55: [Ape E]

Lai Guang City’s gray area.

Yixuan Hall, as the underground gang of Lai Guang City, had a large number of gang members.

The vast majority of these members were unemployed vagrants, with most of the lower ranks relying on extortion and petty theft to make a living.

A core group of mid-to-high-level members, on the other hand, maintained their “respectability” by relying on “tributes” from the lower-level gang members.

At the same time, Yixuan Hall also colluded with high-ranking officials in Lai Guang City, either bribing them or performing various secret “jobs” for them.

However, the largest source of income for the mid-to-high-level members came from the illicit services provided by irregular bathhouses and underground casinos.

But even the mid-to-high-level members of Yixuan Hall didn’t know that their hall master was no longer considered human.

The so-called hall master of Yixuan Hall was named Wang Yixuan.

He, who founded Yixuan Hall, was incredibly skilled in combat, and the reason for his prowess stemmed from a fortuitous encounter.

He was once attacked by a monster, suffering severe injuries and falling unconscious.

But upon waking, he not only found that all his injuries had healed, but he also possessed immense power.

He could even transform into a monster.

These changes filled him with extreme dread, but the powerful strength also made him addicted.

Relying on the power he gained, he thrived within a small gang.

Eventually, he overthrew the former boss, took control of the small gang, and continuously expanded it.

He even felt that he was the Son of Destiny, chosen by fate.

Because ever since he gained this immense power, everything he did went smoothly.

Establishing gray industries, befriending and bribing officials, and doing dirty work for officials.

Everything went extremely smoothly.

It was as if an invisible hand was helping him and his forces grow.

Wang Yixuan attributed all of this to providence.

Or rather, he thought of something even more terrifying, but he was unwilling to admit it, so he subconsciously attributed all this smoothness to providence.

And he was the Son of Destiny.

Believing himself to be the Son of Destiny, he had now acquired another powerful treasure.

A card the size of a playing card, with a black background.

The front of the card depicted a black Ape, its fur like charcoal, without a single Noise.

Its eyes were crimson like red beads, and sharp, ferocious fangs protruded from its lips.

Its massive arms hung by its sides, muscles bulging beneath the fur of its arms, and its huge fists resembled two iron mallets forged from dark steel.

Ape E card.

In an empty room, Wang Yixuan gazed obsessively at the card placed on the table before him.

Ever since he acquired that immense power, he had been pursuing that immense power.

He wanted to gain even greater power.

In these few decades, he had gained nothing, and even his body began to age, his strength no longer comparable to his prime.

The physical exertion of transforming into a monster also increased, and each transformation left him incredibly exhausted.

And this card was his only gain in all these years.

Ape E card.

As long as he carried it with him, his arms would be imbued with immense strength, making every strike powerful and heavy.

Moreover, carrying it on his person made his body feel exceptionally light.

His aging body also felt as if it had returned to its youth.

However, he was not satisfied.

As half a monster, he could perceive the immense power within this card with his monster senses.

This caused his inner desire to constantly surge, wanting desperately to possess the power within.

But the card seemed to firmly lock and weld the power within, leaving no opening for him.

The power he utilized was merely a sliver of the divine ability that emanated from the card.

To utilize the card's power, a certain tool was required.

And the location of this tool was incredibly clear.

That was, the Summoner.

Ever since the Armored Warrior appeared, Wang Yixuan had noticed this mysterious existence.

And he was incredibly annoyed.

Why?

Clearly, he was the Son of Destiny; clearly, only he possessed the powerful monster strength.

He transcended all human monsters, possessing human wisdom and monster strength.

He was the protagonist chosen by heaven.

But why did this Armored Warrior possess such power?

And he was even more dazzling than him, more like a protagonist than him.

In contrast, his own ugly power, his ugly monster form, was like a rat that couldn't see the light of day.

Since then, he had kept his eyes fixed on this mysterious Armored Warrior.

Through channels of bribed officials, he learned about the Monster Countermeasures Division's research on the Armored Warrior.

After understanding that the Armored Warrior fought by using the Summoner to activate the power of various cards.

He became even more jealous.

Jealous to the point of madness, obsessive.

He was merely a lowly human, yet he could fight noble monsters like himself through the Summoner.

Tricky, despicable.

He would never allow anyone else to wield such powerful strength.

Wang Yixuan had always lived the life of a protagonist; in his perception, all humans and monsters were far inferior to him.

The appearance of the Armored Warrior was so dazzling that it almost drove him mad with jealousy, making him desperately want to find the Summoner.

Until a few days ago, a new Armored Warrior appeared.

He didn't realize that the Summoner had already been inherited by a second generation; he thought that there wasn't just one Summoner.

And there wasn't just one Armored Warrior.

Perhaps there were more powerful armors and Summoners in this world.

So he had his gang members search everywhere.

He even bought a lot of Armored Warrior merchandise, such as Summoners, Light Shadow Swords, and various cards.

Until he found Ape E.

This further solidified his desire to obtain the Summoner.

Moreover, with this power, he felt that he could defeat the Summoner and forcibly seize the Summoner.

However, he felt that acting alone was not safe.

He wanted to wait until the next time a monster caused trouble, drawing out Fire Finch, then team up with the monster to defeat Fire Finch and Fire Finch's Summoner.

And seize the Summoner.

“Ape, Ape…”

Thinking of this, Wang Yixuan stroked the card in front of him, as if imagining the day he would possess the Summoner.

At that time, he would possess both monster and armor powers.

But Ape E, placed on the table, remained completely still, as if it were inanimate.

Yet, individual black needle-like hairs seemed to subtly ripple within the card.