Chapter Seven: The Eve of the Outbreak (Part Two)

“Wow, this car is a beast!” Guo Lang and Alice stood before a secondhand car owner, their eyes sparkling with unconcealed excitement. The owner, a man from southern Afro-Asia rumored to have a quarter of Tangsang Glacier blood, stood tall and imposing. He puffed on a traditional herbal cigarette favored by the older generation of the Federation, smiling as he introduced the car: “Even among off-road vehicles, including military-grade ones, it’s hard to find one that matches this beauty. This is my pride and joy, handcrafted from the same materials used by the Federation’s Redel Group for military vehicles. It features a 6.8-liter V10 engine, delivering a maximum output of 400 horsepower (298.28 kilowatts) and 675 Newton-meters of torque. Only fifty Knight XVs were made in this batch, as each one takes 4,000 hours to build by hand.”

He stroked the vehicle’s body with some reluctance, then added, “The interior more than justifies the price—Wilton wool carpets, Andrew Muirhead leather, six-way adjustable electric seats, tinted glass, a side-mounted laptop tray, LED illuminated dashboard, Alpine DVD navigation and Bluetooth ports, plus a night vision system and rear camera for convenience. The interior rivals that of a luxury car, so I won’t let the price drop a single cent below one hundred thousand Federation credits.”

Guo Lang nodded in agreement. One hundred thousand was steep, but compared to prices in his own world’s Central Asian region, it was a steal; cars that cost a few thousand abroad sold for hundreds of thousands at home, a margin more outrageous than outright robbery. Yet people still bought them—if that wasn’t the mark of the world’s top market, what was?

He nudged the little girl, signaling her to pay. Alice, who’d been curiously feeling the car’s exterior, snapped out of her reverie and looked up at the big man, eyes wide: “Should I transfer the money to your phone?”

The man grinned heartily, “Sure, let’s draw up a contract first, and then I’ll let you both take it for a spin!”

“Okay, okay!” The two nodded eagerly, making the burly man chuckle warmly. “You two really look like father and daughter.”

Guo Lang rolled his eyes, thinking the man was just talking nonsense. He had distinctly Asian features, while this doll-like child was the picture of Western charm. They looked nothing alike.

“Alice?” A surprised voice called from a distance. The girl’s ever-smiling face instantly darkened at the sound, and she ducked behind Guo Lang.

He paused, turning toward the voice. The newcomer was a middle-aged man in a suit—handsome, with chiseled features, sky-blue eyes, and a stylish beard, the very image of a model. Guo Lang keenly noticed the resemblance between him and the little girl.

“Alice, what are you doing here? Did your mother fail to enroll you in preschool again? So irresponsible. Where is she?”

Alice shrank further behind Guo Lang. “I’m out with my dad.”

“Dad?” The man’s face froze as he looked at Guo Lang. Instantly, Guo Lang sensed a surge of hostility and guessed at the man’s identity. Feeling awkward—especially when the little girl gave him a shove from behind—Guo Lang could only brace himself and step forward. “Hello, my name is Wang Sicong!”

The man’s expression remained cold, ignoring Guo Lang’s outstretched hand as he stared icily at him.

This made Guo Lang even more uncomfortable, and he seethed inwardly: “What are you acting all superior for, pretty boy? So what if I’m stealing your wife, undermining your family, even beating your kid? What can you do about it?”

Seeing the man had no intention of being cordial, Guo Lang dropped the pretense and asked Alice, “This is Laura’s ex-husband? Doesn’t look like much…” His voice faltered a bit, but he still put on a cocky front. “By the way, why did your mom divorce him?”

Alice pouted. “Mom said he was too poor, so she didn’t want him anymore.”

Both Guo Lang and the car dealer coughed at that, nearly choking. What kind of upbringing did this child have, blurting out things like that in public? But since she’d said it, Guo Lang decided to make the most of it.

He lifted his chin, still looking up at the man despite being shorter, and gave him a disdainful side-eye. “Oh, is that so?”

The man’s face turned pale with anger, while Guo Lang stayed alert, ready to strike if the man tried anything. He pictured himself flooring his opponent in style, straightening his collar, and striking a victor’s pose…

“You’re the eldest son of the Wang family, aren’t you?”

“Huh?” Guo Lang was momentarily thrown by the sudden change in topic.

The man extended five fingers. “Fifty million. Give me fifty million and I won’t pursue custody in court. For someone of your standing, this amount is trivial, isn’t it?”

“Eh?” Guo Lang was still processing, but Alice piped up, “But you’ve asked Mom for money several times before, and you always say that, but you keep coming back for more!”

“Oh!” Guo Lang and the big man both nodded in understanding. So this guy was that kind of person—a scoundrel. Their looks shifted from pity to utter contempt.

With the moral high ground secured, Guo Lang straightened his back, feeling much more confident. He adjusted the collar of his 230-credit Yichun-brand shirt and sneered, “We’re not short on money. Every holiday, the family’s children toss cash along the streets for fun. Fifty million wouldn’t even cover a single Valentine’s Day! But that’s voluntary. In this world, no one can force the Wang family to part with a single undeserved coin. Fifty million? Believe me, I could have you sleeping with the fishes for just two hundred thousand.”

“You—!” The man jabbed a trembling finger at Guo Lang, his face flushed with rage, but he dared not utter a threat. Against a scion of such a wealthy family, he'd have nowhere to seek justice if something happened to him. And as for the law? If it truly worked, the rich wouldn’t get away with so much.

Guo Lang pulled out a six-credit pack of Red Double Happiness cigarettes, lit one, and took a leisurely drag, exuding the air of a true playboy.

Behind him, Alice whispered to the car dealer, “Daddy’s gone dark. Besides, there aren’t any rivers here—you’d have to dump him in the sea!”

Guo Lang: “…”

“Nah, your dad’s got real presence, especially with that cigarette…” The big man mused, “I’ve never seen one before, but it looks classy.”

Guo Lang’s bravado was completely undone by the exchange between the old and the young behind him.

“Let’s go—take the car home!” he snapped.

“Okay!” The little girl nodded obediently. After the three drove away, Laura’s ex-husband, whose name Guo Lang hadn’t even bothered to learn, stood dazed in the wind, staring after the receding car. His face twisted with petty malice—the look of a minor character destined to make trouble again. If Guo Lang had seen it, he would have dealt with him on the spot; he hated unnecessary drama and always tried to nip it in the bud.

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Laura was the Executive Director of Gerlan-Skye, the largest pharmaceutical group in New Newton—a position she’d held as CEO of major corporations three times before. She was a renowned businesswoman, so much so that the mayor of New Newton had once invited her to be an advisor. She’d only been here a few months and already faced the biggest mess of her career.

Last week, StarSource Group had released the X-Element. As the Federation’s largest pharmaceutical company, Gerlan-Skye was quick to partner with them and developed the first batch of anti-cancer drugs. This medicine, able to completely cure cancer, was a monumental breakthrough in medicine, and those first to benefit would gain an enormous advantage. Initially, Gerlan-Skye and StarSource had agreed to set a high price for the new drug, targeting the wealthy elite to maximize profits by delaying its accessibility to the masses. This made perfect business sense.

But for reasons unknown, StarSource’s Chairwoman, Fiona, insisted on making the drug affordable from the start. At the press conference, she righteously declared that the breakthrough belonged to all humanity, not just the privileged few.

Her words won massive public support. After the event, StarSource’s stock soared, and public fervor for the company reached new heights. The stance seemed flawless, but Laura sensed something off. As a seasoned CEO, she’d crossed paths with this world-class heiress before and remembered her as anything but the paragon of virtue she now pretended to be.

So Laura didn’t take the new drug herself, nor did she dare give it to her daughter. She feared the medicine itself more than cancer. Sure enough, just days later, serious problems arose. Early recipients began to suffer adverse reactions; yesterday, several even died at home. Both StarSource and Gerlan-Skye, being titans with powerful political connections, managed to suppress the negative news on the first day.

But with millions of boxes sold on day one, this was not something even the mightiest corporations could keep under wraps. Despite being a capitalist society, this wasn’t the feudal era; no matter how strong business interests were behind the scenes, their influence in the open had limits. If mishandled, both companies could collapse.

“Director, we still haven’t reached the board. What should we do now?” Her secretary, sweating, asked anxiously.

“Contact the research department immediately. Analyze the cause of the side effects, and develop an antidote—we must halt the spread of this disaster before it escalates. Tell logistics to prioritize all research equipment and personnel requests. We’re racing against death itself; we need a cure as fast as possible!”

Confronted with such a catastrophic crisis, Laura maintained her professionalism. This research campaign had been led by StarSource, with Gerlan-Skye as a collaborator. StarSource’s element had even passed national exemption from inspection—a perfect opportunity to shift the blame entirely onto them later. But that depended on producing an antidote; if tens or hundreds of thousands died, no amount of explanation would stop the public from tearing Gerlan-Skye apart.

Laura took a deep breath, drained a glass of cold water, and regained her composure. She told her secretary, “Come with me to see the bodies first.”

“The… the bodies?” the secretary stammered.

“What’s wrong?” Laura noticed her secretary’s odd expression.

“They’re… strange. The bodies look terrifying.”

Laura snapped, “They all died suddenly, not peacefully. Of course they look gruesome. Hurry up and get ready, and call the morgue ahead.” Inwardly, she sighed at her secretary’s mediocre nerves, resolving to replace her at the next opportunity.

“And keep trying to reach StarSource’s board. I want an explanation from them.”

What she didn’t know was that, on this day, not only she, but no one could reach those lofty shareholders at StarSource. In Fiona’s mansion, the once-powerful shareholders now hung on display in the living room—reduced to human skins. These were not the gory scenes of horror films; the skins were so skillfully prepared that, from a distance, they resembled uncannily lifelike murals.

As for the once-mighty Fiona, she now sat numbly in the embrace of a tall stranger, her noble demeanor replaced by the emptiness of a puppet. She muttered repeatedly, “Demons… demons, you’re all demons…”

The leading undead youth sipped red wine and waved his fingers with a smile. “No, no… demons are a crude race. If you’re lucky, you might get to see them with us someday. Don’t compare us to such savages. In the universe, we are the noblest of all races. Join us—you have great potential. You have two choices: end up like these fat pigs as art for the wall, or become one of my noble undead.”

“Undead?” For a moment, light flickered in Fiona’s dull eyes. “The universe?”

“The universe is vast. Every low-level civilization thinks it’s the center, but in truth, they’re less than dust. Join us, and you’ll travel through countless worlds, witnessing the true wonders of the cosmos—overlooking all from above, shaping and possessing them.”

Fiona was silent for a moment, then suddenly flipped over, pinning the giant beneath her. Gazing into his eyes, mesmerized by their faint green light, she asked, “Can I become like you?”

“Of course!” Seeing her decision, the youth smiled and bowed. “A wise choice. Let me introduce myself—my name is Ian. In our world’s Britannia, this name means ‘God’s glorious one.’ I’m not a Christian, but the principle is the same: everything for the glory of the Lord God!”