Chapter 266: First Observation of the Demon

"John, I... I miss you so much. The place where we stay is very lonely."

The words "we" and "the place where we stay" caught Ma Ma Zhaodi's attention, but before he could ask, Constantine spoke first: "We?"

"Your old friends are all together; you haven't forgotten us, have you?" Emma asked. "Strictly speaking, we all died because of you."

"You... didn't go to where you were supposed to go?"

"Where should we have gone, Constantine? Heaven?"

Emma's mournful blue eyes gazed at Constantine, making him lower his head in guilt and take a drag from his cigarette.

"Why do you think I'm here, John? Think about it: if I weren't a ghost with nowhere else to go, how could I possibly meet you in the human world now? We are all the same; we cannot go to Heaven, and we do not wish to go to Hell."

"Child, look, my mind is in chaos right now; I cannot focus enough to think carefully," Constantine replied. "I've run into a bit of trouble."

"I know; I saw you spending time hanging around the crime scenes," Emma answered. "You're trying to deal with That-Mos, aren't you?"

"Yes..." Constantine took a drag of his cigarette and smiled helplessly. "He is too powerful; dealing with Him will take some effort."

"You need a partner, don't you?" Emma stepped closer. "A ghost assistant who understands the affairs of the netherworld better than those of the living world."

"Thank you, Emma."

Ma Ma Zhaodi saw the smile on Constantine's face; it was exactly the same as the one he wore when leaving Lester with Midnight Father—he even reached out as if to pat Emma's shoulder.

This smile might have been meant to comfort, or perhaps to encourage, but it was definitely not an expression of love.

"Don't be foolish, Constantine; you can't touch me," Emma said, watching his hand pass through her body as if grasping a wisp of ethereal mist, yet a happy smile clearly appeared on her face.

She was so easy to coax, wasn't she? Even after dying once, she could still be made happy by his sweet words.

Watching her smile, Constantine Cursed Harshly at himself in his heart, yet on the surface he continued chatting and laughing with the two as they walked down the street, as if returning to the old days, to the time when she was still alive.

This made Constantine, who had not rested for a long time, feel a long-lost sense of relaxation; he even temporarily forgot about the pile of rotten matters he would have to face tomorrow, and a hint of a smile hung on his face.

At this moment, Ma Ma Zhaodi had no awareness of being a third wheel; his attention was entirely focused on his system panel.

【Ding】

【Tracing the Source】

Status: Completed (100%)

Reward: Primary Energy Affinity has been issued】

【Your bloodline is Huaxia; your energy attribute is Mana】

After completing the mission, Ma Ma Zhaodi was rummaging through his Shangcheng—the Ox Tears, that damned item, had opened up new ideas for him; since he already possessed Primary Energy Affinity and had his own Mana bar, many methods targeting spiritual entities could now be unlocked.

"Let me see: Open Heavenly Eye, consumes a certain amount of Mana, allows one to see ghosts and view demons. Twenty thousand Asset Points? So cheap?"

"Seventy-Two Earthly Fiend Divine Abilities... Art of Penetrating the Nether, capable of observing the Nether Hells, breaking through illusions and discerning truth. Five hundred thousand?!"

Ma Ma Zhaodi didn't even look at the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Methods; the prices for the smaller Earthly Fiend abilities were already outrageous, so the great abilities of the Heavenly Gang were definitely unaffordable.

"Six Buddhist Divine Abilities... also great abilities, plus one must cultivate Chan Buddhism; forget it."

After considering for a moment, he decided to buy Open Heavenly Eye first; this skill was sufficient to handle the current situation, at least ensuring he wouldn't be completely in the dark again after encountering That-Mos.

Just then, a buzzing sound suddenly erupted in the middle of the street; it was noisy and clamorous, seemingly carrying endless evil thoughts and possessing a power to bewilder the human mind.

"Let go! I want to eat meat!"

"Are you crazy! You asked me to supervise you just yesterday—I hate you!"

Ma Ma Zhaodi, Constantine, and Emma looked over in surprise; at that moment, a man and a woman were tugging at each other on the street. The man violently shoved his girlfriend aside, barged directly into a supermarket, grabbed a piece of meat from the display window, and stuffed it into his mouth.

"I want to taste the flavor of blood and meat! I want to chew large mouthfuls of flesh soaked in blood! I can't hold back!"

"Eddie! Oh my God, you swore you would be a vegetarian!"

"I'm not being a vegetarian anymore!"

The man was devouring raw meat in huge mouthfuls; finally, he thrust his entire head into the counter. Everyone around was terrified; this man's behavior was too insane. It was less that he wanted to eat meat and more that he had gone completely mad.

Watching the few flies occasionally flying out from the man's collar, Ma Ma Zhaodi instantly understood who the culprit behind this incident was. At this point, the effect duration of the Ox Tears had expired, so he immediately activated the newly purchased Open Heavenly Eye skill and silently recited in his heart: "Open."

In that instant, a stream of upright and peaceful energy surged through his body; his qi and blood, his spirit, his body, and his soul began to resonate rhythmically the moment the energy moved. When this energy gathered at his brow, his vision began to change, ultimately revealing another layer of this world's true appearance.

In Ma Ma Zhaodi's current perspective, a faint, buzzing cloud of insects swirled within the man's body; at this very moment, they were feasting on the flesh and blood he had swallowed. Unfortunately, the speed at which the man swallowed seemed unable to match the speed at which they devoured; at this very moment, his internal organs were also being swallowed bit by bit by the insect cloud.

Even though he was eating desperately, he could only slow down the speed at which the insect swarm consumed his body; it wouldn't take long, perhaps just a few minutes, before the man would be devoured from the inside into an empty shell.

It was precisely at this moment that Ma Ma Zhaodi suddenly became able to understand the meaning contained within the buzzing sounds of those insects; although the information they conveyed was nothing but hunger upon hunger, compared to the chaotic buzzing from last time at the restaurant, this time they had at least expressed their intent.

The instant he understood those sounds, a sensation of hunger transmitted into Ma Ma Zhaodi's brain, but his Primary Mental Resistance and his hood immediately took effect, allowing him to ignore the influence of this demonic sound.

"I understand now: previously, they didn't remain silent because they were controlled, but because I fundamentally could not truly see the dimension where they existed, so their language became meaningless buzzing in my ears. Only after opening the Heavenly Eye could my senses truly receive the information they emitted."

【Ding】

【Part of "That-Mos"'s true form has been observed by you; part of "That-Mos"'s essence has been understood by you; "That-Mos"'s true name has become known to you; "That-Mos"'s origin has been investigated by you】

【The skill "I Did Not Kill Anyone" has met the requirements】

【Now, you can use this skill on "That-Mos" to prevent it from carrying out a lethal attack】

(End of Chapter)