Apocalyptic Disaster: I Hoard Billions in Supplies and Kill the Saint

134: Chapter 134 Brass BadgeInside the base, the heavy metal door shut with a loud clank, and the meeting room instantly fell into silence.

The air was filled with a faint scent of rust and disinfectant, and the dim yellow light cast a long shadow of Chu Yunting’s slightly hunched figure, making him seem to have aged twenty years in an instant.

He sat there like a statue weathered by wind and snow, his aura exuding dryness and decay.

—You’re here. That’s good.

His voice was hoarse, like a sliver of comfort squeezed from the depths of his chest.

But this scene, in the eyes of those present, stirred various emotions.

Captain Chu...

Zhao Wei’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his eyes revealing complex emotions.

He still remembered Chu Yunting two months ago, standing tall and speaking with a resonant voice, never taking a step back even when facing a zombie horde. Yet now...

Who... exactly was it that did this to you?

His fist slowly clenched at his side.

Sun Hao pushed up his glasses, his expression grave.

Although he was not a former subordinate of Chu Yunting, he had once received a life-saving favor from him and had always held him in high regard.

Seeing Chu Yunting looking as if he had been forcibly gnawed away by time, a sense of unease suddenly arose in his heart:

It’s not poison, not a disease... and it doesn’t look like a virus.

This isn’t a physical problem.

He subconsciously looked at Ye Nanxing, trying to find an answer in her expression.

Ye Nanxing didn’t speak; throughout the journey here, she had already sensed Chu Yunting’s abnormality.

It wasn’t ordinary aging, nor was it stress, exhaustion, or a breakdown.

It was a deeper form of erosion—a disorder and collapse at the mental level, deep within the consciousness.

The changes in your body... are they from mental corruption?

She got straight to the point, her tone calm yet carrying an undeniable pressure.

The corners of Chu Yunting’s mouth twitched bitterly, and he nodded slowly.

...Yes.

He raised his head, a flash of deep hatred and sorrow passing through his eyes.

The source of the corruption... is an external object, a seemingly ordinary ’brass badge’. A few weeks ago, one of my cousins brought it back, claiming it was an antique lucky charm, a relic from the mental resonance experiments of the old era.

At first, it just hung in the corner of my office. But for some reason, after coming into contact with it, I started experiencing insomnia, headaches, and irritability, and later...

He took a deep breath and covered his forehead. I started having dreams. In the dreams, there were whispers, flames, and figures walking backward on a snowy plain... After waking, my memories were chaotic, and I even doubted whether I was living in a dream.

That thing, I know something is wrong with it, but—I can’t get rid of it at all. Every time I try to dispose of it, it reappears by my side...

Ye Nanxing narrowed her eyes.

This was no longer a matter of ”corrupted language.”

This was an ”alien object” on the level of an informational lifeform, possessing its own will and a forced attachment to its host.

What is your cousin’s name?

Chu Ping.

When Chu Yunting spat out this name, he was practically grinding his teeth.

He was originally one of the liaisons for the Chu family in both business and politics, but later, for some reason, he quietly defected to Luo Dechuan. I checked his accounts—a month before ’that thing’ entered the base, he suddenly received a large amount of encrypted assets.

Their target isn’t just me.

It’s the entire Chu family.

...As long as I collapse, the Chu family will fall into panic and division, and with external rumors and pressure, Luo Dechuan will be able to take advantage of the situation.

Chu Yunting smiled, but the smile was icy cold: This move is ruthless, vicious, and precise.

And... that thing isn’t just corrupting me.

It is attempting to ’gradually build a resonance field.’ Once others are affected by it one after another, my Chu family will be finished.

Is the source of the corruption still on you?

I have temporarily sealed it in the high-frequency interference cabinet of the medical pod... but it is still whispering, still trying to ’awaken me’.

A flash of fear crossed Chu Yunting’s eyes, and his voice was filled with exhaustion and helplessness:

I’m afraid that if it’s a few days later, I really... won’t be able to hold on.

Then don’t wait.

Ye Nanxing stood up, her tone cold and her gaze sharp as a blade: I’ll go take a look at that thing.

As soon as she finished speaking, the atmosphere in the meeting room instantly tightened.

Nanxing, no.

Zhao Wei stepped directly in front of her, his expression uncharacteristically grave:

This isn’t an ordinary mutated monster; it’s a source of corruption. If it can affect Captain Chu, it can affect you.

We can’t take that gamble.

Zhang Tianjin licked his lips; he wanted to say something lighthearted, but this time he couldn’t force a smile.

This isn’t a joke, boss.

He said in a low voice: If something really happens to you, who among us can replace you?

He wasn’t someone afraid of trouble, but he was afraid—if the core of this team was corrupted, the sky would collapse.

Sun Hao pushed up his glasses, his tone complex: Nanxing, we don’t yet know the specific influence mechanism of that ’brass badge.’ Maybe if you get too close...

It might be invading the mental network using ’cracks in the will’ as a medium. You are a spatial ability user now, so your mental frequency is more sensitive.

It might corrupt you even faster than it did Captain Chu.

Sis! Don’t go!

Zhou Cheng blurted out, his eyes full of urgency and nervousness:

Didn’t you say last time that you were about to ’explode’? Your mental state is worse than any of us! If you take another hit, you really won’t be able to handle it—

Before he could finish, he met Ye Nanxing’s calm and cold eyes.

I know.

She said calmly, her voice like a blade pressing down in the wind and snow: I also know what it might do to me.

But I also know more clearly that if we don’t take the initiative to deal with it, it will continue to spread—affecting Chu Yunting, affecting the entire base, and it might even tear a hole through the entire Southwest.

Who do you want to be the one facing it next time?

She turned her head and looked at everyone one by one. Her voice was not loud, but it carried weight: With my spatial abilities, I am the most suitable person to face it.

She said this with absolute calm, even carrying a hint of inexplicable—coercion.

At this moment, a figure stood in the shadows in the corner of the meeting room, as if having been there from the beginning.

Yan.

He watched Ye Nanxing silently, his eyes deep.

His aura remained mysterious and silent, as if separated from reality by a thin mist.

But after Ye Nanxing’s words fell, he suddenly spoke.

His voice was hoarse but carried a strange piercing quality: I will go with you.

The voice was as hoarse as the distant bell in the night wind, echoing in the hearts of everyone in the meeting room.

Everyone was suddenly stunned.

Chu Yunting’s expression changed abruptly.

Zhao Wei, Zhang Tianjin, Sun Hao, and Zhou Cheng all looked at him, surprise, suspicion, and shock intertwined in their eyes.

His eyes were deep, staring fixedly at Ye Nanxing.

It was not doubt, nor was it worry, but something... familiar.

That kind of gaze made Ye Nanxing frown almost imperceptibly.

She was too familiar with that expression—it wasn’t about worrying that others would be hurt, but about recalling a nightmare from the past.