Hearing the words spoken by the chief, most of the onlookers around suddenly realized that not only did they have no intention of opposing the chief, but they actually felt a sense of relief. A year of stable life had not only worn down the chief’s sharpness, but these tribespeople also no longer possessed the same spirit of camaraderie they once had in times of hardship.

The chief slowly stood up, his expression grave, and said, “Such a vile and tragic incident has occurred, and all the blame lies with me, your chief! Back then, we left our homeland because we refused to be enslaved by those superhumans, wanting to build a harmonious and equal society. Have you all forgotten? This matter ends here. If anyone continues to dwell on it, don’t blame me for exercising my authority as chief to expel them from the tribe.”

To be expelled alone from this well-fortified tribe was almost equivalent to a death sentence. The deaths of Hunter and Leo had nothing to do with most people, and no one was willing to risk their life against a madman who could single-handedly take down more than a dozen zombies. Naturally, everyone tacitly accepted the chief’s order.

“Distribute food and medicine to them, and rearrange their accommodations and work. The tribe does not support idlers.” The chief threw out this command, then turned to the parents of Leo and Hunter and said, “You couldn’t even educate your own children properly. Come with me!”

Seeing that the excitement was over, the crowd quickly dispersed, leaving only Lauren Harris standing dazed in place, staring at William Carter. The two corpses were swiftly cleared away by designated personnel; such bloody bodies could not remain in the stronghold, or they would easily attract a large-scale attack from other nearby creatures.

William Carter supported David Clark and brought him into a much cleaner house. A young warrior following behind them said, “This is your residence. As for work, you’ll take over the jobs of Leo and Hunter, mainly hunting. If there’s a battle, you’ll be gathered to defend the homeland.”

“Give me those medicines for treating external injuries.” William Carter waved his hand to interrupt and said, “The best medicine.”

Having just witnessed the recent turmoil, the young warrior didn’t dare offend this ruthless outsider and hurriedly ran out to fetch the medicine.

……

“I know you feel wronged.” The chief sat on his bed in his room, speaking to the parents of Hunter and Leo: “But you saw it just now—he’s a madman. If I fought him head-on, I might not lose, but I’d inevitably be seriously injured. Then who would protect the tribe? Who would protect everyone?”

“But! Are we just going to let this murderer go unpunished?” Hunter’s mother protested, her face full of indignation. “Is my son’s death just going to go unavenged?”

The chief sneered coldly, “Of course this grudge must be avenged, but we have to do it covertly. For example, poisoning, drugging, or even…”

……

“What’s this?” William Carter shook the medicine in his hand and asked, “This is the best medicine?”

The young warrior was so frightened he took two steps back, his face showing shock as he said, “This really is the best medicine…”

William Carter smiled, cursing himself for being an idiot. The tribe’s resources were already scarce, so naturally the medicine they provided couldn’t compare to the emergency supplies originally stored in his combat suit.

William Carter grabbed the medicine and began treating David Clark’s wounds, while the young man stood quietly to the side, not daring to move.

As the anesthetic took effect, David Clark slowly drifted off to sleep. William Carter quickly finished cleaning David Clark’s external wounds, then stood up and said, “Kid, I still don’t know your name. What’s your chief’s name? Oh, right! Take me to your armory. Since I’m going to be hunting, I want to pick a weapon I like.”

The young man followed behind William Carter as they left the tent, speaking softly, “My name is Copperhead, and the elders in the tribe all call our chief Brian Bolton. Um… um…”

“What is it? Why are you stammering?” William Carter looked at Copperhead impatiently.

“Um…” Copperhead took a deep breath to steel himself and said, “You’re going the wrong way. The armory is on the other side.”

“Is that so? Then lead the way.” William Carter gave Copperhead a light kick on the butt to cover his own embarrassment.

Along the way, Copperhead answered all of William Carter’s questions, but he knew very little about the outside world, so there wasn’t much he could say. For example, the strongest warrior in the tribe was Chief Bolton, who once killed nine zombies in a single battle, and another time managed to kill a mutant monkey all by himself.

When talking about killing the mutant monkey, Copperhead’s face was filled with admiration. William Carter couldn’t help but wonder just how formidable a mutant monkey could be.

“In short, survival is getting harder and harder. These days, it seems like there are even more mutant creatures and zombies around the tribe.” A hint of determination flashed in Copperhead’s eyes. “No matter how dangerous it is, I won’t die! As long as you’re ruthless enough, you can survive in this world!”

William Carter walked into a stone-built house, where all sorts of simple and ancient tools were placed on wooden weapon racks: machetes stained with blood, already rusting sickles, a guillotine blade with its base removed, and some other iron implements.