Chapter 38: The Meeting

That night, the local authorities evacuated the residents of the Roman City residential complex for two hours, citing a gas leak.

Two hours later, the property management posted a notice stating that an apartment on the 13th floor of Building 22 had suffered a gas leak and explosion, and the unit was now sealed off.

The Public Security Bureau sent officers to the complex that night. Having already received notice from their superiors, they simply went through the motions. Once they confirmed that no other civilians had been injured, the staff withdrew.

That same night, a professional maintenance and cleanup crew arrived. They urgently repaired the hallways, erasing all bullet holes and damage caused by the struggle, including the bloodstains on the rooftop of the opposite building.

In just one hour, the Roman City complex was indistinguishable from any ordinary residential area. By the end of the night, the residents grumbled as they walked back into the complex to sleep, and peace returned to Roman City.

Outside the complex, however, a woman was running.

She quickly stripped off her Demon Hunter uniform; the outfit was too heavy, and she couldn't move quickly while wearing it.

Huang Yaru had been trapped in that house for fifteen years. Technology had advanced by leaps and bounds, and only now, after escaping, did she realize what the outside world had become.

High-speed aerial transit lines had been constructed like brilliant ribbons of light. The area was packed with dense, towering skyscrapers, and neon signs flickered incessantly along the streets. Clad in pajamas, Huang Yaru stood out among the crowd like a glaring anomaly.

Huang Yaru couldn't even find where her parents, relatives, or friends were. Did they all think she was dead? After fifteen years, were they even still alive?

She knew she had been dragged into a mess. Eternal Pharmaceutical would certainly come looking for her, and if she went to the Security Bureau, she would surely end up in prison.

Run. She had to run.

Once free of the heavy uniform, Huang Yaru’s running speed increased. She couldn't tell if it was her imagination, but she felt stronger than before.

She had spent fifteen years inside that house, nursing it, and in return, the house had nurtured her. Her physical state had become quite strange.

Huang Yaru kept running forward, turning into an alleyway, darting back and forth like a headless fly.

After so many years, she had no idea what the city's current layout was. She was just wandering blindly, though her intuition told her to head toward less populated areas.

As soon as Huang Yaru turned into a narrow alley, she stopped dead in her tracks. A figure emerged slowly from the shadows: it was a cyborg, its artificial eyes emitting a blood-red glow in the dark.

Huang Yaru backed away, but there was another cyborg behind her.

Front, back, left, and right—she was completely hemmed in. There were three cyborgs in total, circling her like a pack of wolves.

...

Bang!

Zhu Ning woke up to a strange noise. She opened her eyes to find herself curled up on a sofa, covered by a blanket.

Song Zhizhang was gone; the area in front of the desk was empty.

"This damn door has been broken for ages," a voice came from outside, followed by the sound of someone pounding on the back door. "Boss Song is so stingy, he won't even fix it."

Zhu Ning had excellent hearing and caught every word clearly.

It was early morning, and she must have happened to encounter the "ducks" from the Noble Queen parlor finishing their shifts as they filed out through the back door. The door was difficult to open and close, and anyone passing by would curse Song Zhizhang for his cheapness.

Zhu Ning: "..."

Listening to the ducks grumbling, Zhu Ning realized she was at the Noble Queen parlor. She had finally escaped that dilapidated house.

There was no fear of whether or not she was truly awake, no strange furniture, no woman crying in the middle of the night, and no snails covering the floor. In their place was a group of complaining ducks.

It actually felt quite... lively.

Zhu Ning tilted her head. She felt better than she had yesterday, and the pain in her head had subsided slightly.

On the coffee table sat a loaf of bread, a glass of milk, and two bottles of Mental Healing Agent. As expected of someone in the service industry, Song Zhizhang was truly thoughtful.

Zhu Ning opened a bottle of the healing agent. Only after her mind cleared did she begin to think slowly. There were many unread messages on her sub-brain, and she processed them while eating breakfast.

The first was from Song Zhizhang: the payment for the contaminated spores had been deposited into her account.

After deducting the fees for body disposal and the processing of the contaminated spores, the total came to 3 million New Coins.

Zhu Ning had originally only wanted to earn enough for the genetic medicine; the real rewards came from the system.

Below that was another billing notification: "You have spent a total of 15,888 New Coins at the Noble Queen parlor. The deduction has been completed."

Zhu Ning: "..."

Who was he trying to scam? No wonder he was so thoughtful, providing breakfast and healing agents.

She had to pay for her stay as well. She gritted her teeth and accepted it.

Zhu Ning transferred the usual salary to Liu Niannian. Whether Liu Niannian had been scolded by her family or was just catching up on sleep, she hadn't replied yet.

Zhu Ning's current account balance was 2,005,312 New Coins. Once she paid the 1.5 million New Coin bill for the genetic medicine at the end of the month, she would have 500,000 left. She had barely achieved a balanced budget, so she wouldn't have to push herself quite so hard in the future.

Zhu Ning’s principle for earning money was "just enough to get by, and worry about the rest later." She didn't want to go digging through grave-posting forums anymore; she wanted to study her system rewards properly.

Her Metal Manipulation talent had improved; she could now control objects within a two-meter radius. That was a standard reward, but the other two contaminated items were more interesting.

A C-grade contaminated item that could form a 2x2x2 three-dimensional defensive space. Zhu Ning was the master of this space. If she understood correctly, this "3D defense" was a special pocket dimension.

The logic behind the "man-hunting house" was that its internal space extended infinitely; it was a spatial-type contaminated zone.

The rewarded item was also spatial. As long as Zhu Ning was inside, no person or object she hadn't invited could enter. It was essentially a portable, simple safe house.

She could set up her own defense anytime, anywhere. Although it was only effective for 30 minutes, on a battlefield, those 30 minutes could save her life—or even the lives of her companions.

There was another interesting item: a blank card.

She could store any object inside the card. The capacity was one item.

It only specified the quantity, not the size, material, or whether the object was alive. Did that mean she could put a house or a bomb inside? Could she put a living person in there?

Too bad she didn't have a poor lab rat to experiment on.

She checked her panel again.

Name: Zhu Ning
Age: 19
Education: Undergraduate in Mechanical Engineering
Identity: Fifth-class Citizen
Talents: Danger Anticipation, Metal Manipulation
Mutation Direction: Unknown
Degree of Alienation: Unknown
Physical Strength: Enhanced 20
Mental Value: 100 (Average is 20)
Health Points: 33 (Average is 70)
Luck Value: 20 (Average is 50)
Purification Value: 4,554 (Can be exchanged to increase other stats; every 500 points adds 5 Health Points)
Contaminated Items: Rotten Fish Head, Pig-Man’s Cleaver, Master Key, 3D Defensive Space, Blank Card

A new section had appeared specifically for contaminated items. The +20 to physical strength was likely the effect of the genetic medicine.

Her Luck Value was rising, from 1 to 20; perhaps she wouldn't be quite so unlucky in the future.

Using the Rotten Fish Head had consumed some health, but 33 was within an acceptable range.

She had quite a lot of Purification Value—over 4,000—but she didn't exchange it yet. She would save it for when she really needed something.

The Mutation Direction and Degree of Alienation were still at 0. She was curious about how one actually became an "Ability User." She had assumed that after two missions, she might have found a clue.

Instead, she didn't even know where the door to mutation opened. She needed to gather some information about Ability Users.

Furthermore, she had noticed a problem: Ability Users all had their own specific attributes. For example, a metal-type ability allowed one to control metal.

But according to the system, Zhu Ning’s metal control was classified as a "Talent," not an "Ability." She seemed to be different from everyone else.

Zhu Ning reviewed her progress. Both missions had been related to Eternal Pharmaceutical; the hotpot restaurant had been a victim of medical malpractice.

That house was definitely an experimental product. Was the Merman also related to Eternal Pharmaceutical?

Zhu Ning remembered that misjudging a contaminated zone was an extremely rare occurrence.

After her rebirth, she had encountered a Merman in the sewers, and the creature had spoken of the apocalypse. Afterward, she entered the hotpot restaurant and the man-hunting house, but neither of those contained clues related to the apocalypse.

However, Zhu Ning felt that these three events were connected.

Logically, the link between the Merman and Eternal Pharmaceutical was likely just as strong.

Zhu Ning had personally participated in the purification of the Merman, but no clues had been left behind. Now that the rotten flesh spores had been contained and completely destroyed, it was unrealistic to think she could go back and look at the Merman's files.

As for Eternal Pharmaceutical, Zhu Ning didn't know much.

Since the "Superior Being Project" could be written in a shareholder prospectus, it wasn't a major secret to Eternal Pharmaceutical. Song Zhizhang clearly knew something, but he wouldn't say a word.

Moreover, someone wanted her dead. The assassin had been lying in wait outside the green door, suggesting a professional organization was behind it.

Zhu Ning’s identity wouldn't remain hidden for long. Her traits might easily lead people to uncover her true background, so she needed a strategy.

...

She had training in the afternoon.

The daily attendance pay for Cleaning Center employee training was 5,000 New Coins. Zhu Ning couldn't bear to lose that money. Suddenly asking for leave would arouse suspicion; it was best to act as if nothing had happened.

Zhu Ning was still stuck on her combat class and hadn't passed yet. She finished the healing agent, ate her breakfast, and prepared to leave.

On her way out, she saw Song Zhizhang.

The entire Noble Queen parlor was closed; all the colorful neon lights were off, leaving only the morning sunlight filtering in.

The entire shop appeared surprisingly clean, as if it were just an ordinary cafe.

Song Zhizhang stood leaning against the bar with one hand, his posture elegant, lost in thought.

Looking at him now, Song Zhizhang was actually quite handsome. Being in the sex work industry meant relying on one's looks, and based on his appearance, he would have been more than qualified to be a minor celebrity in Zhu Ning’s era.

It was just a shame about his taste—he had a strange preference for purple turtleneck sweaters and dressed as flamboyantly as a Barbie doll every day. That was truly in Zhu Ning’s aesthetic blind spot.

Suddenly, Zhu Ning spotted the cross earring on his earlobe. A tiny blue diamond on it flashed, looking very conspicuous in the sunlight.

Zhu Ning’s pupils constricted. She thought of Fang Ying.

That day, after Zhu Ning finished her data collection, Fang Ying came to the observation room to deliver documents. She had been wearing a sea-blue earring in her left ear, which had also flashed at the time.

Zhu Ning had asked: "How did I actually get this job?"

Fang Ying had been silent for a long time, and only after her earring flashed did she finally answer Zhu Ning’s question.

Was this the tool Prometheus used to contact them? Was Fang Ying really a member of Prometheus? Was Song Zhizhang contacting Prometheus just now?

Song Zhizhang noticed Zhu Ning and turned to greet her: "Morning."