The middle-aged man led the two of them straight through the hall. In places with more people, they didnât stand out as much. Although they attracted some glances along the way, they were little more than cursory looks. Mu Chen felt secretly relieved. Thankfully, they hadnât run into those crazy people everywhere; otherwise, it truly would have been impossible to move.
âThis way.â
After turning into a corridor, it became significantly quieter.
This was obviously an office area; many of the doors were only half-open, and through the gaps, glimpses of desks and silhouettes could be seen.
The middle-aged man continued walking deeper inside without stopping.
Ling Mo turned his head to look at the other side of the corridor. From there, he could see the other buildings through the glass windows. These buildings were relatively independent but connected by corridors. After a quick glance, he noticed a concealed firing point. Upon closer inspection, he found a total of five of them.
âEach building has one, forming interlocking fire points, probably without leaving any blind spots. Itâs indeed very tight security,â Ling Mo thought, memorizing their locations.
âThereâs Canine Zombie patrols outside and heavy defenses inside. If you wanted to get a Zombie Puppet in from the outside, it would be very difficultâ¦â
As Ling Mo was contemplating this, the middle-aged man stopped in front of a door, knocked, and then pushed it open.
âTeam Leader Li, two people arrived today claiming to be from the Dongming branch. I had them fill out the registration form, and here they areâ¦â
The middle-aged man said a couple of sentences inside, then turned back and called, âYou can come in now.â
HR Leaderâs Office⦠Ling Mo stared at the sign on the door, his expression a bit strange.
They really have everything coveredâ¦
The facilities here were directly taken from the Medical University, and after some cleaning, it had a bit of a corporate feel.
But the bloodstains on the walls were hard to handle. Despite being smoothed out with sandpaper, the traces could still be vaguely seen.
Inside the office, behind the only desk, sat a man in his forties, portly and flipping through the two registration forms submitted by the middle-aged man.
Hearing Ling Mo and Mu Chen enter, he merely glanced up, curtly said, âSit down,â and then continued reading.
Ugh, a no-nonsense typeâ¦
Mu Chenâs face darkened, instantly feeling a bit worried.
People like this often take their work very seriously. Seriousness itself wasnât a problem, but if he was also the rigid type, fooling him today might not be easy.
Better organize my thoughts and wordsâ¦
Ling Mo, on the other hand, casually sat down on the sofa, glancing at Team Leader Li with a relaxed expression.
âHmm?â
This glance actually made Ling Mo a bit surprised. This guy⦠doesnât seem to be a superhumanâ¦
If you exclude those with Enhancement abilities based on his physique, this guyâs body fat suggested otherwise-unless he specialized in beer belly enhancementâ¦
As for someone with mental abilitiesâ¦his eyes, while sharper than the average person, fell short compared to those with mental abilities.
Ling Mo discreetly extended a Tentacle. Though he didnât directly probe, in this closed space, he could roughly observe everyoneâs psychic fluctuations.
Not a mental ability user eitherâ¦
âDefinitely not Elemental Ability; his physical condition seems worse than the average person. Zombies crawling could outrun him, so no ability suits him⦠Consider how his physique shouldâve changed after enduring the Cataclysm; he probably only put on this weight after reaching Niepan headquarters. Judging by his body, heâs likely an old Memberâ¦â
âDidnât expect to see ordinary people in management roles, but it makes sense as powerful superhumans may not necessarily understand HR management,â Ling Mo thought.
The middle-aged man found a place to sit down as well, clearly having to wait until Ling Mo and Mu Chenâs identities were confirmed before he could leave.
Team Leader Li read through everything without a word, then suddenly leaned back and opened a drawer.
Seeing this action, Mu Chen quickly exchanged a glance with Ling Mo.
Sure enough, thereâs a record!
In fact, Mu Chen wasnât clear about the communication between the Dongming branch and headquarters, so he had no idea how often records were submitted. If asked, he could only insist that Ling Mo had just joinedâ¦
Every movement of Team Leader Li was painstakingly slow, making those watching him feel exhausted on his behalf. However, when it came to flipping through the files, his speed was anything but slow.
This was his personal professional proficiency, not something any Superpower could replace.
âAhemâ¦â Team Leader Li stopped on a particular page, cleared his throat, and then finally looked up at Ling Mo and Mu Chen.
âLevel 5 Member Mu Chen, Dongming branch management personnel. Ling Ge, no record.â
He stated expressionlessly.
âWhat the heck?!â
Mu Chen was instantly stunned. Less than five minutes in, and he actually scanned through everything?!
Seeing the densely packed names from afar was already dizzying for Mu Chen. This guy could really read that fast?
However, it wasnât Team Leader Liâs speed that surprised him, but the fact that he hadnât thought this far ahead!
The middle-aged man immediately looked at Ling Mo, while Ling Mo turned to look at Mu Chen.
Since Team Leader Li had confirmed Mu Chenâs management position, it was naturally up to him to explainâ¦
Mu Chenâs eye twitched, and he slowly turned to meet Ling Moâs gaze.
âMy word carries little weight,â Ling Mo whispered.
ââ¦You jerk!â Mu Chen silently cursed, moving his lips without a sound, and then turned to Team Leader Li, bracing himself for explanation, âLing Ge just joined a short while agoâ¦â
âThen have Mr. Ai report it in next time⦠But you both made this trip to join headquarters, right?â As Team Leader Li spoke, his thick lips finally twitched into a rather unattractive smile, âOne doesnât join headquarters like this. After each file update, the higher-ups naturally screen it. Specialists go to each branch to bring in new Members. Dongming hadnât met the criteria for over half a year, but one canât just bend the rulesâ¦â
His words were polite, but the underlying message was clear: Even if you throw yourselves into our laps, we still wonât take youâ¦
Ling Mo remained unfazed, but Mu Chenâs face burned with embarrassment.
How inadequate did he have to be to remain unchosen for so long?! He felt confident back at the branch, only to find he had consistently been in a state of rejection at headquarters!
But looking at Ling Mo, Mu Chen felt more at ease.
Compared to Ling Mo, his skills were indeed lacking.
The other two headquarters Members they encountered earlier were also no match for Ling Mo.
However, this was still the headquartersâ turf, and even Ling Mo had to tread carefullyâ¦
There might be even stronger superhumans than Ling Mo hereâ¦
Mu Chen quickly snapped his thoughts back to reality and made a show of appearing deeply pained.
Seeing Mu Chenâs sudden expression, both the middle-aged man and Team Leader Li were momentarily stunned.
Although it looked more like a stomachache, under these circumstances⦠it couldnât be a hurt ego, could it?
Neither of them thought it could be something more serious, so when Mu Chen finally voiced his painstakingly crafted opening line, they both turned to stone in an instant.
âDongming⦠Dongming⦠itâs goneâ¦â
As he spoke, Mu Chen shook his head and then buried his face in his hands in grief, âTheyâre all⦠all deadâ¦â
Ling Mo, who was sitting to the side, was momentarily stunned and took a full couple of seconds to react.
Whoa⦠Mu Chen is actually a pretty good actor!
But just then, Mu Chen subtly raised his head and, under the cover of his hands, gave Ling Mo a disdainful look before continuing to shake his head: âTheyâre all dead⦠wiped outâ¦â
The culprit is this guy!
Just as he finished mouthing the words, he saw Ling Moâs expression darken.
This idiot is hopelessâ¦
After being so tense on the way here, he now decides to play around while fully immersed in his actâ¦
Seeing Ling Moâs changing expression, Mu Chen quickly continued to cover his face. Strange, low sounds seeped from between his fingers, sounding like heavy breathing, as if he was struggling to calm his emotions.
Team Leader Li remained stunned for several long seconds before suddenly standing up, his stomach even hitting the desk, making his fat jiggle. He slammed his hand heavily on the file, âWhat did you say?!â
Even though Mu Chenâs performance was dramatic and emotionally charged, using the simplest words to describe the situation, Team Leader Li still found it hard to believe.
The Dongming branch gone? Everyone dead?
This is freaking impossible!
âExplain clearly!â
Team Leader Liâs face changed dramatically. He was just short of lunging at Mu Chen and grabbing him by the collar to demand answers. However, seeing Mu Chen in such a state, he had to forcibly suppress his internal shock and pressed on, âCalm down and explain the situation clearly.â
The middle-aged man also snapped back to reality. He stared at Mu Chen in disbelief and then shifted his gaze to Ling Mo.
Donât look at me⦠Ling Mo quickly averted his eyes. As a recent addition, there was no need to go along with Mu Chenâs theatrics, so he simply pretended to look around at the scenery.
Mu Chen took another full minute of âdeep breathingâ before slowly lifting his head, revealing a face flushed bright red.
Seeing Mu Chenâs blood-rushed expression, both Team Leader Li and the middle-aged man simultaneously felt weak at the knees.
Judging by his appearance, it was likely trueâ¦
Only Ling Mo and Mu Chen knew that his flushed face was not from grief and anger, but from holding his breathâ¦
âTake your time,â Team Leader Li hesitated for a moment and said.
âThis⦠this is a long story,â Mu Chen replied sincerely. If he were to explain in full, it would mean detailing how they fixated on Ling Mo and began their self-destructive actionsâ¦
However, the story Mu Chen was about to tell was one he had prepared in advance. Laced with half-truths, it differed significantly from the real events but would sufficiently fool them. For any detail he couldnât weave neatly, he would claim ignorance, and no one would suspect otherwise.
A personâs perspective is inherently limited, and they can only see so much. If he could recount the whole sequence of events without missing a beat, it might actually arouse suspicion.