"They kidnapped a few people from our settlement recently when they went out hunting. That was when we came to know that monsters like this existed even among us humans."
The middle-aged man explained with a bitter smile, the irony in his words not escaping him. While Lan Ganjie was talking about monsters, he was well aware that one was sitting right in front of him.
"We also discovered other peculiar things about them. They prefer drinking the blood of women. They captured ten people from our group and turned the women into blood bags and sex slaves."
"The men?"
"They enslaved them with some sort of mental spell. Even if their family was tortured right in front of them, these men are unable to respond. They made the men watch while they did everything."
"One of the women escaped from there. That's how we know everything."
The man did not have to explain things further. Liam could already imagine how these people were tortured and played around with before they were eventually killed and tossed like used scraps.
This also explained many things he saw, specifically the demonic appearance of the armed guards. He wasn't sure if these guys were 'vampires', but there was a high chance that they used blood magic or similar demonic magic.
Whatever it was, it definitely had a hold on them. After hearing everything, it was quite clear that these people had lost almost all sense of reason and logic.
At this point, there was no more humanity left in them. Just like their appearance, they might as well be heartless demons. Heck, he knew some demons who had more heart than these deviants.
"This is the extent of our knowledge, Mr Liam. I know this is not much, but I have shared with you everything we know."
"This is also the reason why my son and my daughter went to the camp to capture the leader alive and to find out more about the situation. You know the rest of the story." He explained.
Liam nodded but then remained silent. He gazed at Lan Ganjie as if he was trying to discern everything running inside the man's mind with just his eyes. It made the middle-aged man very uncomfortable.
Even so, Liam kept staring at the man in silence for a few good seconds before he nodded again. "Alright, thank you for sharing this information with me. I think it will be very helpful." He smiled.
Immediately, everyone let out a collective gasp of relief. Lan Ganjie also let out a sigh. Perhaps this was over?
Unfortunately, they had celebrated too soon. The next second, Liam once again opened his mouth, "Shall we now talk about the other thing then?"
"Other thing?" Lan Ganjie blankly repeated his words, wondering what was this 'other thing' could be.
Not keeping him in suspense, Liam smiled and magnanimously explained, "I am talking about the dungeon. What is the location of the dungeon you all are training in? Are you keeping it hidden?"
Gudang!
The elder's face immediately drooped. How the hell did this monster sniff out the information about the dungeon?
This was the only thing he had been counting on ever since he met this powerful person.
He thought that perhaps if Deming and Fen continued training in the dungeons, then they could also become powerful like him, and soon they could become unshakeable pillars of this community.
Then enemies like him couldn't randomly show up and threaten them like what was happening at the moment.
However, Liam's words had clearly shown that this was nothing but a pipe dream. It was all over. Lan Ganjie smiled bitterly as he realized his foolishness.
How could someone powerful like this not know about dungeons in the first place? He probably had found one himself. Even if he did not, since he asked for it, Lan Ganjie now had no other option but to reveal its location.
It was impossible to keep hidden something like this anyways. He also did not have qualms about sharing information. The only issue was… would the other person still allow them to use it? Or would they monopolize it?
"Mr Liam, please forgive me for not informing you about this earlier. This old man is not as sharp as he used to be. Some things are slipping my mind. Otherwise, I would have told you about this when I was giving you the tour."
Lan Ganjie then turned to look at one of his subordinates standing behind him, who quickly ran inside a building and brought back with him a pen and paper.
On that, Lan Ganjie roughly outlined something similar to a map and marked a location with an X mark. "This is the location of the dungeon." He passed the paper to Liam.
Liam nodded and took the paper. He didn't mind the small white lie that the man said to save face in front of him.
He gave a glance at the paper and then simply folded it and kept it inside his pocket. This dungeon was good news. With this, everyone would be able to train once again.
He had to take the other two dungeons for himself as he had to test out a few things but training the other members of the group was also very important. Otherwise, they would lag behind and only become liabilities.
Moreover, several new events are cropping up around him, things that he was not aware of. In this case, it was best that everyone became strong enough to protect themselves.
"Thank you. This saves me a lot of trouble." Liam nodded in contemplation.
In reality, he did not need their help. Once he suspected that there was a dungeon here in the vicinity, he could have found this himself in no time with the help of his army, but he nevertheless said this not to make things too awkward.
He had already demonstrated where he stood and where they stood. There was no point in shoving this on their face again and again.
He was also starting to have a plan in his mind regarding this group.
"Ok, then I will take my leave." Liam smiled and stood up.
He wanted to return back to the base immediately and relay this information to the group. He also had to start his private investigations regarding the so-called vampires.
This had to be immediate because he wanted to assess the threat as best as he could before entering the updated dungeon again. There was a lot of work to be done.
Seeing that he was finally leaving, the others were also very relieved. Though earlier it was a false start, this time it looked like the monster was letting them go for real.
With a smile, Liam patted Luna, and the fox became bigger right in front of everyone's eyes. Immediately several gasps loudly resounded. A lot more people had gathered now, and they were all shocked to see the huge beast.
"Don't worry. She is harmless." Liam chuckled and then added, "To a certain extent." With a loaded gaze, he hopped onto the fox, and the duo lifted up slightly, floating in the air.
"It was my pleasure and honour to make acquaintances with you, Mr Liam." Lan Ganjie squeezed out a smile as well. Somehow the meeting seemed to have ended with no casualties, and that was all he could ask for right now.
As for the future…
He sighed as he watched the two monster lift up and disappear. This thing could even fly? He watched in awe. Suddenly tomorrow seemed even more uncertain.
He silently turned around in deep contemplation when abruptly, Liam's voice sounded again. "I almost forgot. Congratulations on your very talented son and daughter."
Lan Ganjie's face became contorted as he lifted his head up to see the fox still lingering in the air above him. Hadn't he left yet? What new hell was this? What did he want now?
"Their strength is increasing at a tremendous pace when compared to others, am I correct?" Liam smirked in amusement.
Lan Ganjie's face paled again. He couldn't help but look towards his son and daughter, who also seemed to have shocked expressions. How did he know about all of this? Just who was he?
"Last question." Liam continued without caring so much about their response. "In 'Evolution Online', what was your class and what level did you manage to reach?"
"Hmmm?" Lan Ganjie was now genuinely surprised. "That video game?"
"Yes, and I asking about you two." Liam pointed specifically at Lan Deming and Lan Fen.
Those two as well looked confused, just like their father, and they slowly shook their heads. "I apologize, Mr Liam. I have no idea what you are talking about." Lan Deming replied first.
Hmmm? Liam raised his brow. "You don't know about the video game, or you did not play it at all?"
"Ah… both?" Lan Deming answered hesitantly.
Huh? Liam's eyes widened in shock. This was a curve ball that he hadn't expected.
