Close Combat, A Great Shame for the System Owner

The Year Eater had indeed evolved.

Its intelligence was clearly much higher than when it had just left the hospital.

Between Jiang Yue and Officer Han, it actually knew who was the soft persimmon it could squeeze.

So, without any warning, its body surged forward, and like a predatory beast, it lunged at Jiang Yue.

"Officer Han, don't shoot."

For some reason, Jiang Yue felt no fear. Instead, a fighting spirit inexplicably surged within him.

It's just a fight, right? If it's not about sneak attacks and close combat, who's afraid of whom?

You're an evil spirit, empowered by mysterious Year Eater abilities.

I'm also a person with the invulnerable to all evil aura!

It had to be said that encountering Jiang Yue was the Year Eater's misfortune. Its current physical condition was naturally not comparable to that of the dying Ke Yunshan.

After stealing so much lifespan, its effects on this body meant it possessed energy far exceeding that of an ordinary strong adult. Moreover, the Year Eater itself had special abilities.

But this refined and handsome young man before it was also a tough character. In terms of physical quality alone, even after stealing so much of others' life energy, it couldn't gain the upper hand at all.

After all, its foundation was an eighty-something-year-old body. Compared to an eighteen-year-old physique, it ultimately couldn't gain the advantage in terms of flexibility, agility, and explosiveness.

None of this mattered. What frustrated the Year Eater was that its Year Eater skill was absolutely foolproof within a range of three to five meters.

The two were locked in close combat, zero distance apart. It had used its Year Eater abilities several times, but it was like a stone sinking into the sea, with no reaction whatsoever.

It felt like punching cotton, completely unable to exert any force. This made it incredibly uncomfortable, incredibly stifled, and even inexplicably panicked.

Seeing the other party's constipated expression, Jiang Yue roughly guessed that it had definitely used the Year Eater's mysterious skill.

The invulnerable to all evil aura, truly amazing!

Jiang Yue's momentum immediately gained a firm upper hand, and the situation began to tilt further.

One was reckless, the other was terrified.

This fight couldn't continue.

Jiang Yue executed a back suplex, slamming the opponent hard onto the ground. He then pounced, pinning the opponent down tightly.

"Officer Han, handcuffs!"

Officer Han, seeing Jiang Yue subdue his opponent from afar, tossed the handcuffs over.

The Year Eater still wanted to struggle, but it ultimately hadn't completed its evolution. It could only watch helplessly as its wrists were cuffed to a nearby piece of gym equipment.

"I'm not convinced."

"Hold it in!" Jiang Yue had no interest in listening to a loser drone on.

"Give me another 12 hours, and you'll all die!" Although the Year Eater had become prey, its ferocity didn't diminish at all.

It was already past midnight. This monster had been over 12 hours since it devoured the nurse's lifespan starting at 11 AM that day.

Another 12 hours?

That would make it 24 hours?

"Another 12 hours, and you think you can turn the tables?" Jiang Yue resorted to a cheap provocation.

"If I had completed the 24-hour evolution, you cats and dogs wouldn't be able to catch up to me?" The Year Eater, whether due to insufficient intelligence or unwillingness to accept defeat, kept muttering.

"Just 24 hours, and I can complete the first stage of evolution. I can easily enter your human houses. Your human surveillance systems won't be able to track me at all. At that time, everyone, including you, will be my prey! Ahhh, I'm not reconciled!"

The Year Eater shouldn't understand humans so well.

Looking at it this way, this monster had indeed merged with Ke Yunshan's memories.

Had Ke Yunshan become the Year Eater, or had the Year Eater taken over Ke Yunshan?

None of that mattered. What mattered was how to deal with this dangerous creature going forward.

Jiang Yue had no intention of participating in this question.

The government would definitely have its bottom line. No matter how it was handled, it would never be allowed to run rampant again.

"Officer Han, I don't want to be involved in official matters. Your people are here, I'll be leaving. When you write your report, it's best not to mention me."

"Remember, use a tranquilizer gun, don't be soft-hearted. Unless you want to help it complete its 24-hour evolution, never approach it. The farther away, the better."

As Jiang Yue spoke, he quickly walked away from the other end.

To say that the bizarre experiences of this night had immediately settled his mood would be a lie.

So, Jiang Yue didn't return to New Moon Bay. Instead, he went to Villa No. 9.

The cat-shaped relief, the predecessor, also seemed to have not expected Jiang Yue to return so late, and was greatly surprised.

"Predecessor, I have some bad news for you. I think I've completed the novice quest."

"Hey, hey, there must be some misunderstanding between us. You completing the novice quest is good news for me too."

"Didn't you always want to see me in trouble?"

"Thinking is thinking, that's just a habitual prankster mentality. When you live as boringly and tediously as I do someday, you'll understand my thoughts. Actually, I'm happy you completed the mission."

"Don't you think that's contradictory?"

"Not at all." The predecessor was clearly wary of Jiang Yue's hammer and patiently explained, "When the Spirit turned me into this mess, it told me to guide every successor well. Whether I can regain my freedom in the future depends entirely on a certain successor."

"What do you mean?" Jiang Yue became curious instead.

"The Spirit said that if a certain outstanding successor successfully controls the Spirit someday, they will turn the tables and truly become the Spirit's master. At that time, my confinement will naturally be lifted."

"Is that why you're still clinging to life despite living so boringly?" Jiang Yue, having fully grasped the initiative, naturally wouldn't miss an opportunity to mock the other party.

After all, the other party's sharp tongue had deeply hurt him before.

"Heh heh, it's better to live a dog's life than to die a good death. You'll understand this principle when you've lived for thousands of years." The predecessor was surprisingly unfazed by Jiang Yue's mockery.

People who are usually sharp-tongued also have excellent psychological resilience. After all, it's common for sharp tongues to encounter mutual hurt.

Without psychological resilience, one can never become a qualified sharp-tongued person.

"I say, kid, aren't you too patient? Hurry up and see what rewards you get for completing the novice mission?"

This reminded Jiang Yue.

With a shift in thought, the Spirit's main interface immediately popped up in his mind.

Novice Mission Complete.

Claim Reward.

There were two options below.

Claim, Forfeit.

Jiang Yue couldn't help but complain, What the hell is "Forfeit"?

After all the hard work I put in, risking half my life, a mortal body going toe-to-toe with a monster, it's a deep humiliation for the system owner, not to mention how absurd and ridiculous it is. How much danger did I have to face, and you're telling me to forfeit?

Without hesitation, he clicked "Claim."

Reward 1: Obtain the Year Eater skill.

Claim, Forfeit.

Jiang Yue's mind exploded on the spot, he almost swore. What kind of shady operation is this? Can't you be more serious?

I'm a dragon slayer, and right after I slay the dragon, you want me to turn into an evil dragon?

Even if I gained nothing, I wouldn't be so shameless.

He decisively chose to forfeit this heinous reward.

The Spirit didn't bicker with him and immediately presented Reward 2.

A: Physical capabilities enhanced tenfold, duration: one month.

B: Borrowed Sight (can borrow the perspective of any living being within a 30-meter radius, can only borrow one at a time, no multi-angle borrowing. Duration: three months.)

C: Invulnerable to All Evil Halo, duration: three months.

Adults don't make multiple-choice questions, I want them all.

However, the Spirit didn't allow it.

It was mandatory, only a single choice, and he only had thirty seconds to consider. If he exceeded the time, it would be considered an automatic forfeiture.

Jiang Yue empathized with the predecessor in front of the cat-shaped relief once again. The Spirit is indeed a scammer.

Setting so many traps even for a novice gift package shows a petty nature. Can't it just give a straightforward cheat, a golden finger?

Preferably a visible cultivation manual, divine weapons, or sharp tools. At the very least, a long-term, upgradable skill package would be good.

Since he couldn't choose all of them, he had to be rational.

Option A was powerful, but only for a month. What could one month achieve?

What if he got addicted to being strong, and then suddenly fell from grace after a month? Just thinking about that feeling made him uneasy. This option absolutely couldn't be chosen.

Option B, Jiang Yue momentarily thought it was the one. But considering this skill, it didn't seem particularly useful.

If it were San Gou, he would have chosen this without hesitation and wandered around looking at various ladies changing clothes and bathing.

I'm a decent person, so this option will have to wait.

That left only C.

Considering that this world seemed extremely abnormal, this option was very steady, guaranteeing at least three months of safety.

The Year Eater, an evil spirit that wasn't fundamentally that fatal, had already caused him so much trouble. And this was just an NPC in the novice village.

As this world reveals its mysterious side, who knows what horrors he'll face next?

He chose C.

C guarantees safety, and that reason was more than enough.

He made his decision happily.

Reward 3: Spirit Points +100.

Friendly reminder: You can discard Reward 1 and process it as scrap to redeem points.

The interface then popped up: Discard Reward 1, redeem 50 points.

Two options: Redeem, Discard.

Although he didn't know what the points were for, Jiang Yue always believed that more was better in number games, so he naturally chose to redeem.

Redemption successful, Spirit points +50.

Total Spirit points: 150.

You can view your point information and usage details in your personal center.

Jiang Yue switched to the personal center page and took a look. Besides the point count, the other boxes and sections were basically grayed out and couldn't be activated at all.

"Looks like these points are just for show, completely useless."

Jiang Yue didn't care and exited the Spirit interface.