When Ma Mao saw a table full of seafood, he couldn't describe his feelings. Duan Chen had even placed a live octopus on the table, causing his gaze to drift there, occasionally swallowing.
"This is..."
He forced a smile and asked.
Ma Mao had initially thought this was Duan Chen's ploy, perhaps he had discovered something. Could it be that he had found out their entire company wasn't human?
Impossible. The Master had already cast illusions upon them, so Duan Chen's pupil techniques shouldn't be able to see through it.
The next second, Duan Chen looked up, his pure and sincere eyes fixed on him.
"Vice President Ma, you're back? Please sit down and eat with us. I've prepared a seafood feast for everyone, don't be shy."
"That thing is..."
Ma Mao pointed at the live octopus beside him, not daring to look directly at it.
He was afraid he couldn't help himself, his drool was already flowing.
Duan Chen smiled and explained, "That? That's in case you guys don't have enough to eat. What do you think, isn't my friend very thoughtful?"
Jun Ci patted his chest, "No need to thank me! Vice President Ma, you've been through a lot these past few days. It was our oversight that we couldn't clear out the sea monster sooner. Please eat."
Duan Chen's gaze and Jun Ci's words were too sincere for Ma Mao to refuse. With things having reached this point, refusing to eat would only make him seem suspicious.
Helplessly, Ma Mao had to steel himself and pick up his chopsticks.
Clearly, he couldn't resist the instinct of a sea creature. The moment he took his first bite, Ma Mao lost control. He directly dropped his chopsticks and began devouring the food with his hands.
The entire table of seafood was consumed by him alone.
Ma Mao failed to notice that Duan Chen and the others' expressions were gradually turning cold.
"Jun Ci, Sheng Chen, the two of you go and check on the others."
"Okay."
As Sheng Chen passed by a woman, he noticed her lunchbox was empty, and even the box was licked clean. The live octopus they had placed nearby had also been eaten. The woman was glancing at him with a guilty look.
He passed several more people, and it was the same for all of them.
After a tour of the entire company, Sheng Chen and Jun Ci came to a unanimous conclusion.
There were no living humans left in this company!
"What about that girl who spoke to you?"
"She's already been sent home."
Duan Chen nodded, his eyes narrowing.
"Prepare yourselves. We'll make our move."
"Yes!"
Ma Mao was unaware of the impending danger. He still had to report the situation to his Master that night.
"Everyone, I'll be leaving for a moment."
"Alright."
As soon as he left, Duan Chen activated his Swift Steps and followed.
Ma Mao sneakily went to the utility room. After he entered, Duan Chen quickly followed and pressed his ear against the door.
"Master, Duan Chen and the others probably haven't discovered anything. What should we do now?"
"I'll release a sea monster later for Duan Chen to deal with. You just continue with your act. Once things calm down for a couple of days, he'll probably leave on his own."
"Alright then."
"Yes, be careful, don't get discovered."
"Yes!"
Ma Mao hung up the phone and breathed a sigh of relief, hiding the backup phone under the cushion again.
"Click..."
"Ah!"
Opening the door, he saw Duan Chen, nearly scaring his soul out of him.
"Mr. Duan, Mr. Duan!"
"Oh, Vice President Ma, so you were here."
Duan Chen smiled, but his smile didn't reach his eyes.
"I was just looking for you. Have you finished dealing with your business?"
"Ah, ah... just finished, ha ha, this way please."
Duan Chen smiled and followed him.
Could the person Ma Mao was talking to on the phone be an Apostle?
If so, what was their goal?
Was it simply to take over this company? 138 Reading Network
Or was there another purpose?
Returning to the reception room, Duan Chen gave some instructions, signaling everyone not to act rashly and to play the long game to catch the big fish. There might be other forces behind Ma Mao.
"Apostle?"
"Not sure, but very likely."
"In any case, we'll follow their plan for now, take our time, and try to reel in that big fish."
"Okay!"
The group sat there until eight o'clock in the evening. Just as they were about to leave, a scream suddenly echoed from within the company.
"Ah—!"
The scream pierced the night's silence, making everyone jump.
"Let's go!"
Duan Chen exchanged a look, and everyone immediately followed.
They saw a woman pressed against the wall in front of the sink in the restroom. The fabric on her shoulder had been torn by a sea monster, revealing her fair shoulder and a white lace bra, making her look pathetic.
In the sink, an ugly sea monster poked its head out.
It propped its hands on the sink and pulled its entire body out of the water, lashing out with its tentacles at Duan Chen.
"Thousand Illusions Pandora · Blade Form!"
A cold glint flashed in Duan Chen's hand. Thousand Illusions Pandora transformed into its blade form and directly severed the sea monster's two tentacles.
"Gurgle—"
The sea monster opened its mouth and spewed out a mouthful of green slime.
Duan Chen's expression remained unchanged. Qin Nanyuan whipped out her fire dragon, directly stuffing it into the sea monster's gaping maw.
"Bang!"
Jun Ci didn't hesitate either. He fired a shot at the sea monster's head, blowing it to pieces.
"It's alright."
The woman quickly ran over and hugged Duan Chen's arm.
"Officer, thank goodness you were here, otherwise... I would have been in danger."
With that tone and expression, an ordinary man would likely be easily swayed, but Duan Chen was far from ordinary.
The woman intentionally or unintentionally rubbed her full chest against his arm. Duan Chen frowned, feeling quite disgusted.
He pulled his arm away and said indifferently, "It's good that you're alright."
The woman pouted in dissatisfaction and pressed against him again.
"Officer, how can I ever thank you..."
She pouted, looking cute and alluring.
"Officer Duan!"
Ma Mao rushed over. Seeing the scene before him, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Officer Duan, thank you for your trouble. These sea monsters... they appear every few days... Alas, if it weren't for you, we'd probably have to bother the nearby police officers again."
"It's nothing, you're too kind."
Duan Chen once again pulled his arm away and walked up to Ma Mao, staring at him with cold eyes.
"Vice President Ma, you're a little late."
"Ah... I had some work matters to attend to earlier. I needed to go and see to them. I'm truly sorry to have troubled you..." Ma Mao stammered with a forced smile.
"Is that so?"
Duan Chen also smiled.
"It's alright, it's your work after all, I understand."
He suddenly pulled out his pistol and aimed it at the woman behind him.
"I'm sure Vice President Ma can understand me doing this, right?"
"Bang!"
The woman's head exploded, and her octopus tentacles writhed wildly!
Duan Chen's eyes suddenly turned icy.
"Ma Mao, I originally wanted to see how long you could keep up the act, but I didn't expect your true colors to show so soon."