Read Novel Full Chapter 527 - 327: Plans
Chapter 527: Chapter 327: Plans
That was impossible.
Once a superior being possessed someone, they were bound to that vessel until it died naturally. That was law.
Jeff suddenly spoke, breaking Damien’s train of thought.
"You seem awfully tense," he said lightly. "How about we grab some tea? Think of it as... catching up."
Damien frowned. "Stop playing games. What do you actually want?"
Jeff chuckled again. "Still as rude as ever, Damien. Fine, I won’t beat around the bush. I need your help."
Damien’s gaze sharpened. "With what?"
Jeff’s expression shifted, the playfulness vanishing as a faint seriousness crept in.
"Before I explain, there’s something you need to see."
He snapped his fingers.
The sharp sound cut through the air like a trigger.
A figure staggered forward from the shadows.
It was a zombie.
Up close, its body looked as though it had been crudely stitched together after being chopped apart.
Its movements were sluggish, almost foolish, yet there was something disturbingly aware in its cloudy eyes.
A faint smell of decay seeped into the room, thick and nauseating.
Damien felt an odd certainty. ’This thing... understands.’
Jeff gestured lazily. "Go on. Tell him everything."
The zombie’s jaw creaked as it began to speak, its voice dry and brittle like leaves scraping together.
"I... was her neighbor. Just an ordinary old man. Though... I did have certain... sadistic preferences."
Its lips twitched in something resembling shame.
"When I learned about Ivy, I struck a deal with her adoptive parents. They allowed me to take her into my house."
The zombie’s voice trembled. "But she... tortured me. Then killed me. Took everything I owned."
Damien’s eyes narrowed.
"She had a strange ability," the zombie continued.
"She could place objects directly into some kind of space. A mysterious power. She called it ’Storage.’ And... she could completely protect herself from zombies."
Damien’s gaze sharpened further, a dangerous light flickering within.
Jeff folded his arms and smiled.
"I’ve already verified he isn’t lying. His name was Patrick. Ivy killed him. When I was resurrected, I found him wandering and decided to keep him as a pet. Turns out he’s quite useful."
Patrick continued speaking, but Damien no longer listened.
He already knew.
’Ivy... so she really obtained it,’ he thought, lowering his eyes. ’Temporal Storage. That artifact was supposed to be mine.’
Yet instead of anger, a faint, chilling smile tugged at his lips.
"Good," he murmured under his breath. "Very good. She’s smarter than I expected. She took the item with her... and even dared to pretend innocence."
With that thought, Damien turned to leave.
But Jeff stepped forward, blocking his path.
Jeff raised an eyebrow. "And where exactly are you going?"
Damien met his gaze calmly, though a storm brewed beneath the surface.
"I’m going to confront her," he replied. "And I will take back what belongs to me... that temporal storage."
Jeff let out a faint breath, his shoulders rising and falling as though he had just finished recounting something exhausting.
"I sometimes wonder how you even survived, just what special item can that Ivy girl even have it to make you so desperate?" he muttered, his eyes fixed on Damien with unsettling intensity.
Damien instinctively whispered, almost to himself, "Temporal storage..."
The moment the words slipped out, his expression stiffened. ’Damn it... I said that aloud.’
Jeff’s gaze sharpened immediately, catching the phrase like a predator catching the faintest movement.
The silence that followed felt heavy.
Damien realized that in his anger he had already exposed the secret.
Since it was no longer hidden, he exhaled slowly and decided there was no point in concealing anything further.
It would be better to tell Jeff everything directly rather than let him piece it together in his own twisted way.
After Damien finished explaining, Jeff placed a hand dramatically over his chest and gave him an exaggerated thumbs-up.
"I never imagined," he laughed, "that someone would go through so much effort just to crawl back into existence. Transferring souls, anchoring artifacts, calculating arrival orders... You really outdid yourself."
Damien remained silent.
’Who in their right mind would casually discuss such things with a psychopath like you?’
Jeff squinted at him, clearly reading the unspoken thought.
"You’re thinking exactly what I expected," he said with a crooked grin. "But even if you rush toward that base right now, there’s a high chance you won’t even get close to Ivy."
His tone shifted into something calmer, more calculating. "If we attack blindly, we lose. We need a plan before making a move on her base."
Damien considered this for a moment before giving a reluctant nod. "What do you suggest?"
Jeff’s smile widened. "First, we test the defenses using beasts."
Damien frowned immediately. "I’m not at my peak. I can’t command the mutated creatures here."
"That," Jeff replied, tapping his own temple, "is where I come in. I know how to manipulate their minds."
Damien still looked ready to charge ahead, but Jeff raised a hand and spoke more seriously.
"We must first identify a creature that is least affected by the protective barrier surrounding the base. Once we find that, we strike through it."
After a brief pause, Damien nodded in agreement.
As their conversation settled, Damien finally examined Jeff’s appearance more closely.
The clothes, the face, the posture, they all seemed slightly off.
"What identity are you even using here?" Damien asked.
Jeff chuckled. "This? It’s the face of Marco. He is one of the first tenants of Ivy. He has permanent residency here."
Damien’s eyes narrowed.
"If that’s the case, shouldn’t you... Marco, or Jeff, whatever you want to call yourself, be able to walk straight into the base and destroy it from within?"
Jeff’s expression darkened, the humor draining from his face. He shook his head slowly.
"That’s the problem. No matter how many times I try, even if I stand in line like everyone else, I can never enter. Something stops me. An invisible force."
Damien sighed. "What do you think is causing it?"