The Troublesome Residence

[Ding! Congratulations! You successfully killed a "Gene Warrior" (Strength Type) and gained 1,000 experience points.]

The system notification caught Liu Feng off guard. So killing other Gene Warriors could earn him experience points too. According to the system's settings, Gene Warriors were also products of evolution brought about by scientific research, essentially no different from zombies.

Liu Feng checked his experience points. He currently had 21,200/30,000, leaving him just a step away from unlocking the next Sky Spider skill.

This skill's icon was more intricate than the others, making Liu Feng even more curious.

He controlled the grayed-out icon with his mind, eager to find out exactly what Sky Spider could do, but accidentally triggered a backlash.

[Attempting to forcibly explore an unknown system skill. Deducting 100 experience points!]

Seriously? I lose experience points just for looking!

Seeing those 100 experience points vanish, Liu Feng was instantly filled with regret. Suddenly, a money pouch slammed into his head, making the information in his mind go black.

"What are you thinking about? We made quite a bit of money today. I'll trade all of it for supplies in a little while. Food is more useful, anyway."

Little Knife shook the money pouch in her hand. The hundred coins she had put down earlier had multiplied several hundredfold, and now she needed a small burlap sack just to carry them.

The fat man had made a fortune too. That last match had won him every silver coin belonging to more than a hundred people in the gathering place.

"Feng, where are we staying tonight? We can't go back to Liu Honggou's place."

Han Bing worried that Liu Honggou would make a move against them and was eager to find somewhere new to stay. Zerui's former subordinates were even more concerned about it than they were. Before Liu Feng could speak, they had already gathered beside the arena to welcome their new master.

"Feng, Zerui's old residence is empty now. Would you like to take a look?"

Zerui's deputy was a short man named Xiao Ming. His boss had barely died, yet he was already rushing to serve a new master. Liu Feng despised him for it.

Still, he was interested in checking out Zerui's residence. As the leader of the Lion Group, Zerui was bound to have plenty of good things stashed there.

Zerui's residence stood at the very center of the gathering place. An eleven-story office building, it was the tallest structure in the entire settlement.

His taste in decor, however, left much to be desired. He had turned a perfectly good building into something resembling an old Taoist priest's temple, with a lifeless gloom hanging over everything.

"Feng, it feels really hot in here!"

Han Bing was already drenched in sweat moments after entering. He unbuttoned his clothes and scratched at his parched throat with his fingers.

The abnormal temperature made Han Bing sense danger. He raised his gun, ready for a fight.

"Xiao Ming, are you messing with us?"

Han Bing's tone was harsh. Even his gunstock was starting to heat up. If this continued, neither they nor their weapons would be able to take it.

"We wouldn't dare! Even Lord Zerui was reduced to a pool of blood. How could we dare deceive Lord Liu Feng?"

Xiao Ming kept begging for mercy. He explained that Lord Zerui had chosen an especially hot place because he was sensitive to the cold. However, the heat here could generate a great deal of energy, supplying electricity to the surrounding area. That was also one of the reasons everyone had submitted to Lord Zerui.

"This office building is just a front. There must be more sophisticated equipment keeping it running inside, but we can't tell where it is yet."

Sweat covered Little Knife's neck too. She suspected this was an abandoned energy laboratory. When the zombies first appeared, scientists had proposed building underground cities and moving all of humanity belowground for shelter.

They had also tried to build self-sustaining energy systems. Unfortunately, zombies overran the laboratories before the equipment could be put into use, forcing the underground city project to be abandoned as well.

"If there really is an energy source here, it's worth a look. Where did Zerui live? Take me there."

Liu Feng raised his head and looked up. The building really was strange. A huge gap lay between each floor, making it look like an abandoned construction project.

He could not find the building's control room, but Zerui had lived here for years. He would surely have kept the controls within easy reach.

"Lord Zerui lived on the top floor. The main storeroom and armory are up there too, but we can't get up there. We'll have to rely on you alone, Lord Liu Feng."

Xiao Ming did not hide anything. He pointed straight to the top of the office building.

It turned out they had a reason for recognizing Liu Feng as their new leader. This office building had no stairs at all. Only a Gene Warrior like Zerui could leap all the way up.

Liu Feng's expression grew darker. As a Summoning Type Gene Warrior, how was he supposed to climb that high and bring down the supplies from the top floor?

Besides, this place was extraordinarily hot. Even the system was warning him that the temperature was too high and the server was running slowly. Whether he could summon his insects here at all remained uncertain.

"Lord Liu Feng, we have no other choice. The building's master mechanism is in Lord Zerui's own room. Only by switching it off will the stairs appear. The temperature here can also be adjusted back to normal."

Xiao Ming explained with expectation in his eyes. Zerui had not trusted his subordinates and had kept all the supplies under his own control. This office building was riddled with traps. Anyone who tried to get their hands on those supplies would be doomed.

But once the readings here spiraled out of control, the entire building could explode. There was no telling how far the blast would reach. It might engulf the whole A58 Gathering Place.

"It could explode?! Was your boss insane? How could he leave behind something this dangerous?"

Liu Feng thought Zerui was nothing but a self-important idiot. No wonder he had the fewest subordinates yet still held the position of leader over the entire gathering place. He had been holding on to an unpredictable time bomb. Once someone replaced him, the self-destruct system would activate and could flatten this place at any moment.

Liu Feng had only just found a decent place to settle down. He did not want all his efforts to go to waste so soon. If an explosion occurred, the flames would inevitably draw hordes of zombies, enough to tear everyone in the gathering place to pieces.

Liu Feng nodded and accepted the troublesome task. Xiao Ming and the other subordinates finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Lord Liu Feng, if you have no further instructions, we'll head outside first."

Xiao Ming withdrew respectfully, but Liu Feng distinctly heard an iron door being locked shut. He ran to the door and shoved it hard, only to discover that they had been locked inside.

"Lord Liu Feng, you'll be able to get out once you disable the mechanism. We'll be waiting for your triumphant return!"

Xiao Ming's infuriating voice came through the door. He was clearly afraid they would run away and intended to make them live or die with this laboratory.

(End of chapter)