Keep Your Head Down

He had already drawn a clear line between himself and the old man of the Ling family.

The other floors of the Tropical Pavilion belonged to the Ling family relatives, while Wu Hen and his family were confined to a very secure, split-level area.

Wu Yingting understood human nature well enough to know it was unpredictable, so he never had any contact with that group of Lings.

However, since the third and fourth floors were designated vegetable cultivation areas, if Wu Hen's family wanted to eat vegetables, they still had to step out of their strictly controlled safe house to harvest fresh produce.

"Mom and Dad haven't stepped out of the safety door, have they?" Wu Hen asked.

"Don't worry, they are very cautious," Yu Yu assured him.

"Where is the smell coming from?" Wu Hen inquired.

"The fourth floor." Yu Yu held up four small, jade-like fingers.

"Go back first, I'll go up and take a look," Wu Hen said to Yu Yu.

"Okay." Yu Yu nodded.

Following the stairs, Wu Hen headed toward the third floor.

A thick, bloody stench was already wafting from the ventilation ducts on the third floor, and Wu Hen heightened his vigilance.

He listened carefully for any movement on the fourth floor, hearing a "rustling" sound like rats gnawing on wooden boards inside the walls.

But strangely, Wu Hen's ears could not pinpoint its location; he only knew that the thing was somewhere on one side of the fourth floor.

The entire fourth floor was actually very spacious, originally designed as an open exhibition hall.

Inside the display cases, there were not only highly advanced tropical ecosystems but also large artificial landscapes, which even contained many rare species of butterflies, lizards, colorful snakes, and spiders...

Unfortunately, the fourth floor was pitch black now, with only the faint glow of emergency lights flickering.

Considering that the entire Tropical Pavilion could produce food and water, Wu Hen still intended to clear out any nearby threats.

"Dad, hold on..."

"You must hold on!"

The voice of the housekeeper, Ling Shaomei, came from the restroom in the corner.

Wu Hen heard her words from a distance and began walking toward her.

Inside the nursery room of the restroom, Ling Shaomei heard Wu Hen's approaching footsteps and immediately tensed up. She raised the only mop in the room as a weapon, as if prepared to fight the thing that was coming to the death.

However, her hands could not stop trembling, and her chest was drenched in sweat!

"It's me, your young master." Wu Hen stood at the doorway and said indifferently.

After speaking, Wu Hen pushed the door open and entered, only to see Ling Shaomei kneeling on the floor, looking like a drowned rat, staring at Wu Hen with a mixture of terror and pity...

"Did you not listen to my previous instructions? I said the door was not to be opened for anyone." Wu Hen stared at the housekeeper Ling Shaomei, his tone far from friendly.

"It was my male colleague, I couldn't just watch him die..." Ling Shaomei tried to defend herself.

"Oh, right, right, and then your father ended up like this." Wu Hen was truly at a loss for words.

Old Man Ling was covered in blood, as if he had been gnawed on by something; there were bloody, gaping wounds in several places.

He could no longer speak, his eyes filled with pleading—pleading for Wu Hen to let them into the safe house, for the sake of the many years he had worked for the Wu family.

"We stay out of each other's way; those were your words. Now that trouble has come to your doorstep, you know to beg us?" Wu Hen said.

Old Man Ling pointed a finger at his daughter Ling Shaomei, then knocked his head against the floor, signaling that no matter what, Wu Hen had to take Ling Shaomei in and give her a chance to live.

"Taking you in is impossible." Wu Hen refused coldly.

Wu Hen had already reached a consensus with his family: in an environment like this, the safe house would only ever contain the four of them. It was absolutely impossible to let any outsider in!

"My father is dying. You have medicine there, don't you?" Ling Shaomei asked.

"I do, but why should I give it to you? I told you to guard the door, and you couldn't even handle that tiny task, putting me and my family's surroundings in danger. It's already merciful that I haven't thrown you out, and you still dare to hope I'll give you medicine?" Wu Hen said.

Ling Shaomei stopped talking, only staring at Wu Hen with eyes filled with a mix of resentment and humiliation.

Her delicate silver-rimmed glasses were already shattered, her sweat-soaked hair was scattered messily across her chest, and her entire face was as pale as paper from fear, her body trembling slightly...

Yet, in this situation, her eyes still held a hint of stubborn pride.

Wu Hen didn't know where she got that arrogance from; she was a typical doomsday saint. If it weren't for their past acquaintance, Wu Hen would have thrown the father and daughter out right then and there.

"Enough, get up off the floor and take me to see what it is." Wu Hen said with some impatience.

"You can't handle it. White worms grew out of his body. He slashes at anyone he sees, and once he knocks them down, he bites..." Ling Shaomei said.

As Ling Shaomei was speaking, another set of footsteps suddenly rang out.

Strangely enough, these footsteps didn't come from the floor, but from above.

Ling Shaomei looked up, and through the emergency light, she saw something crawling on the ceiling, scaring her out of her wits!

"Hiss, hiss~~ Shaomei, why have you been hiding from me??"

"We agreed to go to the art exhibition together. Even if you're busy, you should have made some time!"

"Our relationship had reached that point, yet you always kept your distance. I didn't expect that even after studying abroad, you'd be so conservative..."

"Hiss, hiss, hiss... It doesn't matter, I'll just crush you into my body right now!"

On the ceiling, a man in a suit and tie was clinging to the surface. Large amounts of white mycelium had sprouted from his limbs, making him look like a white tropical lizard, and his tongue flicked out repeatedly from his oversized mouth.

"You... behind you..." Ling Shaomei pointed a trembling finger at the ceiling behind Wu Hen.

Wu Hen remained standing there, motionless.

"Who is this man?"

"Is this the rich young master you're always complaining to me about?"

"The times have changed. I'll kill him for you, and then the most wonderful time for the two of us will begin!"

On the ceiling, Ling Shaomei's male colleague began to secrete large amounts of saliva. This viscous saliva dripped from above onto the floor, even corroding the marble tiles.

"Die!"

The Insect-Eyed Half-Human lunged down, his entire head splitting open to reveal a terrifying maw, intending to rip Wu Hen's head clean off.

At the very instant his skull split open, Wu Hen raised his right hand. A Golden Cold Thorn, like the tail of a scorpion, flashed with a cold glint and pierced directly through the Insect-Eyed Half-Human's head!!

The Insect-Eyed Half-Human froze instantly, hanging off Wu Hen's Golden Cold Thorn like a thick leather trench coat!

Wu Hen flicked his hand, tossing the white Insect-Eyed Half-Human into a bathroom stall!

A large amount of white steam emerged as the Insect-Eyed Half-Human rapidly vaporized, eventually turning into a puddle of murky liquid smeared across the inside of the stall.

Ling Shaomei's eyes widened, her hands covering her mouth. The terror from a moment ago was replaced by sheer disbelief.

Throughout the entire process, Wu Hen hadn't even turned around. He had dealt with this incredibly vicious monster as easily and casually as throwing away a bag of trash!

Was this really the rogue young master she knew??

Could it be that he was one of the Pioneers of the Desolate Dust mentioned in the broadcasts, one of the few humans capable of fighting against these powerful creatures?

"This guy came from the direction of the shopping mall, right?" Wu Hen asked calmly.

Ling Shaomei lost her ability to speak for a moment, only able to nod repeatedly.

She had only let this one person in. After all, he had been pursuing her frantically, and she had been considering whether or not to accept his advances.

She never imagined that once he got inside, he would act so strangely. It wasn't until he tried to force her to share a room with him and she slapped him hard across the face that white mycelium suddenly sprouted from his body...

After calming down a little, Ling Shaomei told Wu Hen the truth about the situation.

"He was already parasitized. Extreme emotions trigger the insect eggs inside him. There are still quite a few of these things outside our Licheng right now," Wu Hen explained.

Wu Hen had only dealt with the parasites lurking within the campus, but there were certainly many more outside, and those were beyond his control.

"Wu Hen... I... my father is really dying. I beg you, give us some medicine. I'll listen to everything you say from now on." Ling Shaomei glanced at her father and realized he had already passed out. She was completely panicked now, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Originally, my Tropical Pavilion did need a housekeeper, but given your professional qualifications, you don't meet my standards at all. It seems your brain is entirely decorative." Wu Hen scolded her without a shred of mercy.

This housekeeper was truly useless in every way, except for her charming image and temperament. The worst part was that she was incredibly arrogant!

"I will perform well, really, I will perform well, as long as you save my father." Ling Shaomei immediately pleaded.

"Oh? Then let's see how you perform. Lower your head." Wu Hen looked down at the housekeeper, his cold smile tinged with mockery.

Ling Shaomei met Wu Hen's aggressive gaze and felt her whole body tremble.

As an adult, how could she not understand what a man was thinking?

She glanced at her half-dead relative, then looked up at the high and mighty Wu Hen.

Ling Shaomei bit her lip, finally making up her mind.

She crawled a little closer to Wu Hen, then reached out her hand. With a hint of reluctance, she tried her best to appear accommodating, moving her hand to undo his belt while leaning her face forward.

"No, what are you doing?" Wu Hen suddenly lowered his head and questioned her.

"I... I..." Ling Shaomei didn't dare to speak.

"I told you to tie my shoelaces, what is the meaning of you undoing my belt?" Wu Hen said, shaking his foot.

Ling Shaomei buried her head even lower, only then realizing that the shoelace on Wu Hen's right shoe had come undone.

In the circle of the wealthy, some top-tier housekeepers were indeed expected to tie their master's shoelaces, even in public!

"I... I'll fix it for you right now." Ling Shaomei hurriedly moved her hands toward Wu Hen's shoelace.

She tied that tiny shoelace no fewer than five times.

Ling Shaomei was completely flustered.

Finally, the shoelace was tied, but it was no different from a dead knot. This drew a frown of dissatisfaction from Wu Hen, who was very particular about his appearance.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, this is my first time..." Ling Shaomei said, extremely nervous.

"To be honest, I still prefer the way you were before—arrogant and untamed." Wu Hen said.