CHAPTER 99: CHAPTER 99: CLUES

Evander Virethorn.

That was the name of the man standing behind the soldier, who had an aghast expression on his face. He looked so shocked; his lips parted and his fingers trembled.

Zerra suddenly felt pity for him, getting face-slapped by the male lead. He must be questioning his existence right now, poor thing.

"Cassias." Evan raised his eyebrows. His eyes swept toward Zerra, who was now as quiet as a mouse. A playful smile played about his lips. "Abducting your fiancee here... you aren’t asking me for blessing to get married, do you?"

Zerra’s head snapped toward him, eyes wide.

This man actually didn’t look that similar to Cassias if people compared their looks. It was the aura. They resembled crouching tigers, ready to pounce on their prey at any moment.

He seemed so strict and intimidating; his bronze skin added a touch of wildness to his figure. At first glance, he looked like a taciturn man. She didn’t expect him to be this playful. He went as far as teasing Cassias.

"No, we come here for something important." Cassias was unfazed.

Evan’s playful look was gone in an instant upon noticing his cousin’s serious countenance. He glanced at the soldier beside him, who was now shaking.

"I am sorry, Mr. Virethorn. I failed to recognize your identity." The soldier thought his lieutenant general wanted him to apologize, so he did.

"That’s fine. He won’t mind." Evan waved his hand off. "Just go back to your work."

Cassias crossed his hands on his chest. His mouth twitched. He did mind that. After all, that soldier just slandered him, but there was a more pressing matter here.

"Yes, Sir!" The soldier scrambled away. Not far from them, some military members were secretly watching their interaction, observing. Those were Evan’s people.

Zerra actually was kind of expecting a dramatic encounter when Cassias would meet his cousin, but the scene was pretty normal, huh?

She had a slight suspicion. When he prepared for the apocalypse, did he tell his cousin about it too? Or at least, he should have given Evan a hint. Just look at the man’s nonchalant behavior; he didn’t look worried for Cassias at all.

Evan led them toward the building; more specifically, his office.

After they were seated, he asked, "Tell me what you need."

"We are looking for Zerra’s parents." Cassias began. "They usually came here to ask about their children, right?"

Evan’s eyes peered over Zerra’s anxious face. "Yes, they regularly come here to ask about their kids, Zerra in particular. You haven’t met them?"

Zerra nodded. She told him the information she had gotten from her parents’ neighbor. "... they didn’t come back to the house, so something unusual must have happened."

"I see." Evan acknowledged Zerra’s words. "I will get the people who spoke with them yesterday. They might have some clues."

With that, Evan summoned his assistant, who was close by, and gave him his orders.

Cassias took out a bottle of spring water and handed it over to Zerra. "Drink this. We will eventually find them, don’t worry."

Zerra didn’t refuse. She took the bottle of water and took big gulps. The cooling sensation helped to ease her emotions a little. Now, she didn’t need to be worried she would turn into a fox in front of Evan.

The male lead must have noticed she couldn’t control when she would turn into a fox.

Evan merely raised his eyebrows upon watching their interaction. He cleared his throat. "Cousin, I am thirsty too. How about you give me a bottle of water?"

Zerra’s slightly pale cheeks turned rosy after she drank Cassias’ spring water, and Evan’s radar immediately detected that the water given by his cousin must have been good stuff.

Cassias snorted and threw him a bottle.

Zerra blinked. Her eyes discreetly swept over Evan’s figure with some doubt in her heart. Why was this man so suspicious? He acted so nonchalantly even when he saw Cassias taking things out of the empty air.

He couldn’t be another regressor, could he? Her emotions, which had just calmed down, immediately fluctuated again.

They heard a knock on the door. "Sir, did you call for us?"

Evan, who had just taken a few sips of the spring water, put the bottle down and said, "Enter."

A man in camouflage uniform and another in ordinary clothes entered the door. They greeted Evan respectfully, standing not far from him.

The man in ordinary attire was less stiff compared to the soldier. He nodded in acknowledgement to Zerra and Cassias, secretly assessing them.

"Did you two meet Mr. and Mrs. Sylvaris yesterday?" Evan switched off his stern, dignified demeanor. His eyes sharply swept over the two men in front him.

"Replying to Lieutenant General. Yes, we talked to Mr. and Mrs. Sylvaris yesterday. We already informed them that we haven’t found their children yet. None of their children had come to the base..."

Evan nodded, and he began to ask many questions, like how long they had been staying in the base or who had come into contact with them.

The men gradually noticed something amiss when their lieutenant general asked so many questions. He even asked them in front of the two guests. The guests weren’t the Sylvaris family’s kids, were they?

"Sir, is there something wrong with Mr. and Mrs. Sylvaris?" The man in ordinary attire carefully asked.

Zerra sized him up, noticing that he seemed to be a powerful ability user. Most likely, he was someone who had been recruited by Evan from outside. Now they no longer relied on the military personnel alone.

She knitted her eyebrows. Actually, Evan himself was also a powerful person. His aura didn’t lose out to Cassias; the one kind of like a dormant, terrifying monster.

"This miss here is Miss Zerra, their daughter. She noticed they hadn’t returned since yesterday after they visited our base."

The two men’s eyes shifted to Zerra, the slender girl with an innocent and clean appearance.

"After they left the base, did you see them meet with someone?" Zerra asked. She highly suspected that they had been kidnapped.

After such a drastic change, her parents were cautious people, unwilling to take risks and often ran away at the slightest hint of danger. In the dangerous apocalyptic world, they were even more vigilant of strangers.

Only when a long time passed in the apocalypse did they slowly change for the sake of survival, becoming a little more brave. She wondered whether her dad had discovered the secret of the ring or not.

They didn’t lack supplies, did they? That was unlikely. The car fuel was even rarer compared to food ration. They must have gotten the car and fuel from the Virethorn family, who wouldn’t let them starve.

The soldier fell silent with a frown on his forehead. "I am sorry, Miss. I am not aware of such a thing. But I can ask around for such information." He glanced at Evan. "We might discover some clues then."

The man in ordinary attire had a thoughtful look in his eyes. Suddenly, he opened his mouth. "Miss, as far as I know, your parents were heading in the same direction as usual. I happened to catch sight of the car. What if we trace the route?"

He looked at Zerra with a hint of pity. Mr. and Mrs. Sylvaris had been looking for their kids for so long. After one showed up, it was their turn to be missing.

Zerra nodded, and they were quick to execute the idea after Evan approved it.

"Oh, I almost forgot. If you left the tent, wouldn’t my elder sister and brother be worried?" Zerra asked Cassias.

He stared at her.

She coughed and looked away in guilt. Well, she did sprinkle the mutated mushroom on them and leave quietly.

Zerra changed the subject. "How were you not affected by the mutated mushroom?"

She had added a special dose for him upon remembering his mental power. This may have severely affected the poor Laziel, but she didn’t want them to wake up and stop her. In the end, still Cassias woke up. Laziel might suffer a bit...

"That small amount wouldn’t affect me." Cassias raised his eyebrows.

"Oh," Zerra muttered in a slightly disappointed tone. She mumbled, "Then, I will have to increase the dose next time..."

"What did you say?" He smiled at her.

She coughed and waved her hand. "No, no, nothing."

The results of their investigation came out two hours later. It was quick because Evan helped in dispatching some of his subordinates. Riding on the coattails of the powerful was really convenient.

"Miss, we have gathered some clues."

Zerra became attentive in an instant.

"Something stopped Mr. and Mrs. Sylvaris on the way. According to the witness, they saw a crying child in the middle of a narrow road."

She frowned. This was clearly a deliberate set up. When they stopped the car, someone entered her parents’ car. They must have been threatening them.

"Where are they heading?" She took a deep breath.

The man’s face became extremely serious. He muttered in a grave tone. "The location where a monster had just been spotted."