Chapter 25: The Mark of the Great Existence

Chapter 25: The Mark of a Great Existence

Strange images flickered through Jiang Ren's mind.

[An ugly, green monster doll is assembled on a production line, then flows into the market, where it is bought by a mischievous little boy.]

[The boy owns a beautiful dollhouse and many other dolls. He often uses them for role-playing games. The green monster doll always plays the villain who gets defeated, yet it feels quite satisfied with this life.]

[Gradually, the number of dolls around it grows.]

[The fickle boy sweeps the green monster doll into a corner, never playing with it again.]

[One day, after being scolded by his parents, the angry boy returns to his room and throws several of his disliked dolls onto the floor.]

[One of them is the green monster doll. Its body shatters into several pieces, and its head is kicked under the bed.]

[Since then, the green monster doll has been forgotten.]

[Its body is swept into the trash, while its head remains alone in the dark corner under the bed, watching the boy play with the other dolls every day...]

Undoubtedly, these were the memories of the green head hidden within the dollhouse.

"Boring."

With a single thought, Jiang Ren extinguished the memories.

Situations like this occurred occasionally when absorbing a Danger-Type core. It wasn't some special ability or a credit to his left arm; it was simply the core's final death throes, an attempt to invade his mind in reverse to destroy or occupy his body.

The memories seemed only half-finished, but the rest was easy to guess. It was nothing more than the green doll's head gaining consciousness, and driven by resentment, jealousy, and anger, it killed the boy's family and perhaps sealed them within the dollhouse. After all, the dollhouse had originally contained a couple and their son. Since then, the dollhouse had passed through the second-hand market to various families, embarking on a cycle of slaughter, leading up to this very moment.

"The story might be true, but the plot is so cliché that I can't even be bothered to watch."

Jiang Ren tossed the core into his mouth and swallowed it without chewing.

To an ordinary person, a Danger-Type core would be a lethal, incurable poison, but to him, it was the finest supplement in the world.

Within seconds, Jiang Ren's body underwent a transformation.

The blood vessels beneath his skin, as if stimulated, became engorged in a few moments, and a dark red substance flowed from his abdomen through his veins to his limbs and head. Jiang Ren looked relaxed, even twisting his slightly stiff neck. He had encountered this dozens of times before; there was no surprise or danger.

"What a perfect body! You are mine!"

A hoarse, grating voice sounded, identical to the screeching heard earlier in the hanging box.

The dark red substance spread faster and faster, but just as it reached his head, a tremendous suction force erupted from his left arm.

"Damn human! What did you do to me?!"

The voice sounded again, but it lacked its previous arrogance, filled instead with panic and fear.

Jiang Ren didn't speak. Rather than replying to this Tier-2 Danger-Type, he would rather think about which restaurant nearby had better decor and service, or what specialties the chef was known for. After all, he was hungry now.

"No, you can't do this! Let me go, let me go!"

The voice began to beg, but seeing Jiang Ren ignore it, it turned into vicious curses: "The Great Existence bestowed life upon me! If you dare to kill me, the Great Existence will surely help me av—"

The voice stopped abruptly.

The suction from his left arm vanished, the Danger-Type's power had been consumed, and its consciousness was obliterated.

"Twenty parts, and it took nineteen! That’s more ruthless than a federal capitalist!"

Jiang Ren couldn't help but glare at his left arm. If the energy from the Danger-Type core were divided into twenty parts, his left arm had swallowed at least nineteen, leaving only one part to disperse throughout his body, strengthening his skin, muscles, bones, and cells. Compared to this demonic left arm, even capitalists seemed a bit more agreeable.

The energy within this Tier-2 core wasn't much, but it still had an effect, increasing his physical strength by about 0.5%.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, Jiang Ren paused, then a smile appeared on his face.

He felt a special "mark" appear within his body. It looked somewhat like an eye. The power of this "mark" was faint and couldn't harm him, but it could serve as a beacon, allowing the entity that created it to track his location.

"A 'Great Existence,' is it?"

"I thought this was just a snack—tasteless to eat but a waste to discard. It seems this was just an appetizer; there’s a main course coming later!"

Jiang Ren licked his lips.

This "mark" must have been left by the Danger-Type before it died. Clearing it would be simple, but he preferred to keep it. After all, if he didn't, how would the feast deliver itself to his door?

"Please wire the payment to the account above within a month."

Jiang Ren hopped off the truck, took out a stack of invoices, filled in the amount and date on one of them, and slapped it into Dorn's hand.

Dorn nodded subconsciously, but upon seeing the number on the bill, he exclaimed: "Two million federal credits? Wasn't it only one million last time?"

"Last time was last time, this time is this time. Besides, prices have risen a lot recently, and this Danger-Type was quite strong. To take it down, I spent a great deal of money, time, and energy. We fought eight hundred rounds, and I was almost killed by it. Do you really think two million is expensive?"

Jiang Ren crossed his arms, looking down at Dorn, who wasn't even as tall as his chest.

"I guess it's not expensive..."

Dorn nodded subconsciously, but then he realized something was wrong. You just shoved some toys inside and left it in the truck—the cost of materials and labor couldn't possibly exceed 100,000 federal credits. You call that a great deal of money? And this clearance took less than an hour, the Danger-Type never even came out, and you call that eight hundred rounds? You call that being almost killed?

However, Dorn said nothing in the end. It was taxpayers' money anyway; whether it was two million, five million, or ten million, it didn't matter. At worst, the Sheriff would be scolded by his superiors for being a "fool who can't bargain," but the blame wouldn't fall on him.

In fact, there was no standard for the fees of such clearance missions. Organizations capable of clearing Danger-Types were rare, and those that could succeed every time were even rarer. Moreover, these organizations usually had many clearance tasks waiting to be completed. If it weren't for the fact that Dorn already had a connection with the Demon Clearance Company from a previous mission and knew that the boss, "Jiang," was in the vicinity, the best way to handle this villa murder case would have been to seal off the area. As for when it would be cleared and whether the Danger-Type inside might escape beforehand, that would be a matter of luck.

"I'll buy you a pizza when I have time. See you in three days."

Jiang Ren patted Dorn on the shoulder and climbed back into the truck.

"You made so much money and you're only buying me a pizza? And you're even putting that off? Why don't you go to heaven?"

Watching the truck pull away, Dorn couldn't help but raise his middle finger in "respect."

Robert walked over: "Dorn, is it over?"

Dorn nodded, handed the invoice to him, and headed straight for the patrol car parked on the side of the road. Both the public and private tasks were complete, and he could take the gathered data back to report.

"Two million federal credits! Are you kidding me! Dorn, get back here..."

Robert's furious roar echoed behind him.