He quickly returned to Joey’s house and found Old Jack in the basent, happily eating a hot dog.
Nearby, Renie was completely focused on her Forging, with Chengzi ready to assist at any mont. Joey and a few other children watched with faces full of curiosity; they had been observing for hours but still hadn’t had their fill.
"Jack. Jack Reeves. Do you recognize that na?" Liu Ling asked, getting straight to the point.
"Jack Reeves?"
A confused expression appeared on Old Jack’s face. "Never heard of him."
"Then take off your clothes," Liu Ling said bluntly.
"Oh."
Old Jack would grant almost any request from the "Tin Punks" who wore Tinfoil Hats. He finished his hot dog in a couple of bites, wiped his hands on his grimy pants, then took off his old down jacket, followed by the several shirts he wore underneath.
Finally, an aged body covered in grueso scars and tattoos was revealed.
Liu Ling gasped. The injuries this body had suffered were horrific: burns, bullet holes, knife scars... Practically no skin on his upper body was intact, and it was covered in a large number of tattoos.
His arms, chest, and back were all tattooed with these striking phrases:
—Jack Reeves, 32, Advanced agent with the FBI’s Supernatural Division. Investigating the Akita Town murders. The killer is Father Natas. Stop him!
—Be careful. Father Natas possesses powerful Supernatural Power. He can weave beautiful dreams, influence emotions, and summon Demons.
—An evil power is influencing the entire town. You must wear a Tinfoil Hat to block its influence. This is very important!
—The mayor is being controlled. Not to be trusted.
—The sheriff, too.
—The children can effectively harm the Demon.
—Protect the children.
—Don’t forget your mission and your duty.
—Don’t forget! Don’t forget! Don’t forget!
—If anyone sees this, please help !
—Kill Natas!
"This..."
Chengzi, standing nearby, saw this and was stunned speechless.
"Huh? What are these?"
Old Jack looked at the tattoos on his arms and body, puzzled. ’When did I get these?’
He tried to rub them, but they didn’t co off. Instead, a layer of black gri sloughed off.
Liu Ling opened his mouth, but he didn’t know what to say.
Judging by the text, Jack Reeves had clearly known he was about to lose his mories. He must have also realized he couldn’t save Akita Town, which was why he’d gotten so many tattoos to remind himself...
...or perhaps, to remind those who ca after him.
Unfortunately, this thod of conveying information was far too covert. Who would think to strip a holess man’s clothes right off the bat?
But Liu Ling also understood that if Jack had gotten the tattoos in a more conspicuous place, then after he lost his sanity and mories and entered a new cycle, the abnormality would surely have been discovered. That would have attracted Father Natas’s attention, ultimately leading to his death.
He only had one life. He couldn’t afford to die so easily. He had to use his body to pass the information on—even if there was a chance no one would ever discover it.
"Old Jack... you..." Joey and the other children were also stunned.
"Huh? What’s wrong with you all?" Seeing their complicated expressions, Old Jack looked completely baffled.
Liu Ling took a deep breath. "Jack Reeves, you really don’t rember anything from your past at all?"
"Who’s Jack Reeves? What are these things on my body?" The na ant nothing to Old Jack; he was just confused about where the tattoos had co from.
He had completely lost his mories.
"Liu Ling, what’s going on?" Chengzi asked, still in the dark.
Liu Ling pulled Chengzi outside, away from the children, and explained everything.
"So that’s what happened..." Chengzi fell silent.
"Sigh... Once this cycle is over, we need to end this Akita Town loop for good. With the Star Association’s technology, Jack can still be saved," Liu Ling sighed.
·
「2:13 PM.」
On a rooftop, Zhou Chen, who was observing the duel, suddenly raised an eyebrow.
Yao Hu had broken through.
「In the arena.」
Yao Hu was covered in blood. The grueling, hours-long battle had left him with nurous injuries, but by now, they had all healed. As one of the Tier Two Ascenders with a top-tier physique, his Endurance and Recovery Ability were both monstrous.
"It’s been a while since I’ve felt this fired up. I haven’t had a fight this satisfying in ages. As a punching bag, you’re more than qualified."
Yao Hu sneered. "Now, can you feel it?
—My Soul is screaming!"
His aura exploded, surging violently, and growing stronger with every second!
Behind him, a golden soul with folded arms appeared. Its face was identical to Yao Hu’s, its entire body seed cast from Gold, like the legendary Unmoving Bright King. Its eyes burned with a deadly golden fla, and its face was as solemn as a mountain, radiating an intimidating aura without any show of anger.
The Golden Soul!
Yao Hu could have broken through to Tier Three a full year ago, but he had been constantly suppressing his advancent, continually tempering his Soul, wanting to achieve his breakthrough in the midst of the most exhilarating battle possible.
Now, his Golden Soul, honed to its absolute limit, was finally born. Its terrifyingly potent willpower spread unrestrained, and a sense of Fear blood even in the heart of the Demonized Natas.
So, even Demons could feel Fear?
"Mmm... good. Very good."
Yao Hu flexed his hand in satisfaction, feeling the Power contained within his muscles. For the first ti, a savage smile spread across his face. "Let guess. You were planning to rely on the Power of Sin from the citizens of Akita Town for infinite regeneration, right? Hoping to wear down until my Physical Strength ran out?"
Natas remained silent, because that was exactly what he had been planning.
Who would have thought the man’s Endurance would be so monstrous? They had been fighting for hours and were still evenly matched.
This once again made Natas question everything. After all, he possessed Demon Power! No one in this World should have been able to stand against him!
Now that his opponent had broken through and grown even stronger, that fierce, aggressive aura gave him an unprecedented sense of pressure and danger.
Natas knew he was in big trouble...
"You think I’m exhausted? Let tell you, that was just a warm-up. The real fight starts now—!"
Of course, Yao Hu knew that against an enemy with such a powerful Recovery Ability, the best strategy was to obliterate them with terrifying Power that exceeded both their damage threshold and their rate of recovery!
BOOM!
The ground trembled. In an instant, Yao Hu appeared before Natas, raised a scorching-hot fist, and threw a simple, unadorned punch.
The air CRACKED!
A hurricane of force erupted as thunder bood, like a divine punishnt visited upon the Demon. A hole instantly appeared in the demonic body, punching straight through from front to back as if struck by an annihilation beam. The Power of Sin contained within was utterly obliterated by the sheer, domineering violence of the blow.
At the sa ti, terrifying heat erupted from beneath the shattered snake scales, exploding a second ti!
This was a Martial Arts Skill Yao Hu had developed after so tinkering, taking inspiration from Zhou Chen’s "Fla Burst" and "Rock-Breaking Force" and combining them with his own Extraordinary Abilities.
BANG!
Shrapnel flew everywhere as the savage power coursed through every inch of his body. Natas’s entire form instantly exploded, and the pitch-black, profane Power of Sin gushed out like a fountain.
The Magnetic Gloves activated. A surging barrier of Thunder Magnetism ford, blocking all of the Power of Sin.
At Yao Hu’s command, the dense Thunder Magnetism coalesced into four chains that snaked out, attempting to bind Natas’s limbs.
But Natas had already learned this lesson the hard way from Zhou Chen; he wasn’t about to fall for it again. He instantly flapped his Wings to accelerate away, putting distance between himself and Yao Hu before frantically absorbing the Power of Sin generated by Akita Town to repair his body.
Black ooze writhed, and the massive hole in his chest rapidly filled in.
Natas hadn’t expected Yao Hu to beco so powerful after his breakthrough. The Power in his fists was worlds apart from before. A single punch had shattered his body. If he took a few more...
In that brief mont of shock, Yao Hu appeared before him without any warning, giving him no ti to think. He clenched his fist, aid for the Demon’s face, and ruthlessly smashed his Iron Fist forward with unstoppable force.
Round two had begun.
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