It seed as if sothing below had detected the abnormality. The hollow corpse blocking the stairwell was blasted open in a burst of explosions, as if soone was trying to clear a path with explosives.
But before the new scar-faced henchn could rush in, the last few walls inside the dungeon had already been dismantled, two of the supporting pillars were broken, and the southwest corner where miscellaneous items and tools were piled had even collapsed entirely...
"Ah! Where did the wall go!"
"What's going on?!"
"It's gonna collapse! Run!!!"
At the mont the corner of the dungeon caved in, sothing finally broke. Souls that had originally existed only in the realm of soul vision reappeared in front of Leon and his companion.
*Indeed, I was right from the beginning, dismantling the dungeon was the way out!*
Glancing at the scar-faced henchn who suddenly vanished at the end of the corridor, Leon sighed in relief, then used the Witch's Broom to stir up a gale, sweeping the dust from the dungeon out towards the stairwell, toppling over the panicked secret police and prisoners alike!
"Take them over there to stay!"
Pointing at the few still-standing support pillars he hadn't taken down, Leon instructed the female officer to bring everyone in the dungeon over there, then clutched the Holy Spirit pendant and dashed towards the stairwell.
As expected, with the dungeon mostly dismantled, the originally "endless loop" stairwell returned to normal. Upon ascending the stairs, instead of facing another collapsed dungeon, Leon found the empty first-floor lobby of the Secret Investigation Bureau.
*Is it the sa as the dungeon before?*
Glancing at the empty first-floor lobby, Leon frowned slightly. Just as he was about to test if he could continue upward, he suddenly heard a warning from the Black Goat.
"Watch out!"
Heedful of the warning, Leon's expression sharpened, and he imdiately summoned the Holy Spirit pendant, forming an invisible, solid barrier around himself.
In the next mont, more than fifty Nails struck it densely, only to be bounced back by the pendants' power.
In the once-empty lobby, ard scar-faced henchn materialized out of thin air. These fiercely cold-eyed "duplicates" weren't just firing from a distance; so even abandoned their guns, leaping directly at Leon in a suicidal charge...
*Is this all there is to it?*
Watching the scar-faced henchn charging at him but stopped a ter away by the Holy Spirit pendant, Leon shook his head slightly. Choosing not to tangle with them further, he continued to head upstairs.
Besides their stealth—so effective that even soul vision couldn't detect any abnormalities—their abilities offered almost no direct combat prowess. No wonder they'd been sent undercover.
The real nuisance was never these "dummies" and firearms created by him, but rather that bizarre ability connecting the stair landings, keeping Leon from leaving.
But that ability seemingly couldn't exist alone. Once the supportive dium was destroyed, the strange distortion vanished completely.
Even if the area between the first and second floors got "twisted" again, it wouldn't matter. At worst, it would an dismantling the building once more. After getting a good gauge of the opponent's ability, Leon wouldn't be trapped again.
And Leon wasn't the only one aware of this fact.
As Leon activated his "shield," enduring the fire of dozens of firearms while beginning to ascend, the faces of the scar-faced henchn showed signs of despair. Consequently, they put down their guns one by one and began to vanish.
Upon reaching the fifth floor, stepping out of the stairwell, everything around him had returned to normal, transford back into the slightly noisy Secret Investigation Bureau.
To the left in the large conference room, several secret police appeared to be in a eting, with intense arguing ringing out intermittently. To the right lay a semi-open office area where two employees struggled pushing carts, navigating between desks, distributing stacks of docunts, sweating profusely.
Further in was the office the female officer had once accompanied him to visit. The "Director's Office" plaque on the door remained unchanged, and even the person inside was the sa as before.
The only difference was that the Soul Fla, once brimming with hostility and murderous intent, now appeared calm and despairing, quietly awaiting his arrival.
...
*Have they given up?*
Observing the state of the Soul Fla, finding no indication of suicidal madness, only regret, reluctance, and a hint of resignation, Leon furrowed his brow slightly, then proceeded to push open the door.
"Congratulations, you won."
Watching Leon enter through the doorway, the scar-faced man surprisingly smiled, then calmly invited,
"Care to chat with ?
Before I die, I have quite a few questions to ask you. I imagine you do too. However, please slow down your speech a bit because your ability is truly terrifying. I don't want to betray my comrades.
If you suddenly ask sothing I'm unwilling to disclose, I'll end my own life imdiately, and our conversation will cease. Is that acceptable?"
"..."
Noting the state of the man's soul and realizing he genuinely seed to have a ans to end his life instantly, Leon opted not to imdiately restrain him but instead nodded,
"Alright, then one question each, but I ask first."
"Okay."
"The spatial distortion-like ability shouldn't be yours, so you surely have other accomplices. My question is, how much of my related intelligence did he take with him when he escaped with the bandaged woman?"
"..."
*Is that really 'one' question?*
Upon hearing Leon's first question, the scar-faced man grumbled with extre frustration,
"Don't think I don't know that you can observe others' soul states and glean answers from their reactions. That single phrase of yours appeared declarative at the outset but was actually a series of questions in disguise!
You first asked if the distortion ability was mine, then confird whether I had accomplices, and further questioned whether they escaped together, and if intelligence was taken during the escape, ultimately asking how much intelligence regarding you was taken. You cramd five questions into that single sentence! That's not fair!"
"If you think it's unfair, you can choose not to answer."
"..."
*But not answering ans I lose out, right?*
Watching the expressionless Leon before him, the scar-faced director clicked his tongue in frustration.
*If I kill myself now, I get nothing. But by answering his question, I can ask one in return. So it's either exchange one question for five, or concede having lost four questions in value. Clearly, exchanging one for five is better.*
"Not much was taken, just so speculations about your abilities and basic information the bureau could find. Beyond that, nothing much; they took mainly other intelligence this ti. Information about you was rely collateral."
After answering Leon's question, the scar-faced director took a deep breath and asked,
"My first question is, what exactly is on the upper floors of your Purification Bureau..."
"Don't ask."
Interrupting his question, Leon gripped the Holy Spirit pendant, staring intently at him,
"Sorry, I won't answer any of your questions. If you wish to end yourself, go ahead."
"Huh?"
The scar-faced man's mouth opened in astonishnt at Leon's words. His face shifted rapidly from anger to confusion, then bewildernt, finally settling into outright puzzlent.
"Are you playing tricks? Yet given your ability to see through souls, exchanging questions like this clearly benefits you! Besides, I've prepared to end my life already. Even if I know the intelligence, I can't take it back. Why do this?"
"I can tell you that at least."
After a mont's thought, Leon replied,
"A senior who helped
a great deal once told , no matter how advantageous it may seem, never trade intelligence with an enemy capable of threatening you unless they're truly dead. You're only prepared to end your life, not truly dead yet.
Moreover, I don't know your accomplices' abilities. What if they have a special ability allowing them to extract intelligence from the dead? So until you are truly dead, I won't disclose anything."
"..."
"And consider that
answering one of your questions, right? By our agreent, does this an I get to ask again?"
"..."
*Screw you! I'm about to die!*
凸(艹皿艹)!
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