Clues

"Then write down that I'm here to trade for goods."

After casually finishing that sentence, Xia Leng stopped paying attention to the fortress steward and prepared to look for clues that might give him the answers he wanted.

Just as he was about to leave, the steward hurriedly called out to Xia Leng again.

"Ahem. Actually, the Corporation has had a bit of a clash with another hostile faction recently. We lost quite a few senior members, so we've been recruiting new Baptized Ones as well. The compensation is pretty generous..."

"Not interested."

Before the steward could finish, Xia Leng tossed out a cold reply and turned to leave again, leaving the man utterly speechless.

In fact, stewards like him also handled recruitment. For every Baptized One they brought in, they received a corresponding commission.

Someone like Xia Leng, who had become a second-level Baptized One at such a young age, was especially sought after.

"Oh, right. I have a lead on the evolution of mutated creatures. I wonder if your higher-ups would be interested."

At that moment, Xia Leng turned around as if he had just remembered something and spoke to the steward behind him.

"A lead on evolution? Are you saying you've found an unknown new type of mutated creature?!"

The steward, who had just been disappointed, immediately perked up at those words.

After all, if he really had found a lead on a new mutated creature, the reward would be enough to let him live in the Fortress for more than a decade!

"Something like that."

Xia Leng replied calmly. If the pair of purple eyes he had seen earlier on the Street of the Living Dead really belonged to the Zombie King, its value would be little different from discovering a new mutated creature.

Butler Jonathan had been every bit the gentleman a moment ago, but now he immediately turned furtive, worried that one of his colleagues might steal the opportunity from him. After all, if he brought this news to the leadership, he would earn a handsome reward too.

"Ahem. If you really aren't lying to me, I can take you to Parick, the person in charge of this Fortress. But if you're making this up, we'll both be in trouble..."

He edged up to Xia Leng and whispered in his ear, a trace of unease in his voice. He was telling Xia Leng to think it over carefully.

After all, if they deceived the person in charge, then with Parick's temper, they might both end up tossed into the furnace of a giant generator as fuel.

"If you don't trust me, I can find someone else to take me there."

Xia Leng didn't waste any more words and made as if to leave again. Seeing this, the steward Joseph hurried over and apologized. No matter what, the reward for discovering a new mutated creature was more than enough to outweigh the risk.

"I'm sorry. Of course I believe you. I'll take you to meet the person in charge here right away."

Joseph then led the way in front of Xia Leng, heading for the first office building.

As for Parick, the person in charge of the Fortress, his office was on the top floor of the building.

He rarely appeared in person. Whenever he had an order to give, he usually left it to his subordinates to carry out.

But discoveries of new mutated creatures and Baptized Ones with new abilities were matters he needed to confirm personally.

Parick was a fifth-stage "Sage," a Baptized One with enhanced brain function!

When an ability reached stage three or higher, it could very well branch out into new abilities. Parick, in addition to his extraordinary intelligence, had developed an ability akin to mental hypnosis.

Parick could control anyone whose mental strength was weaker than his, turning them into puppets who obeyed his every command.

No one knew how he controlled other people. He probably had the ability to erase memories as well...

Xia Leng followed behind the steward. The man didn't bother to explain much about the Fortress, heading straight for the first office building. Jonathan was clearly eager to claim the credit.

When they reached the quiet building, Xia Leng saw several fierce-looking guards standing at the entrance. They didn't give off the aura of Baptized Ones, though; they were all ordinary people.

Even so, Xia Leng could sense that they had a slightly stronger presence than the refugees. Perhaps they were all enhanced with drugs.

Some corporations had developed an injection that could just about improve a person's physical capabilities. The boost wasn't all that great, however, and the injections were expensive. Worst of all, they could have side effects, so cases of them being widely used on corporate personnel were rare. They were mostly used to put on a show.

"Jonathan, what's this guy behind you here for?"

One of the guards saw Xia Leng following the steward and asked him out of habit.

"He's my patron. He has a lead on a new mutated creature. I'm taking him upstairs to see the boss."

The steward grinned as he spoke to them, as if he knew all the Fortress staff very well.

"Oh? At a time like this, you've still found a new mutated creature to claim as your discovery? Don't let it be like that idiot last time, who brought a deformed rabbit to the boss and called it a new species. In the end, he and the rabbit both got thrown into the furnace. Besides, the boss is in a bad mood after the recent clashes with the hostile group. You'd better be careful, hehe."

The guard said with a mocking grin, but still stepped aside to let the two of them in.

At the guard's reminder, Butler Jonathan couldn't help shivering.

Let's hope this guy really gives me a pleasant surprise, not a nasty one...

Xia Leng, walking behind him, could tell that the steward was very afraid of their boss.

But that was only natural. In the old world, if you angered your company's boss, the most they could do was fire you.

But now, if you angered your superior, they could kill you and scatter your ashes, and no one would dare object...

The Komodo Fortress was the only building within a hundred kilometers with power-generating facilities, so its elevators were still operational.

They stepped into the elevator and prepared to head to the top floor. It was the first modern piece of equipment Xia Leng had seen still running in five years.

Just as the elevator doors were about to close, a pair of enormous, furry hands suddenly reached between them, stopping them from shutting!

Then two burly soldiers, each over two meters tall and wearing specially made exoskeleton combat suits, stepped inside. A skull emblem bearing the Komodo Corporation insignia was printed on each of their chests!

That wasn't all. After the two men, who radiated a violent aura, ducked their heads to squeeze into the elevator,

a young man dressed in gaudy colors and sporting a spiky hairstyle swaggered in as well.

He glanced disdainfully at Xia Leng and Butler Jonathan, who had entered the elevator first, but said nothing. Turning his back to them, he had one of the soldiers press the button for the tenth floor.

The moment Butler Jonathan saw the flamboyantly dressed man, he lowered his head. His body trembled faintly despite himself, and even though he was usually so talkative, he didn't dare breathe too loudly.

Xia Leng, on the other hand, remained as cold as ever. He even lifted his head and met the eyes of the two stern-faced soldiers, whose muscles looked explosively powerful!

These two soldiers radiated an even stronger aura than the captain of the guards at the Fortress entrance!

Each of them was at least a third-stage, strength-type Baptized One!

And Xia Leng could tell at a glance that these two soldiers were bodyguards for the punk standing in front of him, who had no special aura at all!