It had to be that entity that had previously resided inside Damien’s body. There was no one else capable of such manipulation.
The re thought of it filled Ivy with blazing anger.
’Calm down... anger won’t solve anything.’
It took her several long seconds before she finally managed to steady her emotions.
Once she did, she turned her attention back to the rules she had previously created.
Earlier, Ivy had established a very strict principle: even without malicious intent, no person was allowed to harm another within the base.
The rule had been designed specifically to prevent situations like this.
For example, soone might be ntally influenced into attacking another person. In such a case, the influenced individual would not actually possess the intent to kill. They would rely be acting like a puppet with an empty mind, following commands blindly.
That was exactly why Ivy had written the rule so carefully.
Intent alone did not matter.
The re act of attempting harm was enough to trigger the rules and remove the offender imdiately, even if that person had been under soone else’s influence.
Because of this, exploiting loopholes in the rules beca almost impossible.
For the first ti since creating those laws, Ivy actually felt thrilled.
’Good thing I was paranoid enough to write them this thoroughly.’
While she was silently praising her own foresight, the superior being had already begun planning its next move elsewhere.
Since it could no longer use the civilians inside the base as puppets, it decided to lure humans outside instead and devour them to gain more power.
Without the slightest hesitation, it gave a new command to Mango, Anthony, and Liam.
"Enter the base again and bring your family mbers out."
For a brief flicker of a mont, Mango’s eyes trembled.
There was resistance in them.
His fists tightened slightly as if he was about to rebel against the command.
But the mont passed quickly.
The resistance faded, and he obediently nodded.
Damien watched this with a smug smirk on his face.
’So people will try to resist my influence,’ he thought lazily. ’So might even succeed.’
His smile widened slightly. ’But what does it matter in the end?’
At the end of the day, they had no choice but to obey him.
With that thought, he watched as Mango, Anthony, and Liam walked back toward the base entrance.
However, even after waiting for a long ti, no one ca out.
Damien frowned slightly. ’What are those idiots doing?’
Just as he began to suspect that the trio had failed to convince their families, he suddenly saw a few people walking out of the base gates in the distance.
His eyes imdiately lit up with excitent.
"In the future... I won’t need to rely on anyone else," he murmured softly.
An hour before, Ivy had already been notified that Anthony, Liam, and Mango had appeared at the entrance earlier.
When the system reported that the trio had been automatically expelled, Ivy imdiately instructed the security departnt.
"Notify the mont those three return."
She paused briefly before adding another order. "And detain them imdiately."
Her commands carried absolute authority.
Within the base, they were no different from the decree of fate itself. No one dared to disobey them.
So when Anthony, Liam, and Mango attempted to re-enter the base later, security officers instantly surrounded them and restrained them without hesitation.
The trio was escorted into a completely different room.
An investigation room.
The mont they were brought inside, the three of them began struggling violently, their movents erratic and desperate.
Ivy watched them silently through the observation screen.
She did not attempt to reason with them. She already knew it would be pointless.
Instead, she called for a few very specific individuals.
Influencers.
Before the apocalypse, these people had been ordinary internet personalities, individuals who used to showcase luxury cars, flaunt their lifestyles, perform pranks, or create ridiculous challenge videos for millions of followers online.
But after the apocalypse, sothing strange had happened.
They awakened a unique ability.
As long as they selected a target, their voices could influence that person’s mind.
It was sowhat similar to mind control, but not completely identical.
True mind control granted full access to another person’s brain.
Influence, on the other hand, was more subtle.
It pushed the victim toward obeying commands through powerful ntal suggestion.
Soon, several influencers entered the investigation room.
The mont they arrived, they imdiately approached the restrained trio and repeatedly used their abilities.
Their voices echoed through the sterile room like a hypnotic rhythm.
"Focus. Rember. Think carefully."
Under the overwhelming pressure of repeated influence, the trio’s expressions slowly changed.
Their chaotic struggles gradually weakened.
Finally, their consciousness began returning.
Even though they had previously followed commands like empty puppets, they had absolutely no mory of doing so.
It was Ivy who inford them about everything they had almost done.
The mont they realized that they had been manipulated by a superior being, their faces turned pale with shock.
Then Ivy asked calmly, "What command were you given this ti?"
Anthony, Liam, and Mango exchanged confused glances.
"We... don’t rember," they replied while shaking their heads.
Ivy frowned slightly and turned toward the influencers beside her.
The influencers nodded.
"We can try to extract the hidden command," one of them explained.
With that, one influencer stepped forward and approached Mango.
He stood directly in front of him and stared deeply into his eyes.
"What command were you given?"
For several seconds, Mango remained silent.
His jaw trembled slightly as if he was still fighting against sothing deep inside his mind.
Suddenly, he coughed violently, and a trace of blood appeared on his lips.
But instead of resisting further, his voice finally erged in a dull, distant tone.
"I... was ordered... to bring my family mbers outside."
The mont those words left his mouth, Ivy’s eyes widened slightly.
And almost instantly, Damien’s earlier words echoed inside her mind.
That entity...
It needed to consu human flesh.
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