Inside the room, Wen Yu was organizing the items in his space ring. After a while, as if recalling something, he took out his communicator and dialed Carmilleâs number.
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
After several busy tones, the communicator on the other end connected.
"Is that you, Wen Yu?" Carmilleâs soft voice came through.
"Itâs me. When can you get here?"
"I might not be able to make it anytime soon. Iâve run into a bit of a situation here in Europe."
"Hmm..." Wen Yu pondered for a moment.
"How long is âanytime soonâ?"
"Perhaps a month. Listen, I stumbled upon an amazing subject in Spainâa massive mutant beast. Iâm currently tailing it. Shh... I think it saw me..."
Carmille suddenly fell silent on the other end.
After a moment, Carmille spoke again. "A month might be an underestimate. That giant ape moves too fast..."
Wen Yu was silent. After a while, he seriously reminded her, "You also have your Hunting Group to deal with. If you canât make it before the demon plague, I might not be able to offer much help."
"No worries, Iâll contact you then. Gotta go, itâs getting away!"
After Carmille finished, she immediately hung up, leaving Wen Yu utterly exasperated.
During his interactions with Carmille, Wen Yu had discovered her extraordinary obsession with painting. Luckily for her, her professional system was also related to art.
Upon encountering a quality subject, Carmille had immediately postponed her trip to Las Vegas, completely disregarding the threat from the Hunting Group.
Wen Yu reevaluated the matters at hand and suddenly realized that, before the demon plague, he had nothing particularly pressing to do.
The defense of Las Vegas was entirely managed by Claus and Victor. Newcomers like Qin Tian either rested in their rooms, went for walks, or volunteered to help Claus with the cityâs construction.
He opened his Soul Realm space again and briefly checked on Victorâs injuries.
Victorâs injuries had fully healed, but he didnât want to come out yetâwith Double Body active, his presence made little difference.
After taking stock of his current strength, Wen Yu walked to the coffee table. He sipped some red wine and slowly reflected on the new combat style he had discovered during his battle against Walter in the Sequence Member-Ranking Battle.
ăSeven days were left until the start of the demon plague.ă
The construction of Las Vegasâs city walls was almost complete. Victor had driven the herds of mutant beasts outside the city walls, making them Las Vegasâs first line of defense.
After all, high-level mutant beasts were manageable, but low-level ones simply ate, drank, and relieved themselves according to instinct. Recently, mutant beast droppings were everywhere, and all of Las Vegas reeked.
Driving the mutant beasts out of the city also had another benefit: food.
Since they were helping with construction, their food had primarily come from Las Vegasâs stockpiles. After just a few days, the cityâs food supply was nearly depleted. Driving the beasts out to restore the previous ecosystem was therefore considered good news.
Victor didnât care what the mutant beasts ate. For animals, a wolf eating a sheep was natural instinct. When Victor had previously assembled his mutant beast army, their food had consisted of the old and weak among them.
After Double Body had sent the mutant beasts away, it immediately rushed to Wen Yuâs room.
Then, like an illusion, Double Body began to fade before Wen Yuâs eyes until it vanished completely.
Simultaneously, Victor sent a Spiritual Fluctuation to Wen Yu from within the 5th Soul Realm.
"Wen Yu, Wen Yu! Let me out! Iâm suffocating in here."
Wen Yu didnât dare to slight him. He knew this cat was cold and aloof; it didnât even call him âBrother Wen Yuâ anymore, opting for his name directly.
Wen Yu opened the 5th Soul Realm, and Victorâs black form bounced out. The cat stretched lazily and let out a huge yawn.
"Just stay here. If anything happens, pull me to your side."
Victor paused, then added, "Remember our agreement, right? When the Hunting Group arrives, try to handle it yourself. Only call me if you canât."
"I remember. Go on, do your thing."
"Thatâs more like it..." Victor adopted an expression that said, âYouâre a fast learner,â then sauntered downstairs with a cat-like swagger.
This left Wen Yu and his two remaining soul pets feeling rather helpless.
Compared to Cyclops and Star, Victorâs relationship with me is more like a partnership. It might just be his nature. Double Body is more agreeable, but his true self isnât cute at all...
ăFour days later.ă
Three days remained until the demon plague.
At the Las Vegas Assembly Site, Wen Yu called a final meeting before the demon plagueâor, to put it bluntly, he was arranging his affairs!
Without knowing the Hunting Groupâs true strength, Wen Yu couldnât guarantee he wouldnât be wiped out. If something happened to him, other matters were secondary; his main concern was for Cyclops, Star, and Victor.
"There are three days left until the Demon Realmâs Gate opens." Wen Yu paused, then added, "Though we donât know if the Dominator is telling the truth."
"When the demon plague arrives, it will be accompanied by the Demon Realmâs hunt for the Human Race Sequence members. We all know this. The primary concern is for Qin Tian and me."
"We will establish our battlefield in the Red Stone Grand Canyon, which isnât too far nor too close to Las Vegas."
Wen Yu glanced at Qin Tian, who nodded slightly in return. Qin Tian then gently patted the back of a worried Qin Shiyuanâs hand, signaling he would be fine.
Wen Yu ignored the overly affectionate siblings and continued.
"The Hunting Groupâs strength is unknown. Perhaps Qin Tian and I will handle them easily, or perhaps weâll die in the Red Stone Grand Canyon. I canât guarantee anything. The purpose of todayâs meeting is to discuss how to deal with unexpected events."
Just as Wen Yu finished, Wang Fucai immediately spoke up, "Donât worry! There wonât be any major problems this time. This old Taoist sees that you both have a healthy glow; youâll definitely pull through despite some scares."
This interruption immediately dispelled the somewhat somber atmosphere.
Wen Yu didnât take it too seriously, just smiled and said, "Then Iâll take that as a good omen."
"However, we mustnât lessen our preparations. This first wave of the demon plague is something weâor rather, the entire Human Raceâhave never faced before. Naturally, we have no established countermeasures. We can only remain steadfast and adapt to whatever changes come."
"In a day, Qin Tian and I will head to the Red Stone Grand Canyon to prepare. The rest of you will stay here, with Claus in command."
As soon as Wen Yu finished speaking, Claus immediately replied, "Our preparations here are complete. The crucial part is your engagement. Why not let Arthur and Wang Fucai accompany you? Theyâre both quite capable and should be able to assist."
"That wonât be necessary." Wen Yu shook his head.
Although Arthur and Wang Fucai had high sequence numbers, their actual strength was far inferior to Wen Yuâs. They wouldnât be much help; it would be more like sending them to their deaths.
After saying this, Wen Yu spoke again, "If, by some chance, something happens to Qin Tian and me... Arthur, Wang Fucai."
Wen Yu looked at the two of them and said solemnly, "The Independents Mutual Aid Federation will be entrusted to you. This is crucial, as the Federation is what protects Independents from military coercion. Also, if you can, please look after Las Vegas and Qin Tianâs sister for me."
When they nodded, Wen Yu turned to Victor.
"If something happens to me, you take care of Faceless. Cyclops and Star will be fine; they can manage well even without me. But Faceless is different."
Even though Faceless lacks intelligence, it is still one of Wen Yuâs soul pets, and Wen Yu cares for it deeply.
Victor nodded. "Donât worry."
Seeing Victorâs serious tone, Wen Yu laughed. "Thatâs just a contingency. By my estimation, if I canât even handle a mere Hunting Group, then thereâs no hope for the Human Race."
After Wen Yu said these things, he gave Claus a meaningful look.
Claus immediately understood and took out the layout map for Las Vegasâs defensive perimeter. He began assigning defensive sectors to Arthur and Wang Fucai.
With Wen Yu presiding, Arthur and Wang Fucai nodded repeatedly at Clausâs arrangements.
This was another reason for the meetingâwithout Wen Yuâs presence, no one would have paid Claus any mind.