Too Absurd!!!

Monica was a woman who could be called meticulous.

Even so, having kept her attention on Moyu the entire time, she still failed to notice something utterly unnatural about him...

He had no shadow.

Before entering the room—no, rather—

After the slaughter ended, Moyu did three things.

1. Settled the unconscious Monica.

2. Took the phone and searched for the information he wanted.

3. Sent his shadow out to stand guard.

His reason for doing the third thing was that there might be more than one "threat" besides Ian.

Ian was the name of the Homicide Addict outside.

While there was most likely no other murderer in the nearby mountains and woods, what if there was?

For no other reason than that possibility, Moyu felt that even if sending out his shadow to keep watch proved pointless, he was willing to do it.

Just moments ago, the shadow on guard had sent back a piece of information—

Someone had stepped over it.

That was how Moyu knew someone had arrived outside.

And he judged that the visitor was not a police officer based on the weight and number of the footsteps.

"Only one person came, and they deliberately softened their steps."

That information alone was enough to show that the other party was not police.

After switching off the wall lamp, Moyu pressed himself against the side of the bookshelf and held his breath as he waited.

From his position, he could observe both the door and the window.

"For now, I can confirm there's only one person."

Moyu frowned.

Anyone entering the Temple on tiptoe at this hour clearly had impure intentions.

It could have been a thief, but what was there to steal in this run-down Temple?

That pile of small-denomination coins in the Release Pond in the courtyard?

It was far too abnormal.

Compared to a thief climbing the mountain and sneaking into the Temple at night just to steal a pile of small coins, Moyu was more inclined to believe that the owner of those footsteps was Ian's accomplice.

"Let's wait and see."

Moyu quickly glanced toward the single bed.

At present, the worst-case scenario was that the visitor was Ian's companion and stronger than Ian.

If that was the case, Moyu might not even be able to protect himself, much less look after Monica.

"Whether the shadow outside has been noticed or not, I need to secretly move it somewhere it can assist me in battle at the first opportunity."

Moyu issued an order to the shadow outside in his mind while focusing on the situation beyond the room.

So far, he had not heard a single sound, which meant the other party had done an exceptionally good job concealing himself.

That was not good news.

Because it suggested that the other party was most likely more troublesome than Ian.

Time passed second by second in utter silence.

Moyu waited with bated breath, while Monica, curled up in the corner of the bed and completely unaware of the situation, began to feel uneasy.

She did not understand what was happening, but Moyu's reaction and behavior told her that things might be very bad.

One minute, two minutes...

Five minutes had passed since the lights were turned off, yet there was still no movement outside.

Soul Echo was still only in its infancy. Before he developed the effect of Vision Sharing, detecting an enemy's footsteps at the earliest possible moment was already its limit.

To prepare for the battle that might follow, Moyu had moved Soul Echo nearby, leaving himself with no spare capacity to investigate the situation.

That was because he had to suppress Shadow Dummy's presence to the absolute minimum. Naturally, he could no longer use the shadow to scout.

Unfortunately, his Nen Ability had only just begun. He did not yet know how to use En; otherwise, he could have extended his aura outward and sensed what was happening outside.

The room was deathly silent.

Monica's unease grew stronger.

She was only an ordinary person, and there was ultimately a limit to what she could bear.

In contrast, Moyu remained calm and steady.

"I think I understand why Ian Archer fell into your hands."

A slightly deep male voice suddenly sounded from beyond the half-open door.

Upon hearing what the voice said, Monica's heart trembled violently.

Moyu, however, remained leaning against the side of the bookshelf like a stone. His gaze toward the door did not change in the slightest, and he was fully prepared for battle.

The man continued in a puzzled tone, "My Zetsu may not be perfected, but it's still quite refined. I'm very curious—how did you discover me?"

"..."

Moyu's pupils contracted slightly. Naturally, he had no intention of answering.

At the same time, he obtained an important piece of information from the man's words.

The shadow he had left outside for surveillance had not been discovered.

Soul Echo currently had two forms.

One was two-dimensional, while the other was three-dimensional.

The former did not belong to the realm of matter, so its nature was closer to a transformation of aura.

That also meant that even if a normal shadow could blend into its environment, it would inevitably leave traces of Nen in the eyes of a Nen user.

The latter was a true material manifestation, so even ordinary people who knew nothing about Nen could see a shadow after it had completed Mimicry.

For setting ambushes or laying down a warning net, the ideal method was to use "concealment" to erase the Nen traces left by a normal shadow.

Another method was to shape a Mimicry shadow into a sheet of black gauze that suited the environment, blending it with larger shadows through camouflage and thereby avoiding the enemy's Gyo.

Moyu could not do either of those things yet, so the shadow warning net he had laid outside was actually just normal shadows carrying traces of Nen.

Yet the unidentified man outside the room had sneaked in while using Zetsu.

That meant that after closing his Aura Nodes and withdrawing all his aura, he could not see the traces of Nen on the normal shadows. Even if he stepped over them, he would not notice anything.

This discovery was good news for Moyu.

But what happened next was somewhat unexpected.

"Don't worry. I bear no ill will, and I'm not the enemy you imagined."

The man outside, who had received no response from Moyu for a long time, helplessly revealed his identity. "My name is Light Bullworth. I'm a professional Bounty Hunter, and this is my Hunter License."

To gain further trust, the man named Light actually threw his Hunter License precisely in front of Moyu.

That was enough to show that Light had already confirmed Moyu's location.

"You can check it, but be careful. Don't damage it."

After tossing out the Hunter License, Light added a reminder.

"..."

Moyu's brow furrowed tightly. Naturally, he had no intention of picking up the so-called Hunter License and remained silent.

Seeing that Moyu was still so cautious and restrained, Light did not find it strange, because that was how a mature Nen user ought to behave.

"I understand that you're also a fairly capable Nen user. To show my sincerity, I'll use Zetsu next and then walk inside."

After saying that, Light put it into action.

He closed his Aura Nodes, withdrew all his aura, and walked in, his gaze fixed directly on the side of the bookshelf.

"Phew..."

Moyu exhaled and stepped out from beside the bookshelf.

Light looked at Moyu.

When he saw that Moyu was merely a teenager, surprise flashed through his eyes. Then he quietly opened the Aura Nodes around his eyes, and the faint aura that seeped out allowed him to see the Ren surrounding Moyu.

Uh...

Immature. Crude.

It was simply beginner-level.

That was Light's first impression.

Of course, he did not believe it.

"Sigh."

Light let out a faint sigh and said helplessly, "I think I've shown more than enough sincerity, yet you're still hiding your true ability in front of me? Don't tell me you think this clumsy Ren is enough to make me believe you're a rookie?"

"This is my actual level, and Ren is the only thing I can use right now."

Moyu stared intently at Light.

"Don't joke around!!!"

Light's mouth twitched as he unconsciously raised his voice. "How could someone with Ren that barely counts as beginner-level possibly kill Ian!!!"

"Believe it or not."

Moyu did not offer any further explanation.

Seeing Moyu's reaction, Light's heart gave a slight jolt.

"You really weren't joking?"

"..."

Moyu could not be bothered to speak.

"You really, really weren't joking?"

"..."

Light had gleaned a little information from Moyu's aura and was beginning to believe him. He immediately fell silent.

"That's too absurd!!!"

He spoke in a tone that did not conceal his shock in the slightest.

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