Chapter 265 - 227: Mastery of Countering Face-Reading

Chapter 265: Chapter 227: Mastery of Countering Face-Reading

The voice was unsettling. Lin Fan rejected the call request, but that didn’t mean he was refusing to talk to them.

He reached down and picked up the can, opened it, and stuck a finger inside to poke around. The translucent, diamond-shaped crystals clinked against the tin wall, creating a pleasant CLINK CLANK sound.

With a thought, he moved them all into his backpack inventory.

The can was instantly empty. But Lin Fan’s expression didn’t change in the slightest; not even a flicker in his eyes. He nonchalantly pulled his finger out, sealed the lid tightly, and slowly placed the can back on the concrete ground by his feet.

The very picture of someone too proud to accept a handout.

"Two different species? I’ve never thought of it that way..."

Lin Fan straightened up, wiping the rainwater from his hands onto his clothes. A look of confusion and contemplation crossed his face, like a young man who had stumbled upon great power and was just now being introduced to a new worldview. He looked up, his clear eyes fixed on the woman across from him, and asked,

"Does that mean ordinary people can’t evolve?"

Across from him, Zheng Lv stared intently through the lenses of her gas mask, watching Lin Fan’s every move.

She saw him crush the walkie-talkie, a slap in the face to her boss, and then refuse to take the crystals. She couldn’t figure out what he was planning.

But when she heard his question, she sensed his tone softening. She chalked his earlier actions up to the arrogance of the powerful—just posturing.

It’s not the arrogant ones you fear, it’s the silent ones. As long as they were willing to talk, the deal was halfway done. This was a lesson she’d learned from years of doing business.

’Too young.’

Zheng Lv made a silent judgment.

He looked to be in his early twenties, a bit younger than her. His eyes were cold, yes, but they lacked the murky cunning and cruelty of a seasoned schemer. Instead, they held a kind of collegiate simplicity and stubbornness.

People like him usually just got lucky, awakening a powerful Superpower, but their minds hadn’t fully adapted to this dog-eat-dog world.

This kind of hot-headed greenhorn was the easiest to fool.

A contemptuous smile formed on Zheng Lv’s lips beneath her gas mask. In her eyes, a young man like this—who’d gained incredible power but had no idea how the world worked—was like an unsharpened blade. All you had to do was show him a little respect, feed him a little "truth," and he’d be easy to control.

"For you to have grown so strong, you must have observed the Mutated Zombies..."

Like a patient mentor, Zheng Lv began her demonstration for Lin Fan. She slowly extended her right hand. The slender, pale palm looked exceptionally fragile in the curtain of rain. And yet, with just that hand, she gently pressed down.

WHOOSH...

Standing to her right, the three-meter-tall Giant-Armed Zombie let out a low, submissive growl from its throat. Its deformed, swollen right arm—as thick as a bucket—slowly rose with a CREAK of stretching fibers, generating a heavy wave of pressure.

THUD.

The massive fist, powerful enough to crush a car, landed gently by Zheng Lv’s feet, splashing up a small ring of muddy water. The monster, which knew only destruction and slaughter, was now like a docile dog, humbly prostrated at its master’s feet. ℯℯ𝑙.

"These ’defective products’ that have lost their minds but possess great power are still an indispensable part of the evolutionary path..."

Her finger traced the air, gesturing toward the gnarled, muscular arm. Her voice, coming through the mask, was laced with a matter-of-fact cruelty.

"And where do the so-called ’ordinary people’ fit into this grand chain of evolution?"

She casually waved her hand back. The Giant-Armed Zombie immediately seemed to have received a pardon, shrinking back into the shadows and once again becoming a silent statue.

"They are ’fuel,’ and they are ’fodder’..."

Zheng Lv’s voice grew louder, almost to the point of being grating to Lin Fan’s ears.

"Their weak bodies have no value other than wasting food. But their flesh and blood can be ’processed’ for the first time by the zombies’ ’digestive systems,’ mutating to create immense power. Then, through our slaughter of the mutated, we finally obtain these precious ’crystals’!"

She pointed a finger at the can by Lin Fan’s feet, her eyes filled with fanaticism.

"These crystals are absorbed by ’talented,’ chosen ones like you and me, becoming our ladder to godhood."

Rain streamed down her gas mask, reflecting a cold light.

"So, don’t think of us as cruel. We are merely ’refining’ the necessary ’fuel’... Those ordinary people are not without meaning," Zheng Lv said, spreading her hands. Her tone even carried a hint of pity.

"It’s just that the insignificant meaning of their lives can only be fully realized through our evolution."

"If you’re willing, you can join us. The boss appreciates the strong. You can have a share of the resources here."

She paused, extending a final olive branch.

"If you’re not willing, consider these crystals a token of friendship..."

After listening to her whole speech, Lin Fan couldn’t help but applaud her in his mind.

Her explanation of the mutation conditions for humans, zombies, and Mutated Zombies was basically identical to his own observations and conclusions.

Too bad her initial premise was wrong. No matter how much research you do, if the direction is wrong, it’s all useless.

Still, he nodded as if accepting her explanation. He lowered his gaze and bit his lip, putting on a conflicted expression.

"Sigh... Alright, fine."

He sighed and tapped the tin can on the ground with his foot. The killing intent in his voice vanished, replaced by a kind of street-smart shrewdness.