DipNovel Chapter 5: Acquiring a Powerful Thug
Chapter 5: Acquiring a Powerful Thug
Guarded by four zombies, Lu Chen walked through the corridor and headed west.
The first room to arrive was 504, but the door was open. He walked to the door and peeked inside.
Next to the television in the living room, there was a family photo. There were three people in the photo: Aunt Wang, a middle-aged man, and a boy of about fifteen or sixteen years old.
Lu Chen paused for a moment.
This should be Aunt Wang's house. The man in the photo is her husband, and the boy is her son.
Now Aunt Wang has turned into a zombie, and the other two people in the photo are not here; they are probably in grave danger as well.
He quietly withdrew and continued walking towards 505.
Upon arriving at apartment 505, Lu Chen, as usual, knocked on the door to listen for any response.
Boom!Boom!
A low growl immediately came from behind the door, followed by heavy footsteps.
Lu Chen pressed his ear against the door panel and carefully examined it for a while.
There was only one sound of footsteps, heavy though it was, but no other sounds were heard.
"One!" he declared.
If there's only one, he won't be scared.
With four against one, the advantage is in my hands, and he plans to direct the battle from the sidelines.
"Dazhuang, pry open the door!"
Dazhuang shoved the crowbar into the crack in the door and pried it open with force. The lock made a familiar metallic cracking sound and then banged open.
The moment the door popped open, Lu Chen saw the zombie inside.
His breath hitched slightly.
That was a zombie that was over 1.9 meters tall!
Its shoulders were as broad as a wall, and the muscles on its arms bulged, stretching its short-sleeved shirt tightly against its body. Its neck was thick, and its jaw muscles were incredibly developed, giving its entire face a grayish-blue color.
In that instant, Lu Chen's mind flashed back to the scene from this morning: the robust zombie, over two meters tall, on the opposite street, tearing open its belly with a single claw and chewing on its heart.
Fuck!
He regretted it!
Regretting not returning to the room to possess and control the zombie, he was now standing at the door of room 505, separated from the zombie by only four zombies under his control.
If Dazhuang and the others can't suppress it, this monster could break through the defenses and pounce at any time.
But it's too late to regret it now; the zombie has already seen him.
The moment it saw a living person, it let out a deafening roar and pounced on Lu Chen like a wild beast out of control.
"Go! Hold it down!"
Lu Chen retreated quickly while issuing orders.
Although he was panicked, he remained calm.
The situation was indeed unexpected, but it hasn't gotten out of control yet.
He now controls four zombies, especially Dazhuang. Although there is a gap between him and the monster in front of him, the gap is not huge. Dazhuang used to work on construction sites, so his physique is still there.
With Aunt Wang and the other two zombies working together, it should be enough to suppress them, four against one.
Even if they can't suppress it, the four zombies can buy him enough time to retreat back to 501.
Once the door is closed, I'll possess Dazhuang and carry out the operation. I'll be able to tie him up before he breaks down the door.
These thoughts flashed through Lu Chen's mind in just a second or two.
In those one or two seconds, his eyes never left the battlefield.
Dazhuang was the first to go forward.
The two zombies collided, producing a dull thud as flesh struck flesh.
Da Zhuang braced his arms around the other's shoulders, but the strong zombie was clearly stronger, pushing Da Zhuang back half a step.
Da Zhuang's sneakers squeaked and groaned as they rubbed against the floor.
Fortunately, Aunt Wang and the other two zombies pounced on them immediately afterward.
Aunt Wang swung a round wooden stick from the side and smashed it into the waist of the burly zombie.
The other two zombies grabbed each other's legs and pulled down with all their might.
The burly zombie tilted, its center of gravity disrupted.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Da Zhuang exerted his strength, working together with the other three zombies, and finally overturned Zhuang Zombie to the ground.
With a loud bang, the ground shook!
Four zombies pounced on it, pinning it to the ground.
The burly zombie struggled desperately, like a trapped beast caught in a net, but outnumbered four to one, no matter how strong it was, it couldn't turn the tables.
Lu Chen was not overconfident.
He quickly retreated to 501, closed the door, switched to possession mode, and controlled Dazhuang to take out a nylon rope from his waist.
The zombies themselves cannot perform such a complex task as binding.
They don't understand instructions like "wrap the rope around twice and tie a knot," so he has to possess them to do it.
Lu Chen controlled Da Zhuang to squat down, tied the zombie's hands behind his back, wrapped them tightly with nylon rope, and then tied a knot.
Next were her legs, with one bandage tied from her ankles to her thighs.
After confirming that the rope was securely tied, he had the other three zombies continue to hold the other person down, then he released himself from the possession and walked out of room 501.
Reaching the door of 505, I crouched down and placed my hand on the burly zombie's waist.
Power activated!
This zombie's resistance was significantly stronger than the ones they had controlled before.
Lu Chen could sense that his superpowers encountered greater resistance when invading the other party's brain.
The burly zombie struggled even more violently, its muscles tense, and the nylon rope creaked under the strain.
Time ticked by, and sweat beaded on Lu Chen's forehead.
Finally, when the time reached 10 seconds.
The resistance receded like the tide.
Control complete!
Lu Chen plopped down on the ground and let out a long breath.
He looked up at the now-quiet, muscular zombie in front of him and couldn't help but grin.
"Alright, alright!" He stood up, patted the other's bulging arm, which felt like patting a rock. "You're stronger than Dazhuang. From now on, you'll be called Tiezhu."
He then randomly picked another name.
Lu Chen looked at the zombie in front of him and a question popped into his mind.
He has been renting this place for half a year. He can't say he knows all the residents on this floor, but he has at least seen them.
He didn't recall having such a robust resident.
But looking at the other person's face, he carefully searched his memory and quickly matched it with a face.
That was a huge fat man weighing over 200 pounds!
Square face, thick eyebrows, facial features do match.
But compared to the zombie in front of him, whose entire body was covered in muscles, it was completely different.
One is covered in flabby flesh, the other has bulging muscles—who would have thought they were the same person?
Lu Chen stared at Tie Zhu for a while, then suddenly remembered something.
Fat is a type of energy stored in the human body.
Zombies, or rather zombie viruses, require a lot of energy to drive their evolution, which is why they frantically devour the living things around them.
What if there is already sufficient fat energy in the body?
Without needing to eat or hunt, the zombie virus can directly utilize the body's stored fat to complete the most basic evolutionary transformation.
Clearly, this is the case with the zombie in front of us.
A fat man weighing over 200 pounds was transformed by the zombie virus, his fat being converted into muscle and strength, turning him into the robust monster standing 1.9 meters tall before us.
"Interesting!" Lu Chen muttered to himself, "It seems that fat people have an advantage over skinny people when they turn into zombies."
Of course, this advantage only exists after he becomes a zombie; as a human, he has no envy whatsoever.
Lu Chen helped Tie Zhu stand up and try to move around a bit.
Its movements were even stiffer than Dazhuang's, probably because its size was too large and its muscles were too developed, resulting in reduced joint flexibility.
But he was indeed strong enough that a casual push could send Dazhuang staggering back several steps.
This zombie is definitely the most powerful one among his current subordinates.
Lu Chen rested for a while before turning his attention to the last room on the west side.
"Only 506 left."
He led five zombies toward 506, but after a few steps, he stopped.
His experience with 505 had made him a little uneasy.
The iron pillar almost gave him a fright; what if there was an even stronger one locked up in room 506?
Although the possibility is very low, it's better to be safe than sorry!
After hesitating for a few seconds, Lu Chen decided to play it safe.
I prepared to retreat to the room and leaned over to help Da Zhuang operate the device. It would only take a few more minutes anyway, safety first.
Just as he was about to turn around and walk back, the doorknob of 506 suddenly turned.
Lu Chen stopped in his tracks.
Under his and the five zombies' watchful eyes, the door to room 506 was slowly opened a crack from the inside.