Apocalypse: Master of Soul Beasts

”Of course, it counts!”

Upon hearing Wen Yu’s confirmation, Tang Haofei muttered to himself, ”So, that means when the time comes, the two of us would be comrades fighting side by side. Since we’re comrades, I think we’d better get a bit more familiar with each other, don’t you think?”

Seeing Tang Haofei’s inquisitive look, Wen Yu couldn’t help but burst out laughing, ”If you want to probe me, just say it directly. No need to beat around the bush like this...”

Having his little ploy uncovered by Wen Yu, Tang Haofei shrugged indifferently, without any embarrassment or anger. Old Tang instead leaned in closer to Wen Yu with a playful grin, ”Yeah, let me be direct then. By the way, what’s your Soul Strength now...”

Watching Tang Haofei beside him, acting all shameless, Wen Yu suddenly felt a sense of disorientation as the person in front of him quickly overlapped with the Tang Haofei in his memories. The Tang Haofei of old was genuine and passionate, occasionally a bit naive. But the present Tang Haofei, having just met for the first time, gave Wen Yu a first impression that was not as arrogant and quick-tempered as intelligence had suggested, but rather with a slight resemblance to the Tang Haofei of old...

The same face, the same voice, even the same enthusiasm, the same abandonment of conventional ways...

The strange feeling of disorientation flashed by, and Wen Yu was left somewhat puzzled—who exactly is the current Tang Haofei, Tang One or Tang Two? Since meeting Tang Haofei, Wen Yu had yet to figure out which Tang Haofei this current one is.

Frowning as he scrutinized Tang Haofei’s face once more, looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar man in front of him, Wen Yu decisively pushed aside the philosophical question of ”who is Tang Haofei, who Tang Haofei is” and instead replied to Tang Haofei’s question, ”Probably just a bit weaker than you.”

Wen Yu’s response was very vague, but Tang Haofei didn’t care much about these details. Coincidentally, the group passed by the ”canteen area,” and looking at the mountain of corpses emitting a foul stench in the distance, Tang Haofei gazed around curiously until he heard Wen Yu’s voice beside him.

”Is your sixth skill a new resurrection skill?”

”Yeah.”

As Tang Haofei observed the busy ant and beast formations in the distance, he replied inattentively, ”It’s an Esoteric Level resurrection skill the military painstakingly acquired, can revive once every three days. In fact, I’m planning to cleanse True Words Technique and Power of Heaven and Earth and replace them with other resurrection skills. You know the Life and Death Battle Execution ability—it can enhance strength rapidly if used well, along with Challenger trials... Speaking of which, now there’s hardly anything in this world worth challenging for me... Oh yeah, that, that over there is probably something created by your new skill, right?”

Tang Haofei pointed at the distant Corpse puppet and asked Wen Yu.

”Yes, it’s the Soul Abiogenetic Creation Skill. By now, the military should have records of my new skill internally.”

As Wen Yu processed the information in Tang Haofei’s words, he answered his question.

”I hear you’ve pulled most of the military’s powerful experts into the Ultimate Force Team? Aren’t you worried Lin Haifeng will be anxious with you?”

”Why should I be afraid of him? As for your skill, wow, it’s pretty effective, huh? Those moving stones, made by you, right?”

”Yes, just some minor tricks, not very strong, barely can handle some chores, like cleaning up battlefields and such. Heard you dismantled the Independents Mutual Aid Federation I established before? And pulled most of the Independents into the military?”

”Yeah, I had Qin Min handle that. You won’t be bothered by these details, right?”

”I’m not bothered, except there are some of my old buddies, Qin Tian, Arthur, Wang Fucai, Yang Hong, who have also been pulled into the Ultimate Force Team. Once the Origin Extraction Device issue is resolved, let them leave, okay?”

”Don’t worry, since you asked, of course, I’ll give you that respect! Besides, I dare say, your vision isn’t great, now Qin Tian hasn’t reached the Limit Breakthrough Level yet. If he didn’t have Profound Sword Technique, who knows how long it’s been buried, his strength would’ve been left behind by current Sequence-class experts for sure. You know, several Super Treasure Lands have opened around the world recently, producing nearly ten Limit Breakthrough Level Esoteric Level skill scrolls.”

”And those rising stars, you’re not in Yanjing, you don’t quite know the world’s development now. A whole lot of powerful experts have emerged recently, extremely high-strength special professions, mighty Esoteric Level skills, geez! If Sequence were reordered now, half of the original Sequence could remain, maybe...”

”You’re leisurely hiding in this mountain valley, you don’t know, Yanjing is quite something now...”

”Oh, by the way, there’s an odd trend in the military internally now, saying you solved the Battle Zone Africa problem single-handedly, earning you the title of a great hero of the Human Race. But I must say upfront, I don’t mind these matters, but the military isn’t a monolithic block. I’m afraid you might misunderstand me and let someone with ulterior motives exploit...”

Upon hearing this, Wen Yu abruptly stopped, looking peculiarly at Tang Haofei.

”What do you mean?”

Tang Haofei merely shook his head, ”I came this time just to see you, to probe your strength. Soul-type powerful experts are rare, the Skill System’s strength is one of the top, so unless necessary, I don’t want any conflicts with you. As you know, the two of us have never met before, whatever happened to me, and your understanding of me might be all told by Lin Haifeng, most of which could be true, but there’d always be some lies. Mix truth and lies enough, and certain things can change beyond recognition—there’s a lot of room for maneuver here... That old man is deft with tactics, don’t let him cheat you!”

Tang Haofei’s words left Wen Yu stunned for a moment, while Tang Haofei disregarded Wen Yu’s silence and continued, ”Lin Haifeng always thinks I’m arrogant, I’m foolish, huh, I want to be a god, but I deserve that. Besides, me being a god, how does it bother him? I know that old thing and my former self have been plotting to trick me somehow, but Wen Yu, think about it, Tang Haofei this, Tang Haofei that, does it really matter to you? Besides, how do you know the original Tang Haofei was better than I am...”

”Yes, I have many stories about you and Lin Haifeng in my memory. To me, my former self lived less freely than I do now, and so did you, always overshadowed by that old guy Lin Haifeng. What’s he worth anyway? Now, if the two of us unite, you take Africa, if not I’ll give you the American Continent. If you can conquer it, you take the territory. If you don’t want a territory, you simply remain an independent hero, isn’t that also great? With us united, what problems are left in the world? Nothing at all!”

Tang Haofei endlessly rambled on; regarding chatter, he’s unquestionably as prolific as before—though there’s indeed some sense in his words.

Much of what Tang Haofei spoke of, Wen Yu had thought about, showing how complicated and cumbersome the matters are—Wen Yu’s relationship with the Tang Haofei number one, entanglements and hostilities with Lin Haifeng, unrelatedness with Tang Two, and his aloof detachment.

Simultaneously, Wen Yu realized Tang Two’s fundamental intent in visiting this time—probing strength was one side, but probing his attitude much more...

Yet at least, Tang Haofei wasn’t wrong about one thing—the account of Tang Two from Lin Haifeng was, indeed, one-sided. Through their simple dialogue, Wen Yu gained a much deeper understanding of the person in front of him—perhaps arrogant, but not as utterly worthless as Lin Haifeng had described...

Thoughts gradually dissipated, and before long, in Tang Haofei’s chatter, the Mountain Kui’s main body loomed up close in the distance.