The Grand Scheme

As soon as Jonathan heard they could enter, he hurriedly straightened his attire once more. He then shot a stern, furrowed-brow glance at Xia Leng behind him, signaling that he must follow the rules and not overstep his bounds.

With that, he pushed open the door and led Xia Leng into the general manager's office.

The moment they stepped inside, a wave of fresh air freshener hit them, enveloping them both.

"Clean and tidy" was the only way Xia Leng could describe the office.

The spacious office, nearly a thousand square feet, contained nothing but a mahogany desk in the center, an executive chair, and a leather sofa in front of the desk. The lack of any other decorations made the massive room feel incredibly empty, yet it was also refreshing to the mind.

Of course, there was also the person sitting in the executive chair—the General Manager Parick, who always kept Butler Jonathan in a state of trepidation.

Parick appeared to be an ordinary person with features that were not particularly striking, yet possessed a hint of refinement.

He wore his short, choppy hair in a crisp, professional style. His skin was a rare, fair complexion for the apocalypse, and he wore black-rimmed glasses perched on a high bridge of his nose. He was dressed in a white shirt that didn't have a single speck of dirt on it.

In short, he gave off the vibe of a sharp, motivated white-collar worker from the old era. He also looked extremely young, likely in his late twenties or early thirties.

Parick looked up. When he saw the two people entering, his eyes immediately locked onto Xia Leng behind the butler. The young man's skin was even fairer and more flawless than his own—it was in a near-perfect state!

This initial impression gave him a favorable view of the clean-cut youth.

In truth, even Xia Leng, who rarely looked in a mirror, did not know that ever since he had fused with the Blacklight Virus, the skin he had once intentionally tanned had been gradually "purified." There wasn't even a single blemish to be found, resulting in a complexion more delicate and fair than that of women from the old era.

However, when Xia Leng looked at the General Manager, his first subconscious thought was that this man would probably taste quite good if he were to be consumed.

Parick was a "Wise One" with enhanced brain function. His physique was no different from an ordinary person, so he lacked the uncontrollable, violent aura found in power-type Baptized Ones.

Yet, Xia Leng could still detect a unique aura about him, though it was subtle and difficult to pinpoint.

"General Manager Parick, this is the Tier 2 Apocalypse Hunter named Xia Leng. He has discovered clues regarding a new type of mutant creature."

Butler Jonathan didn't waste words or put on a sycophantic smile; he simply introduced the youth behind him in a concise manner.

The butler understood the General Manager's temper—he hated useless pleasantries that wasted his time.

"Hmm, I see. You go outside and wait for now. Let me speak with him alone. But don't go too far."

Parick replied indifferently, telling the Fortress butler to wait at the door. The implication of the latter part was clear: if the information provided turned out to be false, the butler could also expect to be thrown into the furnace.

"Yes..."

When Butler Jonathan heard this, his body trembled instinctively. This was truly a high-risk reward.

Once the butler left the office, the two of them were the only ones left in the spacious room.

"Are you truly a merchant from the wilderness, as described on your form? Your skin doesn't look like it."

Parick asked with a seemingly casual, playful tone, gesturing for Xia Leng to sit on the sofa. Had the man not looked so clean, he wouldn't have allowed just anyone to sit on his furniture.

Xia Leng didn't stand on ceremony. He walked straight to the sofa and sat down, replying calmly, "Because I am merely a merchant. Aside from needing a ticket to enter your Fortress this time, I rarely go out into the wild to hunt. I suppose I've just been exposed to less sunlight, and this is the result."

Parick received the equally casual reply and, given his personality, didn't want to press the matter. He went straight to the point: "Tell me, what kind of new mutant creature have you discovered? A rabbit with ears on its back, or a snake with legs?"

In the past, many people dreaming of striking it rich had come to him with so-called "new discoveries" to claim a reward.

Without exception, they were almost always animals that had been exposed to the Black Rain and suffered deformities—simply having an extra leg or eye compared to their peers, with no real difference from the mutant creatures already on record.

After too many such blunders, Parick grew annoyed and established a harsh penalty: if the discovery proved fake, the claimant would be thrown into the furnace along with their "new creature" to generate electricity.

After that, people trying to pull such stunts had virtually vanished; after all, their own lives were more important.

"I know of a location in the commercial district where a Living Corpse King exists. All the living corpses on that street obey its commands. I think you would be interested in that." Xia Leng remained unmoved by the threat hidden in Parick's joking tone, speaking with the same calm demeanor.

However, this statement made it impossible for Parick to remain calm.

He was certainly well-versed in living corpses—those ferocious monsters mutated from humans. The company had even captured and studied quite a few, but they had never found anything of value in them.

"A Living Corpse King? You mean a leader for those walking corpses? Hahaha! Don't tell me these mindless monsters have developed a social hierarchy? Do you have any proof? And how could you, all by yourself, penetrate the center of the Street of the Living Dead?"

Parick laughed immediately. The zombies they had studied in the past didn't even have self-awareness, let alone a sense of social hierarchy. Like other wild beasts, they only knew how to use various brutal methods to fill their stomachs.

"I have no proof, but I can take you there to verify it myself. If it is false, it won't be too late for you to have your subordinates carry out any punishment you see fit," Xia Leng said, his expression still blank.

"Oh? So confident? Do you think that because you are a young Tier 2 Baptized One, I wouldn't be willing to kill you?"

Parick rested his chin on the back of his hand, staring directly into the other man's eyes with a sharp gaze, attempting to spot any abnormality or signs of fear and retreat.

But there were none. Xia Leng's eyes were like a calm, still lake without a single ripple, leaving even Parick, a Wise One with mental power far superior to the average person, unable to find a single flaw.

Why does this guy's gaze give me such an inhuman feeling...

Parick's eyes, as a Wise One, were like a high-precision lie detector, capable of capturing any subtle change in a person's expression or gaze. If the person before him were lying, he would definitely notice.

Yet, the eyes of the man in front of him were so calm they didn't seem human at all—though, in truth, Baptized Ones were already beginning to transcend the category of humanity...

"Very well. If those living corpses have truly evolved social behaviors, it would indeed provide great research value for our company, especially if there really is a Living Corpse King as you claim."

Parick pondered for a moment. A Living Corpse King...

If it truly existed and could be captured, they might be able to uncover the secret to controlling other zombies. After all, nearly 90% of the global population had mutated into these monsters.

If his company could control such a massive horde of living corpses, the entire landscape of the wasteland would undergo a world-shaking transformation!