As long as you have the courage, fierce ghosts go on maternity leave.

"Put down those beetles, they belong to us!" Three humans menacingly surrounded Alexander, and the leader, a middle-aged man of significant power, spoke coldly.

"Robbery?" Alexander raised an eyebrow. Had he stumbled upon like-minded individuals?

"How dare you speak like that! You’re the thief, and you have the audacity to accuse us!" A woman spoke harshly to Alexander, her face twisted in disgust.

"These beetles are what I found. Why do you act as though they’re yours? Do you own this street or something?" Alexander sensed that something was off, clearly there was something he didn’t understand.

"Of course it’s ours! This street was allocated to us by Thorneblade. You hunting here is no different than theft! Thorneblade has said that in these disastrous times, we survivors should cooperate sincerely and unite for survival. A rule-breaking thief like you is utterly despicable and shameless!" The woman grew increasingly angry as she spoke, her entire body pulsating with Ghost Energy, as if she was ready to attack.

"Wait a minute!" Just as Alexander was preparing to subdue them and interrogate further, a burly man stepped forward to stop the woman. "My friend, we are all survivors belonging to Base 16. My name is Quillhart, and these are my niece Moonshade and nephew Ironvein."

"Uncle Quillhart, why are you talking to this thief?" Moonshade glared at Alexander with large eyes, clearly dissatisfied.

"Moonshade! Watch your mouth!" Quillhart pulled on Moonshade’s arm, signaling her to restrain herself.

Quillhart smiled at Alexander, "You look somewhat familiar. Have we met before? You seem to know very little about our survivor community. Did you just come out of an Instance?"

After the Fierce Ghost battle, Alexander’s name had become a sensation. His identity was thus revealed. Photos and footage of Alexander had spread across the Earth.

These three humans didn’t recognize him immediately because Alexander had transformed into an Inheritance Ghost Emperor, altering his aura and demeanor.

Alexander didn’t bother hiding anything and directly spoke up, "Indeed, I’ve just emerged from an Instance. What exactly has happened in the real world? Can you help clarify things for me?"

"You just came out of an Instance?" Moonshade’s eyes filled with astonishment as she curiously inquired, "What’s your name? Since you’ve just come out of an Instance, you shouldn’t be that strong, right? But you’ve got guts, venturing directly into the Mist like this!"

"Moonshade, don’t spout nonsense!" Both Quillhart and Ironvein simultaneously interjected.

They stared at Alexander, who looked serious. Unlike Moonshade, a high school girl, they could sense that Alexander was no simple figure. Although he concealed his Ghost Energy, the very opacity of his aura made them wary.

Furthermore, anyone bold enough to venture into the Mist immediately after exiting an Instance, and wielding a clearly extraordinary longsword, must have some mastery over forbidden power.

On Earth, with its abandoned beetles, mastery over forbidden power wouldn’t be a big deal. But in the Horror World, a Chosen One capable of wielding forbidden power was definitely no ordinary person.

Wanting to learn more, Alexander decided not to hide his identity and straightforwardly said, "My name is Alexander."

Alexander’s tone was calm, merely introducing himself by name. However, to the other three, it struck like a bolt of thunder, practically deafening them. Their mouths hung open, eyes round as saucers.

The name Alexander had already reverberated across the world. His exploits after entering the Horror Instance had gradually been collated, turning him into a figure of legend. Were it not for the advent of the Mist, Alexander’s rise to fame might have already resulted in a horde of frenzied fans everywhere.

The trio had never imagined that the man before them was Alexander—Code 44011, the most formidable Chosen One.

The name Alexander was so resounding among the Chosen Ones, and even on Earth as a whole, that it had set trends.

The three were left utterly stunned, at a loss for words for a long moment.

After what felt like an eternity, Moonshade was the first to snap out of her stunned. She muttered under her breath, clearly unimpressed, "What’s so great about that? The ’strongest Chosen One’ is all in the past. Times have changed. Now there are Ghost Kings everywhere, and even Ghost Emperors aren’t that rare."

Seeing Moonshade’s skeptical expression and lip movement, Quillhart quickly reprimanded her, "Shut up! Mr. Alexander is not someone you can question!"

Though they couldn’t gauge Alexander’s true strength and didn’t necessarily believe he was more powerful than they were—given their rapidly increasing abilities as survivors—just Alexander’s display of power in the battle against the Endless Abyss City was terrifying enough.

Even with their mastery over forbidden power, which Quillhart now also had, he knew they were not a match.

Under such circumstances, making an enemy out of someone needlessly was clearly foolish. Quillhart sighed inwardly; his niece had been sheltered too well. To make matters worse, her good fortune had led her to find three disabled King-class black armors, elevating her to King level and making her increasingly arrogant.

Moonshade grudgingly closed her mouth, not daring to mutter any further, but her eyes still brimmed with resentment.

Buzz!

Just then, a buzzing sound emerged from nearby.

It seemed a beetle had been disturbed by Quillhart’s voice and flew out of a neighboring restaurant’s open window. The beetle, with eyes the size of rice grains, fixated on Alexander and the others.

"Damn! An Emperor-class black beetle, and it’s an Emperor-class black beetle without any white spots—its mobility is almost entirely intact!"

The faces of the trio—Quillhart, Ironvein, and Moonshade—changed drastically. Moonshade, in particular, turned completely pale, at a loss for what to do.

However, their reactions had no impact on the black beetle. With a slight flutter of its wings, it sped toward them like a bolt of black lightning.

"Run, all of you!" Quillhart roared and, without a second thought, lunged at the incoming black blur.

"Quillhart!" Both siblings yelled, showing no intent to flee.

In truth, Quillhart’s leap toward the black beetle was just a subconscious instinctual response. Under normal circumstances, it would have been futile.

With the terrifying speed of an Emperor-class black beetle, it could easily penetrate his skull before catching up to the remaining siblings.

Fortunately for them, they also had Alexander by their side.