Chapter 26: Teaching Zhang Peng a Lesson, Reorganizing the Ranks!

Zhang Peng certainly knew that what Jiang Yi said was indeed the truth about this doomsday game world.

Knowing it, however, was one thing.

If these words had come from Luo Shan, who was stronger than him, he would have had no choice but to shut his mouth. But the problem was, who did this Jiang Yi think he was?

Zhang Peng’s face turned green with rage. He clenched his fist and swung it directly at Jiang Yi’s face: "And what are you? A useless Longevity Tumor Worm! What gives you the right to lecture me?!"

Zhang Peng put his full strength into that punch, hoping to regain his standing at Jiang Yi’s expense.

Jiang Yi, however, merely dodged the blow with a casual sidestep. At the same time, he lifted his hand and grabbed Zhang Peng’s arm, executing a fierce shoulder throw.

With a loud "thud," Zhang Peng slammed into the ground, howling in pain.

Jiang Yi glanced at him, told him to "shut up," and delivered a sharp kick. This display of ruthlessness truly stunned Zhang Peng. His face turned pale, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead. Even though he was clearly in agonizing pain, he forced himself to stay silent, not daring to wail again. As he lay on the ground, the look he cast toward Jiang Yi was filled with pure terror.

Witnessing this scene, Luo Shan finally understood the meaning behind Jiang Yi’s earlier words and grasped exactly what it meant to "bully the weak and fear the strong."

Jiang Yi was absolutely right. People like Zhang Peng were exactly that—bullies who feared the strong. The more gentle and accommodating you were, the more aggressive they became, and the more they would suppress you. Conversely, if you bared your fists and met them with harsh words, they wouldn't dare provoke you at all.

As Luo Shan was thinking this, he felt Jiang Yi’s gaze shift toward him.

"This Zhang Peng, I'll leave him to you to deal with."

"D-deal with?" Luo Shan heard the deeper meaning behind Jiang Yi’s words.

Zhang Peng also caught a hint of the implication and was scared half to death. He couldn't believe Luo Shan would kill him over such a trivial matter, but deep down, fear took hold. He scrambled to his feet and grabbed onto Luo Shan’s pant leg, weeping and begging for mercy.

"I... I... Captain Luo! Captain! I was blinded by greed just now! No, no! I don't want it! I don't want any of it!"

"That roulette wheel was dropped by the monster you killed! I won’t ask for a share anymore! I... I will definitely follow your arrangements from now on! If you tell me to look east, I won’t even glance west! I... I promise!"

Zhang Peng was so terrified he was incoherent. His attitude now was a far cry from the aggressive, overbearing demeanor he had shown earlier.

Luo Shan pondered this for a moment. In the end, however, he didn't actually "deal with" Zhang Peng.

Instead, he coldly kicked away the hand clutching his leg.

"I’ll let it slide this time; I can't be bothered to argue with you."

"But if there’s a next time, and you don’t know your place... with that moronic personality of yours, you’ll be slapped to death by someone sooner or later!"

Hearing that Luo Shan wasn't going to hold it against him, Zhang Peng let out a massive sigh of relief. He hurriedly replied, "I know my place! I’ll stay in line! I’ll definitely behave from now on! I wouldn't dare offend a powerhouse again even if it killed me!"

Luo Shan nodded, then looked toward Jiang Yi with a complex expression and offered his thanks.

Jiang Yi shrugged indifferently; he wasn't surprised by Luo Shan’s decision. Jiang Yi’s ruthlessness came from having lived two lifetimes and enduring far too much. Luo Shan, however, had never actually killed a person before. To have him "deal with" Zhang Peng over a mere verbal spat was clearly more than he could handle yet.

In reality, the Jiang Yi of his previous life hadn't been a cold-blooded killer from the start. When he first killed someone, his legs had turned to jelly, and his vision had blurred. He had suffered from nightmares for nights on end. This was the normal reaction for an ordinary person from a peaceful era. Killing was not like slaughtering chickens or fighting monsters; the psychological impact on a modern person was immense.

But the environment would ultimately change a person. As Darwin said—survival of the fittest. Those who could adapt to the environment survived; those who couldn't were sooner or later eliminated.

Since it was still the early days of the apocalypse, many were still adjusting to the changes in their environment. They needed time. Through this incident, even though Luo Shan hadn't killed Zhang Peng, his presence had become significantly more imposing; he was finally starting to look like a captain.

Clutching the green roulette wheel, he looked at Gao Chang and Li Shoude and asked calmly, "What do you think? Should this wheel belong to me, or be split among the team?"

Li Shoude, who had an honest face, replied without hesitation, "O-of course it belongs to you, Captain! After all, you were the one who killed the Golden-Backed Ground Rat, and we didn't contribute anything..."

Gao Chang’s expression was complex, but he nodded repeatedly. "Right, the Captain should decide what to do with this wheel."

Gao Chang hadn't called Luo Shan "Captain" before. Clearly, this small conflict had left quite an impact on him as well.

Luo Shan nodded and stowed the green roulette wheel away. He only had 11 years of lifespan left, and spinning a green wheel cost a full ten years! He certainly couldn't make such a decision lightly. Moreover, to avoid danger, roulette spins were generally done in designated areas under the protection of strong guards. Thus, it was best to keep it for later.

Jiang Yi was a bit interested, but he didn't reach out to ask Luo Shan for it.

Afterward, as the group continued on their way to the Green Bay Internet Cafe, Zhang Peng was genuinely well-behaved.

Just as they finally arrived at the cafe and before they had even begun to search, they suddenly saw a fluorescent blue firework shoot up into the sky to the west. The firework was dazzling and eye-catching in the night, yet it made no sound.

Gao Chang recognized it immediately: "A signal arrow! It’s in the direction of Yucai Elementary School! Brother Liao must have found Zhou Yiming!"

Luo Shan nodded, and the group turned back. Since their objective was clear, they headed back toward the commercial street to retrieve their vehicle.

However, as they retraced their steps and passed by the shop where Zhao Kuan had been, they saw three corpses inside, with Longevity Tumor Worms crawling over them.

Zhang Peng froze, then suddenly looked at Jiang Yi, his face turning deathly pale. He didn't dare look at Jiang Yi again and retreated several steps away from him. Jiang Yi, meanwhile, remained calm, looking completely indifferent, as if none of it had anything to do with him.

Luo Shan didn't ask any questions and headed straight toward his car.

Half an hour later, the five-man team arrived at Yucai Elementary School, where Liao Yuanfeng was located. However, when they arrived, Liao Yuanfeng wasn't there.

Fan Hu’s team had parked their car nearby. He waved at Luo Shan and shouted, "Brother Liao went to the nearby Qinhu Park! We don't need to go into the school anymore; head straight to the park!"

Luo Shan acknowledged him and followed Fan Hu’s car toward Qinhu Park.

There was a lake in Qinhu Park that had become a passage for monster invasions after the apocalypse. As a result, the monsters near the park were much denser than in other places.

However, Liao Yuanfeng had arrived there ahead of them. Furthermore, several other groups of monster hunters had already gathered at the park. When Fan Hu and Luo Shan’s teams arrived, they didn't encounter any danger.

Both teams parked their cars at the entrance of Qinhu Park.

Fan Hu keenly sensed that the atmosphere in Luo Shan’s team was different from before. In particular, Zhang Peng, who had been quite rowdy earlier, was now incredibly well-behaved.

Assuming Luo Shan had disciplined his team, he couldn't help but shoot an appreciative glance his way and remarked, "You kid, not bad. You’ve got some backbone."

"..." Luo Shan didn't explain. He looked toward the park and said sharply, "Why does the atmosphere in this park feel so tense?"

"Of course it’s tense!" Fan Hu, who had just complimented Luo Shan, rolled his eyes. "After the game invasion, all sorts of rivers, lakes, and seas became portals for monster invasions. To the players, those channels are essentially farming spots in the game world!"

"And at this stage, many of those spots are already 'claimed,' occupied by powerful groups."