Working Records in a Weird World - 16

 

| WRIAWW | So Exciting | 16

Before the living room lights went out, Zong Le had already sensed something was wrong.

He felt something approaching the living room at an astonishing speed, and it wasn’t slow. Most importantly, the aura of the approaching weird was overwhelmingly powerful, far stronger than what he had sensed in Building 4 last time.

To put it into perspective, if the previous encounter felt like a fan breeze, this one was like an air conditioner blasting at full power. It was undoubtedly the S-level weird entity the S-level survivors had been tasked to deal with.

Through his two missions, Zong Le had learned some basic methods to identify weirds.

For example, by sensing them with his heart.

Zong Le’s worldview was simple. In his eyes, people were either good or bad, and so were weird entities.

Good weirds didn’t harm people, while bad ones carried a killing intent.

Zong Le had excellent night vision and was highly sensitive to temperature changes. If he wanted, he could close his eyes and perceive his surroundings like a thermal imaging camera. The change in lighting didn’t affect him at all, so he stood still, quietly observing.

He remained motionless because he was still determining whether this weird was good or bad.

He wouldn’t interfere with law-abiding good weirds, but he would definitely strike hard against the bad ones.

Unfortunately, this time, it was a bad one.

The grotesque, pitch-black mass let out a chilling roar as it clashed with Bai Shao in mid-air.

Seeing that Bai Shao seemed to have the situation under control, Zong Le decided to stay put and protect Wang Lin and Han Yueyue, who were beside him.

But no one expected that, in the next second, the weird suddenly turned and lunged straight at him.

Zong Le was momentarily stunned but didn’t hesitate. He swung his hand out in a slap.

Caught off guard, he didn’t hold back his strength, and the black shadow was sent flying like a cannonball. It smashed through the living room bookshelf, shattered the tightly closed window, and landed in the bushes in the garden below.

The evidence was the trail of black blood corroding the floor, marking the weird’s flight path.

When the others heard Zong Le’s explanation, they fell silent.

Bai Shao, the most authoritative among them, was the first to speak up. “Wait, you’re a D-level. Even if you’re lying through your teeth, there has to be a limit. You’re saying you drove a S-level weird away? Why don’t you just claim you’re on the leaderboard too?”

Although Bai Shao also found it strange that the weird, which had clearly come to kill and feast on blood, would flee just because the lights were turned on, it was still impossible for a D-level to drive it away.

“Besides,” Bai Shao continued, “that weird carried a highly corrosive aura. Even my arm turned slightly green after clashing with it. If I hadn’t turned on the lights in time, it wouldn’t have chosen to escape. And now you are trying to take credit.”

“Yeah, Xiao Le,” even Wang Lin, the team’s elder, chimed in diplomatically. “That S-level weird was driven away by Bai Shao. You were just lucky not to get hurt. You can’t take all the credit for yourself.”

“Exactly, it was an S-level weird. Even Bai Shao didn’t say anything about it.”

"I know you're specialized in strength, Xiao Le, and you were indeed very helpful when moving goods before. But young people shouldn't be so arrogant. The gap between S-level and D-level isn't something you can handle."

"If it weren't for Boss Bai turning on the lights in time, things could have gone very badly just now."

Although Han Yueyue didn't say anything, she didn't seem convinced by his words either.

"..."

"Sigh."

Listening to their complaints, Zong Le couldn't help but sigh.

Every time he told the truth, the survival team didn't believe him. Last time on the forum, when he said his body was fully enhanced, it was the same.

However, that S-level weird had already disappeared, and Zong Le was very aware of the force he had used. He knew the other party was probably half-dead by now and unlikely to cause any more trouble.

"Forget it, as long as everyone is safe."

Zong Le sighed and averted his gaze.

When he looked around the room after the lights were turned on, he was stunned.

After the sudden attack by the weird, the entire living room looked like it had been hit by a hurricane. It was a complete mess. There was a huge hole in the bookshelf, fragments of enamel glass vases were scattered everywhere, and the floor was pitted with countless corroded marks, completely unrecognizable.

It was worth noting that this place was located at the top of Guiyi City, in the prestigious Tianmen Villa complex, where every inch of land was worth a fortune. 

The decorations inside were all exorbitantly expensive. Just the destroyed black walnut bookshelf alone was enough to make one's jaw drop.

The balance he had earned from these two missions wasn't nearly enough to cover the damages!

Coincidentally, the D-level survival team members, who were celebrating their narrow escape, were huddled together discussing a similar topic.

Han Yueyue, still shaken, said, "We were lucky that the boss stepped in this time, otherwise we might have been wiped out."

"Speaking of which, don't low-level survivor usually have to pay protection fees when entering high-level missions? Do you think we should also offer some to the boss? Even though these survival points probably mean nothing to them, it's still a gesture of goodwill. What if the boss gets upset and stops protecting us..."

Hearing this, Zong Le suddenly became alert.

He felt he couldn't stand around in the reception room. He already damaged other people's property, but now he also had to pay protection fees.

How was he supposed to live like this?

Whenever money was involved, he will raise twelve points of vigilance!

"Uh, I need to go out for a..."

Before Zong Le could finish, a voice came from the living room entrance.

The butler had reappeared at the door at some point.

He wore a formulaic smile, the corners of his mouth lifted at the same angle as before. His pitch-black eyes were unfathomable, completely ignoring the devastated living room as he gave a polite nod.

"My apologies, there is still a body here that needs to be dealt with."

As the butler spoke, a silent figure clad in a white hazmat suit entered the living room.

Without a word, like a pre-programmed machine, the mortician walked straight toward the gruesome corpse on the floor.

As the mortician bent down to collect the body piece by piece into a black body bag, Zong Le suddenly noticed that the back of the hazmat suit bore the emblem of the Taikang Yongle equal-armed cross.

Strange, how could the biggest group in Guiyi City be involved in the funeral industry? Zong Le's eyes flickered with doubt.

Just then, the corpse collector finished his work and dragged away a bag containing human remains.

Seizing the opportunity, Zong Le hastily muttered, "I need to use the restroom," and immediately slipped away.

Unbeknownst to him, his actions left the group of survivors dumbfounded.

After a while, Wang Lin finally spoke, "...Is he crazy?"

The first rule of survival: stick together if possible, and if not, at least avoid being alone.

This is especially true in high-level missions, where death could come at any moment. The low-level survivors were all huddled together, discussing how to pledge their loyalty to the only S-level who could guarantee their safety. 

Then they turned around and saw someone running off to his death.

To put it bluntly, in such a dangerous situation, even if one really needed to relieve themselves, low-level survivors would only dare to use a bottle behind a collapsed bookshelf. 

But Zong Le? Without another word, he charged out headfirst, leaving no chance for anyone to stop him.

Seeing this, Bai Shao sneered, "Let him go, don't bother. You can't save someone who's determined to die."

He had seen too many clueless people, and those who didn't know their limits were countless. One more didn't matter.

With the big shot speaking, the others naturally didn't dare to say much, only offering a few words of agreement.

"What a pity, Xiao Le was actually quite a good guy."

"Yeah, he even stepped up to help carry the goods earlier. He's just a bit unreliable and likes to lie, but he's not a bad person at heart."

"Among the D-levels, he's quite capable. His strength enhancement is at least level three, but he's too arrogant."

"Maybe he was embarrassed after being exposed and ran away."

"So what if he had level three strength enhancement? In an S-level mission, he's just a small fry that can be easily crushed."

Bai Shao dismissed it, "A survivor specializing in strength needs at least level seven to stand a chance against a S-level weird. As for him? He'll be dead in a few minutes. This kind of thing can fool others, but don't fool yourself. He really thinks that previous attack was prevented due to his credit. How ridiculous."

Weirds were already looking for opportunities, and someone just handed themselves over. It must be thrilled.

"And you all saw it, right? It's not that I didn't protect him, he went out on his own. When the Patriarch asks you about what had happened here, you better think carefully about what to say and what not to say."

"Don't worry, boss! Like you said, you can't save someone who's determined to die."

"Rest assured, we respect his personal choice and won't interfere with others' fates."

"Let's not talk about this anymore. After the weird attack, Boss Bai, how are your injuries? Do they need treatment? Oh, the tea must be cold by now. I'll go add some hot water for you."

"Let me give Boss Bai a shoulder massage. I've studied professional massage before. There's some essential oil here, I guarantee you'll be satisfied."

Amid the chaos, only Han Yueyue stood aside.

She twisted her fingers, worriedly looking in the direction Zong Le had gone.

......

Contrary to the survivor's expectations of how long he would survival, Zong Le was far from meeting his end as soon as he stepped out.

However, he did encounter some problems.

For instance, he got lost in the villa.

Strictly speaking, Zong Le didn't have a poor sense of direction. But the villa was so luxuriously decorated, with numerous identical forks in the road, that he soon found himself staring at identical vases at the corners, puzzled.

"Wait, have I been here before...?"

When he passed another fork and saw the same vase again, Zong Le finally realized he couldn't keep going like this, or he'd be wandering around all day without finding his way out.

"Let me think... My goal is to quickly find that weird, then lift the weird domain and leave this place."

When the weird attacked him earlier, Zong Le sensed the presence of Madam Xue. So he decided to find Madam Xue first, using the simple method of waiting for the rabbit by the tree stump.

As for how to find Madam Xue...

Zong Le stopped in his tracks, silently pondered the question, closed his eyes, and left it all to fate.

Sometimes, Zong Le's intuition was quite accurate, playing an unexpectedly helpful role at critical moments. This time, his intuition signaled him to turn right. So he decisively turned and headed right.

The entire second-floor corridor of the villa looked extremely similar. After walking for ten minutes, Zong Le still hadn't noticed anything different. Just as he began to doubt, finally, a door appeared at the end of his vision.

This door was different from the others, it was made of deeper, heavier wood and looked very expensive.

Most importantly, Qin Ye was guarding this door, accompanied by several S-level individuals.

Qin Ye, the organizer of this operation, remained silent, while the other two S-levels survivors chatted idly.

"The soundproofing of this door is a bit too good, we can't hear anything inside at all."

"Madam Xue has only been interested in 1st from the start. Do you think this is like a lamb walking into a tiger's den?"

"Who are you calling a lamb, Joshua?"

The S-level survivor laughed: "You've just entered the rankings, so you might not know the situation. Even without offensive abilities, that big shot isn't as simple as you think. Do you really believe someone who's been the 1st for over a decade is an easy target?"

At that moment, Qin Ye, who had been resting with his eyes closed, spoke up: "Limit your interactions with Joshua."

With that, he said no more.

The two S-levels survivors looked at each other, neither daring to continue the topic.

There are only a hundred S-levels in the entire infinite space, and many of them go solo, so the three major guilds can't even divide them up.

The two S-levels present were core members of the Watchtowers Guild, key figures selected through layers of screening for intensive cultivation. But from their first gathering since joining the guild, Qin Ye had repeatedly emphasized that all must cease their personal worship of Joshua, and even admiration must be kept within limits.

However, the mission of the Watchtower Guild is to assist the savior Joshua in leading the survivors back to the real world. If they encounter Joshua during a mission, the members of the Watchers Guild must unconditionally protect his safety.

The core members of the guild were particularly puzzled by these rules until the vice guild leader, An Tao, privately explained the situation to them. Unlike those who were forced into the infinite space, the guild leader, Qin Ye, was a high-ranking officer before entering the infinite space.

It is likely that he was instructed by his superiors to voluntarily enter this place. Following this logic, Joshua might also be the savior personally appointed by the higher-ups, and Qin Ye entered the space to ensure his safety.

This explanation finally made sense of the situation.

"I wonder what the Spiritual Guild is up to. I hope they can send us a signal in time."

"Yeah."

Two S-level members stood guard here, seemingly chatting but actually keeping a close eye on their surroundings. Under their strict surveillance, not even a mosquito could fly past.

Despite such a top-tier lineup stationed here, they completely failed to notice that a sneaky figure had already eavesdropped on their entire conversation from a distance.

"They're guarding this place so tightly, I can't get in at all."

Realizing this path was a dead end, Zong Le turned a corner, hoping to find another way around.

However, after taking the detour, he discovered that the other entrance to the prayer room was also tightly guarded by the Spiritual Guild's leader, Shu Xingwen, and the other S-level member of the Spiritual Guild, leaving no room to pass through.

"..."

Are these two cosplaying as door gods?

With no other options, after a moment of thought, Zong Le could only open the glass window next to the corridor.

Before entering, he had taken a glance and remembered that the villa had a conical structure with a certain slope on the roof.

Before opening the window, Zong Le cautiously observed for a while. After confirming it was feasible, he supported himself with one hand on the windowsill and nimbly leaped onto the decorative edge of the villa's exterior. 

After completing this, he left the window slightly ajar and then used a small protruding decorative strip as a grip to pull himself up, gradually moving up.

To his embarrassment, in order to better maintain peace in Guiyi City, Zong Le had done this kind of house-climbing before and could be considered quite experienced.

Not far away, the security guards of Tianmen Mansion were patrolling with searchlights, completely unaware that a figure was rapidly scaling the villa's exterior wall at a speed defying the laws of physics, reaching the roof in an instant.

Seeing the skylight embedded in the roof, Zong Le couldn't help but give himself a thumbs-up.

He had visited the church in Guiyi City before. After leading everyone in a brief prayer, the priest not only heavily promoted indulgences but also a home version of the prayer room.

He claimed that as long as a certain amount of donation was made to the church, the church would send clergy and decorators to the homes of devout believers to install it and perform a holy water blessing.

As for why Zong Le remembered this so vividly, it was because of the priest's passionate tone at the time.

"With just a donation of one million, you can perform morning and evening prayers at home anytime, and God will bless you!"

This "just one million" left a deep impression on him, given his poverty.

The most famous design of the prayer room is the skylight. As the priest put it, it is the channel through which prayers connect to God.

Since Mrs. Xue's house has a prayer room, it’s only natural that it would have a skylight.

Zong Le found a shaded spot on the roof, crouched down, and carefully opened the skylight just a crack.

As luck would have it, a conversation drifted into the night air.

"To be honest, I’m currently looking for a father for the child in my womb. So far, I’m quite inclined toward Mr. Joshua. What do you think?"

"I’m sorry, Madam," came the familiar, pleasant voice said gently. "I’m gay."

Zong Le: ???

No, why did he hear something so exciting?

Previous TOC Next