"Fuck natural talent!"

"Fuck uncut jade!"

"Fuck scooping cat litter!"

Amidst the filthy stench of countless mosquitoes and flies, Yuan Zhao struggled fiercely with a Manure Fork to scoop out an indescribable object the size of a coal briquette from the mountainous pile of cat litter. Pinching his nose, he threw it into the cart behind him.

Sweat soaked his back, much like an old farmer tilling the soil.

His face had turned a ghastly blue from the stench; the foul odor was almost killing him…

Did that bastard think he was actually a cat just because he wore a puppet suit? It was bad enough that he crapped so much, but the size of it… This isn't just a pile of cat litter, it's a veritable mountain of poison! Even the calf-sized rats in this godforsaken place have been poisoned to death by the dozen!

Fortunately, that ghostly thing had at least some conscience. It had posted this as a task. Unlike the other hosts, as long as Yuan Zhao put in some effort and shoveled this pile of cat litter before sunset, his task would be considered complete.

It was hard work, but not dangerous; a bit of effort could earn him a task reward.

The youth spat, thrust the fork carelessly into the stuff loaded on the cart, took hold of the handles, and pushed the third cartload of cat shit towards the coffee shop operated by Little Cat Paradise.

He no longer wanted to know what that crappy coffee shop used to make coffee…

As he passed through the square, he hung his head low, wishing he could cover his face. Amid the curious gazes of the challengers, he just wanted to find a hole and crawl into it.

If an acquaintance from the Social Security Bureau popped up right now and asked, "Hey, Yuan Zhao, what are you doing?" I'd be ready to embrace social death immediately.

Fortunately, the Social Security Bureau's competing teams weren't very familiar with him, and not many had perished. In the vastness of Hell, aside from Huai Shi, no one knew that Young Master Yuan was humiliatingly scooping cat litter. As long as I can shut that white-named face Huai Shi up, I can bury this dark history forever. Just like this pile of cat litter, disappearing into the unknown darkness.

Thinking of that ridiculously lucky Huai Shi, his heart began to ache. While sighing, he accidentally inhaled a lungful of the foul air. His vision instantly blackened, and he nearly passed out from the stench.

By the time he came to his senses, he had already bumped into the person in front of him.

"Ah, I'm sorry…"

Yuan Zhao instinctively apologized. Then, noticing how wide the road was and that the person had seemingly gone out of their way to walk right in front of him, his expression soured. "How do you walk? Don't you even look where you're going?"

The person was surprisingly straightforward. They didn't argue. Upon being hit by the cart, they immediately collapsed, vomiting blood profusely.

Convulsing violently, the man stared blankly, as if drunk. When his eyes finally focused on Yuan Zhao, his expression filled with anger.

"It was you…" he struggled to raise his hand, pointing at Yuan Zhao. "You… you bumped into me…"

"I didn't! It wasn't me!"

Yuan Zhao jumped back in fright, instinctively grabbing the Manure Fork and pointing it at the ghastly, bloodless face. "Don't you dare frame me!"

Speaking, he frantically looked around, grabbing a passing challenger. "You have to be my witness! I barely touched him, and he just fell…"

THUMP!

The challenger he grabbed also collapsed to the ground.

Then, like dominoes, challengers across the vast square began to fall one after another. The sound of thuds echoed incessantly.

They all collapsed in a similar fashion, with no idea what was happening to them. After hitting the ground, they began to vomit blood and convulse violently. The weaker ones twitched a couple of times before falling still, their bodies instantly growing cold.

Having lost their qualification to compete, they didn't even drop a single Golden Coin…

Yuan Zhao was going crazy. I'm just scooping cat litter! Killing me won't get you any reward, so why are so many people trying to frame me!

The survivors screamed in terror, drawing the attention of others nearby. Some who were physically stronger hadn't died instantly. However, once they understood what was happening, they turned their icy gazes on Yuan Zhao. They clearly realized something after seeing the stench-emitting cart beside him.

"Everyone, be careful! The shit is poisoned!!!"

Their faces contorted with fury, several afflicted Sublimators charged. "Kill this little bastard!"

"Don't come any closer!"

Yuan Zhao screamed. He instinctively raised the Manure Fork and thrust it forward. True to the saying, its tip arrived first, followed by a foul odor that rushed at them like a dragon.

The Manure Fork, caked with cat shit, was incredibly sharp. A single thrust impaled an outwardly strong but inwardly weak Sublimator, who instantly went still…

Dead? Aren't dead Sublimators supposed to dissipate into light? Why did the body remain?

Soon, he learned why.

Impaled on the fork, the Sublimator who should have been dead suddenly lifted his head. His pallid face contorted with ferocity, revealing only a hunger for flesh. Sharp nails clawed at Yuan Zhao's face, tearing futilely at the air in a ravenous desire to feast.

Around Yuan Zhao, the dozen or so fallen Sublimators staggered to their feet. Their eyes, rolled back to show the whites, scanned their surroundings, their famished gazes fixing on the living people in the square.

By the time Yuan Zhao realized what was happening, he found himself surrounded by zombies.

In the brief, deathly silence, Yuan Zhao swallowed hard.

"Can you please not hit the face?"

The next instant, he was overwhelmed by the tide of corpses.

「. .」

Just half an hour after its release, the virus had completed its incubation period and begun to take effect.

Within that half-hour, besides the carrier who had been released, everyone else began to show symptoms. Anyone who had spoken a few words with that carrier, exchanged information, shared insights, or participated in the next event started to vomit blood violently…

Symptoms began with a high fever, followed by the destruction of the Immune System and rapid necrosis of internal organs. The brain's grey matter transformed into a breeding ground for the fungal strain. Ultimately... they turned into animated corpses.

This was completely beyond Huai Shi's expectations.

He had a flash of inspiration and intended to release a carrier to see what would happen, but he hadn't expected it to be so remarkably effective.

He had carefully selected the virus and infused it with a vast amount of Source Substance. After undergoing several rounds of Metamorphosis inside zombie bodies, it surprisingly acquired some characteristics of a zombie virus.

It appeared that within the Paradise's entire system, only Ancient Evil Spirit Castle employed zombie-type staff... Once individuals were fully infected and transformed, they were classified as members of Ancient Evil Spirit Castle. Consequently, any Sublimators they killed were automatically credited to Huai Shi's tally.

Thus, in an instant, Ancient Evil Spirit Castle's 'revenue' began to skyrocket.

In the blink of an eye, the number shot up from the twenties to over two hundred seventy!

Almost a tenfold increase!

On the leaderboard, Ancient Evil Spirit Castle's ranking shot up like a rocket, dislodging the former number one, Li Jian Amber of the enormous world, and pushing her into second place!

「. .」

"Deer's Sing Hall is truly remarkable!"

In the VIP seats at the venue, Older Cousin clapped enthusiastically, turning to offer his congratulations first, "This time, both first and second place go to members of Deer's Sing Hall! It looks like this Legion Contract is all but in Deer's Sing Hall's bag! Truly impressive! The Social Security Bureau pales in comparison. Indeed, your Genealogy possesses a much deeper foundation!"

At this, the Seven Star Group's representative glared at the old Court Official with even greater ferocity…

The old Court Official had slumped in his chair, gasping for breath and unable to speak. He could only tremble as he lifted a finger, pointing at Older Cousin's face. "You... you..."

"Someone! Quickly!" Older Cousin called out with concern, "Look, you've made the old gentleman so happy he's about to collapse! Quickly, take him to the emergency room for some oxygen!"

Two burly security guards quickly ran over, hastily supported the old man, and rushed him towards the medical room.

As the security guards dragged the old man away, he struggled futilely. Glaring at Older Cousin, he suddenly vomited a mouthful of blood and then vanished from the VIP seats…

In the live broadcast room, Di Ting wore an expression as if he'd eaten shit, unsure what to say. Bai Ze, however, remained calm, pointing at the rankings and remarking, "See? I told you he was lucky..."

「. .」

Meanwhile, back in Paradise.

Huai Shi's elation was short-lived. He soon noticed that the number above his head had stopped moving… stuck at two hundred seventy. Several minutes passed without a single addition.

This is strange. Could the mutation be too potent, preventing the infection from keeping up?

Huai Shi consulted the strategy guide for the game 'Plague Corporation' on his phone, perplexed.

Then, he discovered that the number of zombies under Ancient Evil Spirit Castle's control was rapidly decreasing. In an instant, only fifty remained active outside…

"What's going on?"

"You've overstepped your bounds, kid."

Little Cat, in its mascot costume, appeared before him out of nowhere. A hand emerged from the costume's gaping mouth to flick away cigarette ash before retracting.

"Just now, the host of another attraction was also taken out by your virus... While I don't mind your numbers going up, I'm not the only administrator here. Be careful not to provoke those unreasonable little bitches. If they decide to come over and squash you on the spot, even I won't be able to help."

Well, it seems there's been an update. The Plague Halo has been nerfed.

Huai Shi sighed.

"You're patching things up a bit too fast, aren't you? How am I supposed to boost my performance now?"

"If this loophole wasn't patched, it probably wouldn't be me visiting you right now."

Little Cat glanced towards the center of the square behind him, at the castle shrouded in gloomy mist.

Several chilling gazes shot out from the castle, falling coldly upon them, laden with spine-chilling cruelty and ferocity.

Then, before the tattered Little Cat mascot costume, they vanished without a trace.

"Just consider it a change in client requirements," Little Cat said. "I'm not asking you to paint me a colorful black, but if you get too out of hand, I can't protect you. So, do me a favor, alright?"

"Okay."

Huai Shi nodded. He understood the wisdom of not directly confronting those in charge. Yet, his eyes blinked rapidly at Little Cat, clearly expecting something more.

Reciprocity. I've shown you this much respect, brother; surely you have some gesture in return, right?

"That settles it then."

Little Cat tossed the cigarette butt from its mouth and stamped it out with a foot. "As long as they die inside the Ancient Evil Spirit Hall, they'll count towards your performance. You don't need to worry about anything else."

Having settled the matter, he said no more and departed.

Huai Shi didn't even see how he disappeared.

After a brief stagnation, the contestant in second place, who hadn't been far behind, began a furious chase. Their performance numbers started to climb rapidly. It was unknown how that woman, Li Jian Amber, was managing it, but her speed was terrifying. In an instant, Huai Shi's top position became precarious.

Scrutinizing the rankings on the system panel, Huai Shi's thoughts raced.

Little Cat's parting words meant... only challengers who died *inside* the Ancient Evil Spirit Hall would count towards his performance, right?

He stroked the new stubble on his chin, his eyebrows slowly arching.

I can't spread the virus outside, but if the zombies drag challengers *in* and then kill them… that wouldn't be considered a rule violation, would it?

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