Chapter 62: Mystery About Black Veins People

The old man rested his hands on the table.

"After I started distributing the fruits, our situation improved. People had more strength, and at least they weren’t constantly struggling with hunger anymore. But the fruits wouldn’t last forever. We needed more, so I took a few people upstairs to collect them."

Zarek leaned back in his chair, listening.

"We’d been there before, so we knew where to look. The problem was that things had changed since my last visit."

The old man paused, his expression growing serious.

"The tentacles had spread. There were more of them than before, reaching into places they hadn’t occupied the last time we went up. Some had grown across the walls and ceilings, while others covered parts of the corridors. We had to be careful where we stepped, even when we thought we were far enough away."

Mara listened without interrupting. She had already heard what those things could do to a person. The thought of them spreading even farther wasn’t reassuring.

"At first, we thought the creature had simply grown more aggressive," the old man continued. "Then we noticed something in the middle of all those tentacles."

He looked at Zarek.

"Something was developing there."

Zarek’s interest sharpened.

"I couldn’t get close enough to examine it properly. The tentacles were everywhere, and getting careless would have cost us our lives. We only had a limited amount of time to collect the fruits, so I brought my people back before we lost anyone."

He paused before adding, "But I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it."

Zarek had heard enough to understand. The creature on the fortieth floor had already turned an entire stretch of the building into a death trap. Now its tentacles were spreading, and something was developing among them.

Whatever it was, it could be nothing more than another horrifying change in a world that had already gone to hell.

Or it could be something worth taking a risk for.

The second possibility was enough to keep his attention.

"So you want to go back and investigate it," Zarek said.

"That’s right. I need someone who can help us deal with whatever we find."

"And you came to me."

The old man nodded.

Zarek let the silence linger for a moment before asking, "What do I get out of it?"

He wasn’t interested in doing favors for strangers. The old man had information, people, and access to resources that might prove useful, but none of that meant Zarek should put himself in danger for free.

The old man seemed to expect the question.

"If we find something useful, you’ll receive an equal share of it."

Zarek studied his face.

"An equal share?"

"Whatever we discover that has value. If it’s something we can use, we’ll divide it equally between us."

The offer was simple enough. There was no point arguing over the division of something they hadn’t even found yet.

Of course, the old man could promise him anything while sitting safely at a table. Whether he would honor the agreement once they found something valuable was another matter.

Still, Zarek had no reason to reject the proposal outright.

The apocalypse had already shown him that strength alone wasn’t the only thing worth pursuing. Information could be just as valuable, especially when it concerned something capable of killing people who had spent weeks learning how to survive.

If the thing developing among those tentacles had any use, he wanted to know about it before someone else did.

The old man leaned forward slightly.

"Don’t worry about having to face it alone. I’ll bring my entire team. We’ll go together, and with more people, our chances of surviving should be much better."

Zarek glanced at the men standing behind him. They had remained quiet throughout the conversation, leaving the old man to handle the negotiations.

Their presence was a reminder that he wasn’t dealing with a lone survivor who had stumbled upon a secret. The old man had an organized group, weapons, and enough authority that his people followed his lead without constantly questioning him.

That made the offer more appealing, though it didn’t make it safe.

"Your whole team, huh?" Zarek said. "Then you must think there’s something worth finding."

"I wouldn’t ask you to come if I thought otherwise."

The old man didn’t elaborate. He didn’t need to. Whatever had caught his attention upstairs was important enough for him to seek outside help instead of simply taking his own people back there.

Zarek looked at him for another moment.

There was something else he wanted to understand.

"Why me?"

The old man had approached him directly from the start he first saw him.

There had to be a reason beyond needing another pair of hands.

"Because you’re different," the old man replied.

"I noticed it the first time we met. You don’t seem like the others, and your strength has been increasing. I’ve seen people become stronger after consuming the fruits, but what happened to you doesn’t look like that."

His gaze moved briefly over Zarek’s frame.

"I can’t tell you why it’s happening. I don’t know what you’ve done or what caused the change. But I’ve watched enough people struggle to survive in this building to recognize that you’re not ordinary."

Zarek said nothing.

The old man wasn’t entirely wrong. His body had undergone a transformation that would have seemed impossible before the apocalypse. His strength had increased dramatically, and even now he was still learning how much force he could use without damaging everything around him.

But the old man knew nothing about the Investment System. He was making a judgment based on what he had seen.

"I think there’s a good chance you’re one of those mutant individuals," the old man added.

Mara turned her attention toward Zarek. She had witnessed the changes in him herself, but hearing someone else describe him that way gave the matter a different weight.

Zarek, however, wasn’t particularly bothered by the label.

He leaned forward.

"Fine. If there’s something useful up there, I want my share."

"You’ll have it."

"Then let’s see what you’ve found."

The old man gave a slow nod.

"Good. Whatever is happening up there, we’ll find out together."