At this point, Ryan noticed a woman in red sitting in another corner of the club. She had short black hair, and even with sunglasses covering half of her face, it was easy to guess she was quite "exquisite" in appearance.
As his gaze passed over her, Ryan hesitated for a moment.
What puzzled him was why the woman was wearing a tight-fitting red qipao dress. In other places or in well-secured countries, dressing like that would be fine, but in one of the poorest and most chaotic regions...
Perhaps she was an eccentric assassin or mercenary.
After all, the fact that she could sit there calmly without being harassed indicated she could handle trouble.
Ryan came up with this plausible explanation and stopped focusing on the woman in red. He approached the bar, intending to inquire about the strange patients and the current situation in Loja.
"What can I get... uh, young man, what's with the gear?" The bartender, a woman with a scar on her left cheek and messy brown hair, was puzzled by Ryan's "fully armed" appearance.
"I was going to ask you guys, aren't you afraid of getting sick?" Ryan seized the opportunity to gather information.
"You mean those folks outside?" The bartender paused, then laughed, "Looking at how cautious you are, as long as you don't have fresh wounds or sleep with them, there's nothing to worry about. You don't fancy black girls, do you, kid?"
"..."
Such a candid response left Ryan momentarily speechless, but he gleaned that the unknown disease spread through blood and bodily fluids, not through the air. He removed his filter mask, feigning resignation, "Who doesn't value their life? Besides, I was told there were good opportunities here, but it's all so weird."
"Yo~!" Seeing Ryan's face, the bartender whistled, "Not many young lads like you around here. Just wondering..."
She stood on tiptoe, peeking over the bar, and teased, "Just wondering if you've got the stamina to match. Want to give it a try with me?"
"..."
"Hahaha~! Just kidding. This one's on the house." The bartender poured a tequila shot for Ryan, unable to hide her amusement as she continued, "And you can drop the act. You're clearly a rookie. As for what exactly is happening in Loja, we're not too sure. We just know that about a month ago, it started in the northern villages. Within two days of getting sick, people were dead."
Leaning in closer, she whispered, "The first village where this disease broke out? Everyone's dead in just a few days. Even without contact with blood or bodily fluids, it somehow spread. The only local who made it out went mad, couldn't say anything useful, and vanished into the woods when the disease reached the town. Kid, you came at the wrong time. If you're looking to make some quick cash, those bookworms over there have a job."
"Them?" Following her gaze, Ryan saw the bewildered group of teachers and students and continued, "There are plenty of guys here. Why don't they take it?"
"Not enough pay. The oldest guy says it's a great discovery~! Something about the 'Flower of God!' But it's just babysitting, protecting them while they go to a village where everyone died, then exploring the rainforest. All for just a thousand bucks. Who'd do charity work for that? Great discovery~ Flower of God~, huh, they're lucky if they don't get killed! Hey... hey? You're really going?"
As Ryan walked away, the bartender muttered, "Tsk tsk... It's not like I couldn't afford a little money."
Ryan was only thinking about understanding the situation, solving the problem, and successfully completing his graduation exam.
What he didn't notice was that as he approached the group of teachers and students, the woman in red silently left the club.
"Professor, let's leave."
"Yeah, professor, did you see the people outside? It's too dangerous here."
Before he even got close, Ryan heard the students urging their teacher to leave quickly.
"Sigh..." The white-haired, slightly overweight professor removed his glasses, wiped the lenses with his shirt corner, and sighed, "We were so close, just a bit more, and we could have found the legendary ancient city and the Flower of God. I... I can't accept it."
"But professor, didn't you hear what the bartender said? A war is about to break out; we should leave..."
"A thousand bucks, right? I'll take it." Ryan, now standing by their booth, interrupted the student's plea.
???
The entire group of teachers and students looked up at the "blonde mercenary" who had appeared out of nowhere with surprised faces.
"Uh... buddy..." A slightly burly male student asked incredulously, "Are you sure?"
"Of course."
---
Meanwhile.
In Seattle, which was seven hours behind the Congo, it was the middle of the night.
A bird's-eye view would reveal that Seattle was still bustling, brightly lit, and its streets were filled with tourists, some strolling and enjoying the night scenery, others drinking cold beer or strong liquor at open-air stalls, making it a city that never sleeps.
Located in the city's most bustling and central area, the Atlas headquarters, standing over four hundred meters tall, was undoubtedly a landmark of Seattle.
In the top-floor office of the headquarters, three sides of the room had floor-to-ceiling windows, offering a panoramic view of the entire city.
But Samuel Young, seated behind a solid wood desk, wasn't in the mood to enjoy it. He was focused on several holographic screens projected onto his desk.
The screens displayed content such as "Strange Patients Found in Loja, Central Congo," "Investigation Report on Mayor Halden Bruce," along with related images and videos.
Things had been turbulent recently.
First, there was Seattle's Mayor Halden Bruce. Samuel had agreed to meet with him on the 16th, which was tomorrow afternoon, but had actually increased surveillance on him.
Sure enough, Bruce couldn't withstand scrutiny.
While he wasn't personally at fault, his residence had been infiltrated by a superhuman capable of invisibility the day before.
However, Halden Bruce had been supported by Atlas and adhered to strict regulations, leaving no personal scandals that Vought could use as leverage.
It was time to give Vought a headache.
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