Recruitment

That night, Dharma King suddenly let out a howl while absorbing crystals.

Rather than being startled, Chen Luo was delighted. It meant Dharma King had reached Level Three.

With each level gained, strength almost doubled.

Aside from Chen Luo, Dharma King was probably the second in the world to reach Level Three.

With his agility and speed, Dharma King could take on dozens of Level One Ability Users single-pawed without any trouble.

Mi Li and Su Dazhu would need at least another week to reach Level Three.

The next day.

Although Mi Ling and Mi Li were reluctant to leave the home they had lived in for over a decade, Chen Luo had decided it was unsuitable, so they could only move out.

The location Chen Luo chose was the villa community where his own home had originally been.

There were no high-rise buildings nearby, leaving the view wide open.

The entire villa community could house the force he intended to establish.

The southernmost end of the community bordered a mountain. If a zombie horde arrived, they could climb the mountain to retreat.

It was an excellent location, but once more survivors arrived seeking refuge, some would inevitably covet it.

But was Chen Luo afraid?

Come at me, and you're just delivering crystals.

In the early stages, the only troublemakers would be small groups of a dozen people, or a few dozen at most. Chen Luo could easily handle them.

Given some time to develop, his knowledge and supplies would ensure his strength far surpassed everyone else's.

To Chen Luo's mild delight, his heavy truck was still there. The annoying part was that someone had siphoned off all the fuel.

Fortunately, Chen Luo had some spare gasoline in his Ability Space.

Chen Luo had barely stockpiled any gasoline. First, it was easy to collect, and second, it wouldn't be much use in the middle and later stages. Having enough was fine.

The truck's cab had collected a little dust after sitting unused for days, and one of its windows had been smashed.

After a quick cleanup, everyone climbed into the truck. Before long, its only use would be hauling cargo.

As for using the truck to ram survivors, forget it. Nobody would be stupid enough to let him hit them.

They rammed any zombies on the road that they could. Whenever roadblocks prevented the truck from picking up speed, Chen Luo had Su Dazhu, Mi Ling, and the others get out to kill the zombies and collect their crystals.

The lowest-grade crystals were useless to Chen Luo, but they still helped Su Dazhu and the others. Until the zombies evolved to level one, they would have to make do with these crystals.

Chen Luo didn't take action, leaving Mi Ling and the others to get more practice.

As they approached a turn, a sudden, anguished shout reached Chen Luo's ears.

"Fang, please! Forget about us and run!"

"Cut the fucking crap! If we die, we die together!"

After reaching level four, Chen Luo's eyesight had also become far better than an ordinary person's.

He looked over and saw three young men with darkened faces and sluggish movements, slowly trying to evade five or six pursuing zombies.

Chen Luo paused. Had they been attacked by a Poison Element zombie?

If so, it could only have been a level-one Poison Element zombie. Otherwise, those three young men would already have been paralyzed.

There were four young men in total. The remaining one was swinging a rubber baton with all his might, fighting desperately without retreating.

From the look of him, he had been poisoned too, but he was probably a physical-type ability user with some resistance to level-one toxins.

If he left his three companions behind as zombie fodder, he could escape.

Just then, the man they called Fang spotted Chen Luo passing by. The despair on his face gave way to the joy of finding a lifeline.

He shouted frantically, "Brother, if you can save us, please help! I, Fang Yu, will definitely repay this kindness!"

"All right," Chen Luo said calmly.

Chen Luo opened the door and let Dharma King out.

Open the door. Unleash the dog.

Normally, this would be none of Chen Luo's damn business, but he greatly admired Fang Yu's loyalty. He could have run, yet he hadn't.

It reminded Chen Luo of the moment Su Dazhu had sacrificed himself for him in his previous life.

Clearly, Su Dazhu admired the man too, and got out on his own initiative to help.

But there was nothing left for Su Dazhu to do. Once Dharma King was out, he dispatched the five zombies in a few swift moves, leaving Fang Yu and the others dumbfounded.

The Poison Element zombie was nowhere to be seen. Low-level Poison Element zombies could only spray poison at close range, so Fang Yu and the others had probably killed it.

Su Dazhu helped Fang Yu support his injured friends.

Fang Yu came up to the truck's window and bowed deeply to Chen Luo, his voice choked with emotion. "Thank you. Thank you for saving us. I'm no good with words, but if there's anything you need, just say the word."

Something occurred to Chen Luo, and he asked with interest, "How many of you are there? What happened?"

Of course, Fang Yu held nothing back. "The four of us work for the same security company. We've been comrades for years. We came out to find some supplies today and thought we had it in the bag, but then we ran into a zombie that could spray poison. We almost all got killed."

Many of Fang Yu's comrades had joined the same security company after leaving the military, but after the apocalypse came, only the four of them remained. They cherished their already precious bond all the more.

Chen Luo turned to Mi Li. "Mi Li, go help heal them."

Normally, the three poisoned men would have needed ten days to half a month of rest to recover. After Mi Li's treatment, they were still a little weak, but they were already much better.

Fang Yu was even more grateful, and inwardly more astonished. This group was incredibly strong.

That dog alone seemed capable of wiping out their entire group with ease. Was he really a dog?

A few bolts of lightning had effortlessly finished off those zombies.

And this young girl was a priest?

Chen Luo in particular, despite his youthful face and faint smile, was the leader of the group. Fang Yu felt as though his depths were impossible to fathom.

Chen Luo chuckled. "There's strength in numbers. How about we team up? Of course, I'll be the leader."

Chen Luo was short on manpower. These four men seemed likable and highly capable, so why not recruit them?

Fang Yu had just witnessed the strength of Chen Luo's group. Compared with them, he and his friends weren't even in the same league.

Now that's someone we can rely on.

Even setting aside the fact that Chen Luo had saved their lives, joining a team with people like these would greatly improve their safety.

Fang Yu couldn't think of a single reason to refuse.

Fang Yu glanced back at his three brothers. None of them objected, so he immediately cupped his fist in salute to Chen Luo.

"You think highly enough of us to ask, and you've saved our lives. We'd be ungrateful fools to refuse."

Chen Luo smiled. "Get into the cargo compartment in the back. Is there anything you need to pick up from your old shelter? If it's nothing important, don't bother. There's plenty on the streets and in the malls."

Although he liked the look of these men, Chen Luo wouldn't reveal his space to anyone who wasn't a core member.

Fang Yu shook his head.