Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 34: Power

Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Power

"Life Energy at 39, proficient use of abilities, almost ready to enter the Nesting Phase."

"No significant improvement in physical functions compared to the intern phase."

"I see, so that’s why building a nest is a necessity."

"An intern with only 7 points of Life Energy is indeed pushing it too far."

The figure stood still, dumbfounded, not knowing why he had obeyed the man’s command.

His Ability had been detected, reinforcements were arriving for the target, and the sound of firecrackers was drawing more and more onlookers, forcing him to retreat.

Keep a low profile, don’t make too much of a disturbance.

Yang Ping and his colleagues weren’t a threat, but if the attention of Universe Company were aroused, things would spiral out of control.

What does Life Energy at 39 mean?

And what is this Nesting Phase?

And an intern, does he mean that Yang Ping’s status within the organization is just that of an intern?

"What are you trying to say?"

The shadowy figure asked anxiously, the only good news being the firecrackers had quieted down, and the onlookers who had come at the sound were holding Yang Ping back, sparing him from being surrounded by enemies.

"I’m talking about you."

A new memo titled "Clockworker" had been added to the phone, "The condition for activating your Ability is that the target must hear a ’tick-tock, tick-tock’ sound, which is quite strict for those who know your Ability."

As long as preparations were made in advance, it was easy to think of many ways to render this Ability ineffective without the need for firecrackers.

Moreover, it wasn’t suitable for group fights; only those affected by the sound of the clock were stopped, and the shadowy figure’s own time wasn’t sped up or slowed down.

It was less "Time Stop" and more like the game "One, Two, Three, Freeze" that Duan Mingyuan had heard about when he was a child. The "tick-tock, tick-tock" sound represented the wooden man, and the "players" who heard the command would be frozen in place for a short time, about 5 seconds.

The First Encounter Kill Ability was very strong, but with prior preparation, even under its influence, one could manage to get through those 5 seconds.

Duan Mingyuan recalled the night he first entered the abandoned construction site, where the fight between Yang Ping and the shadowy figure had been a great learning experience.

Indeed, one should experience some evenly matched battles in one’s lifetime.

After completing the Nesting activity, the demon’s Ability would be unrestricted, and wherever the nest reached, that was the extent of the Ability’s reach.

Thus, the transformations of the demon with a "senior title," which he had never encountered before, were looming.

After the Nesting and transformation, the next phase would no longer be restricted by location, and he could activate his Ability nearly unconditionally at any time and place.

Of course, all of this depended on the support of Life Energy.

The flustered appearance of the shadowy figure made Duan Mingyuan sigh deeply; the man seemed to have lost his earlier arrogance, as if the person who said "the strong should trample the weak without restraint" wasn’t him.

Duan Mingyuan had seriously listened to the conversation between the shadowy figure and Yang Ping, and had thought highly of the former, treating him as a real contender.

Therefore he had hoped the shadowy figure would reveal more information on this matter.

Unfortunately, like the other demons he had met, this one was just as ignorant about the path ahead.

Further discussion was a waste of time, meaningless now.

"Let me explain one last thing to you; take me for example. If I want to use my Ability to affect you, three conditions must be met simultaneously."

As he spoke, Duan Mingyuan raised his right hand toward the shadowy figure, signaling the number "three," "First, understand the way you exist; second, touch your body; third, must understand the reconstructed form."

As he had said, the stronger the Ability, the more stringent the conditions that need to be met.

Only by satisfying all three could he complete the complex process of reconstruction.

This made those Abilities that sound very powerful often only effective for an Initial Encounter Kill, as meeting these three prerequisites simultaneously in an unexpected situation was quite difficult.

"So to overcome this difficulty, I found other ways, like this..."

Duan Mingyuan spoke as if he were a teacher imparting knowledge to his students.

But the figure tensed up, overcome with an unprecedented sense of fear.

"Tick-tock, tick-tock—"

The sound of the second hand moving became exceptionally clear.

Duan Mingyuan raised an eyebrow, he saw the second hand on the figure’s face spinning rapidly, and the number displayed on the monocle jumped from 39 to 40.

Then it went to 41, 42, 43...

Fear and pressure turned into the nourishment for the wicked spirit’s growth. As the numbers changed, the sound on the other end stopped at that moment, and everyone on the plastic track stood still in the middle of their unfinished actions, followed by the insects in the trees, and then the birds in the sky.

Time also seemed on the brink of breaking the 5-second limit.

However, standing still along with the clock face was the figure.

In a daze, the figure seemed to see a fleeting shadow sweep across its own body.

.....................

At the same time, in an apartment in Yunlong City, a man sleeping suddenly woke up from his nightmare.

He sat up, covering his chest with his hands, gasping for air.

He had just experienced an unforgettable nightmare.

A shadow swept across his body, and in the world of the nightmare, his body collapsed and twisted until it turned into the fluorescent light scattering in the air.

Then he woke up.

But the feeling of emptiness and weakness did not subside with his awakening; instead, it intensified.

It was as if something had been extracted from his body.

Was it his ability...

Or the Life Energy mentioned by the other party?

What exactly did that devil take from him!?

"You’re finally awake, Mr. Clocksmith."

Before the man could understand the changes in his body, an ethereal female voice came from the bedroom.

Following the voice, what he saw was a face half-concealed by a fox mask.

A strange woman appeared in his home.

It was a Monster.

Above the woman’s head were a pair of pointed ears, and behind her was a tail not belonging to humans.

"Let me go."

The man immediately judged the situation and pleaded.

The devil in the nightmare had spoken a lot about his ability, omitting only one key fact.

Their abilities could only affect Dreamland; they could squander their power in those wild dreams, freely taking care of those they disliked. However, this wanton Strength could not be brought back to the real world.

At least not now.

Perhaps everything was related to the "Nesting" that the devil mentioned.

"Alright then, let’s play a game," said the Fox Lady.

"...What game?"

"The rules are very simple,"

The Fox Lady placed her hands behind her back, implying her harmlessness, "If you can walk out of this bedroom alive, you win, and I will let you go. You are free to try, and I promise I won’t do anything during your attempts."