"Well done! Once we get Bai Xi back, she'll lead us to the villa."
"The villa!"
At the mere mention of those two words, everyone's mouths began to water.
They'd gone through all this trouble because Bai Xi had told them that Chen Du lived in a lavish estate—complete with electricity, running water, and even a beautiful woman!
"Boss Tiger, it looks like they're here!"
Hearing footsteps approaching, Black Tiger quickly moved away from the toxic gas pit.
Taking a few steps forward, he spotted Chen Du and Bai Xi walking towards him.
"This way!" Black Tiger waved urgently.
Chen Du nodded and strode over without hesitation.
"Black Tiger, I've brought the person as promised. Where's what you owe me?"
"What are you talking about? What do you mean by 'what'?" Bai Xi asked sharply, her delicate brows furrowing as suspicion dawned on her.
The next moment, Black Tiger pulled out two vials of serum. His expression twisted with reluctance.
"Black Tiger, what are you planning to do?!" Bai Xi demanded.
"And my father—why isn't he here?!"
Black Tiger winked at her and grinned maliciously. "Miss Bai, enough screaming. Can't you tell how things stand now?"
"1945 and I have joined forces. Soon enough, you'll reunite with your father…"
"Only, when that happens, both of you will be heading straight to hell!"
His words sent a chill down Bai Xi's spine; her face turned ghostly pale.
"How… how could this happen…"
"Black Tiger, you traitor!" Bai Xi tried to lash out again, but several henchmen quickly gagged her with duct tape, silencing her completely.
Then, they dragged her away.
"Why only two vials?" Chen Du weighed the serum in his hand, his brow creasing with suspicion.
"Cough, cough," Black Tiger chuckled nervously. "Brother, why the rush? The other eight vials are still with Bai Xianxing. These two are just an advance payment."
"Once we deal with Bai Xianxing, all his serum will belong to you."
Patting his chest confidently, Black Tiger added, "Consider it handled."
A second later, he slung an arm around Chen Du's shoulder.
"There are too many prying eyes here. Let's talk somewhere quieter."
"That Bai Xianxing—he's not someone easily dealt with. He's full of tricks."
Chen Du gave a slight nod, a dangerous glint flickering in his eyes.
"Fine. Let's discuss this properly."
On the other side, seeing Chen Du and Black Tiger disappear deeper into the woods, a few henchmen hurriedly untied Bai Xi's bindings.
"Are you alright, Miss Bai?" one of them asked.
"I'm fine," she replied coolly, a sly smirk spreading across her lips once more.
"This 1945—I thought he was clever. But clearly, ten vials of serum were all it took to make him lose control. What a fool!"
The henchmen nodded in agreement.
"Alright, let's head back to camp," one said.
"And then move in on 1945's villa while we're at it! Haha!"
…
In another part of the forest, Black Tiger led Chen Du to a secluded spot. Suddenly, he whistled sharply, and three or four men emerged from the trees.
Chen Du frowned. "Black Tiger, what is this?"
The men swiftly surrounded him. Black Tiger stood in the middle, wearing an unsettling grin.
"What do you think it means? Don't play dumb."
"I'm going to kill you!"
At this, Chen Du merely smiled faintly.
"You think you can take me down with just these amateurs?"
"Of course not!" Black Tiger sneered. As he spoke, his lackeys rolled in a canister of toxic gas.
"I know you're skilled, but surely even you can't resist poison, right?"
Seeing Chen Du's apparent unease, the henchmen burst into laughter. One by one, they donned their gas masks.
But just as Black Tiger reached for his own mask, his eyes widened in shock.
"Damn it—where's my mask?!"
In that split second, Chen Du had snatched it clean out of his hands.
"You—" Black Tiger's mind went blank. He frantically signaled to his men.
"Turn off the gas, quick!"
It was already too late. With a swift motion, Chen Du smashed the gas canister, releasing a thick cloud of poison. Within moments, Black Tiger collapsed, foaming at the mouth and convulsing violently before falling lifeless.
The remaining henchmen panicked. Though they wore masks, they couldn't identify which figure among them was Chen Du. But Chen Du knew exactly who each of them was.
Apart from himself, every last one of them was an enemy.
"Is this really the best you've got? Did you honestly think you could come here and live?"
Minutes later, Chen Du emerged from the woods, discarding the stolen mask. Spotting the ropes on the ground, he realized Bai Xi and her group hadn't gone far. Following their tracks, he soon came upon a wooden cabin nestled among the trees.
Inside, the voices of Bai Xi and Bai Xianxing drifted out.
"Father, I'm back!"
"Bai Xi, are you injured?"
"No, thanks to Brother Black Tiger. That 1945 is such a fool."
Bai Xianxing gave a faint smile, pride gleaming in his eyes as he looked at his daughter. He immediately contacted Black Tiger to check on the situation—but to his astonishment, the account had been deleted.
There was only one explanation: Black Tiger was dead.
"What's going on? Why has Black Tiger's account disappeared—"
"Sorry to disappoint, but he's already dead."
The familiar voice froze Bai Xianxing instantly. As he looked up, terror gripped him, as if he were staring at a ghost.
"You… how are you still alive…"
"So, Black Tiger failed?"
The intruder stepped forward—it was none other than Chen Du. A contemptuous smile played on his lips as he walked into the cabin under the stunned gazes of everyone present.
Faced with Chen Du's overwhelming presence, the others scrambled to defend themselves. But against him, they never stood a chance. Within minutes, all resistance was crushed. Only Bai Xianxing and Bai Xi remained.
"1945, please—I didn't mean to deceive you…"
"It was all Black Tiger's fault! My father and I had nothing to do with it!"
Even now, Bai Xi tried to shift the blame.
Clearly, she had conspired with Black Tiger to set a trap for Chen Du, even revealing the location of his villa.
And as for everyone who knew about the villa...
There was only one fate—death!
"It's too late to say anything now."
Chen Du ignored the desperate pleas of the father and daughter, ending them both with two quick slashes.
Afterward, he searched through every nook and cranny until he finally found the remaining six vials of serum.
"Fuck, still only eight goddamn vials!"
"Whatever, it'll have to do."
With the serum in hand, Chen Du immediately returned to the villa.
From this moment on, their chances of survival had drastically improved.
If anyone got bitten by zombies, they could just inject the serum directly.
*This chapter sucks (not the writing, the fact I had to kill Black Tiger)
Dude was the definition of ride-or-die
Someone pour a 40oz in the comments section (ಥ_ಥ)*