7: Chapter 7 My Butler? You're just more useful.

"Line up! One by one!" Su Qingyu stood at the supermarket entrance, her voice already a bit raspy. The skull mark on her wrist showed a balance of [3120 nether talismans]—this was her total income from managing the construction site and the supermarket for three days.

The crowd was huddled together. A bald man tried to cut in line, and just as Su Qingyu was about to stop him, Zhang Hao rushed over brandishing a bone whip.

*Snap!* The whip lashed across the bald man's back, instantly tearing his flesh open.

"Didn't you hear Miss Su speaking?" Zhang Hao glared fiercely at the crowd. "Line the hell up, all of you!"

The crowd hurriedly lined up in fear, their gazes toward Su Qingyu filled with a bit more awe and dread.

Su Qingyu felt a mix of emotions. Three days ago, she was a weak woman who needed protection; now, she held the "livelihood" of so many people in her hands. What made her even more uncomfortable was realizing she had begun to grow accustomed to this power.

"Miss Su, I want to exchange for a bottle of water." An old woman tremblingly held out her wrist.

Su Qingyu skillfully scanned the code to deduct the payment and handed over the water bottle. The old woman left, overflowing with gratitude.

Just then, Lin Chen's voice came from behind: "You did well."

Su Qingyu spun around to see Lin Chen standing there at some unknown point, fiddling with a safe that had a crow pattern on it.

"I can handle small matters like this," she said, trying her best to keep her voice calm.

Lin Chen gave a light chuckle and casually tossed the safe to Zhang Hao. "Take this and melt it down to make construction materials."

"Yes, Master!" Zhang Hao scurried off.

Lin Chen turned his gaze toward Su Qingyu. "Why do you think I'm letting you manage all this?"

Su Qingyu hesitated. "Because... I'm more meticulous?"

"Because you're more useful," Lin Chen said bluntly. "Zhang Hao is loyal enough, but he's too stupid. Others are either too weak or too greedy. But you..."

He sized Su Qingyu up as if evaluating a tool. "You have a bit of a brain."

These words were like a bucket of cold water poured over Su Qingyu's head. She had originally thought that Lin Chen letting her manage affairs meant he viewed her with at least a little bit of special regard.

It seemed she had overthought things.

"I will continue to do my duty well." She lowered her head to hide the disappointment in her eyes.

Just then, cries for help suddenly came from outside the Fortress.

"Help! Open the door!"

A blood-covered young girl was running outside the gates, followed by three human-faced hounds. The girl looked to be seventeen or eighteen, wearing a tattered school uniform. Her left leg was injured, causing her to limp as she ran.

"Open up! Please, open the door!" The girl threw herself against the main gate, pounding on it desperately.

Zhang Hao's eyes widened. "Master, this girl is really pretty. Should we save her?"

Su Qingyu frowned. "It's so dangerous outside. How has a girl like her survived until now? It's too suspicious."

Lin Chen didn't take a stance, only observing quietly.

Just then, a human-faced hound lunged at the girl. To everyone's surprise, the girl suddenly sidestepped as if she had eyes in the back of her head, flicking a cold gleam from her sleeve. That cold gleam pierced precisely into the hound's eye socket, and the monster shrieked, collapsing and twitching on the ground.

Seeing this, the other two human-faced hounds actually fled with their tails between their legs.

Only then did the girl seem to react, slumping to the ground and sobbing softly. "So... so scary..."

Zhang Hao was dumbfounded, while Su Qingyu's frown deepened.

"Open the door," Lin Chen finally spoke.

The gate opened, and the girl scrambled inside, rushing straight toward Lin Chen. "Thank you! Thank you all!"

The moment she got close to Lin Chen, her foot "accidentally" slipped, and her whole body slumped softly toward Lin Chen's embrace.

Lin Chen stepped aside to avoid her.

*Thud!* The girl fell hard onto the ground.

She looked up at Lin Chen with tearful eyes. "S-sorry, I was just too scared..."

"What's your name?" Lin Chen asked.

"Qin Weiwei," the girl said timidly, then seemed to muster a great deal of courage. "M-may I ask, are you Brother Lin Chen?"

Lin Chen's eyes flickered slightly.

Qin Weiwei continued, "I'm your half-sister! Before Papa passed away, he told me that if the world ever changed, I should come find you..."

As she spoke, she pulled a yellowed photograph from her bosom. In the photo, a young man was holding a baby; the man's features were seventy percent similar to Lin Chen's.

Zhang Hao gasped, and Su Qingyu also showed a look of surprise.

Only Lin Chen's expression remained unchanged.

"Sister?" He chuckled. "How come I didn't know my father had an illegitimate daughter out there?"

Tears instantly welled up in Qin Weiwei's eyes. "I know Brother wouldn't believe me easily... but Papa really mentioned you often, saying you were the son he was most proud of..."

She wept piteously, so much so that even Zhang Hao couldn't help but chime in: "Master, she... she looks quite pitiful..."

Lin Chen stared at Qin Weiwei for a moment, then suddenly smiled. "Since you're my sister, then stay."

He instructed Su Qingyu, "Take her to rest and arrange some light work for her."

Qin Weiwei smiled through her tears. "Thank you, Brother!"

After she left with Su Qingyu, Zhang Hao leaned in and whispered, "Master, do you want me to go and test her?"

Lin Chen didn't speak, simply opening the nether domain asset system.

Under the [Ghost Tycoon Information Network] column, he typed in the three characters "Qin Weiwei."

[Query basic information for "Qin Weiwei": 100 nether talismans]

[Query detailed background: 1000 nether talismans]

[Query true purpose: 10000 nether talismans]

Lin Chen directly chose the most expensive option.

The system interface flashed, and lines of blood-red text emerged:

[Qin Weiwei: Real name unknown]

[Affiliation: Thousand Faces Cult]

[Mission: Infiltrate the Underworld Fortress and obtain core intelligence]

[Special Abilities: Disguise, Hypnosis, Toxicology]

[Note: Has used the same methods to infiltrate three survivor bases; no survivors remained]

Lin Chen closed the interface, a cold light flashing in his eyes.

Just as he thought.

He looked in the direction Qin Weiwei had left, his lips curling into a dangerous arc.

"Brother?" he murmured to himself. "Then let's see how long you can keep up this act, 'sister'."

After settling Qin Weiwei in, Su Qingyu returned to report.

"I've assigned her cleaning work, helping out in the kitchen." After reporting, she hesitated. "Lin Chen, do you really believe her?"

Lin Chen didn't answer, but instead asked back, "What do you think?"

Su Qingyu fell silent. Looking into Lin Chen's unfathomable eyes, she suddenly understood something.

"I understand," she said softly. "I'll keep a close eye on her."

Lin Chen finally showed a somewhat satisfied expression. "That's the Su Qingyu I know."

Before turning to leave, he dropped a sentence:

"Remember, in this place, letting your emotions rule you will get you killed."

Su Qingyu watched his back, giving a bitter smile as she touched the skull mark on her wrist.

Yeah, she finally understood.

In this hellhole, emotions were useless.

Those who could survive until the end were either freakishly strong like Lin Chen, or like her... more useful.