Just Happened to Be Passing By

Had Dharma King done anything wrong?

He hadn't provoked Chen Luo, yet he'd still been eaten.

At that moment, three survivors were cautiously watching Chen Luo from the cold storage facility's rooftop.

They were all employees of the facility, two men and one woman.

The two men, Gu Tao and Tong Yuanhang, were strong, sturdy loaders in their thirties.

The woman was Zhang Meng, the facility's accountant, a somewhat pretty woman in her twenties.

When the apocalypse broke out, Gu Tao and Tong Yuanhang had no work to do and were chatting beside the facility, some distance from everyone else.

The sight of the zombies had nearly made them piss themselves. With zombies blocking their way, they hadn't dared break through. Familiar with the facility's layout, they hurried inside, took the stairs to the roof, and sealed off its entrance.

Zhang Meng had been somewhat lucky. She hadn't been in the office at the time.

When she noticed the change, she fled screaming, happened to spot Gu Tao and Tong Yuanhang, and followed them up to the roof.

The zombies had discovered the three of them, but couldn't do anything to them on the roof. They could only block the way below. Once Chen Luo arrived, they charged at him instead.

The three had watched Chen Luo run the zombies over with his truck.

Zhang Meng said excitedly, "Let's ask him to take us away."

Tong Yuanhang said, "That heavy truck has a cargo compartment. The cab alone can fit five or six people. I don't even know how my wife is doing back home. I'm worried sick. We'll definitely be safe in that truck."

They had all seen a single heavy truck kill more than a hundred zombies.

Gu Tao shook his head as he smoked. "Only in open areas. There are too many cars in the city to pick up speed. If you get blocked in, you're still just waiting to die."

Zhang Meng said worriedly, "The internet was still working when things first changed, so I checked online. Lots of people said they'd seen zombies. You don't think the whole world has become like this, do you?"

Tong Yuanhang said, "Whatever happens, I have to go home and check. This truck is a lot better than the other vehicles at our facility."

Zhang Meng agreed.

Gu Tao thought otherwise. "Is he your dad or something? Why would he do whatever you tell him to? That driver's ruthless. Otherwise, he couldn't have done what he just did."

"Yuanhang, would he risk his life to escort you home?"

"I reckon he knows we've got supplies here and came to take some. Once he's got them, he'll leave. He won't give a shit about you."

Tong Yuanhang froze. If he were the driver and some stranger asked him for a ride home, he certainly wouldn't agree either.

Why risk yourself to help someone you had no connection to?

Gu Tao said viciously, "Better for us to have that truck than someone else. Let's take it from him."

"Even if this wasn't the end of the world, what we're doing is called... emergency necessity. It doesn't count as robbery. We won't kill him, either. We'll just restrain him."

Zhang Meng suddenly said, "Look, is he wearing... armor?"

Gu Tao and Tong Yuanhang immediately looked over. Both were stunned and exclaimed at how badass it was.

The heavy truck was formidable, but getting out was dangerous. Armor changed that.

Gu Tao became even more determined to rob Chen Luo. "What do you two say?"

Tong Yuanhang immediately said, "Yeah, let's take it. This punk actually wants to steal supplies from our facility. We can't let that slide."

Zhang Meng hesitated, then agreed. Better for her coworkers to have it than Chen Luo. At least she knew them much better than a stranger, and they'd help her out for the sake of being coworkers.

Seeing that both agreed, Gu Tao chuckled. "Zhang Meng, use your feminine charms to distract him. Yuanhang, you and I will take him down together."

Zhang Meng blushed slightly, feeling rather pleased with herself. In a place like the cold storage facility, full of rough men, wasn't she a beauty?

After hearing enough flattery, some people started believing it.

The three came down from the roof and headed straight for Chen Luo.

Zhang Meng made her voice as sweet as possible. "Hello. Thank you for saving us."

Tong Yuanhang and Gu Tao also did their best to put on warm, grateful smiles.

They had been on the roof earlier, and it was getting dark. Chen Luo genuinely hadn't noticed them.

Chen Luo narrowed his eyes. Will you ask me to take you away next? And attack me if I refuse?

Chen Luo didn't rush to act. He asked, "Are you the only ones here?"

Zhang Meng's expression immediately turned gloomy, and she nodded. "Yes. Only the three of us survived."

Chen Luo suddenly grew alert, because Gu Tao and Tong Yuanhang had started approaching him from either side.

Strangers instinctively kept about three meters between them. Only people familiar with each other would come within a meter.

Gu Tao and Tong Yuanhang struck decisively, each grabbing one of Chen Luo's shoulders.

They were confident. Years of loading work had made them much stronger than ordinary people.

The armor offered strong protection, but that was only useful against zombies. If they hadn't wanted to play it safe, either one of them could have subdued the armored Chen Luo alone.

Chen Luo sneered inwardly. Fuck, I haven't even made a move, and you're already attacking me?

You were just thanking me for saving you, and now you've turned on me like that?

If Chen Luo had been unprepared, an ordinary person, he would have been done for in this situation.

Harsh conditions magnified the ugliness of human nature without limit.

Kindness was the most worthless thing in the apocalypse-and the most harmful.

With his hand pressing down on Chen Luo's shoulder, Gu Tao couldn't hide his smugness. "Buddy, don't resist. Relax. We won't hurt you."

"Woof, woof."

Dharma King, who had split up with Chen Luo to search, returned just then. Seeing the situation, a fierce look immediately appeared on his canine face.

Gu Tao and the other two were startled. There was a dog, too?

It was getting dark, and they hadn't seen him clearly.

But none of the three took him seriously. Dharma King didn't look particularly large or intimidating.

There was no need for Dharma King to act. Two Stun Batons suddenly appeared in Chen Luo's hands, and he brought them toward Gu Tao and Tong Yuanhang.

Dead people couldn't expose the secret of Chen Luo's ability to retrieve objects out of thin air.

The Stun Batons' power had already been tested. Both men immediately screamed, their bodies convulsing violently as they involuntarily released Chen Luo.

Zhang Meng was stunned by the sudden turn of events. Watching Chen Luo approach with a Stun Baton, she screamed in terror, "Don't kill me!"

What, you think you're special?

Zhang Meng tried to run. With the burst of speed she mustered in danger, catching her while wearing armor wouldn't have been easy for Chen Luo.

No matter. Dharma King quickly caught up and slammed hard into her from behind with a savage charge, sending her sprawling face-first.

Chen Luo stepped forward to finish her off.

Looking at the three bodies, Chen Luo suddenly laughed.

So sometimes, you had to strike first. If you waited until someone attacked before fighting back, wouldn't it be too late?

Chen Luo climbed into the truck, drove up to the cold storage facility, then turned it around. In the process, he rolled over three soft objects.

He didn't mean anything by it. He just happened to be passing by.