Seeing the lazy young man suddenly and severely injured, Leon rushed to support him in surprise. He then unleashed his strongest control skill at the mysterious woman of unknown origin,
With Leon’s shout, a large mass of dazzling Cursed Silver instantly split in two. Half of it rushed toward the [Plague-Infected Blood Band] thrown on the ground, while the other half exploded in the air, transforming into countless sharp spikes that shot toward the mysterious woman like a rainstorm.
Although he didn’t know her background, anyone who could instantly injure Senior Tom was certainly not someone he could handle. The only chance of turning the tables at this moment was to control her with forced bowing, seize the opportunity to retrieve the [Plague-Infected Blood Band], and save Senior Tom from a critical state!
"Ha, an interesting request."
The [Migratory Thrush Prince], on whom Leon had placed high hopes, failed to work. The mysterious woman who had instantly devastated Senior Tom chuckled and then waved her hand. The two masses of Cursed Silver disappeared without a trace, transforming into several polished strange shells in Leon’s hand.
[Name: Anpula Shell Coin (Sacred, Currency)]
[Appearance: A lobed shell that has been roughly polished, with two small round holes made for threading a string. The inner side is carved with Anpulan script using stone tools, meaning ’a bundle of rice’.]
[Ability: True Divine Position, Forced Transaction]
[Cost: Use requires the permission of the Goddess of Fortune and Trade, and ownership of this anomalous object will be lost after the transaction.]
[File: Currency used in the kingdom of Anpula, one of the oldest human currencies, it was completely abolished in the mid Anpula Kingdom. After being sanctified by the Goddess of Fortune and Trade herself, it became a special anomalous object with extremely high stature, often used by her to reward devout followers.]
[Evaluation: A special anomalous object capable of making agreements with all targets below True Gods, forcing an equivalent exchange. Although the ability is quite good, it’s a one-time use item and requires sufficient quantity to be effective, so it isn’t too difficult to deal with.
But if the user isn’t a fanatical believer in the Scales Gold Sect, but rather a short-haired woman with a refined appearance, about 36 or 37 years old, you’d better be careful.]
[Contamination Value: 3 (5.2)]
*This description... Wait a minute! Could it be?!!!*
In the instant Leon’s pupils contracted, the "Black and White Earthworm" inside the glass bottle lay prostrate on the ground, bowing furiously yet respectfully.
Hearing the voice, the mysterious woman glanced at the Snake Spirit, which had two small clumps of dry chicken feces stuck to its head, and said with three parts dissatisfaction and seven parts disdain, "With your skills, if you had just stayed in the Dreamrealm and not run around, even if you weren’t that person’s opponent, you wouldn’t have lost so badly.
Yet you insist on being clever, running away at the slightest sign of trouble because you feared suffering at his hands, only to end up being caught directly! If I hadn’t arrived quickly, you’d be keeping that stupid toad company by now!"
"My God... I... am ashamed..."
"If you’re ashamed, then remember this lesson well and stop playing your little tricks!"
Casual as if no one was around, she reprimanded the Snake Spirit for a couple of sentences before looking up at Leon, whose expression was stiff. Her eyes rested for a moment on the [Holy Spirit Pendant] on his chest before she said with a half-smile, "Leon Laine... I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time, you know?"
The mysterious woman with the semblance of the Goddess of Fortune and Trade gazed at the silent Leon, slightly restraining her smile. Her expression turned less friendly as she said, "After you killed that idiot toad, I went through great lengths to the Realm of the Dead to redeem part of its soul, intending to use those soul fragments to reforge a Holy Spirit with the same authority.
Yet I discovered that the soul fragments that fell into the Realm of the Dead had lost their affinity with the powers of wealth, no longer believing ’Everything Has a Price’, and had become completely useless... Tell me, how exactly did you manage this?"
*If I recall correctly, it collapsed back then because it encountered the "Badge System", something that couldn’t be measured by value, thus shattering the foundation of its authority.*
*So... what about this Goddess of Fortune in front of me? Could she be just like that toad?*
As he thought of this, Leon unconsciously clenched his fists, the muscles in his cheeks twitching slightly. He then asked expressionlessly, "If you want to know why, why don’t you ’buy’ it yourself? Your Scales Gold Sect can even trade lifespan, buying ’secrets’ shouldn’t be difficult, right?"
"Indeed, forcibly buying secrets from someone else’s heart is not a difficult matter for me."
The short-haired, refined woman—Goddess—nodded at Leon’s words and then, staring into his eyes with an odd expression, said, "But my intuition tells me that you seem to be eagerly waiting for me to do so... So, could I assume that if I forcibly ’purchased’ this secret from you, I might end up just like that stupid toad?"
"It seems that’s indeed the case... At the very least, that’s what you believe."
Observing Leon’s pupils constricting slightly, the Goddess of Fortune said thoughtfully, "Honestly, I’m quite unsure now. Whether you have this odd notion due to ignorance or arrogance, or if you truly have some special trump card."
*I’ve been seen through!!!*
With the opponent’s gaze seemingly penetrating his soul, Leon felt shivers running down his spine. He cursed himself for being too obvious and fought back the bizarre urge to kneel before the opponent, trying to prop up the gravely injured Senior Tom, "I don’t know what you’re talking about, but if you want to know about that toad, then buy it yourself!"
After finishing his statement, Leon subtly lifted his cuff, covertly aiming the polished cufflink at the [Plague-Infected Blood Band] beneath the woman’s feet, ready with the Young Ha inside.
Leon recalled that the director once said Senior Tom and Senior Emma were elite Level One Cleaners, nearly at the level of a Sub-bureau Chief. Even if they couldn’t compete against the physical descent of a True God, they shouldn’t be utterly powerless.
Moreover, if the opponent were truly as powerful as to easily subdue Senior Tom, why bother buying the [Plague-Infected Blood Band] from him to prevent him from healing Senior Tom?
All considered, there’s only one conclusion.
The opponent wasn’t as strong as she seemed. Her ability to easily defeat Senior Tom likely had much to do with taking him by surprise, and she was highly wary of Senior Tom’s abilities. If Leon could save Senior Tom, perhaps there was still a chance for them to turn the tables!
So... are you trying to make another desperate attempt?
Watching Leon maintain a blank expression while meeting her gaze, but still showing hope in his eyes, the Goddess of Fortune shook her head slightly. Then, sensing the fluctuations of the Mirror World, she casually flicked her hand toward Leon’s cufflink.
Even though you guessed correctly that my power was greatly diminished upon forcibly descending, and I truly feared the cunning "Dice Emperor", which is why I took him down by surprise, I didn’t dare to take his life directly due to concerns of triggering some malicious survival ritual.
But after all, I am still a True God. It’s one thing for the infamous misfortune "Dice Emperor", but you, a Third-Class Cleanser who can’t even hide his soul’s fluctuations, have no basis to believe you can pull any tricks in front of me.