Apocalypse: Master of Soul Beasts

Qin Tian walked out of the Ground Cave still in a daze, all the way until he rejoined the main force, until the mission was completed, until they returned to the Sydney Assembly Site.

Night fell. Lying on the bed, Qin Tian replayed the scenes of what had happened today, but Kuangliu’s face kept circling in his mind, lingering there without fading...

When it came to schemes and intelligence, Qin Tian really wasn’t much, but the fact that the Demigod was actually Kuangliu—anyone with half a brain could tell what a colossal matter this was!

Right now he was one of Lin Tianxue’s people, while Lin Tianxue was in Yanjing trying to expand her own power—her talisman, without a doubt, was only that she was Lin Haifeng’s only daughter. Yet once Kuangliu wasn’t dead, once Lin Haifeng’s son wasn’t dead, then every plan, every safety measure had to be torn down and started over!

Lin Haifeng might not care about Lin Tianxue’s life or death at all; he only wanted to use Lin Tianxue’s hand to pull out the unstable elements hidden inside Yanjing!

Lin Tianxue’s ”talisman” might not save her life at all; it was just a trap Lin Haifeng had set!

He’d even trained Lin Que not out of some old-fashioned male-supremacist mindset, but because the Demigod was putting pressure on him from the side!

Just because of the Demigod’s true identity, everything became completely different!

This was not something he could hide. If he persuaded Lin Tianxue to let go early, Qin Tian could at least keep a military rank; if he covered this up and went all the way to the end on the same road as Lin Tianxue, what awaited them would definitely be a reckoning!

As for not informing Lin Tianxue and just ditching his current ”employer”... During his time in Yanjing, Lin Tianxue had indeed treated him well. Emotionally and logically, Qin Tian felt he had a duty to at least ”save” Lin Tianxue a bit.

In a short time, Qin Tian made up his mind—so as for that so-called SSS-Class classified information that must never be leaked...

That kind of thing was honestly just to fool ghosts...

Thinking this, Qin Tian sprang up from the bed, first swept his surroundings with his Perception Ability to make sure no outsiders were around, then immediately took out his communicator from his space ring and dialed Lin Tianxue.

...

”Doot... doot... doot...”

The busy tone echoed through the room, then the call connected, and Lin Tianxue’s drowsy voice came through—it was already deep into the night in Yanjing at this hour.

”Qin Tian, what is it?”

Her languid tone was laced with a certain seductive flavor, but what answered her were Qin Tian’s anxious words.

”Xiao Xue, is there anyone else around you?”

”No. What is it, Brother Qin Tian? I’ve already told you, there’s no way it’s possible between us. I’m a married woman after all.”

Lin Tianxue’s voice sobered up quite a bit, but what she said left Qin Tian covered in metaphorical black lines, feeling deeply awkward... It seemed quite a lot had happened in these five years.

After getting snapped at by Lin Tianxue, Qin Tian suddenly felt the words stuck in his throat. It took him a long moment to sort out his thoughts.

”I discovered a huge secret today. Xiao Xue, are you sure your brother is dead?”

That simple sentence immediately yanked the scatterbrained Lin Tianxue back on track. There was a long silence on the other end before her voice came again.

”I’m sure. Very sure! What exactly did you find!?”

The languid tone turned instantly into barely contained urgency. Clearly, Lin Tianxue had heard some ominous undertone in Qin Tian’s words.

”Today I... I saw the Demigod’s face. That face is exactly the same as your brother’s...”

The breathing on the other end suddenly grew rapid. ”You’re sure? You can be sure?”

”I’m very sure. I don’t know if it’s really him, but the appearance is exactly the same.”

Lin Tianxue fell silent, her expression dazed, until Qin Tian’s voice came through the communicator again.

Whatever Qin Tian was saying, Lin Tianxue didn’t really catch it—nothing more than ”give up early,” ”go admit your mistake to Commander Lin,” that kind of talk. By the time the busy tone sounded in the communicator, she still hadn’t reacted. She staggered over to the coffee table, poured herself a large glass of water, gulped it down in one go, then collapsed onto the sofa, eyes unfocused.

”It has to be fake... he’s already dead...”

Lin Tianxue muttered under her breath, and then countless possibilities surged through her mind.

Maybe it was just a coincidence? Maybe Lin Haifeng missed his son, so he deliberately had the Demigod get plastic surgery to look like that?

No... impossible...

Thinking of her old man’s methods, a chill crept through Lin Tianxue’s heart—Lin Haifeng would never do something so pointless. In other words, the Demigod truly had an enormous connection to Kuangliu.

And then what...

Resent him for not telling her something this huge?

Useless... it was all over...

Lin Tianxue felt utterly drained. All this time, all her maneuvering inside Yanjing hadn’t been for herself at all, but to pave the way for her child, so that when Lin Haifeng passed on, Fang Yuqiong could take over the power in Lin Haifeng’s hands.

But once the equation Demigod = Lin Kuangliu held true, there was no room left to salvage anything.

To put it harshly, even if she and Fang Bai were tied together, their authority still might not match the Demigod’s. So did that mean her good brother and good father had already reached a private deal, that raising Lin Que was the shared intention of those two? If that was the case, what was she still fighting for, what could she possibly use to fight?

The sense of powerlessness spread endlessly. Bitterness boiled in Lin Tianxue’s heart, and she suddenly thought of a mutually-assured-destruction option... that guy sealed in Eternal Sky City...

But the thought flashed by and vanished. Lin Tianxue poured herself another glass of water—releasing Tang Haofei...

That was outright insanity. No, even insanity couldn’t justify such an act. What good would releasing Tang Haofei do her? None at all. Her status as the great princess of the Yanjing Assembly Site would be stripped away in an instant, and she might well be slapped to death by an enraged Tang Haofei. Even Fang Yuqiong wouldn’t escape.

Even if she managed to survive, she’d be nothing but a stray dog wandering the world, living a life with no tomorrow.

Compared to that outcome, it’d be better to just admit her mistake to her old man and spend the rest of her days peacefully as a dutiful wife and mother...

At least she could still keep some status and position, couldn’t she?

Lin Tianxue let out a helpless, bitter laugh, yet in a short time she had already thought through all the pros and cons.

”Tomorrow then... I’ll go admit my mistake to Father tomorrow...”

One piece of news was enough to make Lin Tianxue abandon all her ambitions.

Yet the shift came so abruptly. When the knocking sounded at the door, Lin Tianxue instantly dropped everything and reverted to her usual icy-cold demeanor.

”Who is it...”

”My Lady, it’s me.”

Recognizing the voice of her personal Maid, Lin Tianxue spoke again, ”What is it, this late at night?”

”My Lady, Lord Demigod has come to visit.”

”Bang...”

The sudden visit left Lin Tianxue’s hands limp; even the cup slipped and shattered on the floor. For a moment, her vision went blurry, and all she felt inside was bitter...

At this moment, only one thought filled her mind...

”Reckoning...”