The King of Curses

Chapter 100 Kong Yinlian's Melancholy
Kong Yinlian stood at the door of the elevator inside the laboratory, waiting quietly.

She was the only one here because she knew that her boss didn't like gatherings with too many people and was not very interested in the lively scene of being surrounded and welcomed by subordinates.

The woman was anxious, "Why hasn't the boss come yet? I can't control the situation any more..." But she didn't show it on her face.

If getting angry could solve the problem, she would have done it long ago, but it was pointless.

Whether in front of her boss or other subordinates of her boss, she always maintains a calm and composed attitude, which shows that she has been honed through hard work.

In a word, there is no point in panicking.

Not to mention the boss, she is willful and selfish, often having sudden ideas and adding burdens to her subordinates, but she also understands human nature: the difficulty of each task is kept to a level that will make Kong Yinlian suffer enough and squeeze out as much value as possible from her, while at the same time being just enough to complete it within the specified time... It makes people feel miserable.

The price was that Kong Yinlian's mental pressure became very heavy, extremely heavy.

And on the other side-

The boss's subordinates come from all walks of life and are scattered in different groups. Some are just starting their careers, some are still in the running-in stage with their partners, some have just joined this force, and some have not even joined yet. It is inevitable that there will be "thorns" who disobey discipline and orders.

For Kong Yinlian, these were all targets that needed to be dealt with. But she was, after all, a top-class spell master, an elite even in later generations, and even more so in this era of the "first wave", where she had few rivals.

Therefore, there are indeed some people who are easier to deal with - at least, she still has the ultimate violent means to use.

The problem often lies with those against whom violence cannot be used.

For example, the team of scientists and engineers who formed the laboratory included scientific research talents who were recruited from other research institutes and even other countries at high salaries.

Even the boss himself had never used his abilities on them.

Although from the perspective of a person who has experienced it personally, she can guarantee that people who are interfered with by "Tian Kui Quan Shou" can still think normally, but some of their thoughts will be restricted;

But in the boss's view, it is precisely that inspiration, that unrestrained, wild imagination, which is the symbol of genius and may become the key to opening the door to a new world, so it is not restricted.

This is the "special treatment", special treatment for the brains of scientific research talents, which even the spell-binding masters cannot enjoy.

Since even the boss didn't take any action, she, as a subordinate, naturally couldn't act on her own and could only go along with the group of people.

Therefore, among various industries, the research institute is one of the projects that the boss values ​​most, and it has also become the most troublesome one.

The main situation at present is that there is no leader in the institute, several team leaders dislike each other, and there is a lack of cooperation between teams. So far, there is an urgent need for a central figure to pull the members of the entire project together.

Kong Yinlian couldn't do this for her. After all, she was a spell master, not a scientist, and knew nothing about academic research.

The only person who can do this is the boss.

While Kong Yinlian was waiting for An Zhizhen to arrive, she was thinking about the question that had puzzled her recently:

"Speaking of which... the boss's whereabouts have been a little mysterious recently, and his responses to messages have not been as timely as usual. Is he busy with other important matters, or has he come up with a new idea?"

In case it is the latter——

Just thinking about it made the woman's stomach twitch.

In addition to the need to get the research institute's projects on track as quickly as possible, contacting government agencies and establishing a supernatural department specifically responsible for matters related to curse masters and ghosts have also been put on the agenda, and all of them need to be presided over by An Zhizhen himself.

...No matter how hard Kong Yinlian tried, she probably couldn't guess that her boss wanted to have time to go out and play with a man.

By the way, although Kong Yinlian had a very good impression of Cen Dongsheng before, and could be said to be full of gratitude, after all, it was because of him that she survived; but recently, Kong Yinlian has been secretly thinking about this man.

The reason is that every time Kong Yinlian couldn't bear the oppression, she would euphemistically ask her boss if she could find a few more "assistants", "secretaries", or simply "slaves" to replace her - at least don't always oppress her alone, anyway, there are already many curse masters controlled by "Tian Kui Quan Shou";

And for such reasonable requests, the boss's excuse is always -

"I'm sorry, Dongsheng told me that he doesn't want other people of the opposite sex around me. Although he looks silly, he is actually very jealous, and I don't want to make him angry... So, before you find the right person, you can only work hard, Yinlian."

...Can you please stop involving other people in the jealousy between the two of you?

Kong Yinlian really wanted to vent her anger by yelling at her boss like this, but unfortunately she didn't dare.

Ten minutes later, she saw from the surveillance camera that an SUV was parked outside the gate of the institute.

Kong Yinlian quickly recognized that the car belonged to Cen Dongsheng. She had remembered it the last time the man came to the institute.

So, the boss is in this car.

Seeing the familiar figure getting off the car alone, Kong Yinlian's eyes lit up and she hurried forward to greet him.

*
The institute's floor area seems small, with only two three-story gray buildings standing side by side. It is located in a higher education park in the suburbs, with little traffic. It is usually very quiet and inconspicuous in the urban area.

However, this building on the ground is actually a "disguise". The actual main part of the institute is located underground. It covers a very large area and is divided into three floors, with a special living area.

Currently, only a prototype has been built in the institute, with many areas left blank and the personnel and equipment configuration incomplete. Despite this, the ambition of the project leader can still be seen from the scale of the project.

……

Kong Yinlian came alone to welcome them. When she saw An Zhizhen for the first time, she was stunned for a moment, as if she was surprised.

"what happened?"

Kong Yinlian asked tentatively:

"May I ask about your clothes..."

An Zhizhen looked down and saw that even though she had adjusted her dress, wrinkles were still unavoidably visible on the originally neat long skirt.

It was obviously the "credit" of a certain man who rubbed it too roughly and forcefully. The marks left were very obvious and could not be removed.

There is no way, some expensive clothes are as delicate as women's skin. And the latter can be restored, while the former can only be thrown away after being worn once.

"Oh, I forgot. How rude of me."

An Zhizhen held her cheek, her face felt a little hot. She thought of her experience in the morning and felt shy unconsciously.

But she concealed it very well, or it could be said that Kong Yinlian had never thought about it in this direction. Women just thought that this was indeed a rare thing.

My boss pays great attention to her appearance on a daily basis, which allows her to bring out her charm to the fullest.

"What should I do...I have to meet someone later." An Zhizhen was a little distressed.

"Please follow me. I have prepared a dressing room and a change of clothes."

Kong Yinlian pointed the way for her as she spoke.

This is the strength of a professional secretary. Even though the boss has never mentioned this need, as an assistant, you can think of things that others cannot.

No matter where you are, you must always make sure that your boss looks radiant, which is something she can think of but others may not notice.

"Thank you, Silver Lotus. You are very thoughtful."

An Zhizhen smiled happily.

"You've worked for me for so long and have done a great job. That's great, and I want to reward you. Is there anything you want? Money, or ways to improve your strength, I can provide both."

...If possible, I hope you can grant more vacations and less temporary work...

Kong Yinlian sighed secretly and replied.

"Thank you for the compliment, but I don't have any idea yet."

"It's okay. We can talk about it after this is over. Now, take me there."

An Zhizhen clapped her hands.

"From your report, I think some people can't wait any longer."

"Yes." Kong Yinlian replied respectfully, "Everyone in the institute is eagerly waiting for your visit and guidance."

*
Half an hour later, Cen Dongsheng and Yi Qingyan made an agreement to go out and play during the holidays, then got off the car together and headed to the research institute.

He still remembered the way he entered the institute last time and quickly found the internal elevator leading to the underground facility.

There are few people in the buildings on the ground. Apart from the patrolling security guards at the doors in different directions and the aunties in charge of sanitation, there are only a few liaison personnel inside.

But this was an illusion. Even Cen Dongsheng, whose perception was not very sharp, could feel that every inch of land in this place was hiding the flow of true qi and was covered by a large number of curses. In addition, the cameras placed in the open and hidden in every corner established a huge surveillance system, coldly watching everyone who approached, not even letting go of flies.

Each door has a complex electronic lock and biometric system. It is impossible for ordinary outside visitors to pass through smoothly like Cen Dongsheng and Yi Qingyan.

The reason why he could do this was simple: ever since An Zhizhen personally accompanied him here last time, he had the highest level of security authority.

Along the way, some people didn't know where this strange-looking man came from, and were confused to see him walking around the bases with his men. And those who knew the situation all had strange expressions on their faces.

In short, no one was so blind as to come and stop them, so they were able to enjoy the scene inside the base in peace.

They were walking in a long corridor, the walls and ceiling covered with industrial-style gray steel plates, with only low incandescent lamps occasionally casting dim light.

The air in the specific area was filled with a slightly pungent smell of disinfectant, and the sound of footsteps echoed in the empty space, appearing particularly clear.

Walking along the corridor, there are closed laboratories and offices on both sides. In the places with observation windows, through the glass, you can see people wearing protective clothing, busy and concentrating on their work.
Some rooms are empty but filled with complex instruments and equipment, with unknown data flashing on the display screens; some rooms are filled with culture dishes and reagent bottles, with liquids in the bottles constantly changing color.

Walking along the road stairs towards the central area, it took twenty minutes, and they still hadn't reached the end. Yi Qingyan walked around with a look of amazement on her face.

Cen Dongsheng thought that since she had seen the interior of the research facility, she should be able to feel a little bit of Sister Zhizhen's courage; but he heard her mutter in a low voice:
"It always feels... similar."

"Uh, like what?"

"It's very similar to the labs in science fiction movies that are used for human experiments. Or it's a base where some dangerous top-secret research is conducted, but due to an accident, the test products are leaked, the experimental organisms escape, and everyone dies... It feels like that."

...It's really a bit similar.

However, from his perspective as a person from the future, this place is generally safe, and no scenes that would appear in horror movies have occurred.

……

Cen Dongsheng and his team quickly arrived at their destination.

The most eye-catching is the core area located on the bottom floor of the facility. A huge data center stands in the center. Rows of servers are running at high speed, making a slight buzzing sound, and the surrounding walls are covered with cooling pipes.

He saw An Zhizhen and Kong Yinlian not far away. Surrounding them was a group of people in white coats, both men and women, including foreigners.

The conversation over there seemed to have just ended at An Zhizhen's end, and the crowd surrounding her dispersed. The woman saw the brother and sister at a glance and walked over with a smile on her face.

"here it is……?"

Cen Dongsheng looked around and found that this place had the least people along the way.

"It's a database. Only people with level III clearance or above can enter here. Are you interested? I can take you..."

An Zhizhen noticed that the man and the girl had similar expressions on their faces almost at the same time, and thought that the two really felt a bit like brother and sister, and were particularly in sync in some ways.

"It seems not."

Sister Zhizhen added sympathetically:
"Then let me offer you a topic that may be of interest to you two. We are preparing a new project to preliminarily measure the strength of the abilities of the curse masters. In the future, we hope to obtain an accurate strength rating through a comprehensive evaluation including this experiment."

"Oh~"

Cen Dongsheng's eyes lit up.

This kind of ability level test has become quite popular in later generations, including when he first joined the ruling bureau and when he applied for promotion.

He still remembered that in the novels he had read before, there were also similar plots when the protagonist joined a certain mysterious organization... But this time, he participated in the initial formulation process of this standardized test "Where do we come from and where are we going". It must be said that it was a novel experience.

"Dongsheng, didn't you just awaken your new ability today? Why don't you test it out here?"

An Zhizhen winked at the young man.

"Right on my mind."

Cen Dongsheng agreed readily.

(End of this chapter)