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?