Looking back, without such prowess, how could they have allowed everyone to spend two hours safely looting a large mall while only the two of them handled the zombies outside?
Now, thinking about how many zombies they must have killed in those two hours was mind-boggling, especially after seeing zombies reduced to white ash. It reminded him of the heaps of white ash they saw outside the mall on the first day - probably the remains of the zombies they had killed.
So, how many zombies did they have to kill to make such a massive pile of ashes?
Realizing that even two level-three ability users were so obedient to them, it was clear these two were no ordinary ability users. All his previous worries seemed pointless now.
Now, the reason he felt a bit dazed was simply because he hadn't imagined he'd be collecting resources alongside such formidable fighters!
After going around with them, he suddenly felt that perhaps they really could win the upcoming bet!
Meanwhile, Ge Qing and Lü Xia followed Park Su and Xu Nuo downstairs, occasionally glancing at Shi Lei with his completely dumbfounded look, sharing a glance between themselves that conveyed a sense of helplessness and camaraderie.
They remembered their own reactions when they first witnessed the combat capabilities of these two were probably quite similar to Shi Lei's, though perhaps slightly less exaggerated.
Did this count as regaining some dignity? But after this, Shi Lei must have been thoroughly convinced by Xu Nuo and Park Su's fighting prowess, right?
At this point, they were completely trusting Xu Nuo and Park Su blindly. If they encountered any crisis that these two couldn't handle together, they would likely just have to wait for death.
As for Park Su, he thought Xu Nuo's decision was somewhat odd; he truly didn't understand why Xu Nuo suddenly decided to bring Shi Lei into their zombie-clearing operation. After all, they didn't really need extra help for this task; Lü Xia picking up zombie cores would have sufficed. Bringing Shi Lei in seemed like Xu Nuo was intentionally drawing him into their circle.
But for someone like Xu Nuo, who typically shunned making friends, why make such a decision out of the blue?
He initially wanted to communicate with Xu Nuo telepathically, but then decided to wait until they were back in their room, so he held his tongue.
Once they were back downstairs, Lu Shang had already assigned rooms and distributed the talismans.
With the livable room numbers announced, everyone returned to their respective rooms. Park Su and Xu Nuo took the room closest to the entrance, both to ensure the safety of the other ability users and as a gesture of leadership.
Their actions naturally instilled confidence in those who were initially skeptical about the talismans. No matter what, with the team leaders taking such measures, at least zombies would have to get past them first, demonstrating their sincerity.
Once back in their room, Park Su immediately voiced his confusion. Xu Nuo didn't hide anything from him and shared his thoughts, "I used to think that just the two of us, fighting guerrilla, could gather enough resources to live well in this apocalypse.
But you meeting Cheng Mingxu and having to speak to him nicely instead of seeking vengeance gave me some insights. If it's just the two of us against him, we can easily take on ten enemies.
And with further breakthroughs in my Taoist arts, I might be able to deal with even more. However, we are still human, with people we care about. I have you, and you have your mother."
"We might be fine on our own, able to escape from their forces and even inflict some damage when they come for us. But what about the people we care about? You might be fine, but what about your mother?
Moreover, your emotions are richer than mine; over time, the number of people you care about will only grow. How can just the two of us protect so many?"
By the end of his statement, Xu Nuo's tone carried a hint of sourness, but he persisted in explaining his thoughts, "So, I thought, maybe we need a force of our own, a team strong enough that no one dares to provoke us. Just hearing our name would make them instinctively avoid or even try to appease us, never daring to harbor any malicious intent.
Only then can you do what you want without constantly worrying about consequences. And Shi Lei's ability, I've seen it; his petrification skill is quite useful. It's just that his level is too low now. But with us, we can help him gather enough zombie cores to elevate his level faster.
If he joins us, our cooperation could lead to higher lethality, allowing us to kill more zombies in a shorter time. More importantly, Shi Lei's character is good; he hasn't abandoned his elderly, non-combatant mother in this apocalypse, choosing to live in less favorable conditions to keep her safe. That shows some filial piety and also reveals his vulnerability.
Showing him some of our hidden techniques now is also a test for him. In the end, whether he wants to join us will be his choice; I won't force him."
Park Su was genuinely taken aback by Xu Nuo's speech. He quickly interjected, "So, what you're saying is, you want to build a team? And train it to a level where other forces would fear us? Why? Aren't you the one who hates trouble and despises owing favors?"
He paused, then pointed at himself, "Are you doing this all because of me, Xu Nuo? I know you want to be good to me, but I really don't want you to do things you don't want to do for my sake. Just like you wouldn't want me to change who I am for you, I don't want you to do things that make you uncomfortable because of me."
Xu Nuo smiled at his reaction, "There's nothing wrong with me taking care of my spouse. Plus, this isn't something that bothers me.
I'm in charge of selecting and evaluating people, but interacting with them, that's all up to you, my wife. Even though you're my husband, we're both men, so there's no division of labor like inside or outside the home.
I'm better at judging people and making decisive decisions, but when it comes to communication and making people like us, I'm not as good as you.
When facing enemies, my temperament is advantageous, but for teammates, yours is better. It's only after we've been together that I've realized we're a perfect match, complementing each other.
I know what you're going to say. In my past life, I was probably a loner, but you don't know the me from my past life. How do you know I was happy then?
I would love to have someone to change for, to cherish, to care about. So, you really don't need to feel guilty about this."
Park Su had to admit, his lover's words were quite convincing. If he truly had returned to his past life...
Then, the Xu Nuo he saw at that time was indeed cold and lonely, devoid of warmth. Since he had agreed to be with Xu Nuo now, he naturally didn't want to see him like that again.
However, he truly didn't know if Xu Nuo was doing this for him or for himself, and for a moment, he was unsure whether to agree to Xu Nuo's plan.
Xu Nuo evidently noticed his hesitation and pulled him into an embrace, smiling, "You really don't need to overthink this. Even if we want to recruit Shi Lei, he might not be willing, especially since he has family to consider. Does he really need to take on the risks with us? Plus, this idea of mine is just starting; building such a team will take time and strength."
Park Su came back to his senses, realizing why he trusted Xu Nuo so much. Firstly, their relationship was already good before, and Xu Nuo was the first ability user he met in this apocalypse. Secondly, because he knew the strength of Xu Nuo from their past life, he trusted him. But others might not share this perspective.
So, as Xu Nuo said, he was indeed thinking too much. It was more practical to focus on how to win the bet impressively.
Xu Nuo breathed a sigh of relief seeing Park Su temporarily set the matter aside. He had already discussed it with Park Su, and he planned to proceed. If Park Su chose to forget about it, that was his choice.
For Xu Nuo, anything that could benefit his spouse was something he would do without hesitation. He believed that once Park Su experienced the advantages of having such a team, he would be willing to help.
That night, Park Su and Xu Nuo slept with their feet touching, perhaps due to the day's exertions, Park Su slept deeply, while Xu Nuo set up a small formation at the stairwell before going to bed.
The next morning, Park Su woke up feeling refreshed, while Xu Nuo had just finished cultivating and replaced about ten talismans before looking up at him, "Let's go, time for today's big sweep!"
Park Su immediately walked over with a smile, "You didn't wake me up today? Do we have enough talismans?"
Hearing this, Xu Nuo pinched his nose, saying with some resignation, "To be honest, if I hadn't stocked up enough talismans when you were unconscious before, we'd be running low now! Once we run out of talismans, I'll have to resort to hand-to-hand combat. I've used quite a few for this bet. After we're done, I want to take some time to rest and replenish our talisman stock before we set out again."
Park Su swatted away his teasing hand, laughing, "Alright, alright, I'll listen to you! But no more touching and teasing, I'm not a girl who likes that kind of thing!"