Crime

If it had been before he saw these things, Xu Mu might have lent a helping hand.

He and Liang Yi could be considered to have become acquainted through their fight, but after seeing the scene before his eyes today, he firmly believed that everyone in the Immortality Research Institute deserved to die.

He definitely would not show any mercy.

Xu Mu walked deeper inside. Along the way, he saw the people here acting like walking corpses.

Especially their eyes—hollow and lifeless.

Just seeing those eyes made Xu Mu's heart feel incredibly heavy.

"Brother Mu, these people... they're beyond saving, right?"

Chen Xuan walked over from a distance, looking downcast.

Xu Mu nodded slightly. Many parts of these people's bodies had already necrotized. Unless everyone could somehow obtain a corresponding divine medicine to regenerate their destroyed bodies, it was impossible to cure them.

Following the flat stone-paved path, Xu Mu and Chen Xuan headed toward a massive spherical building in the distance.

The building was white. Unsurprisingly, it was likely a laboratory.

At this moment, Meng Wanyue stood expressionless, holding a short sword as she slaughtered the researchers here one by one.

"Don't kill me! Don't kill me! I'm innocent! I was tricked into coming here! Everything I've done was forced upon me!"

An old man wearing a white lab coat fled from the building.

Seeing Meng Wanyue catch up to him in an instant, his legs gave out from fear, and he collapsed onto the ground on the spot.

Blood seeped from his knees, starkly visible against the white lab coat.

Seeing Xu Mu and Chen Xuan walking over, he scrambled toward them, crawling and stumbling. "Help! Help me!"

Xu Mu observed the old man. His face was full of wrinkles and covered in white stubble. A lanyard with an ID badge hung over his white lab coat.

A few words were written on it: "Level 5A: Wang Guang".

"This 'Level 5A' on here... the rank shouldn't be low, right?"

Xu Mu looked down at the old man.

"Yes... Level 5A is the highest rank for a chief researcher at the Immortality Research Institute, but I was forced..."

"I'm very curious."

Xu Mu interrupted him. "Why haven't you undergone any body modifications?"

"I..."

Wang Guang lowered his head, remaining silent.

"You know full well that these modifications are harmful, so you conduct your experiments on others instead, right?"

Xu Mu shook his head slightly. "If you were truly a mad scientist who experimented on yourself, I might have actually respected you a bit more."

"You... you guys must be Cleaners, right?"

Wang Guang suddenly calmed down.

Xu Mu asked, "What are you trying to say?"

"What I want to say is that you can't kill me. I am a Level 5A researcher. I have a lot of knowledge in my head that will be of immense use to your Sanitation Department."

Wang Guang looked up at Xu Mu. "I can guarantee you that if you call the Sanitation Department right now and report my identity as a Level 5A researcher, they will definitely order you to capture me alive!"

"What you say does make sense. For anything, if you stand from the perspective of the majority, there is no absolute right or wrong."

Xu Mu nodded slightly.

This world was originally like this. As long as you were useful, even if you committed heinous crimes, you wouldn't die.

At most, you would be locked up forever to squeeze out your value.

"Exactly!"

Wang Guang's eyes burned with fervor. "I will use my knowledge to enhance your Cleaners and help you wipe out the Immortality Research Institute."

"Unfortunately, I only stand from my own perspective. In my eyes, right is right, and wrong is wrong. I have my own standards of judgment."

Xu Mu pointed at Wang Guang and said softly, "And I think you are in the wrong."

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Three dark red longswords descended from above, piercing his heart, the back of his head, and his neck, respectively.

The man before them died instantly.

Chen Xuan looked at Xu Mu with eyes full of admiration. "Brother Mu! I actually thought you were going to let him go. This kind of evil knowledge shouldn't continue to exist."

Above the head of Meng Wanyue, who was walking over from a distance, text also appeared.

[Affection +10]

"Brother Mu, there are many hostages below this laboratory."

Meng Wanyue walked over briskly.

"Let them stay inside for now. Rescuing them at this moment will only put them in more danger."

Xu Mu looked at the mountain peaks in the distance. "Let's cross over and take a look."

Chen Xuan and Meng Wanyue nodded in unison.

The three of them arrived at the top of the mountain and looked down at the scene on the opposite side. There were many individual small houses that looked like villas.

Aside from that, there was also a building that resembled a factory.

Behind these modern buildings was a palace, situated at the deepest part of the mountain peak.

Unsurprisingly, this was likely the original architecture of the ruins themselves.

"Brother Mu, these ruins are huge. It probably won't be easy to find that woman from earlier."

Chen Xuan said from the side.

"My only fear right now is that there are other exits to these ruins. If that's the case, there's a high probability she has already escaped."

Having said that, Xu Mu headed down the mountain. "Let's go down and check out the situation."

Upon getting closer to the buildings here, Xu Mu used his perception to scan the surroundings.

He discovered that there were a few individuals still sleeping inside these small villas.

Inside their rooms, Xu Mu saw white lab coats in all of them.

It seemed that the villas here were residential quarters for the researchers.

Passing through the villa street and heading toward the back, Xu Mu arrived at the factory's location.

A few people were sitting at the main gate playing cards, while inside the factory, there were some assembly line workers.

A hint of a rebellious spirit could still be seen in the eyes of these workers.

Unsurprisingly, they were not considered members of the Immortality Research Institute.

The items they were manufacturing were diverse: syringes, test tubes, and some people were even producing synthetic drugs.

As Xu Mu and the others entered the factory, one of the men who had been playing cards walked over.

"Who are you guys?"

"Who is the boss of these ruins? What's his name?"

Xu Mu asked nonchalantly.

"You're not one of us, are you, kid?"

The burly man raised his hand, and electrical currents had just begun to spark from his arm.

Suddenly, the short sword in Meng Wanyue's hand flew out and pierced straight through his arm.

Swish!

Her figure darted forward immediately after, grabbing the short sword and slicing off his arm on the spot.

In the next second, the short sword rested against the man's neck.

This entire sequence of movements was completed in a mere two seconds.

Only after Meng Wanyue's short sword appeared at his neck did the pain from his severed arm finally register.

"Ah!"

The man screamed, his face contorting in agony.

Seeing this, the remaining men hurriedly stood up and looked at the group before them with vigilance.

Just from that movement alone, it was obvious that these intruders were definitely not ordinary people.

"Same question as before. Who is the boss of these ruins? What's his name?"

Xu Mu continued to look at the burly man. "I'm only going to ask once. If you don't answer, I will sever all your limbs, and you can beg the researchers here to attach dog legs onto you."

"I'll talk... Our boss here is named Liu Ge."

The burly man, frightened pale, spoke in a panic.

"Where is he right now?" Xu Mu asked.

"He's right inside that palace in the back," the man explained.

"Who is Zi Wangyou? Have you heard this name before?"

Xu Mu suddenly asked.