by Tai Baiyang
The woman was scared by his greedy eyes. She immediately hid amongst her group and didn't dare to look at the blond guy.
However, unlike other people, the man with glasses wasn't frightened. Instead, he gazed at his opponent and said slowly, "You are right. The world has changed. The laws and morality we have used are longer practicable now."
The gangster thought that he was admitting defeat. He laughed and went over to command his little brothers, so he didn't see that the man with glasses stared at his back and said coldly, "Thank you for teaching me this. So, you can die now."
The blond man thought he had misheard things, but the sudden pain in his chest interrupted his thoughts. He didn't understand what happened and he didn't know what was wrong with his body because the pain stopped him from thinking. His sight became blurred and finally, he lost his strength. The baseball bat fell to the ground.
A stout thorn suddenly dug out from the ground, piercing through his body like a venomous snake. He struggled in a pool of his own blood and five seconds later, he died.
His subordinates were really scared. They cried and fled in all directions; they didn't even dare to carry any food away.
The man with glasses reached for his glasses habitually. His face was pale, but he still forced a smile and said, "Everyone, let's go to take some food."
The people behind him immediately ran towards the convenience store. They excitedly searched the store and stole a glance at the man with glasses in fear. Most of them were taking the goods off the shelves and put food into their mouths at the same time.
"He is an earth-type evolver! This is just the second day of the new era. He is really something."
Zhang Mu teased the Obsidian Beetle and observed these people.
He didn't really care about these people’s fates. Even though the man with glasses was an earth-type evolver, he wasn't very important in Zhang Mu's heart, because earth-type evolvers were very common in his past life.
"What will they do next? He is still too impulsive. He shouldn't have killed the blond guy."
As Zhang Mu had expected, he heard several roars from the other side of the street. Some zombies were attracted by the smell of blood and the noise they had made. The hunters were coming!
The group also heard the roars. They desperately looked at the man with glasses, hoping that he could find a solution again. The man with glasses smiled bitterly. This time, he really couldn't help them. He shouted "Run!" and ran away.
Other people looked at him with open-mouthed incredulity. Finally, they reacted and chased after their leader.
This time, the difference amongst the people were exposed. Some people were smart because they threw down all the food they held and ran away without hesitation. Some people couldn't bear leaving the food they had gotten and this killed them. They were immediately caught up by the zombies and died painfully.
Other people heard their cries. They were scared and ran with all their strength. However, the zombies’ speed was about two times faster than theirs. It was just a matter of time before they were completely annihilated.
At this time, the dark side of human nature was exposed. A man in a white shirt suddenly pulled down the man beside him, then ran away without looking back. Instantly, the zombies surrounded the man who had fallen and pounced on him.
Why?!
The man cried in his heart.
We are colleagues! Weren't you the person who told me to help each other and survive together in the world just now?
Until his death, the man's eyes were full of confusion and anger.
"Don't blame me. Every man for himself and the devil takes the hindmost. I don't need to run faster than the zombies. Running faster than you is enough." The man in the white shirt thought.
His behavior was a bad model for others. Other people also started to abandon their partners. Finally, four people were sacrificed before the zombies stopped chasing after them.
They gradually stopped running and gasped for air. They were all celebrating having finally escaped from the monsters and felt no guilt for the people who were abandoned by them.
Zhang Mu watched them from the beginning to the end. He sighed, "Yes, this is the 'eschaton' I know. This is human nature!"
Chapter 24: Zhang Mu’s Help
Everyone gasped for air. Some of them collapsed on the ground and began to cry.
"Where did the monsters come from? How will we survive from now on?" A man in a black suit cried. The pressure got to him after seeing his five friends getting torn to rags by zombies.
"These zombies were too fast. We will all die."
Two girls also cried with hollowed eyes. Their friends' blood had stained their white dresses.
The woman who had scolded the yellow-haired man was lucky. She escaped from the zombies and joined the team of survivors.
Unfortunately, her intelligence wasn't in proportion to her luck.
She walked to the man who pushed down his coworker and scolded him, "Do you know you just murdered someone? Why is your blood so cold? You will be punished by the law!"
The glasses guy looked at her as if she was an idiot, but the man she just pushed wasn't as kind as the man with glasses. He jumped up and slapped the woman's face, "Shut up! If you didn't provoke the yellow-haired rogue, why would Brother Liang kill him? If we had waited till they left, how would the monsters have found us?! Stupid woman. Rather than getting eaten by these monsters, I prefer to be punished by the law and stay in jail for a lifetime!" The man said mercilessly.
He looked at her face and suddenly felt a hot desire rising up. He pulled her over and tried to strip her clothes off. She resisted, but he slapped her face without mercy.
She started crying, but this didn't stop him. The people around just looked at them indifferently and no one came to stop the man. Some of them even started to discuss the woman's body.
At this moment, the dark side of human nature was finally shown.
The man realized that no one was going to stop him. This made him become more unscrupulous. He excitedly took off his belt in front of other people without any sense of shame.
The people around them looked on with enthusiasm. They smiled, but their smiles were so ugly.
Suddenly, the man with glasses stopped the man.
"Enough! Guang Zi, you think that we are safe now? If the zombies come now, you think that you can run away with your pants down? I promise that I won't save you if it happens."
The man's sexual passion immediately disappeared. He calmed down and looked at the man with glasses in fear.
"Brother Liang, I'm wrong. Please forgive me."
After saying that, he turned around and pushed the woman to the ground, "Did you hear what Brother Liang said? Now get away. If you dare to say anything again, you know what I will do!"
The woman collapsed on the ground in silence. Her outlook on the world had been broken at this moment. She had lost her faith and guts.
"Let's go back to our company. At least, it is more secure than on the street."
The man with glasses said, then walked away without a word.
The other people looked at each other. Thinking that it would be safer to stay with their leader, they also stood up and followed him.
Suddenly, the man with glasses stopped. He stared at the three zombies on the street in the front of their company.
He calculated in his heart. He could only release his super ability he named "Earth Blade" once, then his energy would be exhausted. If he was lucky, the Earth Blade could kill two zombies at once, but the remaining zombies would slaughter them all.
He waved his hands and guided the people to step back slowly, for fear of attracting the three zombies.
Suddenly, a girl's ear-splitting shriek broke the silence. Everyone turned back and stared at her with anger. If eyes could kill, then she would've already been killed a thousand times over. However, when they looked over, no one was in the mood to scold her.
There were f
ive zombies on the other side of the street!
The man with glasses was in despair. After all, he was just an office worker who suddenly got a super ability. He knew his limits. If they were surrounded by the eight zombies, none of them would survive!
However, some people's hearts had twisted. They calculated in their hearts: if I push the person beside me to the zombies, will I have an opportunity to run away?
They quietly moved. Those people who were scared stiff didn't even realize that their partners had prepared to push them to hell.
Zhang Mu stealthily approached them. He sneered looking at what they were planning to do.
However, he didn't want to help them. They had abandoned their partners once, so it was their fate to be abandoned too. It was karma.
The five zombies up front had noticed them and started running towards them. They cried in fear and drew back step by step. Some people had closed their eyes and waited for their deaths.
Unlike Zhang Mu's expectation, the man with glasses suddenly rushed towards the five zombies as if he couldn't wait for his death. He grinded his teeth and calculated the distance. When they were just a few feet away, he waved his arms, releasing a dozen of Earth Blades on the ground. They were far shorter than the Earth Blade he released before, but they still pierced through the zombies’ feet and pinned them to the ground.
What a bold and smart man! Zhang Mu praised the man in his heart.
However, the man's face suddenly turned pale. He feebly knelt on the ground and shouted with his last strength, "I have pinned them. Kill them! Hit their heads!"
However, the people didn't listen to his order. Taking this opportunity, they all ran away. Several girls wanted to lend a hand to support him, but they were stopped and dragged away by their friends.
Looking at their backs, the man with glasses forced a smile and mocked himself hopelessly, "Wang Liang, Wang Liang, you are really an idiot. Why would you believe these people?!"
Soon afterwards, they had run out of Wang Liang's sight. Without Wang Liang's earth-type energy, the Earth Blades slowly disappeared in the air and the zombies gradually struggled free. Wang Liang saw no way out of the hopeless situation and closed his eyes, waiting for death to come get him. Suddenly, he heard consecutive sounds of objects hitting the ground. Before he opened his eyes, he heard a hoarse voice, "What? Do you regret your choice just now?"
Chapter 25: Role Play
In the end, he didn't feel the pain of being torn up. He had prepared to be killed, but after hearing Zhang Mu's words, he opened his eyes as quickly as if he was a drowner who just caught a life buoy.
After realizing that he was still alive, Wang Liang relaxed. He gasped on the ground and gazed at the five headless zombies, a complex feeling brewing in his heart.
A few seconds later, he finally realized that Zhang Mu was still looking at him. He turned back and looked at the man, the man who smiled with a small beetle on his shoulder, the man who just killed the five zombies.
He quickly calmed down, adjusted his glasses and asked, "Thank you for saving my life. May I know your name?"
"My name isn't important. I want to know your answer first. Tell me, do you regret your choice?"
He was frightened by Zhang Mu's tone and expression. Zhang Mu realized it and immediately eased the pressure.
Wang Liang thought for a while, then answered Zhang Mu slowly, "No, since it was my own choice. It was not for saving their lives, but mine. I had bet that I could trap the five zombies together and I won. I just didn't expect that those wastes wouldn't even dare to attack the immobilized monsters. They are fools. Without my help, they were nothing but food of these monsters. Yes, if I abandoned them, I could run away alone, but... if we don't help each other, how long can we survive in the world? Unfortunately, I teamed up with a group of idiots. Hehe." Wang Liang laughed sarcastically. It seemed like he had recovered a bit of his energy, as he slowly stood up.
He is a smart man. Zhang Mu thought and looked into Wang Liang's eyes. The man had a clever brain and was also an earth-type evolver. He should be qualified to help him do "that thing".
Right at this time, the three zombies in the front of the company had followed the noise to this place and found them. After seeing Zhang Mu and Wang Liang, they immediately roared and rushed to them.
Without any more words, Zhang Mu sped toward the three zombies.
Drawing out his sword, he brandished it and then sheathed it. Zhang Mu finished off the three in a second.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
At the next second, three heads fell down to the ground.
Zhang Mu did it on purpose. It looked very easy, but in fact, Zhang Mu had tried his best to behead the three zombies at the same time.
Of course, his efforts were effective. Zhang Mu became more mysterious in the man's eyes.
"If I was as strong as you, I wouldn't be put in that tight spot!" Wang Liang gazed at Zhang Mu's Tang sword eagerly.
Zhang Mu lifted his sword and smiled, "What? You want my weapon and power?"
"Of course!" He answered subconsciously and immediately added, "And what, sir, must I give in return?"
There is no such thing as a free lunch in the world. The man with glasses knew the proverb very well.
"Don't worry. Let me introduce myself first."
Zhang Mu deliberately said in a solemn tone, "I'm a merchant from the Era Trade Caravan, not a human belonging to this world. Your world had been chosen as a testing field. After the test started, I came to this world."
"You are not a human?"
Wang Liang looked at Zhang Mu up and down. He found no difference between Zhang Mu's appearance and a normal human's, but he didn't mind if Zhang Mu was lying. He only wanted power.
"My name is Wang Liang. Tell me, what is the price I have to pay to become as strong as you?"
Wang Liang was eager for power. He knew that the world had been changed. Only people with power could survive.
Zhang Mu didn't answer his question. Instead, he picked out a crystal from a zombie's neck and showed it to Wang Liang, "Look, you can find crystals like this from the zombies' necks. It is our currency. If you can gather one thousand crystals in a month for me, I will grant you my speed in exchange for them."
Wang Liang looked at the crystal with curiosity. He wanted to observe it more closely, but Zhang Mu had already put it back into his own pocket. Wang Liang smiled embarrassedly.
Zhang Mu loved crystals as much as his life. Even though Wang Liang was useful to him, he wouldn't give him even a crystal for free.
Wang Liang threw up his hands and forced a smile, "I don't know why I suddenly obtained my super ability, but it isn't very powerful. I can only kill one or two zombies at once. As you have seen, it is impossible for me to collect one thousand crystals within a month. I want power, but... sorry, it is far beyond my capabilities."
Zhang Mu couldn't help laughing. He said, "Don't worry. By tomorrow, these monsters will only retain 30% of their current power. They will only be slightly stronger than ordinary people."
A flame of hope ignited in Wang Liang's eyes again. He said to himself, "30%... Yes, it isn't too difficult."
Zhang Mu smiled and said slowly, "Not only power. I can provide you with a lot of other things including food and weapons and they are very cheap. Don't hesitate, go to look for crystals! You will be able to get whatever you want!"
At the same time, Zhang Mu snapped his fingers. A bag of bread suddenly appeared on his hand. In order to fool Wang Liang, he must use his Merchant's Ring.
Wang Liang was shocked. He was sure there was nothing in Zhang Mu's hand a moment ago.
Zhang Mu threw the bread to him.
"Remember, you can use crystals to exchange for power from me. A month later, I will wait for you here. I hope that you won't disappoint me."
After he finished speaking, he walked away without looking back.
Wang Liang grasped the bag of bread in his hand and looked at Zhang Mu's back in si
lence.
After walking out of Wang Liang's sight, Zhang Mu laughed.
He knew that his lie wouldn't get exposed. Even if Wang Liang met other merchants in the future, they wouldn't be able to expose his lie because they were just newbies. They would just think that he was a special era merchant.
Even if some idiot went and told Wang Liang the real price of the agility potions, it didn't matter.
After all, he had bought all of them. This month, no one would have agility potions except for him! As for next month... don't forget that he was the first sub-merchant! He would dominate the market of the entire Luoyang City! He would monopolize the resources all for himself!
"A month later, I will buy ten agility potions. As sub-merchant no. 1, the price will only be eighty-one crystals. And I will sell them to Wang Liang for one thousand crystals. Ha ha ha ha! Wang Liang, don't disappoint me!"
Chapter 26: Ready to Go
On the road returning to the warehouse, Zhang Mu saw the group of people who had just abandoned Wang Liang. They had been hunted down by the zombies and only a few people escaped.
It was too late to save them. Moreover, he didn't want to save them.
There had been over a dozen people, but now, only two were left. Zhang Mu shook his head in disdain.
They were too stupid. If they had stayed with Wang Liang, with his help, they would be able to survive in this world more easily.
A kind and virtuous evolver wanted to help them, but they actually abandoned him. How stupid were they!
When they had abandoned their friends, they should've known that they would be abandoned as well someday!
Most people in Zhang Mu's past life had acted like this, but Zhang Mu refused to become one of them. As a merchant, he liked crystals, but there was something more important than crystals. In his past life, even though finishing his quests alone was dangerous, he still refused to join any force. He didn't believe in other humans. Monsters were straightforward; they never hid their will to eat him. However, he couldn't see through a human’s smiling face. It wouldn't be surprising to be stabbed by someone who just declared that you were his friend.
