Chapter 131

Leon stared at the corridor littered with nails and his own bloodied hand, while more than a dozen Scarred Muscular Men couldn’t help but twitch their mouths into rather odd smiles.

“Looks like this is different from the soul-probing ability. If you want to launch an invisible attack or defense, there’s a cost, and that cost is your skin, right?”

Upon hearing this, Leon glanced at him but remained silent. The Scarred Muscular Man continued unperturbed:

“After the Blood Night incident at Lane Family Manor, I investigated. Even during your coma, I took a peek at your injuries from afar. Aside from those who inexplicably committed suicide, many corpses had been killed by some invisible force targeting vital areas. You, lying unconscious near the entrance, were missing large patches of skin… This situation matches my theory.”

Staring at Leon in the distance, the group of Scarred Muscular Men shook their heads and, as they reloaded their nail guns, drawled lazily:

“Even if you deny it, it’s useless. The ‘usage rules’ of the offensive anomalous item in your hands have already been exposed after the Lane Family incident. The person who gave me this ability once said that in battles between anomalies, intelligence and strategy can sometimes be even more important than strength itself. No matter how powerful an ability is, if its secrets are uncovered, there will always be a way to counter it.”

Coincidentally, your type—long range, high burst, but also costly—is perfectly countered by my ability. I don’t even need to do much; just keep forcing you to use your abilities, and you’ll end up eliminating yourself. Am I right?”

“…”

Looking at the seemingly taunting Scarred Muscular Man who was actually probing with words, Leon paused in contemplation before silently loosening his grip on the Black Goat’s horn.

The ability [Warlock’s Horn] only works on entities with souls, but these several Scarred Muscular Men were empty shells, naturally immune to the Black Goat’s “provocation.”

Worse yet, the true self of the opponent wasn’t in the dungeon, so he couldn’t leave the dungeon, nor could he send the Holy Spirit Pendant’s power out to directly kill the true self. None of the other anomalous items had any effect either.

So, the current situation was indeed as the opponent said: he was basically “checkmated,” forced to continuously use the Holy Spirit Pendant to block bullets, gradually consuming his flesh and stamina…

“Leon! Let’s hide in the interrogation room first!”

Though unable to comprehend this “unscientific” battle style, seeing Leon not rebutting, the female police officer vaguely understood that what the Scarred Bureau Director said might be correct. If things continued this way, Leon would likely be worn down to death.

Seeing the Scarred Muscular Men reloading their nail guns and changing air reservoirs, she urged anxiously:

“Let’s go! If we block the door and he can’t break the wall, at most only one or two can come in at a time, which will buy us more time!”

“…”

Wait? Can’t break the wall? Upon hearing this, Leon hesitated slightly, then immediately activated the Holy Spirit Pendant again, exchanging another small piece of skin to annihilate all the Scarred Muscular Men at the other end of the corridor. He then turned around and asked:

“Does your Secret Investigation Bureau have any high-explosive devices?”

“Eh? Yeah, we confiscate them when capturing rebels and destroy them periodically. The latest batch should still be here…”

That means they’re available! Pushing the Scarred Muscular Men’s fallen bodies to block the stairwell entrance, Leon finally showed a hint of a smile.

From the dozens of empty shell bodies, the Scarred Muscular Man’s “anomaly” seemed to have a mass-replication ability. Moreover, the guns held by the replicas were identical in both design and wear, meaning it wasn’t limited to living beings—it could replicate objects too.

If he could replicate guns, why not explosive devices? If he truly wanted to wear me down, tossing explosives into the dungeon would be far easier and more effective than shooting me bit by bit. Yet he chose the harder path, creating numerous armed empty shells instead of simply throwing replicated explosives into the dungeon.

Excluding the possibility that he’s stupid and didn’t think of it, the most likely reason is that he wants to minimize damage, fearing that too many explosives would destroy the dungeon!

And what the enemy least wants is exactly what I should do now!…

Thanks to the policewoman’s “reminder,” Leon found a possible way out. He pulled her back to a corner, took a deep breath, and tightly gripped the Holy Spirit Pendant hanging from his chest…

“Boom!”

A violent collision sound rang out as the nearest wall collapsed entirely into broken bricks.

This was just the beginning. Under Leon’s no-holds-barred “trade,” the intangible hammer formed by the Holy Spirit Pendant charged forward like a speeding heavy truck, destroying everything destructible within the dungeon.

With deafening explosions, not only the previous interrogation room but also several temporary holding cells were successively demolished. The entire dungeon was covered in dust and rubble, and the previously narrow corridors suddenly became spacious.

Seemingly sensing the abnormality below, the pile of dead bodies blocking the stairwell was blown apart in a series of explosions, as if someone was trying to clear the way with explosives.

But before the new Scarred Muscular Men could rush in, the last few walls of the dungeon had already been torn down, and even two load-bearing pillars were snapped. The southwest corner where supplies and tools were stored even collapsed completely…

“Ahh! Where did the wall go?!”

“What’s going on?!?”

“It’s collapsing! Run!!”

At the moment the corner of the dungeon collapsed, something finally broke. The souls that had only existed in the spiritual vision finally reappeared before Leon and the policewoman.

Indeed, my initial guess was right—if I destroy the dungeon, I can get out!

Glancing at the other end of the corridor where the Scarred Muscular Men had suddenly disappeared, Leon exhaled deeply, then used the Witch’s Broom to conjure a strong wind that swept the flying dust in the dungeon toward the stairwell, simultaneously knocking over all the panicked secret police officers and prisoners!”Take them over there!”

Pointing to the few load-bearing columns he hadn’t destroyed, he instructed the policewoman to take everyone there, then grabbed the Holy Spirit Pendant and dashed toward the stairwell.

As expected, after half the dungeon was destroyed, the originally “endless loop” stairwell returned to normal. Climbing up the stairs, he didn’t find another collapsed dungeon but the empty first-floor hall of the Secret Investigation Bureau.

Is it the same as the previous dungeon?

Looking at the empty first-floor hall, Leon frowned, preparing to try climbing further up when he suddenly heard a warning from the Black Goat.

“Be careful!”

Upon receiving the warning, Leon tensed immediately and activated the Holy Spirit Pendant to form a solid intangible barrier around himself.

In the next instant, over fifty nails rained down on it, only to be deflected by the pendant’s power.

The previously empty hall was suddenly filled with armed Scarred Muscular Men. These merciless “replicas” not only shot from afar, some even discarded their weapons and leaped forward recklessly, charging at Leon standing in the stairwell without regard for their lives…

Is that all? Watching the Scarred Muscular Men rushing at him but being stopped one meter away by the Holy Spirit Pendant, Leon shook his head slightly, choosing not to engage them further and heading upstairs instead.

The truly troublesome ones were never these “fakes” and their guns but the strange ability connecting the floors, trapping him inside.

However, that ability seems unable to exist independently; when its support structure is destroyed, the strange distortion vanishes.

So even if the connection between the first and second floors gets distorted again, it doesn’t matter—worst case scenario, I’ll just demolish the building again. After understanding the effects of the opponent’s ability, there’s no way he can trap me anymore.

Clearly, Leon wasn’t the only one who realized this.

When Leon erected the “shield” and ascended the stairs despite being under fire from dozens of guns, despair appeared on the faces of the Scarred Muscular Men, who then dropped their weapons one by one and disappeared.

When Leon stepped out of the stairwell onto the fifth floor, everything had returned to normal—the bustling office of the Secret Investigation Bureau.

In the large conference room on the left side of the fifth floor, a few secret police seemed to be having a heated meeting, voices occasionally rising. On the right was an open-plan office area where two clerks struggled to push a cart loaded with files, distributing documents table by table, sweat pouring down their faces.

Further inside was the office the policewoman had taken him to earlier. The plaque reading “Director’s Office” was still intact, and so was the person inside.

The only difference was that the soul flame, once brimming with hostility and murderous intent, had transformed into a calm yet desperate state, quietly waiting for his arrival.

No content lies within 69 Book Bar! Look!

…

Given up?

Examining the state of the soul flame and finding no trace of suicidal madness, only regret, unwillingness, and a touch of acceptance, Leon furrowed his brow slightly before pushing the door open.

“Congratulations, you win.”

Seeing Leon enter, the Scarred Muscular Man smiled faintly and invited calmly:

“Would you like to chat?

Before I die, I have quite a few questions I’d like to ask you, and I’m sure you do too. But please slow down a bit; your ability is terrifying, and I don’t want to betray my comrades.

If you suddenly ask something I won’t answer, I’ll commit suicide immediately, ending our conversation. Is that acceptable?”

“…”

Examining the state of the soul and confirming he seemed to have a way to instantly kill himself, Leon refrained from acting and nodded: “Alright, one question each, starting with me.”

“Good.”

“The space-distorting ability isn’t yours, so you must have accomplices. My question is: how much information related to me did they take when the bandaged woman escaped with him?”

“…”

Are you sure that’s just ‘one’ question? After hearing Leon’s first question, the Scarred Muscular Man looked utterly speechless: “Don’t think I don’t know—you can peer into others’ souls and deduce answers from their reactions. Your statement beforehand was actually sneaky questioning!

You first asked if the distorting ability was mine, confirmed if I had accomplices, checked if they escaped together, whether they took information, and finally how much information about you they took. That single sentence contained five questions! That’s not fair!”

“If you think it’s unfair, you don’t have to answer.”

“…”

Won’t I lose out if I don’t answer?

Looking at the expressionless Leon, the Scarred Bureau Director clicked his tongue in frustration. If he died now, he’d gain nothing, but answering the question would give him another chance to ask one. Either exchange five questions for one or let four go unanswered—it was clearly better to trade five for one.

“They didn’t take much, just some guesses about your abilities and basic information the bureau could gather. They mainly took other intel, with yours just as a bonus.”

After answering Leon’s question, the Scarred Bureau Director took a deep breath and asked:

“My first question is, what exactly is above your Clearing Bureau…?”

“Stop.”

Interrupting his question, Leon gripped the Holy Spirit Pendant and stared intently:

“I’m sorry, I won’t answer any of your questions. Feel free to commit suicide.”

“Eh?”

Hearing this, the Scarred Muscular Man opened his mouth in shock, his face cycling through anger, confusion, and bewilderment before settling on incomprehension.

“You’re going to cheat? But you can see into people’s souls, so this kind of question exchange obviously benefits you! And I’m prepared to die anyway—any info I know won’t return. Why are you doing this?”

“This I can tell you.”

After pondering, Leon replied: “An esteemed senior once told me, no matter how advantageous it seems, never easily exchange intelligence with an enemy who can threaten you unless they’re already dead. Right now, you’re merely prepared to die, but you haven’t actually done so yet.

Moreover, I don’t know the capabilities of your accomplices. What if they have a way to extract information from the dead? Until you’re truly gone, I won’t divulge anything.”

“…”

“By the way, this counts as answering one of your questions, right? So according to our agreement, can I ask another question?”

“…”

Ask your mother! I’m dying soon!凸(艹皿艹)！

(The chapter ends here.)