Chapter 389: The Dungeon Begins

"When do you plan on arranging a meeting with her?"

Yan Jing looked at Zeng Qing.

"I haven't decided yet."

Zeng Qing pushed herself up from the desk.

"I wanted to discuss it with you first."

"Alright, wait to hear from me."

Yan Jing nodded.

"Are you planning to—"

Zeng Qing's eyes lit up.

"Find Mr. Luo?"

If anyone could stabilize morale right now, Zeng Qing knew it was undoubtedly Luo Sheng.

"That's a secret."

Yan Jing made a shushing gesture and smiled. "Do you have anything else on your plate today? If not, how about we head downstairs for a walk? We need to scope out the opposition."

"Downstairs?"

Zeng Qing nodded.

"But we'll need cover. I'll have someone bring a Disguise Module."

The area downstairs was currently packed with people from the Anthill. If they spotted her, the executive director, it would be a complete disaster.

"Alright."

A few minutes later, having equipped the Disguise Module, Zeng Qing pushed open the door and headed toward the elevators with Yan Jing.

Along the way, every employee they passed greeted her:

"Hello, Director Zeng."

"Good morning, Director Zeng."

As they reached the first floor, a secretary-looking man rushed over and blocked Zeng Qing's path.

"Director Zeng."

The man looked scholarly and wore glasses, bearing a faint resemblance to Yan Jing's 'second brother.'

"Director Zeng, it's not appropriate for you to go out right now," he said tactfully.

"It's fine. I have Mao Si with me, and I've already equipped my Disguise Module."

Zeng Qing remained expressionless.

The man before her had been personally assigned by her father. In other words, he was a spy.

Although her father hadn't stated whether he was satisfied with her recent rise to power, he was undeniably wary of her.

After all, her ascent had come out of nowhere.

Even with her eldest brother embroiled in a wife-murdering scandal and her seventh brother dying suddenly—the killer still at large—there were plenty of other siblings. Emerging victorious in just two days had required countless schemes and painstaking effort; it was far from simple.

And the only person she hadn't used those schemes against was her father.

Out of the final thirteen votes, her father alone had cast one vote for another child and one vote for her, deliberately preventing a unanimous decision.

Zeng Qing knew exactly why. Casting a vote for that other child was his way of signaling to everyone that he actually wanted them in charge. As for the vote he gave her, it was simply because she already held all the remaining votes; he was just going with the flow.

But Zeng Qing didn't care.

Over the past two days, she and Mao Si had fully demonstrated their ruthlessness to everyone on the board.

Even her father wasn't willing to defy the board's collective will to stop her.

The most he could do was make a token gesture.

And in the face of tangible profit, nobody cared about token gestures.

Yes, Zeng Qing's method of winning people over had been simple:

Sacrificing profits.

Whether it was dividends, shares, or non-essential authority, Zeng Qing had slashed her own take to the absolute minimum compared to Zeng Ru's previous reign. She had put on a flawless act, framing herself as someone who only wanted the position to vent the grievance of her past exile, regardless of the cost.

That, plus the properties in Muke District registered under her name.

Naturally, everyone welcomed her with open arms.

No dividends, no shares, reduced authority—even her salary was handed over to Mao Si. On the surface, it looked like Zeng Qing had gained absolutely nothing.

But her ambitions were far greater than they appeared.

Because she had Mao Si and Luo Sheng.

In her eyes, those assets were just in the temporary custody of those greedy old fools. Sooner or later, everything would return to her.

Of course, she hadn't walked away completely empty-handed. At the very least, she held the title of executive director.

So, facing the secretary blocking her path, her expression turned icy.

...

Staring at the fiercely imposing Zeng Qing, the secretary didn't flinch.

"Then I'll come with you. At the very least, I can protect you," he said.

This time, before Zeng Qing could answer, another voice chimed in.

"Hey, buddy, who the hell do you think you are? You completely ignoring Fourth Master here?"

Suddenly cursed at, the secretary was momentarily stunned. Given his current position in the company, if he wasn't second-in-command, he was pretty damn close.

Aside from a few genuine top executives, no one was willing to offend him.

He lowered his head, took in Yan Jing's thuggish expression, and took a deep breath.

"Mr. Cat, please show some respect. You are merely an expert hired by Director Zeng; you hold no substantive position. Keep this up, and I assure you, you will regret it."

"That's because your granddaddy here didn't want one! Otherwise, just ask this chick right here—mmph!"

Zeng Qing abruptly clamped her hand over Yan Jing's mouth, scooped him up, and marched outside.

"Li, was it? In the future, show some respect to Expert Cat. This is a company, not a place to throw your seniority around."

Zeng Qing remained expressionless, her pace brisk. She activated her Disguise Module and strode right out the doors.

Outside, the scene almost looked like a crowd gathered for a spring picnic. Colorful tarps were spread out in front of the entrance, weaving together like a massive carpet. Two or three people knelt on each one.

These people were either of an animal species or Smart Seeds who had undergone basic cybernetic implants. Without exception, their eyes were hollow and their faces etched with grief.

Beside some of them lay small, frail figures. Upon closer inspection, the children were deathly pale, breathing shallowly with their eyes tightly shut. They looked to be on the verge of death.

Zeng Qing saw an animal species resembling a marmot cradling a palm-sized baby marmot. The infant's originally brownish-gray skin had lost all color, looking like a distorted black-and-white photograph, and it emitted a foul odor.

Its face, which one could imagine had once been chubby, was now nothing but skin and bones. Its pupils were dilated; it had likely been dead for some time.

"Someone... someone came out!"

Someone suddenly cried out, and in an instant, the entire crowd began kowtowing toward Zeng Qing. For a moment, the dull thuds of heads striking the ground echoed endlessly.

"My lord, please give us justice—" "My child is only two years old—" "I finally had a child at thirty-five! Two months old, and he's dead! Is there no justice in this world?" "My lord, take pity on us—"

Zeng Qing had expected to be mobbed by the crowd; she never imagined she would be met with mass kowtowing.

Yet this was infinitely more shocking than a mob. With every thud of a head against the concrete, her scalp tingled, and panic gripped her chest.

"This is just a fraction of them, mostly the uneducated ones. The educated ones are preparing for the upcoming court sessions."

Yan Jing's voice drifted up from Zeng Qing's arms.

"But truthfully, even the educated ones aren't that educated."

"You've already looked into all this?"

Zeng Qing tried to keep her voice as calm as possible, but she couldn't hide the slight tremor in her tone.

"About two or three days ago. You hadn't secured the position yet, so I poked around while I had the chance."

Yan Jing climbed out of Zeng Qing's arms and perched on her shoulder.

"They know their chances of winning are slim, so they split into two groups. One is preparing for the trial, and the other is kneeling here for show, hoping someone will see them, feel a shred of pity, and let them off the hook."

"Of course, they don't even know who's actually in charge. Just like how they can't recognize you right now."

"Then again, it doesn't matter who walked out those doors. Even a regular employee in this building is a big shot to them. They still can't afford to offend them."

"Let's go back," Zeng Qing said, her tone suddenly urgent as she turned back toward the Tower.

But Yan Jing reached out, placing his furry paws on her cheeks and gently forcing her to turn her head back around.

"Take a good look, Zeng Qing."

"You'll have to face this eventually."

"To be the master of this Tower is to control a quarter of this country's economy. When that time comes, how far-reaching will the impact of your actions be? How many people will kneel before you in places you can't even see?"

"You have ambition, I know. You've prepared yourself to become a powerhouse, I know that too."

"But are you prepared to become a leader of this nation?"

"From now on, every move you make will represent far more than just yourself. Do you truly have that kind of resolve?"

Zeng Qing slowly turned her head, looking at the dense sea of kneeling figures. She looked at the children in their arms, at the bruised corpses, at the faces contorted in ultimate despair. Her gaze trembled.

"There might be people among them who commit evil in their daily lives, or people entirely devoid of morals. But in this specific incident, they are the victims. And we are already standing on the opposing side. Knowing that, can you still remain steadfast in your convictions?"

Yan Jing's voice seemed to carry a strange magic. As it entered Zeng Qing's ears, it felt as if ten thousand drums were beating in her heart.

"You're using vocal control to influence me again."

A single tear slipped from Zeng Qing's right eye and traced a path down her cheek.

"I just want you to become a qualified leader."

Yan Jing's expression remained completely calm.

Right at that moment, several figures walked out from behind the kneeling crowd and looked toward Yan Jing.

"Director Cat, what are you doing here?"

The man leading the group was Li Zhiyuan. Two days ago, upon receiving Yan Jing's request, their Sanitarium had canceled their recent filming schedules and come over with Luo Wei to help distribute supplies to the crowd.

The Sanitarium had far more people now than before, close to eighty or ninety individuals. Every single one of them had passed Vice Director Xiao Yu's rigorous screening before being successfully admitted.

"Me?"

Yan Jing leaned forward from Zeng Qing's shoulder and covered half his mouth with a little paw.

"I'm working deep undercover to scope out the situation."

"I see!"

Li Zhiyuan bought it instantly and flashed a thumbs-up.

"As expected of you! Then, who is this?"

He looked at Zeng Qing. "The enemy ringleader I managed to turn into a double agent."

Yan Jing told the complete truth.

"I see!"

Li Zhiyuan believed him once again.

"As expected of you."

"Where is Miss Luo Wei?"

Yan Jing asked.

"Oh, Big Sister Luo Wei is out hauling supplies," he replied.

Right on cue, Luo Wei appeared, walking toward them while carrying more than a dozen stacked shipping crates on her shoulder.

Even though Li Zhiyuan had seen this multiple times, he still broke a sweat watching her do it.

Ever since Luo Wei had adopted her new 'super-strength girl' persona, she had been like this.

And surprisingly, she had gone viral across the net once again.

Luo Wei's current popularity easily rivaled that of any A-list celebrity. In the Anthill, she was without a doubt the undisputed number one in everyone's hearts.

Countless talent agencies were lining up to sign her, and an endless stream of brands were begging her for a single commercial, but none of them could even get a foot in the door.

Boom!!!

Even though Luo Wei placed the dozen or so shipping crates on the ground as gently as she could, the impact still caused the surrounding area to shudder slightly.

"Everyone! Come get your supplies over here! Line up nicely!"

Luo Wei waved at the crowd, her smile radiant.

Watching Luo Wei, Zeng Qing looked a bit dazed. She still remembered the first time she had seen the girl—terrified and shivering like a drowned rat.

But now—

"I'm a little jealous of her."

Zeng Qing admitted truthfully to Yan Jing.

Yan Jing chuckled. "Everyone has their own suffering."

He wasn't going to tell Zeng Qing that ever since Luo Wei had completely swapped her 'skin,' she had suffered through a long period of cognitive dissonance and severe insomnia. She could only fall asleep when Luo Sheng was by her side.

She had become the major star she always dreamed of being, but at the time, she simply hadn't been ready for it.

That was the price she had to pay.

Everyone had their own suffering, Yan Jing included.

"This situation... I need to really think it through. I can't give up my current position, but I'll do everything in my power to help them,"

Zeng Qing said to Yan Jing.

"Of course."

Yan Jing nodded.

"It's your choice. You know I support you."

"Good."

And so, an afternoon and an entire night passed.

Zeng Qing was nowhere to be seen.

It wasn't until the middle of the night that Yan Jing, who was fast asleep on the sofa, was jolted awake by Zeng Qing bursting into the office.

"I've figured it out!"

"Figured what out?"

Yan Jing rubbed his eyes.

"Changing perspectives. I needed a change of perspective!"

Zeng Qing directly yanked Yan Jing up, activated her Information Component, and said, "Before this, the majority of people in our company assumed we were responsible for this incident. After all, things like this have happened several times in the past. Back then, my perspective was tied to the company, so my anchor point was always focused on how to shake off the responsibility."

"Just like how the factory manager and the entire chain of upper management anchored their focus on passing the buck."

"But if I shift the direction toward investigating—"

Zeng Qing pulled up a document and pointed at two side-by-side images on the screen. "Originally, I went to investigate which bastards were in charge of this factory. But when I looked at the wastewater discharge results, I realized they hadn't conducted a precise regional contamination survey at all—only a basic discharge analysis. So, I got some people to re-verify the pollution levels."

"The discharge map on its own seems fine, but when you compare it with previous ones, something is incredibly wrong."

"Look here. This red map shows the routine discharge metrics from our previous, similar incidents. It definitely exceeded the standards, and we already detected it in the soil."

"But this one, this green pollution distribution map... Look at the shape. It doesn't match up."

"The overall distribution this time forms a regular geometric pattern."

Yan Jing was a bit more awake now. He stared intently at the two maps before saying, "Someone is pulling strings behind the scenes."

[Task Stage A is about to begin.]

[Current task location: Peace Heavenly Kingdom - Victory District.]

[The specific tasks will be issued by your designated contact.]

[After you ascend to the Fifth Tier, your Mental Immunity Value will decrease by 1 point.]

[Welcome back, Lord Player.]

Yan Jing slowly opened his eyes and found himself standing on something resembling a balcony.

Beside him stood a woman in a long white dress, resting her hands on the railing.

A breeze swept past, causing her long white dress to ripple like overlapping petals, outlining her graceful silhouette.

The massive sun hat on her head blew back slightly, revealing her profile—a face imbued with a mature, captivating charm.

Time and the years were no longer a carving knife, but a catalyst that had perfectly matured this face. She looked to be in her thirties—the absolute perfect age.

"This is the first time the one I summoned arrived earlier than scheduled," the woman said softly.

"But that is life. Sometimes, little accidents can be quite beautiful."

"Welcome, Mr. Human. I hope we have a pleasant cooperation."

The woman turned to look at Yan Jing. Her confident, in-control smile suddenly froze, fading away before contorting into shock.

"It's you!"

"That human from the Sin Live Broadcast!" "A pleasant cooperation to you too, ma'am."

Yan Jing bowed slightly with a smile.