Just then, the door swung open, and Overseer Kira strode in, clad in a long white gown. The slit of her dress climbed so high that it was almost scandalous, hinting at her figure beneath.
Xiang Yu’s brow arched in surprise. From what he knew, the Overseer was a strict woman who favoured modesty, her attire a reflection of her matriarchal authority. This sudden change made him immediately alert.
As she moved gracefully into the room, he followed her with his gaze, noting the tension in the air shift. The playful smile slipped from his face, replaced by a tense awareness.
When Kira finally met his gaze, she glared at him with a fiery blaze in her eyes, as if she could burn a hole through him with her stare.
The atmosphere thickened with intensity, and the leaders, momentarily silenced by her presence, shifted uneasily.
Xiang Yu smirked, leaning back in his chair. "Mother, shouldn’t you be happy to see your adopted son back home alive?"
The Overseer’s expression hardened. She didn’t want to play this game with him. Ignoring his words, she said through gritted teeth, "Please, let’s calm down and discuss this."
Xiang Yu watched her with amusement as he took his feet off the table, the tension in the room thickening. Finally, the Overseer turned to him and, with a firm tone, ordered, "Take him away. I will deal with him later."
Xiang Yu didn’t resist. He followed the security personnel out of the room. They led him to a double-doored room, its silence amplifying the click of the lock as the door secured behind him.
The large lounging area was comfortable. Xiang Yu sat down with no worry about being confined.
Meanwhile, back at the meeting room, the Overseer stood at the head of the table, her face a mask of composure. "As I mentioned to you before, I am truly disheartened by what happened to your cities," she stated, her voice steady.
"If my son is responsible, I will give you an explanation. I hope you can be patient with me. I will provide a thorough explanation, and if he did it, you are free to decide the punishment."
The group’s tension eased slightly, murmurs of nervous agreement weaving through the air. For a moment, it appeased their anger, but their unease lingered.
The Overseer smiled, a calm expression gracing her features. "For now, please enjoy this meal that I prepared for you. You must not have had time to eat anything."
At her command, the double doors swung open, revealing a parade of waiters who brought in a lavish feast. Dishes filled with vibrant colours and rich aromas filled the room, and one could say the Overseer was especially generous today. The scent of roasted meats and fresh vegetables wafted through the air, enticing every attendee.
However, one person remained sceptical. It was Warden Udrich of the Sanguine. He observed the opulence of the spread with narrowed eyes.
"Please, enjoy," Kira encouraged, her voice smooth as silk.
Just as the Overseer turned to leave, Warden Udrich spoke up, "You aren’t going to join us?"
Without missing a beat, she replied, "I am going to find out what happened for you."
The warden opened his mouth to say something else, but before he could gather his thoughts, she walked out, leaving the tension lingering.
As the others settled down, they began to enjoy the meal, their initial wariness slipping away under the comforting warmth of the food. But not Warden Udrich. He felt a persistent suspicion bubbling inside him, especially after Xiang Yu’s remarks.
After a few bites, he rose from his seat, announcing, "I am going to rest."
The service staff moved to open the door for him, but when they reached for the handle, the door refused to budge. A frown crossed his face, confusion turning to concern. He pulled on the handle himself, but it remained locked tight.
Udrich’s heart raced. Something was off. The lavish meal suddenly felt like a gilded cage, and he could not shake the feeling that they were trapped in a game far larger than they realised.
The service staff pressed against the door, convinced it was jammed. He pulled the handle with all his strength, but it wouldn’t budge. Frustrated, he knocked, hoping for a response. Silence greeted him, thickening the air around them.
Other diners glanced over, pausing mid-bite. "What’s wrong?" one of them asked, brows furrowing in concern.
Udrich kept his gaze on the door. "The doors aren’t opening."
The room fell silent for a brief moment, uncertainty saturating the atmosphere. Then panic rippled through the group. They rose from their seats, hurriedly approaching the door as three more people joined in trying to push it open. Their collective effort yielded no results.
Amidst the commotion, a low rumbling sound emerged from beneath the table. It was subtle at first, but one woman noticed and turned her attention downward. A dark opening began to form at the head of the table, and confusion filled her face as she peered into the darkness.
Without warning, a terrible smell wafted up from the hole, and recognition chilled her spine. Her eyes widened, the colour draining from her face. She froze, frozen in fear as her heart raced.
Then, a horrifying zombie growl erupted from the depths below. An ugly, rotting hand clawed its way out of the opening.
She screamed, the noise slicing through the room like a knife. Instantly, chaos erupted. Chairs toppled over as everyone scrambled for their weapons, but the chilling realisation struck them all. They had a rule not to bring any firearms into alliance meetings.
They cursed the Overseer to death, their voices rising in a furious chorus as they scrambled to pick up anything they could find—forks, table knives, trays, and even broken glass.
The first zombie clambered out of the hole, and one of the men thrust a fork at it. To their shock, the creature dodged, moving with an agility they had never seen in a mindless zombie before.
These zombies were different. They were smarter and stronger, bending the expectations of what the group had learned to survive. The fight erupted in chaos, fierce and desperate.
Screams and grunts filled the air as they fought back, slashing at the undead with whatever makeshift weapons they could grasp.
Just when they thought they were gaining the upper hand, more zombies crawled from the depths, adding to the nightmare. The room was a whirlwind of terror, with loud knocks against the door and windows as they cried for help.
In stark contrast to the chaos unfolding, Xiang Yu sat casually in the lounging room, his device rapidly hacking into the system. He observed the whirling numbers and codes on the screen, focused and unhurried, waiting for the process to finish.
Suddenly, the door opened, and the Overseer stepped inside, her expression ugly and fierce but Xiang Yu remained seated with a sense of calmness about him that was almost unsettling.
Before he could say anything, he noticed a figure stumbling behind her. It was someone who looked exactly like Han Xin.