Chapter 5: Taking Action

“Don’t move! Hand over all your valuables. We’re only after money—we don’t want to kill anyone. Cooperate, and you’ll be fine,” one of the robbers commanded.

At the same time, a man in the last row stood up with a gun, signaling to the two men at the front, indicating his alliance with them. The two robbers at the front nodded slightly; they had known all along that another accomplice was hidden among the passengers. It seemed he had decided to reveal himself early, just to be sure.

The sudden turn of events threw the cabin into chaos. Passengers stared in terror at the three armed men, panic rising among them. Facing the dark muzzles of the guns, the threat of death forced everyone to comply with the robbers’ demands.

Kong Zhe, however, remained calm as he watched the scene unfold. He had already anticipated that these people might strike ahead of schedule. As for these armed men, he didn’t take them seriously at all. In the apocalypse, he had battled vicious monsters daily—compared to those terrifying beasts, these petty killers were hardly worth mentioning.

Even though Kong Zhe was now just an ordinary person without awakened powers, his three years of combat experience in the apocalypse meant that, if he wished, he could dispatch all these men within half a minute.

Still, he chose not to act rashly. Their guns made things dangerous, especially aboard a plane. He needed a way to neutralize their weapons first.

With this thought in mind, Kong Zhe quietly reached into his pocket, fingers closing around two coins.

“What’s going on with Fang? Why did he leave all of a sudden?” After regrouping, one of the three killers frowned and asked.

“Don’t worry about him. He’s a veteran—he knows what to do. Besides, this is his last job. Maybe he just wants to finish it smoothly, so he’s gone to check the front.”

“Right, we can handle this without him, can’t we? When it’s done, we’ll split the extra cash among ourselves—he gets none!”

“Yeah, let’s work fast. We still have to hit the other cabins…”

After a brief discussion, the three scattered again: one stood at the front, another patrolled the aisle keeping watch, and the third carried a black bag, collecting valuables from the passengers.

For them, the mission came first. Still, if they could make some extra money along the way, they certainly wouldn’t say no—after all, even killers never think they have enough.

As the patrolling robber walked past him, Kong Zhe lowered his head, mimicking the fearful expressions of those around him. Once the man moved by, Kong Zhe exploded into action, delivering a swift karate chop to the robber’s neck while snatching the gun from his hand with his left.

The robber dropped without so much as a scream.

Kong Zhe flexed his limbs uneasily; adjusting to an ordinary human body was still a bit uncomfortable after all he’d been through.

The remaining two robbers immediately noticed the disturbance and raised their guns to shoot him.

Kong Zhe flicked his arm, sending two coins spinning through the air in opposite directions. Each coin struck a gun barrel with such force that they became lodged inside. One robber, trying to fire regardless, caused the gun to explode in his hands; he let out a howl of pain and flung the weapon aside.

With their guns disabled, the rest was simple. Kong Zhe was confident that none of these men could match him in hand-to-hand combat.

With a sudden burst of speed, he reached the two men at the front.

Seeing their guns useless, both men drew knives from their belts and lunged at him.

Unfortunately for them, their movements seemed painfully slow to Kong Zhe. Dodging, elbowing, rolling, punching—he executed each action in seamless succession, not pausing for an instant as he launched a fierce counterattack.

Five seconds later, only Kong Zhe was left standing.

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