Enforcer Manual
Chapter 622: Businessman_1

Chapter 622: Chapter 622: Businessman_1

Song Lan brought back important information from Jasmine to the junkyard. Medea listed all the details on a slip of paper, muttering to herself, "Strict caste system, hierarchical management—I’ve never seen a species like this before."

Not only did these worms possess intelligence, but they also knew how to extract knowledge from humans.

"This isn’t their final form. If left unchecked, they might give rise to a race with intelligence and creativity on par with humans before long."

Since the Stone Age, humanity had never faced a threat from another group like they did now.

Song Lan said, "Jasmine mentioned that their actions are controlled by the coordinators, who are likely high-level corporate executives, managers of certain departments, or politicians with a vast amount of social resources in their hands."

"The scope is too wide,"

Dr. Bai Zhu shook his head, "There are simply too many people that fit these criteria. In District 17 alone, there are dozens who qualify."

Finding a replaced human was like finding a needle in a haystack, and the coordinators were even more deeply hidden. They would never appear "front stage," with all the dirty work being carried out by the worker caste of the group.

These workers had absolute loyalty to their group, their consciousness unaffected even by the Devourers.

Even when confined in containers, the worms continued to exhibit extreme aggression towards all people passing by them.

Medea analyzed that this was likely because the worms were direct creations of the consciousness aggregate, which protected them from being disturbed by their own kind, making it nearly impossible to get these few worms to betray their coordinators.

"Lucky for us, their target is you."

Dr. Bai Zhu sighed. Anyone targeted by this group of worms—capable of mimicking anyone—would be in great danger, and even they couldn’t tell how many "workers" were scattered around District 17.

"What do you mean ’lucky for us’ their target is me? Don’t you guys have even a bit of sympathy?"

Song Lan was not pleased.

"Their regenerative abilities have limits; these problematic traits should make no difference to you like a clean slate."

Among the junkyard staff, Medea was the most profoundly influenced by the Devourer’s consciousness, thus she often felt respect for Song Lan from the Bug Swarm’s consciousness, "Killing them is easy. Just disintegrate their bodies into dust in an instant, and the parasites within will die as well."

Following her trip to the Neutral Country, Medea had finally understood the Devourers’ feelings for Song Lan.

It wasn’t just fear; it was admiration from the heart, looking up to him as one would a god or a father.

For some reason, all these emotions from the consciousness aggregate had transferred onto Song Lan.

Could it be that during the connection of their consciousness, the Devourers mistook him for the consciousness aggregate? After all, if higher life forms really existed, Song Lan and the consciousness aggregate could very well belong to the same level.

This was...

The 2167 version of honoring a thief as one’s father?

Song Lan, unluckily targeted for assassination, sat listlessly on the sofa in the communal lounge, holding a container and examining the worms inside through the glass.

It was full of vigor after a day without eating or drinking, baring its teeth at him from inside the bottle.

"Did you hear that? Medea just said that I could finish you off in an instant if I wanted,"

"Hiss—! Hiss-hiss—!"

Confronted with the deliberately fierce expression Song Lan put on, the worm in the container was not at all scared. Instead, it seemed enraged, ramming its head against the part of the container held by Song Lan’s fingers.

After emerging from a human body, they lost the ability to communicate and could only rely on the Devourers to help translate their emotions.

"Oh, you’re angry now?"

Song Lan tapped the container, and the worm immediately rolled several times at the bottom of the container.

"They are not angry. This is just the most primitive form of aggression in living beings."

Shadow, hesitating in the darkness for a long time, finally found an appropriate opportunity to interject. She couldn’t understand why these worms dared to provoke this demon. Did they naively think that just by having the coordinator hide among the crowd, they would not be found?

In fact, this demon did not need to find them.

With just one Psychic Storm, he could turn all the imposters to dust, and based on her knowledge of this demon, he was wholly capable of committing such a diabolical act.

Therefore, to avoid collateral damage, Shadow thought it necessary to confront this demon himself.

"First, I need to clarify something. I’ve just been following Jasmine, and I had no intention of coming to District 17. Moreover, since I arrived, I haven’t done anything!"

This was a lengthy disclaimer.

Song Lan’s attention shifted from the impassive worms to the palm-sized shadow on the table.

δ seemed to consciously compress its form, making itself look as tiny and harmless as possible.

Last time they met, the demon had warned it not to come to this city. She needed to first ensure that she wouldn’t be eaten by the other party before this conversation could continue.

"What are you here for?"

"I’m here to bring an important message to you: I can distinguish them from the crowd!"

"How can you tell?"

"They are a group without emotions, only instincts. Though they can mimic all sorts of human expressions, they don’t generate any emotions."

δ even abandoned its fondness for playing riddles and laid out everything it knew, "So if you can sense the emotional fluctuations of humans or other creatures, you’ll be able to pluck them from the crowd!"

"But how can I sense the emotional fluctuations of others?"

"...That’s a side effect of my abilities."

δ explained, "I can sense human emotions, especially their negative ones. It’s so I can more easily find potential customers from the crowd, and these worms, they could never be my customers."

"I understand. You mean we can hire you to find the whereabouts of the liaison officer."

"You could think of it that way."

"Then name your price. But as you must have noticed when you arrived, our circumstances here aren’t very good."

Upon hearing this, a hint of joy flickered in δ’s eyes.

Aside from clearing up a misunderstanding, she came here to close a business deal.

It’s likely unimaginable to her peers that it would have the guts and the ability to negotiate a deal with this demon!

"First, you can’t eat me."

"Agreed."

For Song Lan, a model citizen who had never considered eating others, that wasn’t much of a demand.

"You can’t eat Jasmine either!"

"Eh..."

Seeing Song Lan frown, δ immediately changed the terms. It was now on edge, acutely aware that once this business deal went south, it would never be able to leave the room, "Fine, you can eat her, but you’ll have to wait a while before doing so!"

"I never said I would eat her. Aren’t you supposed to be enemies?"

"Not anymore."

"Okay, what else?"

Song Lan wanted to ask more, but when he noticed the subtle glances between Dr. Bai Zhu and Medea, he held back his curiosity to avoid further cementing his image as a "brutal cannibal monster" in their minds.

No, why were people around him so easily convinced by rumors?

"There’s... I haven’t thought it through yet."

δ pondered deeply for a while. It hadn’t expected the deal to go so smoothly; the demon had readily agreed to two of its conditions, leaving it momentarily at a loss for words.

In past dealings with humans, it was usually the dominant party.

"Then do this: help us find the liaison officer first, and you can think about the conditions slowly on your way back."

"Fine, it’s a deal... Do we need to draw a pledge or sign anything?"

δ asked cautiously once more.

"No need."

Song Lan waved his hand, "You can ask around outside. In the Seventeenth District, there are not many more reputable than I, Song Lan."