"If you're asking me to become a mass murderer or commit genocide then I will have to refuse your request," Sui Li's cold voice echoed through the room.
There were lines that she would not cross no matter if it was a request from the taskers.
She would not kill the innocent.
A brief moment of silence followed Sui Li's refusal.
The office lady played with her fingers absentmindedly as a variety of expressions flashed across her face.
For a second Sui Li could have sworn that one of them was… disappointment.
"Fine… I have another request," the woman finally spoke after thinking for a moment.
"I have a younger brother who attended an elite high school in the neighbouring province. I don't know what happened to him."
"If you can… try to save him…"
That sounded like a much more reasonable request, but Sui Li was a bit suspicious about the unknown woman's attitude.
"Are you sure that is your only request? Why did you change your mind so quickly?" Sui Li questioned solemnly.
"Because I've realised that there is no reason to waste my request," the woman gently spoke in a sweet sickly tone.
"Do you want to know why?"
The woman leaned forward, and her appearance resembled a dangerous snake poised to strike at any moment.
There was no trace of humanity left in her cold lifeless eyes as she stared at Sui Li with the expression of a predator looking at its prey.
"Once you've seen what I saw… experience what I felt… realise what I know…" the woman calmly whispered with an eerie smile.
"Humanity… are nothing more than animals… beasts who need only the slightest opportunity to inflict cruelty and suffering."
"Laws and the unspoken rules of society stop them but when the laws disappear, and the authority vanishes… you will see the monsters that they are…"
"You will use my gift… I guarantee it."
The woman threw back her head and laughed crazily. Her eyes gleamed with madness as she slammed her fist against her knees.
She stretched out her hand and gipped Sui Li's palm before she even had the time to react to the unknown woman's sudden movement.
"The pact is made," the woman chuckled darkly.
Deep blue runes appeared out of thin air and surrounded their hands. Sui Li was unsurprised to discover that once again she was now frozen in place.
Sui Li could see her body gradually turn translucent as another black portal opened up from beneath her feet.
The last image that she saw was the unknown woman mouthing the words 'Good Luck' as she disappeared from the room.
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(Country A- Heurn Province)
(Unnamed Skyscraper- 20th Floor)
"Qin Lan… my boyfriend is taking me out to dinner… can you finish my work for me?" a sweet voice called out.
A plain faced woman in her late twenties opened her eyes and saw an attractive secretary wearing a short skirt.
She wore a bright red lipstick on her mouth and her face was delicately painted with makeup. Expensive diamond earrings hung from her ears and the jewellery gleamed under the light.
She appeared to be a model rather than someone who worked in an office.
Qin Lan frowned as she felt a massive headache coming on.
The pretty woman did not even wait for her reply before dumping a massive folder onto her desk and leaving.
It was completely dark outside since night had already fallen.
Only a handful of employees were left in the office, and most were working quietly at their own stations.
Qin Lan glanced at the massive folder and let out a heavy sigh. She placed it next to the other folders piling up on her desk and stared at the time on her computer.
It was ten o' clock. Guess this would be another night spent doing someone else's work without any overtime pay.
Unfortunately, Yang Mi was the daughter of the CEO who was only here for 'experience' so there was no point in complaining to human resources.
Qin Lan glanced out of the window and briefly enjoyed the beautiful sight of the city at night.
It was strange not hearing the constant hum of cars or see the tiny stick-like figures moving around.
She reached for her glasses on the desk and put them on.
Qin Lan had inherited her far sightedness from her mother and needed glasses to help her see close objects.
Qin Lan opened up Microsoft Excel and began to fill out a few spreadsheets with the data about the company's clients.
The steady tapping of her keys echoed through the floor, but the other employees wore headsets, so they were not disturbed.
This job was quite tiring but after the death of her parents… she was the only one who could look after her younger brother.
As long as the money was good, Qin Lan was prepared to work as long as possible at least until her sibling had finished college.
Then she would switch to a more relaxed job and start looking for a date.
Find a nice stable gu…girl…
Girl?
Qin Lan frowned as a strange thought flashed across her mind. No… why would she think about marrying a girl?
The massive headache in her mind only got more painful as if something was trying to get out.
Qin Lan closed her eyes and slowly rubbed her temples as she felt beads of sweat run down her forehead.
Bang!
Her head slammed against her desk as she briefly fell unconscious. The sudden noise alerted the other employees who saw her collapse.
One of the older men rushed over in a panic and shook her shoulders vigorously.
"Qin Lan are you alright? The company can't afford another lawsuit! SOMEONE CALL THE GODDAMN HOSPITAL!" Supervisor Chen yelled in fear.
"No… sorry… I think… I think I'm just tired," Qin Lan whispered as she slowly opened her eyes.
Her timid demeanor was the same as usual but the look in her eyes had subtly changed.
However, it was impossible for the supervisor to discover that something was different about the young woman in front of him.
"Alright… why don't you take a rest and then resume your work when you wake up," Supervisor Chen kindly spoke as he pointed at the break room.
Qin Lan nodded respectfully at her boss and then walked towards the break room while playing with her phone.
The office went back to normal, but the supervisor glanced at the break room a few more times to make sure that Qin Lan was okay.
Qin Lan entered the room and sat down on one of the bean bags placed in the corner. She powered on her phone and checked the date.
It was the tenth of May.
There wasn't enough time left.
She turned on the phone's camera and stared at her reflection. Sui Li stretched out her hand curiously and the person in the video-feed did the same.
It was hard to describe how it felt to suddenly be in someone's body and posses their memories.
Well… most of their memories.
Sui Li wasn't sure if the original Qin Lan had purposefully done something, but certain memories were locked behind a fuzzy white wall.
Besides some basic information about the apocalypse and her memories from before tragedy struck… there was nothing.
At least there was some useful information stored in the memories that she could access, and it was quite shocking.
Three days from now the world would be transformed by unknown means into a hellscape.
Animals, plants and even humans would fall unconscious or freeze in place for a short period of time that varied between individuals.
Those who awoke would either be completely fine or gain extraordinary abilities.
As for those who didn't…. they would become mindless beasts who had an endless craving for human flesh and blood.
A small crystal would form in their brain that could be swallowed by the ability users to increase the strength of their gifts.
It also had the side effect of increasing their physique. This knowledge would not become mainstream until several months into the apocalypse.
No one wanted to randomly swallow something that came from inside the monsters and only the brave or the truly mad tried to.
And the original Qin Lan's gift was…. damn it!
Sui Li scowled fiercely as she realised that another fuzzy white wall appeared in her mind whenever she tried to think about the original Qin Lan's ability.