Has It Finally Begun?

The one who created the Urban Cat-Beating Legend was, of course, Leon himself.

After gaining the new skill Shadow Clone, Leon became hopelessly addicted to grinding skill proficiency.

And the facts proved that it really worked.

Aside from the original body sleeping at home every day due to excessive mental energy consumption, Leon sent four clones out every night to grind skill proficiency. The clones' upkeep, combined with the cost of using their skills, left Leon's mere twenty-something Intelligence points stretched thin. Even though he slept every day, he was still running a deficit.

Fortunately, one of the two "potions" refreshed by the [Wooden Arhat's Solo Wine Barrel] on the second day was perfectly suited to his current needs.

[1982 Binxi Royal Salute]

Effect: For 24 hours after drinking, mental energy recovery speed increased by 100%. Repeated use multiple times within a short period reduced the effect until it became completely ineffective.

Grade: Green

Quality: Ordinary

Note: There was not a drop of urine in this stimulant.

Under normal circumstances, this stuff would not have been very useful, but things were different now.

The warning about repeated drinking was completely pointless. There was only an ounce or two in total—how was he supposed to repeatedly drink it?!

Leon bought a number of tiny test-tube-like bottles specifically for storing the Single-Log Wine Barrel's output. Of the four or five bottles he had collected over the past few days, some were useful and some had yet to show whether they were useful, but he stored them all anyway.

Interestingly, after Leon finished that glass of 1982 Royal Salute, his Void Terror bloodline actually produced an attribute point on the spot. This made Leon, who had eaten seven burgers, drunk four cups of milk tea, and wolfed down two portions of some sour-not-sour, sweet-not-sweet Zuo Zhongtang Chicken in a single day until he was burping nonstop, feel miserable.

It looked like he needed to go back to eating rationally in the future!

He casually put that attribute point into Intelligence, gaining another ten points of mental energy. Beautiful!

Despite sleeping a full twelve hours every day and having the help of recovery potions, Leon still looked utterly listless.

After all, he first created clones, then had them turn into cats, then made those cat-form clones continuously beat people with the Physical Anesthesia Technique... while also wearing Demon Painter's Death Makeup.

The fact that he had lasted this long was already impressive!

If Shadow Clone could activate passive skills, Leon would not have spared even a single passive.

The memories and experiences of the clones really were uploaded in their entirety to the original body's memory when they dispersed. It was an incredibly strange experience.

It felt like... having split personalities!

At the same stroke of midnight, one memory had "him" punching a thug who was clumsy with a butterfly knife in the face. At that exact same moment, he was somewhere else, squatting atop a trash can lid and giving a lecture to several stray cats!

Who the hell did that?!

Well, Leon admitted it. That did sound like something he would do.

Through the integration of those memories, Leon also "remembered" plenty of things that were both hilarious and absurd.

For instance, a young man had just stolen a car and had not even driven off before one of Leon's clones knocked him unconscious.

The moment he woke up, he drove less than twenty meters before another clone floated beside his window using the Sky Dance Technique. The terrified young man slammed on the brakes and knocked himself out again.

That clone was persistent too. He actually waited over twenty minutes until the man woke up before leisurely whispering into his ear, "Lang, it's time to take your medicine..."

Then the young man got punched again. When he woke up this time, he refused to drive that car no matter what. He scrambled out of the neighborhood, terrified by the slightest sound. When he turned around, it was just a cat...

In any case, Leon never saw that guy again over the following days.

He was probably at home hiring an exorcist to perform some kind of ritual!

Although Leon had utterly shattered the worldview of someone who might once have been a steadfast materialist and erected an altar atop its ruins, he did not feel the slightest guilt.

Seriously, preaching materialism in the Marvel world—wasn't that just asking for trouble?

Breaking it now would at least broaden his horizons, so he would not lose his mind when he saw a donut-shaped spaceship someday.

Having a headache for an hour every day and losing consciousness for another hour had become normal for Leon. The latter was due to mental energy depletion, while the former was because his clones disappeared simultaneously after their mental energy ran dry, then uploaded all their memories simultaneously when he woke up.

But when all was said and done, it was Leon's own fault.

All that could be said was that Leon was truly afraid of dying!

His determination to grow stronger was unwavering!

It definitely was not some masochistic tendency! Definitely not!!

Still, he decided to give himself a day off, relax, wander around, and ease the drain on his mental energy.

Anyway, over the past few nights, no one had gone out in the nearby neighborhoods...

Everywhere, people were spreading rumors about a cat that fought in underground boxing matches...

Good people had actually become much bolder about going out at night, but Leon could not exactly attack people like that!

"Let them rest for a few days. It's not right for their faces to always be covered in injuries. Wait until they recover."

Mm, that was it. He would beat them again after they healed.

Nothing wrong with that!

Holding a cup of coffee, Leon spent an entire day outdoors for the first time in ages. Even Aisha was surprised and asked whether one of his friends had introduced him to some girl.

"I'm unemployed. I should figure out how to take care of myself first!"

Leon chatted with Aisha on and off.

"How's that real estate company or whatever?"

When Leon brought it up, Aisha actually had plenty to say. "That friend of yours really is well-informed!"

"Oh? Do tell!"

"Anyway... blah blah blah... now... blah blah blah... things are pretty good. No need to worry about suddenly having some kind of accident, or having someone buy your house for a dirt-cheap price and leave you homeless."

Although Leon was not someone who fought for justice, and his actions had been driven more by personal motives, he was still happy to see that what he had done had genuinely benefited the people around him and tangibly improved their lives.

"You're welcome!"

Leon suddenly said that without any context, then strode away with an arrogant swagger beneath Aisha's puzzled gaze.

Sudden joy always came fiercely and left just as quickly.

Leon soon emerged from that mood and began wandering aimlessly. In truth, he had visited every corner of this neighborhood before, though always at night.

As he roamed places where he had once fought, Leon remembered encountering people from S.H.I.E.L.D. here before. Agent Barbara had left quite an impression on him!

"By now, it should have grown out... Cough, cough! That was all fake! Leon! She was lying to you!"

Looking up, wasn't this the place where he had negotiated with S.H.I.E.L.D.? It had been a safe house!

"What is this..."

...That night, Leon put on his gear and came here.

Hannibal Dining Workshop.

"With a name like that, it's like they're afraid customers might come in!"

No need to guess—it was definitely S.H.I.E.L.D.'s handiwork, meant to conceal their operations.

He strode inside.

Half an hour later, Coulson, who had been notified, hurried in. The moment he saw Leon with half his mask lifted, drinking something from a small cup, he spoke anxiously. "I think we should leave each other a way to contact one another this time."

Leon found that rather strange. What was the rush?

Then Coulson answered Leon's unspoken question.

"We have a valuable new perspective regarding our cooperation."

Were they trying to go back on their word?

Would he smash a cup as a signal, then have hidden axemen rush out?

"I wonder whether Doctor Lister would be willing to accept an employment offer?"

That was certainly a novel way to put it!

But Leon had no desire to get too entangled with S.H.I.E.L.D. That was Captain America's main quest. If he got involved, he would not be able to tell which S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had one head and which had nine.

Leon shook his head slightly and continued drinking.

Coulson did not lose heart and continued, "We only need you to find someone in the desert. For certain reasons, it is truly inconvenient for us to appear there ourselves."

Huh?

What did he say? What desert?

"Who is this person you're looking for?"

Without the slightest hesitation, Coulson said, "A weapons magnate, billionaire, and playboy: Tony Stark."

Woohoo!

The main quest had arrived?!

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