Chapter 42: A Major Incident: The Ledger-Balancing Immortal

Three days passed just like that.

As Marcus had predicted, Danika’s squad had no further contact with the smuggling case. Aside from catching petty thieves, their days were spent dealing with the occasional bug that appeared in the city. It was undoubtedly much more relaxed than before.

This was a good thing for Leon, who had been worrying about not having enough time to grind for experience. After a few days of grueling training, his attributes had reached:

————
(Since this is a free chapter, the author is placing it here. Once the book is officially published, it will be moved to the "Author's Note" or a separate chapter, so rest assured.)

【Leon】
【Age: 22】
【Race: Human】
【Talents: Traveler, Console Player】
【Professions: Civilian Lv1, Prisoner Lv3 (5/300), Novice Qi Practitioner Lv7 (231/700) / Qi Practitioner (Sanyi) Lv6 (139/600), Gunner Lv2 (45/200), Apprentice Craftsman (Alchemy) Lv3 (177/300)】
【Attributes: Physical Strength 3.5, Mental Strength 4.1, Energy 26.5】
【Energy Rank: 1】
【Professional Skills: Qi Control (Mastery 188/200), Inverse Life Triple (Mastery 563/1000), Basic Construction (Novice 34/100)】
【Professional Specializations: Slow Recovery, Calm Mind, Refining Essence into Qi, Reverting to Innate, Basic Firearms Proficiency, Nimble Hands】
【General Skills: Qimen Dunjia (Skilled 107/500)】
————

Closing the profession panel before his eyes, Leon let out a soft breath.

Just then, Danika walked past him and said casually, "Time to go. What are you spacing out for?"

"Though, you really are extravagant, renting such an expensive house."

Danika knew Leon had spent two thousand Star-Glory Coins to rent a detached house. To her, this just proved that young people were reckless with their money and lacked perspective. Of course, she had been much the same when she received her first bonus; she would learn to be sensible once the money ran out.

Leon couldn't exactly tell her that he had his eye on the basement to tinker with things, so he could only reply, "If you don't spend the money you earn, it’s like you never earned it at all."

Danika shook her head slightly at his words but said nothing more.

Soon, Leon returned home. However, as soon as he flicked the light switch, he froze. A familiar, short figure was sitting in his living room.

Razor.

"What are you doing here?" Leon frowned slightly, walking over to the dining table to pour himself a glass of water.

Seeing Leon’s movement, Razor’s body tightened instinctively as the scene from their last encounter flashed through his mind. Fortunately, no bullets flew toward him this time.

Controlling his nerves, he asked in a deep voice, "Didn't I give you the leads? Why is Kade still completely unscathed?"

Clearly, Razor had been keeping a close eye on the situation.

Hearing this, Leon couldn't help but scoff. "The Public Security Bureau doesn't just take the word of a smuggler at face value. You didn't really expect us to arrest someone from the City Guard based on a single sentence, did you?"

"..." Razor fell silent.

Leon set down his glass, leaned against the edge of the table, and looked at the short man on the sofa with a curious expression. "Is that all you came here for today?"

Razor stood up, his tone stiff. "I can only tell you this: the person behind Kade wants to silence everyone involved."

Leon had already suspected as much. After all, back at the mines, the way Higgins had acted when Raymond mentioned that Razor, the smuggling boss, hadn't shown up, had been highly suspicious. Now, the man’s words simply confirmed his theory.

With that in mind, he curled his lip and said, "If you're really that scared, just go find Director Marcus. Why keep hounding me?"

Razor replied coldly, "Who knows if your Director isn't the mastermind himself?"

With that, he prepared to slip into the shadows at his feet and vanish.

Suddenly, a loud crash echoed through the room.

*Boom!*

The next moment, a massive hole was smashed into the wall of Leon’s newly rented house.

Leon’s pupils constricted as he stared at the tall man who had just burst into his home. Just as he was about to demand to know who the intruder was, Razor let out a startled cry: "Kade!?"

Before the sound had even faded, the short man had dived into the shadows at his feet and disappeared without a trace.

Hearing Razor’s shout, Leon immediately realized the man’s identity: Kade, the Captain of the City Guard. And just as Razor had claimed, the man was indeed dirty.

The tall man, now exposed, didn't bother chasing Razor. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the expressionless Leon. "Sorry. If you want to blame someone, blame Razor for revealing my identity."

"I’ll try to make your death as painless as possible."

Leon frowned. He couldn't understand why the man wasn't chasing Razor. Unless... there were others outside waiting to ambush the smuggler boss.

But whatever. Whether or not someone was outside, this City Guard captain had to die here today. After all, the man had destroyed his home and threatened to kill him—Leon had lived this long and had never seen someone so arrogant.

*Flesh is weak, but the spirit is willing.*

Leon grew angrier by the second, but before he could react, a fist whistling with the force of a gale shot straight toward his chest.

*Slap—*

Kade looked at his wrist, which was now gripped tightly in Leon’s hand, and a flash of shock crossed his eyes. He looked up into the face of the man before him, only to be met with a pair of extremely cold eyes.

At the same time, a chilling voice echoed in his ear:

"Make my death painless?"

"Heh..."

As the scoff rang out, Kade felt his right wrist, caught in Leon’s grip, begin to ache intensely. Driven by the pain, he let out a roar, his left hand igniting with a layer of blood-red flame, and he slammed it toward Leon.

Seeing this, Leon immediately let go and stepped back. After breaking free, Kade didn't pursue, instead standing his ground and watching Leon with extreme caution.

The tall man glanced at his trembling right hand and the bloody marks left on his wrist, an uncontrollable sense of disbelief rising in his heart:

'How is that kid’s physical strength so high?! Who exactly is the martial artist here!?'

Information about Leon flashed through his mind. *Physical enhancement ability... Ranged spellcasting ability... Impressive self-healing ability...*

Kade suddenly realized he might have spoken too soon; he didn't seem to have a hundred percent certainty of taking this guy down. He forced a smile. "Heh... can we reconcile?"

Before he could finish, Kade’s entire body erupted in blood-red flames as he lunged at Leon again.

Reconcile his foot! Kade wanted to make Leon understand that as a City Guard captain, he wasn't someone to be trifled with!

Facing the lunging man, Leon’s expression remained unchanged. He took a single step into the Dui position. The next moment, his arms shimmered with a metallic luster.

*Dui Character: Metal Spirit!*

With Leon’s current mental strength of 4.1, the power of his [Qimen Dunjia] had significantly improved. Kade noticed the change in Leon’s arms and, remembering what had just happened, grew wary.

But some things cannot be avoided just by being cautious.

Watching his opponent charge at him, Leon didn't dodge. He turned his fingers into claws and reached for the man’s chest.

Seeing this, Kade felt a spark of joy. He knew the blood flames on his body weren't just for show.

*Sizzle—*

A fine, searing sound rang out. The skin on Leon’s outstretched right arm was instantly corroded away, but immediately after, it began to heal and recover under the influence of the *Inverse Life Triple*.

The two forces pulled against each other. Seeing this, Kade’s eyes widened in horror.

*What the hell? What kind of self-healing is this!? This is definitely not an ability a normal profession should have!*

Unfortunately, he had no room to change tactics. He let out a roar and threw a right hook toward Leon’s heart.

The two collided and instantly separated. Kade wiped his chest, his palm coming away covered in blood; a massive wound had been torn into him. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. 'Good thing... if he had taken that punch head-on, he would be in a bad way...'

Thinking this, Kade looked across at his opponent, and his face turned to one of utter disbelief.

In his eyes, his opponent was completely unscathed.

Leon let out a soft breath and pulled open his torn clothes, revealing the pitch-black soft armor beneath: [Gallows Scale] (Youth Edition).

Seeing this, Kade realized Leon was wearing equipment crafted by a [Craftsman]. The City Guard captain was truly starting to lose his nerve, but just as the thought crossed his mind, a chill ran through his entire body.

"..." Kade pressed his lips together, a hint of ferocity flashing in his eyes. He couldn't escape.

Before Kade could reorganize his assault, several deep-blue water bullets shot toward him at high speed.

*Hiss—*

The sound of steam evaporating filled the air, and the tall man’s vision was instantly obscured by billowing white fog. The next moment, a clean palm shimmering with a metallic luster appeared through the mist before Kade’s eyes.

Kade’s pupils contracted, and he tried to retreat.

It was too late.

Leon’s right hand clamped onto his face and drove him into the ground.

*Boom—*

With a dull thud, Kade’s head was smashed into the floor, and spiderweb cracks instantly radiated outward.

"Nngh!" The tall man tried to cry out in pain, but the iron-like grip on his face kept his mouth shut; he could only emit a muffled whimper from his throat.

Leon’s actions stirred Kade’s ferocity, and the blood flames on his body surged. Yet, Leon simply kept his cold expression and repeated the motion.

Once, twice, three times...

Only when Kade stopped moving did Leon stop and stand up. His right hand rapidly repaired the wounds he had sustained.

【Fought using Qimen Dunjia, skill experience +26】
【Fought using Inverse Life Triple, skill experience +137】

"As expected, getting injured gives more experience."

Leon exhaled, a hint of exhaustion on his face. The fight had ended quickly, but the toll on him hadn't been small. Moreover, with his current energy recovery rate, he wasn't yet capable of "breathing to heal."

Just as Leon stood there quietly recovering his strength, several messages popped up on his profession panel.

【Major Event: "The Ledger-Balancing Immortal" has come to an end.】
【As a Traveler, you successfully severed all leads to the smuggling case for a certain someone, helping them evade federal scrutiny and calming the undercurrents of Pioneer City No. 66.】
【However, it is a pity to that someone that the three people present did not all die together.】
【You may now begin a new journey (47:59).】

After reading the information on the panel, Leon was stunned. He looked at the corpse before him, then back at the panel, and couldn't help but laugh out of anger.

'Fine, fine! You make me a "Ledger-Balancing Immortal" and want me to die along with them? Back in the day, that monkey only got pinned under a mountain for five hundred years!'

Undoubtedly, Razor was dead, though it was unclear who had delivered the final blow. The smuggler who called himself a "wild dog" had met the same end as a real stray, dying in some unknown corner.

More importantly, according to the information provided by the [Traveler], all leads to the smuggling case were now broken. This meant that as long as the mastermind didn't step out into the light, there was no trail to follow.

After a brief moment of thought, Leon decided to start his next journey immediately. Even though he had many questions—like who the mastermind was, or how Kade had known Razor was at his house—he decided it was best to run away first. After all, who knew if the mastermind would come back to silence him?

As for whether he would return to the Public Security Bureau when he got back to this world... he would decide based on his strength then.

'Just you wait. When I return from this journey, I’m going to scatter your ashes!'

With a flash of white light, Leon vanished without a trace.

Sure enough, not long after Leon disappeared, a faceless figure appeared in his house. Looking at Kade’s unrecognizable corpse, the figure muttered:

"Ran away, did he..."

"Whatever. In the end, I should thank him. Otherwise, I would have had to deal with Kade myself."

With that, the figure vanished.

Not long after the figure left, several Public Security Bureau vehicles arrived at the scene. Marcus and Danika walked into the ruined mess with grim expressions. Looking at the corpse, Danika said, "This isn't Leon. Where is he?"

"He likely got injured and went into hiding," Marcus said, his judgment immediate. "This man is Kade of the City Guard. He’s no weakling."

Danika fell silent. After a long while, she finally asked, "Director, what do we do about this now?"

Marcus rubbed his temples, a headache forming. "Wait for Leon to return. He should know something."

Danika didn't ask what would happen if Leon didn't return. After all, there was only one likely conclusion if that happened: Leon was dead.

......

【He once reached the peak of the mountain of flame, where he melted the ocean of bronze to forge the name of a god.】

Elsewhere, Leon’s figure flickered and appeared in a small alleyway. He looked at the bustling street outside, his body finally relaxing.

'I hope this stay lasts a bit longer so I can max out my professions...'