Chapter Thirty: Betrayal at the Last Moment

Watching Old Yang fall, Chu Wei finally snapped out of his trance. As the reality of what he had done set in, a wave of regret washed over him.

"Brother Chu, what are you doing?" Little Li was the first to react. He stared at Chu Wei with horror, as if he still couldn't believe it.

Little Hu, whose arrow had been aimed at the zombie, instinctively shifted his aim toward Chu Wei the moment Old Yang was skewered, as if Chu Wei were a demon even more vicious than the Level 2 zombie.

Lin Qingqing raised an eyebrow in mild surprise before quickly stepping back, her eyes filled with caution.

Feeling the gazes of the others—a mix of shock and guardedness—Chu Wei’s face darkened. His throat felt dry. He glared at them and said viciously, "Old Yang’s death was an accident! I thought he was trying to ambush me, so I instinctively pulled him back. It was self-defense!"

No one believed such a flimsy excuse, and Chu Wei knew it. But unable to come up with a better reason on the spot, he gritted his teeth and said, "Let's finish off the zombie first. We can talk about everything else later."

Watching the zombie crawl on the ground to gnaw on Old Yang’s corpse, the others wisely said nothing more, though they all instinctively kept their distance from Chu Wei.

*Humph, what’s the big deal about a person dying?* Chu Wei thought. *As long as I get that core and reach Level 2, let’s see who dares to have an opinion about me.*

A flash of ruthlessness crossed Chu Wei’s eyes as he raised his dagger and stabbed it fiercely into the zombie’s head. Lin Qingqing had already carved a crack there, and Chu Wei stared intently at it, as if he could see the crystal core inside through the fissure.

Although Chu Wei’s attacks were much more ferocious now, the loss of Old Yang, the strength-type user, caused the group's pressure to skyrocket. Little Li, in particular, had already exhausted most of his energy, and the shock of Chu Wei’s accidental killing of Old Yang had greatly increased his fear and stress. With his weak psychological resilience, he began making frequent mistakes under the double blow, and both Lin Qingqing and Chu Wei were caught in his stray water whips.

"What is your problem?" Chu Wei demanded after being hit by a water whip again.

"It was an accident," Little Li said, biting his lip without further explanation.

"An accident? I think you’re doing this on purpose!"

"It really was an accident. Believe it or not, I’m not you!"

"You..."

Chu Wei was furious. He hadn't expected even the soft-spoken and mild-mannered Little Li to dare talk back to him. Because the two were distracted by their argument and Lin Qingqing was silently coasting on the sidelines, the zombie was left unchecked and suddenly lunged toward Little Hu, who was still firing arrows at it.

Little Hu was startled; he hurriedly put away his bow and ran. They staged a chase through the factory, knocking over glass objects and sending shards flying.

"Run this way!" Chu Wei shouted at him, brandishing his dagger.

In his panicked flight, Little Hu tripped over a fallen iron rack. His leg was injured, and blood dripped down his pant leg. The scent of fresh blood instantly drove the zombie into a frenzy. Little Hu scrambled up, ignoring his injured leg, and fled toward his companions.

"Help!"

Little Hu glanced at Chu Wei and, without a second thought, veered away from him. The memory of Old Yang’s death was still fresh; he feared Chu Wei’s backstabbing more than the zombie behind him. He would rather seek refuge with Lin Qingqing and Little Li than approach Chu Wei.

"Bah! Ungrateful wretch!" Chu Wei’s expression was hideous. He cursed Little Hu and drew back the leg he had stepped forward.

Lin Qingqing watched coldly as the three of them turned on each other due to the accidental death of Old Yang, their once-coordinated team falling apart. *I was hoping the Level 2 zombie would wear them down, but it seems that won't be necessary.*

Lin Qingqing fixed her eyes on the zombie being led toward her by Little Hu, planning to finish it off. The "flame armor" on the zombie had already vanished, and it had lost an arm, its strength significantly diminished.

Seizing the moment, Lin Qingqing charged forward with her ice blade and decapitated the zombie. The moment the head fell, she abruptly twisted her blade, stabbed it into the zombie’s mangled face, and jerked it backward, retreating a few steps to put distance between herself and Chu Wei’s group.

The entire sequence was completed in a flash, clean and efficient. By the time the others realized what had happened, the Level 2 crystal core was already in Lin Qingqing’s hand.

"Miss Lin, what is the meaning of this?"

Seeing the core fall into her hands, Chu Wei grew anxious. They had gone through hell, lost a man, and still hadn't secured the core—he couldn't remain calm.

"It doesn't mean much. We still have a deal to complete, don't we, Mr. Chu? You haven't forgotten, have you?"

Lin Qingqing flicked her ice blade, the cracks on the edge vanishing as it restored itself. The Level 2 zombie’s skull was much harder than a Level 1; it had actually cracked her blade in two places with a single strike.

Watching the blade in Lin Qingqing's hand, which remained sharp, Chu Wei held back his temper. "How could I? We agreed that once the zombie was dead, I would tell you the address. Surely Miss Lin isn't worried I’d go back on my word?"

"I'm just being cautious. Mr. Chu knows that in business, you have to value integrity, it's just that..." She deliberately glanced at Old Yang’s corpse on the ground.

The implication was clear: *You used your own brother as a shield; I don't trust you.*

"You!"

Chu Wei was incensed by Lin Qingqing’s actions. He had intended to smooth over the incident with an excuse, but she had dragged it into the open, making it impossible to ignore. Even worse were the attitudes of Little Hu and Little Li; the two of them were busy looking at the sky and the ground, neither of them saying a word to support him.

"You... you all!" Chu Wei glared at the three of them with a vicious look. Especially toward Lin Qingqing; seeing the Level 2 core in her hand, he wanted to skin her alive.

"Why is Mr. Chu staring at me like that?"

"What exactly do you want?" Chu Wei gritted his teeth.

"You will lead me there yourself. Once I see that Level 2 zombie, I’ll give the core back to you."

"Fine! I hope Miss Lin keeps her word!"

"Of course!"

Lin Qingqing pocketed the core right in front of him. Knowing he couldn't push back any further, Chu Wei snorted and turned to walk out. Little Li and Little Hu exchanged a look and had no choice but to follow. Regardless of anything else, as long as Chu Wei hadn't retrieved the core, their transaction wasn't over.

*This Miss Lin is not simple.* That was the thought shared by all three of them.

They had thought she was easy prey, but she turned out to be a seasoned hunter. Even a veteran like Chu Wei, who had dealt with all sorts of people, admitted he had misjudged her. Recalling her performance from start to finish, he realized she hadn't shown any of her true capabilities beyond that ice blade. Throughout the fight, everyone else had been somewhat chaotic, yet she had remained composed the entire time. That final strike to behead the zombie had been fast, accurate, and ruthless.

Even now, Chu Wei couldn't fathom the depths of this Miss Lin.