Chapter Forty-Three: You Fight the Boss, I'll Just Pick Up the Loot

The massive zombie crouched atop the supermarket's highest floor, remaining perfectly still. Clearly, it would not attack unless a survivor set foot on the top level. But reaching that floor meant first fighting through the entire supermarket, making one's way up step by step.

"The supermarket has six floors, and there must be over a thousand zombies on each one, all of them enhanced. By the time we get to the top, we’ll be too exhausted to fight the boss, won’t we?" Yu Qiuchi drew in a sharp breath; even with her usual brashness, she couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

"What’s the big deal? Brother Gu’s strength is monstrous. As long as we have time, making it to the top is inevitable. Besides, I have my own zombie army!" The little girl planted her hands on her hips, shooting a smug glance at Yu Qiuchi.

Gu Lang ignored the two of them, frowning in thought.

"Six floors, over a thousand zombies on each. There might even be silver-level zombies. If it’s just us, we could be fighting for years, and the risks are huge. Plenty of other survivors have their eyes on this place too."

Li Muwan nodded in agreement. "Exactly. The challenge may seem to be the zombies, but the real threat is the other survivors. That giant zombie is like a beacon in the night; I’m sure many have already seen it. If we rush in blindly, we’ll just be making it easier for others."

It seemed the golden treasure chest would not be so easily obtained.

As everyone pondered, the sound of fierce fighting erupted not far ahead. It sounded like a battle between people, not zombies.

Gu Lang and Li Muwan exchanged glances, then immediately moved toward the source of the commotion.

Climbing over the supermarket’s entrance, they saw two groups confronting each other in the first-floor lobby.

On one side stood an old man and a dwarf child. On the other, a young man and woman. Both parties were silver-level chosen, trading blows and insults as they fought.

“Damn it! You two siblings are shameless! That golden chest doesn’t belong to you. Why should we stay away?” Old Ma spat curses, yellow teeth flecked with saliva.

“You two are nothing but bandits. Everyone near Dawn City knows your reputation for trickery. I’m not comfortable with you tagging along on this challenge. Leave now, or you die!” The speaker was the young man, Li Qingfeng.

“Brother, don’t waste your breath on them! They’re just low-level silvers with decent gear. There’s more of us—let’s kill them and take their weapons!” The girl, Xiao Yun, looked sweet but fought with ferocity.

The two sides clashed fiercely, until suddenly the dwarf spotted Gu Lang and widened his eyes.

“Who’s hiding over there? Show yourself at once!”

Gu Lang felt a jolt of surprise—he hadn’t expected to be discovered. But he wasn’t afraid. He stepped boldly into the open and chuckled.

“Come now, friends, there’s no need for all this fighting. With so many zombies, why not work together? If we go it alone, by the time we reach the top, we’ll be exhausted.”

Only Li Muwan stood openly at Gu Lang’s side; the rest of his wives remained concealed.

To both groups, the new arrival seemed the weakest. Old Ma clutched a special weapon, and the Li siblings had a group of bronze-level fighters behind them. Naturally, no one treated Gu Lang with any respect.

"Work together? Fine! More survivors are gathering by the minute. If we don’t join forces and get moving, we’ll lose our head start,” Old Ma finally put away his electric broadsword and stood with the dwarf.

Li Qingfeng gave a cold snort. “But we need to divide the roles. My sister and I are best at fighting—when it comes to the giant zombie, we’ll need our strength. As for the zombies along the way…”

All eyes fell on Gu Lang.

If anyone present was easy to push around, it was clearly Gu Lang and Li Muwan.

Gu Lang burst out laughing. “No problem! I’ll handle the zombie fodder along the way—you all focus on the giant zombie.”

With those words, the tension eased. Cooperation was established. Since someone was willing to take the short end of the stick, the others naturally accepted. The golden chest wouldn’t be easy to claim—anyone with sense knew teamwork was necessary. Gu Lang had simply sped up the inevitable.

“How about this—we’ll take the lead. If we run into zombies, we’ll step in first. If things get out of hand, you can back us up,” Gu Lang offered with an affable smile.

“Deal. If I get the golden chest, I’ll share some of the rewards with you.” Xiao Yun flashed Gu Lang a coquettish smile, deliberately showing off her pale skin.

Trying to seduce him? She was nothing compared to the little girl’s charm. Was she even worthy?

Gu Lang sneered inwardly. In his mind, these people were as good as dead. In fact, he’d already set his plan in motion, covertly plotting against them. He used a secret voice transmission to contact his wives. Just moments ago, they had disguised themselves as zombies, blending perfectly into the horde behind the group.

And as for clearing out the zombies—it might look like a thankless job, but it was the perfect opportunity to rack up attribute points! Most importantly, Gu Lang had numbers on his side; he wasn’t afraid of getting worn down.

With a swift motion, Gu Lang raised his hand and launched an icicle, piercing a zombie’s skull. Li Muwan did the same, summoning an icicle to kill the zombie before her.

Two green light orbs shot out, and Gu Lang snatched them up. No one objected; it was only fair for the ones doing the dirty work to get basic rewards.

“Do the two of them use icicles? If they’re long-range chosen, we can kill them up close,” Li Qingfeng thought darkly. Once they reached the top floor, he planned to deal with his so-called allies first.

Old Ma watched the pair with a frosty gleam in his eye as well. Everyone was harboring their own schemes.

Gu Lang seemed not to notice, repeatedly firing icicles from his hand.

“Icicle after icicle whistled through the air, riddling the oncoming zombies like sieves.

Soon, the group reached the escalator unscathed. The power was out, but it could still be climbed.

“Gu Lang, you two cover the rear! We’ll check out the second floor. If it’s safe, you can follow,” Li Qingfeng called out, not waiting for a reply before heading up.

Gu Lang didn’t mind, standing at the foot of the escalator. He formed another diamond-shaped icicle, blasting the head of a red zombie that lunged at him.

“Lord Gu Lang, the drop rate is amazing! I’ve already got fifteen attribute points—that would have taken half a month before!” Li Muwan’s rare excitement echoed in his mind.

“The drop rate in dungeons is always higher. Plus, with our loot sharing, every kill I make counts for all of you, multiplying the drop rate by seven or eight times!” Gu Lang explained inwardly.

Once everyone else had gone up, the two reluctantly followed.

At this point, the golden chest seemed far less important. The real prize was the stream of attribute points along the way!

Let them fight the boss—I’m happy picking up the leftovers.

Seeing that Gu Lang was truly pulling his weight, the others sneered behind his back.

What a fool!

By the time they finished clearing just the first floor, Gu Lang had already fired over a hundred icicles. If this went on until the sixth floor, he’d be utterly spent. But no one bothered to warn him.

Suddenly, a silver-level zombie burst out from a corner, charging straight at Gu Lang!