Facing Her

As night fell, black mist filled the base, yet it remained unnoticed like a shadow.

Veil frowned, her lips, painted with bright red lipstick, pursed, her gaze constantly shifting between the monitor and the screen.

"Four hours—" she began in a dark voice, letting out a cold laugh, "Two grown men hiding right under our noses for four hours and we still couldn't find them? You're all useless!"

As she finished speaking, the secretaries standing in a row to the side trembled in fear, their faces turning pale.

Only the short-haired secretary seemed alright; she hesitated before saying, "Those two haven't left the base. As long as they're still there, they'll be found eventually."

Her ability is marking. In the half-week they spent together, she had already found the opportunity to leave undetectable marks on "Officer Yu" and "Deputy Commander Zhao". She can sense the location of the marked person, and this ability will weaken as the target becomes stronger.

For example, those two... she could only sense the general area where they were still, but not their specific location.

But she was certain that the two people had remained within the base's perimeter and had never left.

Veil took a sip of tea, her knuckles turning slightly white as she gripped the teacup.

"If you can't find them, I'll have to take matters into my own hands. You should know what will happen when I do, right?" The deliberately lowered voice conveyed a strong sense of unease. Veil looked up, and the secretaries exchanged glances and nodded.

"We'll dig them out, even if we have to search three feet into the ground! Also, the screening of those who entered the base a few weeks ago is complete, and we've found a few suspicious individuals," a secretary reported. "With that little girl named Luo was her brother 'A Shan,' and sure enough, when we arrived, A Shan was stirring up trouble among the survivors."

Veil rubbed her temples. "Did he say anything?"

The secretary replied respectfully, "At the time, he mingled among the survivors and said, 'Such a major incident has occurred at the base, and even the cleanup team has been searching for so long. The two imposters must have caused losses to the base. Why hasn't the commander notified other bases about this through central command?'"

"Many of the survivors were swayed by him and suggested in the dark room that the central control be activated to release them from the dark room as soon as possible."

"Heh." Veil laughed.

Someone nearby immediately exclaimed angrily, "These ordinary people are a bunch of ingrates! If it weren't for the base taking them in, they would have died in the city long ago! We provide them with food, water, and shelter, but they can't even stay for a few hours after something happens!"

"What you're saying is meaningless. Ordinary people stay at the base by working, so it's unreasonable for us to demand that of them. The important thing is that we can't let them bring up the central command again," a male secretary who disliked flattery and still retained some logic objected.

"We've got that 'mountain' under control. He doesn't seem to have any special abilities, so he can't resist. I've had him locked up in the processing room to wait for his death."

The waiting room is where the base usually handles infected people. Some people infected by other viruses, who have developed corresponding symptoms, are thrown into the waiting room to fend for themselves until they die, at which point they are taken out and buried.

"The entire cleanup team is currently deployed, but several members are out of contact."

"In addition, several survivors who arrived in the last few weeks have also disappeared. They disappeared at different times, but strangely, we didn't notice them before, as if our perception had been distorted."

Veil's eyelids twitched.

She originally intended to investigate whether there were any other traitors among the survivors like the little girl named Luo, but she didn't expect to uncover so many problems.

What's been going on these past few weeks?

Was the Base One really just a sudden whim to investigate? Perhaps... they had already infiltrated Base One city weeks ago, posing as new recruits? Oh, and there were those who fled from Base Fifty-Two recently... Could there be something fishy going on?

She had already been very low-key, never demanding new construction based on any performance targets, and even keeping her distance from the surrounding bases, rarely contacting them. Everyone who left the base was one of her own people. So where did the information leak from?

"Sir, these people are just opportunists. We should have taught them a lesson long ago. We've been too lenient with them before—"

"Enough talk," Veil waved her hand. "Go out and look for them. I'll give you another half hour. If you still can't find them... I'll go myself."

The mere mention of going in person sent the secretaries running out in terror, as if they'd heard a ghost story.

The short-haired secretary paused as she left, lost in thought for a moment, but when she turned around and inadvertently caught sight of the disdain and murderous intent in Veil's eyes, her hesitation vanished instantly.

She sensed that the two marks were not moving away, but rather getting closer; however, perhaps they were just trying to evade capture.

Now that they're nearby, it's the perfect opportunity to catch them! She didn't want to incur Commander Veil's wrath at this time.

Everyone had left, leaving only Veil in the officer's office. She turned to look at the sky, which seemed darker than usual, her face cold.

"We've come this far; we can't let all our previous efforts be wasted on insignificant ants..."

"So, even the virus is now biding its time?" Suddenly, a somewhat familiar male voice rang out from outside the window. Even through the glass, the voice was still very clear.

Veil Tong shrank back and suddenly stood up.

Wisps of black mist seeped into the room through the cracks in the windows. Without the cover of night, the mist was exceptionally noticeable in the comfortably furnished room.

The mist churned and slowly condensed into a shape resembling a human.

"Officer Yu." Veil recognized the voice, looked at the unstable humanoid mist in the lake, and smiled sinisterly, "I wasn't looking for you, but you came looking for me first."

She had a lot of presence, but unfortunately, her efforts were quickly thwarted.

Yu Xing's voice drifted through the mist, sounding somewhat puzzled and sarcastic. "Didn't you search for me for four hours? Isn't that searching for me? Ms. Veil, you're quite the joker."

Veil: "Since you're so eager to die—"

"Just you?" The black mist materialized into Yu Xing's physical form. The young man stood ramrod straight, exuding the air of a superior officer. He tilted his head. "You are indeed the most unique virus I've ever seen. Other low-level viruses, once they infect humans, will cause them to develop self-destructive tendencies. Even the more advanced ones will only turn humans into their vassal monsters."

"And you, you can silently invade human bodies without causing any abnormalities," Yu Xing laughed. "Your secretaries are the ones who have been deeply invaded, right? Unknowingly, they have been brainwashed by you, becoming subordinates who are only loyal to you. They know they are doing things that are inconsistent with the human condition, but they don't feel that they are doing anything wrong."

"One day, everyone in the base will be brainwashed by you. Base 51 will become completely independent, a paradise for your virus."

"Am I right? This is what you want to do?"

When Veil heard that her plan had been so easily exposed, a hint of malice crept into her expression.

But that's not entirely true. She curled her lips into a smile, "You still underestimate me."

"Oh, so that means your ambitions aren't limited to Base 51; your goal is all of humanity. As long as all of humanity is brainwashed and loyal to you alone..." Yu Xing slowed her speech, then shattered this viral dream in the next second, "It's time to wake up."

The black mist suddenly surged and swept towards Veil.

Yu Xing felt a bit bored. In fact, if it weren't necessary, he really didn't want to come directly to find Veil. It was because the central space of Base 51 was too difficult to find, and his abilities didn't overlap much with spatial power, making it hard to locate.

It would be much easier if Carlos were here, but when he tried to contact Carlos only said that something important had happened in the city and it wasn't a good time for him to come.

Once the Magician had his own plans, he seemed less obedient. Yu Xing had anticipated this and didn't insist.

They persevered in searching for the location of the total space while relocating, but four hours passed without finding it.

Yu Xing patiently achieved victory.

Come directly to Wei

Er will definitely unleash the power of Veil as a virus carrier, which may lead to a fierce battle, but Yu Xing doesn't want to think too much about it.

Let's tear off the disguise today. This mere virus has started to play the game of power struggles, just like humans.

The instant the black mist swept past, Veil's eyes suddenly flashed green, and her face became withered and grotesque, but it only lasted for a breath. The next second, Veil reappeared in another corner of the room, her beautiful face restored.

"Looking for death." She didn't realize the true level of her opponent, and still gave a two-word assessment.

At the same time, the air seemed to grow heavier, and a suffocating feeling enveloped Yu Xing.

The flashing viral factors, due to their extremely high concentration, broke free from their invisible state and gradually filled Yu Xing's field of vision.

Deprivation of respiration—the most direct effect of viral agents.

These shimmering little particles let out excited cries; some formed resentful faces, while others formed ghostly shapes, baring their teeth at Yu Xing.

With two buzzing sounds, the office lights went out.

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