If the silence that was given on Sundays in the church during the morning was respectful, then the silence that had taken over at this moment inside the hall after Chen He pronounced those words was undoubtedly awkward.
Awkward and even a little cold.
While most were dumbfounded and shocked, Cai Jingyi, Kang Lan, and Fu Xuefeng looked at Chen He with cold eyes.
In fact, Cai Jingyi was even angry to the point where she laughed softly, "Such audacity really is startling."
Although her words were spoken softly, everyone heard her clearly due to the stony silence that surrounded the walls of the place.
Some thought that perhaps in the past there had been a dispute between Bai Zemin and Chen He. After all, why would one bring up such a challenging condition to the other?
Shangguan Bing Xue furrowed her eyebrows slightly and looked at the handsome archer from a short distance away with a look that was hard to describe.
Wu Yijun was dumbfounded as she stared at him. It was as if she couldn't recognize the young man she had spent so much time with during childhood.
"Pfft!"
Finally, someone seemed to be unable to control oneself anymore and traces of laughter broke the silence in its entirety.
Everyone's gaze fell on the woman standing behind Bai Zemin only to see Lili covering her mouth with her small hand as if she was trying to hold something back. Her eyes looked at Chen He with a trace of naked amusement and even a slight tinge of disdain hard to notice.
As for Chen He, he kept his calm. His face did not change regardless of the looks he was receiving, nor did he seem to mind what Cai Jingyi said nor did he seem bothered by Lili's audacious laughter. All his attention was uniquely focused on the young man who was even younger than him and was currently sitting in the leader's seat.
At first, Bai Zemin was surprised by Chen He's daring words, as was everyone else. However, soon something seemed to click in his brain and his eyes glittered as if he had finally understood something.
So that's how it is. He thought to himself as he inadvertently glanced at Shangguan Bing Xue beside him.
Ever since they were in college, right after the apocalypse had fully broken out, Bai Zemin had noticed that Chen He seemed to be especially jealous of him. But only now did he realize what the real reason was.
At first, he had thought that the reason Chen He was jealous of him was because of his higher strength. After all, Chen He not only came from a wealthy and powerful family, but his appearance, his qualifications, his talents, his connections; everything about him was superior to Bai Zemin in the past. But from a day to the next he couldn't even see the back of a person who was previously a nobody.
But now Bai Zemin realized that the real focus of Chen He's jealousy was romantic jealousy. A love jealousy that from Bai Zemin's own point of view had no meaning or reason to exist.
Bai Zemin's relationship with Shangguan Bing Xue, the woman Chen He loved probably from childhood until now, was only a professional relationship with interconnected mutual interests.
As for feelings such as attraction, charm, liking, love… Bai Zemin had never thought on Shangguan Bing Xue in that way nor did he believe that she thought on him in that way.
Shangguan Bing Xue was undoubtedly beautiful; beautiful to the point where her face was practically perfect and the charm around her was becoming more and more stunning with each passing day… However, being beautiful and charming was not enough to tug at Bai Zemin's heartstrings. If moving his heart was such an easy thing, then he would have long ago fallen for Lilith.
But since the other side was openly challenging him, Bai Zemin had no reason to decline.
Since you are giving me such a generous gift, I will gladly accept it. He thought with a small smile.
Lose? Him against Chen He? Even if Bai Zemin fell to an Unclassified existence right now and lost the stats gained after evolving to First Order, he was confident that he would kill Chen He in less than ten minutes.
As time passed, the distance between the two would only grow larger and larger and even if at some point in the future Chen He surpassed Bai Zemin's level, he still wouldn't be able to defeat him. Because levels did not represent the total strength of an existence! Even statistics did not!
Bai Zemin's lips curved slightly and he calmly asked as he leaned back against the back of the chair, "Sure. Why not? Do you want it to be a duel to the death or just a normal battle?"
Although his words sounded as light as a summer breeze, his words contained a hint of icy coldness from the Ice Age. All those who had seen the way Bai Zemin's enemies ended up could not help but audibly swallow as they shuddered.
Even Shangguan Bing Xue's face changed noticeably and looked at Chen He as if she was telling him not to say stupid things.
Shangguan Bing Xue's attitude surprised the two Nangong siblings. They both looked at each other and saw the shock in each other's eyes. The two of them had seen how supremely powerful Shangguan Bing Xue was; with her ice powers and her sword, thousands of zombies and different wild creatures had been turned into ice statues before turning into small ice cubes cut into thousands of pieces. Her ghostly speed as well as her leadership ability; everything about her was practically perfect.
But even she seemed a bit frightened when she heard the young man sitting in the leadership position say such words… How strong was this person then? Such a question appeared in the minds of Nangong Yi and Nangong Lingxin as they looked at Bai Zemin with surprise and curiosity.
Chen He took a deep breath and after looking at Shangguan Bing Xue with eyes that practically overflowed with gentleness, he looked at Bai Zemin again and said with a calm expression, "Don't misunderstand me. I don't hate you in any way. We could even say that I admire you a little. But that doesn't mean I don't feel a little jealous of you."
Bai Zemin said nothing and continued to listen to him quietly.
"As you probably already know, I am a very proud person. From childhood to adulthood I have always been perfect in everything and even now that the world has changed I am sure that I am one of the most talented and powerful people." Chen He said as if it was natural. Although a bit arrogant, in fact, it was the truth. He had the qualifications to say such words.
He continued, "But if I compare myself to you? I must admit that right now I don't have the confidence to even survive two strikes from you and even my marksmanship that I'm so proud of might not even reach you… Therefore, to prove myself and to decide whether to give up on the woman I love, I need to challenge you. As for a duel to the death… I don't think such a thing is necessary. For better or worse, I consider you a somewhat close friend after all. Although you have done and probably will do things I don't agree with, I can't deny that you have helped many people and the lives of thousands have been improved by the rules you have imposed on everyone."
"…Phew…" Wu Yijun unconsciously let out a big breath of relief and gently patted her two soft breasts, making them shake a little.
Bai Zemin looked at Chen He for several seconds before sighing. He shook his head and said calmly, "To be honest, I don't know what giving up on the woman you love has to do with me… But since you want to prove yourself, I'll give you the chance. You can challenge me at any time, I promise I won't kill you."
Chen He smiled bitterly in secret upon hearing those words. Such confidence… But indeed, Bai Zemin had the qualifications to be more arrogant and proud than him. At least in the present time.
After saying those words, Bai Zemin looked at Shangguan Bing Xue and could not help but let a hint of annoyance shine in his eyes. His voice, with a hint of anger, sounded inside the hall, "Woman, if you don't love a person just say it loud and clear."
Shangguan Bing Xue looked at him indifferently and a smirk appeared at the corner of her lips but still said nothing.
Even Wu Yijun looked at him strangely and Chen He coughed a couple of times.
"…"
Could it be that she had already rejected him in the past but this guy was still bothering her? Noticing the stares of the two women and the somewhat embarrassed attitude of the archer, Bai Zemin realized that it would be best not to interfere in the matter of the others.
It was just that due to his bad experience in the past, Bai Zemin couldn't bear things so such words came out of his mouth without thinking.
"Forget it. You two are a couple of weirdos. What you do or what you don't do, as long as it doesn't harm me, is your own business." Bai Zemin waved a hand and cut the matter short there.
"By the way, where the hell is Zhong De?" He frowned. He had long felt that a person was missing here, but only now did he notice that the missing person was one of the people who had been following him from the very beginning.
The one who answered his question was Wu Yijun: "Zhong De together with a squad of about a hundred people cleared the entire road to the south two days ago."
"Oh?" Bai Zemin's eyes lit up upon hearing this.
Finally the road was cleared! After wiping out the Baiquan Camp, Bai Zemin only had to cross the Rulin border to get out of Yanqing District… Just a little more and he could finally reach Changping District where his family lived!
The mere thought of seeing those three faces again made Bai Zemin's heart, which was always calm even in the face of Death itself, beat uncontrollably.
Wu Yijun was extremely happy as well. She said with shining eyes and a big smile, "If we do everything quickly and without stopping, in a couple of days we will finally reach Changping District!"
Wu Yijun's father and mother lived in Changping District after all. In fact, her father was the Mayor of Changping District. How could she not be happy at the thought of being reunited with her family?
Whether his family was alive or not… Soon it would be discovered… Bai Zemin felt his emotions flutter and for the first time in a long time, an emotion known as fear filled him.
* * * * * * *
Thanks a lot to all those who use their Golden Tickets to vote for BW <3
