I Have Infinite Skill Points-Chapter 586: Once Again the Fault of the Hell Monarch

Chapter 586: Chapter 586: Once Again the Fault of the Hell Monarch

"Wang Lan—"

A call brought Wang Lan back to reality. Jiang Xinyu and two others gathered around him, their faces etched with concern. They had so many questions for Wang Lan: What was going on with your soul state just now? How could your knife also transform into a soul state? And what happened in the fight after they returned to their bodies?

But with so many questions, they didn’t even know how to begin.

Wang Lan sat up and looked at Yulia and the other three in front of him; their expressions were also particularly complex. Initially, they had intended to intercept, but in doing so, they had accidentally "startled the snake." A fierce battle ensued, and they only managed to take down a few lesser foes, nearly leading to their annihilation by the last Demon. It was only thanks to Wang Lan taking control of the chaotic situation that disaster was averted.

Previously, Yulia had many reservations about Wang Lan, but at this moment, she felt somewhat convinced. Truly, no warrior achieves a great reputation without deserving it. If it was so for Wang Lan, then it should be likewise for Yu Ruoyun.

Although Yulia wasn’t very famous, it was because God’s Country deliberately concealed her existence. God’s Country had committed too many atrocities and feared Yulia might be poached by others using their own methods against them. But in Yulia’s heart, there was still the ambition to compete with the best prodigies in the world.

Looking across the world, White Eagle Country had one, and Jade Country had two; among the younger generation, Yulia believed only four could be considered true prodigies.

Fortunately for Yulia, she was unaware of Zhang Xiaotong in Jade Country; otherwise, she might have been so struck that she would shut herself down on the spot.

"Miss Yulia, shouldn’t you explain the origin of this Soul Hooking Death God?" Wang Lan asked gravely.

"Before I answer your question, tell me first: did he escape?"

"He’s dead!" Wang Lan replied succinctly.

Yulia breathed a long sigh of relief. "How could you move in a soul state? And why did your soul look like that when it was struck out of your body?"

"I’ve answered one of your questions. Shouldn’t you answer mine first?"

"No, your question is very important. A person’s soul is extremely fragile. Without a body, it loses the ability to act. Forget fighting; a mere gust of wind could dissipate it. Your state is very similar to the Hell Messengers created by the Hell Monarch. I suspect..."

"Are you familiar with our Eastern mythology?" Wang Lan suddenly interrupted.

"Eastern mythology? I’ve studied it."

"In Eastern mythology, how many types of gods are there?"

"Gods? Are you referring to congenital gods and acquired gods?"

Wang Lan shook his head. "Never mind, I’ll just tell you directly. Have you heard of Yin Gods?"

"Yes. It’s said that in your Eastern mythology, there is a Netherworld, and within it are the Ten Yama Kings, Black and White Impermanence, Ox-Head and Horse-Face, Soul-hooking Yin Soldiers... and so on. Are you saying your state just now was... a Soul-hooking Yin Soldier?"

"Exactly! Myths are just myths, but many Star Martial Skills are indeed derived from these legends, just like your Angelic State, Miss Yulia?"

"The Angels of Heaven are not myths; they are real entities," Yulia corrected seriously, somewhat agitated.

"I understand. Our Eastern Heavenly Court also truly exists. What I mean is, in our East, there’s a type of Star Martial Skill that allows one to cultivate the Soul Out of Body to attack as a Yin Soldier—coming without a trace, leaving without a shadow..."

"But you clearly couldn’t achieve Soul Out of Body just now. It was only after the Soul Hooking Death God struck your soul out that..."

"That was your misconception. I was just trying to deceive the enemy. Alright, I’ve answered your questions; now it’s your turn to answer mine."

Wang Lan’s explanation was rather shameless. Yulia took a deep breath, inhaling until her chest felt like it might burst, before exhaling slowly.

"This matter goes back three thousand years, when the Hell Monarch was brought to the Human World by the Demon Clan. After that, for a long period, God’s Country waged a protracted war against the Hell Monarch.

"Over two thousand years ago, God’s Country finally defeated the Hell Monarch and sealed him within a crystal coffin. Although the crystal coffin imprisoned the Hell Monarch, it also, paradoxically, made him stronger and more enigmatic.

"Fifty years ago, one night, the Hell Monarch suddenly broke the seal and escaped. Over the next few years, he created ten Demons, whom we call Hell Messengers.

"God’s Country immediately engaged in a twenty-year war with the Hell Monarch. Ultimately, thirty years ago, the Hell Monarch was defeated by the Pope and the Unparalleled Knight. The Hell Monarch’s soul was sealed within the Holy Grail. I had assumed he was repenting in the Grail all this time, but it seems that wasn’t the case." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"What about his physical body?" Wang Lan immediately thought of evil spirits.

"The Hell Monarch doesn’t have a physical body. He appeared in a soul state from the very beginning."

"How do you know the Hell Monarch broke free?"

"The Beast Soul Death God was one of the Demons created by the Hell Monarch, capable of transforming into a ghostly state and devouring souls. These Demons are created from the Hell Monarch’s own soul. If the Hell Monarch were sealed, all Demons would lose their power. The fact that the Soul Hooking Death God can stir up trouble like this is enough evidence that the Hell Monarch has escaped his confinement."

After Yulia finished speaking, everyone fell silent. If a single Demon created by the Hell Monarch was so formidable, how powerful must the Hell Monarch himself be?

"You don’t need to worry too much. The Hell Monarch and God’s Country are mortal enemies. He will most likely target God’s Country first. Besides, God’s Country possesses the Holy Grail and the Holy Bible. The Pope himself will deal with the Hell Monarch."

"Let’s not dwell on this grim topic any longer. We should report to headquarters," Wang Lan said, clapping his hands to break the somber mood and interrupt everyone’s worrying.

Yulia nodded slightly and turned to leave.

"Hey, don’t go! Let’s report to headquarters together."

"We didn’t help much with this. In fact, we mostly just caused trouble for you. You should report; I won’t impose."

Previously, Yulia and her two companions had been eager to intercept the mission, but now that it was over, they were quick to step aside. Jiang Xinyu and the others looked at Yulia strangely. If you were going to be this magnanimous, why did you try to snatch the prize from under our noses earlier?

But Wang Lan understood Yulia’s thinking. Trying to snatch the mission was about competition. But now that the dust had settled, Yulia couldn’t bring herself to ask for a share of the credit. As a prodigy, she had her pride. In her view, since she felt she hadn’t helped and had only caused trouble, it would be utterly shameless to claim any reward.

"Miss Yulia, please don’t say that. If you hadn’t created a diversion by ’openly repairing the plank roads,’ we wouldn’t have succeeded in ’secretly marching to Chencang.’ You drew the Red Cell Company’s attention, which allowed me to gather enough evidence before they could destroy the bodies and erase all traces," Wang Lan countered.

Yulia stopped and looked back at Wang Lan.

"I’m telling the truth. Besides, the final battle was a joint effort by both our teams. How it’s assessed is up to the examiners. We just need to report the facts honestly."

Yulia hesitated for a moment, glanced at her three eager teammates, and ultimately decided to stay.

"So, does this mean the Red Cell Company is the research and development facility for the zombie virus?"

"Currently, it appears so. The Red Cell Company is not only the R&D facility for the zombie virus but also for new types of narcotics. The novel narcotics that have appeared on the international market in recent years are all linked to the Red Blood Cell Pharmaceutical Company.

"At Red Cell’s underground research facility, we found over a dozen narcotic samples, the Exotic Beast progenitor of the zombie virus, and we also uncovered their next phase: the Undead Scourge Plan.

"They devised two schemes. One was the biochemical Zombie Warrior plan: using drugs to cultivate controllable Zombie Warriors, intended to be used in their bid for independence against the New Blue Government. They planned to use this to threaten the United Nations against intervening. If the UN ignored the threats and intervened, they would unleash the Undead Scourge.

"The zombie virus would then be spread to exterminate all of humanity. Furthermore, the vaccine for this zombie virus possesses unstable genetic code. Forcibly developing and administering such a vaccine would very likely cause genetic mutations."

Wang Lan described the mission in the gravest terms possible. He wasn’t deliberately exaggerating; Ice Snow had copied all these plans from the Red Cell Company’s central servers. The more severe he made Red Cell’s plans sound, the higher the evaluation for Wang Lan’s team would be.

"Team Seven, by vote of the International Security Council, this mission’s difficulty has been assessed as SS-rank. Your team is awarded an SS-rank evaluation. Team Twelve, for assisting Team Seven in successfully dismantling the Red Blood Cell Pharmaceutical Company and resolving a crisis for humanity, you are awarded an A+ evaluation.

"Your mission compensation and rewards will be issued after you officially become agents of the International Security Council. For now, they will be recorded as points. There are ten days remaining until the end of the assessment. We hope you will continue to strive for excellence."

BEEP BEEP BEEP. Sounds emitted from Wang Lan’s wristband. Instantly, his points surged to three thousand. On Yulia’s wristband, her points also increased to one thousand five hundred.

This was indeed a massive haul! This single mission alone was enough to surpass all other tasks, earning an amount of points so high it would drive everyone else to despair.

As for the threat of the Hell Monarch, the International Security Council promised to inform God’s Country and offer assistance if needed. However, since the Hell Monarch affair was beyond the scope of the current assessment, Wang Lan and the others had to leave it at that. Even if they wanted to investigate further, they would have to wait until the assessment concluded.

Wang Lan’s Team Seven left District Twelve and returned to the Black Brilliance Area. The zombie virus incident had been an unforeseen complication. Now that it was resolved, Wang Lan and his team resumed their investigation into the missing persons case.

Strangely, however, the people of St. State seemed to have grown accustomed to children disappearing. It was as if they were living by the saying: "If you can’t change the lashes of fate, you might as well try to enjoy them."

The people of St. State had begun to adapt to this grim reality. Parents generally didn’t have just one child anymore; they had several, hoping to mitigate the risk that one day, a child might unexpectedly disappear.

"Wang Lan..." Jiang Xinyu called out. Wang Lan quickly came over and sat down beside her.

"I’ve noticed something strange. The widespread disappearances of children seem to have begun thirty years ago. Thirty years... isn’t that number a bit too coincidental?"

Wang Lan’s expression turned solemn as he looked at the data compiled on the computer.

The Round Table Meeting was also a major player in human trafficking, but compared to the organization lurking in the shadows, the Round Table Meeting was merely a minor league outfit. That shadowy organization targeted a specific age group of children, which at least provided Wang Lan and the others with a clear direction for their investigation.

The disappearances of children under the age of four were, in nine out of ten cases, likely the work of that organization. And now, statistics showed these disappearances had started thirty years ago. Thirty years... that number is too sensitive.

The Red Cell Company was established thirty years ago and had been navigating a sea of sin for three decades. Now, this shadowy organization had also been trafficking children for thirty years...

"Could it be... the Hell Monarch’s doing again?" Wang Lan mused hesitantly.