With a shout, the onlookers were squeezed aside.
A dozen young men rushed in, each of them carrying a malicious air.
"Brother Peng."
The dozen young men shouted in unison, steel pipes in their hands. Some timid homeowners and workers left quickly in fright, not daring to watch any longer.
......
Zhang Depeng, who had taken a few steps back, stopped.
"Pssh!"
He spat fiercely, facing Uncle Zombie who took pressuring strides toward him. Zhang Depeng broke into a menacing laugh.
It was impossible to monopolize a neighborhood of this size with just three men. Did they think he only had a few lackeys? They were too naive.
These days, brawny men didn't mean ruthless fighters. The real ruthlessness came from youngsters.
Young, passionate, impulsive, dumb, and inconsiderate of consequences. People with these traits were the scariest.
These youngsters weren't married with kids; they wanted things to be easy. As long as there was money at stake, it was common for them to fight. As compared to men that had to think about their families, these youngsters were Zhang Depeng's real support.
When he saw his underlings arrive, Zhang Depeng's arrogance soared.
Lu Chuan narrowed his eyes. Secretly, he told Uncle Zombie to stop and for Guo Zheng and the others to loosen their grips.
The dozen young men surrounded Lu Chuan and the others without Zhang Depeng's instructions.
"Kill them! How dare they cause trouble."
"This kid is strong enough, hit him."
"How dare he bully Brother Peng, he must have a death wish."
"This old man is trying to kill himself."
The youngsters had angry expressions on their faces as they waved the steel pipes in their hands. Their numbers gave them confidence, and they seemed eager for a fight.
"Why aren't you arrogant anymore?"
Confident that he held the winning ticket, Zhang Depeng walked in front of Lu Chuan.
Uncle Zombie stood before Zhang Depeng and took out a fruit knife from his pocket without any expression.
Zhang Depeng's face fell and he took a few steps back, staring at Uncle Zombie.
On the contrary, the dozen young men became more excited when they saw the knife. They were all holding long steel pipes, would they be afraid of a tiny fruit knife? They weren't afraid that the matter would blow up, as that would make things more exciting and they'd appear more heroic.
Uncle Zombie disregarded Zhang Depeng's retreat. He held the fruit knife and stabbed his own thigh without hesitation.
"F*ck!"
Zhang Depeng and the dozen young men were dumbfounded.
Is he self-mutilating?
Uncle Zombie's strength and straightforward way of thinking didn't have any flexibility; he executed Lu Chuan's every command to the letter. He stabbed himself with full strength, and the 20-centimeter fruit knife went straight into his thigh, leaving only the handle.
The fruit knife penetrated Uncle Zombie's thigh until the tip was exposed.
The homeowners and workers who were watching were dumbfounded as well. They stared blankly with their mouths wide open.
The knife went through his thigh. How ruthless was he to be able to do that?
But…
Uncle Zombie's face was as expressionless as before, frozen, stoic, and infinitely cold.
It seemed as though the knife hadn't hurt him but someone else.
Before the onlookers could return to their senses, Uncle Zombie exerted more strength and pulled the fruit knife out. Blood spurted, turning the place into a bloody and chilling scene.
Gulp.
A few weak-hearted individuals couldn't help swallowing. It was horrible.
Pssh!
Before they could react, the knife rose and fell again. Uncle Zombie stabbed his other thigh, and it went right through like the previous time.
"Oh my goodness!"
Even the most ruthless person wouldn't be able call himself ruthless when they saw Uncle Zombie's actions.
This sort of self-mutilation could only be done by someone ruthless enough.
Damn, those were his own thighs, and he did it without hesitation on both! With his ruthlessness, he could be an important figure anywhere. He was definitely a ruthless person.
Who wouldn't feel terrified faced with someone like him?
He had a sickly appearance and with the amount of blood he lost, it was possible for a hemorrhage shock or even death.
Zhang Depeng was frightened, and he looked at the fruit knife that penetrated Uncle Zombie's thigh in horror.
Uncle Zombie's expression was a stark contrast to his. There didn't seem to be any change. He was so cold it seemed as though his thighs weren't his own. He didn't make any noise despite the intense pain.
The stark contrast frightened Zhang Depeng intensely.
A ruthless person like him who could treat himself so brutally would be even worse toward his enemies.
The dozen of fearless young men watched with mouths wide open. They didn't dare to take another breath and lowered the steel pipes they were holding.
In the face of such a ruthless person, they could feel their courage failing.
In a real conflict, such a person would dare to kill.
No one wants to die.
Glancing at the blood all over the floor, the situation seemed to have gotten out of hand.
Uncle Zombie pulled out the fruit knife again and held it in his hand. His hollow and emotionless eyes swept past Zhang Depeng's body, the chilling aura causing Zhang Depeng to shiver.
It seemed as though he could stab himself at any moment.
It wasn't just Uncle Zombie, that little kid and old man… all had the same expressions.
"Could they also be ruthless?"
Zhang Depeng was frightened. He hadn't expected the supervisor of a tiny renovation company to be so incredible, easily bringing in so many ruthless individuals.
With a dark expression on his face, Zhang Depeng gritted his teeth. "Let's go."
Zhang Depeng saw that some homeowners had been taking photos, and some had made phone calls. He was afraid they had called the police.
The other party had self-mutilated but once the police came and investigated further, he would be implicated.
The group fled.
Watching them leave, Lu Chuan broke into a meaningful smile.
......
Lu Chuan had planned everything when he manufactured the zombies.
These zombies had a name and a human form.
But they didn't have an identity or a registered permanent residence. To put it bluntly, he was tricking them. Ever since the start, Lu Chuan hadn't planned to go hard. If the police came, how was he supposed to resolve the issue of their identities?
Hence, Lu Chuan decided to use deterrence.
Their zombie status and immortality were part of Lu Chuan's plan.
If they couldn't hurt others, they would hurt themselves. Besides, Uncle Zombie could even stab his own heart a few times, stabbing his thighs was a piece of cake.
Lu Chuan had tested Uncle Zombie back when they were on the bus, and he didn't shed a drop of blood.
On the bus, he could claim it was magic.
But to deter Zhang Depeng and his men, he couldn't say it was magic: he needed realistic effects.
Before arriving at the neighborhood, Lu Chuan had packed two bags of red ink and tied them to Uncle Zombie's thighs, his pants hiding them. The bags burst when the knife came down, and naturally, "blood" spewed out.
The realistic effect, coupled with the brutal force Uncle Zombie used to stab through his thigh… Lu Chuan gave 100 marks to the scene.
Looking at Uncle Zombie's actions, even Lu Chuan who knew the real situation could feel his heart beating rapidly, let alone the others.
As soon as Zhang Depeng left, Lu Chuan said, "Disperse, disperse."
Unwilling to linger any longer, Lu Chuan brought the zombies to the elevator and left the scene.
Uncle Zombie, who had been beyond ruthless just minutes ago, held onto the fruit knife and took large strides away without displaying any abnormality. From the way he walked, he looked nothing like a man who had just stabbed himself.
The homeowners and workers that hadn't dispersed were dumbfounded.