Too Fake!!!

Monica was a woman who could be described as meticulous.

Despite this, she had been keeping her attention fixed on Moyu the entire time, yet she still failed to notice a phenomenon about him that defied common sense, which was...

He had no shadow.

Long before entering the room, or rather—

After the slaughter ended, Moyu did three things.

1. Settled the unconscious Monica.

2. Retrieved his phone to look up the information he wanted.

3. Sent his shadow out to stand guard.

The motivation for the third task was the consideration that the "threat" might not be limited to just Ian Archer.

Ian, that was the name of the Homicide Addict outside.

Although it was highly probable that there were no other perpetrators in the surrounding mountains and forests, what if there were?

Based solely on the "what if," Moyu believed that even if sending out the shadow to guard was a futile effort, he was willing to do it.

Just a moment ago, the shadow acting as a sentry fed back a piece of information—

Someone had stepped over the shadow.

That was how Moyu knew someone had arrived outside.

And his basis for judging that the visitor was not a police officer lay in the weight and number of the footsteps.

"There is only one person, and they are deliberately treading lightly."

Such information was enough to indicate that the person was not a police officer.

After turning off the wall lamp in the room, Moyu pressed himself against the side of the bookshelf, holding his breath as he waited.

From his current position, he could monitor the movements of both the door and the window.

"For now, I can confirm the number of people is one."

Moyu frowned.

At this hour, anyone entering the Temple in such a "stealthy" manner clearly had impure motives.

While it could be a thief, what exactly was there to steal in this dilapidated Temple?

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

It was too abnormal.

Compared to a thief climbing a mountain in the middle of the night to break into a temple for a pile of small change, Moyu was more inclined to believe that the owner of those footsteps was an accomplice of Ian Archer.

"Let's wait and see for now."

Moyu cast a quick glance toward the single bed.

The worst-case scenario right now was that the visitor was an associate of Ian Archer and possessed strength even greater than his.

In that case, Moyu would likely struggle even to protect himself, let alone look after Monica.

"Regardless of whether the shadow I placed outside has been detected, I must secretly maneuver the 'Shadow Dummy' into a position where it can assist me in combat at a moment's notice."

Moyu issued instructions to the shadow outside within his consciousness while focusing his attention on observing the situation beyond.

So far, he hadn't heard a single sound, which meant the intruder was extremely proficient in stealth.

This was not good news.

Because it implied that the opponent was likely even more troublesome than Ian Archer.

In the silence, time ticked away, second by second.

Moyu waited with bated breath, while Monica, huddled in the corner of the bed and oblivious to the current situation, began to feel uneasy.

She didn't understand what was happening, but she could infer from Moyu's reactions and demeanor that the situation might be dire.

One minute, two minutes...

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

The ability of "Soul Echo" was still in its infancy; before developing the effect of "Vision Sharing," being able to detect the enemy's footsteps as a first line of defense was already his limit.

To prepare for the potential combat ahead, Moyu had maneuvered the "Soul Echo" nearby and no longer had the spare capacity to scout the situation.

This was because he had to compress the presence of the Shadow Dummy to the absolute minimum, making it impossible to use the shadow to investigate further.

It was a pity that his "Nen" ability had only just begun, and he didn't yet know how to use "En," otherwise he could have extended his "Nen" outward to perceive the situation outside.

The room was deathly silent.

Monica's anxiety grew more intense.

She was just an ordinary person, and her endurance was ultimately limited.

In contrast, Moyu remained steady and calm throughout.

"I'm starting to understand why Ian Archer fell into your hands."

A low, slightly deep male voice suddenly sounded from outside the half-open door.

Monica's heart gave a violent jolt upon hearing what the voice said.

Moyu, meanwhile, remained leaning against the side of the bookshelf like a stone, his gaze fixed on the door without the slightest change, already fully prepared for battle.

The male voice continued in a tone of confusion: "My Zetsu may not be perfect, but it is certainly quite exceptional. I am very curious as to how you discovered me."

"..."

Moyu's pupils constricted, and naturally, he did not respond.

At the same time, he gleaned a very important piece of information from the man's words.

The shadow he had left outside to stand guard had not been discovered by the intruder.

Soul Echo currently has two forms.

One is a two-dimensional form, and the other is a three-dimensional form.

The former does not exist within the material realm, so its essence is closer to a change in the properties of Nen.

This also means that even if the shadow in its normal state can blend into the environment, it will inevitably leave traces of Nen in the eyes of a Nen user.

The latter is a solid, materialized entity, so even an ordinary person who does not understand Nen can see a shadow that has completed Mimicry.

If the goal is to set an ambush or lay out a perimeter, the ideal approach is to use In to erase the Nen traces of a normal shadow.

Another method is to "mold" a Mimicry shadow into a thin black veil that matches the environment, using camouflage to blend into the surrounding shadows and thereby evade an enemy's Gyo.

Moyu is currently incapable of either, so the shadow perimeter he laid outside was, in reality, just normal shadows bearing traces of Nen.

However, the unidentified man outside the room had snuck in while using Zetsu.

That meant that by closing his Aura Nodes and retracting all his Nen, he could not see the Nen traces on the normal shadows, and he wouldn't have noticed even if he had stepped on them.

This discovery was good news for Moyu.

But what happened next was somewhat unexpected.

"Rest assured, I have no malicious intent, and I am not the enemy you are anticipating."

The man outside, having received no response from Moyu for a long time, stated his identity with a hint of helplessness: "My name is Light Bullworth, and I am a professional Bounty Hunter. This is my Hunter License."

To gain further trust, the man named Light Bullworth actually tossed his Hunter License with precision right in front of Moyu.

This was enough to show that Light Bullworth had already pinpointed Moyu's location.

"You can verify it, but be careful—don't break it."

After tossing the Hunter License, Light Bullworth offered a reminder.

"..."

Moyu's brows were locked in a tight frown. Naturally, he wouldn't go to pick up the so-called Hunter License, and he remained silent.

Seeing Moyu remain so cautious and restrained, Light Bullworth didn't find it strange, as this was the behavior expected of a mature Nen user.

"I understand that you are also a Nen user of no small ability. To show my sincerity, I will now use Zetsu and walk inside."

After saying this, Light Bullworth put his words into action.

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

"Haa..."

Moyu exhaled and stepped out from the side of the bookshelf.

Light Bullworth looked at Moyu.

Upon seeing that Moyu was merely a youth, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes. He then quietly opened the Aura Nodes around his eyes, and the slightly overflowing Nen allowed him to clearly see the Ten on Moyu's body.

Uh...

Immature, clumsy.

It's practically at a beginner's level.

This was Light Bullworth's first judgment.

Of course, he did not believe it.

"Sigh."

Light Bullworth let out a faint sigh and said helplessly: "I believe I have shown enough sincerity, yet you still insist on hiding your true strength in front of me? You don't actually think that this clumsy Ten is enough to make me believe you're a rookie, do you?"

"This is my true level, and currently, I only know Ten."

Moyu stared unblinkingly at Light Bullworth.

"Don't joke around!!!"

The corner of Light Bullworth's mouth twitched, and he involuntarily raised his voice: "How could someone with this level of Ten—which at best can only be considered entry-level—possibly take down Ian!!!"

"Believe it or not, that's up to you."

Moyu offered no further explanation.

Light Bullworth looked at Moyu's reaction, his heart skipping a beat.

"Are you actually not joking?"

"..."

Moyu couldn't be bothered to open his mouth.

"Really, really not joking?"

"..."

Reading a bit of information from the aura on Moyu's body, Light somewhat believed him and fell silent at once.

"That's too fake!!!"

He said this in a tone that made no attempt to conceal his shock.

Sincere thanks to the readers for their tips: (Reader 1368522646537445376: 5000 coins) (Jieao XZ: 500 coins) (Dancing with the Maple: 1500 coins) (It is Pop: 1500 coins) (Devil May Cry 1: 500 coins) (Chocolate Jack: 600 coins)