Luo Feng entered the office.
Inside was a normal setting.
It wasn't that Luo Feng was expecting a creepy hook or a torture chamber, but he just didn't think a madman's office would be so… neat.
The leather seat and mahogany desk were bathed in natural lighting from the open window.
A breeze drifted in and swept across the neatly arranged papers on the table.
The owner of the office, however, was dressed in a sweater vest and brown pants with leather shoes.
He looked like any regular office worker.
"Hello," the principal sounded excited as he gestured for Luo Feng to sit.
Luo Feng cautiously took a seat on the chair opposite his. His posture was stiff.
The principal didn't seem to mind and smiled happily at him, like he was excited to see an old friend.
Luo Feng shivered.
"How did you find out about the horde?" Luo Feng went straight to the point.
His eyes were sharp as he looked at the principal for his response.
"Well, it was because the voices in my head told me they were approaching," the principal said, pointing to his skull.
"What did they say exactly?" Luo Feng was clearly disbelieving.
"The voices whispered about the destruction of the base due to the horde," the principal said calmly.
"How come you have such a deep trust in whispers that plague your mind? What if it's not true and you're just a madman?" Luo Feng probed him.
He wanted to test two things.
First was the credibility of these so-called voices in the principal's head.
He refused to believe that such a fantasy element would also exist in a zombie apocalypse.
Since when did mysterious whispers from beyond human comprehension just happen to a person—especially in the middle of the apocalypse?
It wasn't that Luo Feng had a traditional view of zombies that he stubbornly stuck to.
He had heard about other genres like fantasy from the teenagers who used to come to the convenience store.
Some of the anime about zombies had an extra twist to make them stand out from all the other generic plots.
But he had never heard of one that turned into an "evil god cult" situation.
That led to the second thing he wanted to test—whether the principal was truly a madman, or both.
He insulted the man's belief on purpose to see his reaction.
After all, whether the voices were real or not, it didn't stop him from almost worshipping them.
"But it is true, so your question is irrelevant," the principal answered calmly.
He didn't seem to mind the doubt and accusations thrown his way.
"Do you have proof?" Luo Feng raised an eyebrow.
"Unfortunately, the voices only reply to those who are chosen." The principal sighed and looked at Luo Feng in pity.
"Then how do I become one of the chosen ones?" Luo Feng felt the principal was the worst kind of madman from that response—a fanatic of some evil cult.
Truly despicable bastards always made up such kinds of cults.
"If you sincerely accept your desires, then you might have a 50% chance," the principal offered earnestly.
"What desires do you think that might be?" Luo Feng asked curiously.
"That is only something known between you and the voices," the principal said.
Luo Feng ignored the issue of contacting those voices after that. He just took it as the ramblings of a cultist.
After all, it sounded sketchy and not at all reliable.
"When did you hear these voices?" Luo Feng asked. He decided to change his approach, focusing on the source of the voices.
"It happened while I tried to escape the orphanage after all the children inside turned." The principal sighed.
"Who exactly are you in the Noi family to have so many seasoned militants with you? After all, the head of an orphanage sounds like someone with pretty low standing," Luo Feng said ambiguously.
He wanted to ask a third question: where exactly were these militants while you were escaping?
"As you know, the Noi family places great importance on ensuring the public has trust in them," the principal spoke.
"So the orphanage was seen as a big deal to them. They cared a lot about those kids' happiness—especially the special group."
The principal looked melancholic as he smiled gently into the air.
"You mean the group of disabled kids they specially took care of?" Luo Feng remembered the original owner seeing it on the news one day.
But the original owner didn't pay attention, because the happenings of nobles didn't concern him.
At most, he thought those kids were quite lucky.
"Those kids weren't just a group of disabled people—they were the true representation of what our orphanage was about," the principal said.
"Especially my favorite child, Noi Karn."
The principal now had a doting smile on his face.
...
Somewhere on the road away from the base where the conversation was happening, six people sat inside a van driving along the desolate road.
Noi Karn felt his skin tingle and goosebumps rise.
He stared blankly out the window as sad memories seemed to creep at the edge of his consciousness.
The malice he had unknowingly cast aside was like a beast trying to claw out of its cage.
But his thoughts were interrupted by someone squeezing his cheeks until his face was deformed.
Noi Karn frowned and tried to yank off the female hand belonging to Shae Harris.
"Come on, it's your turn." She removed her hand and handed him the game console.
Noi Karn wanted to refuse. After all, a blind man couldn't play this type of game.
"Just take it. There's no way you can be worse than the three of them," Shae Harris said, pointing to Ming Jun, Wei Zhi, and Mori Aoi.
The three of them: "Hey!"
"That's just because you cheated all the time," Ming Jun and Wei Zhi huffed.
"I'm sorry…" Mori Aoi deflated and bowed her head.
"Don't worry about it, you're still better than these two idiots." Shae Harris turned to her and hugged her by wrapping her hands around her shoulder.
"Hehe." Mori Aoi giggled slightly.
"Traitor!" Ming Jun and Wei Zhi pointed at her.
Shae Harris stuck her tongue out at them.
"I can't stand this. Noi Karn, show them who's boss," Ming Jun said.
"Yeah, go for it, youngest!" Shae Harris raised a fist and cheered. She was already looking at Noi Karn excitedly.
"But I can't see the screen," Noi Karn was speechless.
"I'll help you." Shae Harris came to his back and stretched both hands out to cover his.
Noi Karn froze as he felt half her weight lean on his shoulder.
Noi Karn: so heavy!
"Don't suffocate the poor boy." Ming Jun rolled his eyes and yanked her off.
"Jealous that it wasn't you?" Shae Harris sat back down with a huff and pouted at Ming Jun.
"What—no—I—he was obviously uncomfortable!" Ming Jun was flustered and tried to explain.
Shae Harris laughed at his expression, and he finally stopped looking so flustered.
"That would be cheating," Ming Jun coughed and glared at her.
At the back, Mori Aoi tugged on the sleeve of the boy beside her.
Wei Zhi always felt that this girl loved selling him out even though she always stuck close to him.
He pouted, feeling betrayed again, and didn't want to respond.
Mori Aoi blinked, unsure what to do, then teared up.
Wei Zhi was now the flustered one, clumsily rubbing her head. The tears didn't fall after all, and she turned back to the others.
Wei Zhi: sigh, I just can't bear to see her cry.
He chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck while his ears turned red at the tips.
"You can do it, youngest!" Mori Aoi cheered, interrupting the two who were glaring at each other in front.
"Yeah!" the others chorused.
At that point, Noi Karn felt both funny and happy.
Funny because he was blind, but they seemed to ignore it—choosing instead to believe he was so amazing that his lack of vision didn't exist.
And happy because, for the first time, he felt he wasn't blind.
Although his world was dark, it suddenly felt like it didn't matter. Being blind didn't matter.
So he said nothing and played a round.
He was clumsy at first, since he couldn't really see the screen and could only make out the outline of the character's body.
But after he finished one round, the others praised him to the sky.
"You're definitely better than this guy," Shae Harris said proudly, pointing at Ming Jun.
Ming Jun's hands itched, wondering if he should beat her up. Instead, he opted to tickle her.
Shae Harris dodged his chubby fingers and retaliated by pinching him.
"Either you settle down or you get down." Yi Zheng glared at them through the rearview mirror.
The two buried their heads and stopped making trouble, while Mori Aoi and Wei Zhi laughed happily.
Ming Jun and Shae Harris turned to glare at them—then gave each other a side glance.
Translation:
Shae Harris: let's get them together.
Ming Jun: ok.
So the war extended to the two at the back.
Yi Zheng slammed the brakes, and the van went silent as they were thrown forward.
He turned back sharply. "Sit down!"
The two troublemakers sat down and buried their heads even deeper.
Yi Zheng rolled his eyes and started driving again.
Noi Karn: pff.
He ended up chuckling. The laughter was infectious and spread in the van.
Noi Karn had already forgotten the chill he felt.
...
"What are you doing?" Luo Feng asked, seated back at the base.
The principal, who had been looking into the distance after mentioning a child, snapped back into attention.
"I'm just thinking about my best child. Don't mind me," the principal said.
Luo Feng felt he couldn't get anything substantial out of the madman like this.
He considered whether to use threats to make him reveal something important.
"You haven't asked about the other 50% yet," the principal suddenly said.
"So what's the other 50% chance that can make me hear the voices?" Luo Feng asked, following his lead.
"First, you would have to renounce that thing in you." The principal pointed to his heart.
Luo Feng froze.
The only thing he could be talking about was… the system.
Did he know Luo Feng had a system? How? Did he have a system himself? When?
What should I do in this type of situation…
Luo Feng felt a huge surge of panic.
It was like a person hiding a treasure underground in a locked bunker only they could access—only for a random stranger to show up inside their house, holding that same treasure.
It was too bizarre and too dangerous.
"It's your choice, and I'll be glad to help if you have any questions." The principal spoke calmly, as if discussing recipes.
"But I must remind you that I have no answers to any question you might want to ask me." He held up a palm to stop him from speaking.
[ Host please focus on the mission ]
This time the system's tone was displeased, and it directly showed.
Luo Feng calmed himself and shut his mouth.
It seemed he wouldn't be able to get the system's secrets just yet.
But this madman was also someone not to be trusted.
Luo Feng stood up and left the office. He felt he needed space to think more about the future developments.
[ You don't need to ponder about anything ]
[ Complete the mission or die ]
[ Your choice ]
Then the system went silent.