During the following days, Leon Chen focused on investigating the enemy's background.
The investigation was straightforward. Using the man's appearance as a clue, Leon cross-referenced the vault murder cases. Sure enough, he found the information he sought among the suspects.
Name: Wei Wang
Gender: Male
Age: 32
Background: Former amateur detective reprimanded by the police for his activities. He has counter-surveillance skills and connections to the victims. Initially a suspect in the first few cases, Wei was cleared after remaining at home during subsequent incidents.
If the first three victims had grudges against Wei Wang, the subsequent four murders seemed purely for the sake of creating locked-room mysteries, marking him as a true scoundrel.
Lina mentioned there were over fifty scattered ability chips, and probabilistically about ten of them would parasitize humans. If all these hosts turned out like Wei Wang, gaining extraordinary powers and causing chaos, Leon thought it would be a complete disaster.
"Material penetration allows him to pass through any substance, dodging all attacks. There must be a weakness that can bring him down..." Leon murmured to himself.
"What's the youngest muttering about?" Michael Fang clapped Leon on the shoulder.
"What's up?" Leon saw Michael's mischievous look and knew it wasn't just a greeting.
Michael grinned. "This weekend, my club is hosting a 'Social Ball.' Our president wants me to invite you and Lily to attend."
"Social Ball?" Leon rubbed his temples, "What club are you in that's hosting something like that?"
"Come on, it's the Social Club! One of the top three clubs at Huada. It took me a lot of effort to get in."
Leon recalled the Social Club, a highly popular club at Huada. Given Huada's political landscape, networking was crucial, making the Social Club very attractive. However, the club had high entry requirements, including a certain social background, appearance, and demeanor.
Leon looked Michael up and down, clicking his tongue. "Didn't expect you to be so elegant, noble, and talented..." His sarcastic remark referenced the basic criteria for joining the Social Club.
Michael blushed. "Cut it out. Will you help me or not?"
"What's the point of a social ball?" Leon asked.
"Duh, it's for dancing and socializing," Michael explained.
"Why invite me? I'm not in the Social Club," Leon laughed.
"You and Lily are this year's Best Couple. Our president wants to invite you. Besides, this social ball is also a public event to evaluate new members."
"What did Lily say?" Leon was more concerned about this.
Michael patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll talk to Lily too."
Leon hesitated. To be honest, he wasn't keen on such social events and wasn't very good at them.
Michael pleaded, "Please, help me out. My points in the Social Club are really low. I'm about to be kicked out. If you don't help, I'm doomed."
Leon mocked, "With so many clubs, why did you join the Social Club?"
"There are a lot of rich beauties," Michael grinned. "And I heard it's another interesting circle at Huada. Wanted to see what it's like."
Leon flipped him the bird. "Every circle ends up being just a wreath."
Michael laughed. "If they hear you, you're toast."
Leon shrugged. In the end, he couldn't resist Michael's persistent pleading and reluctantly agreed.
A social ball, huh? This is going to be a hassle.
In Xi Jing, at 2 AM, a young woman walked down a dark alley 300 meters from the World Financial Center. She kept glancing back, feeling a chilling presence behind her. The recent ghost rumors in Xi Jing made her shiver, and she quickened her pace.
The alley was deserted, the dim lights casting fragmented shadows.
After a while, her high heel broke, and she stumbled, cursing the counterfeit shoes while leaning against the wall to remove them.
Suddenly, a pair of hands reached out from behind the wall.
Seeing the hands, the woman fainted in terror.
Wei Wang stepped out of the wall, holding a cloth meant to knock her out. "So scared, yet walking at night..." he muttered, just as he was about to grab her.
Suddenly, a voice called out, "You despicable scum, you're beyond redemption!"
Wei Wang's body tensed, turning to see Leon Chen. Instantly, he relaxed.
"You're the guy who was following me?"
Leon stepped out of the shadows. "The ghost game is over."
Leon's voice was cold, one hand in his pocket.
"Over? Want to play detective? Too bad, you'll never catch me," Wei Wang laughed and phased into the wall.
Leon checked his watch; Wei Wang was rapidly moving away. Seeing that the woman was unharmed, Leon shook her awake and then activated his No. 98 ability, Overlooked Scenery.
Overlooked Scenery allowed Leon to see the environment from above, revealing Wei Wang passing through a wall and heading towards the street. With so many people around, Wei Wang wouldn't dare act recklessly.
This time, where will you run?
Leon smirked and started chasing with his superior speed.
The main advantage of Overlooked Scenery was that it allowed an aerial view of the city's environment. Its weakness, however, was that during this view, the current vision would temporarily be lost. This was the price of Overlooked Scenery. While Leon could see the layout around him, he couldn't see what was directly in front of him.
Leon had prepared for this by memorizing the area's layout beforehand. He calculated routes and imprinted them in his memory, relying on his brain's sense of direction as if the disadvantage of Overlooked Scenery didn't exist. Fortunately, there were few people around, and this area was relatively deserted, so Leon encountered little obstruction.
However, Leon only memorized a small portion. If the enemy fled further, it would be troublesome. Leon thought having a clearer vision level would be convenient; otherwise, using "visual memory" would make things easier.
Luckily, Wei Wang, thinking he was safe after crossing two blocks, started planning his next target.
"That guy is a real pain. Knowing I'm not ordinary, he still dares come after me," Wei Wang grumbled.
"Yeah, knowing you're not ordinary, why would I still come after you?"
The mocking words pierced Wei Wang's mind. He was shocked to see Leon standing before him.
His wall penetration didn't lose him?
"Even with wall penetration, you're just running away. It seems even with divine abilities, you can't shake off your trashy nature. Pathetic," Leon taunted, knowing Wei Wang's history of being a failed detective novelist, often mocked by editors and peers as a trashy detective.
To make him stop running, Leon had to crush his pride!
Leon watched him intently. If Wei Wang kept phasing through walls, there would be no way to catch him.
A series of cold laughs, and Wei Wang stopped, sneering.
"Trash? You dare call me trash??"