84: Chapter 84 Those who defy me, I'll feed them to the devil!

In the office, it was so deathly silent that the sound of hearts pounding like frantic war drums could be heard.

On the floating light screen, a string of flickering dark-golden numbers so long they were dizzying—[nether talisman Balance: 9,999,999,999+]—was like a silent thunderclap, violently striking the heads of everyone who had just been clamoring to leave and split the resources.

Zhang Hao remained in his kneeling position, but his whole body seemed to have had its bones removed, collapsing onto the floor like soft mud. A dark water stain quickly spread across his crotch, and a faint stench of urine wafted over. His eyes were hollow, his lips trembling, yet he couldn't make a sound, only a wheezing gasp coming from his throat.

The management and small-time leaders had the color drained completely from their faces, looking even worse than the hanging ghosts wandering outside. They shook like sieves; a few even had their legs give way, collapsing directly onto the floor, their eyes filled with extreme terror and a sense of absurdity.

Over nine hundred and ninety million nether talismans?! How the hell is this 'exhausted resources'?! This is more than all the wealth they've seen or heard of combined since the apocalypse began, and it's not even a fraction of his total!

It's over! It's completely over!

What had they said just now? Splitting the resources? Fending for themselves? Not wanting to burden the Fortress?

Every single word now felt like a poisoned dagger, stabbing back into their own hearts!

Lin Chen slowly stood up. In everyone's eyes, his tall figure instantly became as insurmountable as a mountain, carrying a suffocating pressure. The playful curve on his face remained, but his eyes were as cold as ten-thousand-year-old ice; wherever he looked, no one dared to meet his gaze.

"Weren't you all quite talkative just now?" Lin Chen's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly pierced everyone's ears like a tolling death knell. "Why are you all silent now?"

He paced over to Zhang Hao, who was slumped on the floor, and lightly kicked him with his toe.

"Zhang Hao," Lin Chen's voice carried a hint of amusement, "don't you have an eighty-year-old mother at home to support? Didn't you want to go out and fend for yourself? I'll grant your wish."

Zhang Hao jerked violently, twitching like a dying fish. Tears and snot streaming down his face, he grabbed Lin Chen's leg. "Master! I was wrong! I'm not human! I'm a beast! I was blinded by greed! Please give me another chance! From now on, I'll work like an ox or a horse, I'll be your most loyal dog! Please don't kick me out! Outside... it's full of Bizarre Monsters! I'll die! I'll really die!!"

His wailing was shrill and desperate, but no one present felt any sympathy for him, only the chilling dread of a shared fate.

Lin Chen coldly pulled his leg back as if he had touched something filthy. "My dog?" He sneered. "Are you even worthy?"

His gaze moved past Zhang Hao toward the group of ashen-faced traitors.

"And you all." Lin Chen's voice suddenly turned sharp, like an ice blade scraping against bone. "Didn't you want to split my resources? Didn't you think this big tree of mine was about to fall?"

"Well, the tree is still here, and it's quite lush and flourishing."

"Unfortunately, there's no longer any room for you in its shade."

As his voice fell, he didn't give anyone a chance to beg for mercy. He spoke directly to the air—or rather, to the omnipresent system:

"Underworld Fortress Rule Number Three: Traitors shall be executed without mercy."

"Scope of execution: Within this office, everyone except Su Qingyu who expressed an intention to leave or incited division during the 'Bankruptcy Test'."

"Method of execution: Strip them of all assets and protection granted by the Fortress, and exile them to the 'Corpse Wasteland' outside the Fortress."

"Execute immediately!"

"No—!!!"

"Mr. Lin, have mercy!!"

"We won't ever do it again!!"

Shrill pleas for mercy and desperate cries instantly erupted, nearly blowing the roof off.

But it was already too late.

An invisible force instantly enveloped everyone except Su Qingyu and Lin Chen.

They discovered in terror that the clothes they wore—standard-issue Fortress gear marked with special runes—instantly turned to ash! Any nether talismans hidden in their pockets or on their persons, even those of the lowest denomination, vanished as if snatched by an invisible hand! Even the slight bits of vitality and mental energy they had strengthened through labor within the Fortress and Lin Chen's rules were rapidly draining away!

"My power! My nether talismans!"

"No! Don't!"

The sensation of being stripped was clear and cruel, instantly turning them from slightly capable survivors back into the unarmed, weak lambs for the slaughter they were at the beginning of the apocalypse!

Following that, the solid walls of the office began to ripple like water.

The two Yin Soldier Centurions who had been standing behind Lin Chen, silent as statues, suddenly stepped forward, their crimson gazes locking onto the group of traitors who had been stripped of everything.

They didn't use weapons; they simply reached out with arms covered in black armor, grabbing the slumped, wailing people like they were picking up chicks. Without hesitation, they hurled them one by one toward the rippling walls!

*Thud!*

"Ah—!"

The first person hit the wall, but there was no dull sound of impact. Instead, like a stone thrown into water, their figure was instantly swallowed by the wall, leaving behind only a rapidly fading scream filled with extreme terror.

Then the second, the third...

"Lin Chen! You'll die a horrible death!!"

"I won't let you off even as a ghost!!"

"Spare me! I'm willing to do anything!!"

Curses, pleas, and sobs mixed together, forming a symphony of despair.

Zhang Hao was the last to be picked up. He had completely broken down, covered in his own waste and smelling foul, held in the Yin Soldier Centurion's hand like a pile of rotten mud.

"Master... Master... Woof woof woof! Look, I can bark like a dog! I'm more loyal than a dog! Don't throw me out! I beg you! Let me die in the Fortress! Don't feed me to the Bizarre Monsters!!" He babbled incoherently, showing his most pathetic side.

Lin Chen's eyes didn't flicker in the slightest; they even carried a hint of disgust.

The Yin Soldier Centurion was merciless, swinging its arm.

"No—!!!"

Amidst Zhang Hao's heart-wrenching screams, he was violently smashed into the rippling wall.

With a flash of light, his figure and screams vanished together.

The office instantly fell silent.

Only a few suspicious puddles and filth remained on the floor, along with a faint stench of urine and blood in the air, proving just how cruel the purge that had occurred here was.

The walls returned to their original state, smooth as before.

Su Qingyu stood by Lin Chen's side, her face slightly pale and her breathing a bit ragged. Although she had seen Lin Chen's decisiveness in killing before, seeing him purge dozens of "his own people" so closely, efficiently, and unquestionably still gave her a huge shock. She clenched her fists tightly, her nails nearly digging into her palms, barely managing to maintain a surface-level composure.

Lin Chen acted as if he had only done a trivial thing. He turned around and looked out the window.

Through the reinforced glass, one could clearly see the desolate land outside the Fortress known as the "Corpse Wasteland." Space distorted for a moment, and dozens of naked, weak figures abruptly appeared.

They looked around blankly and in terror at the grey, desolate sky, the cracked earth, and the distorted figures gathering in the distance after catching the scent of living humans—those wandering, hungry Rotting Corpse Bizarre Monsters!

"Heh... heh..."

The grating roars approached from afar.

"Bizarre Monsters! The Bizarre Monsters are coming!"

"Run!"

"Help! Fortress! Let us back in!!"

The desperate cries seemed to faintly carry through even the thick walls and the long distance.

But the Fortress's cold gates remained tightly shut, and the Yin Soldier patrols on the walls looked straight ahead, ignoring them.

A second later, the dark mass of Rotting Corpses surged forward like a tide, instantly submerging the dozens of traitors who had lost all protection.

Screams so shrill they didn't sound human rang out briefly, only to be quickly drowned out by the roaring and chewing of the Bizarre Monsters.

The sound of flesh being torn and bones being crushed seemed to faintly echo in this office in the core area of the Fortress through some strange conduction.

On the wilderness outside the window, only mangled limbs and Rotting Corpse Bizarre Monsters frantically fighting over pieces of flesh remained—a scene of bloody hell.

Su Qingyu's stomach churned, and she had to force herself not to vomit. She subconsciously looked at Lin Chen's back.

Lin Chen was still looking out the window, his gaze calm and steady, as if he were watching a farce that had nothing to do with him.

He spoke softly, his voice not loud, yet carrying the power of unquestionable rules. It spread throughout the entire Fortress, clearly imprinting itself on the heart of every survivor:

"Did you all see clearly?"

"This is the consequence of betrayal."

"My rules are the law."

"Those who follow me may not necessarily prosper, but those who oppose me will surely perish."

The entire Fortress was dead silent. Every survivor, no matter where they were, felt a bone-chilling cold and absolute authority at this moment.

Those who might have had ulterior motives or were still waiting to see what happened completely extinguished any unrealistic thoughts.

In this apocalypse, Lin Chen's rules were the only way to survive.

In the office, Lin Chen slowly turned around, his gaze falling on the pale Su Qingyu and the lonely stack of nether talismans on the table in front of her.

His eyes gained a slight hint of warmth.

"You did well."

Su Qingyu took a deep breath and met his gaze. The turmoil in her heart gradually settled, replaced by an unprecedented resolve.

She knew that from this moment on, there would never be a second voice in the Fortress.

Meanwhile, on the bloody Corpse Wasteland outside the Fortress, no one noticed that within the pile of mangled limbs that had been chewed to pieces—specifically within the 'puddle of mud' that belonged to Zhang Hao—a hand covered in foul blood and bite marks twitched extremely slightly and neurotically.