Outside the alley, several people were waiting. You Qian was pestering Chen Shiyu, asking about evolvers.
Chen Shiyu did not hold back. From Chen Chao's actions just now, she could already tell he had no intention of hiding the truth. Besides, the earlier fight had been witnessed by Ye Fei, so there was no point in concealing it. She briefly explained the concepts of evolution energy and self-awakened evolvers.
Hearing that he was among the rare self-awakened evolvers, You Qian immediately grinned and said, "I knew it! Big bro isn't an ordinary person. Hehe, this means I won't get infected even if those monsters scratch me. Finally, I can take a proper bath tonight."
Ye Fei fell silent after hearing this.
The scene of Chen Chao fighting the red-scaled giant snake kept replaying in her mind. The overwhelming strength and moves that went beyond human limits left a profound impact on her.
"If only I could have such power..." Ye Fei clenched her fists tightly.
Chen Chao stepped outside the alley and instructed Fan Xiangyu, "Bring him along. Follow me."
Fan Xiangyu responded with an "Oh" and grabbed You Qian by the arm. She then pointed at Ye Fei beside him and asked, "What about her?"
Chen Chao glanced at Ye Fei, whose face was tense, and said, "You can still make it back to the shelter now. If you follow us, you'll die."
Hearing this, Ye Fei's face turned pale. She bit her lip lightly and said, "I'm not going back. Everyone dies eventually. I want to become an evolver like you. I want to grow stronger!"
Chen Chao's expression remained impassive as he said, "Even with the greatest power, you'll still die."
"Why?" Ye Fei was taken aback.
"Obsession," Chen Chao said flatly, looking at her. "A person's obsession is their weakness. Some rely on it to become strong, but they also perish because of it. How long you survive depends on whether your obsession is the right one. In the old world, your obsession might have been commendable. But in this cannibalistic apocalypse, it will be your downfall."
Ye Fei was stunned.
"Let's go." Chen Chao turned around, motioning for Fan Xiangyu and Chen Shiyu to follow.
You Qian, being dragged by Fan Xiangyu, instinctively tried to pull free, but to his surprise, the grip of this seemingly delicate teenage girl was as strong as a beast's. No matter how hard he struggled, her grip didn't budge.
Fan Xiangyu lightly smacked his head and said, "Behave yourself and don't struggle."
You Qian, feeling like a damsel abducted by a brute, panicked and yelled, "Let me go! Where are you taking me? I'm a law-abiding citizen! Didn't we agree to talk things out instead of resorting to violence? Miss, sister, I'll call you mom if you let me go..."
Fan Xiangyu snorted and said, "I'm no gentleman. And if you keep yelling, I'll punch you!" She waved her pale fist in front of him as she spoke.
In the past, You Qian would have scoffed at the threat. A delicate fist like hers would feel more like a massage. But after experiencing her grip, he knew she was a brute. If her fist landed, he'd probably lose half his life.
He quickly chose to surrender and whispered, "I'll behave, alright? Let's talk this out. Violence isn't ladylike, you know..."
Fan Xiangyu snorted, raising her chin proudly, thinking, I'm destined to be the queen of the undead. Who cares about being ladylike?
The group headed down a desolate street toward the hospital. Before long, they encountered a wandering zombie. Chen Chao didn't make a move but instead pushed You Qian forward.
"You want me to kill it?" You Qian widened his eyes and wailed, "Do you even have a heart? That thing's too strong! There's no way I can kill it..."
Chen Chao kicked him.
You Qian was sent flying and collided with the zombie, their bodies crashing into each other. The zombie, catching a whiff of his scent, lunged at him excitedly, and the two embraced like old friends.
When You Qian's hand touched the zombie's back, he felt the mushy, mud-like texture beneath its clothes. He suppressed the urge to vomit as the nauseating stench of decay hit him. Looking down at the zombie's face, he saw a maggot crawling out of its rotting nose. Forcing a smile, he said, "Hi there, how about a handshake?"
Roar!
The zombie opened its mouth wide, growling as it lunged for a bite.
Terrified, You Qian frantically broke free from the zombie's grasp and bolted back toward Chen Chao.
Chen Chao slightly lifted his leg.
Sweating profusely, You Qian stopped just in time and dashed to the left instead. He leapt onto a nearby car, perched on its roof, and turned to look back. The zombie scratched and clawed at the car, unable to climb up for the moment.
Relieved, he squatted down smugly and said, "Come on, climb up! I'm waiting right here. Please, I'm begging you, get up here already..."
Chen Chao gestured to Fan Xiangyu, then continued forward.
Fan Xiangyu understood his signal and made the zombie twist its own neck, killing itself. She then walked over to the car and beckoned to You Qian. "Come down."
You Qian froze, dumbfounded by the scene. "Did it just commit suicide? Is that your special ability?"
"Get down. Now," Fan Xiangyu said impatiently.
You Qian obediently slid down the car window. Grabbing him again, Fan Xiangyu continued moving forward.
During the brief fight, Chen Chao observed that You Qian's physical attributes were about three times those of an ordinary human, consistent with other self-awakened evolvers. However, he wasn't a multi-awakened evolver. Even so, Chen Chao was increasingly curious about You Qian's special ability—something so powerful it allowed him to survive inside the belly of a giant snake.
When they reached the hospital, the entrance was littered with corpses, and the area swarmed with zombies, including crawling infant ones. Catching their scent, the zombies awoke and charged at them with glowing eyes.
Chen Chao led the way, wielding a fire axe. Each zombie that lunged at him was swiftly decapitated with a single, precise blow. He advanced without pausing, leaving a trail of blood and bodies in his wake.
Fan Xiangyu and Chen Shiyu handled the zombies on either side. Any zombie approaching Fan Xiangyu within three meters suddenly stopped, twisted its own neck, and dropped dead, a chillingly eerie scene. Meanwhile, Fan Xiangyu dragged You Qian along nonchalantly, as if the zombie deaths had nothing to do with her.
Chen Shiyu's weapon was a steel pipe, crackling with purple electricity as she swung it, effortlessly smashing zombie heads.
You Qian was dumbfounded, his mouth agape as he watched the carnage. It wasn't until a drop of black zombie blood splattered into his mouth that he snapped out of it, frantically spitting and retching.
The group made their way through the hospital and soon found a precision microscope. Chen Chao stored it in his dimensional space before drawing a bit of blood from You Qian's arm. He handed it to Chen Shiyu, asking her to experiment in the dimensional space.
Being naturally passionate about research, Chen Shiyu agreed eagerly.
Afterward, Chen Chao continued on the journey with Fan Xiangyu and You Qian.