Apocalypse: Master of Soul Beasts

The group moved quickly. Lin Haifeng himself was a Third-level professionist, and in less than ten minutes, they had crossed most of the steel city and arrived at the castle entrance.

Along the way, Wen Yu carefully observed the city's architectural style.

The style resembled that of some ancient European cities; the buildings, like iron coffins, were completely empty and abandoned inside.

According to Lin Haifeng, since the treasure land had just opened, the military had not yet dispatched a large-scale force into it.

However, it was foreseeable that once certain issues were resolved, this place would become an alternative city, combining a military garrison with a research hub.

When the group reached the front of the castle, Lin Haifeng presented something resembling an identification card.

Upon seeing it, the soldiers guarding the castle entrance immediately let them pass.

The castle interior was vast, with spacious areas divided into three main levels.

Lin Haifeng explained, "The first and second floors are the living quarters for the Special Ops Team stationed here. The third floor houses the conference room, the combat command center, and other functional departments. Additionally, there's a lower floor, currently the research department's area."

After a brief introduction, Lin Haifeng led Wen Yu directly to the third floor.

At the top of the staircase, Fang Wenhai and a middle-aged man in white attire, having already received word, were waiting.

Lin Haifeng nodded at the two men and walked directly into the large conference room on the third floor.

Once everyone was seated, Lin Haifeng began the introductions.

"This is Fang Wenhai, whom you've met. He is currently the Chief Commanding Officer of military operations in this treasure land and the only Level 4 professionist here."

Fang Wenhai nodded at Wen Yu.

"This is Zhao Xiang, the Deputy Director of the Science Institute. He is currently in charge of research related to this treasure land and some other special tasks."

Lin Haifeng didn't elaborate on the specific tasks for Wen Yu, likely because they were classified, and Wen Yu himself wasn't particularly interested.

Then, Lin Haifeng gestured towards Wen Yu.

"This is Sequence Number 2, Wen Yu!"

"I called him here partly to deal with a potential large-scale war and any Level 4 or higher powerful experts from the Demon Tribe."

Turning to Fang Wenhai, Lin Haifeng continued, "Not long ago, Wenhai, ever since you received intelligence about the enemy, you've been complaining about our lack of powerful experts. Now, I've brought you a significant asset."

Hearing Lin Haifeng's slightly teasing words, Fang Wenhai frowned.

"It might still not be enough..."

"Oh? Have there been new developments?"

Fang Wenhai stood up, pulled open a nearby curtain, and signaled a guard to turn on the projector.

He looked at Lin Haifeng and Wen Yu, then spoke gravely, "First, let me brief Wen Yu on the general situation here."

"This treasure land doesn't belong to any known type."

As the projector activated, a huge map appeared before Wen Yu.

"The entire treasure land is a circular area. According to our forces' reconnaissance, this area spans a full 100,000 square kilometers."

Wen Yu silently calculated that 100,000 square kilometers was roughly equivalent to a quarter of Heilongjiang Province. For a treasure land, this was quite vast.

Seeing Wen Yu nod, Fang Wenhai continued, "This is our current position."

He pointed to a small green dot on the edge of the circular map.

The city itself was not large. Wen Yu estimated it to be perhaps only one-third the size of Chaihe Town, making it insignificant within the 100,000-square-kilometer area.

"And this," Fang Wenhai said, pointing to a black dot directly opposite the green dot, "is where our adversaries are located."

"Based on our observations, their location is also a city, similar in size to ours. The difference, however, is that their city contains three Demon Realm's Gates."

Upon hearing the words "Demon Realm's Gate," Wen Yu frowned. So that's what this treasure land is all about!

"The mission in this treasure land is defensive. Our objective is to guard this city and prevent its occupation by Demon Fiends. For each day we successfully defend it, the Guardian of the treasure land provides us with a large quantity of low-level magic crystals—both Level 1 and Level 2, with a small amount of Third-level."

"Of course, that's the overall reward from the Guardian to our military forces," Lin Haifeng interjected from the side. "Additionally, there are extra rewards based on the number of Demon Fiends hunted within this treasure land. Individuals need to redeem these from the Guardian of the treasure land."

Wen Yu nodded, having processed their words. In other words, besides the points and magic crystals earned from killing Demon Fiends, there was an additional reward from the Guardian.

Seeing that Wen Yu had absorbed this information, Fang Wenhai continued, "Three days ago, we discovered Demon Fiends beginning to pour out of the Demon Realm's Gates. They are of various levels. During our last observation, we identified three Level 4 Demon Fiends, and the number of low-level Demon Fiends was immense!"

"They are currently stationed in the Demon City opposite us. The Demon Tribe's scouts have already discovered our city. We don't know when, but they will attack us soon."

After listening, Wen Yu pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "According to your explanation, this place is essentially a special battlefield where our side and the Demon Tribe each hold a fortress, and then we attack each other. Is that correct?"

Hearing Wen Yu's words, Fang Wenhai shook his head slightly.

"Yes and no. The Demon Tribe's numbers are too great! We don't have the capability to launch an offensive."

"Let me briefly explain the current comparison of forces."

"Yesterday's intelligence indicated three Level 4 Demon Fiends that we've observed alone! There are approximately 2,000 Third-level Demon Fiends, and the Level 1 and Level 2 Demon Fiends are too numerous to count."

"As for us, aside from some heavy weapons, our stationed troops consist only of the entire Special Ops Team—about 300 members in total. One is a Level 4 professionist; the rest are all Third-level."

"There's also the human clone mecha army dispatched by the Science Institute."

"Human clones?" Wen Yu raised an eyebrow at Zhao Xiang, who had remained silent until now.

Zhao Xiang nodded but said nothing further.

Lin Haifeng explained, "We're short on manpower, and Cloning technology is quite mature. So, we've begun producing human clones for essential defensive duties. Of course, they are artificial creations and cannot advance in level. Regarding this limitation, scholars from the Science Institute believe it may be related to the Soul in some way. Of course, they don't understand what the Soul is either..."

Wen Yu nodded in understanding. Equipping human clones with Hot weapons, or even more advanced Weaponry, would indeed provide considerable strength.

As for claims that human clones violated human ethics, Wen Yu just smiled without saying a word.

"That's pretty much the overall situation. According to our military experts' estimates, the Demon Tribe will likely launch an attack within five to ten days."

"This place is, more or less, the frontline contact zone between the Human Race and the Demon Tribe, also known as an outpost. Of course, we prefer to call it the 'Outpost Battle'!"

"Because this will inevitably be the first large-scale war between Humans and Demon Fiends!"

After listening to Fang Wenhai's briefing, Wen Yu thought for a long moment before slowly nodding.

"So, what do you need me to do?"

Hearing Wen Yu's question, Lin Haifeng smiled and shook his head.

"You can do whatever you want."

"That's good."

Wen Yu looked at Lin Haifeng's expression and couldn't help but smile.

When Lin Haifeng said, "You can do whatever you want," he was essentially giving Wen Yu freedom to act as he saw fit.