Watching Ye Chen sweat like rain, gasp for breath, tremble all over, and stare with unfocused eyes, Kuize frowned slightly before asking in an even, puzzled tone:
"Whenever an Apex Hunter comes here for the first time, they all feel profoundly uncomfortable. That is perfectly normal."
"Even so, your reaction still seems rather excessive."
"I had thought that, given the formidable mental strength you displayed at the Apex Hunter tea gathering, you should have been able to overcome this predicament before long."
"Yet the reality is exactly the opposite. That is something I truly did not expect."
"Child, what exactly is wrong with you?"
"Is the pressure originating from the 'Apocalypse' really that unbearable to you?"
Facing Kuize's baffled questions, Ye Chen panted heavily as he wiped the sweat from his cheeks, then replied weakly:
"Huff... huff..."
"I don't know what's happening either, but something feels very wrong."
"Whenever I shorten the distance to the 'Apocalypse' by a certain amount, not only does the pressure on me multiply... even my strength and mental energy begin to wither away at the same time."
"This bizarre situation feels as if the 'Apocalypse' is absorbing my life force bit by bit..."
"And the closer I get to it, the fiercer that absorption becomes."
"When other Apex Hunters came here in the past... did they ever feel anything similar to what I'm feeling?"
Upon hearing this, Kuize's expression immediately grew even more perplexed. He then shook his head in denial.
"No."
"The pressure they could feel was no more than an enhanced version of the Apex Hunter tea gathering's welcoming ceremony. There has never been a single case of anyone, like you, feeling their life force being drained. It has always been this way since ancient times."
"Even I am seeing a situation like