Published at 22nd of September 2024 2:02 pm

Chapter 725: This is Not What I Imagined

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

Mu Chen’s voice was too loud, immediately attracting some attention.

He quickly coughed and lowered his head, pretending to fill out the form.

After the surrounding people’s gazes shifted away, Mu Chen lowered his voice and nudged Ling Mo with his elbow, asking, “Do you have to take advantage so openly? How about I provide you with a…”

They had already discussed Ling Mo’s identity issue on the way here.

To infiltrate, he would need to come up with a proper new identity. Ling Mo’s name had already spread among the three major forces in X City, and there was no guarantee that Niepan headquarters hadn’t heard some whispers about it.

According to Mu Chen, it would be best for Ling Mo to impersonate a member of the Dongming branch and take on an existing identity.

However, this suggestion was immediately turned down by Ling Mo.

Mu Chen wasn’t sure if the branch members had a record here or not.

And those mental ability members, he didn’t know them well enough.

Such a rash substitution, even if the likelihood of being exposed was low, didn’t seem reliable enough to Ling Mo.

After thinking it over, it seemed safer to create a new identity.

If no one here questions it, then it’s fine. Even if they do ask, he could completely say he is a new member who just joined the branch and hasn’t reported in yet.

With branch members either dying or fleeing, where could the headquarters verify at once?

Thus, the possibility of exposure is greatly reduced.

“Just fill in your form,” Ling Mo said, somewhat speechless. It was just a name… Mu Chen was really persistent.

“Tch…” Mu Chen looked unwilling. He wanted to take advantage too!

Unfortunately, as the main protagonist, not only could he not hide his identity, but he also had to reveal as much of his background as possible to gain the trust of headquarters.

However, this small commotion actually calmed Mu Chen down.

Being overly nervous would eventually arouse suspicion…

In the “Superpower” section, Ling Mo unhesitatingly filled in “psychic probe.”

This superpower was quite common among those with mental ability, and even if someone wasn’t proficient in it, they would still know a little.

Ling Mo fell into the latter category. However, his psychic power was strong enough that pretending to be an expert was barely passable.

The middle-aged man cast a sidelong glance and his expression became somewhat peculiar.

Just now, seeing Ling Mo nonchalantly accept He Hongyan’s bet, he’d thought Ling Mo was very confident… But he didn’t expect his superpower to be that.

The other guy, just with a glance, anyone could tell he must be a superhuman with enhancement ability. With such heavy calluses on his hands, there’s no way he could be someone with mental ability.

As for elemental ability, it’s so rare that the middle-aged man didn’t even consider it.

A team with such a lineup being so impulsive-it’s not stupid?

But who among those who have survived until now is truly a fool?

Moreover, Ling Mo seemed like a calm person; why would he act so rashly…

The more the middle-aged man thought about it, the more something felt off, but he couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

“Probably he just wrote it vaguely…” he managed to come up with a reason.

In this place, the stronger the superpower, the more likely it is to attract attention. Some members would write somewhat ambiguously, but this was within Niepan headquarters’ allowed limits.

Ling Mo didn’t pay much attention to the middle-aged man’s reaction. After finishing his form, he flipped through a few more pages.

“So, this part contains contribution points records… This booklet is essentially a personal comprehensive file.”

The more Ling Mo understood, the more he realized how sophisticated Niepan headquarters was.

Whether it was in terms of scale, number of superhumans, system, or even these small details, Niepan headquarters had done exceedingly well.

Even the harsh competitive environment seemed beneficial to Niepan as far as Ling Mo could see.

What are superhumans? Currently, they are the elite among humans, possessing powers far beyond ordinary people.

But in essence, these people are no different from ordinary humans, with all kinds of character traits.

Most superhumans join Niepan merely to gain more resources and a better living environment; their sense of belonging to Niepan itself is very limited.

Thus, the management policy adopted by Niepan was to have these superhumans follow regulations and intentionally encourage competition among them, thereby preventing the possibility of most superhumans banding together. The fact that contribution points could be used for gambling already indicated the strategy.

Even if some people remained well-behaved, there would always be those like He Hongyan, who actively stirred up trouble.

However, due to the many restrictions imposed by the Cataclysm, the branches were obviously more lenient, and many regulations were not enforced.

“The person who managed to establish Niepan headquarters is indeed remarkable. But that doesn’t have much to do with me; the main focus is still on the experimental personnel who left behind that notebook. If my analysis is correct, he must be an important figure in the Experimental Group, holding a lot of experimental records and theoretical knowledge…”

Ling Mo hadn’t brought the notebook with him for this infiltration, but given his ability to switch perspectives, it didn’t make much difference whether he brought it or not.

Although Niepan headquarters was located at the core of the Medical University, the direct distance from there to the residential building hadn’t exceeded three kilometers, which was just perfect for Ling Mo.

After the two finished filling out their registration forms, they didn’t hand them directly to the registration office. Instead, the middle-aged man took the forms and led them upstairs.

On the stairs, they encountered a few more Niepan members, but these individuals merely glanced at them a few times and didn’t cause any trouble.

“Do so many people go out on missions every day?” Mu Chen couldn’t help but ask.

Since they were pretending to join the headquarters, showing disinterest in everything would seem too fake…

Seeing Mu Chen ask a question, Ling Mo also looked at the middle-aged man, showing a hint of interest.

“That’s because some recent events have made task postings more frequent. The higher-ups have posted many high-level tasks that aren’t excessively difficult, so lots of people are eager to take them on,” the middle-aged man said nonchalantly.

Most people would stop after hearing the middle-aged man’s indifferent tone, but Mu Chen wasn’t just anyone-he was a chatterbox…

These past days, staying with Ling Mo and the others, he often attracted eye-rolls after just a couple of sentences and had to suppress his urge to talk. Now, finally seeing other people, and with his mood relaxed, there was no way he wouldn’t chat more.

“What’s the situation that requires so many tasks?” Mu Chen asked, not forgetting to pull out a cigarette and offer it to the middle-aged man.

Ling Mo glanced over and was speechless. Mu Chen couldn’t bear to give away his good cigarettes and actually offered a damp one.

The middle-aged man was about to take it but instantly felt a wave of frustration.

A branch is a branch-even their cigarettes are terrible…

“I don’t smoke…” grumbled the middle-aged man inwardly. Seeing Mu Chen still staring at him, he reluctantly continued, “Since you’ve joined, it’s fine to tell you… The matter isn’t settled yet, and I don’t know much. It seems to be related to the Central Region.”

“The Central Region?” Ling Mo’s interest was genuinely piqued this time. Due to the limitations he faced, he knew almost nothing about the situation outside. Hearing news from the outside world made him exceedingly curious.

Mu Chen was even more intrigued. Although he had made up his mind to stay with Ling Mo’s Miracle Squad, he often felt a bit anxious.

Throughout their journey, the threat of zombies had been escalating, and the environment was becoming increasingly harsh-Mu Chen had certainly noticed.

He was utterly uncertain if there would still be a place for humans to live in the future.

Knowing what the situation was like across the country and even globally would be incredibly beneficial.

“What’s going on in the Central Region? What do you mean by saying it’s related to the Central Region?” Mu Chen eagerly pursued his questions.

The middle-aged man replied, “I can’t explain it clearly; just take it as it is. The Central Region consists of provinces with large populations. Reportedly, their situation is entirely different from ours. They have more zombies, but they also have far more humans and a significantly higher number of superhumans. They are working on some kind of human alliance now, and they’ve supposedly made contact with us. They are sending people over, and they might arrive any day now.”

“That’s a lot of information…” Mu Chen was a bit stunned, possibly because the news didn’t match his expectations.

Ling Mo asked, “When are they supposed to arrive?”

The middle-aged man glanced at him and said, “From what I’ve heard, they were supposed to arrive sooner… They’re probably delayed due to something on the road. After all, there are zombies everywhere.”

“I see…” Ling Mo nodded, lost in his own thoughts.

The middle-aged man couldn’t help but glance at Ling Mo again. Though Ling Mo was wearing a hat, during their brief eye contact, the middle-aged man distinctly noticed an unusual gleam in this young man’s eyes.

Most people’s eyes were dark brown, and while Ling Mo’s bright black eyes were rare, they weren’t unheard of.

But eyes that appeared so deep, almost dizzying with a single glance, were rare even among superhumans with mental abilities.

“This guy seems to have really strong psychic power. If it’s just psychic probing, what a waste. But… how far can his probes reach?” The middle-aged man was extremely curious about this. As a guard, he had met all the superhumans here, including those with mental abilities, but someone like Ling Mo was exceptionally rare.

Upon reaching the second floor, they were greeted by a bustling hall.

Several movable blackboards were set up in the center of the hall, each marked with different levels in red ink. Many paper notes were attached to the boards, presumably listing various tasks.

There were about twenty to thirty people crowded in front of the blackboards, carefully selecting tasks.

However, just as Ling Mo looked at them, several individuals gave up on picking tasks and walked away empty-handed.

“Those…” Mu Chen began, but the middle-aged man interjected, “As long as they still have contribution points, they aren’t forced to take on tasks. Many tasks are dangerous, and some people prefer to wait for tasks that offer a better return on investment…”

As he said this, he suddenly turned back and gave them a glance. “For example, that guy with the surname Song who went to Dongming-you know, he picked one of those.”

Mu Chen’s heart skipped a beat, but Ling Mo remained calm.

After a brief pause, the middle-aged man smiled again, “But that task was all about luck.”

“Yeah…” Mu Chen nodded, though his smile was a bit forced.

Catching Ling Mo’s gaze, he exhaled a sigh of relief.

Relax… Act natural…

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