Why Does the Great One Rebel?

Meeting the gaze of the rows of heads surrounding him, Li Fan couldn't help but startle.

He nearly cried out.

What the hell kind of interior design was this!?

Was it morgue-chic or organ-display-room style?

Fortunately, having experienced a series of anomalous events over the past two days, his mental fortitude was solid enough that he managed to cover his mouth on the spot.

These must be the Collector's collection...

Li Fan looked around carefully. The preservation methods for each head varied, but most were dried out, shrunken into the state of cured meat.

The entire room smelled like a Cantonese roast meat shop.

He finally understood where the Collector got his nickname.

So, he just had a taste for this sort of thing.

Moreover, according to the information he had obtained earlier, the Collector even used these heads as his weapons.

He guessed that the Collector's ability likely involved utilizing the powers the heads' owners once possessed.

Striving to keep his composure, Li Fan walked slowly toward the heads to observe them closely.

There were mostly New Continenters and Europeans here, with Asians present but far fewer in number.

These heads—men, women, young, and old—mostly wore peaceful expressions, looking as if they were having a lively gathering.

The others wore ferocious expressions, clearly unwilling to close their eyes, their eyelids crudely sewn shut.

A faint buzzing sound came from the Mental Radiation Detector in his backpack.

Li Fan took the detector out and immediately picked up faint mental radiation from the heads.

Each one registered around 10.

It reached the level of mental radiation found in a living person.

Although he didn't know how these heads were used, Li Fan guessed that the Collector's ability was likely to directly extract the powers or mental energy of the heads' owners to use as his own weapons.

No wonder the Collector grew stronger with every fight; every time he defeated an enemy, his strength would increase by a notch.

He was truly worthy of being the number one figure on the Awakened criminal list.

But if such a powerful existence existed, why was he dead?

Li Fan was certain that the Collector must be dead.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to occupy the man's body.

There must be a shocking secret hidden within this.

Perhaps Li Fan would be touching upon it soon...

He continued to examine the heads, noticing that each one had a small tag attached to it.

Li Fan casually picked up the tag from an old man's head and saw a line of small print written on it:

"Damon Brook, President of Haidi, hunted in Central New Continent."

Li Fan let out a low whistle.

Good grief, this was the president of some Central New Continent country, rumored to be immensely powerful and extremely corrupt.

He took two more steps forward and picked up the tag of a young man's head.

"John Shale, independent Awakened, hunted in the West Continent."

Li Fan nodded.

This John Shale was a powerful Awakened criminal who didn't belong to any organization. His ability was said to be mind control, and he was known for his cruel, tyrannical nature and extreme lechery.

Hundreds of women had been killed after being controlled and toyed with by him.

His mind-control ability was extremely covert; many victims didn't even realize they had been harmed, leading to a truly heinous impact.

Yet, a year ago, this John Shale had suddenly vanished without a trace, never to appear again.

He hadn't expected the Collector to have hunted him down.

Next head.

"Yamamoto Matsu, Black Dragon Society, hunted in Kyushu."

This was an Awakened from the Black Dragon Society.

When anomalies emerged and Awakened with powerful mental energy and various abilities appeared, many former underworld gangs transformed into Awakened criminal organizations.

This Yamamoto Matsu was the number three leader of the Black Dragon Society and a formidable fighter.

"Alexander Basil, Xunshan Hermit Order, hunted in the North New Continent."

Li Fan couldn't help but whistle again.

This was a long-established, powerful organization in the North New Continent that had also seized the opportunity after the anomalies appeared, possessing immense strength.

He hadn't expected him to have been hunted by the Collector as well.

Li Fan continued to look down the line, scanning the shriveled heads one by one. Each had belonged to a powerful criminal organization of Awakened, or to an exceptionally formidable Awakened criminal in their own right.

As for those political figures from various countries, they were equally notorious.

Not a single good egg among them.

It was just as the rumors suggested: the Collector only targeted powerful Awakened and never endangered ordinary people.

Li Fan nodded silently.

Only someone with the Collector's overwhelming strength could pull off something so contrary to the Cleaning Association's usual style.

Or perhaps, many of these hunted individuals were already at odds with the Cleaning Association to begin with.

Soon, Li Fan reached the final row of shelves.

Displayed here were over a dozen shriveled heads, each marked with magnificent tattoos.

From their hairstyles, features, and those very tattoos, it was immediately obvious that these were Spirit Descenders from the Advent Society.

According to the information Li Fan had gathered during his training, the Advent Society itself originated from a Southeast Asian organization of black magic sorcerers.

Many of these sorcerers possessed mental powers far beyond the average person, or were simply insane to begin with, which led to the birth of many Awakened after the Anomalies appeared.

The Advent Society held immense power throughout Southeast Asia, even exerting a subtle control over Thailand.

They believed that a legendary God of Destruction would descend upon the human world and turn it into a purgatory, and that only by joining the Advent Society and becoming a Spirit Descender could one be spared from doom.

In short, all these cults played by the same playbook.

However, because they were rooted in black magic, the powers of these Spirit Descenders were incredibly bizarre; they often killed without a trace and were particularly troublesome to deal with.

Even most criminal organizations of Awakened were unwilling to provoke the Advent Society.

Even the Anomaly Bureau in East Asia had marked the Advent Society as a high-priority red threat.

Yet, a month ago, the Collector had appeared at the Advent Society's Bangkok headquarters and carried out a massacre.

It was hard to fathom how he managed to work undercover for the Anomaly Bureau while simultaneously wreaking havoc on the Advent Society.

However, based on existing analysis, the death of the former Collector was very likely linked to this very slaughter at the hands of the Advent Society!

As he was thinking this, Li Fan suddenly noticed the eyes of one of the great Spirit Descenders, which had been sewn shut with needle and thread, twitch slightly. The eyeballs beneath seemed to be moving!

A chill ran down Li Fan's spine. He turned and left the room, appearing at the top of the stairs.

Hearing his footsteps, a middle-aged auntie appeared quickly at the bottom of the stairs, waiting nervously for Li Fan's orders.

It was Auntie Zhang, the cook.

Of course, that was just a cover; her true identity was clearly a member of the Cleaning Association.

Li Fan, also feeling tense but keeping a calm facade, looked down at her. He suddenly felt that Auntie Zhang looked somewhat familiar, but before he could dwell on it, he said slowly:

"Weapons are not decorations. I need to maintain a combat-ready state at all times."

Auntie Zhang replied in a panic:

"Yes! You are right to reprimand me, Team Leader! This was Mr. Li's idea, and I only arranged it according to his wishes. I will move your equipment into the weapon case immediately. Please forgive me!"

With that, Auntie Zhang hurried into the room and began clearing away the heads displayed on the shelves.

As Auntie Zhang passed by him, the corner of Li Fan's eye caught a glimpse of her blood-red pearl earrings. They felt vaguely familiar again, but he couldn't place who they belonged to for the life of him.

Shaking his head, he turned and began to wander through the villa.

The other people in the villa clearly did not want to disturb the Collector, so they were all hiding away.

As long as Li Fan didn't call for anyone, he wouldn't see a soul.

The villa was opulent and magnificent—truly a fine place, even featuring a home cinema.

It was empty inside.

Li Fan's eyes lit up. He immediately sat down and began to browse for a movie.

He was in desperate need of relevant knowledge and training right now.

Soon, Li Fan found the movie he wanted to watch.

The Godfather.

He clicked the play button and began to watch intently.

The aura, behavior, and mannerisms of a superior—especially one in the underworld—were all things he needed to learn.

To successfully play the role of the Collector, he had to embody both the form and the spirit.

Li Fan watched with total absorption, striving to imitate the expressions and movements of Corleone in his mind, trying to step into the man's state of mind.

Even his hand unconsciously moved to support his chin, his eyes flickering; he was the spitting image of a crime lord.

This wasn't just watching a movie; this was improving his survival rate.

After a while, Auntie Zhang carefully brought in a cup of tea and a plate of snacks, placing them respectfully on the coffee table beside Li Fan.

Li Fan didn't even glance at her, merely nodding slightly.

Once Auntie Zhang went back downstairs, his father and mother, who were 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 be concerned.

Auntie Zhang frowned and said:

"It's The Godfather."

Father and Mother's expressions tightened. They exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes.

Mother revealed a sudden yet relieved smile, lit a cigarette, and said faintly:

"So it has come to this... Lord Collector... is going to rebel."

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