The CEO issued an order for men to investigate the people who had vanished from the island.
“Find out exactly who is missing. Pull up all files, photos, and records, and check them one by one.”
As those words echoed, several executives hurried away.
Some went to the archives, some to the monitoring center, and others directly to various departments.
It seemed like a reasonable order, and no one raised any objections.
However, if a sober observer had been standing there at that moment, they might have noticed a strange phenomenon.
The order itself was problematic.
In a situation where the enemy's location and methods were unknown, the correct course of action should have been to tighten defenses, consolidate strength, and protect core personnel, rather than scattering people to investigate.
Unfortunately, no one thought of this at the moment.
Including the CEO himself.
He stood where he was, watching the executives leave. A thought flashed through his mind: I should go to...
Go where?
His train of thought suddenly stalled.
Something was wrong!
The CEO closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
What was that thought that just popped into his head?
To investigate?
To go to the archives himself?
To abandon the burden of his position and act alone while the enemy's situation was still unclear?
That wasn't right.
He shouldn't be making a decision like that.
The CEO opened his eyes, his gaze sharp.
He was no fool, and he quickly realized something.
His current state was not right.
Those negative, dark thoughts were frantically gaining the upper hand, interfering with his judgment and eroding his reason bit by bit.
That order just now...
He turned to look at the executives who had already walked away.
If they were being affected just like him...
“Damn it.”
The CEO cursed under his breath but didn't call them back.
Deep down, he felt that letting them be alone wasn't such a bad thing; he might as well use their lives to test the waters.
...
The first one to meet with trouble was a middle-manager.
His name was Vazalun, and he was the deputy director of the logistics department.
Upon hearing the CEO's order, he had taken the initiative to go to the archives to verify the list.
On the surface, he was being diligent, but in reality, he wanted to take the opportunity to slip away from the crowd.
He had worked for the group for years and knew everything about the place like the back of his hand.
The atmosphere in the meeting room, the people mysteriously vanishing from the island, that eerie sense of dissonance—all of it reminded him of one thing: this island was about to face a massive problem.
He wasn't stupid.
At a time like this, what was the most important thing?
Loyalty and responsibility?
Bullshit.
It was staying alive!
Vazalun hurried through the corridor toward the archives.
His plan was simple: go to the archives, pretend to investigate, then slip out the back door and run off with whatever funds he could grab.
When it was all over, no matter who won, he would be a survivor.
As for the group's interests and the other executives?
What did he care?
Survival came first; only the living had the right to worry about what happened next.
He reached a relatively secluded corridor, his pace quickening.
Suddenly, the hair on his neck stood up. His physical instincts screamed a warning, and a sense of crisis flooded his mind.
He stopped and looked back.
The corridor behind him was empty.
He turned back and continued forward.
After a few steps, he stopped again.
Three figures had appeared in front of him at some unknown point.
A cold-looking man stood at the front with his arms crossed.
A guy with horns on his head was there, his horns burning as he grinned, revealing a mouth full of sharp teeth.
And then there was a pale man with glowing red eyes and fangs, looking at him as if he were a piece of food.
Vazalun was startled and turned to run.
Bad luck, bad luck, bad luck! I actually ran into the enemy!
“The first one—a straggler,” the demon man said, his voice raspy and excited.
The vampire sniffed the air. “He smells terrible.”
The Captain waved his hand.
In the next second, the two figures pounced simultaneously.
Vazalun's scream was cut short before it even reached its peak.
...
Elsewhere, the CEO led the remaining executives to the command hall.
Some people had left the group just now; they had completely stopped following orders, each harboring their own little schemes.
The CEO let them be, allowing them to act on their own.
This island was very wrong. Some kind of power was interfering with them, causing wicked thoughts to sprout in everyone.
It was likely the enemy's doing. Those who went off alone would not meet a good end.
The CEO was right.
The executives who acted alone, trying to run away with money or hide, had already been targeted and killed by the Reincarnator squad.
In the command hall, the remaining dozen or so executives gathered together.
“Don't move. From now on, no one is allowed to leave my sight,” the CEO said coldly.
Many showed confused expressions, lost in thought.
But no one spoke up in opposition. Those who remained were clearly more rational and could barely hold on a little longer without being consumed by their wicked thoughts.
Just then, the hall door was kicked open.
Three figures strode in.
The flames atop the demon man's head flickered. “Found you. You're all gathered quite nicely. Saves us the trouble of hunting you down one by one.”
The vampire was trembling slightly, a sign that he was excited to the extreme.
The Captain stood between them, his gaze calmly sweeping over the crowd.
“The executives of the Deep Blue Route... are you all here?”
The CEO's brow furrowed.
He looked at the three of them, his mind racing.
All three looked powerful.
The man with horns smelled of sulfur, like the abyssal creatures mentioned in the records.
The other one with fangs and red eyes might be a vampire, a ghoul, or some kind of corpse demon.
As for the leader, he couldn't see through him.
There were only three enemies.
While on his side, there were over a dozen people.
“Move out.”
The Captain didn't give the CEO any more time to think.
As soon as he spoke, the battle erupted.
The demon man pounced first.
His speed was astonishingly fast, leaving a trail of afterimages as he headed straight for the nearby bearded executive.
The flames on his head expanded, turning into a searing fireball that smashed down toward the bearded man.
The bearded man reacted quickly. While retreating rapidly, his hands formed signs, and a water curtain appeared out of thin air, blocking the fireball.
Sizzle.
Water and fire collided, and steam exploded, filling the entire hall.
“Ninjutsu?” the demon man cried out in surprise.
Why were there folks from the village here too? They even knew Ninjutsu?
From the look of it, it was an advanced Water Release technique that had been optimized to reduce the number of hand signs.
The vampire launched his attack at the same time. His body turned into a cloud of black mist, weaving through the steam and silently pouncing on another target: the Chief Scientist.
The Chief Scientist looked frail, and his reactions weren't particularly fast.
He pulled a small amulet from his pocket and crushed it with force.
A golden light shield instantly enveloped him. The black mist that the vampire had become slammed into the shield and was sent flying back.
The vampire landed, reverting to his human form. He licked the corner of his mouth, the red light in his eyes growing even brighter.
“A protective item? Nice. It'll be mine soon enough.”
Rate on N.U.
