The apocalypse would begin at around 9:20 on Thursday morning, with a margin of error of no more than three minutes.
Chen Luo would never misremember the timing of such a monumental event. He could not forget it even if he wanted to.
9:20, on a weekday rather than a weekend-right in the middle of working hours.
In his previous life, Chen Jian'an had been at the Chen Group's office tower when the apocalypse struck. The Chen Group had over a thousand employees.
Fewer than a hundred had survived. That was not many, but it was not an insignificant number, either.
Chen Jian'an commanded considerable respect within the Chen Group. Combined with the decent ability Chen Fei had awakened, that allowed him to take control of those survivors and use them as the foundation to expand his forces.
Even so, they had never become particularly powerful, and Chen Luo had eventually destroyed them.
Chen Luo could not kill Chen Jian'an and his son at the Chen Group's tower, because it was in a bustling district.
Once the apocalypse began, zombies would swarm like a tide.
Chen Luo was confident he could make it home, but not completely certain. Things could go wrong on the way.
He could take that risk, but there was no need.
Keeping Chen Jian'an at home and killing him there would be far safer.
Chen Jian'an lived in a wealthy neighborhood with a sparse population. After succeeding, Chen Luo could leave safely.
I have to wait until the apocalypse starts before making my move. What if it doesn't happen and I become a murderer?
Once order collapsed, who would care whether he had killed anyone?
That was why Chen Luo had made that phone call. Greedy as he was, Chen Jian'an would certainly agree when he saw a chance to profit, and Chen Fei lived with him.
Both of them had to die.
Chen Luo headed out with Dharma King. Once the apocalypse began, Dharma King would most likely awaken his lightning ability.
When Chen Luo drove up to the guard booth, Su Dazhu was on duty. As he passed, Chen Luo rolled down his window and spoke with a serious expression.
"Dazhu, I've been feeling really uneasy, like something's about to happen. Be careful after nine."
Su Dazhu paused, then nodded. "Okay, Brother Chen."
Su Dazhu might look dim, but he was merely uncomplicated. His intelligence was perfectly normal.
Surely no one thought an upscale residential community like Chen Luo's would hire an idiot as a security guard?
Besides, Su Dazhu was a military veteran. Even if he failed to awaken an ability after the apocalypse, five copies of Chen Luo as he was now would still be no match for him.
Chen Luo nodded. There were few homeowners here and not many people around. Su Dazhu stood guard outside, keeping his distance from others, and turning into a zombie took over ten seconds.
There was no way Su Dazhu would fail to react in time.
In his previous life, Su Dazhu had survived just fine, too. Chen Luo simply could not quite relax, so he had made a point of warning him.
Chen Luo set off for Chen Jian'an's house.
He dawdled along the way, intending to delay his arrival until nine.
Chen Luo sent Chen Jian'an a message saying his car had developed a minor problem en route and he would arrive half an hour late. Chen Jian'an replied that there was no rush.
At home, Chen Jian'an took a sip of tea and spoke to Chen Fei.
"That brat Chen Luo actually wants to speculate in cryptocurrency. He really has no fear of losing everything."
Surprisingly, Chen Fei sided with Chen Luo and sighed. "Cryptocurrency used to cost a few cents a coin. Who could've imagined it would rise to over sixty thousand? That's a millionfold increase."
"If you hadn't forbidden me from touching it, Dad, I definitely would've tried my hand at it. It's no surprise Chen Luo wants to take a gamble."
Chen Jian'an scoffed. "What real value does that stuff have? It's just a way to fleece suckers."
"We can still do this deal, though. First, we need to find out whether the goods Chen Luo stockpiled are really worth a billion."
Chen Fei smiled. "A chance to make money falls right into our laps, and we're supposed to turn it down?"
Chen Jian'an pondered it. "Could this be a trap? That brat Chen Luo knows I cheated him. Would he really give me a profitable deal?"
Chen Fei snorted. "I understand how crypto traders think. It's just like gambling. He's desperate for cash and doesn't know many people. He probably came to us because no one else could scrape together five hundred million on short notice."
"Let him try screwing us over. I'll beat him to death."
Chen Luo arrived at 9:05.
Chen Jian'an's live-in maid opened the door.
Chen Fei came up to greet him and hugged him warmly, squeezing so tightly that Chen Luo almost felt suffocated.
"Chen Luo, if your cousin here weren't such a coward, I'd join you. If you make money trading crypto, don't forget about me."
Chen Luo smiled. "Of course not. If I make a billion, I'll definitely buy you a supercar."
Chen Jian'an stood up to greet him. "Luo, have you eaten? Shall I have the maid make you something?"
Chen Luo did not refuse in the slightest. "That'd be great. I left in such a hurry that I haven't eaten a thing."
Chen Luo went on and on, boasting about how much money could be made trading cryptocurrency.
By the time the maid served breakfast, it was already 9:15.
Chen Luo wolfed down his food.
Suddenly, a pained howl came from the maid's room.
Chen Jian'an frowned. "What's wrong with Xiao Li? Is she sick? Fei, go take a look."
Chen Fei found it strange, too, and agreed.
A sharp gleam flashed in Chen Luo's eyes. So the apocalypse has come after all?
Looks like you two really are going to die today.
Chen Luo stood up with a puzzled expression. "I'll take a look, too. If she needs to go to the hospital, I can give you a hand."
Chen Fei walked to the maid's room and opened the door, then screamed in fright.
Inside stood the maid, a woman in her forties. Her hair hung loose and disheveled, blood poured from her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, streaming down her face and neck, and her eyes were a deep red. She looked utterly horrifying.
Despite being a strong, grown man, Chen Fei felt his scalp prickle and his legs weaken at the sight. Unable to quite believe what he was seeing, he froze stupidly in the doorway.
When the maid saw Chen Fei at the door, she lunged at him like a fly spotting shit.
After turning into a zombie, a person's strength would increase explosively, but their speed would drop considerably.
Chen Fei finally reacted and moved to slam the door shut, trapping the zombified maid inside.
But a hand stopped him.
At the same time, a wicked smile spread across Chen Luo's face. He took the Stun Baton out of his ability space and switched it on, making it buzz.
Without a trace of mercy, Chen Luo pressed the Stun Baton against Chen Fei's back.
Chen Fei screamed, "Aaaah!!!"
That high voltage was no joke.
Chen Fei's body jerked violently several times before he was shocked unconscious.
If Chen Luo kept the Stun Baton pressed against him for long enough, Chen Fei would be electrocuted to death.
Once Chen Luo saw that Chen Fei had passed out, he released the baton rather than electrocuting him to death.
Why?
Because there was a zombie right in front of him.
The flesh and blood of the living held an irresistible attraction for low-level zombies. As long as they had something to eat, they would often ignore other living people.
Would it be more satisfying to electrocute Chen Fei or have him eaten alive?
The latter, of course!
Chen Fei did not fall after being shocked unconscious, because Chen Luo was supporting him from behind.
The zombie maid pounced on Chen Fei without any difficulty and sank her teeth into his face.
"Rip."
A chunk of flesh was torn straight off Chen Fei's face.
After turning into a zombie, her bite strength had undergone an astonishing change as well.
The zombie maid swallowed the flesh through her bloodied mouth.
But why did this meat taste a little tingly? How much fucking chili had been added?
Before you continue