Apocalypse: Master of Soul Beasts

Chapter 383: Chapter 17 The Only Clue_1

”Target?”

Kuangliu looked at Wen Yu oddly. Wen Yu is acting strange today, he thought.

”Yes, the target!”

”Of course, there is! The ongoing goal of the military is to beat those Demon Bastards back into the Demon Realm, and that’s my target too!” Kuangliu declared.

Wen Yu nodded and sighed. ”Let’s eat first.”

...

Breakfast ended in a strange atmosphere. Poor Claus had sat awkwardly for a long time, unsure whether to eat or not.

After the meal, Wen Yu took a sip of water and asked Claus, ”By the way, is there a golf course near the Red Stone Hotel?”

Another strange question. Claus was taken aback but quickly shook his head. ”No, not nearby, but there’s one further away. However, no one wants to go there because it’s infested with mutant rats.”

Wen Yu nodded. So the Dreamland is realistic, but it still has subtle differences from the real world, he confirmed to himself.

Then, Wen Yu lightly tapped the table and asked again, ”Have you ever heard of any human or mutant creature in this settlement with abilities related to Dreamland or Illusion?”

The crisp tapping sound echoed repeatedly, reflecting Wen Yu’s stern eyes and making Claus uneasy.

After pondering for a long time, Claus decisively shook his head. ”I haven’t heard of anything like that.”

The steady rhythm of his heartbeat, to some extent, proved Claus wasn’t lying.

Wen Yu nodded, retracting his gaze.

Kuangliu then asked, ”What’s wrong?”

”I was tricked,” Wen Yu explained. ”Someone invaded my dream last night, or rather, they deliberately created a Dreamland for me. I’m not clear on the specific reasons, or even if their intentions were good or malicious.”

Hearing this, Kuangliu instantly frowned. ”What a bizarre ability!”

Wen Yu shook his head with a wry smile. ”Its bizarreness isn’t the main issue. More importantly, this ability is also quite powerful. Frankly, even now, I’m not entirely sure if I’m still in a Dreamland or not!”

”That powerful?” Kuangliu asked incredulously.

Ultimately, skills rely on one’s physical constitution to be effective; the stronger the constitution, the more potent the skill. Given Wen Yu’s current level of power, for someone to be able to pull him into a Dreamland and make him unable to distinguish reality from Illusion, it showed just how formidable this unknown entity must be.

To put it bluntly, if this entity could trick Wen Yu, it could certainly trick Kuangliu too. Thus, in Kuangliu’s eyes, this matter no longer concerned Wen Yu alone. Kuangliu also understood the importance of eliminating unknown threats.

Seeing Kuangliu deep in thought, Wen Yu slowly shook his head. ”Don’t dwell on it. We don’t have a single clue yet. I’ve been thinking about it all morning and haven’t come up with anything. While the saying ’we’ll deal with problems as they arise’ might sound a bit reactive, I genuinely haven’t figured out a proactive solution.”

Kuangliu nodded, and the three of them fell into silence.

...

”Oh, right!” Claus suddenly stood up and exclaimed. ”I just remembered something that might be related to Dreamland or Illusion!”

Wen Yu raised an eyebrow, signaling Claus to continue.

”Sir, do you know about the incident where soldiers died in Sin City’s military?” Claus asked.

Seeing Claus’s secretive, shifty-eyed expression, Wen Yu recalled Old Sam’s earlier description of the Sin City military.

”What happened?” Wen Yu asked, his interest undeniably piqued by Claus.

”When those soldiers died in their barracks, it was a major event, so of course, I went to take a look at the scene,” Claus explained. ”While some died from external injuries, the vast majority died from immense mental shock—their heads literally exploded!”

”I don’t know if they died in a Dreamland or an Illusion. I didn’t connect it when you asked earlier, sir. Back then, we all assumed they died from some kind of Psychic Attack. But now that I think about it, killing someone in a dream... that should also count as a type of Psychic Attack, right?”

Claus’s voice trailed off, and an awkward expression spread across his face. Clearly, he was very unsure whether killing someone in a dream or an Illusion constituted a Psychic Attack. After all, there was no precedent for such things...

”It should count,” Wen Yu mused for a moment, considering his own Soul Strike skill, then nodded decisively. ”Yes, it counts! Good job this time, Claus!”

Wen Yu wasn’t stingy with such costless praise and gave Claus a thumbs-up.

Claus responded respectfully, ”It’s my honor to be of assistance to you, sir.”

”Alright, enough chitchat,” Wen Yu said. ”Where was the military camp? Take me there.”

As soon as Wen Yu said this, an awkward expression appeared on Claus’s face. ”Well, after the soldiers died, we cleaned up the bodies. No one went to the camp after that. Considering so many people died there, including quite a few powerful experts, no one dared to go. Then, a couple of days later, a fire broke out... The entire camp burned to the ground.”

Wen Yu and Kuangliu immediately exchanged glances, sensing something suspicious about this.

Although it might have been just a slight coincidence, with no other leads at the moment, even a small coincidence was enough for Wen Yu and Kuangliu to investigate thoroughly. Indeed, Kuangliu was motivated not only by the desire to eliminate unknown threats but also by wanting to help Wen Yu.

”Such a major incident, and the military didn’t investigate thoroughly?” Kuangliu asked, frowning. He was military himself, and from his perspective, the military would undoubtedly pursue such a matter to the very end.

Claus nodded. ”Investigate? Of course, they did! Even the military’s top expert, Claire, came personally. However, Mama-san Annie was in charge of their reception, and all details about the situation were completely classified. I simply didn’t have the clearance to know the proceedings.”

Claus then added awkwardly, ”I’ve told you, sirs, I’m essentially just a chief steward here. The real bosses are Yang Hong and Annie.”

Wen Yu shook his head helplessly. So Claus, despite his apparent status, is just a paper tiger, he thought. The real big shots, Yang Hong and Annie, are as elusive as a Divine Dragon that only shows its head but never its tail—utterly unfindable!

After some deep thought, Wen Yu proposed to Claus, ”Three days from now, host a dinner party here. Invite Yang Hong and Annie. Tell them it’s to welcome Claire...”

Then, Wen Yu pointed at Kuangliu. ”Organize it in his name!”