The entire world was silent.
It was as if even the light from the pendant lamps hanging in the apartment lobby had been frozen in place at that moment. With such immense power, Ian felt he should have realized that this was not an authority an ordinary psychopomp could possess.
Perhaps it was all due to his Intelligence attribute not being high enough, causing his wisdom to overload. As a result, his intellect always entered a state of intermittent failure at less critical moments.
Just as Ian was sighing internally.
The false Tessa's black and white eyes narrowed slightly, fixed on him. Her brow was so furrowed it looked like she was forcibly twisting herself from an eighteen-year-old young woman into a twenty-eight-year-old older sister.
Ian's heart skipped another beat. Since he had determined that the other party was the true big shot, he paused for a moment before speaking, offering a probing question.
"You look like you're in a bad mood?"
Ian knew this was definitely not the time to expose her lie. Women of any age would usually explode with rage when their deception was revealed.
"Could it be... psychopomps also have those few days every month?"
He clearly understood that his strength was not enough to provoke an angry big shot. Fortunately, his emotional intelligence was high enough to know he should play dumb now.
Ian brought out the acting skills Madison had taught him.
However.
The false Tessa's expression stiffened upon hearing this.
"Do you think you're being humorous?"
Her voice sounded like it was squeezed out from between her teeth.
"Huh?"
Ian blinked, looking slightly bewildered. Seeing this, the false Tessa took a deep breath, trying hard to maintain her composure. She even raised her hand to rub her temples.
It wasn't that her head genuinely hurt.
It was that if she didn't keep her hands occupied, she was afraid she might slap Ian to death—that would truly be terrible, and she really didn't want this guy hanging around her.
"It's only been a few hours, and I've already sensed you approaching death multiple times... you were merely conducting an investigation, you shouldn't have encountered any danger at all."
The false Tessa expressed her confusion. This might also be the reason why she sought Ian out again so soon. She had witnessed things she couldn't comprehend during Ian's multiple curse triggers.
"I live in Metropolis, right next to Gotham. Going out, danger is naturally everywhere." Ian blinked, attempting to muddle his way through.
However.
"You're not telling the truth. I can feel it... yes, you are drawing power from near-death states." As expected, the older the woman, the sharper her insight.
She clearly had already deduced Ian's situation.
However.
Perhaps the System's status was above hers, she only made this judgment through observing Ian, so her tone was still laced with uncertainty when she spoke.
"What can I say?"
Ian also realized that even a big shot like this one apparently couldn't fully penetrate his greatest secret. While deep in thought, he gave a slightly vague explanation.
"MacArthur once said, 'Death never fails, but man always finds a loophole.'" Ian's voice was righteous, imitating the old general's tone.
"?????"
The false Tessa was confused again.
"Didn't Morpheus say that?"
She scrutinized the boy in front of her with suspicious eyes.
"Oh, well, you caught me, then it was Morpheus who said it... MacArthur's quotes don't lack this one line anyway." Ian's regretful expression was completely undisguised.
"It seems you not only know Death, but also the Lord of Dreams." The false Tessa narrowed her eyes meaningfully, her gaze looking as though it wanted to see through Ian's soul.
Ian did not avoid it.
He nodded, enduring the dizziness he felt from meeting her gaze.
"I will figure out your secret eventually." The false Tessa didn't get angry about this; instead, she suddenly smiled, as if she had discovered something interesting.
Her reaction also brought a slight smile to Ian's lips. Honestly, compared to those who liked to use "prophecy" to show off in front of ordinary people, and then instantly cringe and hide things when facing a major figure, Ian preferred not to deliberately conceal things. Of course, he had genuinely given this some thought.
If those powerful entities wanted to know something, they could simply scour a person's soul in a matter of minutes. No matter how cautious, could an ordinary person's soul truly hide things from beings who had lived for countless years?
Ian's [Reverse Blood Furnace] had already been noticed!
Forget about leaving a trace, if he bounced around too much, attention would certainly be accompanied by risk. And if Ian wanted to obtain the long-term immortality buff, he couldn't avoid interacting with the big shot in front of him.
Rewards and risks were always proportional. For this reason, Ian did not want to live in constant, anxious worry. He recalled his first meeting with this big shot, where he had also mentioned information he shouldn't have known, yet his secret was not discovered by the big shot afterward.
This either meant the other party didn't want to search his memory, or it meant... the other party couldn't search his memory. Ian, who understood that the other party wouldn't give him chances to save someone for no reason, was more inclined to believe the latter.
With this judgment.
He had taken a probing gamble again this time.
And the facts proved.
The value of Metropolis's Gambler God was still rising. Not many people in the DC Universe knew the identity of Morpheus, and the identity of the female big shot who showed no respect for the Lord of Dreams was naturally self-evident!
The ultimate conceptual entity of the DC Universe, a member of the Endless family, just like Morpheus—Death! With a small gamble, Ian confirmed his suspicion.
"The bigger the waves, the more expensive the fish. I should slick my hair back into a pomp too." Ian gave himself a thumbs-up in his heart. His expression made the false Tessa, the true "Death" female big shot, feel even more inexplicable.
However.
The false Tessa did not ask about this. She had important business to discuss.
"I believe I told you that you have to rely on yourself for this matter, correct?" It was unclear whether the false Death still didn't know Ian's recent encounter, or if she simply didn't care whether Ian had seen through her identity.
She acted as if she hadn't detected any awareness of her true identity from Ian.
"Big Boss, look closely, look at my face... does it look like the face of a rookie?" Ian wanted to subtly express that he was not capable of handling a problem that even Superman couldn't fix.
"If you keep being so irritating, you won't have to worry about whether you're a rookie or not anymore." The false Tessa glared at Ian with grinding teeth and an irritated expression.
"Understood."
Ian chose to shut up.
The false Tessa stared at him for a few seconds, then turned to glance at Kara, who was in a state of stasis and had shown slight abnormality moments ago. Her black and white eyes held a hint of complexity.
"You didn't follow the rules. I originally wanted to give you a harsh lesson, but you showed me an unusual situation." The false Tessa paused slightly.
As if weighing something.
"You can ask her for help, but only her." The false Tessa made her decision, her tone allowing no questioning or rebuttal, causing Ian to freeze in place as if struck by lightning.
"That's not safe enough, is it? Let me ask another one, no, two!" Ian attempted to bargain. His plan had already been drawn up, and now it was facing cancellation.
First, ask Supergirl, who wouldn't harm Superman. Then, use Supergirl's relationship to invite the Flash, and then use the Flash's relationship to find Wonder Woman. What a perfect human resource management plan!
And the client just vetoed it?
Did she even understand the proposal and the plan!
Faced with Ian's reluctance.
The false Tessa seemed to have fewer emotional fluctuations than before.
"Trust me, just my allowing this action is already quite a risk." Her tone was low, carrying a certain unknown meaning, and even revealing a hint of fatigue.
"Why would it be risky?"
Ian was extremely surprised and bewildered.
To this.
The false Tessa gave no reply.
"We don't have many cards left, and every loss will be irreplaceable." She merely sighed, playing the riddle-master, turned around, and immediately vanished out the door.
Ian felt there was heavy, important information in the big shot's words.
However.
Before he could sort out a single thought.
The world resumed its constantly paused operation.
***
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