Chapter 69: Teaming Up, the Truth of the Outside World

Chapter 69: Chapter 69: Teaming Up, the Truth of the Outside World

Before Seraphina Sullivan could process her thoughts, Evander Hogan roughly shoved the group forward.

They were brought before a massive metal door. "Slaughter and Processing Area" was crudely scrawled across it in dark red paint.

Evander Hogan knocked on the door with the handle of his cleaver—KNOCK KNOCK. The sound of metal on metal echoed down the hallway.

The door slowly opened, and an even thicker stench of blood washed over them, mixed with the distinct sour smell of rotting flesh.

Seraphina Sullivan’s stomach churned, but she clenched her jaw and forced herself to remain expressionless.

Appearing in the doorway was another Hogman.

It was a good half-body taller than Evander Hogan, and its massive gut nearly burst through a grease-stained butcher’s apron.

Its tusks were an unhealthy yellow-brown, with scraps of shredded meat still clinging to them.

"Alaric Hogan, the new batch of temps is here," Evander Hogan said, his tone now considerably more respectful.

"The quality’s not bad. Be careful how you assign them, and don’t burn through them too fast. There might be a few in there who could become permanent workers."

He lowered his voice, but with a Hogman’s vocal cords, this so-called "lowering" was still perfectly audible.

"It’s getting harder and harder to catch these people from the outside world. Supply is tight. And Wessuri doesn’t want our slaughterhouse falling too far behind."

Alaric Hogan gave a nonchalant grunt, gnawing on a chunk of stark-white thigh meat he held in his thick hand.

Seraphina Sullivan forced herself to look away, trying not to think about where that piece of meat had come from.

"Evander, the consumption rate isn’t something I can control," Alaric Hogan complained, his voice a muffled rumble that seemed squeezed from his chest cavity. "Some of these temps just don’t listen. What am I supposed to do?"

As he spoke, a cruel glint flashed in his small eyes. He deliberately raised his voice, clearly intending for all the "temps" to hear, "The disobedient ones get sent straight to the processing line!"

Evander Hogan waved his hand impatiently. "Fine, fine, just get them to work. Lord Wessuri just issued a direct order: our output this time must surpass the broiler chicken slaughterhouse next door!"

Alaric Hogan visibly faltered at the mention of the "broiler chicken slaughterhouse."

At the thought of Lord Wessuri’s Spirit Whip, his body visibly flinched.

He turned and bellowed into the room, "Kieran! Get the new temps a set of tools each and assign them to their workstations!

Another Hogman emerged from the shadows.

He was smaller and thinner than the other two, and wore a pair of cracked glasses, giving him the look of an office worker.

But Seraphina Sullivan noticed a human finger bone sticking out of his apron pocket.

"Follow me."

Kieran Hogan’s shrill voice echoed down the blood-drenched hallway.

Seraphina Sullivan, Lily Underwood, and the others followed in silence, their footsteps creating a dull rhythm on the metal floor.

Along the way, Seraphina Sullivan noticed Lily Underwood and Harvey Fletcher looking for a chance to escape, but in the end, they never made a move.

After seeing Harvey Fletcher’s earlier attempt, they all knew the Hogmen here were formidable.

They didn’t dare to act rashly.

The hallway was lined with rows of rust-spotted iron doors, each marked with a number in fluorescent paint.

Kieran Hogan pointed a blood-caked claw at a few of the doors. "These are your slaughtering rooms. You’ll work in pairs. Once you’re inside, the electronic screen on the wall will display today’s quota—"

He suddenly spun around, his small eyes glinting maliciously behind his cracked lenses. "You only get to rest after you’ve met your quota."

Seraphina Sullivan and the other Players quickly exchanged glances.

’Teaming up with Lily Underwood and her group would certainly be safer. After all, they were all experienced Players.’

’But that wasn’t what she wanted. What she wanted was intelligence on this instance. The secrets of this slaughterhouse. The truth about the world outside. She wanted answers about the Disaster Game itself, because Seraphina had already noticed that this Level 2 Animal Slaughterhouse was different from the apocalyptic instances she had entered before.’

Her gaze locked onto the gaunt young man in the crowd.

He was the only one of the Native People in their group who had passed the assessment.

Surprisingly, when their eyes met, the young man walked straight over to her.

"Team up?" His voice was as raspy as sandpaper. A gruesome scar, as if from a bite, marred his throat near his Adam’s apple.

Seraphina Sullivan nodded. "Alright."

The choice clearly surprised Lily Underwood and the others.

The woman in the bird-face mask snorted coldly, while Harvey Fletcher narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.

But Seraphina Sullivan gave them no chance to probe further, leading the young man straight to the nearest slaughtering room.

Seraphina Sullivan had actually wanted to hide her identity as a Player, but it was exposed during the previous assessment. The power she’d shown when dealing with the Hogman was just too obvious.

They were all intelligent people, so they had figured out that Seraphina Sullivan was a Player too.

CLANG!

The iron door slammed shut behind them, followed by the CLUNK of a mechanical lock engaging.

Seraphina Sullivan tried pushing it, but it didn’t budge.

The slaughtering room was about twenty square meters, with a metal worktable and a drainage channel in the center. The tabletop was covered in suspicious brown stains.

Piled in a corner were various blood-stained tools: cleavers, saws, bleeding troughs... But what drew the most attention was the flashing electronic screen on the wall.

[Today’s Task: 100 Head]

The bright red number was like a death warrant.

The young man suddenly introduced himself. "My name is Ash."

Seraphina Sullivan slowly moved closer. "You can call me Sullivan."

The moment he let his guard down, she instantly released her Sweet Fragrance.

He inhaled the wisp of pink mist, and in the next second, his eyes went vacant. He froze in place like a puppet.

"Tell me," Seraphina Sullivan’s voice had a strange, melodic rhythm to it, "what is the world outside this slaughterhouse really like?"

Ash’s eyes were vacant, his voice like someone talking in their sleep. "More than ten years ago... the world changed... Spiritual Energy Revival... animals gained sentience..."

His words were fragmented, but Seraphina Sullivan quickly pieced together the truth of this world.

Over a decade ago, an unknown transformation swept the globe.

Animals suddenly awakened to sentience and even gained Special Abilities.

Some of the more powerful ones could even take human form, becoming the "Demons" of legend.

What should have been a miracle of life’s Evolution became the beginning of humanity’s end.

"They... studied human knowledge..." Ash’s pupils trembled slightly. "They read books, newspapers, researched history..."

After coming into contact with human civilization, some of the powerful Demons began to ponder the meaning of "equality."

They asked why humans could slaughter animals at will, but animals couldn’t do the same in return.

"They said... it was... the tyranny of the food chain..."

Ash’s voice trembled with fear. "So... the world fell into chaos, the apocalypse began... and because of the Demons, many human-flesh factories appeared."

"But there are also some neutral Demons who built other slaughterhouses, specifically to provide food for other Demons. The one we’re in now is one of those."

Seraphina Sullivan was completely dumbfounded after hearing all this.