TWP 1

“Hey, you spacing out again?”

Lin You felt a rough shove on his shoulder, jolting him awake from the edge of sleepiness brought on by sheer exhaustion.

He took a deep breath, feeling utterly despondent.

Strictly speaking, this wasn’t the worst day of Lin You’s life, but at this moment, it certainly ranked among the top three most frustrating experiences he’d ever had.

Enduring the twisting pain in his stomach and the lingering discomfort from injuries sustained a month ago, Lin You sat expressionlessly before the monitor in the pitch-black projection room. His eyes were fixed on the television screen emitting a piercing blue light.

“What’s the point of showing me this?” Lin You exhaled, removing the cigarette from his lips and extinguishing it in an ashtray already overflowing with used filters.

On the screen, whether due to the bluish tint or the fact that the creatures were decayed corpses meant to remain buried in cemeteries, their skin appeared unnaturally dry and tinged with a sickly greenish hue.

The decaying creatures wandered aimlessly beyond the cordon line, letting out meaningless snarls and mumblings. Though seemingly without purpose, they persistently wandered the same streets, as if driven by some unseen force.

“Last night, a virus outbreak occurred in Guo Wei City,” said a man standing behind him. His voice was cold, emotionless. “The zombies gathered at the city center during the night, just as you witnessed.”

“These monsters are like pilgrims heading to a holy site, continuously flooding from various places—the cemeteries, former residents, and other areas that have been reduced to ruin.”

“Pilgrim?” Lin You lit another cigarette, his head slightly lowered as the blue light reflected off his glasses, obscuring his expression. However, his displeasure was evident in his soft chuckle. “Why?”

“Shut up. Don’t interrupt me.”

“So where did it leak from?” Lin You asked impatiently. “The virus.”

“The source could be nearby gangs or some new drug; we can no longer pinpoint it,” the standing man paused briefly before continuing, “But Lin You, that’s not the point—”

“Then what the fvck is the point?” Lin You cut him off with disdainful laughter. “Matthew, my dear Dean, what exactly do you want to know from me?”

Click.

The sharp sound of metal echoed as the man named Matthew pressed a gun to Lin You’s temple..

Lin You fell silent, refusing to utter another word.

“Shall I remind you?” Matthew leaned down and whispered into Lin You’s ear. “Who is Raid’s boss? And who exactly are you working for?”

The hand holding the gun slowly moved the muzzle downward, probing beneath Lin You’s gray sweater.

Lin You tilted his head back, allowing the collar to part at the gunpoint, revealing a smooth stretch of neck. His throat bobbed as he swallowed. Around that slender neck was a collar—a small bomb and electric shock device emitting a piercing red glow.

“What do you want me to do?” Lin You laughed coldly. “Surely you don’t want me to shove something up your wrinkled old ass?”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than excruciating pain shot through his neck. The shock collar activated, sending searing electric currents coursing through his body. Paralyzed and convulsing, Lin You clenched his teeth, his limbs trembling violently as he collapsed beside the monitor.

Lin You lay sprawled on the surveillance room table, his face pale and eyes wide. It took a while before the numbness and pain began to fade.

“Do you need me to teach you how to speak properly?”

Lin You felt the gun barrel pressed against his waist and found the situation darkly amusing.

He burst into laughter, the sound echoing in the silent monitoring room. It was a wild, unrestrained laugh, utterly incongruous for someone who had just been electrocuted and was now under threat of death.

“Go on, shoot me—Matthew!”

Lin You chuckled, “Do what you’ve always wanted to do but never had the guts for!”

His head was yanked up roughly and slammed against the desk with a loud bang. Lin You turned his head slowly, showing no expression despite the reddened bruise forming on his forehead. His face remained as calm as still water.

“The high-ranking experimental subjects all say there’s a voice urging infected ones to gather at Guo Wei City’s center,” Matthew said coldly.

“This means it’s possible that due to the virus leak, Guo Wei City has produced a highly evolved being,” Lin You replied, his voice equally cold and distant. “It’s a matter of probability. Out of millions of people, naturally some will adapt to the virus. I thought you knew this, Matthew.”

“And why should Reed be afraid of what an assimilated human wants?” Lin You couldn’t help but laugh. “They want to eat spicy chicken wings and watch rugby matches in Guo Wei City—what does this have to do with Raid?”

“That high-ranking assimilator said he has a way to control viruses,” Matthew explained condescendingly. “He’s calling for you specifically; he wants to meet with you face-to-face and explain everything himself. No one else can go in your place.”

“Listen carefully: This is an order, not a request. We’ll arrange for military escort to get you to Guo Wei City safely. Your mission there is to meet with him and keep him occupied while we coordinate with the military to evacuate survivors. Once that’s done, we’ll ensure your safe departure from Guo Wei City.”

“Meet me?” Lin You repeated incredulously. “What could I possibly offer?”

“It’s because you’re the creator of the E virus, Lin You.” Matthew paused before emphasizing again, “The condition for him to stop summoning zombies is to meet you personally. He very precisely named you—Lin You—and that’s why we’re taking this risk to send you to Guo Wei City.”

“He gave us only three days,” Matthew added.

“But don’t worry, we have more than enough capability to protect you.”

Lin You’s expression darkened at those words.

The Evolution Virus, or E-virus, was primarily developed by Lin You.

No, although Lin You developed it, the one who received credit was Matthew Panvinson. He used this to reap enormous profits, rising to the position of director at Raid Biotech Research Institute.

The Raid Biological and Pharmaceutical Development Research Institute, where Lin You currently worked, was a biotech powerhouse in America. From common adult medications to cancer-targeting drugs, Raid nearly monopolized the entire country’s biomedical technology sector. However, it was also the perpetrator behind this catastrophic disaster.

Lin You created the E virus with the original intent of enhancing human physical functions: improving metabolism, accelerating wound healing, or strengthening muscle resilience and bone density. But as Raid’s ambitions grew increasingly grandiose, the capabilities of the E virus expanded at a near-impossible rate, reaching a point where it became uncontrollable.

This virus could only combine with and alter human DNA, seemingly representing a comprehensive evolution for humanity. Yet, it had become a means for Raid executives and certain high-ranking officials to amass personal gain. The research objective gradually shifted towards creating obedient “biological weapons” subservient to them. If successful, they even envisioned transforming humans into beings akin to superheroes.

Unfortunately, according to Raid’s information, the virus was still in its developmental stage with an extremely low success rate. Most attempts resulted in failures due to E-virus’s severe side effects. Injection typically caused catastrophic damage to the human brain’s cortex, instantly killing the individual while simultaneously taking control of their mind to continue its work—constantly evolving the human body.

As a result of this continuous evolution and increasing metabolism, these transformed beings required an insatiable appetite for sustenance.

Any organism capable of providing nutrients became a target for them.

These failed experiments, already dead but controlled by viruses occupying their decaying corpses, were referred to as “zombies”—the very monsters now swarming around Guo Wei City.

“We’ll be back for you in six hours,” Matthew said softly, his dark brown eyes flickering ominously. “If you don’t cooperate… well, you know what awaits.”

Lin You couldn’t help but scoff inwardly.

Matthew relied too heavily on him, seeing Lin You as someone who could solve any problem—a useful puppet that was easy to manipulate.

But it seemed he had been too optimistic…

“Fine. Six hours then.”

Lin You slowly rose to his feet, a wry smile playing on his lips as he strode out of the pitch-black surveillance room without looking back.