Su Chen was caught off guard by this sudden turn of events, feeling a bit dazed and uncertain.
The group that had emerged from the corridor were comprised of six individuals - four men and two women - all armed with various weapons. However, their appearance had not gone unnoticed, as the elongated ghost near the back door let out a blood-curdling scream and charged towards them, intent on slaughtering them all.
Despite the danger, the man at the forefront of the group did not flinch or attempt to dodge. Instead, he bravely charged towards the elongated ghost.
With a simple shield made of iron trays held in one hand and a long, narrow fruit knife in the other, he rushed towards the creature illuminated by the pulsating light of his flashlight. His display of courage and bravery was truly admirable.
As Su Chen watched on, he squinted his eyes and could see the metal-like sheen that suddenly appeared on the body of the man at the forefront of the group, illuminated by the light of their flashlights.
Without hesitation, the man charged forward and collided with the elongated ghost.
The elongated ghost swung its knife-like foot through the air, easily slicing through the man's flimsy shield. However, as the creature's blade made contact with the man's arm, a metallic clash rang out, and the foot failed to sever the limb. Su Chen quickly realized that the man must be some kind of awakened person.
Seizing the opportunity, the man demonstrated incredible bravery and charged forward, colliding with the elongated ghost's body. With his dagger in hand, he plunged it directly into the creature's chin, driving it upward through its head and delivering a fatal blow.
Do not.
However, to everyone's surprise, the elongated ghost did not fall. As the man completed his attack and stepped back, the creature slowly lowered its head and fixed its cloudy gaze playfully upon the human at close range. Its twisted mouth even cracked into a sinister smile.
Suddenly, the elongated ghost raised one of its knife-like feet. Su Chen could see a faint light emanating from the blade as it moved forward.
With a sharp chirping sound, the blade pierced through the chest of the man at the center of the group, lifting him up like a skewer of human meat on the spot, despite the brief attempt to resist.
The man let out a piercing scream as the blade pierced through his chest. He instinctively looked towards his companions for help, but they simply stood there, frozen with fear, and no one dared to intervene. Instead, they turned and ran towards the back door, leaving him behind.
With bloodshot eyes, the man desperately called out to his wife for help. However, even she hesitated for a moment before ultimately succumbing to fear and running away without looking back.
The events unfolded so quickly that Su Chen was left in a state of shock. The man had been defeated, and Su Chen sprang out from his hiding spot, raising his gun and firing two shots.
The bullets struck the elongated ghost's head, causing it to collapse to the ground. However, the man had already sustained fatal injuries. In a frenzy, the elongated ghost swung its knife-foot wildly, severing one of his hands and leaving a deep seven-centimeter gash on his metal-plated head, which ran between his eyebrows and eyes.
Despite his severe injuries, the man's metalized body allowed him to cling to life for a few moments. His eyes widened with despair and disbelief before gradually losing their luster.
Su Chen let out a sigh and reached out to gently close the man's eyes. However, he was taken aback when he sensed a faint energy emanating from the man's body, flowing into Anowal's ring.
This phenomenon had not occurred when Su Chen killed the woman earlier. Could it be due to the man's metal body ability? However, the amount of energy he possessed was meager, less than half a unit.
Su Chen didn't have time to ponder this any further as the noise from the earlier commotion had attracted the attention of the approaching creatures. He absorbed the energy from the slain elongated ghost and quickly retreated, making his way upstairs through the safe passage and ascending to the twenty-third floor.
During the fight, the elongated ghost initially seemed unable to penetrate the man's metalized body. However, it later appeared to use a mysterious energy that allowed it to easily break through the man's defenses. Su Chen had never encountered this ability before, as he had always maintained a safe distance from the creature during previous encounters.
This realization made Su Chen aware that the elongated ghost's abilities might be even more terrifying and unpredictable than he had previously thought. He knew he needed to become stronger and improve his abilities to better prepare for future encounters.
With this in mind, Su Chen made a firm decision to focus on strengthening his body and creating a battle armor. He was curious about what a battle armor made of black energy would look like.
This time, Su Chen's efforts paid off as he managed to recover three energy units in less than forty minutes, which would have taken him at least seven to ten hours to accumulate through cultivation.
Upon returning to the presidential suite, Su Chen didn't waste any time and quickly went into his room to utilize the energy to strengthen his body. He didn't have the luxury of being courteous with Xia Ming, as he knew he needed to make the most of this opportunity to improve his abilities.
However, three energy units were not enough to strengthen his entire body, so Su Chen focused on reinforcing his head and limbs instead.
Su Chen knew that having well-developed limbs and sensitive sense organs was crucial in detecting danger early and allowing him to escape if necessary.
As he continued to strengthen his body, Su Chen suddenly heard the sound of a car and gunfire getting closer.
He rushed to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked down, only to see a military convoy consisting of two infantry fighting vehicles leading the way, followed by three buses filled with people, and four military cross-country vehicles mounted with heavy machine guns approaching the Tianjing International Hotel at high speed.
That is the military convoy!
Panic spread among the people in the hotel as they realized the army was approaching.
"It's the army!" someone cried out.
"The army is coming!" another exclaimed.
Some breathed a sigh of relief, thinking they would be safe with the arrival of the military.
Su Chen could hear the excitement of the fat man and others in the room as they reacted to the arrival of the military convoy.
Feeling a surge of excitement himself, Su Chen couldn't help but think about the benefits of joining the army. He knew that by doing so, he would have access to more advanced weapons and equipment. Moreover, he could even follow the army to collect the corpses of the creatures they had hunted, which could provide valuable resources for his own development.
Su Chen's initial optimism quickly faded as he realized that the situation was not as promising as he had hoped.
The military convoy didn't appear to be a search and rescue team. Instead, they had a specific mission and were traveling at a high speed, not bothering to search for survivors along the way. They only rescued those who had fled and reached the convoy themselves.
Su Chen witnessed a group of survivors who had managed to reach the convoy being protected by the soldiers from the surrounding monsters. However, the military convoy did not wait for other survivors and quickly resumed its journey, leaving those who were calling for help behind.
The sound of gunfire continued to attract hordes of monsters, and soon hundreds of them were chasing the military convoy from all directions.
Among the creatures were elongated ghosts and high-speed black shadows, both of which Su Chen had encountered before. These monsters were covered in strange black scales and moved at incredible speeds, rendering the conventional weapons used by the soldiers useless. Even heavy machine guns with 12.7mm caliber were unable to inflict significant damage.
Su Chen realized that his unique energy absorption ability might be the key to defeating these monsters, as conventional weapons appeared to be severely insufficient. However, for the moment, the military convoy had to rely on maintaining a safe distance and using their guns to fend off the monsters, as they continued on their mission.
Despite the deadly threat posed by the monsters, the military convoy persevered, relying on their training and quick thinking to maintain relative safety along the way.
As Su Chen witnessed the military convoy battling the hordes of monsters, his earlier thought of joining the army began to fade away.
He realized that the arrival of these convoys might be a sign of a larger military presence entering Midtown. While it could be an opportunity for ordinary people to escape and survive, Su Chen knew that it might not be the same for him.
If he were to join the convoy, he would have two options. He could either use his combat abilities to fight alongside the military against the monsters or join the army's larger forces as an ordinary person. However, both options had their drawbacks.
If he chose to fight the monsters, he would have to take risks and be forced to fight and take risks without any guarantee of being properly recognized and rewarded for his efforts. On the other hand, if he joined the military as an ordinary person, he would likely be grouped with other survivors and would unlikely have access to the creatures' corpses. This meant that he would have to find the raw materials himself if he wanted to make a battle armor.
Either way, Su Chen realized that it would be difficult for him to achieve his goals and show his full potential while working with the military.
Moreover, the number of monsters is increasing daily while the sound of the army's gunfire is becoming less frequent. The state of the world remains uncertain, and it's unclear if the military has the strength to protect themselves.
Considering his current position, joining the troop at this time would be like a drifting duckweed, with no control over his life.
Wouldn't this mean losing the opportunity to grow and develop?
Su Chen wasn't content with merely running away and living in constant fear and darkness. Despite the world undergoing significant changes, he has the ability to control his own destiny and aspires to become stronger, taking charge of his own life and death.
While joining the army and working together with them could be a viable option, it would not be wise to cooperate with this unidentified group of troops while lacking the strength to defend oneself. It would be like setting oneself up for trouble.
A better option would be to wait for the military convoys to pass, allowing them to lead away the monsters. Then, Su Chen could collect the energy units from the monster corpses that had already been shot, making a fortune like a pie in the sky.
Suddenly, there was a quick knock on Su Chen's door.
It was Xia Ming and his companions, who had a look of excitement on their faces.
It was evident that they wanted to seize this opportunity to follow the army, and they hoped that Su Chen would protect them.
After some consideration, Su Chen said "Okay, I'll join the army, but on one condition, I want another gun and all the bullets in your possession! And in exchange, you can take the extra food in the living room!"
Despite the presence of a group of monsters guarding the building's entrance, Su Chen was confident that they would be drawn away when the military vehicle arrived. His only concern was ensuring the safety of Xia Ming and his companions as they left the building and boarded the vehicle for the final distance. As Su Chen thought to himself, "It would provide no significant risk."
Su Chen suggested, "In exchange for a gun and forty-five rounds of ammunition, it's a fair deal!"
Xia Ming was initially surprised, but he quickly agreed, saying, "Okay!"
In that moment, Xia Ming weighed his options. While his pistol might still be useful in certain situations, he had just witnessed firsthand that it was insufficient against the monsters. Moreover, the military convoy moved quickly and had little time to stop and pick up anyone. Xia Ming feared that if he hesitated, he would miss his chance to join the convoy. However, based on the two days of interaction with Su Chen, Xia Ming believed that Su Chen was not the type of person to betray them. He was unpredictable, and he could even kill monsters that the military's heavy machine guns could not handle. Xia Ming was confident that with Su Chen's protection, they would be able to safely leave the building and board the military convoy.
Xia Ming realized that the opportunity to join the convoy was worth more than the small pistol and bullets he possessed.
Without hesitation, he agreed to Su Chen's request and handed over all his guns and the remaining forty-five rounds of bullets.
Su Chen wasted no time and said, "Let's set off immediately!"