Zhang Chen and Shirley stood on a cracked asphalt road. Green plants hung from the streetlights on both sides, and the lampshades were covered in dust. Faintly visible between the buildings were the walls of the structures.
Occasionally, dull gray glass could be seen between the walls, with some of the glass bearing residual bloody handprints.
Straight ahead was an empty street, dark, gloomy, and silent.
But if there were any traps…
Shirley looked puzzled, unable to discern any clues.
"Heh, it seems you've had your fill too!"
Zhang Chen chuckled and lightly reached out with the arm around Shirley's waist, patting her slightly rounded belly.
"Mhm…"
Shirley lowered her head in embarrassment.
As an assassin, failing to detect a trap immediately made her feel ashamed.
She composed herself, shifting her focus away from Zhang Chen and re-examining the surrounding environment. This time, more details instantly sprang into view.
By the roadside, there was a wooden table with a box of deformed instant noodles, and next to it, a vacuum-sealed braised egg.
If ordinary survivors saw food, they would surely rush towards it after confirming there were no monsters around.
But such a situation was too abnormal, clearly a cheese on a mousetrap, luring survivors to their doom.
Anyone who went near would either encounter a paralyzing toxin behind the table, or the vines near the buildings would trigger a more potent mechanism. In any case, the food wouldn't be placed so conveniently on the path they were walking.
Those starving survivors wouldn't think that far ahead. They would desperately charge forward and end up as prisoners.
"It is indeed a trap, Master. I'll trigger it, and you hide in the shadows to deal with the enemies!"
Shirley volunteered.
"No need for you to risk yourself to lure them out. The enemies are in the room behind the third window on the fifth floor to the right, two men and one woman!"
Zhang Chen said, narrowing his eyes.
"So you already knew about this!"
Shirley said with admiration.
"Yes, I also know the bowl of noodles is empty and the braised egg is expired! The bait lacks sincerity. Do they really think they can catch fish like this?"
Zhang Chen shook his head helplessly, then, holding Shirley, walked directly around the edge of the trap.
"Master, if you knew their location, aren't you just going to let them go?"
Shirley asked in surprise.
"They are just some low-level trash. I'm in a good mood today and too lazy to act. Let's not spoil the atmosphere tonight."
Zhang Chen replied with a smile.
"Mhm, Master, you are truly different from other strong individuals."
Shirley's expression instantly turned adoring, and she tentatively leaned closer to Zhang Chen, praising him in a soft voice.
"Other strong individuals? How are they different?"
Zhang Chen asked curiously.
Shirley cleared her throat and slowly began, "The strong individuals I've heard of are all ruthless killers. For example, Gui Si from the Soul Organization. When he passed by a survivor camp, he wanted to rest there for a while and find two women to serve him…"
Zhang Chen: "Did Gui Si know the camp?"
Shirley: "He didn't. He was just passing by…"
Zhang Chen's worldview shattered: "??? He didn't know them but wanted to stay overnight in their camp and demanded women to serve him??"
Shirley: "In the eyes of the strong, whatever they do is right!"
Zhang Chen shrugged. He didn't deny that some people were indeed like that. He then asked, "And then?"
Shirley: "The camp leader, fearing the Soul Organization's power, agreed to Gui Si's demands. It's said that one of the girls Gui Si chose was the camp leader's daughter. It should have ended there, but Gui Si, on the grounds that the camp's beds were too hard, massacred the entire camp."
Zhang Chen: "…"
"Even the one who offered his daughter so submissively was killed. For someone like the one who set up the trap just now, a strong individual would definitely force them to repeatedly walk into their own traps until they died. For them, more interesting than killing is the process of killing."
As Shirley said this, it seemed as if she recalled unpleasant memories, and goosebumps instantly appeared all over her body.
"Don't worry, it's all in the past!"
"As for this Soul Organization, when they all awaken, I will pay them a good visit!"
"Not just the Soul Organization, I will revisit all the strong individuals within the high walls!"
Zhang Chen said with a smile.
"Mhm, no matter where Master goes, I will resolutely follow you!"
Shirley said with a firm expression.
Swoosh! Swoosh swoosh swoosh!
Suddenly, a rain of poison darts shot from behind Zhang Chen and Shirley.
The two exchanged a glance and immediately dodged to their respective sides, evading all the attacks.
"Since they're asking for death, there's nothing I can do!"
Zhang Chen's figure exploded forward, instantly charging into the enemy ranks. With a powerful punch, he sent three or four enemies flying, their forms dissolving into wisps of mist in mid-air.
With a slight block of his right hand, his arm directly shattered the incoming serrated blade into pieces.
His left hand quickly struck several pressure points on the enemy's chest, causing the latter to collapse to the ground, limp.
At this moment, Shirley had also dealt with the enemies upstairs and returned to Zhang Chen's side.
"I don't know why these guys attacked us, but their strength is only around that of advanced Transcenders."
Shirley reported.
At this level of strength, in front of Shirley and Zhang Chen, they were indeed no different from common soldiers.
"I kept one alive to interrogate for any useful information!"
Zhang Chen briefly examined the spoils of war. There was nothing of value, and the meager amount of crystal cores could be ignored.
Five minutes later, Shirley returned to Zhang Chen's side and said,
"This guy is very cowardly. Before I even started asking, he told me everything."
"He said he's Japanese and has seen someone carrying a briefcase who often comes out to capture people and take them to a laboratory in the north."
"He doesn't know the exact location, but it's said that this person frequented the previous stage of the Apocalypse."
Upon hearing Shirley's words, Zhang Chen couldn't help but frown.
"A native? This guy has seen a native?"
"But that's not the strangest part. The strangest thing is why he voluntarily told you about the natives without you asking?"
"Could he have mistaken us for someone else? And is this person also looking for natives?"
After hearing Zhang Chen's analysis, Shirley hurried back to the Japanese man.
Perhaps feeling ashamed in front of Zhang Chen for not being able to extract all the information in one go, she first beat the Japanese man before carefully asking him again.
Ten minutes later, Shirley returned to Zhang Chen's side once more and said,
"The person also investigating the natives is named Qing Feng. This person specifically kills Japanese people for no reason whatsoever, slaughtering them all regardless of gender or age. They heard that Qing Feng was coming, so they set up these traps."
"Qing Feng…"