Several teammates looked at their long-time colleague, their eyes brimming with intense sadness and pain.
And... a trace of fear.
It turned out that during the previous exploration, that team member had been targeted by the entity, skinned, and replaced, mixing among them all along!
If this situation continued, it would not only bring huge casualties to the squad but might even affect the entire Foundation!
"Ordinary people retreat, protect our Deceit Master!"
Yu Ku, although heartbroken, still managed to issue orders according to their tactical training.
All members immediately retreated, setting up a perimeter.
Luo Su stepped forward, looked at the rationality detection stone on his wrist, and prepared to perform his deceitful arts.
"No need to make it so complicated!"
The next moment, he saw Zhong Shenxiu swing her large black umbrella, nailing a deep silhouette to the ground.
Zhong Shenxiu smiled at them, gesturing for silence with her finger to her lips.
"Shhh... do you see? What have I found? This is a stranded entity! We could try to capture it..."
"This entity is rich in nutrients, and once skinned, can be eaten..."
As she spoke, she slid the tip of her umbrella along the back of the silhouette as if actually slicing through the layer of skin, drawing out specks of light like fireflies.
"Mmm, the texture is crunchy, with protein a hundred times that of beef..."
Zhong Shenxiu pulled out a napkin, elegantly wiping her mouth: "Thanks for the treat, much appreciated..."
In that instant, Luo Su and Yu Ku felt their thoughts grow chaotic.
Immediately after, they developed an intense fear of the person who ate entities...
People always fear the unknown.
And this Gui Yi, she didn’t seem human at all!
Compared to the skinning entity, she was more like a horror cloaked in human skin!
"Brother Gui is okay, right..."
Wan Xiaolou saw Zhong Shenxiu coming over and immediately asked with a worried face.
"I’m fine, quite happy actually, after eating, someone even offered me dessert..."
Zhong Shenxiu still leaned on her large black umbrella, even seeming somewhat reluctant to leave.
Beside her, Angel looked pale.
Just now, she had received an order from the Foundation’s highest council.
The incident had been classified as S-class top-secret, everyone who had seen it needed to be silenced—not by signing some non-disclosure agreement, but by being taken to the headquarters, where a combination of hypnosis and various deceitful arts would ensure the secret remained contained.
And its codename was—’Entity Eater’!
"Well then... goodbye, I wish you a happy life in the future... although, that’s unlikely."
Zhong Shenxiu waved her hand and got into the long black limousine provided by the Foundation.
"I always feel... that statement is quite meaningful," Wen Wanqing suddenly felt a chill.
"Mr. Gui Yi is truly wishing you well, but sadly, after experiencing an entity sighting, some of your concepts have already changed for good, making you prone to similar incidents in the future..."
Angel explained, "Next, please come with me to a location to wrap things up... Of course, my advice for you is to become employees of our Foundation, so you can retain your memories while also receiving certain protection..."
Many ordinary people who have encountered entities, if able, are typically taken in by the Foundation as peripheral members.
Otherwise, many of them would meet with misfortune in the future...
The extended limousine stopped in front of the Anywhere to Go Express Company Building and then took off as if fleeing for its life.
Zhong Shenxiu entered the building and saw many people waiting in the lobby.
Seeing her approach, they became agitated one by one: "Mr. Gui, we heard you’re leaving?"
Chu He decided to seal off the news about the foundation, after all, for an organization powerless against the current situation, telling others on different floors wasn’t much use.
In fact, it might even breed some undesirable ideas.
And in the end, it was a bit of personal interest for him.
Whether it was Gui Yi’s secrets or the foundation’s content, they were the thirteenth floor’s wealth, which could increase their chances of escaping this building!
Why share it with others?
"Let me correct one thing, I didn’t resign, I took paid leave."
Zhong Shenxiu said with a smile on his face, "And... this can’t be changed! Do you want to stop me from taking a vacation?"
Thinking of what he had done before, the others instantly fell silent as if they were hit by a cold spell.
"However... before I leave, the shop will open for one last time."
Zhong Shenxiu added at the end, "So... go raise money quickly, after this sale, that’s it... Han Bingjie, you come with me."
He pointed to the people of the thirteenth floor and entered the guardroom.
Seeing this scene, people from other floors couldn’t help but show deep envy and jealousy...
Inside the guardroom.
It was Han Bingjie’s first visit, and he was immediately stunned by the splendor of the palace, "Brother Gui... compared to you, even the luxurious mansions and villas of the top managers are no better than dog kennels."
Others struggled with life and death in the company, while Brother Gui was here for a vacation.
No wonder he was reluctant to leave.
If it were him, he wouldn’t want to leave either!
Zhong Shenxiu opened a room, inside was a shelf filled with various supernatural items.
"Out of consideration for our past relationship, these are priority for you to choose."
He said with a smile, tossing a piece of skin to Han Bingjie.
"Brother Gui, what is this?"
Han Bingjie hurriedly caught it, looking puzzled.
"This is a piece of skin, peeled from a deceiving one!"
Zhong Shenxiu’s mouth curved into a slight arc, seeing Han Bingjie’s horrified expression, he continued, "And after my tanning, it has become a supernatural item that can be used repeatedly. Just wear it, and you’ll be treated as one of the deceiving kind... They generally don’t attack their own, and its scent also has a certain dispersing effect."
Han Bingjie was overjoyed; it was a reusable amulet for survival.
Much better than those disposable dispersing items.
Unsurprisingly, he saw the extremely envious looks from Murong Hong and the Yue Shan siblings.
"However, it has its drawbacks, you can’t wear it for too long or use it too many times... Otherwise, you won’t be able to take it off, it will truly merge with you, become your skin... and then, it will continuously revive and erode you, turning you into a deceiving one!"
Zhong Shenxiu continued to disclose the drawbacks, causing a conflicted expression to appear on Han Bingjie’s face.
Using the power of the deceiving ones with a human body always came at a cost.
At the entrance of the building.
Han Bingjie and others stood in a row to see off Zhong Shenxiu on his trip.
Different from before, each of them seemed to have undergone some change.
The one who changed the most was Chu He.
This wise man was now wearing a white eyepatch, not like those pirate captains, but more like... a two-dimensional tsundere?