Apocalypse: Master of Soul Beasts

"Heh, you haven't considered, have you? A Level 2 Professionist's muscles provide defensive power even better than a bulletproof vest, not to mention their protective suit! How could a weapon meant for common thugs possibly kill a Level 2 Professionist? Do you really think Professionists are made of clay?"

Sun Aotian was tongue-tied and didn't say a word.

"What about the captives?" Wen Yu asked Sun Aotian.

Sun Aotian pointed to the opposite room. "They're all in there, along with three pale-faced guys. I didn't search the rest of the place too closely!"

Wen Yu nodded.

"Old Sun, go check for any survivors or anyone who might have slipped through the net."

Having just finished digging bullets out of Sun Aotian, Sun Ruixing immediately drew his weapon and headed upstairs.

"Everyone inside, come out. I have a few questions," Wen Yu's calm voice echoed.

A defiant shout came from inside the room.

"If you've got the guts, you damn well come in! I still have a—"

Then, the sound of a steel saber slicing through flesh.

"You, you..."

"Yes, it's me! Now hurry up and die, you bastard!"

A brief commotion erupted inside, then quickly died down.

The door opened, and a figure emerged.

Wen Yu sat down at the large table in the room and asked directly, "What happened?"

"Heh, just bad luck. I really screwed up this time, completely screwed," the speaker, Li Quan'an, said.

Wen Yu tossed a cigarette to Li Quan'an, his gaze taking in Li Quan'an's pale face and the grenade he clutched. "Speak. What happened? How did you end up in such a state?"

"Got a light?"

After Li Quan'an lit his cigarette, faint smoke filled the room as he slowly began to tell the story of these Cannibals.

"These people used to be in Chaihe Town. Their camp was at the town hall.

"Then the Corpse King appeared and drove them out. They fled to a cellar. It was supposed to be a pre-planned escape route, but something unexpected happened!"

"So a mutant bear blocked your path?"

Li Quan'an looked at Wen Yu in surprise. "How did you know?"

"I had Cyclops check it out, but the trail for these people went cold there. Cyclops couldn't pick up their scent."

Li Quan'an gave a bitter smile and explained, "No wonder Cyclops couldn't pick up their scent. If you don't believe me, have him smell me."

At a look from Wen Yu, Cyclops stepped forward and sniffed Li Quan'an vigorously. After sniffing for more than ten seconds, Cyclops looked at Wen Yu in confusion and shook his head.

Cyclops hadn't smelled anything. These Cannibals had no scent!

Wen Yu was surprised. "No scent? No wonder Cyclops couldn't track them! Isn't that a good thing?"

There are many things that can mask scent, but most have a limited duration. To permanently hide one's scent would require at least a C-Class ability!

"If that were all, of course, it would be a good thing! But the downsides of becoming a Cannibal are far greater!"

Seeing Wen Yu nod thoughtfully, Li Quan'an directly recounted the tragic fate of the Cannibals.

"I was leading my men out of the camp when a ray of light attracted us here. Only after entering did we realize... these people ate human flesh!

"But our strength was no match for them; we had no way to resist. My two subordinates were eaten by them right then and there.

"Then they gave me a choice: eat human flesh, or be eaten!"

"Was there a choice?" Li Quan'an's question hung in the air, leaving Wen Yu silent.

Slowly shaking his head, Wen Yu gave his answer. "No. You did nothing wrong."

"Haha." Li Quan'an gave a wretched laugh and spoke again. "At first, I hesitated. After all, they were my subordinates. But then I thought, they're already dead, so what's the harm in eating a few pieces of their flesh?"

Li Quan'an's tone became increasingly grim.

"It was raw flesh! Freshly cut from their bodies!

"The first bite was disgusting—warm and greasy! The metallic tang of blood was overpowering. Honestly, I had to force that first piece down! Especially with their corpses lying right in front of me... I almost broke down!

"But I had no choice. After I swallowed the first piece, they gave me a second.

"Humans... once you cross your own moral boundary, you lose all boundaries!

"So I ate the second piece. Then the third! And the fourth!

"I never knew I could eat so much! I ate and ate... I don't know how much. It wasn't until they untied me that I realized...

"I had become one of them!"

Li Quan'an's words were simply him venting.

Listening to Li Quan'an's story, Wen Yu stubbed out his cigarette and patted Li Quan'an's shoulder. "And then?"

Li Quan'an calmed himself and addressed the issue Wen Yu was most concerned about.

"Then, things changed!

"My Profession was stripped away, and my skills were gone too. Apart from my basic physical fitness, all my other abilities vanished!

"Cannibals... that's just your term for us," Li Quan'an said. "We call ourselves... the Forgotten!

"Because we've been forgotten by the Exchange Stone Pillar!

"We became monsters. Killing zombies earns no points, and we can't use the Exchange Stone Pillar. We even find normal human food difficult to swallow. We can only survive by eating human flesh!

"To become stronger, there's only one path: eating human flesh! Eating human flesh can enhance our physical fitness.

"If we don't eat human flesh, we starve. If we starve, we can't get stronger. And if we don't get stronger, we'll die sooner or later anyway. What choice do we have?

"It's a dead end. A vicious cycle!"

Li Quan'an took a deep drag from his cigarette and looked at Wen Yu calmly.

"So, kill me."

Li Quan'an stated his final request.

At that moment, Sun Ruixing came downstairs, leading a few individuals referred to as "meat pigs." Sun Ruixing had overheard much of Li Quan'an's story. His expression was complicated, showing a hint of regret.

Wen Yu looked at Li Quan'an's pale face, and a slow smile spread across his own.

"Actually, you don't have to present me with such a thorny problem.

"The most important question is, what do *you* think?"

Li Quan'an was taken aback. "Isn't your purpose in coming here to kill all of us cannibalistic monsters?"

Wen Yu smiled and shook his head. "Look, as you just said, you're all just a group of pitiful people. And the ones who were actually *eating* people... weren't they already dealt with by Sun Aotian?

"Now, out of consideration for the bond we've formed on this journey, I'll give the choice to you.

"If you feel that death is preferable to eating human flesh, I'll kill you.

"But if you believe that you still want to live—no matter how, no matter what you have to eat to survive—then you can leave."