"How dare you call the creator of this century's greatest mystery trash??" Wei Wang's sneer dripped with murderous intent.
"The greatest mystery of the century?" Leon Chen mocked. "All I see is a scumbag using penetration to escape."
"You're really getting on my nerves!" Without warning, Wei Wang reached inside his coat.
Leon mentally cursed. Damn, he's serious.
"No matter who you are, you're dead tonight." Wei Wang's death sentence hit exactly where Leon wanted.
Leon swiftly dodged as the situation suddenly reversed. Wei Wang took the lead, his movements aided by his ability to pass through solid objects. Although Leon had superior speed, it wasn't enough to match Wei's evasiveness.
Watching Leon retreat, Wei Wang sneered and phased through a wall to cut him off. Leon skidded to a halt, his hand pulling out a knife, the cold blade tracing a silver arc through the air.
But even at such close quarters, Wei Wang phased through the attack, clicking his tongue. "Regretting crossing me now, aren't you?"
Regret??
Leon sneered inwardly and leaped over a high wall, sprinting with all his might.
The iron tracks on the Weaver Bridge rumbled as a high-speed train roared past, the darkness below filled with churning black seawater, spraying up as waves crashed against the piers.
Leon glanced at the dark beach, realizing he had nowhere left to run.
"Now, who's the one running away, you coward? Hahaha." Wei Wang laughed maniacally, walking slowly toward Leon while gulping down more blood. His bloodstained lips and aura reeked of violence.
"Your penetration ability won't help you here," Leon turned, calmly informing him.
Wei Wang sneered, raising his gun. "Fool. Without obstacles, do you really think you can dodge my attacks?"
Leon's body jerked, collapsing to his knees, seemingly hit.
"This is the fate of would-be heroes. Being a devil is much more comfortable." Wei Wang declared his victory.
Leon clutched his chest, staggering back towards the sea, his fingers stained with blood, his expression pained. "This is what you pursued as the King of Deduction, a deranged murderer."
Wei Wang's eyes narrowed, and he shrieked, "So what? Killing is always easier than saving. You'll never know the thrill of strangling women at their orgasm after raping them. Hahahaha."
"Trash." Leon spat in disgust.
Bang.
Leon staggered and fell into the sea.
"I've just had an interesting idea. I'll kill a hundred people, then dump their bodies into the vaults one day. Hahaha, it'll cause a huge sensation!" Wei Wang, consumed by madness, crafted his horrific plan. "Let's call it 'The Mountain of Corpses Mystery.'"
Lina had said that when abilities fall into the hands of ordinary people, they become arrogant and reckless, overusing their newfound powers until death claims them.
Extraordinary abilities lead to extraordinary arrogance, and extraordinary arrogance leads to a downfall. This was why Lina wasn't overly anxious about recovering the scattered abilities; ultimately, humans couldn't escape their own desires.
"What do you think, little detective?" Wei Wang laughed as he stepped into the water. "You'll be the first body in the 'Mountain of Corpses Mystery'!"
"Hmph." Leon sneered, removing his hand from his chest.
Wei Wang was stunned.
There was no wound. A powerful electric current flashed, leaving Wei Wang dumbfounded.
Leon pressed his palm into the water, unleashing his bio-electricity. The previously invisible current became tangible, rapidly spreading through the seawater. The electric charge, over a million volts, caused the water to sizzle and boil.
Wei Wang's eyes widened in terror as he watched the electricity engulf him.
The rumbling train passing above drowned out the crackling of electricity and the roaring sea.
After the blinding flash of electric sparks, Wei Wang stood unharmed.
"Idiot, I can even phase through electricity. I…" Wei Wang's boastful laughter abruptly ceased, his eyes widening in shock as Leon took advantage of the moment to close in.
A cold, metallic sensation suddenly penetrated Wei Wang's chest, slicing through muscle, bone, heart, and veins. The icy chill extended through his back, and in an instant, he felt a lightness as if all fear, despair, and complex emotions were drained from his body.
With wide, shocked eyes, Wei Wang saw the young man before him, the knife impaling his heart.
"Is this the joy of killing you spoke of…" Leon's eyes were cold. "Now, you ****** enjoy it…"
"I… I'm invincible…" Wei Wang mumbled, his lips trembling as he slumped, his gaze lifeless.
Leon released him, collapsing onto the beach, his trembling hand covering his forehead, breathing heavily as if he were drowning.
Looking at Wei Wang's corpse made him feel nauseous. After a moment, he calmed his emotions.
"Lina, how do I extract the chip?" Leon's voice still carried a hint of lingering fear.
"Did you succeed?" Lina's gentle voice brought a small comfort in the cold, dark night.
Following Lina's instructions, Leon used the watch's scanning function to examine Wei Wang's body, locating the chip in his forehead. He then used the watch's laser extraction feature to remove the chip.
It was a small, ordinary-looking red chip, something no one would guess could change a person's fate.
He placed it in the watch's disk-like slot, triggering a mechanical prompt.
"NO.15, Advanced Ability 'Material Penetration' successfully loaded!"
Leon felt no joy at recovering the ability. Looking at Wei Wang's corpse only filled him with sadness.
The chip's emotion-altering effect was clear. Without controlling one's desires, even extraordinary abilities could turn their possessors into mere tools.
"What do you plan to do next, Leon?" Lina, not ending the communication, voiced her concern about how he would handle the aftermath.
Leon had already thought it through. "After dealing with the body, I'll place it in the bank vault."
"Ah?" Lina was surprised.
"I'm not trying to be a ghost; I just want to close this case," Leon explained. In previous cases, Wei Wang had left traces of himself, including DNA, on the victims. Once the police compared DNA, they would identify him as the murderer. Placing his body in the vault was a nod to the 'Ghost Vault' legend.
This mysterious incident couldn't be easily explained, and Leon didn't intend to. Let the authorities guess; the greatest mystery of the century would end with the murderer's death in the vault.
"Will they suspect he's the killer?"
"Yeah. Wei Wang once wrote detective novels. I'll tear out a page stating, 'I am the murderer,' and place it in his hand. It should at least prompt an investigation," Leon nodded.
"Leon, you've thought it through," Lina noted, her concern evident. "If you feel overwhelmed, you can use Steel Will. You sounded a bit detached."
"Feeling bad for a murderer doesn't make me noble," Leon replied coldly. After a moment's hesitation, he shook his head, deciding not to elaborate.
At that moment, Leon noticed the watch's glow.
"Lina, the watch's glow has changed from amber to yellow…"
"Ah, how did it upgrade so quickly?"
Leon was puzzled, but Lina seemed overly surprised.
At least the ability had finally advanced a level!