Playboy Cultivator in the Apocalypse

—Kaze's Bedroom: 7:35 am, June 26th, 2032—

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Kaze, are you awake?" Daniel called out from the other end of the door.

Kaze's eyes snapped open, and he pushed himself from the floor. "Yes, give me three minutes."

"Take your time…." The businessman said hesitantly, stressed from his overbearing workload.

The emperor closed his eyes and cultivated for two minutes to regain strength. Luckily, his cheat technique helped amass energy extremely quickly.

Once completed, he stood up, used his illusion technique to hide the light purple veins developing on his chest, and buttoned his t-shirt.

He opened the door in less than three minutes with a bright smile. "Daniel, great to see you."

The man gave him a wry smile with a look of displeasure in his bloodshot blue eyes.

"As you requested yesterday morning, I was able to locate an excuse for you to go into the city." Daniel explained, "You cannot move alone, but you'd have the military's full support."

Kaze studied the man's facial expressions. "Do you have a briefing?"

Daniel nodded. "Yes, here are the documents."

The emperor nodded and took the manilla envelope that he handed him from a safe.

When he opened it, his eyes widened in shock. There was an image of a massive black panther with amethyst eyes, over 15 feet tall and thirty feet in length. It was attacking a helicopter firing at it.

"You cannot let the military get near this beast." Kaze muttered in disbelief.

The businessman's eyes trembled, fearful from the look in his eyes. "W-Why not?"

Kaze gave him a brutal mocking smile. "Put me in touch with General Michaels; I don't have time to waste addressing the obvious."

Daniel gulped and nodded, pulling out an encrypted military phone and handing it to him.

"General Michaels. Yes, it's me, Kaze Lexicon." Kaze said in a chilling tone, "Tell your troops to cease and desist their operation to attack the Shadow Cat.

Your efforts are meaningless and are only provoking it to attack. You're lucky it's non-hostile."

"Non-hostile? Do you know how many troops it's killed?" General Michaels asked from the other end.

"If a divine beast wanted to harm this city, it would already be gone." Kaze scoffed in disdain, "Your troops attacked it and were dealt swift retribution."

The general froze. "Retribution… no, wait… it's that bad?"

"Where do you think that thing's from?" The emperor scoffed, "Earth? That a house cat began cultivating and grew to be one ton mutation without food? Are you insane?"

The general's eyes trembled on the other side of the life. "A-Are you meaning to imply this being is from where the cultivators are from?"

"Where else, general?" Kaze asked mockingly.

The general was stunned by the immediate confirmation and bold statements.

"Mr. Lexicon, what do you suggest we do, then? No… will you take care of it?" General Michael sighed, understanding the situation.

"Yes. I'll handle this immediately." Kaze said straightly, making the general perk up.

"However, I'll only do it if you sanction all damage to property and life and do not question my methods.

Ideally, I aim to negotiate a peaceful settlement with it. I will not accept complaints or harassment after such a negotiation.

I will not waste my time explaining my actions when dealing with a beast that could wipe out Malta. Do you consent?"

The general froze. "You plan to negotiate with it? What does that even mean?"

"My condition is that you do not question my methods or my negotiation." Kaze growled, "Do you want me to handle the nuclear bomb in your city, or not?"

"Y-Yes. I'll take full responsibility." General Michaels stuttered, "Just try… never mind. We'll send skycruisers to pick you up."

"Good, get them here quickly and then have your men fall back." The emperor said coldly, "There's no point procuring a new pilot later."

The general swallowed nervously. "... Yes. I'll have everything set up shortly. Thank you, Mr. Lexicon."

"Thank me by keeping your soldiers alive instead of playing the hero." The emperor replied bluntly, "I'll await your transport."

He hung up the phone a second later, staring at the images with a profound look on his face.

"Daniel, leave this place." Kaze said coldly, "Make preparations for my departures at once."

"Yes. Right away, sir." Daniel replied, hurriedly leaving the room.

When the businessman was gone, the emperor narrowed his eyes.

"Why are you here?" Kaze cringed pensively, "Please do not make yourself my enemy. I do not wish to kill you today."

...

"Agent Ryker!" Kaze grinned, walking to the skycruiser, "Are you here to brief me, or has the military finally found enough common sense to send you on a suicide mission?"

The agent wearing sunglasses and a suit in the summer sun, frowned.

"Hello, Mr. Lexicon." Agent Ryker said coldly, "I'm here to brief you and accompany you to the location, nothing more."

"How fortuitious. It seems that whether General Michaels follows my orders to pull back and my pilot lives or disregards them and they die will have equal value." Kaze chuckled.

Agent Ryker closed his eyes behind the glasses. "This way."

The two got into the skycruiser and took flight.

"What is that thing?" The agent asked bluntly.

"That, Agent Ryker, is a divine beast." Kaze replied coolly, "The cultivators that presented us with techniques couldn't take this creature down. It's a walking apocalypse in both our planes.

So, if necessary, we made need to negotiate with it."

Agent Ryker's eyes trembled in shock. "You can't… I… Negotiate?"

"It seems reason is fighting against your ignorance." The emperor chuckled, "Yes, negotiate. It understands language and is far more civilized than humans."

The agent closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm trusting in you, so can you keep free of such frivolous remarks to prevent miscommunications?"

"While your ask is well motivated, reasonable, and commendable, I do not jest." Kaze smiled, "If that beast weren't civilized and came here to kill people, this city wouldn't exist. "

"Then why—"

"Because you're foolishly attacking it." The emperor said coldly, "Sound familiar?

Don't answer the obvious; you'll get to observe if you're smart enough to pull back and survive."

Agent Ryker shook and fell silent, understanding the connotation.

The two flew in silence for the rest of the way to Meridian City.

Aside from fires that had died out, and a few rubble areas from fierce fighting, it was still intact.

Contrary to expectations, the fourth wave only affected a tenth of the population, and over half had regained partial senses.

However, the damage was immense. The death toll was high, the economy had collapsed, and many were already searching for food, fearful of going outside.

It was a nightmare pandemic with a disease that resulted in physical consequences.

At this point in Kaze's past life, he searched for food in areas ravaged by violent people fighting one another in the streets alongside his dad or hiding and protecting his mother.

He had found a cultivation technique online and had taught it to them. It was weak but enough to get them through.

This time, he was in a military skycruiser on his way to fight a divine beast that had no business on the mortal plane at any stage of the apocalypse.

"We're approaching the city." Agent Ryker announced, "We have no idea where the beast is. It disappeared from surveillance around 0100 hours."

"You won't find it that way." Kaze replied calmly, "It's transformed into its civilized form.

We'll have to attract it; take me to a riot zone in the city, primarily consisting of the sick."

The agent narrowed his eyes in interest and suspicion. "Why?"

"Did General Michaels fail to inform you of my condition of not questioning my methods?" The emperor asked coldly.

"You are only here to play the foolish witness upon diplomatic request. Only that, nothing more."

Agent Ryker held back a reflex to scoff and gave the order to the pilot, who hovered the city, looking for an area.

Five minutes later, the emperor gave the order when the pilot located an ample area.

"I suggest you fall back now." Kaze said, opening the hatch door a thousand feet in the air.

"W-What are you doing?" Agent Ryker asked in a panic, watching him prepare to jump like a paratrooper without a parachute.

Cultivation or not, a thousand feet was death! There was no return from that height; that's what he thought.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" The emperor scoffed, "Opening the door to look cool?"

"N-No, I just—"

Without further discussion, Kaze jumped out of the skycruiser, free falling to earth.

He looked up briefly and saw the skycruiser flying away, proving that the agent wasn't a complete idiot.

After thirty seconds of falling, he found himself above a riot at a busy intersection near a commercial district.

Kaze hovered above it, watching the riot unfold below with an oppressive expression.