his head to respond hastily: “It’s good it’s good, I’ve accepted this work, and I get to eat some rice every three to five days. I’m better off compared to the rest. If I wasn’t old, I would also go out to risk my life. In the past, I didn’t know how to treasure rice, now, it’s all I can think about!”

He wasn’t a coward, but with his age nearing 40, his stamina could not keep up. To him, he had to give before he could receive. His meager rice amount was at least better than those who could only consume chicken feed.

It might be that not many people spoke to him, but he began to talk with Zhang Xiao Qiang, about the modification of vehicles, the types of cars on what type of terrains. He even shared some of his knowledge on tools. It was the first time Zhang Xiao Qiang discovered that those knives sold outside usually were good to look at but were useless. The really good stuff were those made of special steel, and even different materials would result in different types of knives. Knives that could cut might not necessarily be sharp, and sharp knives might not necessarily be able to cut bones, otherwise, they might break. Time passed quickly as they chatted.

By the time both of them finished an entire pack of cigarettes, Zhang Xiao Qiang stepped outside. In the end, he had not asked him to join and decided to wait till he settled the issue of the granary for Brother Long, before asking him for the Wang Le, in case Brother Long and the rest became suspicious.

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