When Zion woke up, a strong scent of blood roamed around him. He frowned and didn't open his eyes as he called out to the system. "007, how much time has passed?"
The system, who had just made a quick journey to the heavenly planet to see his master and came back a few seconds ago, was stunned at that question. He didn't even have the time to figure out things before he was asked this question. So he silently glanced at the clock before parting his lips. "An hour."
"Is there any presence around me?"
"Yes, but hidden."
Zion gritted his teeth. After wasting so much energy and points, he still gained nothing. For a moment, helplessness flashed in his heart. Even after getting more powerful, he couldn't do a thing when faced with a skillful master! He knew he lacked skills, but he didn't think he would face such a humiliating defeat so soon!
When the system saw his host looking disappointed, 007 sighed and opened his mouth. "I went to my master just now and bargained to increase points for this case."
Zion was surprised at these words. Although he forced himself to remain still and didn't show any emotions on his face, his eyes fluttered a little as if they were about to open. If he thought deeply about his system's words, he realized that there could only be one reason why 007 increased the points: The first case's difficulty had increased due to some unforeseeable events.
Then he could no longer treat this case as something simple. Did it mean that the villain had found out about Zion's identities? He didn't know, but all the things he had thought of before he had jumped to fight the assassin were useless. Right now, he didn't even know where he was!
Now that all of his identities were out in the open, what could he do? He frowned when a thought crossed his mind.
So what if his identities were exposed? It was a good thing that had happened to him! He could now boldly go into the lion's den without any fear! At least, now he knew that he had a formidable enemy that could even guess about his identities to such an extent.
But why was he still alive? His brows furrowed again. He had thought that the assassin would finish him off. But since Zion was still alive, he suddenly felt like things might not be very simple.
First, he didn't know what his enemies were aware of and had just assumed that the black-cloaked man knew about his system, which made the latter guess about the sudden growth of power and warned the assassin ahead of time. Second, even if the black-cloaked man knew about something, he still wasn't clear about their purpose. Did they just want to stop Zion and pursue their goal? Or did the murderer have any other plan?
For a moment, Zion felt an ominous premonition rising in his heart. In any case, the worst situation would be death, and he had already faced that earlier. He knew that if it weren't for that Methu man coming to beg him for help back then, he would have reincarnated as another person. He would still be able to live even after death. So what was the point of risking his life to keep the current body alive that wasn't even his, to begin with?
Of course, he wasn't someone who would jump in the fire and commit suicide. He also wanted to live, but the fear of death flew out of his mind all of a sudden when faced with such a situation. He exhaled a breath and opened his eyes only to find himself in a dark room. No matter what, things couldn't be worse than death. So he could bravely face the future and deduce just how he could solve this case.
The system, who perceived such thoughts, was scared witless. "H-H-Host, why are you thinking of death?!"
Zion almost rolled his eyes, but when he remembered that there were spies hidden in the dark around him, he suppressed his urge and said in his mind, "I won't die, but even if I do, I'm not scared."
After spending so many days with his host, the system didn't want to part just like that. Even though he was still young, and he didn't need to finish off the mission, he didn't want to see the world at its end just because of that! He knew that if Zion were to die without finishing off the mission, this world was sure to be doomed.
So 007 gritted his teeth and said, "Don't you have even a slight inkling to go back to your world and be reborn just five minutes before the explosion?!"
Zion froze at that statement and couldn't help but ask, "What did you say? Going back to my world?"
The system soon realized his blunder and shut his mouth, pretending to be dead. But Zion wouldn't let it remain silent for long. When he heard those words just now, he realized that there were still things that his system didn't tell him. So he sighed and causally stroked a sharp object lying near him. "Too bad…. I would have wanted to know how I could get back. Sadly, you have left me with no choice but to kill myself."
His voice had a touch of tranquility and gentleness, but his words made the system frozen as if he had just encountered a winter season. "Don't! I'll tell you…."
Zion's lips curved up. "That's like a good boy. Now open your mouth."
"I wasn't supposed to tell you this until after you finished the first case." The furry man appeared in front of Zion on a screen. "You get two options: First is to get rid of me, and second is to find your way back home with doubled points."
"So when were you going to tell me this?" Zion coldly stared at the system for a long time as if he couldn't wait to commit a murder.
007's body shrank back and said hurriedly, "It's not my fault! That's the rule! We aren't supposed to share any details. The first case is usually an evaluation of whether the host can perform better in a world. If not, they would be sent off to reincarnate in another world while wiping off their memories. But your case is different, so I wasn't told anything about whether or not to share those details with you, but I still followed the rules…."
Zion listened to the chatter of the system and was about to open his mouth when he heard the footsteps of a few people walking toward the darkroom.