Apocalypse: Master of Soul Beasts

”Sir.”

The short, fat man with a creased face chose his words carefully.

”Earlier, while we were exploring Weston Forest, we discovered this woman and her teammates had acquired a treasure. So I used a skill to seal her space ring, and then...”

And then we chased them down—for high-level items and skills, pursuing and fighting over them is really nothing major in the treasure land. Treasures, of course, belong to those capable of holding them. Just like when Wen Yu arrived, the short, fat man obediently handed over the treasure with both hands.

This kind of explanation fits well with the course of events, combined with the well-known character of Lord Sequence Number 2—could he really step out to uphold justice for this group of women? Stop kidding around, we’re all adults here...

”You’re full of crap! You clearly had a specific target and attacked us out of the blue.”

”Yeah, I did ambush you. It’s all for the treasure; it makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?”

The short, fat man gave Sun Xuewei a look that said this was all perfectly natural, making her quake with anger but unable to refute.

Ambushing for treasure in this post-apocalyptic world is a very normal thing, after all. If you get something and can’t keep it, it’s not yours. Sun Xuewei wasn’t naïve.

She was simply puzzled by one thing—the purpose of Shen Zhongzheng’s trio seemed very clear!

When Sun Xuewei’s team obtained the Esoteric Level skill upgrade scroll, they intended to take it back to Yanjing to give it to their team leader to upgrade one of the leader’s abilities to an Esoteric Level. That would essentially lay down a vital safety net for the entire team. The process of acquiring the Esoteric Level skill upgrade scroll was highly secret; there was no chance of any information leaking, and the four of them had been running non-stop towards the nearest treasure land exit. Yet, despite all this, they were intercepted half-way by Shen Zhongzheng’s trio!

At the first contact, the short, fat man immediately sealed Sun Xuewei’s space ring to prevent her from using the scroll out of desperation, and then the chase ensued...

Saying this was coincidence is something not even ghosts would believe, yet there was nothing logically wrong with the short, fat man’s words—the three knew Sun Xuewei’s team had a treasure, so they pursued them. No problem at all with that.

Sun Xuewei basically had no idea how to counter.

Until Wen Yu’s calm voice sounded.

”Whose men are you?”

”Huh?”

The creased, chubby face became rigid, until Wen Yu’s gaze fixed on the short, fat man, his eyes as dark as black holes that seemed to devour everything.

”Are you with the military?”

The short, fat man gulped heavily. He was just about to shake his head when Wen Yu abruptly flicked his fingers, and a gust of wind swept past his ear, followed by a dull thud.

The bloody scent from behind made the short, fat man shiver. He turned back with difficulty, only to see the familiar figure of Gunfire lying on the ground, the neck wound as big as a bowl silently telling everything that had just happened.

”Never mind, you don’t have to say anything, I’ll just find out myself...”

Wen Yu grew a bit impatient—these three weren’t necessarily worth killing; it was just a matter of a treasure, nothing wrong with that. And the chase after Sun Xuewei wasn’t really an issue. To Wen Yu, Sun Xuewei was at most an acquaintance, nothing more. But from the trio, Wen Yu sensed something familiar...

Especially with Shen Zhongzheng! Those were marks of a military background!

Wen Yu couldn’t figure it out... The military, especially one led by Lin Haifeng, could not be so out of wits.

Everyone knew Wen Yu was strong. Most people only knew he was strong, but not how strong. Lin Haifeng, however, knew not only that Wen Yu was strong but also to what extent.

That was a level not to be provoked, one that had to be accommodated!

Wen Yu needed an Esoteric Level skill scroll—fine, I’ll find information for you. It’s not just about trading factors; they had to give Wen Yu this respect—over the years, half of Rahal’s wishes were used on Wen Yu. Take this Esoteric Level skill upgrade scroll as an example—Wen Yu tried wishing four times to no avail, and these were all free!

In conventional logic, this situation should have developed like this—Lin Haifeng knew about the relationship between Sun Xuewei and Wen Yu (this is beyond doubt, given what Wen Yu has been through must be in military files). He found out that Sun Xuewei had gotten the Esoteric Level skill upgrade scroll Wen Yu needed. Although Wen Yu had almost forgotten his connection with Sun Xuewei, Lin Haifeng would be very cautious about this. He would choose to have someone make contact with Sun Xuewei first, to obtain the scroll through a trade, and then give it to Wen Yu.

For a small team, even if the whole team had two or three SSS-Class skills, they couldn’t have such high ambitions. One or two Esoteric Level skills would be more than enough to make Sun Xuewei’s team overjoyed. Frankly, giving them the Esoteric Level skill upgrade scroll would be a waste...

These maneuvers may have resulted in the same outcome for Wen Yu, but not for Lin Haifeng.

The approach in his imagination would please everyone. The military could even use this Esoteric Level skill upgrade scroll to exchange with Wen Yu for more beneficial things—like a favor.

But what actually happened veered significantly off course—Wen Yu went out of his way and, combined with memories of past events, felt a little annoyed. If that annoyance were transferred to the military... it would also be a big deal for them to swallow...

Moreover... was this matter any real trouble for Wen Yu?

Wen Yu pondered until the short, fat man spoke: ”S-Sir, we... we are indeed with the military...”

Being honest was beneficial for both sides, making the short, fat man’s decision very wise.

”Ah, were you sent by Lin Haifeng?”

The short, fat man gulped, decisively choosing to tell the truth.

”It was... it was Ms. Tianxue who sent us...”

”Who?”

Wen Yu was stunned.

”Lin Tianxue, Commander Lin’s daughter. They say this Esoteric Level skill upgrade scroll was a gift for her son, Fang Yuqiong’s, sixth birthday...”

Wen Yu was puzzled and surprised, then suddenly realized!

The so-called trouble was not his own but was actually Lin Haifeng, the old fox’s trouble...

Over the last five years, although Tang Haofei had been sealed, the issues he caused were incredibly difficult to clean up. Even with Lin Haifeng’s ability, he could only suppress the factional issues within the military, keeping it barely united.

But there were still problems—Fran had mentioned more than once about Lin Haifeng having an inept daughter. Fang Bai was loyal, competent, and an indispensable right-hand man for Lin Haifeng. There were even rumors within the military that Fang Bai would succeed the position of Yanjing’s Supreme Commander. However, Lin Tianxue remained dissatisfied, working behind the scenes.

This so-called trouble Lin Haifeng referred to wasn’t Wen Yu’s trouble, but Lin Tianxue’s! He wanted to use Wen Yu’s hand to knock some sense into his ”precious little girl.”

Given Lin Haifeng’s accommodating nature over these years, Wen Yu waved off the short, fat man, signaling him to leave. He then took out his communicator and dialed up Lin Haifeng.