Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Guo Yuan was infuriated. He shot up from his seat. “What did you say?”
But Zhao Ze laughed, raising his voice and saying with scorn, “I know hotels are expensive. One bowl of ramen. Is twenty enough? Give us five bowls!”
Zhao Ze regarded Shen Chen and Guo Yuan as beneath his notice. His tone was that of one handing out alms, as if Shen Chen were just the most lowly scum in his eyes. Yes, he thought he really was qualified to look down on them. To Zhao Ze, he was the president of a company, with control over hundreds of people’s lives. But they, they were just a bunch of college dogs who would likely rely on him for a living in the future!
Guo Yuan couldn’t help saying with rage, “There’s none. If you want to eat, go out and find your own food!”
Zhao Ze’s gaze swept over Guo Yuan’s face, then he purposely made a retaliatory expression. “Are you trying to cheat me?” Zhao Ze looked like he knew everything they were thinking about. He weighed his leather wallet in his hand with contempt, then said with a drawn-out, exaggerated tone, “All right! I’ll multiply it! One hundred bucks! Is that enough? I don’t believe you won’t submit to money.”
This was pure humiliation! Guo Yuan immediately became furious. He was about to charge up, but Shen Chen held him back.
Zhao Ze smiled, taking out a wad of cash from his leather wallet, a scorn of disdain on his face. “Those who suit their actions to the time are wise. One thousand bucks. Get out of your room and hand over the food!”
“Second!” Guo Yuan turned around to look at Shen Chen, only to see Shen Chen walk straight toward Zhao Ze.
He stood gazing at Zhao Ze’s arrogant face, then he turned around and looked at a furious Guo Yuan and said slowly, “I used to not believe in the existence of morons, but now I do!”
Before Zhao Ze could even react, he was slapped! Zhao Ze’s smile was still on his face when the wad of cash was violently thrown against it. Amidst everyone’s shocked cries, Shen Chen grabbed Zhao Ze’s collar.
“You’re rich?!” Slap! Slap! “Double?” Slap! Slap! Slap!
The money made loud cracks on Zhao Ze’s face. Watching Zhao Ze’s expression turn from shock to resentment, Shen Chen said with a cold smile, “Don’t treat money as all-powerful. From now on, it’s worth less than toilet paper!” After finishing speaking, he hurled the wad of cash in his hands onto the floor, then left the parlor with vigorous strides.
The loud boom of the door closing made everyone wake from their stupor. Everyone stared at one another in disbelief.
Zhao Ze’s face got as red as a pig liver. The hand that had taken out his wallet was shaking, trembling with rage. He hurled the wallet onto the couch and yelled, “What does he mean? What does he? He’s insulting me! He… insulted me with money?”
Lin Qianqian raised her pinky finger, which had pink nail polish on it, and said aggrievedly, “Boyfriend, you’re the one who said it would be safe here with Second. That’s why I came with you. Otherwise, I would have waited to be rescued back at school. But isn’t Second going a little overboard with the way he’s treating us?”
Pan Di’s face didn’t look so good, either. He was the one who had brought everyone there. If Shen Chen didn’t give them face, it was the same as not giving him face. But in front of everyone else, he naturally took his own brother’s side, so he said, “Second is an honorable man. It’s only because Boss got separated. That’s why he’s in a bad mood. Tomorrow… I’ll ask him for food…”
Lin Qianqian tsked. “Ask him for food!”
“I’ll ask Fourth for food tonight, all right?!” Pan Di was a little annoyed, but then he was unsure. “Second isn’t the only one in charge of this place… is he…”
…
Shen Chen returned to his room, feeling somewhat concerned. Among the newcomers, he only knew Third through and through. As for the other five, they were literally strangers, and clearly Lin Qianqian had Third in her grasp.
This was completely different from the previous life. Then, the four brothers had all returned to campus to flee. In their struggle to survive at school, their friendship had been extraordinary. But his new plans in this life had changed many things. Boss got separated. Third was clearly not the Third from the previous life. Among these people, only Guo Yuan was a companion he approved of.
Shen Chen didn’t hesitate. He called Guo Yuan over and, in front of him, opened the giant room that used to be a walk-in closet. The boxes of resources made Guo Yuan’s jaw drop. Only then did Guo Yuan realize how much Shen Chen had prepared for the disaster. Guo Yuan was in complete shock. He stared with wide eyes and couldn’t speak for a long time.
Shen Chen sat on the bed and said, “This room has many valuable things. You saw, too, that those people have Third in their grasp, especially Third’s girlfriend. I’m afraid that hothead will get used by the others. As for Zhao Ze, he’s not easy to deal with, either. That’s why, when I’m gone in a bit, don’t let anyone inside. Fourth, I leave this to you!”
Guo Yuan instantly realized that Shen Chen was showing his heart to him. The level of trust made Guo Yuan nod firmly. “Second, I’ll do as you say!”
Suddenly, his gaze fell on the protective gear on Shen Chen’s body, and he realized something. “Second, you’re… still going to go out?”
Shen Chen acknowledged it. “Boss is gone. I can’t rest assured he’s okay!”
“You’ve gone mad! It’s too dangerous at night! Boss is…” He sighed. “I’ll come with you!”
Shen Chen smiled. “It’s not dangerous if I go alone. If I brought you along, I wouldn’t be able to say that!”
Guo Yuan knew Shen Chen was right. He would only be a burden if he went along. He could only send Shen Chen off with his gaze.
By that point, it had been two hours since Doomsday erupted. Shen Chen knew that the zombies hadn’t gone through a large-scale outbreak yet. They were still quite easy to handle. If time went on, more and more people would get infected, and it would become increasingly dangerous for Boss…
There were still a few cars parked outside the hotel that hadn’t gotten a chance to drive into the parking lot. Shen Chen pulled out two wires from the ignition lock and connected them from practice.
In the night, the sound of a starting car was especially jarring. He heard the sound of zombies growling. Shen Chen paid no mind to them, and stepped down on the gas pedal. The strong force he felt made him rediscover the pleasure of zooming through crowds of zombies in a car he had felt in his previous life. The dark street was no longer dazzling with cars that came and went. The green belts along the sides of the street looked like primal jungles, which monsters lurked in in the night wind. Shen Chen held the steering wheel in both hands, his eyes locked on the windshield. The road was clear ahead. There were no remaining cars on the street. Only a few zombies swayed around.
Bang! Bang!
From the dim bushes, two zombies jumped at the car. Shen Chen scoffed and drove over them without hesitation. Their brains and rotting flesh sprayed on the windshield. With a sweep of the windshield wiper, they were gone without a trace.
Suddenly, Shen Chen’s eyebrows twitched. When he hit the zombies with his car, he had sensed something off. Shen Chen grabbed his knife, quickly looking through the entire car. There was nothing wrong.
Shen Chen carefully recalled the details of what had happened after he hit the zombies. His gaze fell on the car trunk, and a cold smile flashed across his lips. He floored the gas pedal, then stepped on the brake. As he expected, he heard the thump of a heavy object in the trunk!
Shen Chen parked the car on the side of the road. He closed the car door and walked to the back of the car, raising his Black Blade without hesitation and shouting, “Come out!”
On the side of the road, the car was completely silent. Shen Chen chuckled, kicking the trunk forcefully, then he heard a cry come from the trunk.
“Come out!”
But the person hiding in the trunk clearly didn’t plan on coming out. Annoyed, Shen Chen opened the trunk. When he saw what was inside, he frowned. In the small trunk, there was a girl hidden inside. She was curled up in the trunk, showing only a part of her face, staring at Shen Chen in shock and confusion.
“Get out.”
“I won’t.”
“Get out.”
“This is my car! Why should I get out?!” The girl stared at Shen Chen in alarm, her hands grabbing tightly onto the car.
Shen Chen was getting a headache. He never would have expected that he would drive a car with an owner still in it, and he definitely wouldn’t have expected the owner of such a burly SUV to be a delicate little girl. He could only sigh and say, “Get out. I’ll take you back to the hotel first. It’s not safe here.”
The girl stared at Shen Chen in alarm. “I won’t get out! I ran back into the car from the hotel! The hotel is filled with zombies. Don’t try to swindle me!”
Shen Chen scratched his head helplessly. Even after living two lives, he was instinctively helpless around women. He pointed to Black Blade and the bloodstains all over himself and explained patiently, “It’s very dangerous for you to stay in the car. I have to drive back to the downtown area to save someone. This means I’m entering territory with hundreds and thousands of zombies in a bit. Do you know what that means?”
Only then did the girl let out a sigh of relief, but she quickly shook her head. “It’s more dangerous for me to stay here alone. At least if I follow you, I can ask you to kill me before I’m eaten by a zombie!”
The girl’s words stunned Shen Chen. Her fearless expression made him recall people in his previous life who had shot themselves after being surrounded by zombies.
Suddenly, the girl covered her mouth, panic in her eyes. She stared directly behind Shen Chen. Shen Chen looked back and saw two zombies that were like humanoid grasshoppers. They jumped up from the side of the road and jumped toward Shen Chen with bloody open mouths and meat in their teeth.
“Oh!” The girl was shocked! She didn’t know what to do at all! Her expression was full of horror and panic. Her knees went weak. To her, the handsome man before her was going to turn into zombie food the next moment! But she saw the light of a blade shoot through the night sky. She heard two “shunk”s, and when she came to again, the two zombies’ heads were no longer on their bodies.
The girl stared at Shen Chen in disbelief, her mouth wide open. She couldn’t say anything for a while. ‘This man, how is he so aggressive?’ she thought. She suddenly realized what Shen Chen had meant earlier. ‘This man is so powerful. He probably wouldn’t care about my life.’ At the thought, her face became pale.
Unexpectedly, Shen Chen was silent for a while, then he waved his hand. “Sit in the front passenger seat. Be careful. If you follow me, you might die even sooner.”