Red-Clad God? Annoyance

Leon discovered another woman in red sitting in a corner.

She had short, jet-black hair, and even with sunglasses obscuring half her face, it wasn't hard to guess that her features were likely quite "exquisite" and far from ordinary.

Leon even hesitated for a moment as his gaze swept over her.

He simply couldn't understand why she would wear a red cheongsam that accentuated her figure.

In any other setting or a country with good public order, dressing like that would certainly be fine, but here, in one of the poorest and most chaotic regions...

Perhaps she was an eccentric assassin or mercenary.

After all, the fact that she could sit there resting with such composure without being harassed suggested she had the strength to handle any trouble.

Leon settled on the most likely reason and stopped focusing on the woman in red. Instead, he sat by the bar, preparing to ask about the group of strange patients and the recent situation in Luojia.

"Anything I can—uh, kid, what's with the...?"

The female bartender, who had a scar on her left cheek and messy brown hair, wanted to offer service but was deeply confused by Leon's "fully armed" appearance.

"I was actually going to ask you the same thing. Aren't you afraid of catching the disease?" Leon took the opportunity to fish for information.

"You mean those folks outside?" The bartender paused, then let out a hearty laugh. "Look at how much you value your life. As long as you don't have fresh wounds or sleep with them, there's not a damn thing to worry about. What's there to fear? You aren't interested in the local girls, are you, kid?"

""

The bluntness of her reply left Leon speechless, though he did learn from the bartender that the unknown disease was transmitted through blood and bodily fluids.

Combined with his observations along the way, which ruled out airborne transmission, he removed his filter mask and said with a feigned look of helplessness, "Who doesn't value their life? Besides, I was introduced here to make some money. A friend told me there were plenty of good opportunities, but who knew it would be this bizarre?"

"Whoa!" Seeing Leon's face clearly, the bartender couldn't help but whistle. "You don't see guys like you in Africa, though I wonder..."

As she spoke, the bartender stood on her tiptoes, glanced over the bar at something, and teased, "I just wonder how your stamina is. Want to try it out with your big sister?"

"..."

"Hahaha! Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore. This one's on the house." The bartender poured a glass of tequila and set it in front of Leon, still unable to suppress her laughter as she explained:

"And don't try to act like a veteran, you greenhorn. As for exactly what happened in Luojia, we aren't too sure. We only know it started about a month ago in the northern villages. Once they get sick, they kick the bucket in less than two days."

At this, the bartender leaned in close to Leon and lowered her voice. "They say everyone in the village where the outbreak first started is already dead. And it's only been a few days!

It's clear that as long as you don't touch blood or semen, you're fine, so I don't know how those people managed to spread it. The only local who escaped went insane, couldn't answer a single question, and once the town started seeing infected cases, he just ran into the forest and vanished.

Anyway, you really picked a bad time to come, kid. But if you're dead set on making some quick cash, that bunch of nerds over there has work available."

"Them?" Following the bartender's gaze to the group of confused-looking teachers and students, Leon used the opening to ask, "I see plenty of other guys sitting idle, why aren't they taking the job?"

"The pay is peanuts. The oldest guy in their group keeps babbling about this being a 'great discovery' and something about God's Flower. In the end, it's just a babysitting gig—protecting them as they head to a village where everyone is already dead, then tagging along while they explore the rainforest.

The main thing is they're only offering 1,000 greenbacks for the whole trip. Who has the time to do charity work for them? 'Great discovery,' 'God's Flower,' ha! It's a miracle they haven't died yet! Wait... wait? Are you actually going?"

Watching Leon's retreating back, the bartender's gaze drifted downward, and she sighed with regret, "Tsk tsk... it's not like I couldn't afford that little bit of cash."

Leon, however, was only thinking about clarifying the situation, solving the problem, and successfully completing his graduation exam.

What Leon didn't notice was that as he prepared to approach the group of teachers and students, the woman in red had already silently slipped out of the club.

"Professor, let's go."

"Yeah, Professor, didn't you see those people outside? It's too dangerous here."

Before he even got close, Leon heard the students urging their teacher to retreat immediately.

"Sigh..." The gray-haired, slightly portly professor took off his glasses, wiped the lenses with the hem of his shirt, and sighed. "Just a little more, just a little more and we could have found that legendary ancient city and God's Flower. I... I can't give up."

"But Professor, didn't you hear what that bartender said? A war is about to break out, we should just leave..."

"1,000, is it? I'll take the job." Leon, having reached the booth, interrupted the student's plea.

???

At these words, all the teachers and students looked up in surprise at this "blonde mercenary" who had appeared out of nowhere.

"Uh... buddy..." a slightly sturdier male student said, unable to believe his ears. "Are you sure?"

"Of course."

--

Meanwhile, ten thousand miles away, Seattle—which was seven hours "behind" the Congo—was in the dead of night.

If one were to look down from the sky, they would see that Seattle was still bustling with traffic and brightly lit. Tourists filled the streets, some strolling to enjoy the night view, others sitting at open-air stalls drinking cold beer and hard liquor. It was truly a city that never slept.

Located in the most prosperous and central area of the city, rising over four hundred meters, the Atlas headquarters was the undisputed landmark of Seattle.

In the top-floor office of the headquarters:

The north, east, and west sides were fitted with floor-to-ceiling windows, offering an unobstructed, panoramic view of the entire city.

But Sui Yang, sitting behind his solid wood desk, had no interest in the view. He was watching several screens generated by a holographic device, which floated above his desk.

As for the content displayed on the screen, it consisted of headlines such as "Strange Patients Discovered in Lojia Town, Central Congo" and "Investigation Report on Mayor Harleden Bruce," accompanied by related images and videos.

Things have not been peaceful lately.

First, there was the mayor of Seattle, Harleden Bruce. Sui Yang had ostensibly agreed to meet him on the 16th—tomorrow afternoon—but in reality, he had increased the level of surveillance.

He certainly could not withstand an investigation.

The man himself was clean, but he was unaware that his residence had already been infiltrated by an invisible superhuman yesterday.

However, Harleden Bruce had been hand-picked and supported by Atlas, and he had accepted strict regulations; his private life was spotless, leaving Vought with no material to use for blackmail.

It was time to make things difficult for Vought.