Chapter 38: A Heavy Loss

Chapter 38: A Heavy Loss

Late at night, the bustling city gradually drifted into slumber. At the Valon Hotel, a four-star establishment, most guest rooms had extinguished their lights, with only a very few still glowing. On the whole, there was peace.

However, this quiet atmosphere was soon shattered.

A violent crash erupted in the executive suite on the top floor of the Valon Hotel, causing the staff at the front desk on the ground floor to feel a slight tremor. Just as they were panicking and speculating about what had happened, several men in black uniforms inside a taller office building across the street were observing the suite through binoculars. Had any hotel staff been there, they would have recognized it as the room occupied by a guest named Jiang.

"Severe energy fluctuations detected in the target room. A dangerous entity is suspected. Estimated level: Level 3!"

Beside a window, a man in black operated a strange instrument that resembled a laptop. Lines of cryptic numerical symbols flickered across the screen, while several blood-red, pulsating pieces of flesh were attached to the base of the device, twitching like living tissue.

"Based on the target's activities during the day, we preliminarily infer that the suddenly appearing dangerous entity is most likely A039 from the database, codenamed 'Ouija Board'..."

The man in black placed a hand to his ear and spoke into his headset. A cold voice replied from the other end: "Continue monitoring the target. Report results at any time. Take care that the target must never discover you."

"Understood!" the man replied.

The headset crackled again: "Long live the Heavenly God!"

"Long live the Heavenly God!" all the men in the pitch-black room whispered in unison.

***

Elsewhere.

Jiang Ren and the monster had crashed through three floors, finally coming to a stop after creating a shallow crater in the fourth floor. The surroundings were in ruins, and debris continued to rain down from the edges of the jagged holes above.

Jiang Ren stood up with a relaxed expression. The monster lay on the ground like a shredded balloon; most of its head had been torn off during the descent, and the remaining portion lacked the strength to resist, capable only of emitting pained, shrill cries.

"I’d love to settle the score properly with you, but this clearly isn't the place. Consider yourself lucky."

Jiang Ren removed the glove from his left hand and plunged his hand into the creature's body. A peculiar suction emanated from his palm, causing the monster to tremble convulsively. Moments later, he held an irregular, bird-egg-sized core of a dangerous entity.

Although he had dispatched this monster in a single move, it was, in reality, far from weak. Among the Level 3 dangerous entities he had encountered over the years, it was a strong contender for the top spot. Its body existed between the illusory and the real, rendering conventional attacks useless. For ordinary people without special abilities, encountering it would be a death sentence. Furthermore, its specialty was not physical combat, but curses.

From the moment it appeared in the room, the monster had relentlessly bombarded Jiang Ren with a series of negative curses—instant death, weakness, misfortune, pain, despair, and more. While the effects were far inferior to the "Bloody One-Eyed" known as the God of Omniscience, the sheer variety was staggering. In less than a minute, it had unleashed hundreds of curses across dozens of different types. Such perverse cursing ability would have forced even the top-tier "Clearers," who stood alongside Jiang Ren at the peak, to expend significant effort to neutralize it, with a high risk of the target escaping. Had it not been for Jiang Ren, who had already consumed the Bloody One-Eyed, the outcome would have been grim.

The monster’s core trembled slightly, emanating feelings of fear and supplication.

"I went through so much trouble to find you; how could I possibly let you go?" Jiang Ren smiled faintly and tossed the core into his mouth, chewing it.

In his previous life, he had taken on a clearing mission for a client, assuming the target was a weak Level 1 entity, only to find it was a powerful Level 3. Though he fled the moment he realized the danger, he had still been targeted. A few simple curses had led to a series of "Final Destination"-style accidents, killing him in less than half a day despite his limited capabilities at the time. He hadn't even seen the entity's true form, or rather, he couldn't see it even if he had.

Now, he could finally settle that old grudge. Jiang Ren chewed faster, swallowing the core after a moment. As the core was digested, the monster's remains rapidly dissipated.

"Tastes like soft candy, quite chewy."

As usual, most of the core's energy was absorbed by his left arm, with a small portion flowing into other parts of his body. The strengthening effect was marginal—hardly noticeable—but better than nothing.

"Sigh, the most troublesome part is cleaning up the scene afterward."

Jiang Ren surveyed the surroundings with a helpless expression. Though he had only used one punch and held back his strength, the destruction was significant. But there was no helping it; if he had held back any more, he wouldn't have been able to finish off a Level 3 entity in one go, and it might have escaped.

"Come to think of it, I should thank him. If his special ability hadn't knocked everyone on the surrounding floors unconscious, this would be a real headache to deal with."

Jiang Ren could sense that the guests in the nearby rooms were in a deep, forced sleep. Even with such a loud commotion, no one had woken up. Many had thin trickles of blood running from their facial orifices, which looked alarming, but in reality, it was nothing serious—just a few weeks of weakness.

"Still, I can't stay here."

The disturbance had been too great; he didn't doubt the hotel staff had noticed, perhaps even calling the police. To get some quiet rest, he would have to change locations.

Looking up at the hole in the ceiling, Jiang Ren leaped, caught the edge of the floor above, and then swung himself upward, repeating the motion until he returned to the top-floor suite. While this floor was the site of the incident, it looked much less chaotic than the floors below.

"No... don't come over..."

"Save me, someone save me..."

Two murmurs came from the side. Richard and Henry were huddled together, their faces filled with terror even in their slumber. Jiang Ren shook his head and made a call, summoning his staff, who were resting nearby, to handle the cleanup.

Although the damage to the hotel had occurred during the process of clearing a dangerous entity, he wasn't hired by the government, nor did he have another employer. He would have to pay for the damages himself.

To summarize this clearing mission in two words:

A heavy loss!