Mu Xiao's Message

Mu Xiao's Message

Of everyone present, Lü Xiaoman and Xia Qian were the most terrified and flustered. What had clearly been a promotion interview had instead taken a shocking turn.

At first, Lü Xiaoman and Xia Qian had happily gone up to the top floor. After all, few lower-level employees had the chance to formally meet Shangguan Yuanxin, the company's CEO. Being able to come up here naturally made them feel proud and exhilarated. So when Mu Xiao gave Lü Xiaoman the office password, she had not suspected anything. But after entering the password and walking inside to see that horrifying scene, the two women had nearly fainted from fright.

Female bodyguards lay sprawled across the floor, their fates unknown. Even their lofty female CEO was slumped limply in her chair without moving. It would have been strange if such a sight had not frightened them.

Shangguan Yuanxin's status was far too significant. If anything had happened to her, Lü Xiaoman and Xia Qian would not be able to escape responsibility under these circumstances.

Xia Qian wished time could turn back so she would not have joined Lü Xiaoman in this mess. At the same time, she hated Mu Xiao to the core. Full of regret, anxiety, and panic, she thought, Not only did I fail to benefit from a promotion, I've gotten myself dragged into this mess too. This time, disaster is definitely coming...

Lü Xiaoman, on the other hand, had little time to think. After her initial fear passed, she noticed the female bodyguards' abdomens rising and falling slightly. They were clearly still breathing. Gathering her courage, she stepped forward to check and found that they had merely fallen asleep. Soon, Lü Xiaoman and Xia Qian worked together clumsily to wake the bodyguards. The first to awaken was Zhou Xuan, who possessed an S-rank physique.

When Zhou Xuan repaired the communications system, chaos had already erupted below in the company. Someone soon managed to contact them and reported that monsters had appeared in the building, but the communication cut off halfway through.

Zhou Xuan had no choice but to go downstairs and see what was happening herself.

When she reached the lower floors, she found the spotless corridors covered in blood, a glaringly gruesome sight. Not far away, countless humanoid monsters were savagely tearing into the employees around them. She struggled to remain calm and decisively returned to the top floor, intending to contact the police and suppress the unknown horror that had appeared in the company.

Yet no matter what she did, she could not contact the outside world, and an ominous premonition rose in her heart. Just then, the roar of fighter jets sounded outside. The female bodyguards went to look out from the balcony, and after watching for some time, they discovered that the outside world had also descended into complete chaos...

Shangguan Yuanxin walked over to Lü Xiaoman and Xia Qian. The two women immediately stood and respectfully said, "Hello, President Shangguan."

"Sit and talk. We're all sharing the same hardship now," Shangguan Yuanxin said as she sat down with them on the sofa.

"President, is the situation outside really that chaotic?" Xia Qian asked uneasily.

"It can no longer be described as chaos." Shangguan Yuanxin spoke gravely. "It may be a global crisis."

Without waiting for Xia Qian to react, she suddenly asked, "You were in a relationship with Mu Xiao for three years. How much do you know about him?"

Shangguan Yuanxin was rather curious about Mu Xiao's background. Why had he known in advance that the world would change? Why had he gone so far as to threaten her, all for the sake of obtaining a large amount of supplies to survive better? That undoubtedly proved that this danger would not settle down anytime soon.

Having calmed down, Shangguan Yuanxin regained her usual sharp and wise mind.

"We used to be colleagues at another company, and only entered this company at the same time two years ago. Usually, he was very polite and humble. It's just that he was a little strange today. The old him would never have acted like this." Xia Qian was a clever woman. She vaguely understood that Mu Xiao was not as simple as he appeared, and she could not help regretting how coldly she had broken up with him yesterday. If she had delayed the breakup by a few days, perhaps he could have protected her better now. But it seemed everything was already too late.

"That's all?" Shangguan Yuanxin frowned slightly.

"He usually spoiled me a lot, so I never really knew..." Xia Qian looked ashamed, her voice growing quieter and quieter, but Shangguan Yuanxin understood what she meant.

It was nothing more than Mu Xiao loving her more than himself, while his woman had never taken him seriously, believing that all his affection was only natural.

In the past, Shangguan Yuanxin would not have considered that a problem. After all, Xia Qian was a woman with considerable assets—mature, beautiful, and alluring, the kind of stunning beauty many men found irresistible. But now that the world was heading into the unknown and Mu Xiao was such a mysterious man, Shangguan Yuanxin felt that Xia Qian had been truly foolish to miss such a major opportunity.

Suddenly, Zhou Xuan blurted out, "If he spoiled you that much, why did you break up with him?"

At that moment, the other female bodyguards and Shangguan Yuanxin all looked at Zhou Xuan strangely. Given the circumstances, Zhou Xuan should not have interrupted, much less asked such a pointless question.

Seeing everyone look at her, Zhou Xuan hurriedly said, "I was just curious. You don't have to answer."

In truth, she had remembered her conversation with Mu Xiao before she lost consciousness.

Earlier, Mu Xiao had subdued all of them. At the time, he had said it was to save their lives, but Zhou Xuan had not believed him. She had even said that if it were true, she would become Mu Xiao's woman. So when she heard that Xia Qian had not treated Mu Xiao as someone important, she could not help projecting herself into the situation and asking that question.

Asked such a difficult question, Xia Qian naturally could not say that it was because there had been no future in following Mu Xiao... Just as she was considering how to brush it off, Zhou Xuan said that she did not have to answer. Xia Qian took the out she had been given and closed her mouth.

Shangguan Yuanxin felt this was not the time to investigate other matters, so she asked Lü Xiaoman, who had remained silent beside Xia Qian, "What message did Mu Xiao leave you? What else did he say?"

"He left me a message telling me to come up here now..." Lü Xiaoman hurriedly handed over her communications terminal.

Shangguan Yuanxin took the terminal and pressed the sensor on its metal plate. A message appeared on the screen, containing the room password and a reminder to properly follow Shangguan Yuanxin and work for her.

You told her to follow me. Were you hoping I would protect her? But right now, I can barely protect myself... Shangguan Yuanxin smiled bitterly inwardly. Then she noticed an encrypted message at the end, marked with the words "Hand directly to Shangguan Yuanxin."

"What's the password for the encrypted message?" Shangguan Yuanxin asked.

"I don't know that." Lü Xiaoman spoke awkwardly.

Shangguan Yuanxin thought for a moment, then entered the password to her former bank account.

It worked.

But upon seeing the first line of the message, she nearly went mad.

"Were you disappointed to wake up and find that I hadn't violated you..."

Shangguan Yuanxin skipped over that sentence and continued reading. Once she finished the rest of the message, panic washed over her as though she had been drenched in icy water. Her heart seemed to fall into a bottomless abyss, and despair surged within her.

"...The New Human Plan is a massive conspiracy targeting humanity on Earth. Simply put, we have been abandoned by those lofty figures on the Moon. Or you could say we have been left to struggle for survival on Earth like lab rats, becoming their research subjects."

"I hope no one around you has undergone a genetic mutation. If you find anyone acting strangely, I suggest you smash her head immediately."

"One more reminder. Not long after the disaster breaks out, every machine will become paralyzed. Unless you evolve into a New Human and acquire certain specialized knowledge and abilities, you will be unable to repair machinery. So I suggest that while the two S-rank robots in the room can still be used, hurry to No. 9 Warehouse. I ordered supplies for you there. If you know how to make use of those supplies, you will have a chance of becoming an Evolver—that is, a New Human. Then you will have the right to survive."

"If, unfortunately, you cannot evolve into a New Human, I suggest you slit your throat and die. In this dark world, humans who fail to evolve into New Humans will eventually live worse than dogs, because dogs will become mutated beasts too... And with a face as beautiful as yours, even if you survive, you will only become a tool for men's lust, perhaps even merchandise traded for food. In this dark age, your former identity and background will be completely useless. Remember to adjust your mindset, so that you can think calmly."

"I'll leave little Lü Xiaoman to you. Finally, I wish you a pleasant life in this new world."

After everyone finished reading Mu Xiao's message, the entire room fell deathly silent. A pin drop could have been heard.

"Isn't he exaggerating too much?" one female bodyguard forced out a smile.

Zhou Xuan looked at Shangguan Yuanxin, who had yet to recover, and understood that she had likely suffered a greater blow than anyone else. She suggested, "I think we should leave here first. There isn't much food here, and there are more than ten of us now. If we drag this out, we won't be able to withstand the consumption. If No. 9 Warehouse has supplies, we can hold on long enough to contact our families and reunite with them."

Because if the world truly descended into chaos, human nature would become the most terrifying thing of all—especially for a woman like herself.

"We're not going to No. 9 Warehouse. We're going to Mu Xiao's place instead." Shangguan Yuanxin's eyes blazed with the fierce light of someone ready to risk her life. She knew that if Mu Xiao's words came true and she could not evolve, it would be worse than death. She might as well take a gamble and bet that Mu Xiao could help solve her problem.

Everyone had wanted to go to No. 9 Warehouse, but after hearing Shangguan Yuanxin's explanation, they silently accepted her decision.

"Xia Qian, you should know where Mu Xiao lives. You'll lead the way later. After all, Mu Xiao never asked me to look after you—only Lü Xiaoman. Mu Xiao drew a clear line between gratitude and grudges, and so do I. I'll look after Lü Xiaoman, but I hope you can prove useful yourself." Shangguan Yuanxin resumed the cold, decisive manner of a powerful businesswoman.

When Xia Qian read the first line of the message, she had felt sour and jealous. But after reading it all, she became deeply terrified by the drastic changes that had swept across the world, while also feeling terribly hurt that Mu Xiao had not mentioned her even once. Now that Shangguan Yuanxin had bluntly pointed out her value, she was suddenly overwhelmed by the urge to cry in regret.

She suddenly realized that this world had become unimaginably terrifying!

"Qianqian, I'll protect you." Lü Xiaoman's little face was pale as well, but she still smiled and encouraged Xia Qian.

Only then did Xia Qian realize that Lü Xiaoman truly regarded her as a friend, and her heart warmed slightly.

"Take whatever food and supplies you can carry, along with all the weapons. We leave in five minutes." Zhou Xuan gave the order. "Remember, there may be monsters outside, and we cannot take in anyone else. If anyone rushes toward us, treat them as monsters threatening our lives and kill them all!"

Zhou Xuan knew this was not the time for mercy.

The other female bodyguards also understood that extraordinary times called for extraordinary measures. Besides, they did not have the ability to protect more people. Fortunately, none of them had undergone genetic mutation. That was also why Shangguan Yuanxin dared to gamble on bringing everyone to Mu Xiao's residence.

After all, luck could sometimes be a crucial deciding factor.

"Why are you so sure Mu Xiao is at home? Since he foresaw that something major was going to happen, he might have already found somewhere safe and left his old residence." Zhou Xuan came to Shangguan Yuanxin's side and asked softly.

"When he bought a huge amount of supplies, I saw the address listed there. That was his home address," Shangguan Yuanxin said. "I asked Xia Qian just now, and she confirmed Mu Xiao's address. Mu Xiao used my money to buy so many supplies—he definitely wouldn't abandon them. So finding him is our best option. Besides, where he lives is an old development zone with hardly any residents. It's relatively safe, so there's no need for him to relocate elsewhere."

Just as she had said, Mu Xiao had considered moving somewhere else, such as renting a warehouse. But all his money had been spent on buying the 'S-rank Physique Enhancement Potion.' He could not afford the deposit, had no time to search for a remote warehouse, and had no time to handle the paperwork.

Besides, he had thought the living environment there was decent at the time, so he had directly chosen it as a temporary hiding place.

What Mu Xiao had not expected was that Shangguan Yuanxin would come looking for him.

Shangguan Yuanxin's all-female squad set off, heading into their first battle of the apocalypse.