From the moment Zhang Chen first saw Clarence, he had a bad impression of the guy's affectation.
If he wanted to recruit Clarence, the first thing he needed to ascertain was that Clarence wasn't a fence-sitter.
Whether it was the True God Cult, the Revival Camp, or the survivors at the military base, they could coexist with the camp in times of crisis, and none would defect to the enemy.
That was why they could survive under Zhang Chen's protection until now.
This was also why, even though Isaac surrendered to Zhang Chen, Zhang Chen never entertained the thought of conquering him.
If the leader of the camp was a fence-sitter, then the people below would essentially be the same.
Zhang Chen could subdue Isaac with the Obedience Potion, but he didn't have enough potions to subdue everyone below him – they weren't worth the value of even one Obedience Potion.
Now that Clarence had proven himself not worth an Obedience Potion, there was no need for him to exist.
"This...this is impossible. My people personally saw them drink the wine. This is absolutely correct!"
Clarence hastily explained to Kong De.
He didn't think Zhang Chen was that amazing, probably just used some illusion technique and secretly didn't drink.
But if Kong De thought he was lying, he would be dead for sure!
"Indeed, I detected a problem with the wine, but I still drank it, precisely to eliminate your wariness!"
Zhang Chen smiled slightly and slowly walked in front of Kong De and Clarence.
"Aren't you afraid the wine was laced with poison and would kill you instantly?"
Clarence found it hard to believe that Zhang Chen dared to drink the wine knowing it was problematic. This wasn't bravery; it was recklessness!
"If he wanted to kill us, he could have just let this old man attack. Why bother with such a troublesome method as poisoning?"
Zhang Chen said with a smile.
In fact, Qian Xinxin and Zhao Xiyue also sensed that the waiter was a bit too enthusiastic, actually sending cocktails just for resting. They knew that in the apocalypse, alcohol was also a scarce resource, only consumed during formal banquets.
Even wealthy individuals like Boss Qian wouldn't casually give wine to waiting guests. They felt there might be a trick to this wine.
However, Zhang Chen winked at them, signaling them to play along and drink the wine, thus completely dispelling the other party's concerns.
Therefore, these two women had indeed fallen into a deep sleep.
With Zhang Chen's current strength, even if the wine contained potent poison, it wouldn't cause him any harm.
Moreover, he possessed powerful healing abilities, allowing him to directly decompose the toxins in Qian Xinxin and Zhao Xiyue's bodies using his internal energy.
To put it plainly, what Clarence saw as a risky move, Zhang Chen considered a surefire plan.
"Heh, it seems only you are not poisoned. Those two girls are still asleep, which makes no difference to me!"
"Originally, I planned to kill you first and then slowly enjoy these two girls!"
"But now I've changed my mind. I will make you watch with your own eyes..."
*Bang!*
Before Kong De could finish speaking, his vision went black, and he was sent flying directly.
The wall behind him shattered consecutively, and his vision was filled with stars and countless fragments of stone.
*Thump! Crash!*
Kong De smashed through five walls, and after landing, he overturned three abandoned cars before stopping against a lamppost.
*Creeeak...*
The lamppost let out a sharp cry before heavily toppling onto the road.
"Watch what? You talk too much!"
Zhang Chen said with a frown.
He wanted to keep Kong De alive to ask about the seventh walled city and where he intended to take the survivors with the blue rings.
Therefore, he deliberately held back his strength when attacking, not using his full power.
Who would have thought that even so, Kong De was sent flying so far.
"Hiss... I didn't control my strength well. He's not dead, is he!"
Zhang Chen said with feigned concern.
"You...you..."
Clarence's face turned ashen. Looking at Zhang Chen, he was so nervous he couldn't utter a word.
"As expected, I knew you wouldn't stand by this old man. You're completely a fence-sitter!"
Zhang Chen waved his hand.
Clarence and the Archangel Organization members beside him immediately collapsed to the ground, feeling their bodies go limp.
"What's happening? Why can't my body move?"
"The previous cycle participant has the ability to control our rings?"
"No wonder the people I hired in the black market stopped contacting me recently and advised me to believe in the True God... Could they have been talking about this guy?!"
Clarence finally realized how terrifying Zhang Chen was, but it was too late.
This time, when weakening the rings, Zhang Chen differentiated between allies and enemies.
After all, among their side, only Qian Xinxin had a dark red ring, which was relatively easy to identify. Apart from Qian Xinxin, all other people nearby wearing dark red rings were weakened.
This was to ensure the safety of Qian Xinxin and Zhao Xiyue.
Zhang Chen could now fight Kong De wholeheartedly.
"Hey, are you still alive?"
Zhang Chen shouted towards the distant pile of wreckage from the overturned cars.
No response!
Could he really be dead?
But he hadn't used that much strength!
Zhang Chen quickly moved to the roadside. Just as he stepped out of the building, about ten meters away from the pile of parts, a figure suddenly darted out, and a fist smashed down fiercely.
*Bang!*
Zhang Chen's movements were incredibly fast. His right hand, launched later, easily blocked Kong De's attack.
The shockwave generated by the immense impact shattered the windows of the adjacent building, sending glass shards scattering across the ground.
"It's not over yet!"
"Feel my storm-like attack, hahaha!"
"I'm going to beat you into a pulp!"
Kong De roared, and then his fists and feet rained down like a torrent.
This speed... a bit slow...
Zhang Chen, with a blank expression, quickly parried the blows with his right hand.
Kong De's old face was flushed red, seemingly having exerted his full strength. However, no matter how fast he attacked, his fists and feet were always precisely blocked by Zhang Chen's right hand.
"Die!"
As the fight progressed, Kong De's internal energy flow became increasingly intense.
He used the force to leap back more than ten meters, facing Zhang Chen with his palms outstretched.
[Supernatural Strike]!
*Vroom!*
A searing beam of light shot towards Zhang Chen.
However, just as the beam was about to hit Zhang Chen, its trajectory immediately shifted, veering around him and striking the ground to the side.
*Boom!*
A fierce explosion kicked up dust tens of meters high from the ground.
"Is that all? You don't have any other abilities?"
Zhang Chen slowly emerged from the dust, asking with a frown.
One reason he didn't immediately use his force field ability to restrain Kong De was that, at his current stage, his abilities had limited uses, and frequent use could lead to loss of control.
Therefore, he tried to conserve them and use them as little as possible.
Another reason was that Zhang Chen intended to understand the strength of the yellow-ringed cycle participants through this battle.
However, as the fight progressed, Zhang Chen was very disappointed.
Because Kong De's combat power was similar to Clarence's. It wasn't that their strengths were comparable, but rather that they were both existences that Zhang Chen could easily kill in an instant.