The moment he found himself staring at row upon row of heads, Li Fan's heart gave a jolt.
He nearly shouted.
What the hell was this interior design!?
A morgue theme or an organ display room?
Fortunately, after everything abnormal he'd experienced over the past two days, his nerves were made of steel. He clapped a hand over his mouth on the spot.
These had to be the Collector's trophies...
Li Fan looked carefully around. The heads had all been prepared differently, though most were dried, shrunken down to the state of cured meat.
The whole room even smelled like a barbecue shop.
At last, he understood where the Collector had gotten his nickname.
He really did have a taste for this sort of thing.
And according to the information he'd gotten earlier, the Collector even used these heads as weapons.
His guess was that the Collector's ability let him wield the former owners' powers.
Li Fan forced himself to stay calm, then slowly approached the heads and examined them closely.
Most were from people from the New Continent or Europe. There were some Asians, but far fewer.
The heads belonged to men and women, young and old. Most wore peaceful expressions, making the display look almost lively.
Some, however, had twisted faces. They'd clearly refused to close their eyes, and their eyelids had been roughly sewn shut.
A faint beeping came from the Mental Radiation Detector in his backpack.
Li Fan took out the detector and immediately picked up weak mental radiation from the heads.
Each one registered around 10.
That was on par with a living person's mental radiation.
He still didn't know how the heads were used, but his guess was that the Collector could directly extract their former owners' abilities or mental power and use them as his own weapons.
No wonder the Collector grew stronger with every fight. Every time he defeated an enemy, his power increased by a notch.
He really was worthy of being the top name on the Awakened criminals list.
But how had someone that powerful died?
Li Fan was certain the Collector had to be dead.
Otherwise, he couldn't have taken over his body.
There had to be an astonishing secret behind it all.
Perhaps Li Fan would soon find out...
He continued examining the heads and noticed that each one had a small tag.
Li Fan picked up the tag on an old man's head. It bore a line of tiny writing:
"Damon Brook, President of Haidi, hunted in the Central New Continent."
Li Fan let out a low whistle.
Well, would you look at that. He was the president of some country in Central America, reportedly incredibly powerful and corrupt to the core.
He took two steps forward and picked up the tag on a young man's head.
"John Shale, independent Awakened, hunted in the Western Continent."
Li Fan nodded.
John Shale was a powerful Awakened criminal who belonged to no organization. His ability was said to be mind control, and he was vicious, brutal, and extremely lecherous.
The women he'd controlled, toyed with, and then killed numbered in the hundreds.
His mind-control ability was exceptionally subtle. Many victims had already fallen prey to him without even realizing it, making him an especially dangerous figure.
But a year ago, John Shale had suddenly vanished without a trace. He'd never been seen again.
So the Collector had taken his head.
The next head.
"Yamamoto Matsu, Black Dragon Society, hunted in Kyushu."
He was an Awakened member of the Black Dragon Society.
After the anomalies appeared, Awakened individuals with immense mental power and all kinds of abilities emerged. Many old underworld gangs had transformed into Awakened criminal organizations.
Yamamoto Matsu was the Black Dragon Society's third-in-command. He was a real fighter.
"Alexander Basil, Xunshan Hermit Order, hunted in the North New Continent."
Li Fan let out another whistle.
The Xunshan Hermit Order was a powerful, long-established organization in the North New Continent. After the anomalies appeared, it had seized its chance and grown even stronger.
He hadn't expected the Collector to take its members' heads, too.
Li Fan continued reading. One after another, he looked over the shrunken heads. Each had belonged to someone from a powerful Awakened criminal organization or to an exceptionally formidable Awakened criminal.
The government officials from various countries had all been thoroughly corrupt, too.
Not a decent person among them.
Just as the rumors said, the Collector only went after powerful Awakened individuals. He never endangered ordinary people.
Li Fan nodded to himself.
Only someone as powerful as the Collector could do something so out of character for the Cleaning Association.
Or perhaps many of the people he'd hunted had been enemies of the Cleaning Association to begin with.
Soon, Li Fan reached the last row of shelves.
There were a dozen or so shrunken heads with elaborate tattoos on their faces.
Their hairstyles, appearances, and tattoos made it obvious that they were all Spirit Descenders from the Advent Society.
From what Li Fan had learned in training, the Advent Society had originated from the Southeast Asian witch doctors who practiced black magic.
Many of the witch doctors had mental powers that were abnormal even by ordinary standards—or were outright insane—so when the anomalies appeared, a number of them became Awakened.
The Advent Society wielded immense influence throughout Southeast Asia and even seemed to have Thailand under its sway.
They believed that the legendary God of Destruction would descend upon the human world and turn it into Purgatory. Only by joining the Advent Society and becoming a Spirit Descender could one escape Misfortune.
In short, every cult played pretty much the same game.
But since the Advent Society had grown out of black magic, its Spirit Descenders had bizarre powers. They often killed without anyone noticing and were especially hard to deal with.
Even most Awakened criminal organizations didn't want to provoke the Advent Society.
Even the Anomaly Bureau in East Asia had flagged the Advent Society as a top-priority threat.
Yet a month ago, the Collector had appeared at the Advent Society's Bangkok headquarters and carried out a massacre.
Li Fan had no idea how the Collector could secretly infiltrate the Anomaly Bureau while also slaughtering his way through the Advent Society.
But based on the information available, the former Collector's death might well have been connected to that battle with the Advent Society!
As he was thinking this, Li Fan suddenly noticed one of the high-ranking Spirit Descenders' eyes twitch beneath the stitches. The eyeball seemed to move!
A chill ran through Li Fan. He turned and left the room, emerging at the top of the stairs.
Hearing his footsteps, a middle-aged woman appeared at the foot of the stairs. She waited anxiously for Li Fan's orders.
It was Auntie Zhang, the cook.
Of course, that was just a cover. She was clearly a member of the Cleaning Association.
Li Fan kept his own nerves hidden as he looked at her. Suddenly, Auntie Zhang seemed familiar, but before he could think about why, he slowly said:
"Weapons aren't decorations. I need to be ready for combat at all times."
Auntie Zhang hurriedly answered, looking frightened:
"Yes! You're right, Group Leader! This was Mr. Li's idea. I only arranged things this way because he told me to. I'll put your equipment away in the weapon case right away. Please forgive me!"
As she spoke, Auntie Zhang rushed into the room and began clearing the heads off the shelves.
As she passed him, the corner of Li Fan's eye caught a pair of blood-red pearl earrings. They seemed familiar, too, but he couldn't remember who they belonged to.
He shook his head and turned to wander around the villa.
The others in the villa clearly didn't want to disturb the Collector. They were all hiding themselves away.
As long as Li Fan didn't call for anyone, he wouldn't see a soul.
The villa was magnificent, a wonderful place indeed. It even had a home theater.
It was empty.
Li Fan's eyes lit up. He plopped down at once and began choosing a movie.
He desperately needed to learn and practice the skills required for the role.
Before long, Li Fan found the movie he wanted.
The Godfather.
He clicked play and began watching closely.
A man of power—especially one who ruled the underworld—had a presence and manner worth learning from.
To play the Collector successfully, Li Fan had to embody him inside and out.
He watched intently, trying to imitate Corleone's expressions and gestures, to put himself in the man's shoes.
Without realizing it, he even rested a hand under his chin, his eyes flickering. He looked every bit the boss.
This wasn't just watching a movie. It was improving his chances of survival.
After a while, Auntie Zhang carefully brought in a cup of tea and a plate of snacks, setting them respectfully on the coffee table beside Li Fan.
Li Fan didn't look at her. He merely nodded.
When Auntie Zhang went downstairs, the father and mother waiting in the living room immediately asked:
"What is he watching?"
The Collector only watched movies when making major decisions, so they couldn't help but pay attention.
Auntie Zhang frowned.
"The Godfather."
The father and mother froze. They exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in the other's eyes.
The mother suddenly gave a knowing, relieved smile. She lit a cigarette and said softly:
"So it's come to this... The Collector... is going to rebel."
The book is new and needs your support! Please vote with monthly and recommendation tickets, leave a tip—anything helps!
Before you continue