7: control

Lin Ze hid in the shadows, using his hearing to piece together a rough understanding of the situation.

He estimated there were two people, armed with knives, and they weren't good people. Dealing with them would be easy.

But what about the woman being held captive? How should she be handled afterward?

Lin Ze wasn't someone completely devoid of humanity. Unless absolutely necessary, he wouldn't casually kill.

However, that didn't mean he would act like a saint and go out of his way to save others.

If there was danger, his first instinct would definitely be to run.

As for food and drink, he would always prioritize himself.

In this apocalyptic world, selfishness was a necessity!

But Lin Ze had more confidence, especially after gaining the system, which allowed him to retain a bit more humanity.

Lin Ze hiding wasn't out of fear. He let them come up primarily to gain the initiative, as he was in the dark.

Secondly, he was worried about any tracking "third parties," such as "Blackies" or monsters.

Some monsters could silently stalk you, waiting for an opportunity to kill you!

"Blackies" were the same, just human. In other words, they were backstabbers.

"Open the door!" the man said to the woman.

The woman who had crawled through glanced at him. Her upper body, halfway through, looked at the shed on the rooftop, scanning around. When she looked up, she saw someone behind the water tank.

Hope erupted in her eyes.

She didn't make a sound. Instead, she quietly helped the man open the rooftop door and move the boxes.

Lin Ze hid again.

He had intentionally let them discover him.

It was mainly a test.

From an initial assessment, they were indeed not working together. After all, some people would pretend to be coerced to trick or ambush others.

"This place isn't bad!" The man and woman walked in. The man seemed unafraid of danger as he walked out, but his positioning was such that he could always use the coerced woman as a "shield."

He spoke casually, his gaze subtly sweeping around.

After all three had entered, the man re-closed the rooftop door and propped it with a box.

"Friend! Come out and show yourself?" the man shouted loudly.

They weren't stupid, of course. Something propping the door from the inside had to be human-made.

Plus, the place looked genuinely good, and there was food on the table.

Although the man was very hungry, he didn't act rashly because someone was definitely in the dark!

Daring to touch the food would undoubtedly lead to an immediate conflict!

Not knowing how many opponents there were, what weapons they had, or where they were, the man certainly didn't dare to act recklessly.

There were just two of them, each with a knife.

Lin Ze suddenly jumped down from above.

Thump! Lin Ze tackled the woman in the back, twisted her arm, disarming her knife. He pinned her to the ground with one hand, holding a machete pointed at the man.

"Hey! Hey! Brother, don't be nervous!" The man's pupils constricted slightly when he saw Lin Ze. He tightened his grip on his knife and quickly shouted.

"Weapons down," Lin Ze said to the man with a cold face.

"Brother! We've lived in the apocalypse for so long, you know that request is too much!" The man didn't drop his weapon. Instead, he looked at Lin Ze seriously.

At the same time, he was secretly startled by Lin Ze's strength.

Lin Ze was over 1.8 meters tall, and after his enhancements, his physique was excellent. Although he was a bit dirty and his face was grimy, it only highlighted his bright, piercing eyes.

Coupled with his clean and decisive movements, in this apocalypse, being able to survive so well as a lone wolf meant his strength was beyond doubt.

The man didn't want to conflict with Lin Ze, but being unarmed meant putting his life in the other's hands, which was impossible!

Lin Ze stood up without hesitation, then switched from using his hand to his foot to pin the woman beneath him. He reached out, pulled, and pointed a pistol at the man.

Clang!

"OK!" The man immediately released his grip, his knife clattering to the ground, and raised his hands decisively.

The woman they had coerced was very excited. She was saved! She joyfully started to run towards Lin Ze.

Lin Ze turned his gun.

The woman braked, stopping awkwardly.

"Get up!" Lin Ze kicked the woman he was pinning. Then he stepped back a few paces. The woman, still pinned, lowered her head, her hair disheveled, a hint of resentment in her eyes, and silently stood up.

"All of you, squat over there! Hands on your heads!" Lin Ze told them.

"I don't believe your gun has bullets!" the woman suddenly picked up the knife on the ground and said to Lin Ze.

"?" Lin Ze hadn't expected this woman to be a bit "problematic." He aimed his pistol at her.

Lin Ze sneered, "Let's see if your guess is right. Do you dare to move?"

The woman pursed her lips. Of course, she didn't dare.

"Do you dare to shoot?!" the woman said to Lin Ze.

Shooting meant noise, and even in the heavy rain, it would definitely attract monsters.

Lin Ze scoffed.

"What are you doing?!" The man pulled the woman and asked in a low voice.

"..." The woman was silent for a moment, then shook off the man and walked to the side to squat down.

The man followed.

"I... I'm not with them! I'm..." The coerced woman quickly explained to Lin Ze.

"Go! Squat down!" Lin Ze interrupted her directly, speaking coldly.

The woman awkwardly shut up, then walked to the side and squatted down, but she didn't go near the man and woman who had coerced her; she kept a distance.

"Very good! This makes communication easier!" Lin Ze was very satisfied. He holstered his pistol, holding his machete, and stood about four or five paces away from them.

"Now, I ask, and you answer!" Lin Ze first asked the coerced woman, "What's your name?"

"My name is Lin Zhi, I'm 23 this year, my height..." Lin Zhi subconsciously began to speak.

"Alright, shut up!" Lin Ze didn't want to hear too much. After interrupting her, he looked at the other man and woman.

The man spoke without Lin Ze needing to prompt him, "My name is Chen Kun, and this is my female companion, Li Sha. That! Brother, we really have no ill intentions. We just want to find a place to shelter from the rain and avoid danger. We won't interfere with each other. Once the heavy rain passes, we'll leave, how about it?"

"Not good!" Lin Ze didn't believe his words. He had seen what happened to Lin Zhi.

Moreover, Lin Zhi had many injuries and was weak, looking like she hadn't eaten enough.

However, those injuries had been treated; otherwise, the smell of blood would have attracted monsters more easily.

"Brother! Brother! We're all just people struggling to survive in the apocalypse. You know what it's like!" Chen Kun knew that coercing Lin Zhi had definitely branded him as a "bad guy."

People always form first impressions, so Lin Ze's distrust and vigilance towards them were natural.

"We really just want to shelter from the rain! We can even give this woman to you! We'll leave when the rain stops! And you have a gun!" Chen Kun tried to persuade Lin Ze.

"You're the ones who coerced me! You make it sound like I'm yours!" Lin Zhi turned and said angrily to Chen Kun.

"Shut up!" Lin Ze frowned. Just as he was about to say something, his ears twitched.

There was movement downstairs again!

Damn it! Why was he so unlucky today?! Lin Ze frowned. Was this place so appealing? Everyone was coming here!