Ren Kurogane's arms transformed into powerful wings, slicing through the air with practiced ease. In less than an hour, he reached L City. The moment he crossed the boundary, his phone regained a signal and immediately began to vibrate.
"Bro! I've got the office and the servers, but I haven't bought the lab equipment yet," Mu Tiancai's voice crackled through the speaker. "That stuff is insanely expensive. We're officially broke."
High-end laboratory equipment wasn't just a matter of price; it required specific departmental approvals. In their previous venture, Ren had spent months wining and dining university professors to leverage their connections just to get a basic research suite.
Thinking back to the original Zombie Brother story where Mu Tiancai developed the God Gene using nothing but elementary school lab gear, Ren couldn't help but marvel. What a freak.
"Understood. For now, focus on the app. We're calling it Douying Short Video."
"Got it! I'll prep it for launch. By the way, Ren, everything went suspiciously smooth today. It's like these people already knew exactly what we needed?" Mu Tiancai voiced his confusion.
"It's not that they knew what we wanted to do," Ren replied. "It's that whatever we want to do, they've been told to make it happen. Anyway, I'm currently flying. Let's talk once I land!"
With that, Ren hung up and banked toward Mu Tiancai's coordinates. Supported by his superhuman physique, Ren pushed his speed until Mach rings began to bloom behind him—a series of concentric circles that looked quite stylish against the clouds.
Ten minutes later, a streak of fire cut through the sky and slammed into the pavement in front of a skyscraper.
Witnesses on the street were frozen in shock.
"Holy crap! What was that? Is the virus hitting here too?!" "No idea, man." "I think it was a meteor. I actually just made a wish!"
Ren climbed out of the small crater, muttering under his breath. "Careless. I focused too much on the acceleration and forgot that braking from those speeds is a nightmare."
He had maximized his metabolic output for speed but neglected the physics of deceleration. By the time he tried to slow down, it was too late. At the last second, he had funneled all his energy into a layer of Armament Haki to ensure he wouldn't be turned into a pancake upon impact.
As for dying? Impossible. His regenerative abilities were so potent that as long as he had energy, he was effectively immortal.
Inside the building, Mu Tiancai was using his newly sprouted tentacles to move heavy equipment when he heard the commotion below. His infrasound perception told him Ren had arrived.
Does he always have to make such a loud entrance?
Mu Tiancai met him at the entrance, arriving just in time to see Ren using a crude hypnosis technique he'd swiped from the Japanese ninja to make the witnesses forget what they'd seen.
"Bro! You got here fast!" Mu Tiancai ran over, grinning. "I'm telling you, I went to get the permits today and I didn't even have to wait in line. The guy just stamped everything! I haven't felt this kind of 'no-wait' joy in years!"
Back in his prime as a top-tier researcher, Mu had enjoyed a green light everywhere. He had forgotten what it felt like to be a regular citizen treated like a nuisance by bureaucracy.
"Get used to the privilege," Ren chuckled. "Is the app live?"
"The lines are all hooked up. Just waiting for you to press the button!" Mu Tiancai said. "But honestly, can a short-video app really make money? There are plenty of sites like this already."
"We're making a mobile short-video platform. Phone technology is exploding; people carry their devices everywhere. When they have a spare minute, they pull out their phone. What are they going to look at? Trust me, this is a gold mine."
Mu Tiancai frowned, then shook his head. "I don't know. Who spends their free time staring at a tiny screen? Wouldn't they rather read a book?"
Ren simply walked past him, heading upstairs to inspect the second pillar of his future fortune.
Meanwhile, at the Yan Huang Supreme Command.
A group of high-ranking officials sat in a secure room while Qinglong addressed them.
"Based on his behavior, he doesn't seem like the type to commit treason," Qinglong stated.
"Mm. They've also started a company—short videos, apparently. Who's in charge of that sector?"
"I've already issued the directive. Anything they apply for is to be approved immediately."
"Good. And what about that man, Huang Qian?"
"The investigation is complete. He entered the academy through nepotism; every paper he's ever published was a complete fabrication."
As he spoke, the officer looked embarrassed. Who would have thought a "titan" of the academic world like Huang Qian was nothing but a fraud?
"Purge everyone associated with him," the elder commanded, his voice cold. "That parasite cost us two geniuses who could have flipped the world on its head. Also, I heard Ren Kurogane filed a formal complaint years ago?"
The elder's sharp gaze swept across the room. Every official present suddenly found the floor very interesting.
"Hmph! Qinglong, I'm handing this to Team One. Clean out the rot in the organization!"
"Understood," Qinglong nodded. Usually easygoing, he harbored a fierce hatred for corruption. If it hadn't been for the tangled web of political interests, he would have started a purge long ago. Now, he finally had his mandate.
"Now, let's discuss the Corpse King!"
T City
The Corpse King had fled H City with his "valuables." He had sent his minions across the globe to spread the virus while he focused on absorbing Blood Essence to restore his strength.
"Including the current Guardian, Yan Huang has five God-level combatants. Four of them want me dead, and the last one... I must kill personally!"
Years ago, before the Blood Lotus Sect existed, someone had swindled Long You out of his techniques in exchange for a promise to free him from the seal. That person had mastered the arts, founded the Blood Lotus, and then left Long You to rot. That betrayal was the final straw that snapped Long You's sanity.
Being imprisoned for a millennium was annoying enough; being played by a junior was unforgivable.
"It's a shame I lost Erduo and Ghost Stick at the library. If I want to collect more elites, I'll have to look toward other nations."
The only silver lining was that his Qinglong Protector was still alive. His losses weren't as total as he had feared. Long You began spreading the virus covertly; as long as he didn't trigger an immediate outbreak, the hosts wouldn't feel much of a change, continuing their lives as usual.
Yan Huang Supreme Laboratory
"After exhaustive testing, we've confirmed the serum provided by Bai Xiaofei can neutralize the Corpse Virus. As long as the host hasn't evolved into a sentient variant, they can be fully restored!"
"Can we mass-produce it?"
"Yes. The ingredients required are quite common."
The Director bit his lip, weighing the risks. "We'll observe for one more week. In the meantime, prepare two factories for trial production. If there are no issues after seven days, we go national immediately. We'll seed the clouds and rain this cure from the sky if we have to!"