Chapter 424: Hidden Boss?

Two people in white coats stood behind the corridor corner, one leaning against the wall, the other still tapping nonstop on the communicator.

The one who just spoke was the one leaning against the wall; his voice was kept low, but it could still be heard clearly in the empty corridor.

The one holding the data tablet didn't look up; he swiped the screen and said, "Follow the orders from above—don't question, just act."

"We just carry out the department head's orders. When the vice department head arrives, we'll hand over the items to him, then return to the lab to do our own work."

"Vice department head?" The one leaning against the wall frowned. "Isn't that the new student the department head just took on?"

"Hmm."

"...... But I heard he's only in his early teens."

The communicator was finally set down; that person lifted his head and gave him a warning glance. "The department head's choice of who to appoint naturally has his reasons. Are the things ready?"

The one leaning against the wall scratched his head. "It's right here with me, but I don't get why it has to be handed over in person—"

He couldn't finish, because out of the corner of his eye he caught a flash of Ying Guang Lu at the corner.

That spot had been empty just a moment ago, but now a person stood there.

The Ying Guang Lu–tinged hair shone brightly under the light, yet he only felt an inexplicable chill down his back.

The two people in white coats froze at once; the one holding the communicator reacted fastest, his lips moving. "Vice… vice department head, greetings."

Ying Duo's gaze lingered on each of their faces for a second, then settled on the person's hand.

"Do you have something to give me?" he asked, though his tone sounded like a certainty.

The white‑coated person leaning against the wall staggered, then nodded quickly; his hand trembled as he passed over the item.

Ying Duo took it and glanced; it was a thin, specially made metal card etched with complex rune circuits.

But the runes on it seemed to have no actual function, appearing more like an identification mark……

The game system popped up a line in his vision: 【Obtained Item: Prison Door Key (Dome Mutation Department D-301)】.

Ying Duo casually stashed the item into his game backpack, then glanced at the two white‑coated individuals.

"Anything else?"

"No, no." The two almost shook their heads in unison, their movements as if rehearsed.

Ying Duo nodded, stepped aside to clear the corridor.

The two in white coats understood his meaning; as they passed by him they ran fast, as if some beast were chasing them from behind.

Only after the two had completely run off did Hua Jian Lei emerge from the opposite corner, her silver‑pink hair flashing in the light.

"What's going on?" Hua Jian Lei leaned against the wall, pulling a cigarette from her pocket and holding it unlit between her lips.

The scene now is strange; Hua Jian Lei originally thought their swaggering entry would already have activated Ying Duo's status as the vice department head he'd somehow acquired, yet it turned out even more so.

Think of the games Hua Jian Lei has played before; even if he maxed out an NPC's favor, he'd often still be limited by real‑world (plot) reasons.

Ying Duo, however, is the opposite—NPCs just hand him everything he needs straight to his face.

"I guess this is the price of having NPC favor too high."

Ying Duo merely replied lightly, but Hua Jian Lei immediately furrowed her brows at the words.

"You mean the one you told me about, whose favor starts at seventy the first time you meet?"

This situation is already far beyond a little odd; Fang Zhiyan…… that name doesn't sound at all like a beautiful lady's.

"How does he know we're coming?"

Lao Bao didn't know what Hua Jian Lei and Ying Duo had talked about; he just rubbed his head in frustration.

Leaving aside the entropy increase that decided to come, even the fact that Ying Duo made a last‑minute decision a few days ago—the plan's details were entirely prepared by him alone, so any problem must have arisen during his preparations.

"Why not be bolder? He even knows the official plan."

Ying Duo bluntly added, "That item is useless to me; Fang Zhiyan has been monitoring him these past days, so he certainly knows that."

Any lock related to those runes can't stop him; even a lock on a random iron chain, he'd still need to find something hard to pry it open.

But when it comes to rune‑related matters, it's really just a flick of the finger.

Hua Jian Lei's finger twitched in her pocket. "Does that person know?"

If Fang Zhiyan knows the official plan too, why hasn't he told the Dome? Department head…… this person is the head of the Mutation Department, so his status in the Dome should be high.

"Exactly, this is likely him declaring his stance to us."

Ying Duo stared fixedly at the surveillance camera, while Yang Yixie's mind was racing with a brainstorm.

"He knows the officials will come to rescue people, he guessed we'd come here to cause trouble, and he had that person wait here beforehand to hand over the so‑called 'key,' merely to leak a message."

"I know your plan, but I not only didn't stop it—I'm even willing to lend you a hand."

Xi Ren Sheng came up from behind, pushed his mask up to his forehead, revealing his full face.

His eyes shone a bit excessively, "So that… department head—is he a hidden boss?"

This feeling that everything they're doing is according to the other's plan makes him seem like the true great boss lurking behind the final boss!

Hua Jian Lei glanced at him. "Not that simple; this person is a real hassle."

If Ying Duo's favor system isn't glitched, that person's danger will only rise linearly.

Xi Ren Sheng completely ignored Hua Jian Lei's words; his gaze fell on Ying Duo's face, those inorganic golden pupils gleaming especially bright in the light.

Indeed, danger usually comes with extraordinarily rich rewards.

Hua Jian Lei also noticed Ying Duo's overly bright eyes, saw that he was clearly thinking about something, and knew Ying Duo understood the danger behind that person better than he did.

Unlike Xi Ren Sheng, who likes to flaunt his emotions and madness, sometimes the madness hidden in silence is even more deadly.

Xi Ren Sheng bounced on the spot, the little bell jingling a few times, "I was just saying—how could this kind of game not have high‑difficulty levels!"

"What does that guy want to do—create gods or destroy them? I recall this world has gods, right? When I heard there were gods in this world, I wanted to say that anything revolving around whatever god would surely come with a heap of conspiracies and schemes!"

"Let's go," Ying Duo calmly interrupted Xi Ren Sheng's excited chatter, "first we release the person."