Chapter 483: The Second Hokage
Zhou Ning froze for a moment, noticing that Cotton Benson's eyes were now glowing an eerie green. Sharp, knife-like white fangs pushed out from the corners of his mouth. His breathing turned ragged, yet he didn't immediately notice Zhou Ning or attack him.
Thinking back to what the man had said earlier—losing consciousness every night around midnight and only waking up sometime after four in the morning—it seemed his mind wasn't fully clear. More like he was being driven by something of a higher rank.
Judging from the requirements the Aladdin-like spirit had listed, there was a good chance it was luring these people into gradually releasing its seal.
With that thought, Zhou Ning didn't strike. Instead, he switched his title back to Phantom Thief Kid, and with [Transparent World] he suppressed every trace of his breathing and heartbeat, blending completely into the night.
Sure enough, the giant black wolf Cotton Benson had become didn't notice him at all. Ignoring his severe injuries, the creature pushed itself upright. After orienting itself, it dropped to all fours. Like a true ghost wolf, wild and fierce, it vaulted onto a utility pole, then sprang up onto a rooftop and began sprinting forward.
Its running pattern looked suspiciously similar to Zhou Ning's own parkour style… Zhou Ning watched the wolf's silhouette fade into the distance and smiled quietly, shaking his head.
He pulled out his pocket watch, flipped it open, and checked the time. The hour hand was sitting at 12:30 a.m.—right around when rumors placed the monster sightings on Bauhinia Road.
Just as I thought… He exhaled a cloud of mist, snapped the watch shut, and broke into a run.
He took the same route—no streets or alleys—just a single moon-step up to the rooftops, sprinting in a straight line. Anyone watching from below would only see a black blur flicker past, so fast it left an afterimage.
He chased the ghost-like wolf through District 12, then District 9. Ahead lay familiar streets—and sure enough, its destination was Bauhinia Road.
Once there, the wolf slowed down, looking down from above. Just as it was about to leap toward the small garden house's roof, a dazzling sword light flashed out—a perfect counter.
The black wolf Cotton Benson had turned into let out a wounded whimper as it was sent flying. Zhou Ning stepped out of the shadows, already holding [Boudica the Arrow Goddess's Hand Crossbow]. A bolt shot out silently, pinning the wolf against a wall and draining the last of its health.
"Bye."
A string of notifications appeared on the game panel:
[You have killed the high-tier warrior Cotton Benson (lv83). You gained 296000 experience.]
[Hunt the thirty-six heinous souls: 5/36.]
[You have completed the bounty quest: Bounty—Cotton Benson.]
[You gained 2.2 million experience. You gained Random Reward ×1.]
He could turn in another round of quests at the Adventurers' Organization later—pretty nice rewards overall. Zhou Ning didn't retrieve the reward yet. He stored the wolf corpse in his inventory, then looked down.
Below was Bauhinia Road No.53, the residence of Viscount Hall. He waited for the surrounding lights—triggered by the earlier noise—to gradually go out. Then, without a sound, he slipped into the garden.
After a thorough search, he found a raised stone slab at the left corner of the small house outside. Pressing it revealed a hidden passage built directly into the ground, almost perfectly camouflaged.
The passage sloped downward at a 45-degree angle, with carvings and patterns lining both sides—an ancient architectural style.
Before Zhou Ning could ask, the usually quiet Molly spoke on her own for once:
"This is an early architectural style of the Elf Kingdom. There are records of it in the Ascetic Church's texts. Early elves under the first Elf King avoided luxury and preferred practical, simple designs. Human architecture was actually influenced by them. Only the 'Rule of Triple Designs' persisted into the later Elf Kingdom. It dictated strict regulations on the number and types of patterns… See? These carvings are all in multiples of three."
Zhou Ning nodded. He'd also seen the Rule of Triple Designs in the Elf King's tomb—everything in multiples of three. He took a deep breath and stepped into the dark passage untouched by moonlight.
There were two neat rows of animal footprints going downward. Measured and identical in spacing—almost too perfect. But not a single human footprint.
The passage kept descending endlessly. Darkness swallowed everything; he couldn't make out details, only that they were going deeper underground.
After about five minutes of walking, Zhou Ning reached the end. Ancient stone pillars and a vast, shadowy structure lay ahead. The floor was made of gray-white stone slabs, the ruins old and crumbling, bits of gray stone scattered everywhere.
From deeper within, faint "thump… thump… thump" sounds echoed.
In this pitch-black, silent underground space, the air felt unnervingly cold. Just like outside, his Observation Haki couldn't penetrate this place at all.
"This underground structure is at least nine hundred years old." Molly's cool voice echoed. "If I were you, I'd make full preparations before going in. Ideally, bring someone to help."
Zhou Ning nodded. This place was far bigger than he anticipated, and who knew what dangers lay inside? He needed enough supplies—potions, ammo, everything.
As for help… that was the tricky part. Richie Burke and Ignatius Woods were too weak. But wait—
Players who can revive infinitely—could there be better cannon fodder?
Perfect for the Starry Sky Organization's first team activity.
If Smith Hall could clear this storyline, then with his protagonist status, there was no reason he couldn't do even better.
Plus he had two Possession Cards as trump cards—almost a guaranteed win. He could complete the quest and build up his glowing hero image. True righteous protagonists were forged through major events, one after another.
Decision made instantly, he didn't go deeper. He'd handle everything tomorrow after posting the quest.
…
Back home, Zhou Ning saw Richie Burke—now back in his usual clothes—waiting at the door with a face full of giddy excitement.
"How'd it go?" Zhou Ning asked with a smile.
"No time to do much, so I just grabbed six people for bounty cash. All big pirates with bounties over 3,000 Vecktas. Ha! They practically wet themselves when they saw me. No clue how they ended up with bounties that high."
Richie handed over a stack of money along with the Batman suit, beaming. "Next time you need me to play Batman, call me. Anytime."
Didn't expect him to get addicted to role-playing…
As for how he redeemed the bounty, Richie clearly had his own means, so Zhou Ning didn't ask.
"Sure." Zhou Ning accepted the money calmly.
Then the two confirmed their plan to open the shop tomorrow morning, and Richie left in high spirits.
Once the northern pirate was gone, Zhou Ning shut the door, settled comfortably onto the sofa, and claimed his random reward. The quest wasn't too hard—he wasn't expecting much.
[You have claimed your random reward.]
[Drawing… Draw complete.]
[Please choose one of the following three options.]
[1. Random Skill ×1.]
[2. Random Set ×1.]
[3. Random Recipe (includes formal attire recipes) ×1.]
Hmm? A random set? Zhou Ning blinked.
He'd never seen that reward before. The Phantom Thief Kid set he had was still unused, but the Batman set had been very useful. If he could get something like the Iron Man set… he'd be unstoppable.
After a moment of thought, he chose option 2. Time to see how valuable this category really was.
[You chose Option 2. Drawing… Draw complete.]
[You received: Hawkeye Mihawk Set ×1. Includes black wide-brim hat, burgundy patterned shirt, black coat, cross-shaped dagger, and Black Blade: Night. Can be equipped separately.]
[Your Hall of Curiosities has gained a new collectible!]
Zhou Ning paused. So the benefit of character sets was that they included all signature equipment.
He looked in the mirror. The outfit's fashion sense wasn't amazing, but the Black Blade: Night made all the difference.
Night was one of the Supreme Grade Blades of the One Piece world, and it came with the set. Obtaining it added 48 traversal coins to the Hall of Curiosities.
Looked like this option was worth considering in the future. He already regretted skipping the Spider-Sense skin earlier.
Then he opened the Traversal Simulator. Before venturing into the underground ruins, he wanted another boost—and to avenge the unexpected failure of Kokushibo last time.