Chapter 196-I Clean Up Garbage in a Wasteland World

Chapter 196 Eternal Pharma Foundation (II)

When Zhu Ning saw Xu Meng, she stepped forward and hugged her. "How are you doing?"

Xu Meng patted Zhu Ning's back. "I'm fine. No problem joining the mission."

Zhu Ning was a bit worried Xu Meng was pushing herself. If her injuries hadn't healed, entering a contamination zone would be far too dangerous.

She'd found Xu Meng slightly odd before meeting her in person, but face to face, she seemed no different from before.

Xu Meng: "Have you contacted Li Nianchuan?"

Just like the Mechanical Oceanarium incident, Sanitation Squad A70265's three-person team was still one member short.

Zhu Ning: "No. I told him to leave a few days ago."

Zhu Ning had been too busy to worry about Li Nianchuan. If he'd listened, he would have purchased a transit pass two days ago and already left District 103.

After all, transit passes hadn't been that hard to get back then, and the port hadn't yet descended into chaos.

Xu Meng: "I was still waiting for him to open his fish restaurant."

Zhu Ning had been about to say they should all go eat at Li Nianchuan's place after this was over—but the words felt like a flag, so she said nothing.

Their hug was brief. It was just small talk. Xu Meng quickly let go, but in the moment they separated, she pressed something into Zhu Ning's palm.

A hard object appeared in Zhu Ning's hand—a very flat case. She recognized it immediately.

A Human-Machine Interface Device?

Zhu Ning had asked Xu Meng to find one for her. Only two days had passed, and Xu Meng already had it.

They didn't exchange further words about it. Zhu Ning silently pocketed the device. She did have some questions she wanted to ask Prometheus.

Zhuang Lin tapped his tablet, quickly scanning the report the technical department had just sent him. "Now that everyone's here, let me brief you on the situation inside."

Zhuang Lin swept his gaze over the five-person squad before him. With the Sanitation Center in turmoil, entering a contamination zone was essentially entering another world.

Standing before Zhuang Lin, Zhu Ning couldn't help but feel reminded of listening to Fang Ying's briefing during the Mechanical Oceanarium incident.

Zhuang Lin: "The building you're about to enter was originally called Jinxiu International Hotel."

Zhu Ning raised an eyebrow at the name. How retro—half-Chinese, half-Western. It sounded like something from the last century.

Sure enough, Zhuang Lin continued: "This building has a 106-year history. It existed before the High Wall Plan was initiated—you could say it's witnessed the entire history of District 103. The hotel has changed owners multiple times. Old hotels like this are breeding grounds for bizarre incidents. There are four hundred officially registered disappearance cases alone."

Cao Wei snorted. "A haunted house?"

"More or less," Zhuang Lin said. "Though from our perspective, they're likely contamination events."

"Those four hundred are only the officially registered ones. The unregistered cases are probably far more."

Something didn't add up for Zhu Ning. If this place had been "haunted" for so long, how could the Sanitation Center not have noticed?

Zhu Ning asked: "Were most of the victims Fifth-Class Citizens?"

She recalled that last time she'd visited, Eternal Pharma had been going to great lengths to find Defectives.

Zhuang Lin nodded. "Three hundred were Defectives. The rest were Third and Fourth-Class Citizens."

Of course. If a single First-Class Citizen had gone missing, this hotel would have been raided long ago.

Had those people truly just disappeared?

What were they using Defectives for? And what did it have to do with the Divine Descent?

"Because of repeated reports, the Sanitation Center sent people to investigate several times, but no contaminants were detected. It was quiet inside."

Xu Meng asked: "Not a contamination event?"

Zhuang Lin shook his head. "Unclear. Some things can fool detection instruments. Since it's in the city center with dense population, eventually the Sanitation Center just set up a few contamination level monitors nearby. If contamination exceeded the threshold, the tech department would receive an immediate alert."

"The alarm never went off. It stayed normal all these years—until now."

This seemingly contamination-free hotel had suddenly begun fluctuating in contamination density, shooting straight to 270%.

Zhuang Lin continued with the hotel's history. "Later, the hotel's reputation tanked and business dried up. The previous owner went bankrupt. The property was auctioned off, and the Eternal Pharma Foundation purchased it at an absurdly inflated price. Many people couldn't understand why anyone would pay so much for a building with so little commercial value."

Zhuang Lin didn't mention the exact figure. Zhu Ning suspected there were quite a few zeros involved.

Zhuang Lin: "It was renamed the New Century Hotel. Eternal Pharma frequently held official events here. The events appeared clean with no red flags. Eventually the hotel rooms were allocated to Foundation members—essentially becoming their internal base of operations."

Zhu Ning knew. She'd attended one of those events herself. Someone had been passionately speechifying about Defectives rising up and the like. The speech content sounded suspiciously like mental contamination—far inferior to Huo Wenxi's public address.

Zhu Ning suddenly thought: if she hadn't been called away to the Oceanarium mission that day, if she'd stayed for the entire event—would she have been offered a room at the hotel?

"After Eternal Pharma took over, the surface was pristine. The Sanitation Center had no grounds to enter and investigate, so we know nothing about the interior." Zhuang Lin said: "Until today, when the contamination alarm triggered. Our people rushed over. First, we confirmed the contamination levels. Second, the reconnaissance drone we sent in disappeared—no report returned."

The technical department operated more professionally. They could send in machines to scout before entry—but this time, the machines never came back.

Chu Ling: "So we don't know what's inside?"

Zhuang Lin nodded. "That's correct."

During the Mechanical Oceanarium incident, they'd had internal surveillance footage and detailed technical surveys.

This time they had nothing. They didn't even know how many contamination sources were in there.

Zhuang Lin: "All these years, no information has ever leaked out. There was once a journalist named Wen Qianghong who went in to investigate, but he disappeared too."

So investigative journalists existed in this world—and this one had been digging into the truth behind low-class citizen deaths.

Zhuang Lin: "It's likely chaotic inside. There are contaminants, freshly contaminated humans, and possibly survivors. Your mission is to find clues. Nothing else is within your operational scope."

Meaning if they encountered survivors, rescue wasn't their objective.

Zhuang Lin: "S-Level Contamination Zones appearing spontaneously—there are only two known mechanisms. First: a Non-Natural Human deploys their personal contamination field. The trigger would need to possess at minimum an S-Level spiritual value."

He paused here. "You can think of it as Zhu Ning losing control and generating a contamination zone."

Zhu Ning: "..."

Zhu Ning was the only S-Level spiritual value in District 103. The analogy was apt.

Zhuang Lin continued: "Second: similar to Lin Xiaofeng's case. They pushed someone to collapse and precisely detonated them to form the contamination."

Hearing Lin Xiaofeng's name made Zhu Ning uncomfortable, but she had to admit this possibility was equally high.

Zhuang Lin: "That's everything we know. The rest is up to you. It's almost certainly a trap. Survival odds may not be great."

None of the five spoke. Having accepted this mission, they'd already prepared themselves for death.

Zhuang Lin: "You're a hastily assembled team, but you've worked together before—there's some foundation. The squad leader for this operation is Zhu Ning."

No one objected. Zhu Ning was the most suitable choice. She'd led the team during the Mechanical Oceanarium as well.

"Zhu Ning," Zhuang Lin said. "There's one more decision you need to make. Will you be using Human-Machine Interface Devices for this operation? A reminder: Prometheus's involvement ensures your communication channel stays secure, but the usage protocol for the devices must be public."

To prevent unauthorized private contact with Prometheus, official protocol required using the devices under technical department supervision.

If they used them, it was equivalent to publicly broadcasting the entire mission. Their camera feeds would be transmitted to the tech department's main screen. There was a time delay, but everyone would see.

Zhu Ning: "I thought this was a covert mission."

If cameras were on and all permissions enabled, Zhu Ning couldn't afford to be subtle about her presence in an S-Level Contamination Zone. She'd have to use her abilities.

This mission would become a public spectacle. Under everyone's watchful eyes, Zhu Ning would easily attract trouble.

But Huo Wenxi had left the choice to Zhu Ning. She asked: "This was Huo Wenxi's idea?"

Zhuang Lin: "Yes."

Zhu Ning thought for a moment. "Would it benefit Huo Wenxi's position?"

"Possibly," Zhuang Lin said. "Team Leader Huo wanted you to decide."

As she'd suspected. If Huo Wenxi had considered going public, this event could become leverage for her.

Huo Wenxi's ability was Intuition. She had considerations Zhu Ning couldn't fathom.

Now imprisoned, this mission served as a bargaining chip—something that could help her commander seize the initiative amid the chaos.

Xu Meng had been silent all this time, but now she couldn't hold back: "Zhu Ning..."

Xu Meng had already secured a device for Zhu Ning. If all she wanted was to talk to Prometheus, there was no need to agree to this.

Zhu Ning: "I accept."

Disadvantageous to herself, but advantageous to Huo Wenxi. She could accept that.

Zhuang Lin hadn't expected Zhu Ning to agree so quickly. She was walking a tightrope on a cliff's edge—and now she was about to reveal every card in her hand.

Xu Meng lowered her voice: "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Xu Meng didn't understand the relationship between Zhu Ning and Huo Wenxi. She just felt Zhu Ning was far too optimistic about her own situation.

Even if she made it out of the contamination zone alive, she'd face suspicion and assassination attempts for the rest of her life.

Zhu Ning asked: "Do you mind?"

Xu Meng: "I don't, but you—"

Zhu Ning: "It's only a few more days anyway."

Die sooner or die later—she'd always been remarkably at peace with this.

Xu Meng had nothing to say to that. She asked: "Who's the supreme operational authority?"

Xu Meng raised a crucial question. If they connected to Prometheus, the authority figure could order the AI to take over someone's body at critical moments.

Last time, the supreme authority had been Xuan Qing—meaning their lives had been in her hands.

Who was it this time?

Zhuang Lin: "Technically it's Team Leader Huo, but she's unable to exercise that authority now. This time Prometheus only received surveillance rights—no command authority. The supreme authority is yourselves. You may choose whether to surrender control."

A relatively free arrangement.

Zhuang Lin distributed the Human-Machine Interface Devices. These were registered items—each one absurdly expensive.

Zhu Ning had wanted one for a long time but couldn't find the right channels. Now she had two at once—one in her pocket and one in her hand.

Same black velvet case. Her name and employee ID were written on the back.

A blue ring lay nestled inside. On its underside, tiny mycelial threads squirmed—as if eager to burrow into someone's brain and hijack their nervous system.

The Initial Zhu Ning had used a secondhand device once, nearly scrambling her own neural pathways. This would be Zhu Ning's third time using Prometheus.

No matter how many times she used it, she couldn't get comfortable. It sat far too close to the brain—especially given that this thing might be a contaminant itself.

Zhu Ning removed her helmet and pressed the blue ring against her temple. The soft mycelium adhered to the surface skin, then snow-white threads pierced inward.

Hummm—

She merged with something. Her brain shuddered briefly.

But the tremor passed quickly—as if someone had lightly tapped a fork against a wine glass.

Her connection was gentle this time, likely because Prometheus wasn't attempting to seize neural control.

[Voice pack implantation complete.]

[Cleaner Zhu Ning identity confirmed.]

[I am Prometheus, your surveillance officer for this operation. At your service.]

Zhu Ning heard Prometheus's cold, deep voice. Quite a remarkable scene—this AI had assisted Zhu Ning through her restart, like the fire-stealer bringing fire to humanity. Yet their relationship wasn't exactly that of allies.

Zhu Ning still remembered the Initial Instance's warning not to trust him. What was Prometheus's motive?

Surely he wasn't genuinely stealing fire for mankind?

He dared call himself the fire-stealer, yet Zhu Ning wouldn't dare call herself the flame.

[For this mission, I have only obtained surveillance rights. I will ensure communication security only. Without orders from a superior, I have no authorization to assume control of any employee's body.]

[High-concentration contamination detected within the zone. Maximum 270%. Cause unknown. Per technical department assessment, this is classified as an S-Level Contamination Zone. Area: 50,000 cubic meters. Due to insufficient data, an accurate mortality rate cannot be calculated. I will now enter surveillance mode. Good luck to all.]

Prometheus fell silent after that, obediently entering surveillance mode. Zhu Ning rolled her neck, adjusting to his presence in her mind.

The system didn't seem to have any particular reaction this time.

Zhu Ning put her helmet back on. She knew her camera feed was now being synced out—the entire Sanitation Center technical department could see everything.

Everyone finished gearing up. The composition this time was four Demon Hunters and one doctor.

Zhu Ning took point. She gave a hand signal—ready.

Zhuang Lin nodded: "I'll be here the whole time."

With Huo Wenxi gone, Zhuang Lin would be Zhu Ning's safety net. He'd keep his promise. She trusted him.

Support personnel opened the door, watching them enter the hotel.

Zhu Ning was the first one in. She'd been here two months ago—back then the hotel was still clean. Now it was deathly silent inside, as if abandoned for years. The floor was covered in glass shards and dust.

Most disturbing were the brownish bloodstains on the walls—and the old blood smears on the floor.

At the lobby's check-in counter hung multiple clocks. In Zhu Ning's era these would have been world clocks showing different time zones.

In this world, they should have pointed to different survivor-base time zones. Instead, every single clock pointed to the number 4—whether that meant four AM or four PM was unclear.

The hotel lobby was veined with dark gray lines—the background color of a contamination zone.

The moment Zhu Ning stepped inside, the system triggered.

Ding—

[You have activated a side quest: New Century Hotel. Objective: successfully purify this area. Current purification progress: 0%. Keep up the good work.]

The system had issued her a quest. Side quests could never be chosen—only passively received.

The hotel lobby was deserted. The building held only their uninvited group—perhaps the contamination zone hadn't been fully activated yet.

Chu Ling held her gun ready. She'd just stepped on a shard of glass. "It only became a contamination zone this morning. Why does it look so old?"

Cao Wei: "No idea what we'll find in here. Hey, Captain—what's next?"

Zhu Ning didn't answer that. Instead she asked: "Why did each of you volunteer for this mission?"

This wasn't an official assignment—they'd signed up voluntarily. Zhu Ning wanted to know their situations.

Cao Wei: "Lost teammates. Gotta find out why they died, right?"

Chu Ling: "Same."

They didn't know what the Resurrection Society was planning, but Grey Eagle Squad had a blood debt with them. Cao Wei and Chu Ling had just attended their teammates' funeral.

Huo Wenxi had said doomsday was coming—this shithole District 103 would be annihilated in five days. Their teammates had died for no reason, simply because of one word from Bao Ruiming.

Even if Chu Ling and Cao Wei died here today, as long as they learned the truth, it would be worth it.

Zhu Ning's first instinct upon hearing this was to look at Xu Meng. The bond between Demon Hunter squads was like family—Xu Meng was likely here for similar reasons.

After Chu Ling finished, it was Xu Meng's turn. She said: "I used to be a Demon Hunter."

Zhu Ning had already gone public with the operation. At this point, Xu Meng's identity couldn't stay hidden much longer.

Chu Ling and Cao Wei both turned to look at her. No wonder this Cleaner squad was so extraordinary—two heavy hitters hiding in plain sight. Turns out Li Nianchuan was the only actual Cleaner among them.

What Xu Meng said next surprised even Zhu Ning. Xu Meng said slowly: "A colleague of mine died investigating Eternal Pharma."

Chu Ling and Cao Wei were both startled, then expressed understanding. Xu Meng's purpose here was the same as Grey Eagle Squad's.

Chu Ling even patted Xu Meng's shoulder—a gesture of comfort.

Zhu Ning immediately caught on. Those words weren't for their teammates. If Xu Meng had wanted to deflect, she easily could have.

Xu Meng had said this deliberately, calmly, in front of the cameras—she was speaking to the Center. Or more precisely, to Cheng Mofei's superior.

They'd reached the point of tearing off all pretenses.

Xu Meng: "This was the location of his investigation."

Zhu Ning frowned. Cheng Mofei had been here? Were they retracing his steps?

That made sense. Cheng Mofei had been undercover within Eternal Pharma. In all of District 103, the Foundation was the prime suspect.

Zhu Ning suspected Xu Meng had remembered the password and read the remaining half of the report—but hadn't shared it with her.

Why?

Because the contents were unfavorable to Zhu Ning? Or simply not appropriate for her to see?

Zhu Ning had told Xu Meng to open the bracelet and share whatever was inside—without specifying a deadline, without saying it had to be immediate. If Xu Meng wanted to keep it to herself for a few extra days, that was fine.

Zhu Ning didn't feel betrayed. If forced to choose between her and Cheng Mofei, Cheng Mofei was Xu Meng's first priority.

Zhu Ning had originally lost interest in Cheng Mofei's investigation report—figured it didn't matter either way. But seeing Xu Meng's reaction now reignited her curiosity.

Unfortunately, under the cameras, she couldn't ask. It would have to wait until after the mission.

Xu Meng's revelation was too explosive. No one responded. Xu Meng asked: "What about you, Dr. Fu?"

Everyone else had stated their reasons for being here. Only Dr. Fu hadn't.

Dr. Fu was a bit nervous. Unused to wearing protective gear, he reached up to wipe sweat—only to bump against his helmet.

Dr. Fu: "I want to understand how contaminants are awakened."

Zhu Ning followed up: "Do you have a hypothesis?"

"Just a guess," Dr. Fu said uncertainly. "The underground contaminant is massive, yet it's always been quiet. Something like that is either perpetually dormant or in a state of non-consciousness. It doesn't necessarily possess intelligence or a psyche."

Huo Wenxi hadn't released the Outside-the-Wall Investigation Team's footage for fear of secondary contamination. Dr. Fu was extrapolating solely from Huo Wenxi's verbal description.

It was simply a monster—an entirely different species from humanity.

Dr. Fu was most familiar with Zhu Ning and spoke directly to her. "Our world is built on the foundation of spiritual values. My hypothesis is that to achieve this so-called Divine Descent, they'd have to work through spiritual values."

To become a contamination source, one's psyche had to collapse—or they needed some form of intense emotion.

A mindless monster—where would it get emotions to collapse?

Cao Wei was curious now. "You're saying they manufactured a contamination source in here?"

Dr. Fu: "I don't know. I have no evidence. I'm just too curious."

Ever since the Non-Natural Humans revelation, Dr. Fu had been tracking this closely. The foreign object in Zhu Ning's brain had been his first thought.

When Huo Wenxi later revealed the massive contaminant underground, his curiosity hit a fever pitch.

If he could unlock this secret, dying would be worth it.

Zhu Ning listened quietly. Dr. Fu's reasoning was valuable—closely aligned with her own thinking. Having a professional validate her theories was reassuring, even if the specifics of the Divine Descent remained unclear.

Only Dr. Fu knew about the foreign object in her brain. He still hadn't told anyone—turned out this guy was actually rather reliable.

Zhu Ning surveyed the hotel lobby: "I've been here before. The second floor has conference rooms—that's where the Eternal Pharma Foundation held their events."

Zhu Ning was practicing full information sharing, holding nothing back.

Fortunately, Chu Ling and Cao Wei didn't ask what she'd been doing there.

Zhu Ning: "The hotel's huge. Let's split into two teams. One searches upstairs, the other goes down. There's definitely something in the basement."

A building this massive typically had underground levels. Zhu Ning had seen in Li Xin's footage and recordings that the deeper you dug, the closer you got to the contaminant.

Chu Ling and Cao Wei were naturally paired as squadmates.

Zhu Ning chose Dr. Fu for her group—the doctor was too weak. Sticking with her would probably keep him alive a little longer.

Zhu Ning asked: "Captain, which group do you want?"

Five people, two groups—one person would be the odd one out. Normally, Zhu Ning would default to having Xu Meng with her. Now she wasn't sure.

Xu Meng didn't hesitate: "With you."

Fine. Whatever was going on with Xu Meng, they were still teammates for now.

Zhu Ning: "Inside a contamination zone, you need to do things that fit the logic. There are many possible identities here: hotel guests, attendees of the lectures, hotel staff, or the investigative journalist who disappeared."

Zhu Ning ran through the possibilities. The makeup of people in this contamination zone was complex.

Zhu Ning: "Choose whatever identity suits you. Cao Wei and Chu Ling, head downstairs—look for new entrances. Hold position and notify us first. The three of us will check the upper floors for clues about how the Foundation operated."

Zhu Ning: "Mission objective: uncover the truth behind the Divine Descent. Minimize violent intervention—follow the contamination zone's internal logic."

She paused. It had been a while since she'd operated under Sanitation Center surveillance, and it felt uncomfortable.

Zhu Ning: "I'll do my utmost to ensure your safety. If danger arises, don't be heroes—retreat immediately. I'll handle demolition."

Zhu Ning still had two bombs left. She'd blown up three buildings before. The problem was that she was immune to explosions—the others weren't.

Chu Ling couldn't help asking: "You're carrying heavy explosives?"

Detonating a building wasn't suicide? Everyone would be buried alive.

Zhu Ning found it hard to explain. Xu Meng: "You can trust her."

Xu Meng had witnessed Zhu Ning blow up a building firsthand. Last time, she'd been the one who dug Zhu Ning out of the rubble.

In all her years as a Demon Hunter, Xu Meng had rarely seen anyone match Zhu Ning's talent for destruction.

Chu Ling: "?"

She didn't fully understand—but somehow felt inexplicably reassured.

The five split into two groups, using Prometheus for communication. They were all professional Demon Hunters—highly efficient. They'd already dispersed.

...

Sanitation Center main hall.

The screen flickered as Prometheus relayed the signal back to the Center.

A technician made adjustments: "Approximately five minutes of signal delay."

The footage they received wasn't live.

The main screen was divided into ten segments—each person's internal helmet view and external camera spliced together. Five faces filled the entire display.

A large crowd had gathered to watch. Xuan Qing still stood at the command position, flanked by Lu Qiqin from the technical department.

Unlike last time, Xie Jiazu—the head of the Cleaning Department who never left his office—had also appeared.

All three major departments of the Sanitation Center were present, surrounded by numerous staff.

Today's staffing was down to a fifth of normal levels. After Huo Wenxi's public address, masses had immediately fled the Center, seeking any possible escape route.

The remaining fifth included those without transit passes and those inspired by Huo Wenxi's words who'd voluntarily stayed to fight the district-wide contamination.

Huo Wenxi must have known she'd be arrested. That's why she'd issued the mission before being taken in.

"Temporary Investigation Squad One?" The technician read the mission registration form. The squad designation and all paperwork were completely regulation-compliant.

Five members registered, five Human-Machine Interface Devices requisitioned. Prometheus granted surveillance rights.

The moment the mission launched, the technical department received the broadcast.

Word spread quickly. The Sanitation Center had been practically comatose, yet more and more people gathered in the main hall.

Someone whispered: "Zhu Ning again?"

She dared enter a contamination zone at a time like this?

Over the past two days, Zhu Ning's reputation had plummeted. Seeing her now felt unsettling—people wanted to examine her every move with a magnifying glass, desperate to find any shred of evidence proving she was a demon.

Zhu Ning on screen was perfectly composed. She quickly divided teams and issued orders.

On screen, Zhu Ning led Dr. Fu and Xu Meng to the second floor. A ceiling panel had collapsed in the corridor, bringing the ventilation duct crashing down and blocking the passage.

Zhu Ning raised one hand casually. The obstruction crumpled like a crushed can, effortlessly shoved aside.

The whole thing took ten seconds. For her, it was trivial.

Someone asked: "Zhu Ning is a metal-type ability user?"

"But she's not registered," someone else replied. "Whose agent is she?"

Every one of Zhu Ning's suspicions proved correct. The moment she appeared before the public eye, new suspicion was inevitable.

Xuan Qing watched from before the screen. Zhu Ning was indeed the Metal Manipulation user she'd been looking for.

She'd had her suspicions before. Seeing confirmation now didn't surprise her. Rather, the operation itself interested her more.

Lu Qiqin whispered: "What is Huo Wenxi doing?"

Xuan Qing narrowed her eyes: "Making the investigation public."

Previously, Huo Wenxi had always investigated alone. They'd only received results. This time, the entire investigation process was being broadcast.

A risky move. If they found real evidence, it could rally morale.

Of course, failure would humiliate Huo Wenxi—though knowing her, Xuan Qing doubted she'd react much.

She was a Huo. Even in total defeat, she could maintain composure.

Lu Qiqin asked: "Which faction are you?"

Find the contamination source, or brute-force demolition?

Xuan Qing didn't answer—only smiled enigmatically. She still held command authority over the combat department. The people she'd personally trained—most of the Center's Demon Hunters—answered to her.

She was absolutely the brute-force faction.

If Huo Wenxi's mission failed, Xuan Qing would find a way to seize control of the Center.

Turbulent times bred heroes. This was the perfect moment for a power transition. Xuan Qing hadn't evacuated precisely for this.

Meanwhile, Xie Jiazu—standing at Xuan Qing's side—had stopped caring about the mission the moment Xu Meng appeared on screen.

He'd been watching Xuan Qing's and Lu Qiqin's expressions the entire time.

When Xu Meng declared herself a former Demon Hunter, most staff looked blank—the Leopard Squad was nine years ago, and few had heard of it.

But Xuan Qing and Lu Qiqin were senior leadership. They knew about Leopard Squad. When Xu Meng spoke, both their expressions shifted noticeably.

Xuan Qing's brow furrowed briefly before smoothing out.

Lu Qiqin had been standing with arms crossed—his right hand involuntarily tightened.

Which of these two had a connection to Cheng Mofei?

...

Bang—!

Zhu Ning used Metal Manipulation to blast aside the obstruction. The corridor was littered with debris.

Behind her, Dr. Fu trembled with every step. As a defenseless, fragile doctor, he was terrified Zhu Ning would accidentally crush him.

Xu Meng frowned from behind: "Have you completely given up?"

Zhu Ning wasn't even trying to conceal her strength. She was taking whatever route was fastest.

Zhu Ning: "Pot, meet kettle, Captain."

Her words carried an edge. Xu Meng was the same—she wasn't hiding her abilities either, having even revealed her identity outright.

Both Zhu Ning and Xu Meng would face danger after they left.

Behind them, Dr. Fu followed nervously. His spiritual value was average—nothing special. Being inside, the oppressive atmosphere was palpable.

The ventilation ducts above had completely crashed down—as if something had burst out of them from above, or as if someone had deliberately torn them down to block intruders.

The rooms on both sides were stranger still. Every single door was slightly ajar.

In a normal hotel, doors were either locked shut or thrown wide open for cleaning.

Here, every door was left cracked—about two fingers' width of gap.

As if left open for something sinister to slip through.

The Foundation's conference room was at the end of the corridor. Normally accessible via the right-side staircase, but that route was now sealed by a wall of red bricks—completely bricked up. They had to take this detour.

Suddenly, Zhu Ning froze. She signaled behind her.

Dr. Fu stopped immediately. Zhu Ning: "Listen."

Rustle, rustle—

In the empty hotel, sounds suddenly came from above—like someone running on the floor above them.

Thud—

The footsteps stopped. Right above them. Whatever it was had halted directly overhead.

Dr. Fu went rigid. He didn't dare move, didn't dare breathe loudly. He stared at the ceiling. Only seconds passed, but they felt like a lifetime.

Cold sweat beaded his forehead. A single thought consumed him: something was right above his head.

Zhu Ning and Xu Meng already had hands on their guns. If the thing above attacked, they'd react instantly.

Then the thing moved—scraping hard against the floor with a piercing shriek. Zhu Ning drew her gun.

Footsteps resumed, growing fainter. It was leaving?

After a full minute, the footsteps vanished completely. Dr. Fu whispered: "Someone's upstairs?"

If someone—who? A survivor? But why would a survivor suddenly stop like that?

It was as if some creature had paused directly above—observing them from overhead.

Zhu Ning shook her head slightly. She listened a moment longer—no other sounds. Perhaps they hadn't violated the contamination zone's logic, so nothing had triggered. She whispered: "Keep moving."

The three continued forward, soon reaching the end of the corridor.

At the end was the conference room. Many hotels had this layout—second-floor banquet halls or conference rooms dedicated to corporate or organizational events.

A sign hung by the door: "Eternal Pharma Foundation Lecture." A table sat outside with a sign-in sheet.

This time, Zhu Ning spotted people at the entrance—or rather, contaminants.

A man and a woman stood at the conference room door in white uniforms. Their facial features were all sewn shut—as if someone had sliced their faces open and re-stitched them with fishing line.

Dr. Fu had barely been inside a contamination zone before. One look and his spine went cold. The receptionists' smiles were literally sewn onto their faces—as if trapped souls were imprisoned within.

Beside the table stood a placard reading: "Eternal Pharma—Altering Your Genes, Creating Your Future."

Zhu Ning hadn't seen that slogan in a while. She'd been chasing Eternal Pharma for so long, then gotten sidetracked by the truth of her own death. Yet here she was, full circle, back at the starting point.

The sign-in sheet contained extremely detailed information—roughly a thousand names. Zhu Ning scanned it. Almost all were Fourth and Fifth-Class Citizens.

A note was taped to the door, scrawled in messy handwriting:

1. No loud noises.

2. Only one person may enter at a time.

These rules hadn't existed last time. The two sewn-smile receptionists watched Zhu Ning with beaming faces.

Zhu Ning: "I'll go in first."

Her spiritual value was high and her nerves were steel. If there were clues, she'd spot them immediately. Sending Dr. Fu in would be a death sentence.

Xu Meng told Zhu Ning to be careful. Dr. Fu had zero objections.

Zhu Ning gripped the door handle. Voices came from inside the conference room—as if this weren't a contamination zone at all, just an ordinary hotel.

Click—

The door swung open. Zhu Ning instinctively frowned. The lighting inside was dimmer. A faint red glow emanated from the lectern.

Seeing red light made Zhu Ning a bit reactive these days. Looking closer, she saw it was just a red lamp.

Inside was completely empty.

No speaker. No audience. Then where had those voices come from?

Entering felt like revisiting an old haunt. She could even remember where Xu Meng had sat. Zhu Ning's team had chosen to go upstairs specifically because she wanted to know what had happened at the Foundation event that day—what she and Xu Meng had missed.

What was she supposed to do in here?

If she hadn't left the lecture that day, what would she have encountered?

Zhu Ning picked a chair and sat down. The instant she did, something felt wrong. The chair was incredibly soft, radiating a faint warmth—close to human body temperature.

In the empty conference room, Zhu Ning sat alone. Seconds ticked by. Nothing happened. She was about to stand and tell Xu Meng there were no clues.

The instant she tried to rise, her waist seized. A pair of deathly pale arms burst from the chair back, locking around her waist in a death grip.

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