I! Cleaner!

It had ended.

Squinting into the distance at the quickly approaching powered armor squad, and again at Leon, who had suddenly collapsed far away and hadn't been able to get up for a long time, middle-aged Joshua took a deep breath, then turned with a somewhat desolate look and left without reluctance.

He had seen what was going to happen countless times.

This guy, who had snatched the Rebels, was bitten by the Snake Spirit of the Scales Gold Sect right after breaking through the encirclement when his mental guard was at its weakest. Not only was his mental shield broken, but his Undying Body was temporarily sealed, leaving him with no life-saving aces.

Facing the approaching powered armor squad, he got up to struggle and resist, managing to bring down two sets of powered armor before being strafed by machine gun fire, which turned him into an unrecognizable pile of minced meat, and then his remains were crushed into the mud by the fallen powered armor, leaving nothing behind.

Goodbye, you almost ruined my plans, or actually... never again!

"These damned black worms!"

Watching the little black snake injecting the pale golden "venom," and Leon's arm lighting up with veins, the Black Goat cursed angrily,

"If it wanted to poison you, we could rescue you in an instant, but this black worm played dirty! That son of a bitch not only didn't attack you, but even blessed you, injecting a small portion of the Holy Spirit's essence directly into your veins!

Damn it! Our powers are clashing, and until this essence settles down, both your heart and ours are suppressed to the bottom; your life-saving pendant got chewed!

Kid, you'd better be careful later!

Our heart's power is suppressed, and we can't capture those criminals dozens of kilometers away, Domination Substitute Death won't work properly, though our Endless Blood Battle can still be used, but its effectiveness is diminished. If you lose an arm or leg, it might take four or five minutes to grow back...

Damn it! This damned black worm! Back when we were still a Great Demon, it wouldn't even dare to fart in our presence, and now it dares to play dirty right in front of us! If we had known, we would've taken it out first..."

So that's what's going on...

Amidst the Black Goat's furious curses, Leon, whose whole body felt the burning pain of his veins, so intense that he couldn't stand, revealed a knowing look in his eyes.

Joshua's coming this time likely wasn't just his own will; there surely was a part orchestrated by the Aquarius Director.

The [Holy Spirit Pendant] and [Heart of Ambition] in his possession were both anomalous objects filed at the Purification Bureau; the Aquarius Director surely reviewed his file and devised a targeted plan.

Presumably, he paid some price to request part of the power of the Scales Gold Sect's Snake Spirit, first breaking the protection of the Holy Spirit Pendant, then blessing him to bypass and shut down the substitute death effect of the Heart of Ambition, thus breaking his Undying Body.

And the news about the repair of the [War Opposition] wasn't reported to the Bureau, as the Black Goat had been directly incapacitated by the Director back then, so its true ability wasn't recorded by the Bureau, and there was no corresponding preparation made...

"Stop cursing and get to work!"

After sitting up from the ground, Leon grabbed the Black Goat's forehead and, gritting his teeth against the pain, panted,

"Where's Joshua? Is he still around?"

"Huh? What do you need him for?"

"Because I cannot determine if this is the actual 'present' or the 'future' he saw! If I am in the 'future' rather than 'now,' seeing me alive might alter his plans, so the future must be ensured to come full circle!"

What now? What future? What plans? What circles?

The Black Goat, feeling a bit dizzy trying to follow Leon's reasoning and too embarrassed to admit he didn't understand, reluctantly mumbled,

"I see, let me check... That dog has left; we didn't see him anyway."

Did he leave before seeing me killed? This doesn't seem like the action one would take when briefly reaching the future, trying to gather as much information as possible. It appears then that the "timeline" he's currently in should be the real "now."

Confirming that the loop had completely closed, Leon couldn't help but let out a breath of relief, then struggled to stand, intending to evacuate quickly.

However, he had only taken a few steps when the burning pain that spread rapidly along his veins enveloped his entire body, causing him to collapse from dizziness.

[The Scales Gold Sect Holy Spirit "Fate-swapping Black Snake" consumed part of its essence and personally bestowed upon you a blessing from the Holy Spirit. You have obtained the silver-level identity badge "Scales Gold Chosen (Wealth-Consuming)"]

[Scales Gold Chosen (Wealth-Consuming): A favored human of the Scales Gold Sect Snake Spirit, a chosen one of the Scales Gold Sect's Wealth-Consuming Lineage]

[Effect when worn: Status equivalent to a candidate for the Scales Gold Sect Bishop, qualified to run for Scales Gold Sect Bishop. When the Bishop position of the Wealth-Consuming Lineage is vacant, you may be directly promoted to it.]

[Advancement route: None]

[Hidden trait (no need to wear): As a human favored by the Snake Spirit, you will receive certain discounts when buying life, health, talent, and other items from the Snake Spirit at the cost of your own money]

Though he knew that the snake probably wouldn't bestow any useful blessing, the extent of its uselessness somewhat exceeded his expectations.

Struggling out of the pain that almost burned through his veins, Leon looked at the new badge's traits and effects and couldn't help but click his tongue in dismay.

Becoming a bishop of a certain lineage requires recognition from the corresponding Holy Spirit, and he's the enemy of the Scales Gold Sect; it would be a miracle if it acknowledged him as a bishop. Even if he took out a bishop and directly filled the position, the snake could easily replace him with a single thought.

As for getting discounts from the Snake Spirit for buying things, that's even more ridiculous.

Not to mention how absurdly priced this damned snake's items might be if it ever decided to sell to an enemy like him, the prices asked by the Scales Gold Sect are something a low-ranking civil servant like him couldn't afford, unless he was willing to blackmail the old butler back at the Ryan Family or cling onto the Princess... Hmm, what's that?

Just as Leon recovered his ability to move and prepared to leave, something shiny caught the corner of his eye.

When he looked toward the source of the glimmer somewhat puzzled, he discovered that the object reflecting the sunlight was actually two shiny silver buttocks, and not far from them was the thermos bottle the Director acquired from next door to store Senior Pioni.

"..."

Ah, this... should I try touching it?

Looking at the metallic glisten of the buttocks on the grass, Leon hesitated slightly at first, then cautiously extended his right index finger to gently poke the side, far from the buttocks and genitalia.

"Zzzz..."

[Name: Möbius Cursed Silver (Curse, Flesh, Metal)]

[Appearance: A special bright silver metal that possesses high toughness and hardness while able to flow freely under the will's control. Once fully integrated with flesh, it enables the body to share the Cursed Silver's special characteristics.]

[Ability: Curse Amplification, Flesh Assimilation, Metal Body]