'I found it, but... there's something not quite right about this thing.'
When Qi Suian found the so-called High-Concentration Deep Virus Crystal, his expression was a little strange.
[High-Concentration Deep Virus Crystal]
[Quality: B]
[Properties: Upon consumption, there is a 95% chance of complete infection, a 2% chance of Spirit +1 if Spirit is below 1, a 2% chance of Physique +1 if Physique is below 1, and a 1% chance of awakening a superpower.]
Qi Suian was certain that if he downed this thing in one gulp, he'd be hit with that 95% chance of complete infection.
This all came back to his protagonist halo, Celestial Fate: Profound. It was practically begging for him to become a Zombie Dominator. Now that the chance had arrived, how could it possibly let it go?
If he had any other type of protagonist halo, he probably would have reaped the rewards of both new stats and a superpower.
That's right, it wasn't a one-or-the-other deal. The effects were chosen randomly from the four possibilities. Take the Mutated Zombie he killed, for instance—it had boosted both stats and awakened a superpower.
[Hypothesis: The package contained not only the High-Concentration Deep Virus Crystal but also some kind of auxiliary potion.]
The Zhineng provided a timely tip. It had found the box, and although it was heavily damaged, it was able to reconstruct the box's original state using the available data.
'So, this Deep Virus Crystal really did come from the package. And here I thought it was the Mutated Zombie's brain core,' Qi Suian quipped.
The crystal had, in fact, been dug out of the Mutated Zombie's body.
'But that raises a question. Zhang Hongxiang was an executive director, wasn't he? How did he end up as a zombie? He was high-level management, at the very least.'
Qi Suian didn't get it.
The Zhineng didn't answer. It didn't know either.
When it didn't know something, the Zhineng responded with silence.
DRING DRING DRING~
The phone on the executive director's desk suddenly rang.
[Detecting higher authority attempting to take control of all building systems. Commencing counter-attack...]
The Zhineng simultaneously relayed the alert, causing Qi Suian's eyes to narrow.
This was definitely not a coincidence.
'Watchman Morning Company must have planted some sort of tracking device on the Mutated Zombie that Zhang Hongxiang became.'
'The Deep Virus Crystal withstood the Plasma Cannon, but the tracking device was destroyed, so they didn't realize it immediately.'
'Zhineng, did you detect anything?' Qi Suian didn't pick up the phone right away.
[Undetectable. It is hypothesized that the signal was translated through the Mutated Zombie's spiritual superpower. The Tai Sui God has no corresponding module and does not support Zhineng monitoring.]
After hearing the explanation, Qi Suian understood. It wasn't that the Zhineng was weak; you just can't make bricks without straw.
After a moment of thought, Qi Suian answered the phone.
"You killed Seven?" a voice came from the other end.
Meanwhile, the Zhineng immediately aborted its counter-attack and began using the call to trace the location.
A counter-attack was pointless. Wouldn't it be better to just turn the tables and hack the enemy instead?
[Please stall for time. Beginning to locate enemy position.]
"It wasn't me, it was the Plasma Cannon," Qi Suian hesitated for a moment, then decided to tell the truth.
He wasn't wrong. He'd basically been AFK the whole time, with zero sense of participation in the fight.
The person on the other end fell silent in response to Qi Suian's answer.
"To be able to kill Seven with a Plasma Cannon... you're no simple man," the person spoke again.
"Thanks for the compliment, but I really didn't kill him." Qi Suian wondered why nobody believed him when he told the truth these days.
"There's a crystal inside Seven's body. If you consume it, you can possess the same special power as him," the person on the other end revealed.
Hearing that, Qi Suian had a reasonable suspicion that the guy's intelligence had been nerfed.
"Do I look like an idiot to you?" Qi Suian couldn't help but retort. "Even if you take me for an idiot, you can't possibly think I'm blind. Seven was a zombie—a Mutated Zombie, at that."
"If I eat that, I'll turn into a zombie, too."
But the person on the other end laughed. "The Plasma Cannon requires special charging technology. As a prototype, its energy is limited."
"And the zombies will continuously evolve. Once the Plasma Cannon runs out of energy, what awaits you is an endless tide of corpses."
"But if you take this crystal, you'll still have a chance to live."
Qi Suian agreed with him, but the problem was, he wasn't exactly a conventional survivor.
'I've gotta say, your technique for selling pie in the sky is a little lacking,' Qi Suian grumbled internally.
Based on the caller's words and the perfectly timed phone call, Qi Suian understood his intentions. It was simple: Seven was dead, and the person on the other end was responsible. So, before facing punishment, it was best to find a replacement "Seven."
Qi Suian, the man who killed Seven, was a perfect fit. In the caller's eyes, Qi Suian must have had extraordinary physical qualities, making him an easy replacement for Seven.
The problem was, Qi Suian was a sickly weakling.
He struggled as much as a normal zombie; what "good physique" was there to speak of?
[Location confirmed.]
The Zhineng's voice chimed in. Qi Suian couldn't help but grin. Before the person on the phone could say another word, he roared into the receiver.
"I've got an 8 AM class!!!"
Then he hung up without a second thought. The Zhineng cooperatively had the Tai Sui God rip the phone line out of the wall for good measure.
Qi Suian found a box, placed the High-Concentration Deep Virus Crystal inside, and tossed it straight into his Subspace Stable Pocket.
This thing might be useful later.
If worst comes to worst, he could always just become a hoarder.
-----------------
"Damn it, how dare he!!!" Listening to the dial tone, Chunyu Bao was seething.
He was the son of a major shareholder in Watchman Morning Company. He was usually assigned some work to keep him from spending his days drinking, womanizing, or causing trouble.
To his credit, he was fairly competent and hadn't caused any major disasters at work.
"Patch me into the surveillance feed. I want to see who... what? Contact lost due to a power overload at the headquarters building?" Chunyu Bao's expression grew even darker.
He wasn't angry that the other party hadn't taken the bait; after all, it was just a shot in the dark. He would indeed be held accountable for what happened to Seven, but it wasn't a huge problem. He was the son of a major shareholder, after all.
But Qi Suian's parting shot—which might as well have been an insult to his mother—sent him into a rage. Now, it was personal.
"Notify the Cheetah Task Force. I want them to bring that kid back to me. Alive," Chunyu Bao ordered without hesitation.
"Supervisor Chunyu, that's against regulations," a staff member immediately refused.
"I'm not using my authority as a supervisor, I'm using my authority as a shareholder!" Chunyu Bao knew this was against the rules, but it was one of the little tantrums that power allowed.
"Mobilizing the Cheetah Task Force requires a request to Director Chunyu. Supervisor Chunyu, you'll have to file the report yourself," the staff member sidestepped again. Your tantrum is your business, but you're not dragging me into it.