Returning to the Mysterious Era

Chapter 114 - Too Strong

The iron door clanged open. Gazing into the dark basement, the woman hesitated, but after a moment's pause, she followed Cassius inside.

Click! Click!

The lights on both sides of the basement switched on, and the soft yellow glow quickly chased away the darkness.

The woman looked around. The basement appeared to be quite spacious and seemed fairly well-decorated. Cabinets, desks, sofas, and other furniture, along with a few white vases filled with fresh flowers, were placed in the corners. The walls were painted light blue, with two landscape paintings framed in gold—one of a forest and the other of a sunset river scene.

Everything looked normal. His taste in furniture seemed decent. The woman didn't know what Cassius wanted to show her in the basement. Perhaps it was some special information about the Shadow Demons?

"Mr. Li Wei, why did you bring me to the basement?" she asked Cassius curiously.

"To show you something good," Cassius said expressionlessly. Something seemed to occur to him as he added, "Miss Teresa, you should mentally prepare yourself. And try not to get too excited."

Something good? Could it be some kind of treasure? Teresa was puzzled, but she figured Cassius wouldn't harm her. He was a combat expert, and if he really wanted to do something to her, he would've already done so. Why go through the unnecessary trouble of taking her to the basement being all cloak and dagger?

"Over here, come on." Cassius pointed to a pale yellow curtain on one side of the basement. This was part of the renovation company's design layout: a rod attached above for the curtain to hang from where it could divide the vast space of the basement into one side for leisure and the other for training.

As they walked over, Teresa seemed to catch a faint whiff of blood in the air. She sniffed around; she was right, and the closer she got, the stronger it became.

At that moment, a deep curiosity arose in her heart. Was there something behind the curtain?

"Over here." With a swish, Cassius pulled back the curtain and walked in. Teresa took a deep breath and stepped inside.

As soon as she did, she felt a pair of evil eyes fix on her. Her heart skipped a beat, and an indescribable fear surged within her. It felt like walking through the forest alone at night and suddenly seeing a pair of blood-red eyes full of animalistic killing intent floating in the darkness.

An instinctive fear flooded through her, sending a tingling electric sensation from her soles, up her spine, and straight to her brain. Teresa froze in place, her neck turning inch by inch, like gears without lubrication, as she slowly looked over.

A pair of dilated light-red pupils met her own. She stood in place, everything around her blurring and fading away until all that remained in her vision were those pupils.

Beside her, Cassius frowned slightly at the scene. Teresa seemed to be experiencing some kind of stress response, like how some animals in nature freeze when encountering a predator. Their minds go blank and their muscles stiffen, rendering them unable to move; the automatic fear that comes from their natural predator was too strong.

In the eyes of Shadow Demons, ordinary humans were just food that could move. As a member of the Shadowless Clan, Teresa had naturally undergone some training and could also use firearms. Her willpower and physical fitness were certainly much better than the average person's. And yet, after having the Shadow Demon watch her, and only her, she still showed a stress response, freezing in place like a fish on a chopping board and at the mercy of others. If it were an ordinary person, it would likely be even worse; they might have even wet themselves as soon as they laid eyes upon it.

In that case, even humans armed with guns might not pose a threat to Shadow Demons. Only those like Cassius, who surpassed human limits and reached a pugilist or higher stage, could suppress such fear. This was the natural hierarchy of life.

Cassius looked at the petrified Teresa. He had no choice but to walk several steps forward and give the Shadow Demon a solid slap.

Smack!

A crisp sound instantly echoed throughout the basement.

Teresa seemed to snap back to reality, her whole body jolting as cold sweat soaked her back, drenching her black undergarments. She couldn't stop gasping for breath, her words tripping over themselves.

"Sh-Sh-Shadow Demon! R-Red Eye-level!! Oh my god!" Teresa nearly screamed.

In those few seconds, she felt as if she had traveled to hell and back. When she came back to her senses, her heart almost jumped out of her throat. It was terrifying!

"Miss Teresa, please don't shout. I might not live near anyone, but I can't guarantee that there won't be people passing by. It won't do me any good if there's a misunderstanding here. I don't want the police knocking on my door in a few days to search my house," Cassius said as he yanked the Shadow Demon's hair back.

"Behave!" He kicked it again.

Teresa finally reacted. "Wait! Something doesn't seem right!" She shot a suspicious glance at Cassius before looking at the Shadow Demon on the ground.

This was the body of a tall, strong man. The red eyes couldn't have been faked and that terrifying aura was undoubtedly from a Red Eye-level Shadow Demon. But now, that same Shadow Demon seemed somewhat downcast and pathetic. It looked utterly defeated.

Chained to the gym equipment, with its hands bound, it couldn't move a muscle. A large bump swelled on its head, with black and red bloodstains covering half of its face. There was a glaringly bright red palm print on its left cheek.

"This... ah, this...is a Shadow Demon?!" Teresa slapped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide. She could hardly believe that the tattered, beggar-like man before her was the Red Eye-level Shadow Demon that hunted in the night, danced in a sea of blood, and slaughtered humans as effortlessly as crushing an ant.

It seemed to have heard her as the Shadow Demon lifted its head to shoot Teresa a displeased look. Startled once more, she backed up two steps, fear lingering inside her.

"What are you looking at, damn it? Behave!" Another heavy slap came down, and another bright red handprint bloomed on the Shadow Demon's right cheek. Blood trickled from the corner of its mouth but it didn't dare look at Cassius; he was just too strong. This morning's brutal beating and training was still fresh in its memory.

"This... this is..." Teresa noticed a Steel Claw-level Shadow Demon huddled beside the Red Eye-level one. That one also looked weak and lethargic, with signs that it had been beaten.

"Miss Teresa, didn't you just say that there are five Steel Claw-level Shadow Demons and one Red Eye-level Shadow Demon lurking in Baichuan City?" Cassius turned his head, his tone calm as he recounted the facts. "If I'm not mistaken, then that team of Shadow Demons that came all the way to Baichuan City to hunt...is right here."

Teresa inhaled sharply. Although she had vaguely suspected it earlier, hearing it coming out of Cassius's mouth still left her extremely shocked. She clutched her head in an attempt to steady herself. "Mr. Li Wei, what about...the other four?"

Cassius didn't answer. He just looked at her impassively.

Teresa smacked her forehead when she saw his expression. What a foolish question! If even the leading Red Eye-level Shadow Demon had been captured, the fate of the other Steel Claw-level Shadow Demons were most likely...

Crack!

"Alright, alright, give me a moment to process this," Teresa muttered to herself, stepping back a little to lean against the blue wall. Unknowingly, she had started addressing Cassius with honorifics.

Ten minutes later, the two were seated on a beige sofa. The teacup in Teresa's hand was already empty, but she kept absentmindedly raising it to her lips and then putting it down again. "So, what you're saying is that you were attacked by Shadow Demons on your way home last night, and they severely damaged your new car. You, in a fit of rage...took down the four Shadow Demons attacking you and then caught two for questioning?"

Cassius sipped his tea, nodding slightly. "Yes, that's basically it." There might have been some discrepancies, but it was more or less close to the actual situation.

"Well... you are truly brave..." Teresa looked at Cassius's towering physique and couldn't help but give a wry smile.

"I've just done some martial arts training and have a knack for close combat." Cassius waved it off, sounding almost modest.

Teresa pursed her lips, as if wanting to say something but something seemed to be holding her back. Finally, she made up her mind. "Mr. Li Wei, with your skills, why don't you join forces with our Shadowless Clan? Although our Shadowless Clan was founded by those possessed by Shadow Demons, it's still a significant force. If you join, then wealth, status, power, and..."

Teresa prattled on, mainly introducing the specifics of the Shadowless Clan, seemingly trying to highlight its strength to entice Cassius to join.

On the opposite sofa, Cassius's expression did not change as she talked. Having just become a top executive Jack of Diamonds in the Ace of Spades' assassination department, Teresa's words held little real appeal for him. If all the Shadowless Clan had was the superficial strength she described, it seemed rather weak.

Teresa had previously mentioned how one Red Eye-level Shadow Demon leading five Steel Claw-level Shadow Demons had caused such a big stir in the Shadowless Clan that they had to send half of their elite members from the six eastern counties. Did that mean that the Shadowless Clan's power in all of the six eastern counties of the Hongli Federation was only double that of one Red Eye-level and five Steel Claw-level Shadow Demons? Or did the Shadowless Clan have other forces and experts hidden deep within, its elite members merely acting as the front?

Just because Cassius doubted the Shadowless Clan's strength didn't mean he was going to cut all ties with them. After all, they had all been possessed by Shadow Demons, and the greater the number of people, the greater their understanding of their common experiences which would help clarify some rules—something Cassius very much needed.

While joining the Shadowless Clan was unnecessary, collaborating and exchanging information with them could prove beneficial. It never hurt to have additional options, friends, and backup plans.

The two continued chatting for a while with Teresa maintaining a deferential attitude, constantly using honorifics to address him. However, Cassius was clearly not the type to be easily swayed by a few compliments. He made it clear, at the very end, that he had no desire to join.

Although a bit disappointed, Teresa didn't push further, and only suggested that they exchange intelligence and cooperate in the future, to which Cassius agreed. Finally, Teresa made a request. She wanted to purchase the two Shadow Demons from Cassius on behalf of the Shadowless Clan. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

When Cassius asked what they would be used for, Teresa said they would be dissected so they could study the Shadow Demons' structure and to test their principles.

It cost about two million Hongli Federation dollars for the Steel Claw-level and ten million for the Red Eye-level. As tempting as it was, Cassius rejected the initial request, and only agreed to sell one of them—namely the Steel Claw-level Shadow Demon that couldn't communicate.

As for the other Red Eye-level one that could, he felt it still had a lot of information about the dark world it had yet to disclose. Since Cassius wasn't short on money, he saw no need to sell the Shadow Demon for a little cash. To be honest, he hadn't sold the Steel Claw-level Shadow Demon for money either. He just wanted to do this favor for the Shadowless Clan since it would be easier to work together in the future.

With the ball in Cassius's court, Teresa had no choice but to acquiesce. If he had any inclination to sell, he would've. She couldn't force him.

"Thank you for your understanding, Mr. Li Wei. Have a good night." Teresa shook hands with Cassius in the courtyard. As the evening breeze blew, she was about to say some other pleasantries when faint voices came from outside the wall.

"Hugo, is this the place?"

"Yes, it is."

"Teresa should have gone in to talk by now. Let's go in too. Oh, should we ring the doorbell at the entrance?"

"What's the point of that? Let's just climb over the wall."

"That wouldn't be right though. This is someone else's home."

"What's wrong with it? Five Steel Claw-level Shadow Demons, and a Red Eye-level are still skulking around Baichuan City. That Li Wei guy may know some combat moves, but he'd die if he encountered a Shadow Demon. We're here to protect him!"

"Alright."

Immediately, there was the sound of people climbing over the wall. The four elite members were agile and leaped onto the wall with ease.

"We're up. Now let's get down." Hugo was the last to come up. The other three seemed rooted in place. They did not respond.

"What's wrong?" He turned his head in confusion and froze on the spot. In the courtyard, shrouded in the shadows beside the car, a man in a black coat with white gloves stood, quietly looking over.

Silent, eerie, mysterious. Especially those intense blood-red eyes!!! They were cold and indifferent, with a strong oppressive aura and killing intent. And... and! There was even an inhuman tint in those pupils, pointing to an inhuman, bloodthirsty brutality.

A Shadow Demon! Red Eye-level!! Oh my god!!!

Hugo was so scared he could hardly breathe, feeling the aura crushing his chest inch by inch. He, like the other three, were so terrified they couldn't move.

In that moment, the scene at the residence was a bit eerie. It resembled a frozen black-and-white painting, with the man in the coat standing quietly in the shadows, while the four men perched stupidly on the wall, each with a dazed expression like a statue.

"Run!" someone broke free and shouted.

Immediately, the air exploded with the sound of feet landing outside the wall. Then three more thumps followed, one of which sounded different. One unlucky fellow had apparently fallen in fright, accompanied by a pained grunt.

"Damn! My shoe came off!"

"Run! It's a Red Eye-level! What's more important, your shoe or your life?"

"What about Teresa?!"

"The organization will remember her brave sacrifice!"

"Oh no, my shoe came off too!"

"Stop dawdling... Ugh! Just grab it and run!"