Chapter 2643: Returning to Military Base

"What makes you think I have such information? I literally just got here, you know?"

"I was just hoping you were capable enough to know something before coming here, that’s all."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I am not capable enough to know everything."

The soldier in the azure-colored suit shrugged, "What a pity."

The two of them grouped up with the other soldiers shortly after.

"Have you guys learned anything so far?" asked the Ironwoman.

"Not really," one of them responded, a soldier wearing a green uniform.

He then retrieved a glass vial that contained what appeared to be a chunk of dried blood and continued, "Besides the craters, this blood was left behind. And there are a lot of them."

"A little too much," said another soldier. "It’s like thousands of people have been slaughtered here."

"Blood?" The Ironwoman muttered in a puzzled tone before inquiring, "How could there be blood if the Void Hunter leaves no traces of its victims behind? A single touch from that entity will turn one into dust before they could even bleed a single drop of blood."

"True, so the blood must’ve been the result of a fight between whoever was present when the Void Hunter was summoned. I am guessing that a large group of soldiers fought here for some reason and ended up dying to the Void Hunter."

"But that doesn’t explain why the Void Hunter had fought for so long before disappearing," said another soldier.

"And we would know about it if such a large-scale battle had really occurred."

"Because the Void Hunter wasn’t fighting a human," a new voice suddenly resounded.

The Ironwoman and the others turned their heads to see a soldier in crimson uniform approaching them.

"What do you know?" the Ironwoman asked him.

The soldier from Ember City sighed and said, "We were going to withhold this information until we had more, but considering the situation and implications, we have decided to share it, so listen carefully."

"Not long ago, we discovered a new kind of Void Specter—one that has the ability to perfectly disguise itself as a human, and we believe it was the Void Hunter’s opponent."

"What?!"

Nearly everyone there exclaimed in shock at this revelation.

"A Void Specter that can disguise itself as a human...?" the Ironwoman mumbled.

"A few of our soldiers discovered this Void Specter during their mission. They mistook him for a human lost in the Black Zone at first and approached him to help, but it became clear that the entity was not human when it killed two of them without warning."

"That doesn’t really mean anything..." said the soldier in the azure-colored uniform.

"Let me continue," said the Ember City soldier.

"After learning of its existence, we sent out a group of powerful soldiers to investigate. Nine soldiers in total."

"Almost enough to summon the Void Hunter, huh?"

"Yes, and their life signals disconnected shortly after the Void Hunter’s appearance."

"Even if those nine soldiers died here, that doesn’t explain the amount of blood present here."

"The blood is likely from the humanoid Void Specter. If it has the ability to disguise itself as a human, we can assume it bleeds like one, too. And since it’s not a real human, it doesn’t know that humans don’t have an unlimited supply of blood."

"That’s a whole lot of assumptions..." the Ironwoman remarked. "Nothing you’ve said can really be taken seriously without evidence."

The Ember City soldier turned to look at her and said, "Then you’ll likely not believe me when I say that this humanoid Void Specter has taken the appearance of a soldier from your city."

"What?"

The Ironwoman frowned behind her mask.

"You heard me. The humanoid Void Specter was wearing Gaia’s Heaven’s uniform, and according to the survivors, he was also a corporal."

"..."

A look of bewilderment appeared on the Ironwoman’s face after hearing this information.

"A corporal... from my city?" she muttered in a dazed voice as a certain face surfaced in her mind.

If the soldiers from Ember City had truly encountered a corporal wandering alone in the Black Zone, then there was only one person who fit that description—Corporal Yuan.

’Are they mistaking Corporal Yuan for a Void Specter...?’ she wondered inwardly.

Even with that possibility in mind, the Ironwoman decided not to say anything until she had more information. After all, there was still a chance that the mysterious corporal wasn’t Yuan at all.

"Well, that’s all the information I have on the humanoid Void Specter for now, so do with it what you will," said the soldier from Ember City.

Shortly afterward, the soldiers resumed their investigation, collecting blood samples from various locations throughout the devastated area.

Meanwhile, Yuan arrived at the military gates.

When Yuan approached the gates, the soldier on duty stared at him with wide eyes, as if he were before a ghost.

"C-Corporal Yuan...?" the soldier, who recognized him, muttered in a dazed voice.

"Yeah?" Yuan casually responded, acting as if he hadn’t been presumed dead for more than half a year.

The soldier rubbed his eyes and looked at Yuan again.

"I-I thought you were dead!"

"Well, as you can see, I am well and alive."

"How is that possible?! The Scorpion Squad said you entered the Black Zone and died there!"

"I was in the Black Zone, but I didn’t die. I was lost, hence why it took me so long to return," Yuan said, giving a convenient excuse.

"Anyway, let me in. I have to speak with General Mei."

"R-Right away!"

The soldier immediately opened the gates.

After entering the military base, Yuan made his way toward General Mei’s office, deliberately taking his time as he walked through the open areas, almost as though he wanted as many people as possible to notice his return.

"Hey... am I seeing things, or is that Corporal Yuan?"

"Huh? What are you—Holy shit! It’s Corporal Yuan! He’s alive?!"

"What’s going on?! I thought he died a few months ago!"

The soldiers exclaimed in disbelief when they saw Yuan casually walking through the base, staring at him as though they had just seen a ghost.