Apocalypse: becoming the hidden Ruler[English]

That meant Wolfe had already taken action ahead of time. Sure enough, just as he suspected, he got a call from Freya moments later.

”Captain, I’ve checked. All these people are missing.”

”How long?”

”Some have been missing for months, others just in the last few days.”

Skye scrolled through the list on his phone, matching them to what Freya had said. ”Those ‘accepted’ have been missing for months... But the ‘rejected’-vanished just recently...”

There was only one explanation. They’d been silenced by Wolfe.

”Alright. I understand.” Skye crushed out his cigarette. Normally, with an ordinary case, he’d simply arrest someone and be done with it. But not now—not with Wolfe involved.

”I found something.”

Skye’s eyes narrowed, and he walked over. “What is it?”

Axel pointed at the faint black-and-red marks on the ground. After squatting down and getting a closer look, Skye’s eyes widened in surprise. ”Is this… the trace of corpse-dissolving fluid?!”

”I found this outside while you were inside. It’s possible the person was… dissolved?”

”It’s very possible.”

”Shit, you really are something, Axel.” Skye grinned. ”If no school wants you after graduation, you can come work for us. With your skills, what do we need a bloodhound for?”

Axel turned away, not wanting to talk.

Skye laughed heartily, pulled out a small shovel and began scraping up the soil stained with the corpse-dissolving fluid, dropping it into a transparent bag.

”Wolfe’s men really aren’t thorough enough. But we thank them for that.” At this moment, Skye was glad he’d brought Axel along.

”Is this enough?” Axel asked, his curiosity, however, was now fully on the red crystal he’d found.

”You know, kid, being too damn curious isn’t always a good thing” Skye shook his head, looking at Axel with some joking.

”Well, it’s not enough to lock him up, but I can catch him.” He smiled wickedly. ”I’ll put him in a cell for 48 hours. Whether he confesses or not, that’s not his call.”

Axel felt a shiver run down his spine at Skye’s vicious grin and couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for Wolfe.

”Hey, Freya, we’ve got evidence! Let’s arrest him now!” Skye’s voice was loud through the phone. ”What do you mean, don’t act rashly? Just lock this bastard up for me.”

As soon as the DNA matched the missing person from the list, he could tie Wolfe to everything. The ones who ”accepted” the offer became infected, and the ones who ”rejected” ended up dead or disappeared. Didn’t you have to explain?

Didn’t tell? If it was the police, there would be no way to force him, but Skye could, and the law enforcement bureau could.

As for Wolfe’s local connections and his impact on the local economy, sorry, he had just been in Dune for a year and didn’t know many people, so he didn’t give face to anyone.

A couple of hours later, after learning that Wolfe had been arrested, Axel finally breathed a sigh of relief and returned home. He had done his part, and everything else was out of his hands.

What was really on his mind now was the red crystal.

”Green crystals directly enhance the Force… What about the red ones?” Axel wondered.

Previously, he’d worried about leveling up too fast and drawing attention, but after the encounter with Wolfe’s men, Axel realized that strength was the real foundation of survival.

”To hell with it. Let’s see what this does,” Axel muttered to himself. He locked himself in his room, holding the red crystal. In an instant, the crystal dissolved into a flood of red light that swept through his body. The world around him spun violently.

He kept his eyes open, but something strange happened—he could suddenly see the meridians and spiritual pathways inside his body. In the deepest part of his spiritual world, a massive tree appeared.

It was enormous, its peak seeming to pierce through the dark clouds above, but the tree itself was withered and dry, except for the roots at the very bottom, which pulsed with a faint vitality.

Then, a white ball of light appeared at the base of the tree, as if it were a new sprout gently emerging from the trunk.

”What the hell is this?” Axel gasped in awe. He had never seen anything like it in any of the records about Awakened individuals.

But before he could get a deeper understanding, the strange vision suddenly snapped away, forcing him out of the trance. And a sudden realization surged within him. The white ball of light seemed to represent an awakening skill.

Axel hesitated, then focused on it, silently activating it within himself. The next moment, an incredible sensation flooded his senses.

There was something about the energy inside him that made him feel like he was soaking in hot water. His fatigue seemed to melt away, replaced with an unfamiliar sense of vitality.

”Ugh...” Axel couldn’t help but groan. ”This... this is definitely an awakening skill.” After regaining most of his strength, Axel could feel the force value in his body ebbing away.

He let out a deep breath, trying not to laugh too loud, though his grin only got wider. ”This ability... this is fucking insane.”

At first, Axel had thought that his ability to extract force crystals from corpses was already overpowered. But now? He could extract the “awakening skills” of the dead.

Most awakened individuals could only grasp awakening skills that matched their own attributes. Take Skye, for example—he had the body-hardening ability, so his awakening was probably focused on strengthening his physique, especially his defense.

But Axel’s new skill—this “recovery” ability—was an auxiliary one, common but incredibly useful. It let him convert his own force to restore a significant amount of physical stamina.

Axel recalled the towering tree he had seen within his spiritual world. If it were filled with awakening skills... could he become the legendary ”universal awakener”?

The idea had been proposed by a few scholars before—something about letting a body-strengthening awakener learn mechanical transformation skills, or mixing various skills. But in the end, it only led to strange, unstable awakeners.

Awakening skills usually took years of practice to master, with some first-level awakeners struggling to activate them at all. But Axel felt like he had used the ”recovery” skill countless times before—it came naturally.

Of course, becoming a “universal awakener” was just a fantasy for now. After all, finding the corpses of awakener wasn’t exactly easy.

Axel wasn’t tired yet, so he took out the fine raw stones that Skye had given him and started absorbing them. Sure, the process was slow compared to directly refining crystals, but at least it was progress.

......

Meanwhile, in the heart of Dune, where the city’s wealthiest lived, the Red Flag Avenue blazed with lights well past midnight. In a pristine mansion that looked like a castle, Wolfe, dressed in a dark green nightgown, relaxed with a beautiful woman in his arms. He listened to a report from his subordinate, Frost, detailing Axel’s interrogation.

Wolfe’s lips curled into a smile as he listened. “Once the storm dies down, find a way to get rid of this guy.”

“Understood.”

Just then, the door suddenly flew open.

”Wolfe, sorry to bother you,” a gruff voice called out. “I’m Captain Skye, from the Enforcement Bureau. I suspect you’re involved with the infected appearing in Area C of the slums. You’re coming with me.”

Wolfe raised an eyebrow. As he glanced at Frost, a slight smirk tugged at his lips.

”Captain Skye,” Wolfe said, feigning politeness. ”What’s this all about? Can’t we talk about this tomorrow? No need to make such a big fuss.”

“I’m afraid not,” Skye replied, flashing a relaxed grin as he casually dropped onto a large leather sofa across from Wolfe.

He popped a few grapes into his mouth, chewing with exaggerated enjoyment, the juice splattering. ”Wolfe. You know that matters involving the infected aren’t something to take lightly.”

”If I’m wrong here, I’ll personally come and apologize to you. How does that sound?”