Chapter 1 An Obsession

Three incense sticks burned in the small sand burner. Ding Lu knelt in the darkness before his adoptive father's spirit tablet, his eyes shining.

"Dad, I'm doing well now… The boss treats me very well. I have enough to eat, enough to wear, and I even have things that ordinary people can't get." Ding Lu said softly, his eyes filled with sincere gratitude. "You can rest assured over there. I'll burn paper money for you on the first and fifteenth of every month!"

"But then again, I haven't forgotten your teachings…"

"As much effort as you put in, that's how much money you earn! As much work as you do, that's how much you eat!"

"If you don't put in the effort but take more money, you'll be fired sooner or later!"

"If you don't do much work but eat a lot, sooner or later you won't have anything to eat!"

"I'm getting too much from Boss Li now… If I don't give something back, I won't be able to sleep at night." A simple smile appeared on the corner of Ding Lu's mouth. "But I seem to be lucky. Boss Li seems to be having some trouble these days, and I have a chance to put in a lot of effort."

"I have to seize this opportunity, or who knows when the next one will come."

"Dad, don't worry, your son won't let you down. I'll do as much work for the boss as he pays me! We don't do things that take advantage!" Ding Lu knelt before the spirit tablet and kowtowed three times, then stood up abruptly. "Dad, I'm leaving!"

Ding Lu's figure slowly merged into the night.

On such a night, a young man from a farming family disappeared silently into the night for an obsession in his heart, along with the sketch drawn by Li Tianran.

Some might say he was stupid, some might say he was reckless, and some might say he was stubborn!

But in his mind, only the words of his honest adoptive father echoed.

In the farmyard.

Xiao Hei suddenly woke up, its sharp eyes fixed on a certain spot, its fur bristling as if it sensed something.

But the next second, it whined, its eyes dimmed, and it fell asleep again.

…

Wancheng Tiancheng Security Company.

At this time, most of the lower-level employees of the security company had already been evacuated. The remaining forty or so were all core members of the Umbrella Corporation.

Tiancheng Company was located in a suburban village more than ten kilometers outside the center of Wancheng. The area was sparsely populated, and since the attack on the South District, most of the residents of Wancheng had become frightened and moved to the city center. Therefore, in the vast night sky, only this building was still emitting a glimmer of light.

But even Tiancheng Company was not calm at this time.

In the general manager's office, a strong middle-aged man was instructing his subordinates to organize the company's supplies, seemingly preparing to evacuate Wancheng.

"Director Bai, the armory is organized," a scarred man in camouflage winter combat gear said to Director Bai in a deep voice.

Director Bai, a member of the Bai family's collateral line, asked, "What about the equipment I told you to separate out?"

"It's organized too!" The scarred man nodded.

"Good. Tomorrow, you will take the remaining team and equipment and go to the South District with me!" Director Bai said coldly.

"The South District?" The scarred man's eyes showed hesitation. "Wasn't the South District just attacked by a beast tide? What are we going there for? The South District is too chaotic now. We could die there at any time!"

"You think I want to go?" Director Bai sneered. "Our Bai family's young master died in the South District. I heard that another important figure died violently in the South District a few days ago. The head office is anxious and wants to send someone to the South District nearby at all costs to find the murderer and tear him to pieces! If it hadn't taken two days to organize the supplies, we would probably already be in the South District and might have found some clues!"

"…" The scarred man looked embarrassed.

"Fortune favors the bold." Director Bai smiled. "Our Bai family's young master died, and the second young master betrayed us! The Bai family has no successor… I also have the surname Bai."

The scarred man's eyes suddenly lit up.

Obviously, if this task was completed well, Director Bai would likely enter the core of the head office's power, and his own status would inevitably rise!

Although the world had changed, and a disaster might strike at any time, everyone still wanted to climb higher before the disaster came.

At least the head office could still provide a lot of resources for survival now!

"Let's make a plan…" Director Bai stood up and whispered.

But at this moment, there was a violent collision and shouting outside the door, along with intense gunfire!

"What's going on?" Director Bai's face changed. "Go and see!"

A piercing alarm sounded, and dazzling red warning lights instantly filled the entire company!

"Someone is invading the armory!"

A sharp cry came from outside the door!

Director Bai hurriedly ran out of the office and saw that the armory's solid security door was deeply dented inward, opening a gap that people could pass through. Several mercenaries were holding weapons and shooting wildly into the air!

"Where is the enemy? Stop shooting randomly!" The scarred man roared angrily, almost exploding on the spot as he watched his men attack frantically like headless flies!

"The enemy… is everywhere!" A mercenary trembled.

"What?" The scarred man was stunned.

"The enemy seems to be invisible!" the mercenary said, shivering.

"Get out of here!" The scarred man picked up a large-caliber Remington shotgun and strode over. "Are you trying to tell me that it was the Calabash Brothers who launched a night attack?"

"It's true!"

Two more teams of mercenaries ran in from another corridor. The leader's combat helmet was deeply dented, and blood was flowing from his mouth and nose. He trembled and said, "The enemy is really an invisible person. Our team was patrolling and was inexplicably attacked! Many brothers saw it, but there was no one there!"

"What did he take from the armory?" Director Bai asked as he followed.

"Electronic T.N.T. explosives…" The person in charge of guarding the armory said, shivering, "Twenty kilograms."

Director Bai felt a dizziness in his head.

Twenty kilograms of high explosives was enough to collapse the entire building!

"Don't worry, the thermal imaging has been on all the time and has locked onto his location. He's on the fifth floor! He's placed explosives on every floor… Wait, he's also written words on the load-bearing columns on each floor!" A technician trembled as he looked at the words on the wall, reading them out one word at a time:

"Do… not… say… you… were… not… forewarned!"