Free Web NovelChapter 121: Chapter 121: The Sketch from 20 Years Ago
"Rise," Shen Feng said.
From the moment the Ape Cavalry charged out to their return, only about ten minutes had passed.
Kuafu hadn’t been boasting.
Through the satellite controlled by Jingwei, he had also witnessed the battle and appreciated Kuafu’s art of command.
This ape truly had a new trick up his sleeve every time.
At the Savior’s command, the Ape Cavalry rose to their feet in unison. They kept their heads bowed in reverence, though a few of the less intelligent ones glanced around curiously.
Meanwhile, Kuafu was observing the human youth before him out of the corner of his eye.
Compared to when he had left the Stone Statue Apocalypse, he could sense that the young man was growing at an astonishing rate.
If he had previously felt he was the boy’s equal in intelligence and strategy, now, facing him was like staring into an abyss.
The young man’s aura was completely different from before, now possessing the powerful presence only a true superior could command.
His eyes, in particular, seemed to belong to someone who had fought through Hell and subjugated thousands of warriors.
This change had happened in just over a month!
But while Kuafu felt a sliver of fear, he was also overjoyed.
He had led the entire Brain Ape Race to pledge their complete allegiance to this youth. The stronger he was, the more they stood to gain, and the greater their chances of ensuring the continuation of their species.
He even felt a sense of relief, proud of his decisive action back then. He had sacrificed an eye for this priceless, rare opportunity.
While Kuafu was discreetly observing Shen Feng, Shen Feng was also looking at the Brain Apes before him with mixed feelings.
The stone statue ruins on the Arctic Ocean Floor remained an unsolved mystery.
He still couldn’t be certain whether Homo sapiens, in their nascent state hundreds of thousands of years ago, had truly evolved from these Brain Apes.
The questions surrounding the timeline had yet to be answered...
But now was not the time to dwell on such things.
Shen Feng smiled faintly and said to Kuafu,
"You’ve done well. You may now return to the Stone Statue Apocalypse... As for my promise, you need only wait."
Kuafu also smiled, nodding respectfully. "Thank you, Savior. The Ape Race will await your summons!"
With that, he raised a hand. "Mount up! We’re heading back!"
The Ape Cavalry left the captives behind, remounted their steeds, and filed past Shen Feng, saluting once more before entering the still-open Space Wormhole.
Every Brain Ape’s heart pounded with excitement. They knew exactly what it meant to see the Savior.
It meant the Brain Ape Race had a hope of preserving their intelligence!
Moreover, this Savior was powerful enough to open a path between two worlds. He could practically be called a Divine Spirit.
They were overjoyed to serve such a powerful being.
When the last of his subordinates had vanished into the Space Wormhole, Kuafu turned to Shen Feng, his face filled with admiration.
"Mr. Shen, your power exceeds even my imagination. It seems my wager—my own eye—was the right one... In my eyes, you are now equal to a Divine Spirit... What is all this?"
His last question referred to the Parallel World and the Space Wormhole.
Shen Feng gave a dry chuckle and scoffed,
"You can drop the act with me. As for the truth behind all this... you only need to know that to the beings behind the curtain, human civilization is nothing more than an ant. As for the Ape Race..."
Shen Feng’s voice dropped, his expression turning grim.
"...to them, the Ape Race might not even be worth a speck of dust..."
Kuafu’s expression grew solemn as well, and he nodded gravely.
"I understand, Mr. Shen... I don’t know what you’re doing, but I hope you achieve ultimate victory, and I hope the human civilization of this world achieves it as well... Farewell, Savior!"
From the very beginning, Kuafu understood that the fate of the Brain Ape Race was inextricably linked to the young man before him.
It wasn’t a matter of mutual dependence; rather, the Brain Ape Race had placed their destiny firmly in his hands.
’If the human civilization of this world is an ant, then the Ape Race is an ant to that ant...’
He then swung himself onto his mount, gave Shen Feng another salute, and spurred his steed into the Space Wormhole, disappearing from sight.
Once all the Brain Apes had left, the Space Wormhole swiftly vanished as if it had never been there.
Only a few living captives remained, their hands bound, kneeling before Shen Feng.
Most of these Snake Eye Company mercenaries were severely injured; they couldn’t have escaped even if they weren’t tied up.
Seeing the Ape Cavalry kneel and salute this mysterious man, then vanish into a Space Wormhole, had left the mercenaries utterly shocked, unable to believe their eyes.
It was all completely beyond their comprehension.
Chuck muttered,
"Antichrist... Such sin... Commanding abominations, making an enemy of humanity... Mankind has fallen... This world needs to be purified..."
He was now certain that the man before him was the sinful Antichrist, the filth of this world!
But before he could finish, Shen Feng strode forward impatiently and kicked Chuck to the ground, cursing,
"’Anti, anti, anti’... Antichrist my ass! Are you annoying or what? How the hell did you know I was here? Where is Cthulhu? What are the identities of the other Purification Society moles?"
Chuck already had numerous broken bones. The kick sent him sprawling, and the pain was so intense that tears and snot streamed down his face as he nearly passed out.
The other mercenaries were completely bewildered by everything. One of them hastily said,
"We... we have no idea what you’re talking about... These were our boss’s orders! We were just following them!"
When they first learned they’d be carrying out a mission on Eagle Country soil, they’d had their doubts. But thinking of how resourceful their boss had always been, they followed the order anyway.
Who would have thought they’d run into some ridiculous ape cavalry? Not only was their unit wiped out, but now they were tied up here, waiting to be slaughtered.
They were just in it for the money, so they immediately sold Chuck out.
"Before we set out, I saw the boss secretly take out a piece of paper and glance at it a few times. It’s in his right pocket."
"Faulkner and Chuck both lived in Wuyou Town as kids. I think they were also in the Purification Society. Chuck said so himself once when he was drunk."
Shen Feng’s expression was dark. He patted down Chuck’s pockets and, sure enough, found a piece of paper, its edges frayed from being handled so often.
He unfolded it. The paper was identical to the one he had just taken from Faulkner’s hand.
It was a copy of the same sketch.
"Where did you get this sketch?" Shen Feng asked, grabbing Chuck by the hair, his face devoid of expression.
Chuck was already a mess of tears and snot from the agonizing pain in his spine, but he was still trying to hold out.
Shen Feng said nothing more. He simply dragged Chuck’s body dozens of meters down the street to where Faulkner’s corpse lay.
Forcing Chuck’s head down toward Faulkner’s empty eye sockets, Shen Feng took out the glass cup containing the eyeballs from his backpack and said slowly,
"After I gouged his eyes out while he was still alive, Faulkner told me everything... Maybe you’d like to talk first and keep your own." ƒreewebɳovel.com
Staring at the two bloody holes in his longtime partner’s corpse, combined with the excruciating pain, the not-so-resolute Chuck finally broke. He trembled and stammered,
"I’ll talk... I’ll talk... This portrait... Dr. Cthulhu gave it to me himself, twenty years ago, back at the Purification Society..."
~
