Shen Chen's vicious tone made the people behind the door gasp. The zombies nearby, who were drawn by the sound, also cooperatively let out excited growls.
"I'm only giving you three seconds to consider!" Shen Chen's voice sounded again, incredibly unyielding. Then he began counting down. "Three! Two! One!"
The roll-up door was rapidly opened. Two strong young men hastily pulled Ye Xiaoyu inside. Shen Chen turned back to look at the zombies, who were only a few steps away, and nimbly went inside. The roll-up door was quickly let down. A few zombies, attracted by the sound, strolled around the door, then their footsteps got farther away. Only then did everyone feel relieved.
A while later, a faint light glowed at the cash register, dimly illuminating the entire cardroom. Ye Xiaoyu quietly made a thumbs-up at Shen Chen. Shen Chen smiled, then looked around the room.
It was a small cardroom. It only had four or five mahjong tables and a few fish hunting machines for gambling. There were thirty-some men and women in the room, who were all currently staring at him and Ye Xiaoyu in unease.
Seeing all the bloodstains on Shen Chen's body, everyone backed up in terror. In a blink, there was a large empty space around Shen Chen and Ye Xiaoyu.
"D*mn it, you little b*stard!" a vicious male voice suddenly said. "You're good at kicking doors, aren't you? Why didn't the zombies just kill the two of you? Do you know you nearly killed us just now?"
Shen Chen glanced up coldly. He saw a fatty with a candle in his hands. "Is that why you wouldn't save the others? Is that why there are so many eaten skeletons at the door?"
Everyone was silent, all sneaking glances at the fatty.
Ye Xiaoyu said quietly, "This guy is probably the owner of this cardroom!"
The fatty walked out, his chubby face jiggling with each step. "You little b*stard. You have a sharp tongue, don't you? Let me tell you, I don't f*cking care about who lives or dies. I only know that you two were trying to draw zombies here to eat us all! You jerk!"
"If you had opened the door earlier, I wouldn't have done that," Shen Chen said coolly.
"Opened the door earlier? Why the hell should I open the door for you? Who do you think you are?!" The fatty turned around and raised his hands, as if he were a superior king. "These two jerks wanted us to die. They wanted the zombies outside to eat us all! What do you say we should do with them?"
"D*mn it. Kick them out!" a young man raised his hand and said.
"That's right!" The fatty turned around and glared at them. "Leave the food, and kick these two people out!"
Ye Xiaoyu drew a breath in shock. She hadn't expected the fat shopkeeper to do something like that. It made her remember all the skeletons at the door. How many of them had he rejected, and how many had he kicked out?
Shen Chen scoffed. "Leave the food behind? You've got a great imagination." His eyes narrowed, and his fingers closed around Black Blade behind him.
"Second!" Suddenly, a surprised cry came from the crowd. "Second, is that you?"
'It's Boss! He's in here?' A hint of pleasant surprise flashed in Shen Chen's eyes. His murderous aura relaxed. "Boss!"
A tall and lanky young man pushed everyone aside and ran up to Shen Chen, shouting in surprise, "Second, it's really you!"
Shen Chen carefully studied Boss. He saw that Boss had bruises all over his face and body, and that there was a deep knife wound on his arm, which was roughly wrapped in fabric strips. Blood seeped through the bandage.
Shen Chen hastily supported Boss. "Boss, how did you get like this?"
Boss couldn't help glancing at the fatty, then he forced a smile and said, "It's nothing... I just did it... by accident."
"F*ck! These three people know each other!" The fatty whistled. "That's just f*cking great! You're all putting on a show of brotherly love, aren't you? D*mn it. Leave the food behind, and the three of you get out!"
Boss anxiously turned around and pleaded, "Boss, this is my classmate. Oh, right. I still have some food. Will you please let them stay?" He hastily rummaged through his pockets, then held up a bar of chocolate in his hand.
"This kid is still hiding food! Did I not give you enough of a beating?"
Shen Chen's gaze grew cold. "They beat you up like this?! Then what about the knife wound?"
Boss lowered his head. "Second, it's nothing. Everyone took out all their food. The shopkeeper is doing this for everyone's sake…"
Shen Chen's face suddenly fell. Ye Xiaoyu also stood up. "Who the hell are you? How dare you demand everyone's food?"
The fatty brought his candle light closer and exclaimed, "It's a pretty good girl! I'm about to burst. That's perfect. I'll have a good time tonight!" A perverted smile appeared on his face. "Leave the food behind. Leave her behind, too, and you two can get out…"
Ye Xiaoyu angrily raised her fire axe and said, "Are you even human? You scum!"
The fatty scoffed. He raised his right hand and pointed a pitch black gun at Ye Xiaoyu. "You witless little girl, trying to scare me with that fire axe? You're too naive!"
It was a military gun. In China, only those with certain status could get their hands on a gun. This shopkeeper had managed to open an underground casino in the downtown area, so he definitely had something to count on. Shen Chen immediately stood up, shielding Ye Xiaoyu behind him, about to draw Black Blade from behind his back. The atmosphere suddenly grew tense. No one dared to breathe. Sparks flew.
"Shen Chen? Is it you?" A female voice broke the stalemate. A woman walked out from the shadows, parting the crowd. She shouted in astonishment.
Shen Chen focused his eyes on the woman, who was dressed up and didn't look to be in much disorder. He couldn't help a sneer.
Fang Yi looked at Shen Chen, who looked a total mess, a scorn on the corner of her lips. "Why are you here?"
"Wife? You know this person?" the fatty asked.
"Of course I do. We're... college classmates, after all. But I didn't expect him to look this shabby, so I didn't want to admit I knew him at first," Fang Yi said with a smile.
'Husband? Wife?' Shen Chen raised his eyebrows. Watching Fang Yi hug the big and hefty shopkeeper, he couldn't help a snicker. 'Looks like she has already abandoned Qian Fangxin. She managed to find a man with a gun quickly. What a decisive woman.'
Fang Yi strutted in front of Shen Chen, looking at all the blood on his body. She couldn't help but make a face of extreme disdain and disgust. Then she flashed a charming smile at the fatty and said, "Husband, I know this guy. For my sake, let them off!"
There was an indescribable tone of disdain and superiority in her voice. "This guy's a total good-for-nothing. It must have been very hard for him to escape all the way here. Just treat it as doing charity and take them in."
Zhao Zhen's face immediately changed. He was just about to say something, when Shen Chen patted him lightly. Zhao Zhen glanced at Shen Chen and held in his rage. 'Hehe, how interesting.'
At this point, Ye Xiaoyu also got the hint. 'This girl is really calling Shen Chen a good-for-nothing? Is she really sound of mind?' But Shen Chen didn't say anything, so she also suppressed her anger.
The fatty stroked Fang Yi's small face. "All right. You're the hostess here. It's up to you. It's fine for him to stay, but make them hand over the fire axe and the food!"
"Okay!" Fang Yi nodded with a flirtatious smile, then walked in front of Shen Chen and said coldly, "Did you hear what my husband said? Weapons. Food. Hand them all over!" Shen Chen studied Fang Yi's face, which was distorted in the dim light. After a moment of silence, he looked toward Ye Xiaoyu and Boss Zhao Zhen.
Ye Xiaoyu anxiously said, "Shen Chen, we can't. We can't give them everything!"
Boss looked like he was ready to submit to the command. "Second, just give it to them! We can't go outside!"
The two of them spoke at the same time, and they both stared at Shen Chen in anticipation.
Shen Chen's gaze fell on Boss's wounded arm, then he sighed. Finally, he tossed over the bag of food. "All right, take it!" Then he said to Ye Xiaoyu, "Give him the fire axe."
"Shen Chen!"
"Give it to him. It's all right."
Ye Xiaoyu pouted her lips and placed the fire axe on the ground. She sat back with discontent.
"Good-for-nothing…" Fang Yi stared at Shen Chen from above. Her expression was extremely contemptuous. The lights gradually dimmed, and the entire cardroom finally returned to a silent darkness, because the light would attract zombies in the dark night.
Ye Xiaoyu asked Shen Chen, "Why should we give them the things we found?"
"Because we have to stay here a night."
"But didn't we find who we were looking for?"
Shen Chen coldly pushed Ye Xiaoyu away. "We found Boss, but we have to bring him back safely. He's bleeding from his wounds. You know how alluring human blood is to zombies. We have to wait until Boss's wounds are no longer bleeding."
Only then did Ye Xiaoyu realize how good Shen Chen was at enduring humiliation for the greater good. Was he really just a college student?
Boss asked with surprise, "Second, do you mean to say you came just to rescue me?"
Shen Chen confirmed it. "Third and your girlfriend are both waiting for you."
Boss's lips started quivering. "Second! Is what you said true?"
In the night, Shen Chen's face brimmed with joy. "Boss, we'll rest for tonight. Tomorrow morning, we'll leave this place and go home!"
The night arrived. Snoring spread through the small cardroom. Shen Chen's eyes shot open. He looked around at Ye Xiaoyu and Boss, who were in a deep sleep, then quietly sat up and took a syringe out of his clothes. The syringe was filled with a black liquid.