“Holy shit! Are they about to hold a concert or something?!” Bai Mingxi was rendered speechless.
If this had been before the apocalypse, a man like this could be seen everywhere on the university campuses in S City. He would hardly have been anything unusual.
But after the apocalypse, even the four people with their mild cleanliness obsession could not guarantee that they could stay this clean at all times.
Who the hell was this guy?!
While everyone was thinking about this, the Doctor was still doing business with Ouyang Jing. They had just reached an agreement when he suddenly realized that things on their side had become frighteningly quiet. Even the snipers had stopped firing.
The Doctor turned his head in surprise and immediately saw the pretentious man in the distance. He was speechless as well.
But at this moment, Chu Tian suddenly burst out laughing. He pointed at the Doctor and said, “Are you convinced? I’m asking you, are you convinced now? You finally found someone who can put on an even bigger act than you.”
As he spoke, he laughed so hard that he collapsed against Quan Xiaoyu, gasping for breath.
It had been fine before, but after Chu Tian put it that way, it really did seem like that was the case. Quan Xiaoyu could not help laughing either.
She was nowhere near as exaggerated as Chu Tian, however. The corners of her lips merely twitched a few times, without making a sound.
Xiao Ziran froze for a moment, then his mouth twitched furiously with anger.
Only Chu Tian dared to talk to him like this.
There was nothing he could do about Chu Tian, so he simply stopped paying attention to him.
The others found it amusing too, but none of them dared to laugh. They each forced themselves to hold it in.
Even so, the atmosphere became considerably more relaxed.
The battle over there was basically settled. The pretentious man could then be seen strolling leisurely toward them.
The people who had just relaxed immediately went back on guard.
No one believed that the other side was coming over with friendly intentions. After all, their own people had just blown out the man’s tires.
“Prepare for battle.” Ouyang Jing gave the order.
The other side possessed such powerful combat strength, and this man was so full of confidence. Since they could not figure out his true strength, they had no choice but to remain fully alert.
The bullets in everyone’s guns had long since been loaded into the chambers, while the ability users were also prepared to attack at any moment.
Ouyang Jing’s people were relatively calm, while the people on the Doctor’s side were more or less nervous.
Everyone was already very familiar with and accustomed to fighting zombies, but this was their first time facing human beings.
Moreover, almost everyone on the other side was an ability user, whereas most of their own people were ordinary people.
Soon, the zombies on the other side were completely dealt with.
Only a few scattered ones remained, hardly worth worrying about. Whenever one came close, someone casually took care of it.
After the six people dealt with the zombies behind them, they quickly moved behind the pretentious young man.
Gradually, they formed a posture resembling stars surrounding the moon, slowly approaching the group.
However, they did not seem to have any intention of attacking, so although the atmosphere was tense, no one made the first move.
“They seem to have some connection to the government military,” Chu Tian said after carefully observing their vehicles and weapons.
Ouyang Jing also nodded.
He was very familiar with the government military. After Chu Tian pointed it out, he could see it as well.
“Government military? Didn’t they leave two months ago? Besides—”
That pretentious man looked nothing like a soldier!
He looked more like an entertainer.
Ouyang Jing shook his head and said, “It’s said that after the apocalypse broke out, the highest government authorities lost control over various regions. Those with enough strength practically all raised their own armies and established safe zones for themselves. There is a sense that they’re each occupying territory and ruling as kings.”
He paused before continuing, “The reason we’re heading north this time is to find one of these safe zones.”
Of course, he did not say exactly which safe zone they were looking for, nor did he reveal their purpose.
But he had already clearly conveyed the information he was willing to disclose.
Smart people like Xiao Ziran and Chu Tian understood immediately.
Ouyang Jing was saying that those people on the other side might have come from one of those safe zones established by people who had raised their own armies.
After the safe zones became independent, those who had originally possessed government connections had also become complicated. They were certainly very different from what they had been before the apocalypse.
Some people had simply declared themselves kings, and their ambitions had rapidly expanded.
In short, the apocalypse had arrived, and the world had descended into chaos.
Having government connections did not necessarily mean they could be trusted.
As for why those people had come here, that was difficult to guess.
According to the information Quan Xiaoyu had obtained previously, S City was going to suffer destruction. Logically speaking, those with government connections should have learned the inside information earlier and in greater amounts.
So why had they come to S City at a time like this?
“Hey! You people! You nearly got us killed just now. Now let’s talk about how you’re going to settle this debt!”
The pretentious man finally stopped about a hundred meters away from them.
He removed his sunglasses, lifted his head high, lowered his eyes slightly, and looked down at everyone with an arrogant, disdainful gaze. Like a proud peacock, he said, “Let’s hear how you’re going to compensate us.”
By this point, everyone could clearly see the appearances of the seven people.
The pretentious man’s appearance was actually quite ordinary.
He had monolids and small eyes, a neither-high-nor-low nose, and an otherwise unremarkable face.
But his skin was extremely pale—very pale, so pale that it seemed to have not the slightest trace of blood.
It was mainly that pretentious outfit that elevated his overall appearance considerably.
Combined with the six ability users behind him surrounding him like stars around the moon, he really did manage to display a somewhat lofty and superior air.
As he spoke, the man holding the Russian rocket launcher among the six ability users still had the launcher aimed at the people on this side.
“You brought the zombies here and blocked our path, wasting the time we had to leave the city. Oh, and you also wasted quite a few bullets from our snipers. So tell me, how are you going to compensate us?”
Putting on an act was something Xiao Ziran could do as well.
Thus, he similarly raised his chin and said arrogantly, “Oh? And how do you intend to make us compensate you?”
The pretentious man immediately sneered.
The person holding the rocket launcher did not fire.
But suddenly, five vines appeared out of nowhere and shot toward Xiao Ziran.
Xiao Ziran neither dodged nor retreated.
Two vines shot out from his side as well, moving even faster.
He had already followed the method Chu Tian had taught him, holding the crystal cores in his palm and secretly catalyzing them.
Although there were only two vines against five, the two vines carried an overwhelming momentum. In an instant, they collided with the five vines and became entangled in fierce combat.
The five other ability users on the other side froze.
Clearly, they were surprised that the opposing side actually had an ability user of the same type—and that their own side had unexpectedly failed to gain the upper hand.
They immediately wanted to attack as well.
Who could have expected that the man holding the rocket launcher would suddenly turn around and, in an instant, aim the launcher directly at the pretentious man’s face?
The sudden change was clearly completely beyond their expectations.
Caught completely unprepared, they froze on the spot and did not dare to move recklessly.
Only the pretentious man with the rocket launcher pointed at his face roared, “Xie Jin! Are you fucking crazy?! What the hell are you doing?!”
The man called Xie Jin had an empty look in his eyes.
He showed no reaction whatsoever to the pretentious man’s furious curses. He simply stood there, maintaining his original posture without moving an inch.
The pretentious man wanted to go up and slap him across the face, but he did not dare.
The others were the same.
Because Xie Jin’s finger was firmly hooked around the trigger. As long as he gently pulled his finger, the rocket would immediately fly out and blow the pretentious man’s face to pieces.
The pretentious man was both anxious and furious, and he immediately lost the imposing manner and composure he had displayed moments earlier.
“Old Xie, what’s wrong with you? What the hell are you doing? Put the weapon down!”
Xie Jin’s teammates also shouted nervously.
Although they often suffered under the temper of that chūnibyō young master in their daily lives, he was still the person they were responsible for protecting. They could not afford to act out of personal loyalty or emotion.
“Old Zhou, I don’t think something’s right with Old Xie.”
Another person gently nudged the man who had just spoken.
“Obviously! If he were all right, would he be pointing a gun at one of his own people?” Old Zhou shouted angrily.
He was so flustered that he had failed to understand what his teammate actually meant.
If something happened to the young master in front of them, even if the few of them managed to escape, what about their families back at the base?
What would happen to them?
“No, that’s not what I mean. Look at Old Xie’s eyes. It’s like… like…” The speaker swallowed hard.
“Like he’s being controlled.”
After saying this, even the speaker shuddered.
Being controlled?
The more they thought about it, the more terrifying it became!
If someone among the people opposite them had the ability to control others, then could they still leave alive after being the ones who had initiated the armed confrontation?
As long as that person made them kill each other, the opposing side could win this conflict without losing a single soldier.
At this moment, Xiao Ziran and the opposing plant-type ability user were still locked in fierce combat.
Both sides were completely focused on the fight.
Their contest was entirely taking place among the vines in the air. Neither side was able to injure the other in the slightest.
No one paid any attention to what was happening outside the battle.
Both sides had entrusted their backs to their own teammates.
At this moment, it was not only those people who were dumbfounded.
Ouyang Jing and his people were also completely confused.
Only everyone on Xiao Ziran’s team remained perfectly calm.
While Ouyang Jing’s people were trying to figure out what had happened, what they were thinking about was instead:
Young Master Chu’s ability seems to have become even stronger!
When the Doctor had first started fighting, Quan Xiaoyu had quickly moved behind him to prevent any accidents from occurring.
Thus, when she saw the strange scene ahead, she immediately turned her head and glanced at Chu Tian.
Seeing that Chu Tian had not even closed his eyes and had even smiled at her, she finally relaxed.
It seemed that after leveling up, Chu Tian really had become much stronger.
Presumably, dealing with the people on the other side would not be a problem.
It was just that they had not yet figured out the other side’s true strength. No one wanted to kill anyone, and besides, they had government connections.
If they could avoid killing them, it was still better not to kill them.
Bai Mingxi and Li Nan were not idle either.
At this moment, the two of them stood on either side of Chu Tian, protecting him while warily watching their surroundings.
Seeing that there was no need to worry about the battle ahead, Zuo Li immediately called Old Wu and Zhao Bufan over, brought two of his own teammates with him, and withdrew to the rear to guard it.
That way, no one could take advantage of them by sneaking around from behind.