Chapter 106: Chapter 106: Director Ding’s Second Act, the Dagger Revealed Again

"That would be wonderful." Ding Yang rubbed his palms together, his face breaking into a wide, crinkling smile.

Lin Qi accepted the two Tier Two Crystal Stones, asking with a seemingly casual air, "Getting these two must have cost the Hongshan Camp a lot, right? What kind of monster dropped them?"

When he was promoted to Tier Two, Lin Qi hadn’t had a choice—he could only gamble on what kind of Ability he’d get. Now that he had room to choose, he naturally wanted to get all the details.

Ding Yang took a moment to recall, and the memories were not pleasant.

The appearance of every Tier Two monster meant a massive drain on weapon resources and... casualties.

"The orange-yellow Crystal Stone came from a Tier Two Zombie. Its Ability was hardening—it became incredibly tough. Even armor-piercing rounds couldn’t break through its defense. It almost inflicted heavy casualties on us, but thankfully the Zombie was still a carbon-based lifeform. We took it out with thermobaric grenades."

"The white one came from an animal-amalgamation monster..."

Ding Yang was in the middle of his explanation when Lin Qi suddenly interrupted.

"An animal-amalgamation monster?"

This was new territory for him.

Lin Qi suddenly realized that for as long as the apocalypse had been going on, he hadn’t seen a single mutated animal monster.

He’d seen some ordinary animals, and by his estimation, the mutation rate in animals seemed much lower than in humans.

Ding Yang nodded and continued, "It’s normal that you haven’t. This is the only case of animal mutation we’ve seen as well. Even the monster’s designation came from a file from Headquarters."

"When animals mutate, aside from the larger specimens, the smaller ones will spontaneously devour and fuse with one another to become fused monsters. Their crystals merge as well. Based on current intelligence, the creature that caused the fall of the Beining District is suspected to be a large animal-amalgamation monster, most likely a Tier Three."

Ding Yang volunteered this intelligence to Lin Qi, a gesture meant to bring their two sides closer.

Lin Qi nodded repeatedly, motioning for Ding Yang to continue.

"The amalgamation monster that dropped this white Crystal Stone had a very strange Ability—it seems to be Splitting. It could divide into many extremely small individuals, making them difficult to target. Its defenses were only average, but taking it down cost us a full three Warriors..."

Ding Yang recounted the experience of taking down the monster, his heart heavy with the memory.

The mood in the conference room grew somber. In the apocalypse, death was an inescapable topic.

After a long silence, Ding Yang seemed to shake off the gloom and said, "With your Mo University Camp’s weapons and technical support in the future, things will definitely be much better."

A faint smile forced its way onto Ding Yang’s face.

For the first time in a long while, Lin Qi felt a sense of familiarity. The aura Ding Yang projected was very similar to that of the soldiers from his home country in his past life.

After spending so long in the Cyber World, Lin Qi had inevitably grown a bit cold.

He said, "If the Hongshan Camp ever runs into trouble, you can call on the Mo University Camp for aid. Our current combat strength is nothing to scoff at."

Lin Qi had given his verbal commitment.

Who would have known...

Ding Yang’s expression instantly turned serious. "To be perfectly honest, I did come to the Mo University Camp today with a request."

The other shoe dropped. The real motive was finally revealed.

The faint warmth that had just appeared on Lin Qi’s face instantly froze.

’Have I been played?’

’I hate this feeling.’

His tone softened slightly. "Please, Director Ding, speak freely. If it’s within the Mo University Camp’s capabilities, I’m sure..."

Lin Qi trailed off, turning to look at Wang Ziru before continuing, "...Wang Ziru will consider it."

Upon hearing this, Wang Ziru immediately jumped in. "As long as it doesn’t compromise the legitimate interests of our camp, supporting a brother unit is, of course, the reasonable thing to do."

Stepping up at the perfect moment to take the heat for his leader was a basic instinct for Wang Ziru.

It was precisely this talent that had allowed Wang Ziru to work his way up to a senior executive position before the apocalypse.

And it was what earned him Lin Qi’s trust after the apocalypse, putting him in charge of managing the camp.

Watching the two of them perform their little duet, Ding Yang felt a bit resigned.

Still, he got down to business.

"A squad from our Hongshan Rescue Team discovered a very serious problem during a rescue mission."

"In the area surrounding the designated fallen territory, with the Beining District at its center, some extremely strange phenomena have been occurring."

"Anyone passing through the periphery experiences severe auditory hallucinations. In worse cases, they also suffer visual hallucinations, seeing a crimson eye—the true form of the blood moon in the sky."

"What’s worse is that we’ve discovered this area is expanding rapidly. At its current speed, I’m afraid it will cover more than half of the Hongshan District within ten to fifteen days at most. Mo University is also within its range."

"I was hoping to see if you, Lin Qi, have any specialized technical means to investigate the Beining District. Ideally, to pinpoint the source of the problem."

"If the problem truly can’t be solved, the Hongshan Rescue Team will not sit idly by. To prevent this zone from expanding further, we will request a tactical nuclear weapon from Headquarters for manual delivery and detonation."

"But the Beining District is too close to our camps. Using a tactical nuke would have a devastating impact on our living environment."

Ding Yang finished speaking. Lin Qi did not reply.

Wang Ziru hesitated for a long moment but also remained silent.

The situation seemed beyond Wang Ziru’s authority; it required Lin Qi to make the final call.

Frowning, Lin Qi asked, "Could it be that the amalgamation monster in the Beining District is getting stronger?"

Ding Yang shook his head. "For an amalgamation monster to grow stronger, it needs to fuse with a large number of mutated animals. The animal population within the city of Modu is limited. If that monster were causing this phenomenon, we should have noticed it long before now."

’It’s not the amalgamation monster?’

’Then has another monster appeared in the Beining District?’

With danger looming, Lin Qi certainly wasn’t going to do nothing and wait for Ding Yang to drop a nuke.

’Even if a nuke had to be dropped, I’d have to be the one to do it.’

’The Dragon Country’s nukes in this Doomsday World have too much fallout. If one went off, the Mo University Camp would be as good as crippled.’

After a moment of thought, Lin Qi said, "I’ll go investigate as soon as possible. Director Ding, if you receive any intelligence from Headquarters, please be sure to share it with us. If I find anything, I’ll share my conclusions immediately as well."

This concerned the Mo University Camp, his foundation in this Doomsday World. Lin Qi had no choice but to take it seriously.

"Thank you. If the Mo University Camp obtains any intelligence, I will report it to Headquarters and make sure you receive the credit you’re due."

Hearing Ding Yang’s words, neither Lin Qi nor Wang Ziru paid them any mind.

’Credit?’

’Even a legendary Special Merit award would be useless in the apocalypse.’

’It’s just a piece of paper. At best, you could wave it around in front of regular survivors to act all high and mighty...’

"We can forget the credit. The Mo University Camp is more in need of resources like steel and non-ferrous metals."

Without Lin Qi needing to say a word, Wang Ziru stepped forward to present the more worldly, practical side for his leader. Lin Qi was very pleased.