At that moment, the wooden door leading to the Conan world was pushed open from the other side, and a sharply dressed Conan stepped out.
Lately, Conan's curiosity about Yang Tao's adventures in the Backrooms had begun to rival his interest in cases. With Ran and the others asleep, he had dashed over without hesitation.
"Mr. Yang Tao, what are you doing?"
Seeing Yang Tao repeatedly making exaggerated friendly gestures before a wooden door, Conan approached with curiosity, noting also the newly appeared doors and shifts in spatial structure.
Hearing Conan's voice, Yang Tao finally ceased provoking the Smiles that had chosen to cower.
"Those are Smile fiends. These bastards play dirty—planning to gang up on me, a defenseless young man."
Observing Yang Tao's arm wielding an iron sword with a provocative grin, Conan internally quipped, "I think he's mistaken 'defenseless' for something else…"
Yang Tao's eyes lit up as he noticed the enhanced kicking shoes on Conan's feet. "Conan, give a full-powered kick to the soccer ball. Let's see how much damage it does to the Smiles."
Curiosity sparked—after all, Conan's kicks in the anime were legendary for their mysterious power.
Conan: "!!!"
He was tempted by Yang Tao's challenge. Could his soccer kick really injure monsters in the Backrooms?
Glancing through the door, a shiver ran down Conan's spine. The narrow, pitch-black tunnel floated with eerie smiling faces, their razor-sharp teeth evoking a visceral sense of pain if bitten.
He pressed a button on his belt. A black-and-white soccer ball squeezed out from the tiny buckle, only a few centimeters in diameter.
The ball's size could be adjusted freely—large enough to corner a criminal in a room, but super-large balls could only maintain shape for ten seconds upon release—a marvel of Dr. Agasa's technology.
The ball bounced lightly on the grass.
"Mr. Yang Tao, please step aside."
Yang Tao nodded, stepping back to clear the doorway to Level 2, eyes fixed intently on Conan's movements.
Squatting, Conan twisted the knob on the side of his kicking shoes. Tiny arcs of electricity flickered across the surface.
Yang Tao's eyes widened. "Is this… enhanced kicking power? Are you sure it's not some kind of exoskeleton?"
He suspected even Iron Man might not possess such technology.
Bang!
The spherical soccer ball instantly elongated into an oval, and Yang Tao could clearly observe the stress on its surface. With unparalleled force, it spun at high speed through the Level 2 door.
The ball's momentum stirred the ashes within the tunnel, obscuring visibility—but only for Conan and Erik. Yang Tao, witnessing the scene, saw the Smile he had stabbed repeatedly have its health bar instantly depleted. The health bars of other nearby Smiles also dropped by more than half.
"I… what the hell?""Oh my God!"
Both Yang Tao and Erik blurted out simultaneously, revealing their nationalities in shock.
"Yang, is Conan a corporeal entity?"
Erik could scarcely believe a human child could accomplish such a feat.
"Judging by appearances, I was a bit skeptical before, but now… I'm even more convinced!"
Yang Tao turned to Conan. "Your leg—is it okay?"
Conan scanned the smoke-filled tunnel. Though his glasses had many functions, infrared was not among them. "I'm fine. But using the shoes at full power does cause some wear."
Yang Tao: "…"
This wasn't some auxiliary armor—how could stimulating acupoints produce such force? Even an eight-year-old's potential couldn't generate this. Could it be that Gin administered not just a shrinking serum, but a super-soldier serum as well?
Yang Tao had some mental preparation, but Erik felt his mind assaulted, longing to gulp down a bottle of Almond Water to recover. Was he really the only weakling in the space?
His thoughts flicked to the young girl Jia'er encountered that afternoon. Could she be stronger than me too?
Gradually, the dust in the Level 2 tunnel cleared, revealing the scene.
The Smiles had not scattered—they feasted on the deceased Smile, even in invisibility. Yang Tao's mind automatically filled in the visuals.
Smiles cannibalize their own…
A critical insight: in conditions of food scarcity, these creatures might resort to intra-species predation.
"Conan, can you continue?"
Conan shook his head. "The belt carries only one ball. Once used, it must be replenished. I didn't bring extras this time."
"And the shoes at full power only allow three uses. After that, they're guaranteed to break."
Such an overpowered ability without limits would transform the Conan world from a detective story into a combat spectacle. If Dr. Agasa crafted a 'potential activation' suit without side effects, Yang Tao thought even Iron Man in close combat would be hard-pressed to win—provided Agasa didn't turn villainous.
The Smiles quickly devoured the fallen Smile, not sparing even its glowing teeth or eyes, confirming the terrifying bite force of this species.
After feeding, the Smiles retreated into darkness, leaving only the round soccer ball behind.
Yang Tao closed the door.
"Conan, leave the ball inside for now. Once I'm ready, we'll go back in."
Conan nodded. One ball was fine; his bedroom still had many spare compressed soccer balls.
"Conan, I want to buy some pumpkins. Do you know where to get them?"
"Pumpkins? By the time I arrived, it was half-past ten. Even if there were stores, they'd be closed."
Yang Tao nodded. He intended to craft an Iron Golem from Minecraft—a three-meter-tall metallic guardian. Its speed might be slow, but its strength was undeniable.
Even Skin Thieves, Bacteria, or a single Smile or Party Guest would struggle against an Iron Golem with 100 health points.
All he needed to do was excavate pipes in Level 2, sell crude oil, smelt iron ingots, and build an army of Iron Golems. Smiles, Revenants, Skin Thieves, even Human-Faced Dogs—their ashes would be nothing before his metallic legion.