Chapter 42 - Request
The twenty or so survivors that Bai Zemin and the other three leaders had brought out of the gymnasium to help with the food issue joined the group that was previously led by the dead Qiao Long.
Because Qiao Long had rescued the girls who were in the female dormitory when the chaos fully erupted, most of the group members were women. The total number of survivors was approximately one hundred and sixty people of which approximately 70% were women.
Currently, Bai Zemin was sitting at a table on the fourth floor together with several people such as Shangguan Bing Xue, Chen He, Liang Peng, Cai Jingyi, and others discussing some important matters about what to do next. After all, no one really wanted to stay in this university forever; each of them had their own goals but most of them hoped to reunite with their families.
Most of the survivors feared Bai Zemin after seeing what he did, therefore, no one dared to try to disrespect him and in fact, his words were beginning to become slightly heavier than those of Shangguan Bing Xue, Chen He, and Liang Peng.
"Excuse me..."
As they were discussing going back to the restaurant for more imperishable food now that the number of people had increased, a somewhat trembling voice came from the door and interrupted the meeting.
Chen He saw that the person was a young woman who was scared so he smiled kindly and said in a soft voice, "You don't need to be afraid. None of us here are like Qiao Long. What is your name?"
At the door, a rather pretty little young girl cringed in fear as everyone turned in her direction. Fortunately, Chen He's appearance and voice actually helped calm her nerves a bit as the girl nodded and spoke hesitantly, "M-My name is Ming Shui Shui. This... If possible... Could you please go to the female dormitory? There are people in there and they're probably starving right now."
"Isn't Qiao Long supposed to have already cleared that area?" Shangguan Bing Xue asked, her gaze full of surprise.
If what this girl said was true, then those people would probably be experiencing a lot of hunger right now! After all, it had already been six days since the world changed, and considering that no one kept too much food in the dormitories they should have exhausted everything at least four days ago.
Ming Shui Shui shook her head and quickly explained, "No. Actually, King... Actually, Qiao Long was only able to reach the third floor before he was forced to retreat. Before we left, it was only by accident that I caught a glimpse of a strange zombie whose skin was blue with glowing green eyes..."
Hearing the girl's explanation, Bai Zemin's face changed slightly and he couldn't help but think in the First Order Blazing Beetle. If this zombie was also an officially evolved creature, then it would be really troublesome to fight it and honestly Bai Zemin was not 100% confident in defeating it.
Shangguan Bing Xue had especially sharp eyes and noticing the change in his expression. She narrowed her eyes and asked, "Bai Zemin, do you think that strange zombie is also a monster on the same level as that beetle you killed back then?"
Hearing Shangguan Bing Xue's question, Liang Peng and Chen He's disbelieving gaze fell on Bai Zemin immediately.
"Wait, wait a moment!" Liang Peng slammed the table and jumped to his feet as he looked at Shangguan Bing Xue with wide eyes, "You're saying that giant scary beetle from earlier was defeated and killed by Bai Zemin?"
Liang Peng could not believe it. He himself had felt the overwhelming power emanating from the body of the dead giant elephant beetle. Then he couldn't even imagine how dreadful it was alive! However, Bai Zemin had defeated it alone? Liang Peng was incredulous.
"Bing Xue, are you sure about that..?" Chen He also hesitated before asking, "I mean... You saw him defeating the beetle yourself?"
Chen He's words were clear; are you sure he killed it and didn't lie? From a certain point of view, Chen He's doubts were just as valid as those of Liang Peng. However, Shangguan Bing Xue did not have time to answer since the current situation was simply too bad and she hoped that Bai Zemin would shake his head at her earlier question.
Unfortunately for her, wishes were not always granted and even less so in a chaotic world.
After some hesitation, Bai Zemin nodded and said in a deep voice, "I'm at least 80% sure that zombie is a First Order creature."
"First Order?" Shangguan Bing Xue quickly asked, noticing new words.
Then, Bai Zemin began to slowly explain the name of the beetle that appeared in his retina when he defeated it and its level. Then he used some interesting theories to express his thoughts regarding evolution in a way that did not reveal too much or raise doubts from others.
The atmosphere turned extremely heavy and everyone's face became extremely ugly after listening to Bai Zemin's explanation and hearing how horrifying the strength of the First Order Blazing Beetle was.
Everyone's gaze toward Bai Zemin had changed again, adding another layer of fear and respect. After all, if everything he had just said was real, then his current stats were probably far higher than his actual level.
Seeing everyone's expression and taking advantage of the silence, Bai Zemin said in a serious voice: "I'll be honest. I have no intention of going to risk my life to save people I don't know and who probably won't even thank me properly."
"What? How can you be so selfish?! There could be dozens or even hundreds of women in that place!" For the first time, Shangguan Bing Xue raised her voice upon hearing Bai Zemin's words.
"What about me?" Bai Zemin looked at her indifferently and slowly replied, "To be honest, my only goal currently other than surviving is to find my family."
During his battle against the First Order Blazing Beetle, the reason why Bai Zemin managed to win and survive was because of various reasons; the beetle was slower than him, its mobility was limited, its attack pattern predictable, and so on. However, fighting a First Order evolved zombie was something completely different compared to fighting against an insect.
If the First Order evolved zombie could match Bai Zemin's speed, then Bai Zemin's life could be at real risk since a small carelessness or mistake would cause the zombie to manage to scratch him. Unlike Bai Zemin, who needed to finish off the enemy's brain to win, the zombie only needed a light hit to cause its enemy's death.
Since Bai Zemin had no reason to move he would not do so no matter how selfish it was.
Suddenly Shangguan Bing Xue's eyes glittered and just as her improved perception towards Bai Zemin was vanishing, an idea flickered in her mind. With narrowed eyes, she questioned, "Didn't you say before that you owed me a favor and would do your best to save my life once as payback? Then come with me. Or what, are you so low man that your word and your promises are empty?"