Chapter 49: Returning to the Fifth Floor

In truth, Su Meiqin only seemed somewhat weak because she encountered Kong Zhe, a veritable monster with cheat-like abilities, right from the very beginning. Had she crossed paths with any other awakened individual, she alone could match four or five of them—she would undoubtedly be the backbone of any team.

Soon, Su Meiqin shook off her negative thoughts, clenched her fists, and cheered herself on. She was fiercely competitive by nature, all the more so when it came to Kong Zhe—she refused to admit defeat to him.

I may not be your equal now, but one day, I will surpass you!

With a burning gaze, Su Meiqin looked at Kong Zhe, secretly resolving to make him her goal.

Many times, the target a person chooses determines the heights they ultimately reach.

So it was with Su Meiqin; she did not yet know that this decision would propel her to far greater achievements than in her previous life.

But all that lay in the future. For now, Su Meiqin strode purposefully over to Kong Zhe. Noticing that in the short time she’d been away, another girl had joined him, she frowned and asked, “Who’s this?”

“Hm?” Kong Zhe, deep in thought, was startled for a moment before replying vaguely, “...She’s my sister.”

“Oh!”

Su Meiqin thought nothing of it. Judging by the closeness between the girl and Kong Zhe, it made sense if they were siblings.

Little Lei was shy around strangers. Seeing Su Meiqin, bloodstained and brandishing a long spear, she hurriedly hid behind Kong Zhe. Realizing her behavior was impolite, she poked her head out and said timidly, “Hello, sister!”

“Mm.” Su Meiqin only nodded coolly. She was not adept at dealing with children, so she simply ignored her and turned back to Kong Zhe.

“So, where are we going next?”

“...Let’s head up to the fifth floor—and clear out the beasts while we’re at it.” After a moment’s thought, Kong Zhe said, “Since you have a hidden class, there should be a green button under your stats panel. Press it to hide your identity and level information.”

This was one of the advantages of a hidden class: right from the start, one could choose to conceal their information. Ordinary classes could only do so with the help of special mask-type equipment.

That’s why, later in the apocalypse, if you saw someone on the street who appeared harmless, it was best not to provoke them—they might just be a hidden class powerhouse.

Su Meiqin gave it a try. Sure enough, after pressing the button, her LV2 and “King of Marksmen” no longer appeared above her head. A very handy feature, indeed.

...

The third floor was mostly a library, while the fourth housed offices. Kong Zhe hadn’t collected anything from these areas—his ring’s storage space was limited, and the items he’d already gathered from downstairs took up more than half of it. He had to reserve space for beast materials, so anything of little use he simply left behind.

Along the way, they encountered more than a dozen monsters. But before two elite humans and a level-three kobold, these beasts might as well have been offering themselves up. Su Meiqin was uncharacteristically enthusiastic—she charged at every beast like it was her own child, slaughtering them with such ferocity that even the monsters were terrified, fleeing in all directions.

Kong Zhe could only sigh. Every time he wanted to act, he felt awkward about fighting a woman for the kill; as a result, he’d only managed to slay two monsters, both opportunistic strikes when Su Meiqin was caught off guard. The rest all fell to her.

As for the kobold, it had been reduced to a mere bystander. Even little Lei, watching Su Meiqin carve a path through the monsters, found her fear dissipating. For the first time, she realized these creatures could be afraid, too!

Kong Zhe could somewhat understand Su Meiqin’s mindset—she probably wanted to level up as quickly as possible, hoping to break free of the “Persuasion” effect.

But deep down, Kong Zhe knew this was futile. An S-rank skill wasn’t so easily undone—even if she reached max level immediately, she’d never escape its grip.

Perhaps because awakened ones were special, though Su Meiqin counted as Kong Zhe’s summoned creature, her kills earned him no experience.

Soon, the two of them had cleared out all the beasts in the building, and Su Meiqin had leveled up to three, even surpassing Kong Zhe in experience.

Chatting amiably, they arrived at the doors of the fifth floor. There, two monster corpses already lay at the entrance.

A familiar voice drifted from inside. Kong Zhe instantly recognized it as Zhang Qiang’s—he must have recently awakened and was now delivering a speech.

...

At that moment, inside the fifth floor of the Broken Bridge Mall, thirty or forty people were gathered in the central hall, standing or sitting, all regarding the man in the security uniform before them with looks of fear and awe.

Opposite them, Zhang Qiang stood with arms crossed, sneering at the group.

At his feet lay a man in a business suit, his face bruised and swollen, his body mottled with purple and blue—evidence of a vicious beating.

This man was Zhang Qiang’s boss, who had spent his days berating him and docking his pay. Zhang Qiang had long harbored a deep hatred for him but never dared act on it—until now.

The moment he awakened, he gained superhuman strength. And after killing two fishmen with magic, Zhang Qiang felt transformed. He was no longer the meek security guard he’d once been; now, he feared nothing and no one.

The first thing he did was unleash a savage beating on his boss.

Looking at the man writhing on the floor, Zhang Qiang could not have been more pleased. But he wasn’t done yet.

Power breeds ambition—and stirs the darkest, most violent desires in the human heart.

“Listen up—all of you!” Zhang Qiang announced coldly. “From now on, all the food here belongs to me. Anyone who dares steal so much as a bite will end up like him.” He pointed at the battered man at his feet.

The crowd bristled with anger. In the apocalypse, food was everything, and now this man wanted to hoard it all! Some instinctively opened their mouths to protest, but when they met Zhang Qiang’s fierce gaze, their courage faltered. Heads lowered, no one dared speak.

Zhang Qiang, satisfied with the effect he’d achieved, changed his tone. “Of course, I’m not completely heartless. I might reward you with a little food, provided you please me and my brother.”

He and his brother Zhang Hao snickered. The crowd could easily guess the meaning behind his words. All Zhang Qiang had to do now was wait for them to act.

In the apocalypse, no matter what lofty status these people once held, it meant nothing now. He and his brother controlled the most vital resource—food. He didn’t believe they wouldn’t submit.

Sure enough, someone soon broke the silence.

“Brother Qiang!” From the far right, Hong Ling sashayed over with a flirtatious smile, leaning close to his ear and cooing, “I’m so hungry… Give me something to eat, won’t you? I can…”

She whispered something further into his ear.

Zhang Qiang felt a rush of excitement. Damn, what a temptress! If not for all these people watching, he’d have taken her right then and there.

“Ha! You’re not bad. Hong Ling, was it? From now on, you can eat as much as you like here,” Zhang Qiang laughed.

Hong Ling beamed. “Thank you, Brother Qiang!”

Not far away, Zhang Hao’s eyes burned as he admired Hong Ling’s figure. She was a local celebrity, once the star of his dreams! But now that she’d gone over to his brother, he could only give up. With a sigh, he scanned the crowd for another attractive woman to vent his frustrations on. Yet, for all his searching, none satisfied him.

There were plenty of beauties, but compared to Hong Ling, none quite measured up. He kept looking, but couldn’t make up his mind.

Creak!

The sound of the door opening snapped everyone to attention. They all turned anxiously toward the entrance, worried another monster had broken in. Even Zhang Qiang and Zhang Hao tensed.

But they quickly saw it was not a monster, but three humans.

Relief washed over the crowd. Whoever they were, as long as they weren’t monsters, it was fine.

“Damn, scared me half to death…” Zhang Hao cursed, turning back around—until he caught sight of the newcomers.

Two women and a man had entered; he ignored the man and focused on the women.

One radiated strength, the other delicate gentleness, but both were devastatingly beautiful—each easily as alluring as Hong Ling.

Damn, the heavens truly favor me! Just when I was looking for some fun, these beauties walk right in.

Zhang Hao leered, not sparing a thought for their combat ability. Two women couldn’t possibly be strong, and the man—just a pretty face—couldn’t possibly stand up to his brother.

“Heh, kid, your timing couldn’t be better. These two women are mine!”

Grinning wickedly, Zhang Hao strode over and reached for Su Meiqin, who stood at the edge of the group.

In an instant, a cold light flashed in Su Meiqin’s eyes and her right hand twitched—but before she could act, a hand shot out from beside her and seized Zhang Hao’s right wrist.

Kong Zhe sneered, and with a slight twist, a sickening crack sounded as three of Zhang Hao’s fingers were bent into a grotesque, permanent angle.

“Ah!” Zhang Hao let out a howl of pain, glaring at Kong Zhe. “You little—!”

But before he could finish, Kong Zhe smashed a fist into his jaw, cutting him off mid-sentence.

“If you want to live, shut your mouth!” Kong Zhe growled.

This idiot had no sense—did he really think Kong Zhe was trying to harm him? In truth, Kong Zhe had just saved his life. If he hadn’t reacted quickly, Su Meiqin would have already shot Zhang Hao dead.