CHAPTER 395: OTHER BIG SHOTS INFECTED BY THE SCORCHING LIGHT

"……"

Salvation really wanted to say—

Should I just capture Jiang Ye for you right now, so you can ask him for "suggestions" directly to his face?

To be honest, if this were the arrogant Salvation from the past, he would most likely have done such a suicidal thing.

However, people always have to grow up eventually…

Right now, he was counting on Jiang Ye to actually develop a method to eradicate Lightburn.

He also needed Jiang Ye, this fake bird, to help him reestablish his authority.

Additionally, it was he who designed and gave the Luminox Larva to Jiang Ye, so naturally he wouldn't help the Defenders' Alliance deal with Jiang Ye now.

However, he had already figured out how to explain things to the Defenders' Alliance.

The expression in Salvation's strange eyeball gradually calmed.

His gaze turned towards the dark purple figure, and he spoke in an indifferent tone:

"Since I received so much 'care' from the Defenders' Alliance when I was infected with Lightburn… it really wouldn't be appropriate for me to refuse Alliance Leader Fu Li's request right now."

As he spoke, a dark beam suddenly shot from the fingertip of the mechanical arm housing the eyeball, flying straight towards the dark purple figure.

The dark purple figure, Alliance Leader Fu Li, casually raised a hand and caught a thin, pale-colored metal piece.

Before he could even examine it, he heard Salvation continue:

"How about I hand over the 'sinner' who leaked the Luminox Larva to Alliance Leader Fu Li for disposal?"

"Speaking of which, since he passed the Luminox Larva to Jiang Ye, he might know more about Jiang Ye's situation :)"

Although he didn't explicitly name the "sinner," the fact that the Luminox Larva was passed among the apartment bosses, and who previously held it wasn't a secret.

So the several apartment boss figures present immediately realized—

Salvation was handing Apartment Boss Q over to Alliance Leader Fu Li?!

This… this can't be right?!

While their Apartment Faction members each had their own selfish motives…

Fundamentally, they were still united like an iron fortress.

The relationship between the apartment bosses and Salvation was both one of followers and mutually beneficial cooperation.

For the most part, they had always been willing to follow Salvation's arrangements.

And Salvation would protect them and was happy to consider their interests.

But now…

Handing over an apartment boss right in front of them?!

This…

With this kind of behavior, wasn't he afraid the other apartment bosses would develop disloyal thoughts?!

Moreover, although Apartment Boss Q kept a low profile, the other bosses could vaguely tell that he had a good relationship with Salvation.

Yet this was the result…

Had the two fallen out?

Or was it because Salvation, infected with Lightburn and feeling he couldn't survive, had drastically changed his approach and no longer cared about the lives of the apartment bosses? ṝἈΝȱΒËŠ

Thinking this, the several apartment bosses present felt unsettled and anxious.

Meanwhile, the dark purple figure holding the metal piece stared at it with deep, thoughtful eyes.

After a long moment, he murmured two words: "Boss Q…"

After a moment of silence, the dark purple figure turned back to Salvation:

"Boss Q ultimately belongs to the Apartment Faction. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to act rashly."

"Wouldn't it be better if Lord Salvation captured him, and we interrogated him together face-to-face?"

However, Salvation let out a meaningful, light laugh.

After laughing, he said calmly:

"Since I've said I'm handing Boss Q over to you for disposal, any action you take now naturally wouldn't be considered 'rash' or 'inappropriate'."

"Speaking of which, I don't mean to deliberately disrespect you, Alliance Leader Fu Li, it's just that… ahem…"

Salvation even coughed weakly, deliberately belittling himself:

"Alliance Leader Fu Li should know—first I was infected with Lightburn, then I lost Crow, and not long ago I was ambushed by a villain…"

"My current strength has greatly declined. I've wanted to capture Apartment Boss Q for some time to ask him some things…"

"Yet this formerly unremarkable apartment boss is now someone I cannot capture."

Salvation's tone was somber as he said this.

The apartment bosses listening were inwardly shocked!

What did he mean? Had Salvation's power degraded to the point where he couldn't even capture Apartment Boss Q?

No! That can't be right! Impossible!

If his strength had truly declined noticeably, he shouldn't be openly admitting it!

Since he dared to say this, he must not be afraid of the apartment bosses rebelling.

Then, was Salvation lying?

That didn't seem right either!

What kind of person was this Alliance Leader Fu Li? If Salvation were truly lying, he would definitely not let it slide and would have countless ways to refute it.

So, could the current Salvation really not capture Apartment Boss Q?

How was that possible?!

No…

It actually was possible!

These apartment bosses were all masters of hiding their abilities and accumulating various trump cards.

So they were quite familiar with the strategy of playing dumb and eating the tiger.

From this perspective…

That seemingly unremarkable Boss Q from the past might have been hiding his abilities very deeply?

Realizing this, the expressions of the several apartment bosses present turned quite unpleasant.

Especially Boss A, who held the highest position among them—his eyes darkened, and displeasure and gloom flashed through his heart.

He was the most senior and cunning among the apartment bosses.

So compared to the other bosses' speculations about Boss Q, by observing the conversation between Salvation and Alliance Leader Fu Li, he vaguely guessed a deeper layer—

That Apartment Boss Q might not be simply playing dumb and eating the tiger!

Perhaps he originally had some connection with Alliance Leader Fu Li!

That's why Salvation deliberately said he was handing Boss Q over to Alliance Leader Fu Li…

As Boss A pondered this, his gaze subtly shifted back and forth between Salvation and Alliance Leader Fu Li.

Sure enough, he noticed that in their seemingly calm gazes, a hint of gunpowder seemed to spark where their eyes met.

Just as Boss A wondered if the two would completely break relations and start fighting…

He heard Salvation laugh again:

"Since Alliance Leader Fu Li came to ask me for suggestions, why not try helping me with this? See if you can capture that ungrateful traitor for me?"

Earlier it was "sinner," but now he directly defined Boss Q as a "traitor"!

The several apartment bosses maintained outward calm while observing internally.

After a moment of silence, the dark purple figure chuckled lightly:

"Forget it…"

"Since Lord Salvation is putting on such a pitiful act, how could I have the nerve to trouble you further."

As he spoke, he sent the metal piece flying back toward the mechanical hand, simultaneously saying leisurely:

"Matters of the Apartment Faction are not something an outsider like me should participate in."

"My abrupt visit today was indeed presumptuous."

"These shall serve as an apology…"

With a wave of his large hand, numerous bizarre-looking creatures accompanied by insane, mournful shrieks and screams were thrown directly into the Blood Pool.

If Jiang Ye were here now, he would probably recognize at a glance—

These pitiful creatures that Alliance Leader Fu Li was throwing into the Blood Pool had eyes, ears, mouths, noses, and entire bodies showing varying degrees of grotesque mutation!

And this condition was strikingly similar to those Defenders who had passed through the radiation-contaminated soil!

Of course, while similar, the condition of these creatures thrown into the Blood Pool was clearly worse!

They couldn't produce human sounds at all—their screams and roars sounded like savage beasts devoid of humanity!

It even made one wonder… were they still "they," or had they become "them"?

However, Jiang Ye wasn't here, but the several apartment bosses and Salvation could naturally see—

These creatures being thrown into the Blood Pool were likely "rejects" from the Defenders' Alliance laboratory.

They had already been drained of all their value.

Now being thrown into the Blood Pool, even their final physical bodies weren't being wasted…

However, Salvation and the apartment bosses, having reached their current positions, naturally didn't possess even a shred of compassion anymore.

Watching these creatures casually thrown into the Blood Pool, their expressions showed little change.

Instead, during the brief time of their conversation…

The iron chains extending from the Blood Pool began making more noticeable strange movements.

Along with this, faint tremors could be vaguely heard coming from the direction of the Moon Phase Clock.

Various gazes couldn't help but turn toward the direction of the Moon Phase Clock.

This scene wasn't entirely unfamiliar to them.

So they could immediately detect—

The tremor sounds coming from the iron chains extending from this Blood Pool indeed originated from the friction between the chains and the ground around the Blood Pool.

However, the faint tremors coming from the Moon Phase Clock didn't originate from friction between the chains and the clock.

But rather from…

Those strange crow feather-like patterns engraved on the Moon Phase Clock!

The crow feather patterns covering the Moon Phase Clock now faintly showed a blood-stained dark red hue.

And those vivid, bizarre crow feathers, set against the dark red background, seemed as if they could spread their wings and fly out of the Moon Phase Clock at any moment!

Their past perception had been—

The faint tremor sounds from the Moon Phase Clock came from those crow feathers!

And whenever the Moon Phase Clock showed unusual movement, those crow feathers also seemed to move!

Various stares were fixed intently.

Causing the surrounding atmosphere to become tense and anxious again.

Salvation was about to use Fu Li's statement about "not participating in Apartment Faction matters" to ask him to leave.

However, before he could speak…

He saw the dark purple figure staring deeply at the Moon Phase Clock, then suddenly turning his gaze to Salvation's eyeball:

"Speaking of which, as an outsider, I really shouldn't participate in Apartment Faction matters, especially regarding the Moon Phase Clock…"

"However, times are different now, and the current situation is truly special."

At this point, the dark purple figure even sighed as if quite troubled, then continued:

"Lord Salvation should be the most qualified to speak on this—the taste of Lightburn is truly unpleasant…"

These hypocritical words made Salvation's fist clench so hard he almost lost control on the spot!

What did he mean by "most qualified to speak"?

And this guy had never been infected with Lightburn himself, so how would he know the pain of Lightburn!

Yet he spoke these hypocritical words as if he could truly understand others' Lightburn suffering!

It was just so damn infuriating!

But Salvation restrained his anger and didn't refute him, listening as this annoying creature finished speaking.

Sure enough, the subsequent explanation was largely consistent with Salvation's speculation—

"I imagine Lord Salvation can guess—"

"In this Doomsday Apartment, for a long time, you haven't been the only one infected with Lightburn."

"Those with weak strength who get infected with Lightburn die immediately or soon after."

"While some strong ones not only live in agony worse than death, but also can't survive until the Ninth Day…"

"And for these powerful individuals, they naturally desperately wish for the Ninth Day to be postponed. The later the Ninth Day comes, the longer they live…"

"Speaking of which, the situation of these powerful individuals is the same as Lord Salvation's."

"And my Defenders' Alliance has let down Lord Salvation, and also let down these powerful individuals…"

This hypocritical voice even pretended to sound aggrieved, as if he could shed tears at any moment.

"If it weren't for these powerful individuals, I wouldn't have rashly barged into the Apartment Faction's territory today to inquire about the Moon Phase Clock's situation…"

"Now seeing the Moon Phase Clock's unusual movements, and the hope of further postponing the Ninth Day's arrival, I am extremely happy."

"I wonder if Lord Salvation, out of shared experience of Lightburn infection, could empathize and permit certain other powerful individuals infected with Lightburn to also contribute to delaying the Moon Phase Clock's time operation?"

"……"

Salvation had always detested this person's hypocritical face.

Of course he didn't want to agree!

Even if those other beings infected with Lightburn could indeed be considered fellow sufferers with him.

A group of patients interacting might have some benefits.

But the Moon Phase Clock on the Apartment Rooftop always belonged to their Apartment Faction.

This Fu Li only gained occasional access because he previously sent people from time to time to throw flesh and blood into the Blood Pool.

His unannounced intrusion today was already a great disrespect to Salvation's face…

Now he wanted to invite others? Salvation certainly couldn't agree!

Moreover, who knew what sinister schemes this cunning dog was plotting?

Salvation was about to refuse.

But his single eyeball met the dark purple figure's meaningful eyes.

After their gazes intersected for a moment, Salvation's heart sank.

The next second, he indeed heard a reason that made his heart race and impossible to refuse—

"And among the powerful individuals infected with Lightburn that I know… there happens to be one who survived from the Seventh Day :)"

"Boom——!!"

Just this simple sentence seemed to create tidal waves in this space!

After all, Lightburn! That was practically the nightmare existence for all dark-type creatures!

Not just the despair-inducing pain of Lightburn…

The more unsolvable part was the curse of "cannot survive past the next zero o'clock"!

No matter how heaven-defying a powerful individual might be, once infected with Lightburn, they couldn't survive until the next zero o'clock!

Meaning, those infected on the Seventh Day couldn't survive until the Eighth Day;

Those infected on the Eighth Day couldn't survive until the Ninth Day…

But now, this Fu Li claimed—

He knew a powerful individual infected with Lightburn who survived from the Seventh Day!

This…

This fundamentally violated Lightburn's heaven-defying effect!

And such news, for Salvation, was simply an overt scheme!

He clearly knew it might be bait to lure him in…

But he simply couldn't refuse!

After all, who knew if Jiang Ye could truly develop a method to eradicate Lightburn?

Even if he could, it might not necessarily be developed on the Eighth Day.

But if there really were such a powerful individual as Fu Li described…

Then Salvation, even infected with Lightburn on the Eighth Day, might possibly survive until the Ninth Day?

For a moment, Salvation's breathing became somewhat rapid.

However, the eyeball didn't produce any breathing sounds, remaining silent and showing no emotional fluctuations.

Meanwhile, in Salvation's luxurious villa apartment, the training room of Jiang Ye's female clone was knocked on.

Using Salvation's training room, Jiang Ye didn't feel any heartache and came out directly.

Soon, he learned from Salvation's mecha about the claims made by Alliance Leader Fu Li on the Apartment Rooftop.

This was the first time Jiang Ye learned that the Defenders' Alliance leader was called Fu Li.

The name was somewhat special, feeling like "Salvation"—like a pseudonym.

Jiang Ye was curious about this Alliance Leader Fu Li, but Salvation was currently more anxious to seek his opinion:

"What do you think? Should I open this backdoor for other powerful individuals infected with Lightburn?"