Chad and Lindsay were absolutely sure that it was Dreamscape's voice. Felix asked, "Hey, do you know Lindsay?" "Yeah, she's quite good at singing. Her technique is solid, and she nails the emotional delivery. She's got a bright future ahead."Lindsay immediately covered her mouth and cried. If her comment was posted online, it would instantly boost her market value by tenfold or even hundredfold. After all, it was something Dreamscape had said. "So, here's the thing. Lindsay's my old friend, and her real dream is acting. I was wondering if you could help introduce her and help her make that dream happen." Chad was excited. Dreamscape might be just a singer, but her status in the entertainment world was unparalleled. Even a casual comment from her carried massive weight. "Sure, I'll send you my manager's number. Have Lindsay contact him. I'll put in a good word, but tell her not to forget her main gig—she really can sing." "Got it! Thanks, then. Bye!" After hanging up, th
It had only been one day since the A-tier Malevolent Phantom had last attacked. Was it losing its mind?Felix's face darkened. He didn't say a word. He just stood up and hung up the phone. "Sorry. I've got an urgent matter to handle." Normally, Angie would have thought this was incredibly rude. He had come asking for a favor, yet he was leaving so abruptly. But after what just happened, everything had changed. "Lindsay, did you really not know Dreamscape is Felix's cousin?" Lindsay gave a bitter smile. "Do I look like I know? Even if I did, I'm not the type to go begging for help." Her frustrated smile just deepened Angie's confusion. "Wow, you've just thrown me a major curveball! Felix has a connection like that, and I'm trying to find him a job? It's like teaching a professional chef how to boil water." But Lindsay saw things differently. "Angie, I can't say I know Felix super well. But from our school days and our recent encounters, I can vouch for his character. "The f
Felix nodded and said, "Exactly. Let's investigate quickly." Because of the Malevolent Phantoms, headquarters' main focus was now cases related to them. Regular cases were handed over to law enforcement so personnel could be mobilized incredibly fast. After leaving the scene, Felix went home to wait for the results. At sunset, Marley arrived. "You were right, Mr. Zeller. The young woman with the lingering fragrance definitely had body odor before her death." Felix got excited, reviewing the materials while asking, "Did you guys figure out why they were at the abandoned building?" That was the first crime scene, and Felix was sure of it. The fact that these people would go to such a remote location seemed suspicious. "Yes, we did. They would occasionally record videos about paranormal stuff. They go to scary places, then post online to gain attention and make some extra cash. "They had finished filming at the abandoned building and were probably preparing to leave when the
Felix raced to a repair shop in Kashmere. Upon reaching the premises, he quickly jumped the fence and entered. According to Chloe, she had been held captive here. She had barely managed to grab a phone and call for help. No one could possibly be interested in her smell, so Felix genuinely hoped the Malevolent Phantom would show up.The moment he entered the yard, all the lights blazed on, turning the place as bright as day. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry!"Chloe emerged, looking disheveled. Reeco—the man from the barbecue stand—was grabbing her hair. About 20 other guys surrounded Felix with weapons in hand, wearing menacing grins. "Did you think I'd have to visit you myself? Look at you, walking right into our trap!" Felix was utterly disappointed. He'd completely forgotten about these insignificant men, and now, they had wasted his time. "I'm here. Let her go."Surprisingly, Reeco shoved Chloe to the ground and waved his hand. "Get him!" The first man charged with a massiv
In the morning, Felix visited the dental clinic where the two women had their teeth cleaned. He found nobody suspicious there. He had already reviewed the relevant videos. They only had a routine teeth cleaning with barely any interaction. Any hope of finding a lead this way was completely crushed. After leaving, he received a call from Angie and rushed to an incredibly luxurious restaurant. "Felix, how about working as a front desk manager here?" she asked.What should have been a simple job offer now felt like she was tentatively seeking his permission. "Sure. But Ms. Sinclair, I have one condition."Angie smiled and said, "Go ahead.""I have some personal matters to deal with here. So, when I need to leave to handle something, I hope I can get time off normally." Angie thought that was nothing. She glanced at the middle-aged man beside her. "No problem. This is the restaurant's general manager, Ian Goodwin. Just give him a call when you want to leave." Ian immediately
Sally heard the intercom call, too, and her admiration for Bob reached new heights. Everyone in the restaurant knew that for VIP rooms like the Azure Room, customer complaints could not be handled by a front desk manager. Only the general manager—like Ian—could deal with it—and if he couldn't, Angie herself would have to step in.This was clearly Bob's setup. If not, Felix would not have had to go over. Bob had taken advantage of Felix being new and clueless about the rules.But his guts were something else. He was actually sacrificing one or two waiters just to go up against the boss' daughter. Was this really just about a front desk manager position anymore? In the Azure VIP Room, there were only two people by the massive table. A waiter knelt on the floor, body shaking uncontrollably. Just this scene told Felix the guests were definitely high-profile. "Who are you?"The young man with a powerful presence immediately frowned when he saw Felix."Hello, sir. I'm the front des
Just as Felix turned, the bathroom door opened, and a woman walked out. Seeing how the hem of her dress was wet, it was clearly from washing off spilled wine. "Mr. Zeller?" With just a glance, Felix was instantly wordless. Of all people, it was actually Wendy. "Oh, Wendy. What a coincidence!" Seeing Felix in his professional attire, Wendy was stunned. "What are you doing?" "I'm working as a front desk manager at this restaurant." Hearing this, Wendy remembered Felix was currently running important tasks nationwide. So, this made perfect sense. "Since we know each other, let's just drop this. The waiter didn't mean to cause trouble. There's no need to make such a big deal." Franz had already walked over at that moment. But he was shocked to see Wendy knew the front desk manager and was even addressing him so respectfully. "Got it, Mr. Zeller. Sorry for the trouble." Felix nodded and left. Bob followed, but a bad feeling crept into his mind. How did Felix know Franz's
Bob did not say much. He kept wondering if Felix and Wendy were just being polite. He was absolutely certain he would not be exposed. The waiter would never admit to intentionally causing trouble, and no investigation could possibly reveal anything. He might as well keep things as messy as possible. Less than ten minutes passed before Angie arrived. She did not even greet Felix, immediately rushing to the Azure VIP Room with Ian. Felix remained in the main hall. It was past the lunch rush, so the restaurant was almost empty and quiet. Suddenly, Bob heard Felix's voice say, "I won't be here for more than a few days, so you really didn't need to use these tactics." "Mr. Zeller, were you speaking to me?" "You know exactly what I mean. Don't do this again." Felix was not naive. He could tell from how Bob had been helpful in the main hall but went silent in the private room. Something was definitely fishy. But Felix was totally focused on the Malevolent Phantoms now, and he
The guide said, "This is where the selected contestants rest. The yard is huge and has everything you need. As long as you don't leave this yard, you're free to move around. I'll bring you to your room now."The yard looked huge, with fixtures of bridges and flowing rivers. Felix even passed by a fake mountain. It was large enough for hundreds of people to climb, standing thousands of feet tall and looked quite majestically.No one on Earth or Aquamarinus could have built such a luxurious residence. Felix could even see a bar and massage parlor, showing how indispensable technology was in the universe. His room was luxurious, around 2000 square feet, and was decorated with traditional but modern touches. "This is your room. I'll take my leave now, goodbye." The young man left with a bow. Felix turned around and stood on the patio. Outside his room was a large lake, with even fish swimming inside."A new neighbor? Did you just arrive today?" The sudden voice came from the patio
Felix arrived at the location of one of Nine Flames, where the guards instantly collapsed, their eyes rolling back as they fainted.By now, darkness had arrived. He walked forward without any hesitation, his right hand touching the flame.There was no need for any special tools. The flame simply vanished, and only Felix knew that it was absorbed in an instant by his Starmark.With the disappearance of the flames, people in many places immediately dropped to their knees.The light that should have lasted throughout the night vanished, and the darkness of Desolated Lands descended almost instantly. Every light went out in an instant.Screams echoed everywhere, and panic spread like wildfire. Even though their loved ones were close by, they couldn't see them with their eyes and could only communicate through voice.Scenes like this were unfolding in many places, even in Cloud City."It's really started," Eira said. She was in Cloud City. Although Luigi was standing on her left, h
Despite Thiago's murderous glare and overwhelming killing intent, Felix wasn't scared. In fact, it made him smile.Due to the unique trait of the Dragon Rebirth, his opponent had to harbor a true desire to kill him in order for Felix to grow stronger. Otherwise, it would all be meaningless. At least so far, everything was unfolding just as he expected.Meanwhile, Holt was silently praying like crazy as he lay on the ground. The battle had already begun, and his companion had understood his message. This was their only shot, however slim, at killing Felix.As time passed and the afternoon crept past 3:00 pm, his companion started to falter. His attacks were growing sluggish. He hadn't been injured, but he was clearly on the defensive now.Seeing this, Felix completely lost interest. Once his opponent lost the will to kill him, the Dragon Rebirth would no longer grow.Still, the battle wasn't for nothing. He'd made solid progress and was a little closer to becoming a Celestial Realm
Felix had clearly found Holt's weak spot. These guys were so desperate to extend their lives that they turned the entire Aquamarinus into a breeding ground. Obviously, they were terrified of death. As long as there was even the slightest chance of survival, they'd take it.And sure enough, Holt immediately agreed. He pulled out some kind of device and flew off, clearly contacting his comrades."But even if I agreed," Holt said, "the three of us split up and searched in different directions. Even if they rush over, they won't make it until tomorrow."The fear in his eyes was obvious, so much so that Felix couldn't help but laugh."How interesting," Felix said. "You made a deal with the Ant Queen, right? Couldn't she at least give you something to help you move freely through Desolated Lands at night?"Holt shot him a bitter smile. "The Ant Queen's children—the soldier ants—are born hunters. That instinct can't be erased. And honestly, we've never needed to go out at night anyway."
Lumen flew out and quickly returned. Felix's expression eased completely, and with a step, he vanished from where he stood."Chasing me was fun last time, huh? Did you think it'd go the same this time?" he asked.When he reappeared, someone was already lying on the ground about ten yards ahead. It was a figure fully shrouded in a gray robe, a man named Holt Bovington.That was Felix holding back. Otherwise, Lumen's previous strike could've shattered Holt's soul on the spot."Felix Zeller? It really is you!" Holt's voice was full of shock. Whatever he'd planned to do was already too late. His soul had taken a devastating blow, and he no longer had the strength to fight."Yeah, it's me. Just like I suspected, you people really aren't all that strong when it comes to soul power."Felix had spared his life because he wanted answers."If you answer a few questions honestly, I'll let you live. Even with your soul badly damaged, I assume someone who knows about Nine Flames and Desolate
Three months later, deep within a mountain on Aquamarinus, a meeting was taking place. Who would've imagined palace-like structures hidden within the mountain itself?In one of the chambers, a sky-blue dome adorned the ceiling. Beneath it, three figures in gray robes sat cross-legged, their bodies cloaked in shadow. Their faces were completely obscured."I went to see the Ant Queen yesterday. There's definitely something wrong.""Enough with the vague talk. Be specific.""In just three months, the Ant Queen has lost millions of her children. Do you even understand what that means?"The atmosphere shifted as all three took a sharp breath. A long silence followed before one finally spoke, "Perhaps our earlier theory is right. Is someone hunting soldier ants in Desolated Lands at night?""It has to be. How else do you explain millions of casualties? At this rate, we're down to just a million soldier ants across the entire planet. If this keeps up, they'll be wiped out in a month. An
"I didn't expect you to be a doctor, too. Thanks," Myles said, but then suddenly froze. His mind started racing.Wait a minute! He took down a tiger of True Blood Realm. On top of that, he was extremely skilled in medicine. That could only mean…"You figured out who I am?" Felix asked with a smile, trying to put Myles at ease. Despite that, Myles couldn't hide his fear. "You're Felix Zeller?""That's right. Judging by your reaction, I take it I've become a traitor to The Recovery Association? Or maybe some kind of unforgivable villain?"The air grew a bit awkward, and Myles shot him a strained smile."Not exactly… It's just that you took down the Flame Monarch. That's kind of hard to wrap my head around."His expression shifted again."Actually, everyone's still pretty confused. When we woke up this morning, every city, town, and even the smallest villages received a message. Five days from now, the Flame Monarch is holding a Flame Ceremony."Felix paused, frowning. "What's t
With Lumen and Indigo attacking and the Infinite Shield defending, Felix held his ground. Occasionally, he cast minor spells that barely consumed any soul power. Even as the monsters surged toward him like a tidal wave, not one of them could so much as scratch him.Feeling the steady stream of energy flooding into him, Felix grinned. If things kept going like this, there was a high chance he'd break through to the next major soul realm—Soul Overlord Realm.If he could level up again during the elimination rounds, his odds of winning the whole thing would increase significantly. Especially since Soul Overlord Realm required soul enhancement, it was a whole different league compared to Aetherium Realm.Once he hit Soul Overlord Realm, he was confident he'd be able to go toe-to-toe in a soul battle with the powerful figure who had chased him during dusk.That guy didn't dare appear in Desolated Lands at night, which likely meant his soul wasn't strong. In that case, Felix might actual
The sun had already begun to set. After fleeing in a panic, Felix had no idea if there was even a single place ahead that could shield him from the coming darkness.A few minutes later, the presence chasing him within his domain disappeared. Logically, the pursuer should've caught up in less than ten minutes, but they gave up. Still, Felix didn't relax for a second. The darkness was about to fall, and that could only mean two things. Either the pursuer wasn't confident they could survive the desolate night themselves, or they assumed there was no flame nearby and Felix was as good as dead.Either way, this was the most dangerous moment yet.After sprinting several more miles, Felix finally stopped. All around him stretched a barren wasteland with no end in sight. Even though he had memorized maps to identify different areas, they were useless now. As darkness swallowed the land, all reference points vanished."Damn it! I guess I'll have to see for myself what the hell comes out i