Chapter 40: An Uninvited Guest

Qin Hao looked at the number and felt satisfied. For ordinary people, fifty was already quite a lot; those who dared to step forward refused to remain ordinary. They were truly courageous.

Zi Hui turned to her fans and said, "Your names and home addresses were recorded earlier. Today, we’ll plan a route to rescue them. Of course, if they’ve already gone with the military district personnel, we can just observe from a distance. Try not to attract attention, since I technically failed to cooperate with them and ran off midway."

"Oh?" Qin Hao had never asked how Zi Hui managed to shake off the police and military interrogations.

Zi Hui seemed to notice Qin Hao’s curiosity and explained, "I was at the police station, cooperating with their investigation, and barely slept all night. My fans waited outside the station the entire night. Then the apocalypse erupted. I heard their calls for help and ran out."

Naturally, it became a matter of course for her to lead people out. As for those who had been questioning Zi Hui, once they lost their firearms, they struggled even against the Fanged Demons and had no time to worry about anything else.

Zi Hui continued, "Besides, I only revealed the existence of the Hero System for humanity’s sake. When they discovered my fans had physical abilities on par with special forces, they planned to have me use the Stellar Energy Body-Tempering Technique to strengthen their chosen people."

Under such circumstances, providing the technique was naturally free.

"Without the internet, hero points aren’t so easy to get anymore. Now, they can only be gained by hunting beasts. Once you join a military base, even heroes must compromise—some might even be forced to become merchants who only sell items."

Hearing this, An Ziheng and Li Xinlong felt a chill run down their spines.

Thinking about it, even though they had obtained the Hero System, neither of them had the strength of Zi Hui or Qin Hao and could easily be controlled. If anyone learned how the Hero System worked, they could be kept like livestock, forced to provide real warrior evolution abilities.

At the very least, in the early days of the apocalypse, for the sake of power and command, such people would ensure their own strength.

Though it was only speculation, it was entirely reasonable.

Qin Hao took off his bracelet and handed it to Zi Hui. "If you run into them, hide first. At times like this, they’ll definitely search you thoroughly."

Zi Hui took the bracelet and discovered it was a divine item—the Shadowless One. It could conceal her identity and even hide her within a certain range.

"Thank you."

Qin Hao waved it off, unconcerned about lending out such a treasure.

After making all the arrangements, the group left the base.

Unexpectedly, as soon as they stepped out, they saw people in camouflage uniforms running toward them at a brisk pace.

There were about thirty of them, each carrying a triangular military blade.

Zi Hui’s brow furrowed instantly.

Fortunately, Qin Hao had given her the Shadowless One. She used it without hesitation, vanishing from sight.

"Let’s go quickly."

"Split up!"

An Ziheng and Li Xinlong didn’t leave through the main gate; instead, they each led some of Zi Hui’s fans off to find their families.

Qin Hao faced the approaching soldiers head-on.

Behind him were twenty ordinary people and ten Evolvers—solitary types, or those with families far away and thus unable to help, so they didn’t need to rescue anyone.

In terms of numbers, the two groups were about even.

In the military squad, the leader wore a trendy Korean-style haircut, dyed chestnut brown, looking nothing like a soldier. Yet his position was unique.

With a single glance, Qin Hao realized this man was a hero.

The man walked up and, seeing Qin Hao’s group clustered together, raised an eyebrow and said, "I’m Lu Shaohua, captain of the Hero Corps at the new Field Army base. We just received reports from other residents that Hero Zi Hui was seen here. Have her come out and follow us to the new military district."

The few remaining fans of Zi Hui, hearing Lu Shaohua’s words, all looked grim, cursing the ones who had left earlier for being ungrateful traitors.

Zi Hui’s whereabouts must have been leaked by them.

"Looking for Zi Hui? She’s already gone," Qin Hao replied.

Lu Shaohua’s expression darkened.

"Where did she go?"

"You’ll have to ask her. How would I know?"

"Are you playing games with me?" Lu Shaohua glared at Qin Hao. "Do you know who I am? I’m now the Commander of the Shanghai Army. Like Zi Hui, I was chosen by the gods as a hero and possess formidable power. You’d better not get in my way, or I could crush you with one finger—believe it?"

"Oh?" Qin Hao looked at Lu Shaohua in surprise, but no matter how he examined him, the man didn’t seem that powerful.

So arrogant?

Qin Hao was curious to see just how strong a hero nurtured by the military could become.

"I don’t believe you," Qin Hao replied calmly.

Lu Shaohua felt as if he’d punched a pile of cotton.

"Don’t get in the way. Zi Hui is important to the military, and I don’t have time to waste words with you. She must be upstairs."

Lu Shaohua strode forward, reaching out to push Qin Hao aside.

If it had been an ordinary person, or even an Evolver enhanced by the Stellar Energy Body-Tempering Technique, they might have been shoved away and fallen flat on their face.

Yet Qin Hao didn’t budge at all.

Lu Shaohua pressed forward, intending to give him a taste of his power. Suddenly, he felt Qin Hao’s shoulder shift and collide with his own.

In that instant, a tremendous force surged from Qin Hao, knocking Lu Shaohua back three steps—he nearly landed flat on his rear.

Seeing Lu Shaohua so embarrassed, those behind Qin Hao burst into laughter.

"And here I thought he’d be impressive—turns out he’s just a paper tiger."

"Crush someone with a finger? More like he’ll get crushed himself."

"With that kind of strength, he dares show off in front of Mr. Qin? Think being a hero makes you special?"

Their whispers, easily caught by anyone enhanced with stellar energy, reached Lu Shaohua’s ears loud and clear.

His rage flared, and his fists clenched until his knuckles cracked.

"Qin, is it? Today I’ll show you the true power of a hero!"

As he spoke, Lu Shaohua raised his fist and swung at Qin Hao.

Not only that, but a mist-like energy enveloped his fist—stellar energy.

He could already use stellar energy in combat. This piqued Qin Hao’s interest.

Qin Hao threw a punch as well, but without using stellar energy—just pure physical strength.

A flash of malice crossed Lu Shaohua’s eyes. The opponent clearly didn’t know any combat techniques, while his own double-strength punch had cost him three hundred stellar energy crystals.

Just as he was feeling smug, their fists collided.

In the next moment, Lu Shaohua’s expression changed.