Gourmet Hunter - Chapter 144 (Patreon)

Chapter 144: Mutation

As flames and smoke erupted, the entire house collapsed into rubble, with thick smoke spiraling into the sky like a dragon.

Sanbica Norton, who was guarding outside, was caught off guard by the blast wave caused by the explosion. She was thrown into the air but landed without harm.

"Luo!"

Sanbica quickly got up and ran to the smoldering ruins.

Being caught in such a fierce explosion, even a Nen user would struggle to emerge unscathed.

As Sanbica worried, a sound came from the center of the debris. A slab was lifted, and Luo emerged from the ruins, his body covered in dust, but without any injuries.

"I'm fine."

Brushing off the dust, Luo looked at the ruins of the house, frowning slightly.

To detonate oneself so easily and recklessly, without a moment's hesitation, was truly terrifying. It was as if one's own life meant nothing.

If it weren't for God's Hand, being at the epicenter of the explosion would have been undefendable with mere aura.

Seeing Luo unharmed, Sanbica pursed her lips, falling silent.

"Hm?" Luo suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

Not far in front of him, a wisp of black smoke quietly floated from the rubble, forming a vague, almost transparent human figure.

"Resentment?"

Luo looked at the smoke-like presence with a cold gaze.

If the resentment after death still retained the consciousness of the living, then the elder who wanted to drag Luo to hell would surely find it hard to accept this outcome.

The attempt to take Luo down with them, only to fail and render their own life utterly worthless.

The floating, faintly translucent smoky figure suddenly rushed towards Luo.

Luo allowed the smoky figure to enter his body, treating it as Nen fodder, converting it into his own aura.

Not everyone can generate resentment, but it could be cultivated deliberately through methods like punishment.

"Follow me." After absorbing the resentment from the elder, Luo, relying on his memory, found the entrance to the basement. He then used God's Hand to clear the rubble, revealing the floor.

Sanbica came to Luo's side, not knowing what he planned to do next but didn't ask further.

Luo knelt down, punched the floor, making a hollow sound.

"This is the entrance to the basement. I need to retrieve something."

After confirming the location, Luo, with his back to Sanbica, concentrated aura in his palm and sliced through the stone slab, revealing the stairs leading to the basement.

Sanbica glanced at the stairs leading downward and asked, "What do you need to retrieve?"

"A knife. The explosion will surely attract more people. Follow me down, grab the item, and leave."

Luo looked around at the surrounding buildings, clearly seeing people looking out of windows towards them.

The loud explosion, like a flare in the night, had almost drawn the attention of everyone in Meteor Street. The Elder Council would likely take immediate action after investigating.

The elder's last act before death, though it did not harm Luo, had subsequent effects.

Had it been a different kind of Nen unrelated to explosions, this situation would not have arisen.

Luo descended the staircase, with Sanbica closely following behind.

They walked down the stairs to enter the basement.

Luo tried the light switch, and the lights turned on, illuminating the entire basement.

Surprisingly, the collapse of the house into ruins did not affect the lighting equipment in the basement, saving a lot of trouble.

In the spacious basement, the display stand remained intact, and a corner was filled with skeletons. A black giant dog with bared teeth stared at Luo and Sanbica, its beastly eyes filled with a chilling light.

"Clang!"

The black giant dog suddenly charged at Luo, pulling the chain taut. It was still some distance away from them and could not advance any further.

Restrained by the chain, the dog did not bark but stared intently at Luo and Sanbica.

Its overlapping sharp teeth dripped with saliva, exuding a bone-chilling intent, openly displaying its ferocity and the desire to devour them.

"Is that a dog?" Sanbica calmly observed the fiercely spirited black giant dog.

"Seems like it."

Luo ignored the restless giant dog and walked straight towards the display stand that held the true objective of his visit.

Removing the transparent glass cover from the display stand, Luo once again grasped the handle of the true master's knife, lifting it.

Under the bright light, the rust on the blade resembled the pattern of a python, showing an unconventional beauty.

Those rust marks, seemingly contemptible, but Luo knew that from the moment he picked up this knife, everything would change.

From this moment on, this knife would be the sharpest in the world.

"Is this the knife you wanted?" Seeing the rusty knife, Sanbica doubted it would break

 with a single chop.

"Yes."

Luo responded, and the white smoke font in his mind once again revealed all information about the true master.

Holding the knife, perhaps because of the white smoke font, he could feel the constraints and vows left on the knife without having to sense them deliberately, as well as the Nen left by previous users.

"I need to accept it."

Luo thought, attempting to touch the Nen left on the knife.

Not to absorb, but to make contact.

At that moment, a strange consciousness invaded Luo's mind from the knife, and at the same time, a series of vague images flashed through his mind, unclear what they depicted.

The sudden change did not scare Luo; instead, he calmly explored this strange consciousness.

This scene was familiar; when absorbing the Shen Monkey Statue, he had a similar experience, but the images elicited were much more intense and clear.

Not just images, when the information of the Dark Sonata appeared, that consciousness was like a demon's whisper, tempting Luo to accept it.

That seemed to be a strong regret, or perhaps an obsession.

At that time, feeling danger, Luo did not even touch it but absorbed it using the ability of the white smoke font.

Now, the true master also had similar regrets as the Shen Monkey Statue, but weaker. In Luo's view, there was no danger.

To accept the constraints on the knife, he had to accept this regret.

Luo hesitated for a moment, then decided to accept, his consciousness invading into that regret.

The fleeting, vague images suddenly became clear, but the people in the images were like black shadows, their faces unclear.

One person, one knife.

The knife was the true master, the person was the nameless swordsman.

In the images, the shadow holding the knife stood under a waterfall, repeating the action of swinging the knife.

Curious, Luo wanted to see the shadow clearly, and then... the shadow lit up, revealing its true face.

At that moment, Luo's spirit shook.

In the basement, Luo maintained the posture of holding the knife, his eyes closed, standing in front of the display stand. A clear and strong aura slowly emanated from him.

"Luo?" Sanbica felt an inexplicable palpitation.

The black giant dog that had pulled the chain taut suddenly whimpered, tucking its tail and shrinking to a corner, its beastly eyes showing a human-like fear towards Luo.

Then, Luo slowly turned around, facing Sanbica.

Sanbica, looking at Luo with his eyes closed, felt even more frightened, feeling very unfamiliar, and instinctively stepped back.

Luo's closed eyes slowly opened, looking at Sanbica, his eyes calm with a hint of the vicissitudes of long years.

"Are you Luo?" Sanbica's eyes trembled, not even sure why she asked.

Luo did not speak, but held the knife across his chest.

After a moment, he spoke in a deep tone, "Fight?"

Sanbica's body suddenly stiffened, feeling enveloped by cold.

During her Nen training, her master had spoken of some of his youthful adventures.

Among them, what left a deep impression on Sanbica was the master's experience with his team in a royal tomb.

At that time, the master's words seemed exaggerated, so Sanbica thought he was intentionally scaring her.

However, looking at Luo now, Sanbica couldn't help but think of what her master had said.

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