This Spiritual Energy is Lethal!
Chapter 540 Hades Lear

Chapter 540: Chapter 540 Hades Lear

Chen Ke emerged from the Illusion Dream Center, and his companions sitting around the table were all looking at him as if he had returned from a long journey.

He had asked Lucina for some books, not caring much about their contents, and had tossed them to Slavin behind the door before stepping out with Diana; these books should keep Slavin occupied for a while.

Back when he was a postman, whatever was needed for a robbery could be arranged with a phone call to Pihom, but now, Chen Ke had to do everything himself, including driving the only old black car they had left, which had never even made it over a broken bridge.

Diana fastened her seat belt, and Chen Ke started the car while Lucina stood at the door to see them off.

"We only have this car left, you know that, right?" Lucina said, arms crossed, leaning against the porch.

"Don’t worry, we won’t blow it up," Chen Ke replied, stepped on the accelerator, and the car’s exhaust pipe sounded like a fart as it jerked and sped forward.

The place Diana spoke of was near a biscuit factory in the Gun Tie District, which was the very location where Chen Ke had first rescued Lucina from Yasla.

The factory providing grenades for P.W.A.T wasn’t big, hardly even a factory – just a small courtyard enclosed by gray cement walls with a pile of rust-colored iron boxes and a two-story building that was the tallest in the yard.

The United Federation was a developed capitalist country, where factories seemed to dislike engaging in actual production; rather than calling it a factory, it was more of a storage yard where they only handled technological development and outsourced assembly work to third-world countries.

They parked the car by the roadside. The street was silent, not a soul in sight, but then again, who goes for a walk in the middle of the night?

Chen Ke’s eyes emitted a blue glow. He surveyed the courtyard and could only make out the silhouettes of three people, two of whom were slumped, seemingly asleep.

"I thought a place like this would have two armed guards at the door," Chen Ke said, looking toward Diana.

"You’re thinking too much. Nobody would want to rob anything from the Administration Bureau, except us," Diana replied.

"Looks like tonight will be easy," Chen Ke said.

"Yeah, so I’ll just watch you go in, or do I need to come with you?" Diana asked.

"Just tell me where the stuff is, I’ll go in alone. Two people are more likely to get caught," Chen Ke said.

"Alright, I’ll keep an eye on the car to ensure no drunk wanders to pee next to it," Diana laughed.

"Hmm..." Chen Ke pulled on the car door handle and had just set foot on the ground when he retracted back into the car.

"What’s wrong?" Diana asked as Chen sat back in the car.

"I’ve always wanted to ask you... you might not know either, but I still have some... doubts," Chen Ke said, looking at Diana.

"About what? I don’t think there are any secrets about me that you don’t already know," Diana replied.

"Last time, the nosebleed... you said you saw yourself surrounded by a flame storm, and then... there was a green figure... do you remember?" Chen Ke asked.

"Yeah, you mean that? What about it?" Diana was startled.

"Do you remember more details? Like what he was wearing, if he was holding something, or if he spoke to you?" Chen Ke asked.

"Let me think, I’m trying to recall, but I can’t... It was like a dream, I can’t tell you more details," Diana replied.

"Oh, is that so..." Chen Ke lowered his head, lost in thought.

That green... figure, translucent, like a Spiritual Body, but Chen Ke was certain it was not some kind of ghost. The green Spiritual Body was probably just its state, using this mode to enter the fire.

"All I remember," Diana continued, "is that he told me his name was Lear. I don’t know who he is. According to your theory, maybe we will meet him in the future?"

"Lear... Lear," Chen Ke muttered, and a sudden realization hit him.

Lear? King Lear?!

He suddenly remembered where he had heard the name before. When Chen Ke entered the Great Void for the second time to complete the Cycle of the Great Moment, beside the campfire in the castle’s underground, old King Fan Hede had mentioned the name to him.

Fan Hede, in his younger days, had traveled with this companion. Compared to the youthful Fan Hede and An Helei, were they a well-matched couple then? And what role did that fellow who was called Hades play?

But no matter what, the era that Fan Hede lived in had already become a fragment of history. Even though he had established his own country and married An Helei as his queen, he couldn’t escape the fate of his kingdom being destroyed by the Sun Sect and the Black Ring Sect.

When Fan Hede was besieged during the siege, where was Lear at that time? He wouldn’t have just stood by and watched his old friend perish, right? Or was it that when Fan Hede had become an aged king, Lear had already died?

Moreover, why was he called King Hades Lear? That nickname was certainly ominous.

"We can ask him ourselves later what all this really means," Diana said smilingly.

"It’s not possible; he’s already dead," Chen Ke shook his head.

"Ah?" Diana expressed in surprise.

"The Administration Bureau should know more about the Great Void than me. You should know that... the Great Void is a fragment of a bygone era, right?" Chen Ke said.

"There are many theories, and the research institute believes it to be a parallel space-time, but externally, it’s always portrayed as some sort of rift that kills anyone ordinary who gets sucked in. That narrative works well; it at least ensures that the public doesn’t get curious and tries to explore the Great Void," Diana explained.

"I don’t know if the Great Void is a parallel universe, but these fragments definitely existed as specific moments in time, though that’s not quite right either. It’s more accurate to say it’s a cyclical repetition of certain events from a particular era," Chen Ke said.

"I don’t quite understand, maybe you should discuss this with Wang Ailin... Wang Ailin..." Diana’s expression darkened as she mentioned Wang Ailin.

"We’ll find a way to bring her back, I promise," Chen Ke said.

"Of course, I believe you will. I hope that the next time she sees me, she doesn’t regard me as a prime research subject," Diana shook her head.

"Speaking of this Lear, I think I should tell you some things about him because there’s a paradox involved..." Chen Ke said.

"A paradox?" Diana was puzzled.

"Time flows. What you see is your future, and not the past. But this person, Lear, comes from the past, and he is already deceased..." Chen Ke said.

"Who exactly is Lear... Do you know him?" Diana asked.

"I once entered a Great Void, in fact, the one at the West Gold Building the day it exploded... I was there... Inside, it was a kingdom called Fan Hede," Chen Ke said.

"The Great Void... if it’s the source of the monsters in our world, Chen Ke, how could there possibly be people living inside?" Diana said.

"There was no one there, or rather, there had been people there once, many living in that place, but that era has ended. Someone did something significant that turned that segment of history into something like a classic movie scene or a highlight reel of World Cup goals... It repeatedly plays," Chen Ke said.

"This is... the Great Void?" Diana asked.

"Yes, your power, the Inheritance of the Flame Witch, that’s what I got from there. It originally belonged to a queen named An Helei, whose partner was an old king named Fan Hede, and the key is, this old king, in his youth, was companions with this Lear," Chen Ke explained.

"Young... wait a minute... I need to digest this bit... The incessant cycles, Fan Hede, his companion in youth... wait... why would I encounter someone in the future who has already passed away?" Diana was baffled.

"I don’t know either; perhaps, unlike us, what you see is... some kind of illusion?" Chen Ke also could not explain.

Or perhaps, was this Lear also a time-traveler?

"Why choose tonight to tell me all this?" Diana suddenly asked.

"Before I left the apartment, I went to look into your future to ensure our robbery plan would proceed flawlessly," Chen Ke said.

"And you saw what I saw?" Diana asked.

"Maybe another version, but the content should be similar," Chen Ke shrugged.

"Let’s not talk about this anymore, go get the grenades, hurry up," Diana shook her head, pushing Chen Ke out of the car.