The three of them gasped, and Guo Yuan blinked. "You've gotta be kidding, boss!"
"I meant it. C'mere together, all three of you!"
Shen Chen narrowed his eyes and raised his arms in a "ready to strike" battle pose. His aura changed in an instant. There was something dangerous about him.
Their hair stood on end. The Shen Chen they were facing right now was like a ferocious beast eyeing its prey. It was only then that they realized Shen Chen wasn't joking about taking on the three of them at the same time.
This did not deter them; instead, it roused their fighting spirit. After making eye contact with one another, they mustered as much strength as they could, each focusing on different parts of Shen Chen's body.
"Boom boom boom." There were three loud noises!
Before Guo Yuan and the rest could even touch Shen Chen, they were all thrown backward into the air, and started aching all over. He opened his eyes to see Shen Chen standing in the same position and pose, whereas Pan Di and Zhao Zhen were lying on the ground, moaning and having difficulty getting up.
"F*ck!" Pan Di couldn't help letting out an expletive as he groaned.
"Are you sure you're human, boss?" Guo Yuan grimaced as he got up from the ground.
The three of them were incredulous. It was three on one, yet Shen Chen had taken them out in mere seconds! And only with a single move!
D*mn it. They didn't even manage to see how he did it! How lame were they!?
"Good strength! Especially Pan Di. He's the strongest amongst the three of you. But what good is strength if you guys don't know how to use it to your advantage?"
Shaking his head, Shen Chen said, "From now on, whether we're training or killing zombies, don't expend too much energy at the start. Learn to conserve your energy. Otherwise, you'll tire too soon. Watch."
The three of them watched attentively. Shen Chen walked to the front of the TV console. Holding out his fist, his stance was seemingly weak, but as his fist got closer to the TV console, there was a sudden burst of power, just like a Meteor Blitz. There was a loud "poof" as the TV console crumbled into dust.
The three of them were dumbfounded at the sight. What… what was this? They had seen TV consoles being destroyed, but making it crumble with a single blow? How much force did that require?
"Focus on a specific point, and let the energy spread all over you. When you throw out your fist, you need to gather and focus your strength. Only then will you be able to defeat your enemy!" said Shen Chen as he blew away the dust on his fingertips. "Make sure you remember that in two days' time when we go out to kill the zombies."
Having faith in what Shen Chen had told them, the three of them nodded. It was only now that they realized the gap between them and Shen Chen. In a way, Shen Chen was kind of like their "shifu."
For the next three days, they didn't head out to kill zombies. Instead, they underwent physical training under Shen Chen's guidance. Executing one thousand push-ups used to be impossible, but they improved by leaps and bounds after ingesting a vial of Evolution Fluid every twenty-four hours.
Punches, kicks, squats—they did it all. The training was rigorous. Initially, Li Qi, Zhao Ze, and Zhang Hongtao were still able to keep up, but by the second and third day, only Zhang Hongtao bothered with a watered-down version of the training while he played with his son, Duoduo.
Everyone got along better, though, after those three days. Li Jing, Zhang Xiaoya, and Ye Xiaoyu were especially fond of the three-year-old, Duoduo, and would read stories to him.
On the third night, after the training ended, Shen Chen finally nodded. "Rest well tonight. Tomorrow we take out those zombies!"
The three men roared, "Let's take out those suckers!"
"What? We still have to go kill those zombies? Aren't we safe right now?" Zhao Ze was alarmed when he heard their plans for tomorrow.
"We need to find out where the zombies on the fourth flour came from! Why there's so many of them! By right, there shouldn't be so many people in the hotel. Even if there are that many of them, they should all be locked in the rooms," Shen Chen explained simply. What he didn't tell everyone was that these zombies were capable of evolving. After a month, the strongest of the zombies would start mutating. If they failed to destroy all the zombies in the hotel, the zombies would soon arrive on the sixteenth floor.
"But…" Zhao Ze seemed to want to argue some more but was interrupted by Pan Di, who said impatiently, "Enough with your bullsh*t. Whatever the boss says goes."
Li Qianwian glared at him. "Why are you so fierce?"
Pan Di suppressed his annoyance. "Lin Qianqian, it's a guy's thing. Don't get involved. This scum would have been kicked out of the team a long time ago had it not been for Li Jing."
Zhao Ze blanched. For the past two days, Pan Di hadn't bothered to hide what he felt or thought from him. It wouldn't be long before he pounced on Zhao Ze. 'This b*stard. To think I was planning to promote him after things went back to normal.'
There was a hint of resentment in Zhao Ze's eyes. He had already forgotten how, when Pan Di was protecting him, he had pushed him toward the zombies.
Shen Chen got up slowly. His aura was so intimidating that both Zhao Ze and Pan Di immediately shut their mouths.
He then said plainly, "What I want is a refuge that is absolutely safe. Do you guys have any idea what that means?"
Everyone's expressions became solemn. Shen Chen glanced at their faces, then said seriously, "Never leave things up to chance! A moment of laxity could very well end in death for you! This isn't child's play! If there is anyone trying to wait things out over here…" With a cold and serious expression, he continued, "I don't need such people in my team! But the zombies outside would welcome people like that!"
As he scanned the crowd with his eyes, everyone's heart trembled uncontrollably. God! How could they have forgotten that what waited for them outside was an apocalypse! At that instant, everyone nodded gravely.
Zhao Ze lowered his head. "Since all of you agree with what he's just said, may I make a trip to the restroom first?"
"Go!" Pan Di couldn't hide the annoyance in his voice.
Shen Chen's brows furrowed. Zhao Ze was being ostracized within the team, and that wasn't a good thing.
After a while, Zhao Ze finally returned. He had a weird expression on his face: a mixture of fear and hope.
"Everyone's here. Let's go," Shen Chen didn't even bother taking a look at him as he picked up Black Blade and led the way out of the room.
As the elevator descended slowly, Guo Yuan, Zhao Zhen, and Pan Di were brimming with confidence and were eager to test their new moves. Shen Chen reminded them in a low voice, "Don't underestimate them! Let's go to the control room to check out the situation for the first to fourth floors before we do anything else."
"All right!"
Sure enough, when they reached the first floor, there were a few zombies, probably from upstairs, waiting for them in the lobby. As soon as they saw the door of the elevator open, they started stumbling over with their rotting arms raised.
Shen Chen smiled and said to the three of them, "I'll leave it to you guys!"