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Little Dou was happily playing around all this time. Though her actions looked like she wasn’t listening, she could still hear everything they talked about.

Among all the people around Max, Little Dou would always be the most informed of his situation.

She was the System Fairy, after all. She could be called the representative of the System.

Although Little Dou couldn’t tell them everything she knows about the Skill Box, the System determined that they have gathered enough information and decided to give them a hint.

However, whether they will find something out with that was entirely up to them. The three of them stared at Little Dou, waiting for what she was going to say.

They have a feeling that they were on to something big, a secret that was waiting to be uncovered that will be beneficial for them.

[The hint is to pay more attention to the New Awakeneds! They have the answer you are looking for!]

 

New Awakeneds? Max became lost in thought. New Awakeneds should be what they call those Awakeneds who recently kept popping out of nowhere.

Why would Little Dou tell them to pay close attention to the New Awakeneds? Are they different from the rest of the Awakeneds? Or was there something about them that they still didn’t know?

As far as he knows, there was no difference between Awakeneds. If there are, what could it be?

The only way to find out was to follow the hint Little Dou gave them. There must be a reason why she specifically said New Awakeneds. But how were they going to do that? It looks like Max had to continue his night watch around the city.

He would start from there and from then on see what will be their next course of action. Max doesn’t believe that they won’t find some more clues about it.

These past few nights before he roamed the city, Max had been training his body seriously. Even though he has a strong body for a human doesn’t mean he had the strongest body for an Awakened.

Having a higher rank meant having more overall power that includes body strength. However, there is more to it than that.

Some animals in the wild were naturally born with a powerful body, but no one ever thought they were formidable.

Without techniques and strategies, they were just simple creatures. The same with Max, his body strength and overall superior skills doesn’t automatically mean he will be unbeatable.

From the information that he obtained in the past few days, Awakeneds in the entire world had a variety of ways on how they train to become stronger.

Some focus on their skills, honing it to its peak while trying to gain enlightenment to become stronger.

This meant gaining more understanding of their skills and modifying it to be more efficient to which the output would be stronger.

While they were in that process, the energy in their bodies would slowly grow denser. Once their energy finally becomes dense enough, they will achieve a breakthrough to the next stage until they could rank up and get their second skill.

Most Awakeneds described it as the more experience someone has with their skill, the more they will understand it, and the better their control will be, thus making themselves stronger.

Max got to read some stories about people breaking through and gaining enlightenment in a life and death situation, which was considered a fortunate and rare occurrence.

Other Awakeneds decided to focus on strengthening their bodies. Of course, their skills are indispensable, but they chose to focus more on their bodies, using it as a weapon.

Awakeneds like them should have some skills that won’t get any stronger. An example would be some type of Storage Skill like the Inventory or any Movement Skills. They could only depend on their physical abilities to fight.

It was different from having skills that use weapons which could be improved by having better control and greater insight.

This gives those Awakeneds with weaker skills a chance to change their fate with their own hands. In the end, their progress will depend on themselves.

Naturally, those with skills on the stronger side would have an edge, especially if they were paired with any skills that give them useful buffs.

That was another way to become stronger. There were a lot more ways to get stronger such as pills and treasures, but those resources aren’t available for every Awakeneds.

Most people choose to do a little bit of everything, trying to learn more about their skill to improve it while strengthening their body and using the resources available to them.

With all that knowledge, Max had to go through intense training to improve his body’s flexibility and reaction time.

He also played with his skills in the wild, trying all sorts of combinations and strategies he could think of. His Time Stop was one of his strongest skills that can be used offensively and defensively.

Max planned to make it one of his primary skills in the future, and it’s in his top priority to be upgraded. He believed that the Time Stop would be his most potent card someday against the mighty foes he will face.

To be away from people’s eyes, Max traveled outside the city to the countryside where the mountainous region was located.

With the serene environment and bountiful wild animals to hunt, Max was able to hone his skills and reflexes. He saw improvements in his movements that were now more controlled. His steps were also lighter.

Yu’er gave Max some pointers since he was lacking in some areas when it comes to combat. She pointed out how slow his hand-eye coordination was, which is only one of the many fundamental things he should improve on.

For days, each time he went to the mountains, Max had to catch fish from the river for food with bare hands.

It was a difficult time for him. Those fish were fast and slippery. Sometimes his hands weren’t quick enough to grab them.

But Max persevered all night, trying again and again. He also trained in other ways such as hunting without using any skills, nonstop using his body to its full capability to surpass his present self.

Nowadays, Max wasn’t that same as he was before. His sharp eyes stayed alert, and his body movements were relaxed yet seemed to always be ready to react to any situation in his surroundings.

A hint of excitement showed on Yu’er’s composed face as she turned to Max, having a plan of her own,

“This city is massive. There are a lot of them in here so finding them should be easy. If we really tried. Of course, this time we will be joining you.”

A small smile crept its way to her face. She had been patient and cautious, staying away from any dangerous activities since their parents went away.

Yu’er knows that Max from the past won’t be able to handle it if she were to have powerful enemies. That was the reason she acted like an ordinary person, never exposing her skill to anyone, especially her skill, which can heal people.

If that were to be known, plenty of Awakeneds that have evil intentions would inevitably pop out to take advantage of her and Max.

One day they would slowly explore the world, go on an adventure, meet all kinds of enemies and above all, have the most overpowered skills, conquer the world and everything in it.

“Where should we go first? Do you have any ideas?”

Max nodded. In the first place, he never had any plans to go alone. With Yu’er and Xue’s help, they could do a lot more things.

Now that they have a few skills with them, while also getting stronger by the day, Max decided that this should be the right time for them to begin interacting with the hidden world shrouded in mystery.

He was aware that being too cautious is limiting them. With a slight change of mentality, this can be considered his first step forward to the unknown.

“Yeah, I know some places.”

 

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“Found it.”

Xue tried to find more about the Skill Box the second she heard Yu’er talking about it. Using the Skill Box as a keyword, she was able to find a few more things.

“That’s expensive.”

“What? Let me see.”

Yu’er and Xue were beside each other, staring at the screen, Max had to move beside them to see the content they were looking at.

From what they found, there were currently a few Skill Boxes being sold by other Awakeneds. Their prices were absurdly high, from tens of millions to the most expensive one, going for a few billion.

What they gathered from the limited information was that each Skill Box contains only one skill.

Max could see various skills available. Skill Box (Ice Spike), Skill Box (Double Strength), Skill Box (Extra Arms), and Skill Box (Rock Body) were a few of them.

Written after the Skill Box should be the skill they contain and it becomes more expensive, the more useful the skill is. The Skill Box (Rock Body) had a price more than tenfold the of Skill Box (Extra Arms).

Other than that, there were only able to find one final explanation about the Skill Box since they all gave out the same description.

“A treasure from the past that can be used to change the skill of an Awakened?”

Seeing that there was no further explanation about the Skill Box such as how can they use it, how it works and where it came from, Max figured that it should be common knowledge for every Awakened around the world.

“Treasure from the past? These Skill Box should be a rare find. But I just saw it a while ago, coming out of a man’s body.”

“Hmm? This is the Skill Box? Aren’t they called Awakening Cube? I’m pretty sure these were called Awakening Cube in the past.”

Yu’er was beginning to doubt her knowledge about this item. No one could blame her. It’s been years since she last heard of this item.

Now she finally understood. Initially, she thought the Skill Box was another item from the Lost Treasures that their parents wanted to find, turns out the Awakening Cube, and the Skill Box were the same items.

Now that Yu’er knows what precisely the item they were talking about, she naturally had some knowledge about it.

“I know some more things about these Skill Boxes. When you get your hands on it, you could use it to swap one of your skill with the skill contained in the Skill Box.”

“But it’s not all that good. After swapping your skill, you could only use it again after some time. Swapping back and forth is impossible.”

“It isn’t worth the price. The System Store is more convenient, cheap, and the skills are stronger.”

“In here, the Skill Box is expensive even if the skill it contained is useless.”

Regardless of the price, the Skill Box is still one of the most popular items being exchanged. No matter how expensive it will be, because of its rarity, Awakeneds would always buy it.

Nowadays, the Awakened community learned ways to trade fairly with each other without any deceit.

When an Awakened wanted to sell an item, they had to use the services of a reputable auction. Selling it on their own isn’t a problem, only that there is no trust between the two parties.

Purchasing an item that way can result in scams and fake items as the buyer would have to pay first before receiving the item.

Going through a reputable auction would remove all those risks. The auction would first take the item and check it’s authenticity, only after that would it be sold on their platform.

The purpose of it would be to eliminate any kinds of trickery and ensure fair trade between the two sides.

In exchange for their service, they would take a small percentage of the sale. Currently, there is only one world-renowned auction that most Awakeneds use.

Rumors circulated that the Awakened behind it was extremely powerful being able to offer services to most Awakeneds all over the world at the same time while also having the ability to transport goods in every part of the world using an unknown skill.

Until now, no one knows who he is or who they are since there isn’t any way for them to locate the one behind it.

Max and Xue listened to Yu’er’s explanation, but before they could comprehend her words, she continued,

“And just like you said, this item is from the past. The Skill Box is only one of the many Lost Treasures that were found in different areas of the world.”

“It is also the most common one among all the treasures. However, most Awakeneds collect them in their own secure, hidden storage, away from the reach of others.”

“Because the best way to use the Skill Box isn’t to change an Awakened’s skill.”

“It is rare for a Skill Box to contain a strong skill that swapping skills doesn’t happen often. Though there were unconfirmed rumors that someone found a Skill Box containing a Resurrection Skill in the past.”

“But even if that’s true there should be some conditions for that.”

“The best way to use a Skill Box, which most Awakeneds can agree to, is to turn an ordinary person into an Awakened.”

“That was why it was previously called Awakening Cube. With a Skill Box, there was never a time when it failed to turn someone into an Awakened, boasting a one hundred percent success rate through the years.’

Yu’er watched as Max and Xue’s expression turned into surprise; she was the same the first time she heard about it.

“Really?”

“Yeah, that’s why Awakeneds collect them so they can give it to their loyal subordinates. Some wealthy people also spend billions to buy them.”

“And if you look closely, there aren’t much Skill Boxes being sold, and all the skills were useless.”

What Yu’er said was true. Of all the Skill Box that were available, the Rock Body Skill was already the best one.

“It’s all gone.”

Xue spoke out from the side, turning the screen to them, and just like she said, the Skill Boxes available all disappeared.

All of it immediately got bought while they were talking about it. That showed how valuable and attractive the item is in the eyes of Awakeneds.

“That’s fast.”

“Yeah.”

“What do we do now?”

Max thought about every information they gathered so far. He felt it was great that they were able to find enough details to understand what the Skill Box is.

However one last question lingered his mind, and it seems Yu’er arrived at the same thought,

“The Skill Box is one of the Lost Treasures from the past. How is it that you saw it coming out of a dead man?”

Xue stayed silent on one side of the bed, intently listening to their conversation. This was an entirely new topic for her.

She was aware that she couldn’t contribute much this time but whatever decision they come down to, Xue would follow and support them with her full capability.

It was then a squeaky childish voice interrupted them from the far side of their room.

[Ha! I heard what the three of you were talking about! Hehe! I came here today to give you a hint!]

 

 

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While the two were finishing their last set of preparations, Max, who was almost home, slowly moving on the other part of the city, was deep in his thoughts.

This was quite an eventful night, Max got to learn about a lot of things, and he was able to encounter a few people that were an Awakened the same as him.

However, alongside his success, Max was also left with many questions, questions that he instinctively felt to be important in their future.

The first two Awakeneds that Max encountered didn’t do anything unusual, and he can’t be bothered about them as the chances of them being engaged in a conflict were close to none.

But the last two people’s actions were definitely suspicious. Max was confident that the fat guy was an Awakened.

He spotted some clues that exposed him being an Awakened, the cube floating to his mouth and the cube disappearing from his Inventory.

The last person left would be his partner who was someone Max had no clue about. The guy didn’t make any moves, so Max has no way to prove if he is an Awakened.

The only reason that Max assumed he was an Awakened was that he doesn’t look like an assistant of the fat Awakened and from how they spoke, the fat guy never once showed disdain on him.

That only meant he had something on him that was enough to be respected by the fat Awakened.

He might not necessarily be an Awakened. But Max would rather believe he is than to make a mistake of assuming he is weak.

Recalling the missing cube, Max sighed. It was a pity that the glowing cube slipped away from his grasp. The item was too mysterious. Sadly, they disappeared before he could take it back.

Not only that, seeing everything that happened back at their base with his own eyes, Max questioned their purpose. Who are they and what are their plans? Will it affect or endanger them somehow? Should he do anything about it?

Shaking his head, he chose to think about it later when he gets home. Max was busy the entire night, not realizing that it was already this late.

As soon as he got home, Max immediately went to find Yu’er to tell her about the unbelievable events he had been through.

When he went inside their room, he saw Yu’er with Xue, happily smiling as they chatted with each other.

Max never asked Xue to join him on his trips since the day he made her his slave. Instead, Max asked her to stay with Yu’er.

Fully aware that he was currently a lot stronger than Yu’er and he would be fine being alone, Max left Xue with his sister for protection.

With Xue around Yu’er, Max would be less worried about her being a target of anyone with evil intentions.

They also got Xue the same phone as them for easier communication and to let her learn more about the world.

In the event that he wasn’t around and they get attacked, they could team up and help each other. Nevertheless, Max kept reminding them to notify him right away if that were to happen.

But with Yu’er asking Max to bring her with him when he goes out, saying she wanted to gain combat experience against other Awakeneds, Max could only promise to take her out sometimes.

By the looks of it, Max made a great decision, seeing them having fun around each other with bright smiles on their faces.

Every time she goes to school, Xue always change her appearance into a cute and harmless girl, winning the hearts of many students.

While not at the level of her original beauty, many guys still attempted to make a move on her. But seeing her and Yu’er being together, they all remove those thoughts.

As they got closer and closer, Xue also became more and more open to Max, constantly speaking with him with no reservations.

For him, she was like the closest friend of Yu’er, her assistant, and protector at the same time while also being someone who he could trust since she won’t ever betray them.

Xue and Yu’er immediately stopped what they were doing as soon as Max got in. It was late, and they had been wondering what happened to him, thinking he should have been back a few hours earlier.

“Haah.”

Max laid down on the space below their feet, feeling extremely tired running around all over the place the entire night.

“I have a lot of news.”

Turning to them while he laid on the bed, Max began to open his mouth. He didn’t bother to hide it from Xue as she will always be on their side and it would be better if she were to know all of it.

Max started telling them about everything he saw. From the kidnapping done by the two Awakeneds to the glowing cube that disappeared from his Inventory.

Yu’er and Xue weren’t able to react fast enough to say something before Max continuously spoke. They could only listen to his words, digesting the unbelievable information they were hearing.

After talking about everything, Max watched their focused expressions, waiting for their next words.

The first one to speak was Yu’er. After a few minutes of contemplation, she seemed to have thought of something, slowly voicing out her words.

“Can you tell me more about the glowing cube? What it looks like, and what did you feel when you touched it?”

Max doesn’t know where she was going, but he still tried to recall more details about the glowing cube.

“The cube was about this size, and it looks like it’s made from an unknown material with a glass or a crystal feel when you touch it. It glows in a blue hue, not too bright, more like the moon if it’s blue and has the shape of a cube.”

Max opened one of his hands wide while curling his fingers in a grabbing manner as if holding on to something. That was the best explanation he could think of, only seeing the glowing cube twice.

When Yu’er heard his explanation, she went back deep in her thoughts, trying to recall something at the back of her mind.

Suddenly, her eyes shined as she remembered something, turning up to look at Max.

“I remember! A cube that’s glowing, right? I’m pretty sure our parents mentioned something like that before. I think it’s called a Skill Box. Ugh. That’s all I heard.”

Yu’er showed a regretful expression, before adding,

“They told me this a long time ago, but at that time, I didn’t listen to everything they said.”

“Why?”

“We had a discussion for a few hours about lots of things, mostly them telling stories. Most of it wasn’t interesting, but at the end of it, I became too bored to focus.”

“All I know is that if we’re talking about the same thing, it should be called a Skill Box and it’s useful? I heard the word Skill Box quite a few times from them like when they talked about someone wants a Skill Box or how they should find a Skill Box.”

“Skill Box? Looks like we need to find more information about it.”

Yu’er’s information wasn’t enough for them to determine what the glowing cube was and what it was for, but if it is certainly called a Skill Box, then they can try to search for in their phone.

“Found it.”

 

 

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While everything was frozen, Max pushed the vent cover open and got down on top of the cage below him.

When he saw the familiar cube forming on the chest of the dead man, Max didn’t let go of the chance and stopped the time.

Not wanting to waste time, only having thirty seconds left, Max quickly got down and hurried towards the table where the glowing cube was.

Looking at the glowing cube more closely, Max was amazed by the magical object he was looking at.

The cube was emitting blue light on its surface like how the moon shines in the sky. Max didn’t have any idea about what the object does but seeing the fat guy holding it, meant that it wasn’t dangerous.

As he was short on time, Max chose to ask questions later and took the cube that was on its way to the mouth of the fat guy in his Inventory.

Without waiting for anything else, Max jumped back on the cage into the vent then securely closing it.

Since Max already got what he wanted and knows that they would be a commotion once they find out the cube is gone, he hurriedly crawled back to the entrance, making a run for it.

Max felt his body being unusually heavy now that he has something quite valuable with him, his heart pounding in nervousness.

The time resumed once Max reached the entrance, without looking back, he ran away as fast as he can and only stopped when he was a few blocks away, hiding in a small alley close to a busy street.

On his face plastered a bright smile as he willed the Inventory to release the glowing cube, excited to inspect his loot.

A few seconds had passed, and nothing showed up. His excited smile slowly turned stiff when he didn’t see the glowing cube in his Inventory.

“It’s not here?”

Max tried, again and again, finding his cube but still, there was nothing. The glowing cube disappeared.

“It’s gone.”

…

Max once again hid outside the same building, taking advantage of his dark surroundings to sneak his way in.

After contemplating, Max decided to go and find out what happened after he ran away. He also wanted to know if the glowing cube came back to their hands.

An item disappearing in the Inventory without any reason was impossible, so Max could only think that they might have done something.

Before Max stopped time, the fat guy was on the process of eating the glowing cube. The cube flew to his mouth at high speed as if it was sucked in.

If Max didn’t stop the time, it might have disappeared the next second. He considered if that was the reason why.

Everything would be clear after he sees it for himself. Going back to the vents, Max reached the end not long after.

When he peeked into the room, Max was dumbfounded on the scene before him.

There was nothing.

Nothing was left in the room like they were never there in the first place.

Everyone was nowhere to be seen, all their stuff on the table, the couch, the cage, even the bloodstains on the floor. Everything was gone.

From the condition of the room, it was like no one had used it at all. Only after thoroughly checking the room and the room above did Max completely believe they were gone.

With no reason for him to stay, Max left with his mind blank, no way of explaining the strange phenomenon that just happened.

…

“Hey, did you forget to use your skill again?”

Fattu Zhu noticed something as he looked at their surroundings and turned to his partner, reminding him of his task.

“Hmm? Do I have to? We’re done anyway.”

“Use it! Just to be sure! It’s not like you will lose something!”

“Fine.”

His partner pushed open his hands in two different directions. All of a sudden, on the tips of his fingers, a thin barrier was forming.

Pushing his hands further out, the barrier covered themselves then the entire room until it covered their whole base.

The barrier was responsible for effectively hiding them from any Awakened that tries to locate them. Everything that is inside the barrier would be on their own dimension.

On the outside, no one would expect that in their base that has nothing in it, two people were still doing their own business, only it was in another space hidden to anyone’s eyes.

“There.”

“Simple right? And this guarantees our safety. Who can find us in our own space? This is like our small dimension, except us, no one else will know the existence of this place.”

Fatty Zhu smugly said, feeling extremely comfortable. This was the skill of his partner, one of the most important reasons why they could easily do anything they wanted.

“Yeah yeah. Did you secure the Skill Box?”

His partner intently stared at him. That Skill Box is a treasure. It is a useful tool that can potentially make them stronger or if they didn’t like it, selling it was also an option.

The Skill Box, no matter how useless, can be sold for least tens of millions to more than a few billion, depending on its effects.

“Of course! It’s in here. The safest place it can be!”

Fatty Zhu patted his large stomach with a face full of satisfaction before sucking in the body of the man lying on the table.

The sight of it was quite mystical, as if he was inhaling smoke into his mouth, except this time, it was a solid object being sucked in.

“If my mouth catches it, it will not escape, no matter what!”

Even when he just sucked in a whole body, Fatty Zhu was still smiling. Inside the space of his stomach, was a glowing cube, shining on multiple items around it.

“We’ll get a lot of money from that if we sell it. Or maybe we should trade it with others but let’s check it first if it’s useful for us.”

“Let’s decide when we reach the other city tomorrow. I’ll take all our stuff now, and we’ll move when the sun rises.”

Fatty Zhu proceeded to suck the objects around them one by one from the cage, to the table. When he was finished, Fatty Zhu went up to the upper room and did the same thing.

Right as he went back, his partner was absorbed on his phone, reading about the activities that were happening.

Seeing the dangerous clips, his partner concernedly turned to Fatty Zhu once again,

“Are you sure we can go there with just the two of us? Can we manage it?”

Having been with his partner for years, Fatty Zhu knew what was on his mind. He softly laughed while saying,

“Heheh, don’t be too nervous. With your skill hiding us from anyone and me being powerful, who could beat us?”

“Don’t forget, those kids don’t know anything. What can their skills do to us?”

“Hahaha.”

Fatty Zhu laughed in a carefree manner, feeling no pressure while patting the shoulders of his partner. Still laughing, Fatty Zhu’s eyes then shined in a mysterious light before adding his last few words to reassure his partner,

“Heh, those newbies dared to be arrogant with their puny skills?”

“Who said we only have one skill?”

 

 

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“Hehehe, with your skill, how would they catch us? We would be the one playing with them like they’re clueless kids.”

Fatty Zhu ignored his partner’s words, they have been doing this for quite some time now, but them being wanted criminals had already been going on for years.

Even if that was the case, the fact that no one was still able to capture them shows how useful their skill was against other Awakeneds.

“Just don’t forget to use your skill. You always forget about it. We’re lucky that we have been staying low for months now and they were starting to forget about us. If not, we would probably be caught by now.”

Fatty Zhu added, recalling how careless his partner was, always forgetting about using his skill.

“Yeah yeah, I get it.”

His partner nonchalantly replied, scrolling on his phone. He was the one responsible for finding clients and partners around the world.

The phone he uses was identical to Max’s, but he knows a lot more about the use of it than Max. He could easily find prohibited goods, knowledgable on where they are hiding.

He also joined multiple groups with people in the same business as them; they share and receive relevant information every day.

“Oh! Tomorrow is the…?”

Fatty Zhu seemed to remember something, but his partner cut him off, knowing what he was going to say.

“Yes, it is tomorrow. Did you forget it already?”

“Hehe, it’s been fun in this city, we had a lot of catch. I forgot about it. Where are we going next?”

His partner showed a composed expression, and furiously tapped on his phone then showed the screen to Fatty Zhu.

“There had been a lot of things happening in the neighboring city, Zhonghai City next to this. Yesterday, they said there were a lot of fights that happened between different gangs in there.”

“And those gangs now had a lot of those new Awakeneds. From the information that I got, a lot of our group members were already on their way there.”

“Do you mean?”

Fatty Zhu questionably looked at his partner, confirming whether they had the same idea.

“Yes. Should we go there too? Since there’s a lot of new Awakeneds, those would be some good prey. But of course, you should think about it. We could still go to other cities anyway.”

“Heheh, of course, we will go. This Fatty Zhu isn’t scared of kids fighting. Let’s show them how they should respect their seniors.”

Fatty Zhu laughed in excitement. In his entire life, never did he look down on other Awakeneds as he knows how dangerous and cruel some of them are.

However, these new Awakeneds that popped up from nowhere seemed to be destroying the order, starting chaos wherever they go.

A lot of older Awakeneds were getting impatient at these brainless fools doing whatever they want, and one of them was Fatty Zhu.

This time he would show them how ignorant they are about the world. Fatty Zhu would have fun playing with them and putting them in the place where they belong.

His partner turned to give him a long stare and nodded after. Their next course of action is now finalized.

Above them, in the vents where air flows to the basement, a pair of eyes were staring at them.

After Max followed the two Awakeneds in, he immediately went to find a way to get in without using the front door.

Since it was bright inside the room, he would instantly get caught when he goes through the front.

He was only there to find some answers, not to fight meaninglessly, so he needed to find somewhere to hide.

Only after going around in circles a few times did Max find something, the entrance of the vent, and having no choice, he crawled in.

However, Max encountered another problem when he was crawling his way in. The direction of the vents seemed to be going down and down.

Max was certain that he already passed the room he planned to go into, but he continued, changing his plan to go in somewhere below the room and go up after.

Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, Max hurriedly crawled. When Max finally reached the other end, he carefully peeked where he currently is and saw the unconscious man that the two Awakeneds captured were being strapped on the table.

Figuring that these two should be the boss of the two Awakeneds, he waited to see what they were going to do next.

Now he has a better understanding of the situation. Those two Awakeneds that he followed were only the ones who do the capturing then they pass it on to these guys.

These two people would now be his new target since he already figured out what the last two Awakeneds were doing.

Having the ability to do business with two Awakeneds, it was safe to assume that these people weren’t ordinary.

Checking them with his Status Checker showed nothing, but at this point, that doesn’t prove anything. Max could only wait and see what they planned to do with the man.

After that, Max kept quiet and listened in to their conversation while still being cautious that someone might pop out behind him where the pitch dark tunnel was.

As he listened, Max heard some useful information about Zhonghai City. It seems that the underground world of it was infested with new Awakeneds and more Awakeneds were flowing in the city to join in the fun.

Since Max didn’t know about their strengths, he would have to pass this time and get a bit stronger before going to that dangerous place.

The two people in the room suddenly stood up. Max readied himself to move just in case.

…

“Now that we’ve decided let’s finish this and prepare. We’ll move when the sun rises.”

Fatty Zhu stood up along with his partner. They made their way to the table where the man laid.

“That early?”

“We still have to find another base in there.”

Fatty Zhu stretched his arms as he went to the other side of the table.

“I hope we’ll get one this time.”

His partner only watched on the other side, waiting to see whether they would be successful this time or not.

Once Fatty Zhu was ready, he smiled and lifted one of his arms. As the muscles on every part of his body contracted, he elbowed the strapped man directly on his neck.

Sounds of bones breaking reached their ears but their facial expressions never changed, seemingly used to it.

The unconscious man will never wake up again. Magically, after a few moments, a blue glow started forming on his chest.

Slowly, it formed the shape of a cube, glowing in a blue hue. Seeing the familiar glow, Fatty Zhu’s smile became bigger while his partner’s lips curled up. It was a success.

Grabbing the glowing cube on his hands, Fatty Zhu opened his mouth and sucked in like he wanted to eat it.

The glowing cube flew towards his mouth, but before it reached and got inside his mouth, everything froze.

 

 

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As he was trailing the two of them from the shadows where he has plenty of room to run and hide, Max gradually thought that these Awakeneds were smarter than he expected.

A few minutes had passed, and they were still on the move, Max, who knows a lot about the city, estimated their final destination.

From the direction they were going, it seems like they planned to move from one side of the city to the other.

Max initially thought that these two Awakeneds were simple, but from how they acted, it showed that they were quite experienced, particularly in escaping.

The unconscious man was slumped on the shoulder of the big-framed Awakened with a thick coat covering him while on the other side of his shoulder hanged his little partner.

When they reached a certain distance away from the area where they took the man, they immediately went to a nearby street where their truck was parked.

Not wasting any time, they drove away as if nothing happened. Even now, as Max was trailing them, he could see their faces focused on getting their job done.

Based on his observations, they always avoided big roads, preferring to stay on the small streets where it was dark and roads that not many people use.

While the bigger Awakened was driving, his partner was on the lookout, giving Max a harder time following them.

Getting closer and closer to the other side of the city, Max slowed down and maintained a considerable distance between them, expecting them to meet another Awakened sometime soon.

This area is the location of factories and warehouses, so not a lot of people hang around this place.

Max watched as they slowed down and took a sharp turn, getting inside an inconspicuous building at the corner of the district.

He stopped near the building as he checked his surroundings while making sure there was no one on his tracks.

Following them in after confirming that it was only a parking space, Max saw their truck on one side without anyone in it.

As there was only one room with the lights on, it was evident where they were currently at.

…

“It’s a man this time?”

The fat guy said after looking at the unconscious man on the floor. Standing beside him were Bear and Fox, waiting for their payment.

Hearing what the fat guy just said, Bear responded in an uncertain tone,

“Yesterday you said that a man would be fine, right?”

Bear became worried when he heard his question. As far as he knows, women would be more expensive and more desired for prostitution. He also knows that the man they captured is not an attractive one.

He only did it because the fat guy said it’s fine to bring a man next time with no other requirements.

“Yes. This is fine.”

“And about your payment…”

Bear and Fox intently stared at the fat guy, waiting for his next words. They wondered whether there was a problem or they won’t be paid as much as they got when they brought a woman.

“Are you fine being paid on your phone?”

Bear sighed in relief and nodded as he was urged by his partner to pull out their only phone to receive the payment.

Once the transaction was done, the payment instantly reached their phone. Seeing the long string of numbers, Fox became ecstatic.

“Hah, we thought a man wouldn’t be as popular as a woman in the prostitution industry, looks like we were wrong.”

Bear with a broad smile, jokingly told the guy. When the fat guy heard him, one of his eyebrows twitched but it quickly replaced by a fake lewd smile as he said,

“Hehehe! Of course, of course! Different people have different tastes, you know, and our business is only getting started!”

“That’s right! Sometimes we could hear their voices when we’re on our way out. They must be having fun!”

Fox nodded, looking like he understands what the fatty said. Bear was the last one who spoke, ending their conversation.

“Brother Zhu, we’re going to go now! The night is still young, and we will have enough time to celebrate this day’s success!”

“Wait, before you go let’s add our contacts so I could easily reach you whenever I need something.”

Bear and Fox’s eyes brightened, being in contact with the Fatty Zhu meant that they would have a long period of cooperation which means more money for them, hurriedly nodding, they added each other on their phones.

As they got out on their truck, Fox couldn’t contain his excitement, hurrying Bear to drive.

“Let’s go to the bar we last went to!”

“No, let’s find another one. The last time we have to spend a long time to convince them to let you in because of how small you are. Do you want to wait that long again?”

“Hmm, so how about that high-class club? We are going there next time, right? How about now?”

“I don’t think they will let you in.”

“Hide me inside your coat and get a private room! We have a lot of money so they won’t chase us out!”

Bear nodded and turned their truck to another direction, going back to the center of the city.

Fatty Zhu followed them out to make sure they left before closing the gate to the building. He then went back to the room and locked the door.

Feeling safe with no eyes watching him, Fatty Zhu brought the unconscious man in the inner room where a stairs down was located.

When he reached the basement, he went directly in the only door ahead.

Inside the room, a strong stench of blood drifted through the air. The floor had traces of blood, especially near the table with a lot of straps attached to it.

At the corner of the room was a bloody cage with rusted steel chains sticking on the wall.

“Hehehe, they thought we were buying these people to become a prostitute. Can you believe that?”

Fatty Zhu walked in with the unconscious man, talking to the man waiting for him in the room.

On the couch by the wall, a man in a white shirt was busy scrolling on his phone. He looked up to see Fatty Zhu with a man on his arms.

“They finished it already? They sure work fast.”

“So what’s the plan for this guy?”

Fatty strapped the man securely on the table as he turned to his partner, waiting for his answer.

“We have a new order. Let’s check him first then we’ll send him off to the different buyers. They paid a lot for this, after all.”

Not bothering to look at the Fatty, the man replied while looking at his phone, communication with those buyers.

“How much did would we get with this?”

Fatty Zhu patted the strapped man then went his way to sit beside his partner. After calculating the amount they would get for this guy, his partner spoke,

“Almost double the amount yesterday.”

“Seriously? This is getting desirable by the day.”

From his laughing expression, Fatty Zhu seemed to be pleased with what he heard.

“Yeah, and it will increase our chances of being caught.”

 

 

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The shadows were still quite far away, but as it kept hopping on roofs after roofs, it got closer and closer.

Max watched as they stopped on the nearby roof, looking down at the streets around them, seemingly waiting for someone.

Upon closer inspection, the shadows were two people. From how they effortlessly jumped from roof to roofs, Max figured that they should be Awakeneds.

Only Awakeneds would be able to do what they just did. Right now, two Awakeneds were in front of him!

This isn’t something Max always get to see. Thinking about it now, this was the first time he sighted two Awakeneds that he has no connection with.

But if Max were to guess, he would say that they aren’t that strong. From their faces and how they move, those two don’t look formidable in any way.

Recalling a problem that he had previously, Max focused on the two Awakeneds to try something.

Slowly, his eyebrows furrowed. This was something he would prefer not to see. Not seeing the familiar interface, Max confirmed it.

He couldn’t see their Status. Max tried it multiple times, and his skill was showing nothing.

This was truly problematic. It seems like he would have to consider being more cautious in the future.

Watching them from a distance, Max waited on their next move, wanting to see if they were the kidnappers from the reports.

The first time he read about the report, Max immediately knew there was something suspicious happening.

One kidnapping incident won’t be too questionable since it might just be some people exacting revenge on their enemy, but if it were repeating day after day, there definitely is something going on.

Of course, there is also the possibility that they aren’t the same people. Still, Max decided to follow them for the night to find out more about them.

There were currently two of them in his vision. Max didn’t exclude the idea of them having more helpers somewhere.

The first Awakened had a broad build, towering over the small guy next to him. When standing side by side, the small Awakened would only reach his waist.

Both of them stayed unmoving on one side of the roof like they were communicating. Max had no idea what they’re up to; he could only wait for them to move.

…

“Bear, did you see our target yet?”

“Why are you asking me? You should be the one looking! You have better eyesight than me!”

The guy with a massive frame nicknamed Bear responded. His eyes were not good enough to see faces clearly while they were on the roof; he is only good with brawls.

Looking at the areas of the empty street, the small-framed Awakened with a nickname Fox turned back to where Bear was waiting,

“Who should I even look for? The same as before?”

“What? You don’t even know that?”

“I didn’t hear anything. I was busy counting our money.”

Bear stared at him for a second before going deep in thought, recalling the words of their buyer last night.

“He said that we could catch anyone we find. Usually, we only take women because you know women would be more expensive, but last night, he said we should also take men, and they will pay the same amount!”

“Can you believe that? This will make our job easier! Who would have thought they would also take men as prostitutes!”

Fox had shining eyes as he smiled in excitement, showing his shiny white teeth,

“Did he really say that? They will take men and turn them into prostitutes?”

“Yes! And they will pay the same price! How great is that! It seems that they are really skilled. Every time they take the woman from us and bring her to a room, we could hear screams inside. They must be good at handling them.”

“Then, I’ll find us a good target; just wait here and be ready.”

Bear nodded as he stared at Fox, walking to the edge of the roof to find their next prey. This was how they spend their night every day.

They only have to take one person each night, and they would get paid a large amount of money, enough for them to live a few weeks in luxury with good food and liquors.

Bear could still remember the days when they had to risk getting caught stealing a tiny sum of money. At that time, they had to move to different places to lower the risk of being identified.

Their skills aren’t that strong either. Bear could only get a small boost in strength and speed that isn’t that effective against real Awakeneds they had encountered before.

Fox only has better eyesight, twice as clearer and sharper as ordinary people but he could only use it once a day at a maximum of an hour.

To avoid people recognizing them, they often change styles, sometimes with Fox wearing little girl’s clothes.

They also gave themselves a nickname based on their abilities to prevent people from knowing their identities.

Unbeknownst to them, their lame nicknames were starting to be heard by local forces from the number of thefts they have done.

Some authorities also know about them but chose to turn a blind eye, labeling them as harmless. If only the authorities know that they have already changed professions.

One day when they reached this city, after doing their daily rounds of stealing, they were approached by someone telling them that if both of them help with their tasks, they would be paid an enormous amount of money.

Now, they became used to it, taking one person from the streets in the most impoverished side of the city each day.

Since their victims were alone and there weren’t many people at night roaming around this area, they were able to get away with it.

As for what happens to those people they caught, they heard screams on the farthest rooms so it must be some prostitution happening.

Bear and Fox never bothered asking because they couldn’t care less, getting their hands on that much money with such an easy job.

“I got one! Come quick!”

On the vision of the small-framed Awakened was a man wearing a jacket, sneakily looking from side to side, feeling a chill run down his spine without any reason.

Once he saw there was nothing on his surroundings, the man tried to walk faster, slightly afraid of the silent, eerie atmosphere around him.

When he stepped forward, something fell on top of him, and not being able to react, he instantly got knocked out.

“We got him!”

Bear with Fox holding on to his neck, jumped down on top of the man, hitting his head and Bear trapping him in his thick arms.

Not wanting anyone to see them, Bear with Fox holding tightly on him and their victim unconscious on his arms, ran to a dark corner at the side of the street, away from any of the street lights around them.

The street had been robbed repeatedly that its condition became worse, without even a single security camera placed anywhere.

A dark shadow hurriedly traced their movements from the roofs, trailing them wherever they turned.

Max watched the whole thing happen and started following them, easily keeping up with their speed with his Level 20 Peak Rank 1 body.

 

 

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Max played with his phone, joining random chat groups to see if anything unusual is happening.

It was currently night time, and Max was out again, leaving Yu’er with Xue at home. Initially, Yu’er wanted to join him, but when she heard what he was going to do, she backed out.

Max didn’t plan on doing something exciting. He only intended to explore around the city this late at night, like usual.

Ever since the incident with the puppet and the unknown glowing cube, Max had been exploring the city when it becomes dark.

From the more significant number of crimes being committed at night, he hoped to see another Awakened out in public.

Every crime done by an Awakened should have a reason why they were doing it, and Max has this feeling that he would find answers if he were to find and follow every Awakened he sees.

Though there was one bad news that will hold him back considerably, when Max was scrolling through his phone, he saw Awakeneds selling these accessories that were said to block Identifying Skills.

After reading positive reviews with a lot of people buying, Max bought one to test it out. When it arrived, Max asked Yu’er to try it, and just like what he feared, it worked.

He couldn’t see her Status at all. If Yu’er were a stranger Awakened, Max would have missed her being this close to him.

This hugely concerned Max since his Status Checker will now be nullified by the item, making it ineffective in finding new Awakeneds.

His Status Checker was quite cheap, only costing him 5000 Points. Max initially thought it was a good one since it said that he would be able to identify anyone regardless of their ranks.

However, he didn’t consider items that could block it, especially now that some people were selling it.

This would considerably make it hard for him to find new Awakeneds that might just be walking right beside him.

Fortunately, it was quite expensive, costing him a little bit more than ten million for one. There should be a lot of Awakeneds like those ones with weaker skills, that won’t have enough money to buy one for themselves.

But since Max has a lot of money now, he bought a few more, giving it to Yu’er, Xue and the others. He also stored some in his Inventory.

The accessories were disguised enough for people not to recognize them, but it’s still an accessory, easily noticeable by others. Max got an anklet for himself as he didn’t want anyone to see it.

There were also necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and rings available for them to choose from. Though in the future there should be more concealed ones, those that others won’t notice.

When Max asked Little Dou about it, she only said that if he upgraded his Status Checker, he would be able to beat most accessories available out there except for actual skill users blocking themselves with their own skills.

Max was currently in a rooftop of a small district, perfectly hidden within the shadows. Usually, Max would only stay outside for a few hours, moving to different places every few minutes.

From how he was acting, he was like a hero, trying to safeguard the people, fighting against the crimes happening at night.

But his intentions couldn’t have been more different. Max planned to wait for something bad to happen then he would see if it was an Awakened using his Status Checker and also keeping an eye out for any skills being used.

If Max were to find anyone out there, he would silently follow them to their lair or wherever they will go to in hopes that he could find a clue about the glowing cube or any opportunities that will benefit him.

Though one of his problems was, he had been roaming the city a few times now, and he still hasn’t seen anyone.

Even his sharp senses couldn’t hear a single shout or small skirmish in any area of the street.

Seeing that there was still no one, Max typed on his phone,

“Are you sure about this location? I’ve been here for quite some time now, and there’s still nothing.”

“Yes. The last consecutive days there had been reports about kidnappings in that area.”

Max was messaging an information broker from his phone. He had no way of confirming whether this person is telling the truth; he could only trust in the people supporting his claims.

Information was one of the most popular things being sold online. From the information of a person to their business to their family and hobbies, if there is enough money, some people would not hesitate to do it.

Max paid a high price to find an Awakened near his area, and this was the location that was given to him by the information broker.

Reading the report sent to him, he found out about the continuous kidnappings that had been happening around this area and from how fast it was happening with no police could solve it, there’s only one explanation for it.

“Wait and see. Something will surely happen. My reputation is on the line here so I will never give you the wrong information.”

Choosing to believe the informant, Max attentively waited for any signs of them. While waiting, he scrolled through other groups.

“Did you see what happened yesterday?”

“The arrogant guy?”

“Yeah him!”

“Did you see his face from the pictures? He looks like he was so proud of his achievement. For some reason, I want to punch him.”

“Same!”

“Me too!”

“That self-proclaimed hero should just die.”

“Wait, what happened yesterday? I didn’t see it!”

“Oh, you’re finally here. Where have you been?”

“The self-proclaimed hero showed up with his golden sword again, catching another criminal. His hypocritical face was so annoying from the pictures.”

“It’s him again? If he shows up in front of me, I will beat him till he cries like a baby!”

“Check your skill first! Are you even strong?”

“I’m alright. I have fought many Awakeneds in the past already, and this fake hero is a new guy, right?”

“Yeah. Forget about it. Someone will show him his place someday.”

Max read a particular group’s chat to find other useful information. Reading further back, from what he understood, there seemed to be a new Awakened, one of those who randomly got a skill, that always acts like a hero.

He doesn’t save any victims, only catching criminals in their acts. He uses a sword, a golden sword that emits a golden aura that strengthens him whenever he is against a person with evil intent.

When Max read it, he felt disdain for the guy, something about his image piss him off. He looks like the typical hero that does everything for justice but bullies other people he doesn’t like.

Thankfully from what he read, their city was quite far from his so they probably won’t cross paths because if they did, he better fix his attitude as Max won’t give him a warm welcome.

While Max was busy on his phone, on the corner of his eye, he saw shadows running on a roof.

Immediately reacting, Max closed his phone and stayed in the dark, watching them move closer towards his direction.

They’re here!

 

 

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“Huh?”

“D-Did you see that Chief Li?”

“That guy just disappeared!”

“He’s an Awakened!”

The assistant stutteringly said as he stared at the spot where Max stood before he disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Now knowing that he was an Awakened, he became quite annoyed that the person immediately disappeared without even waiting to hear their words.

If the individual has some skill as convenient as that, he could have stayed even just for a bit.

He didn’t know that Max was too cautious and thought that since they were walking so confidently, they must have some powerful skills or they were just idiots, but in the end, Max wasn’t going to risk it, there’s no point for him to do so.

“I did.”

Chief Li and his assistant, Jing Fei, had been waiting for someone to show up, and when they tried to approach the individual to ask some questions, the person was gone.

He thought that the person might have seen fights happening in the areas around them and along with Jing Fei, he wanted to take the chance to speak with the person and maybe find new information.

“Chief Li, could it be him?”

Trying to connect the dots, thinking of the Puppet Master and the person with his entire body covered that seemed to be hiding his identity, Jing Fei looked at Chief Li to ask.

“Unlikely. If he was the Puppet Master, he should be hiding in his cave by now. He won’t ever need to go out if his puppet is the same as what our informants said.”

Shaking his head and replying, Chief Li looked at the same spot, remembering the appearance of the unknown individual, preparing to report it when they get back.

These incidents weren’t new for them. In the past few days, they have seen a lot more unidentified Awakeneds than usual, and only a small portion of them was willing to communicate with them.

Every time they tried to initiate contact, they were ignored, giving them more trouble than they already have.

However, they also understand the fear and the disconnection between them, but they still have to keep trying since there have been a few Awakeneds who joined them with few and acceptable conditions.

“So that’s another new one, huh?”

Jing Fei thought back to what he saw a moment ago, the new Awakened just disappeared. There are a lot of explanations for it and thinking about only one of them, and he already knows how troublesome it will be.

“Yeah, only one of the many more I guess.”

“Could it be teleportation?”

Jing Fei thought it could be some form of teleportation, but whatever it is, that will be a hard one to catch if the Awakened were to be a criminal.

“We should go back to get more information.”

Without waiting for Jing Fei to move, Chief Li walked back to his car while the scene of the black figure disappearing in front of them run through his mind.

Something tells him the new Awakened would be trouble in the future, and they will be up for challenging and rough months.

…

Max walked on the busy streets of the city after changing into regular clothes. The sun was already coming down as street lights brighten up the city.

Now Max was intently thinking about the events back at the abandoned building where the two Awakeneds fought.

One of the things on his mind was the glowing cube. When the water user asked what the puppet needed, the puppet answered that he needed something from him.

Initially, when he was at the site where it happened, Max couldn’t understand it, but now he had more time to think about it, he had some ideas as to what went on.

‘Could it be that the glowing cube was with the water skill user and he wanted it?’

‘How did he get it anyway and what’s the use of it? That looks very important.’

The glowing cube on the hands of the puppet looked like something he would want to get his hands on. It was too bad that he wasn’t able to see it up close and maybe inspect it himself.

‘Little Dou, do you know anything about it?’

[The glowing cube? It looks familiar. I’ve never really seen anything like that, but from what happened back there, I think I have an idea of what it is!]

 

[But if it’s really that then I can’t tell you about it unless you discover it yourself! Once you encounter the same situation, then I would be able to explain everything!]

 

Although Max was disappointed hearing Little Dou’s works, it made him think about the whole Awakened situation in the past where Little Dou couldn’t say it.

Maybe this will also be important for him in the future. Max only has to run around the city more and encounter more Awakeneds and more fights without revealing himself and being in danger.

Everything that happened in the past few days, including Layla and the mission, Max had now accumulated a large number of Points.

His current Points reached 15400. From the daily sessions with Yu’er, adding all the things that happened around the day of the party, and the 2000 Points from the mission, it all piled up greatly.

It was surprising how fast they can earn Points when they don’t waste it on items and skills.

Though even with all that, they were still quite far away from the Magical Space that costs 50000 Points.

But Max wasn’t discouraged, expecting that in around a month, he would be able to afford it if he continues the pace he is in right now.

Looking around and seeing the peaceful faces of the people around him walking on their own pace, Max felt all the things that happened were unreal.

He is an Awakened, and he just watched two Awakeneds fight each other with one side dying. Also, the Awakened phone, the chats, and the forums, it was a whole different world than what was around him.

It occurred to him while thinking back on what happened a while ago; Max wondered who were the two people that he saw advancing towards him.

From the looks of it, they aren’t ordinary individuals since they have the same clothes and something was printed on it but he didn’t have the time to look at what it was.

Max read about government forces, organizations, and families around the world, but he doesn’t exactly know where they are hiding their bases or who were they.

Max questioned whether it was possible that they were from one of those groups and what were they planning on doing when they walked up to him.

Not that it mattered since he would only choose to stay away from them. Max couldn’t deal with them on his own, especially if he doesn’t know anything about them.

They should have many members on their group, which is a significant advantage against someone like him, who only has a few trusted members and a limited number of Points that he could spend.

 

 

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After watching the puppet end the fight that quickly, Max became disappointed; he was never able to see the capabilities of the puppet in a battle.

The only one he saw was when its hand that separated from its body. It shot out without any warning.

From the hand piercing through the water user’s chest, and the smooth penetration of it, Max could only imagine the force around it.

Even he wasn’t sure how he would defend against it. The only way he could think of was stopping time to move away and dodge it.

Though he also has the Reverse Time so he could heal himself fast enough to around one second before it happened when he was still unscathed.

However, it was too dangerous. Max wasn’t someone who would play with his life like that, so that was definitely out of the picture.

Now he was watching the puppet reach down to the water user’s chest. Max couldn’t see it clearly since some of the fallen debris blocked his vision.

He also couldn’t get nearer as the walls were broken down, and the light outside was shining in. No matter how dark his suit is, he will be exposed, and Max only planned to be a spectator today.

There was no point in trying to meaninglessly fight a puppet that might be a disposable one.

And since the fight ended fast, he wasn’t able to learn of anything. Max was still considering whether it’s only the controller’s skill that’s making the puppet lifelike or the puppet was a product of the skill.

Max tried to check it with the Weakness Reader, but it only told him that its weakness was its owner, which was quite useless.

Hearing a noise in front, Max focused his eyes to see the puppet holding a cube glowing in a blue hue as it secured the object in a small compartment on his chest.

“I finally got it!”

“How many have I got already?”

The puppet seemed to be laughing while its face wasn’t moving, which was a weird sight to look at.

“Where is my next destination?”

The puppet stopped moving like it’s puppeteer stopped controlling it when all of a sudden, the time stopped.

Max wanted to have a closer look at it, using one of his Time Stop to have some time to inspect the puppet.

Reaching the puppet, the first thing he did was to touch the skin on its arm, feeling it with his hands and comparing it with his.

Max became surprised when he confirmed that it doesn’t have any difference compared to the real one.

He tried pulling it to take a sample, but he was unsuccessful. It felt like he was pulling a piece of steel from a steel rod.

It was soft yet hard at the same time as if every part of the skin was connected as a whole, making it impossible to pull a part of it away.

Max couldn’t damage it at all. He wanted to try using a streak of his Purple Lightning to it but zipping it a little bit already showed some damage, melting a small area of the surface, so he chose to stop and restored it with his Reverse Time.

Having limited time to inspect the puppet, Max tried to store it inside his Inventory, but strangely it didn’t work!

Max thought it was only an object, but he might have been wrong about it. This finding made him extremely curious that he ultimately used his Purple Lightning to open it.

Melting the middle area of it from its head to between its legs, Max split it open, only to find another compartment around the chest area.

It was where he saw the glowing cube was placed. Max tried opening it with his Purple Lightning, but it was too secured only damaging the surface of it.

Max could have opened it if he had more time, but it would take him more than a few minutes to do so and even if he used his remaining Time Stop, thirty seconds wouldn’t be enough to break through it.

Now with his remaining seconds, Max used Reverse Time to restore the entire puppet back together.

Since he wasn’t able to store it in his Inventory, he would rather not expose himself to the puppet, removing any trace of damage he did to it.

His Time Stop didn’t get wasted since he learned quite a few things while destroying it.

Firstly, he might not pierce through it with sharp objects, but he could melt it with a hot weapon which was what his Purple Lightning was good at.

And secondly, it can’t be stored in the Inventory so there should be something magical affecting it that Max couldn’t understand or something about the skill he knows nothing about.

Finishing the restoration of it and getting it back to its previous position, Max went back to the shadow where he was hiding.

When the time resumed, the puppet stayed motionless until it spoke again, showing no signs of suspicion.

“So this is where I should go next?”

“My next destination is quite far. I suppose I would have to prepare for it first.”

In the next instant, the puppet disappeared like it was never there in the first place, confusing Max that after waiting for a few minutes, he threw a stone to the area where it was standing.

After multiple stones being thrown, Max confirmed that it wasn’t just invisible, it was gone, long gone.

…

Max was now on his way back, going down the building as he thought of what just occurred back there.

The puppet disappeared. Max guessed that it was recalled by the owner, instantly moving to its owner’s location.

That was arguably the best way to escape a dangerous situation and also the worst opponent to have since he would have no way to defeat it if it disappeared.

“The only way to win against it is to destroy it? No, even if it’s destroyed, the owner might still be able to recall it.”

“So the only way is to find the one controlling it, huh?”

“What a weird skill.”

Before going away from the area, Max collected the body of the skill user in his Inventory since he might have a use for it someday and the space inside it was infinite.

This time, the body smoothly went in, causing Max to think about the reason why the puppet didn’t go in his Inventory.

While Max was making his way back, walking on the desolate road, he suddenly heard the sounds of cars behind him.

When he looked back, two suspicious people got out of the cars and slowly walked towards him.

Max knew he was currently wearing black clothes and a mask on his face. There was no way two people would approach him just like that.

He backed off the same time they walked forward, not waiting for them to speak, Max used another Time Stop and ran as far away as possible.

Thirty seconds was a lot of time, enough for Max to run back to an area where a lot of people were more concentrated.

 

 

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