Chapter 476: Faint Divinity
Of course, it was also possible that the creature was simply a wolf — or a werewolf. Werewolves with strong bloodlines were fully capable of transforming. But that wasn't the important part. As long as it wasn't a demigod, it posed no real threat to him.
Still, this task needed to be handled quickly. Even if the War God Council had already come twice without resolving the issue, matters like this were usually followed up by extraordinary teams. And considering that in his previous life this event had been resolved by Smith Hall, they might already have clues. Time was tight for him.
Zhou Ning continued asking about smaller details, though nothing useful emerged. What he did end up hearing — entirely against his will — were a surprising number of infidelity stories, since several incidents had happened alongside secret trysts.
I really did not need to hear that… Zhou Ning raised an eyebrow ever so slightly and endured.
By the time the banquet ended, it was already around nine o'clock. After saying his farewells to Viscount Hall, he followed the quiet Golden Law Avenue back toward his home.
"It's such a shame… If Mr. Sturwell weren't an extraordinary, he'd make a perfect magazine cover model…" Miranda Hall sighed, immediately earning agreement from a few noble young ladies.
Zhou Ning shook his head silently and ignored them. A TV series was far cooler than any magazine cover.
Based on what Viscount Hall and the others had said, the strange noises usually appeared between midnight and one a.m., in the area between No. 47 and No. 62 of Bauhinia Road.
He had already decided: tonight, once the city grew quiet, he would begin his first investigation.
...…
After returning home, Zhou Ning quickly changed clothes and immediately threw himself into work.
Before going out to investigate, he needed to replenish the items he'd used up today — and while he was at it, he could start preparing the batch of goods he intended to sell to Smith Hall.
To make a living, Zhou Ning practically wished he could split into two people.
Fortunately, he had long since become extremely proficient at crafting these things. After nearly five hours of nonstop work, everything he needed for the coming operation was more or less ready.
Once he finished, he still had time. Checking his interface, he saw that including the experience from life skills, he'd accumulated 475 million experience points. Nathaniell had over a million players, and he had only received less than one two-hundredth of them today — his real earnings were just beginning.
With such a massive experience pipeline available, Zhou Ning no longer felt the need to hoard points. He immediately used them to upgrade his skills and level.
This upcoming quest involved both angels and deities — the stronger he was, the better.
He maxed out Sun Ripple Breathing, and upgraded Firearm Mastery, Seventh Wing Motion, and Vengeance to Master-tier. These combat skills were all crucial, and his offensive burst capability rose significantly.
When Sun Ripple Breathing reached max level, just like Observation Haki before it, it turned bright red in his skill list, with a conspicuous question mark beside it. Tapping it revealed a die and three enhancement paths:
1. Increase explosive power, making Sun Ripple Breathing more forceful in combat.
2. Increase physical enhancement, improving the boost to bodily attributes.
3. Increase burn and radiance effects, making it more effective against dark creatures.
The default was the third. Zhou Ning casually rolled the die twice and adjusted it to the second.
Sun Ripple Breathing: A technique used by another-world you to battle beings physically superior to humans. Greatly enhances bodily abilities and emits energy akin to the sun. Includes thirteen fundamental forms.
A new line had appeared — "greatly enhances bodily abilities." That alone suggested considerable strength.
With the experience he had left, Zhou Ning upgraded his Wings of Heaven's Predation by another two levels, bringing it to level 53. His total level finally reached 80 — only ten more until he hit the cap.
Before long, the distant clock tower rang twelve times. Zhou Ning was already prepared. He changed into a black coat more suitable for infiltration and combat, put on his hat, gripped his cane, and quietly headed toward Bauhinia Road.
His home was only three to four minutes away from here. Like Golden Law Avenue, this area lay in the core of the Seventh District — quiet and comfortable.
A row of gas streetlamps cast dim yellow light. Under the still night sky, they looked strangely somber.
Ahead, several terraced houses still had lights glowing faintly. Zhou Ning checked the street signs, counting until he reached No. 47 — the place where the disturbances first began.
The owner here was Gavin Hall — which happened to be Viscount Hall's full name… Rich people really are something, Zhou Ning thought.
Numbers 47 through 59 all belonged to Viscount Hall, rented or resold to others. The buildings were old, clearly from a bygone era.
Nos. 61 and 62 belonged to Dylan Morton. The black-furred creature had first appeared near No. 61.
If this bounty truly corresponded to the event he'd heard about in his past life, then the ground beneath this area should be hollow — but he still didn't know where the entrance was.
Zhou Ning's eyes flickered. After a brief hesitation, he decided to wait and observe, listening for any sounds.
Standing in the shadow of a street corner, he waited silently until 1:20 a.m.
And indeed…
He clearly heard a distant thumping — thud, thud, thud — and at the same time, he noticed something else: his spirituality was faintly, almost imperceptibly, leaking outward, and the nearby gas lamps dimmed slightly. Without the insight granted by Transparent World, he might not have noticed it at all.
"…Hmm?"
Zhou Ning froze. He had experienced similar phenomena more than once — at St. Raymond Cathedral, at the Sea God Church — that faint leak occurred when spirituality brushed against divinity.
What was happening this time?
According to occult knowledge, this likely meant that something possessing divinity — whether a person or an object — was below. But hadn't the War God Church failed to find anything?
Zhou Ning's expression darkened. For the second time, he wondered if he truly carried some kind of detective's curse.
Softening his footsteps, he walked slowly from No. 55 onward, listening carefully.
Something in this area seemed to interfere with detection, or perhaps it had some sort of hidden authorization. His Observation Haki couldn't penetrate it — not even enough to confirm direction.
His senses were clearly weakened here.
If even he struggled this much, no wonder the War God squads had come up empty-handed twice.
He scanned the surroundings but found nothing unusual. Based on sound alone, it should be near No. 62.
Zhou Ning spent nearly two hours searching and still found nothing — not even a trace of the black-furred creature. In the end, he could only withdraw for the night.
...
The next day, Zhou Ning fried some toast for himself, ate quickly, and headed out early to report to Carnaby Street.
He had more surprises ready for players today — the Lanling King Mask was officially on sale. Since the item was exclusively produced by him, and because it counted as equipment usable in team tournaments, it could directly influence match outcomes. He priced it at 32,000 Vecktas — practically cheap compared to the tournament's extravagant prizes.
As soon as he arrived at his shop, Zhou Ning sensed the change. After forming a partnership with Smith Hall, the extraordinary agents who had been monitoring him had all been withdrawn — probably as a gesture of goodwill.
But the number of players had only grown — many more were flooding in now, including large numbers from other nations.
Zhou Ning scanned them and spotted far more professional players than the day before, including an old acquaintance: Grantham, the famous Wayne-hater.
He had disliked that guy for a long time.
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