But now, only a little over a month has passed since the apocalypse began, and second-tier zombies are scarce, so when they hunt for second-tier zombie cores, disputes are inevitable. This is when group splits occur. From their perspective, since the cores were obtained by the group's effort, they should be shared by everyone.
However, there are always those who don't conform, arguing that even though they went together, they didn't attack the second-tier zombies; all the credit belonged to those who did, so the cores should belong to them. The people who proposed this idea were Lu Shang and Ge Qing, whose ability levels were not below theirs, especially Lu Shang, who was on the verge of reaching third-tier abilities, and his abilities were quite aggressive.
Thus, they couldn't confront them head-on and had to let them leave their group, assigning them a small hunting area.
However, in their view, with three of them against just two, and considering the smaller area given to Lu Shang and Ge Qing, they were sure to outperform them in terms of both speed and quantity of core collection.
Moreover, when they went out to hunt, they recruited some lower-tier ability users to join them in hunting first-tier zombies, sharing the cores among the group, but keeping the resources for themselves. Over time, a small team of ability users formed, not to be underestimated in combat strength.
As the saying goes, "One mountain can't hold two tigers." Now that their abilities had significantly improved, they naturally didn't want those two to continue to be an eyesore. So, they planned to find an opportunity soon to deal with them, either making them leave their territory or eliminating them altogether.
However, a few days before they were ready to act, they saw Park Su and Xu Nuo move into the area. The place they chose was quite far from theirs, and the two seemed low-key, appearing more like ordinary people than high-tier ability users.
Especially when he sent someone to spy and saw Park Su running in a haphazard manner every day, it further convinced them that he was just an ordinary person, so they didn't pay much attention to them.
What they hadn't anticipated was that this evening, they felt a significant energy fluctuation coming from Park Su and Xu Nuo's residence. They quickly identified the source of this ability fluctuation as their place, but they wouldn't believe that either of these two had broken through; instead, they thought someone had awakened an ability.
After all, their perception of Park Su and Xu Nuo as ordinary people was deeply ingrained, so they looked down on newly awakened ability users.
But seeing Lu Shang and Ge Qing visit earlier, they thought, "Even if it's just a small mosquito, it's still meat." They couldn't let those two take advantage, especially since their next step was to deal with Park Su and Xu Nuo. If those two were seeking support from other ability users, it could really mess up their plans. Instead of letting this happen, why not pull these people into their own team? This way, it would not only disappoint Lu Shang and Ge Qing but also enhance their own team's strength. If these newcomers didn't cooperate, they wouldn't mind eliminating them outright to prevent future trouble.
However, they were surprised when, despite their courteous visit, the other side not only shut them out but also responded with such an unfriendly shout from a distance.
The short, chubby man in the middle couldn't contain himself anymore, his face darkening as he shouted coldly, "You've just arrived, so I won't argue with you. Know that us three coming to find you is giving you face. Don't give us excuses. Open the door now, and once we talk things through, we'll leave. But don't make us force our way in; it won't look good for anyone."
Park Su was baffled by their words, but given their attitude, he was even more determined not to open the door. If he did, and they rushed towards Xu Nuo's room, what then? He was alone against three; who knew if any of them had speed abilities? If they weren't here to attack but to interrupt Xu Nuo's breakthrough or see who was breaking through, what would he do?
At least, with them outside the yard, they'd have to get past Xu Nuo's array first. Why risk it? Realizing this, Park Su ignored the fat man's harsh words, sat down on a chair by Xu Nuo's door to guard him.
The three outside, after the short, chubby man's shout went unanswered for a while, grew increasingly irritated. As leaders of an ability user team for some time, even if people didn't bow to them, they were at least treated with respect due to their high-tier abilities. When had they ever been given such cold shoulders, especially by what they perceived as an ordinary person and a newly awakened ability user? If they left like this, where would they put their face?
More importantly, if these two had suddenly taken such a stance, did it mean they had been persuaded by Lu Shang and Ge Qing to join their side? If so, these two inside now posed a threat that could not be left alive.
Understanding this, the short, chubby man coldly said to his two companions, "I think there's no need for persuasion. It's just an ordinary person and someone awakening an ability. Since they've been swayed by those two, trying to win them over will be difficult. Better to eliminate them before that person fully awakens. We're planning to deal with Lu Shang and Ge Qing the day after tomorrow. If this ability user awakens today and happens to have a strong offensive ability, won't that just cause us more trouble?"
The tall, thin man beside him agreed but, looking through the iron gate into the yard, furrowed his brows, "But they're avoiding us now; how do you plan to handle this? Just barge in? For some reason, I feel there's something strange about this yard."
The chubby man laughed, "They really think a wall this high can stop us? It's not like we never tried breaking into places before we had abilities."
"A mere wall and iron gate less than a meter high can't stop us. Even if they have a solid wooden door, with my strength-based ability, I can smash it open with one punch. And you two have offensive water and fire abilities; dealing with an ordinary person and a newly awakened ability user should be no problem. Moreover, this yard is no different from the others we've seen; there's no danger here. Even if there were, what could a trap set by a person who hasn't even fully awakened do to us ability users? I think you're just overthinking it. Alright, stop being so hesitant. It's one word: Do it or not?"
The tall, skinny man was still frowning in thought. Although he agreed with what the chubby man was saying, he felt uneasy. However, the tall, chubby man in the middle spoke up, "Then let's do it. It's been a while since we've stretched our muscles." Seeing that his companions had made this decision, the tall, skinny man stopped overthinking and nodded, "Alright then, let's do it!"
After the three made their decision, the short, chubby man stepped forward, gripped the iron gate of the fence with both hands, and with a strong pull, the gate separated from the wall. He gave a cold snort, threw the gate aside, and easily leaped into the yard. The other two, seeing that the chubby man had already moved, quickly followed.
They briskly walked towards the villa's entrance, but soon, they noticed something was off. Although they could clearly see the door, they seemed to walk forever without getting any closer.
This made their hearts sink. The short, chubby man spat, "What the hell is this? Could it be a 'ghost wall'? I've never seen one in peaceful times, and now I'm seeing it in the apocalypse?"
The tall, chubby man, who had been quiet until now, said, "With so many dead in this apocalypse, if there were ghost walls, the whole world would be full of them. We've probably fallen into some kind of trap. I didn't expect these two to be somewhat interesting. Looks like we have no choice but to kill them today. If they've set up something like this in Lu Shang and Ge Qing's place, half of our ability users might fall into it. Or if those two inside aren't just an ordinary person and someone still awakening their ability, we'd be in big trouble by now."
The tall, skinny man, feeling uneasy about being trapped, grumbled, "I told you I had a bad feeling about this place, and sure enough, there's a trap. Now what do we do? Can we even get out?"
Hearing his complaints, the short, chubby man was annoyed, "Hey, skinny, let me tell you, don't blame everything on others. We decided to rush in together, so don't try to push the blame."
The tall, chubby man, seeing the situation escalating, quickly intervened, "Alright, stop arguing. Now's not the time for that. I think we definitely shouldn't split up. Although we don't know how they're making us unable to move forward, one thing is certain: it's messing with our sense of direction, and that usually means our eyes are being deceived. That door must be constantly changing position, which is why it seems farther away. If we separate, we might run into even more problems. The best solution is for us to hold hands, close our eyes, and walk in a straight line."