Listening to Mu Chenâs description, the expressions on Team Leader Li and his companionâs faces became incredibly animated.
Just a few people, destroyed the entire Dongming branch, most members dead, and the rest scattered and fledâ¦
This⦠this is too ridiculous!
But Mu Chenâs expression didnât seem like he was lying. Many details would be hard to fabricate unless experienced firsthand. Most importantly, from Mu Chenâs standpoint, he had no reason to make this up. Though he wasnât at the headquartersâ level, as a high-ranking manager of a branch, Mu Chen enjoyed a lifestyle that could be considered luxurious compared to those survivors living like rats, hiding in cracks and constantly under immense mental pressure. Just the fact that he risked coming to Heishui indicated he wasnât willing to abandon this lifestyle easily.
âFree agentsâ with actual strength like Ling Mo were uncommon among human survivors.
After all, individual strength is quite insignificant compared to the zombies infesting the city. Sometimes, just collecting a bit of food could be fatal. In a situation surrounded by zombies, itâs impossible even to sleep soundly. Such immense mental pressure is not something everyone can endure.
Of course, small groups of survivors havenât disappeared altogether. With so many towns in the West, there are only a few major forces, with limited coverage.
Groups like Falcon and F Team, including Niepan, are all based around a large city and then gradually expand their influence. Although Niepan is somewhat special, it canât affect all survivors.
Some survivors probably arenât even aware of these campsâ existence, and even if they wanted to find such âsafe zones,â they lack the strength to travel between towns.
However, even for those survivors who havenât joined any camp, they try their best to survive in groups.
An individualâs power is really too limitedâ¦
Mu Chen wasnât talking about just one person, but still, three to five people⦠three to five people couldnât possibly have that kind of power!
For a moment, Team Leader Li and his companion felt torn. On one hand, they couldnât find a reason for Mu Chen to lie, but on the other hand, they couldnât believe this description.
At that moment, Team Leader Li suddenly remembered something: âNumber 1⦠didnât Number 1 go to your Dongming?!â
As he asked, a cold sweat began to form on his forehead.
He had been so shocked by Mu Chenâs account that he almost forgot about this!
Number 1 Experimental Subject, this was an S-level task issued by the Experimental Group!
Although the Experimental Group had produced many monsters, very few were important enough to be given numbers.
Of course, the prefix âNumber 1â didnât necessarily mean it was the top product of the Experimental Group, but it definitely held significant value!
Seeing Team Leader Li so tense, Ling Mo thought nonchalantly, âLooks like experimental subjects are more important than peopleâ¦â
Although Team Leader Li had been shocked earlier, he hadnât been this alarmed.
Dongming truly was a low-tier branch, even less valuable than Number 1â¦
Joining such a place might provide a good life based on strength, but in the eyes of the higher-ups, youâre just a pawnâ¦
âUhâ¦â Mu Chen pondered for a moment before delivering the pre-arranged answer, âI donât knowâ¦â
âBe specific, do you not know if theyâre dead, or did you not see anything?â Team Leader Liâs body shook with agitation as he pressed on.
Damn!
Mu Chen rolled his eyes internally: âI donât know, it seemed like it escaped. Then I took the opportunity to run, and I happened to meet Ling Ge, so we teamed up.â
âYouâ¦â Team Leader Li initially wanted to scold him for not helping, but then he remembered Number 1âs speed-thereâs no way he could have caught upâ¦
Absorbing so much at once, Team Leader Li slumped back into his chair.
In Niepanâs management, he was only mid-to-low level. He couldnât handle these matters at all.
Mu Chen then glanced at Ling Mo. Although he had performed masterfully just now, he couldnât help but let out a sigh of relief.
Hiding the death of Number 1 was something Ling Mo specifically requested.
According to Ling Mo, the destruction of the Dongming branch would aggravate the headquarters, but losing Number 1 would drive them insaneâ¦
If Niepanâs headquarters were provoked too much, Ling Mo and Mu Chen might both end up being confined.
Even if it didnât go that far, they would be endlessly interrogated about the details, which would completely derail Ling Moâs plan.
Instead, it was better to use the uncertain fate of Number 1 to divert the headquartersâ attention.
Using even a dead monster for their advantage-Ling Moâs cunning knew no bounds!
However, Mu Chen still had some doubts. After all, what was destroyed was a branch, not just some insignificant thingâ¦
Unexpectedly, Ling Mo had guessed it all correctly!
As Mu Chen sighed in relief, he also felt a surge of disgust toward Niepanâs headquarters.
Are human lives so worthless? In the eyes of the higher-ups, everyone elseâs lives were trash.
If they could truly create monsters that obeyed them completely, even the superhumans at the headquarters would become irrelevant in their eyes.
âCaptain Li⦠please take them⦠I need to go upstairs for a bit,â Team Leader Li said, his mind in turmoil, as he stood up and spoke disjointedly.
âThey might come to ask you questions laterâ¦â He glanced at Ling Mo and Mu Chen before adding.
Ling Mo didnât mind; they probably wouldnât even have the energy to compare his story. But Mu Chen looked distressed. He knew coming in meant being used as a laborer and a shield, but he didnât expect it to be this thorough!
Captain Li, still in shock, only regained his composure after Team Leader Li left.
âFollow meâ¦â
Niepanâs headquarters wasnât exactly large, but it had more than enough space for its members.
Ling Mo and Mu Chen followed the middle-aged man through a series of twists and turns until they reached a building located on the left side of the headquarters.
After registering with the staff in the first-floor lobby, the middle-aged man handed over two room keys to Ling Mo and Mu Chen.
âThis is the dormitory building. You can explore the area if you have nothing to do⦠The building next door is for leisure activities, but it requires contribution points to enter. The cafeteria is to the left of the lobby⦠normally it also requires contribution points, but you donât need any for the first three days. No killing is allowed here, and itâs best not to get into fights. There are other restricted areas⦠well, youâll be stopped if you try anyway, so I wonât bother mentioning them.â
The middle-aged man was clearly still processing what he had just learned, and his gaze toward Ling Mo and Mu Chen was complicated.
âHold on,â Mu Chen, not needing a prompt from Ling Mo, already had his mouth open to ask, âCan you still tell us which places are off-limits? Where are they? And why canât we enter?â
The middle-aged man looked exasperated. This guy was like a walking encyclopedia of a hundred thousand whys!
âBack there, the last three buildings, they are all off-limitsâ¦â
âOh, what are those buildings, and why canât we go in?â
âThe Experimental Group and the bosses are there. Regular members arenât allowed!â Seeing that Mu Chen still wanted to ask more, the middle-aged man quickly added, âI have things to do, I have to go now.â
He turned and left, fearing that if he didnât hurry, Mu Chen would keep badgering him. He had thought these two would be nervous right now, but they turned out to be so chattyâ¦
âDamn, he kept asking questions, I didnât even get to ask mine!â The middle-aged man originally wanted to gossip a bit tooâ¦
âDo you really think we wonât become a spectacle?â Mu Chen asked in a low voice as they found themselves alone while heading upstairs.
âAt most, theyâll watch you. No oneâs going to watch me-Iâm a newcomer,â Ling Mo said calmly.
Mu Chen was speechless. Ling Mo was right⦠Thinking about it, Mu Chen felt like crying again.
This was too much. Even using someone as a scapegoat shouldnât be this blatantâ¦
âDonât worry, I donât think weâll attract much attention,â Ling Mo reassured him, giving Mu Chen a glimmer of hope.
âWhat makes you say that?â With all the troublemakers in Niepanâs headquarters, Mu Chen definitely didnât want to be targeted by them.
Even if there was no real loss, constant harassment would still be unbearable.
âYouâll be despised because youâre from a branch. Once they know youâre a survivor from a destroyed branch, they wonât bother to even despise you,â Ling Mo analyzed seriously.
Mu Chen was stunned for a moment before exploding in anger: âDamn it, thatâs not comforting at all!â
There werenât many people going in and out of the Dormitory Building. Besides a few male superhumans, they saw just one woman.
Given these conditions, a gender-segregated living arrangement was unlikely. This mixed living situation was pretty common.
However, upon arriving, Mu Chen felt quite frustrated. âI wonder how many more women like that Shamate one there areâ¦â
âWhat are you afraid of?â Ling Moâs boastful comment flew out, and before Mu Chen could praise him, he continued, âWe wonât be staying here for long anyway.â
Mu Chen was once again speechless; this guy was really a rogue!
But on second thought, Mu Chen was actually looking forward to people trying to provoke them.
They would be thinking theyâre bullying newcomers, only to find out they were never regarded as significant at all. Wonder how theyâll feel thenâ¦
In such a place, it wasnât ideal for Ling Mo to conduct a psychic probe, but figuring out a rough estimate of the number of people wasnât too difficult.
âIf we assume an 80% occupancy rate, there are nearly a hundred superhumans here alone. Thatâs pretty impressive⦠But with so many members heading out on missions these days, itâs probably at its weakest now. Even so, about a third of the superhumans remain. Itâs uncertain whether more will be leaving in the next few daysâ¦â
The fewer superhumans left behind, the better⦠Ling Mo had a decent idea of the firepower distribution and superhuman numbers, but the exact location of the Experimental Group remained a mystery. Itâs unrealistic to expect to pinpoint the Experimental Groupâs specifics in one go.
As the room door opened, both Ling Mo and Mu Chen froze for a moment.
It took Mu Chen several seconds to shake off the shock, and he expressed his amazement in a simple yet powerful way: âDamn!â
This was no ordinary Dormitory; it was a high-end Hotel!