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"Since you have the ability to venture deep into the Street of the Living Dead, why didn't you bring that so-called Zombie King back for us to see in person?"

Parick crossed his legs, lounged comfortably in his executive chair, and looked down at the other man with a condescending gaze.

Seeing that the General Manager intended to press the issue, Xia Leng put on an impatient expression.

"You know that we Apocalypse Hunters possess keen danger-sensing abilities. That Zombie King is extremely powerful; I am no match for it. However, since you don't seem to trust me, I can go find other mercenary companies. That way, you won't have to worry about being deceived or set up by me."

Xia Leng made a move to stand up and leave, a gesture that caused Parick's pupils to dilate slightly!

No one had ever dared to act so insolently in front of him. Although he disliked sycophants, he also despised disrespect.

If any other subordinate had behaved so rudely before him, their fate would have been far less pleasant than being tossed into a furnace.

However, the temptation of a new type of evolved creature like the Zombie King, which he had never encountered before, combined with his initial favorable impression of this cold man, caused Parick to calm his rising temper.

"Hahaha, you are interesting—much more interesting than anyone else I've met. I like your straightforward personality. As it happens, two squads have just returned to the base after completing their missions. You will lead those guys and hunt that Zombie King for me!"

Parick stood up, smoothed out his slightly wrinkled white shirt, picked up the phone on his mahogany desk, and dialed a number, concisely beginning to deploy the hunting team.

With his back turned to the General Manager, a flash of imperceptible cunning crossed Xia Leng's eyes. His first objective had been achieved; his second goal was to find a way to extract information about the Land of Corpse Cold from this company...

"The personnel have been arranged and are standing by at the entrance. Do you want to set off now, or would you like to rest for a while?" Parick hung up the phone, sat back down, and asked Xia Leng with a smile.

"Let's set off now, because who knows when the sun will set again, or when it will rise next."

Xia Leng responded indifferently. With the Blacklight Virus augmenting his body, he felt no fatigue at all, even after the battle deep within the Street of the Living Dead.

Just as he was about to walk out of the office, Parick called out to Xia Leng one last time, "Since you are so considerate of our company, what kind of generous reward do you want?"

"Let's talk about that when I manage to come back alive."

As soon as Xia Leng stepped out of the General Manager's office, he saw Butler Jonathan standing at the door, eyes tightly shut, hands crossed over his chest, seemingly praying for something.

The moment he heard the sound of the door opening, he jumped in surprise. He snapped his eyes open and saw his benefactor standing right in front of him, wearing the same cold expression as always.

"You came out?! How did it go? Did Lord Parick believe your story??"

Jonathan hurried over and asked nervously, as this concerned his own life.

"I don't know. The result depends on whether we can capture that Zombie King. Are you coming with me?"

Xia Leng turned his head and looked coldly at the butler, who was so adept at navigating human affairs.

"Cough, I... I think I'll pass. I still have a lot of work to do in the fortress; I can't get away..."

As soon as Jonathan heard about leaving the safety of the fortress to head toward that terrifying, gloomy street, he immediately scrambled for an excuse to refuse.

"By the way, what are those rooms next door for? Why are they connected to your boss's office?"

Xia Leng took advantage of the man's heightened state of tension to casually ask this important question.

"Those rooms? Oh, besides being the General Manager of this fortress, our boss Parick also serves as a consultant for the company's research team. But as for what they are researching, those of us in the lower ranks aren't qualified to know."

Jonathan answered truthfully. In reality, he had no interest in knowing; he understood the principle that the less he knew, the better off he was.

Afterward, Xia Leng took the elevator back to the surface with the butler.

After parting ways with the butler, he walked toward the fortress gate, where the two mercenary squads that were to accompany him to the commercial Street of the Living Dead were waiting.

Stepping out of the isolated fortress, Xia Leng saw two fully armed mercenary squads standing in front of the copper walls under the scorching sun, among them several Baptized Ones exuding formidable auras.

From a distance, he could already hear some of the soldiers in the ranks starting to grumble.

"Damn it, I just got back from a mission, and now they're immediately assigning us more work. The company is really squeezing us dry!"

"Shh, keep it down. Don't let the captain hear you. With his temper, he'll strip you naked and throw you out into the sun..."

Xia Leng listened to the various complaints from the ranks with his keen senses, walking toward them without a care.

"You're the important person Lord Parick mentioned?"

Just then, a massive, hulking man blocked Xia Leng's path and asked him in an arrogant tone.

Xia Leng looked up to see another Apocalypse Warrior, nearly two meters tall with a fierce face, a power-type whose strength hovered between the second and third stages, likely on the verge of breaking through to the third.

"Yes, you must be Captain Philip. We can set off now."

Xia Leng replied indifferently and walked straight past him, leaving the self-important Apocalypse Warrior feeling slighted right from the start...

"You bastard!"

Philip froze, then grew angry. He couldn't detect the aura of a Baptized One from the man, yet he dared to ignore him like this. Could he be a mental-type Awakened?

However, he didn't go to cause trouble for Xia Leng directly, as General Manager Parick had placed such importance on him; he must have some extraordinary strengths.

And so, the narrow-minded man silently filed this grievance away in his heart...

"Hello, I'm Gilbert, captain of the Falcon Squad. I heard you're an Apocalypse Hunter like me?"

Then, another man exuding a unique aura walked over with a smile. Compared to Philip, he was much more of a gentleman.

Xia Leng looked at him—a dark complexion, sharp eyes like a hawk, and an arm extended that, while not overly bulky, was filled with streamlined muscle. He could tell at a glance that the man was an agility-type hunter, so he reached out and shook his hand.

"Hello. Can we set off now?"

Xia Leng's tone remained as flat as ever, though for him, offering a greeting was already quite rare...

"Hahaha, I guess you're an agility-type hunter too, being so impatient. Let's go then! Philip, get your team to start the vehicles—let's go have a good hunt!"

Afterward, Xia Leng heard the deafening roar of engines erupting behind him!