Chapter 7 – Face-to-Face Confrontation

Volume 1: Apocalypse Beginning

Wen Yu carefully savored the powerful strength brought by becoming a Soul Master, then turned to glance at the Soul Beast floating above his shoulder.

"This profession is great in every way, except that the Soul Beast is way too conspicuous. See it once and you'll never forget it. From now on, I can forget about hiding my identity."

The Little Soul Beast, round and plump, with a body even smaller than a ping-pong ball, trembled nonstop. Seeing its master observing it, it affectionately nuzzled Wen Yu's cheek, giving off a cool, pleasant sensation.

Wen Yu curled his lips. This little creature was now his lifelong companion. From their brief contact, the Little Soul Beast clearly conveyed feelings of happiness and curiosity, making Wen Yu realize that this was no lifeless object, but an unknown lifeform with its own thoughts.

The exit of the Treasure Land had already opened the moment the treasure chest was unlocked. Seeing the man-sized Silver Vortex, Wen Yu narrowed his eyes, thinking of One-Eye, who had forcibly driven him here.

To be honest, Wen Yu was quite grateful to that Beast, One-Eye. If not for that guy, he would have definitely chosen to become a Warrior, thus missing out on such a perfect profession.

"How should I thank you? Hmm, I'll send you to hell as quickly as possible." That was Wen Yu's thought.

Looking at the Silver Vortex before him, outside, a Beast might be lurking in the bushes, waiting for him. But Wen Yu knew well that a mutated dog could no longer stop him.

His future lay far ahead, in the whole world.

So, what heights could he reach in this world, and what kind of role could he play?

"Really, I'm looking forward to it."

…

At this moment, only twenty minutes had passed since Wen Yu entered the Treasure Land.

Outside. In the convenience store where the Treasure Land had opened, located in Wen Yu's Residential Area.

One-Eye stared suspiciously at the Silver Vortex before him.

His not-insignificant intelligence told him that just now, his meal-his old neighbor-had been sucked into the Silver Vortex and vanished.

The facts were clear to One-Eye: this strange vortex was the culprit competing with him for prey.

One-Eye's remaining eye fixed fiercely on the Silver Vortex, slowly pacing forward-a posture that signaled he was about to attack.

But One-Eye gradually grew desperate. No matter how he moved, the "enemy" before him showed no openings.

One-Eye even suspected that this thing might be stronger than himself.

He decided not to wait any longer and lunged at the Silver Vortex. With a "squelch," One-Eye let out a miserable howl and quickly retreated.

There were no wounds on his body, but the moment he pounced and touched the entrance to the Treasure Land, a sudden burst of silver light shot out, stabbing fiercely into One-Eye's body.

This was the Treasure Land's punishment for non-human creatures that touched it-a soul attack, causing only intense pain without any real harm.

One-Eye dared not move recklessly anymore. The attack had made him feel pain he hadn't experienced in ages. Ever since humans blinded one of his eyes, it had been a long time since he'd felt such agony.

Of course, One-Eye didn't know that the thing before him was called the Treasure Land.

And the Treasure Land was not something a mutated creature could attack.

Just as One-Eye was considering whether to give up on the human inside and leave, the vortex before him suddenly changed.

The spinning Silver Vortex gradually slowed, its gentle silver glow dimming, and the vortex, originally the size of a fist, kept shrinking.

Then, when it had shrunk to the size of a pinky finger, the Silver Vortex suddenly exploded, emitting a blinding flash of silver light.

One-Eye's only remaining eye was almost blinded by the flash. Startled, One-Eye turned its head away, shaking its massive dog head over and over to lessen the damage caused by the light.

"Tsk tsk, now I finally have time to take a good look at you. Haven't seen you for a while, and you beast have become even uglier."

One-Eye heard the voice and suddenly leapt backward. Then, squinting as the irritation faded, it looked toward where the Silver Vortex had originally been.

The strange vortex had vanished, replaced by a human One-Eye was all too familiar with-its prey from just moments before.

However, the human before it left One-Eye somewhat confused. While the figure and appearance hadn't changed much-tall and thin, wearing the tattered clothes it had ripped apart-what was odd was that the limbs it had torn off had somehow regrown. And now, there was a small floating orb above the human's shoulder.

One-Eye glanced at Wen Yu's newly regrown limbs, then at the uneaten hand lying on the ground. Its underdeveloped brain simply couldn't comprehend what was happening.

Wen Yu also looked at the severed limbs on the ground and let out a heavy sigh.

Severed arms and legs were nothing to fear, but when the severed limbs were your own-yet you found yourself not missing any-it always gave you a peculiar feeling.

One-Eye decided not to bother with these complicated matters any longer. If the limbs had regrown, that was even better-it meant more flesh to eat and faster evolution.

Moreover, the human before it was looking at it with a faint smile, eyes full of mockery-the same gaze it had used on this human a moment ago: playful and taunting.

This gaze infuriated One-Eye.

One-Eye had seen that look many times, and only after arming itself with ferocity and brutality had those gazes gradually faded, replaced by fear and-disgust.

Now, nothing could mock or ridicule it any longer, nothing could hurt it any longer. The human before it had to die. It would tear him to pieces and eat him bit by bit, just as it had done with those other humans before.

Wen Yu watched as the Beast in front of him arched its body. He took a small step back, carefully observing One-Eye's movements.

From the moment he left the Treasure Land, Wen Yu had been prepared for battle. His earlier taunts were meant to enrage One-Eye.

Wen Yu knew that creatures who had already evolved into a Level 1 Mutant Beast at the very beginning of the Apocalypse were definitely among the most powerful of all Mutant Beasts, and their combat abilities far surpassed those of humans.

A foul wind swept toward him-One-Eye had already launched its attack. Its rancid jaws lunged for Wen Yu's neck. If it managed to bite him, Wen Yu would end up no better than his dream lover from before.

A chill ran through Wen Yu's heart. Too fast. Earlier, One-Eye might have been toying with its prey and hadn't shown its full strength.

But now, One-Eye's furious pounce made Wen Yu instantly realize: this Beast had devoured plenty of Zombies and humans and was no longer a Mutant Beast whose physical attributes were just at two after evolution. Judging by Wen Yu's experience, the One-Eye before him had physical attributes of around five points.