After the darkness!

The sensor silently scanned his facial features.

"drop".

A soft sound.

The sleek silver elevator doors slid open smoothly to both sides.

Under the complex gazes of the two front desk employees, Lin Yijue stepped into the elevator car.

The elevator doors slowly closed, cutting off outside view, while cold numbers silently danced on the LCD screen.

The car ascended rapidly.

We soon arrived at the sixth floor.

A familiar layout.

The sixth-floor office area was still bustling with busy people moving around.

Lin Yijue walked straight to the innermost office and pushed open the door.

Wang Mingde was standing with his back to the door, in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, whispering something to a girl.

The girl was wearing a bright pink teddy bear plush coat, with her hair tied in slightly fluffy pigtails. Her profile revealed a delicate nose and pink lips.

She had her hands in the large pockets of her coat, shifting her weight impatiently between her feet, the heels of her round-toed shoes grinding lightly on the carpet.

"...Therefore, we need to pay extra attention to his mental state..."

Wang Mingde's words came to an abrupt halt with the sound of the door opening.

He slowly turned around, his face expressionless, and nodded when he saw that it was Lin Yijue.

"This is Lin Yijue. He's new to our team, codename '48.' His nickname... well..."

Wang Mingde seemed to think for a second, or perhaps he was too lazy to think about it, and casually said, "I haven't taken it yet, just call me whatever you want."

After saying that, he gestured to the girl: "This is 'Code Name 46,' Tian Tian. She joined before you. You can call her 'Candy.' Right, Candy?"

The girl, with her hands still in her pockets, slowly turned around and looked directly at Lin Yijue.

Her face was small and fair, like a delicate porcelain doll, but her eyes were unusually calm, even empty, unlike those of people her age who were full of energy.

A pink coat, a dark skirt, and pure white over-the-knee socks are typical anime/manga style.

However, he exuded a cold aura that kept strangers at bay.

Lin Yijue nodded politely to her.

However, the girl's gaze lingered on his face for less than a second before she abruptly turned away, her eyes returning to the lush greenery by the window.

There was no response whatsoever.

Lin Yijue didn't take it to heart.

He looked at Wang Mingde, "You asked me to come here, surely it wasn't just to let me meet some new friends?"

Wang Mingde smiled on his pale, sickly face.

"Of course not," he said slowly. "When I, Wang Mingde, do business, I always insist on paying the fee first, then discussing the business."

As soon as he finished speaking, he gently tapped the surface of the large office desk.

Almost simultaneously, an inconspicuous hidden door in the corner of the office slid open silently.

He stepped forward and took out two large silver low-temperature preservation boxes from the hidden door.

A fine layer of white frost had formed on the surface of the box, and the chill emanating from it seemed to lower the temperature in the office by several degrees.

Wang Mingde casually pointed to the boxes: "Black Forest Python meat, core abdominal section. Level 2 exotic beast, just 'delivered' from area number three outside the high walls yesterday. One box each for the two of you."

He paused for a moment, then added, "Consider it a 'deposit' for completing today's task and a company benefit."

As soon as he finished speaking, it was clear that the girl who had been indifferent was now somewhat moved.

His gaze remained fixed on the box.

"As for the mission," Wang Mingde stepped forward, "the mission is to pick up someone."

"A little kid."

His tone became clear and calm: "This child's name is 'Luqi.' A high school student, both of his parents are infected and are currently 'missing.'"

"This Lu Qi... his situation is very special. Because of his parents, the phallus within him should have already awakened, and the type of awakening is quite peculiar."

He is currently a student at No. 9 Middle School in the city, in Class 7 of the third year of high school. His performance at school is average; this is the specific situation.

As Wang Mingde spoke, he took out two envelopes from his bag, one for each of them, and handed them to Lin Yijue and Tian Tian.

Lin Yijue took the envelope and opened it.

Inside was a stack of photos and an identity information form.

The photo is a snapshot of a young man's life.

A messy bowl cut, and sparse acne on a sallow complexion.

The boys in the photos always have their heads down, either huddled in a corner of the classroom or eating alone from their cafeteria plates.

Or perhaps he sits alone on a deserted park bench, where even the children on the slide seem more lively than him.

A bit unlucky...

After looking at the information sheet next to him, Lin Yijue finally understood why this kid was so unlucky.

His parents "disappeared" when he was twelve, just after graduating from elementary school. Of course, they were publicly known as martial artists working in a settlement outside the high walls. From junior high school onwards, Lu Qi boarded at his uncle's house.

Of course, before this, Lucci's parents hadn't truly disappeared; they simply stopped staying in the city after awakening their Devouring Body, and instead sent money back every month through connections, which ended up in the hands of Lucci's uncle's family.

This amount of money wasn't much, but it wasn't insignificant either. With this money, Lu Qi was able to attend good schools throughout junior high and high school.

Perhaps due to family reasons, his grades have never been very good, and he's always been a nobody in class.

Oh, and he also has a cousin, his uncle's son. The two are about the same age and have attended the same school since they were little.

However, his cousin consistently achieved excellent grades.

Perhaps this is why Lucci became even more introverted.

After quickly reading the information, Lin Yijue felt that the other party was very similar to the original owner of the body. No, in some ways, the other party was even more miserable than the original owner.

After all, the original owner had biological parents. Even if they didn't pay enough attention to her before because of her grades and personality, their love was at least genuine.

As for this Lu Qi, he was staying at his uncle's house. Even though his family paid him money every month, it must have felt different for a teenager.

"So the mission is to find him and bring him here?" Lin Yijue looked up, his gaze sharp. He didn't believe things were that simple. "His parents asked you to do this?"

Tian Tian also raised her empty eyes and looked silently at Wang Mingde.

Two boxes of valuable black python meat as a "deposit" would certainly not be exchanged for a simple pick-up and drop-off job.

The smile on Wang Mingde's face disappeared. He walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window and turned his back to the two of them.

"The child's parents..." he began slowly, his voice carrying a hazy, reminiscent quality.

"I do know them. Before they 'left,' they entrusted their child and a large sum of 'savings' to their trusted older brother, who is now Lucci's uncle. But these parents are very likely still alive."

"Still alive?" Lin Yijue felt a chill run down his spine.

“That’s right,” Wang Mingde turned around, his gaze sweeping over Lin Yijue and Tian Tian’s faces as if inspecting weapons, “The living ones might… not be the ‘humans’ you know.”

He paused slightly, "The money they 'sent' back was less like child support and more like a mark, a mark that maintained their last instincts."

Lin Yijue felt a chill run down his spine. He didn't quite understand.

"The phallus within Lucci's body has most likely awakened due to genetics and his long-term repression, and according to my judgment, its characteristics are extremely rare and dangerous."

Wang Mingde's voice carried a hint of solemnity, "Simply put, if we find him, we can basically find his parents, which is very important."

"Therefore, we must bring him here safely, quickly, and secretly before he completely loses control or gets into trouble."