Chapter 138: Two Types, Two Outcomes
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Hwang Rui continued, “Well, not rescuing him might work too. At least your powers will not be depleted, master. N’gun did mention that his soul could escape during the explosion. Him getting himself into hell cannot be our fault.”
Tom the black cat said, “Frankly, our work became much simpler after we confirmed his death. What you need to do now is to confirm whether Vigilante A is alive or dead when they’re still busy with restoring the arena.”
“Yes, Master Tom.”
“Mm. Be wary and do not expose your identity. Also, I’m very interested in this Draconic Penitentiary. Maybe all deaths relating to the True Dragon will have their souls locked in that place. If there’s a chance, go around in China and investigate this matter for me.”
Hwang Rui had an unexplained shudder when he heard that. Then, he answered, “Master Tom, are you planning to go into that hell and get Anderson and N’gun out? After all, they’re souls of our Grade A powerhouses. As long as we use the Soul Reincarnation Ceremony, we’ll be able to recover their power. They could even become stronger if they’re reincarnated into those of higher potential.”
“How is that possible?” dismissed Tom the black cat, “I have no plans in dying so soon. The name itself hinted that there’s a possibility that a True Dragon will be standing guard within. I will never plot anything involving the place unless I recover all of my powers.”
///
Fang Ning was walking towards the System Prison in his human form. He planned to pay a visit to N’gun to resolve some of his questions before going to Anderson and ask the prison officer some questions.
Whenever he had to face these inmates, it will always be a huge challenge to him as a shut-in with minimal social contact with other people. No matter what happened, these criminals were once powerful, evil men, and it was difficult for Fang Ning to measure up to them in terms of knowledge and ability. One sentence was enough for him to expose his ignorance.
Fang Ning had no choice but to be as careful as he could be. Even if the criminals were safely locked behind the bars in the System Prison with their lives entirely in Fang Ning’s hands, he never once told them the existence of his real identity.
Even a powerful man like Anderson assumed that he was the spiritual sense of a True Dragon of Vigilante A. He never once related it back to Fang Ning himself. His true identity was still a shut-in and a restaurant owner, and his personality and strength was too different when compared to Vigilante A that no one would ever imagine that both of them were actually the same person.
When it came to the existence of Sir System, Fang Ning would absolutely never speak of it to anyone else. After living such a steady and comfortable life, Fang Ning no longer dared to imagine how he would survive the days without Sir System. Nowadays, society was so dynamic that one could easily lose their lives in a blink of an eye after experiencing some special event. With the divine and mighty Sir System around and taking over his body, Fang Ning would no longer need to worry about his death. After some cultivation during office hours, he could still go back to his hermit ways off-work.
Of course, Fang Ning would never share his thoughts to the System. He would be greatly exploited if he did. Fang Ning was still deep in thought as he stepped into the Draconic Penitentiary, and an idea struck him as he went past the heavy wooden gate.
“See, this wooden door is short and narrow, and it doesn’t even look good for the Draconic Penitentiary name. Why don’t we change it to that big black door you got? Aside from looking great and looming, we could also gain another guard for our prison.”
The System replied, “Looking great would provide nothing else aside from improving how the System Prison looks. The small wooden door is already sufficient for your usage, and there are no visitors around for you to be ashamed of as the warden of the Draconic Penitentiary. Why do you want to change it?”
Fang Ning was speechless. “Okay, okay. We’ll keep the door. Why does it feel like you’re somehow insulting that I’m short?”
The System chided, “Go and cultivate properly, and you’ll grow into the height you desire. That black door has a secret, and it has its own use. I’m preparing to combine it with the Legendary Space Equipment that is still under works. If that works, we’ll get amazing benefits out of that. The last place it should be is here.”
Fang Ning sighed, “So it’s true! I knew you were lying when you told me that its secret was that it was a gastronomist that could help with your cooking. I knew something was wrong immediately when I heard that…”
As he grumbled, Fang Ning arrived outside of N’gun’s cell – Cell No. 19.
Fang Ning declared, “N’gun! Your warden has questions for you. Answer me honestly.”
Despite being weakened, N’gun was still arrogant and prideful as he spat, “Hmph! What bullsh*t warden are you talking about? Do you think I will fear you? What could these spiritual sense tortures do to me? Don’t even think that you can lock me up for long, Master Tom would get me out of here soon enough!”
Fang Ning was frustrated when he heard the tone the criminal was using. Anderson was always a good prison officer and a bully that he could get all the other criminals to fall in line. Had Anderson finally met his match? As a newcomer, Anderson must’ve taught him a good lesson before he went to his cell. Why was he still as cocky as he was before he arrived in the Draconic Penitentiary?
Suddenly, Anderson spoke to him via telepathy.
“Apologies, honorable warden. N’gun will be a difficult inmate to handle. When I was going through things with him before this, I found out that he has quite a special spiritual sense. His defense talent was so great that it showed on his physical body and his spiritual sense, and even though his spiritual sense was not very powerful, it is very difficult to penetrate its defense and cause it harm. My soul torture instruments were not very effective when used against him, and he has not provided any useful information either.”
Fang Ning nodded in understanding. “No wonder he dared to self-detonate in an attempt to kill the Venerable Dragon God in an explosion.”
Anderson supplied, “Yes, his soul was tough enough to withstand an explosion, but I believe that his courage in actually using that tactic while repeatedly mentioning being rescued by Master Tom was the real reason why he used Self-Detonation in the first place. Tom the black cat probably promised to reincarnate his soul.”
Fang Ning was curious. “Is soul reincarnation something very powerful?”
Anderson explained, “Normally, a soul reincarnation comes with numerous risks and would harm a soul. No one would do it unless absolutely necessary. Tom the black cat was different. It could perform almost perfect soul incarnation on others in exchange for a large amount of its power. I could guess that Tom the black cat has chosen a perfect person for N’gun before instructing him to use his Self-Detonation. A young and rich American Caucasian man has always been in our database in the Power Balance Association.”
“That man almost looked like the son of God himself. Aside from an amazing background and outstanding cultivation potential, he has Awakened a type of Attack Superpower that was extremely formidable last year. If N’gun were to reincarnate into this man, he could regain all of his powers by simply cultivating for a few years. Then, when he takes over that man’s background and obtains a powerful Attack Superpower for himself, he could become a perfect warrior with a powerful attack and defense. Remember, he still has his defense talent! If his plan were to fall through, I wouldn’t be able to easily defeat him even if I was at my peak.”
Just as Fang Ning wanted to continue interrogating N’gun, the System quipped, “Quick, ask for the name and address of that rich Caucasian man. We’ve basically saved his life here! We could ask for a huge reward.”
Fang Ning deadpanned, “Good sir, how naive can you be? That son of God most definitely had no idea of this plan at all. Besides, N’gun’s reincarnation target might not be him.”
The System huffed, “Well that’s a shame… Okay, you can move on with your questioning.”
Fang Ning then asked, “N’gun, are you planning to let Tom reincarnate you into another body after you self-detonated?”
N’gun maintained his cocky behavior despite being in the cell. “Even if that were true, what could you do?” spat the man, “That f*cker Anderson told you this, right? He was ruthless when he tortured me. I will definitely get even with him soon! Don’t think your prison here is invincible! I’ve told the name of this prison to Master Tom. It’ll definitely find a way here!”
Fang Ning gave up talking to the hardheaded soul. Instead, he turned to speak telepathically to Anderson. “Who exactly is this Black Cat Tom?”
Anderson answered, “Tom the black cat is a cat, sir. It’s not human.”
Fang Ning nodded in realization. He thought Black Cat was a codename, just like how Shin-chan was nicknamed Elephant by some people.
Fang Ning asked again, “Is it a powerful being? What position does it have in your Power Balance Association?”
Anderson said, “It is the beloved pet of our president, but all of us higher-ups knew that it was the real decision maker in the Power Balance Association. It wasn’t a powerful being, per se, but its abilities are odd.”
“How odd?”
“Tom the black cat called itself as Death Incarnate. Extremely skilled in the matters of the soul, it would establish a Soul Connection with important people. Aside from communication, it could go across time and space to reach the other person via the Soul Connection if it were willing to sacrifice some of its powers. N’gun came in with a Soul Connection, and he probably had passed some messages out with it. I found out when I was teaching him a lesson, and had promptly broken the Soul Connection between them.”
Fang Ning couldn’t help but feel that this odd ability of the cat was as creepy as the ghouls that appeared out of nowhere in those horror novels. When he recalled the descriptions written in those stories, a shudder shot down his spine as he trembled instinctively, as if the black cat would suddenly appear beside him in the next moment.
“That’s scary…” Fang Ning mumbled.
The System, on the other hand, sighed. “What a waste…”
Fang Ning heaved a put-upon sigh. “You hoped that it would be transported here, no?”
“How smart! I’m the most powerful being in the System Space, and if it were to show up voluntarily, it would’ve trapped itself here,” said the System.
Fang Ning agreed, “Your plans were solid. If it ran itself into this trap, it would only have two endings: either be your coolie or be killed and turned into ingredients for equipment. The latter would also give us a large amount of Experience Points! Oh, since we’re talking about EXP, you’re now running low on EXP, right? We didn’t completely kill two of the Big Boss we farmed.”
The System sighed, “What else could I do? You said to lock them all up in the cells. Why don’t we kill that N’gun completely? We’ll then obtain a large amount of EXP. It was much more powerful individually when compared to that Insect Demon we had last time, so it’s probably worth tens of millions of EXP points. Besides, we could also use its soul to produce a set of armor. Judging from N’gun’s extraordinary talent in defense that even Anderson couldn’t confidently terminate his soul completely, we could probably craft Legendary Equipment out of it.”
Fang Ning recalled N’gun’s cocky behavior. The man probably assumed that he still had a chance of escaping, which fueled his arrogant behavior. He must’ve been waiting for Tom the black cat to save him after he passed the message to it.
Fang Ning agreed to the System’s plan. “I’m fine with that. We still have quite a number of criminals in the System Prison that we won’t miss his presence around here. Kill him off, then, and make armor out of his soul. Next time someone does self-detonation, we won’t need to pull a hurried escape anymore…”
Fang Ning had a soft heart, yes, but that was only shown towards his people, his allies, and the good folks. When it came to those that refused to repent, or the sinners who were even proud of their crimes, Fang Ning felt that there was nothing for him to sympathize on. It’s best if these people could perish without a trace. At least he wouldn’t feel threatened the next time he walked alone in the dark.
It was this mentality that allowed him to stand by and watch Sir System slaughtering those sinners with unspeakable crimes on their shoulders. Extraordinaires and ordinary human alike, he would never speak for them.
This N’gun had no regards for the lives of others before he was dead, and now he remained his arrogant demeanor despite becoming a prisoner. As a soul, he waited for someone to break him out of prison, but he never knew the truth of where he was. If he didn’t detonate himself, Sir System wouldn’t necessarily have the ability to handle him outside, but in the System Space, the System was basically God.
A moment later, N’gun’s terrified shrieks were heard from within Cell No. 19. “This is impossible! No human could kill my soul! I am the royalty of the Turtle Demon Clan, my defense talent is etched in my soul!”
Fang Ning shook his head. Everyone who said ‘impossible’ in the System’s face had all died… And since the System was technically not a human, the Turtle Demon would probably rest in peace.
[The System has terminated N’gun the Turtle Demon. With the master-level crafting ability, the System is prepared to use the Turtle Demon’s soul to craft Legendary Armor Equipment.]
[The System obtained 11 million EXP.]
Fang Ning commented, “Legendary Equipment indeed. Also, when will the last Legendary Space Equipment be ready?”
The System answered, “Well, if we were to use the 11 million EXP to speed up the crafting, it’ll be ready by tomorrow.”
Fang Ning pursed his lips, unimpressed. “Why do I smell the familiar stench of microtransactions? Are you really formed with the basic structure of a standalone game?”
The System shrugged, “I have no idea what you’re talking about… However, there’s no way I’ll use the EXP to speed up the crafting. Those will go to upgrade the Dragonization Ability. It’s been so long since we upgraded it.”
Fang Ning shrugged. “These are all up to you. I’m an idiot when it comes to anything combat related. I’ll stay quiet on this.”
After Fang Ning dealt with N’gun, he turned to leave the System Prison. At that moment, he heard Anderson’s voice through telepathy again.
“Honourable warden, in my free time, I had compiled a collection of useful abilities for cultivation from the criminals we have here. They are all recorded in the Complete Works of Abilities, and I will pass to you to dedicate this to Your Excellency the Dragon God. I’m still working on the other abilities here.”
Fang Ning was once again speechless. Sir System had just gotten a huge paycheck of 11 million EXP, but upgrading the Dragonization Ability would probably take off a huge chunk out of it. With this Complete Works of Abilities, there’s probably not much left at the end of it.
Fang Ning felt a headache creeping up his neck as he thought of this. With this Complete Works of Abilities, he would probably need to take a few electives too. However, he’s already barely coping with the three lessons he had now.
Well, he still needed to reward the man despite having a headache. Before he even thought of this project, Anderson had went and got it done already. Anderson was indeed a role model for all inmates in the Draconic Penitentiary. They should know their place here and avoid being hard-headed f*cks like N’gun. There’ll always be people like him around here, but they would never get a good treatment.
Fang Ning sighed before he spoke. “Good job, Anderson. Here, these two pills are your rewards.”
Fang Ning then told Sir System to put two Variated Vitality Pills in the prison officer’s office for Anderson. Then, he took the Complete Works of Abilities that Anderson had just compiled away as he left the office.
“Thank you, honorable warden.”
Fang Ning waved it off and left the System Prison Area when Anderson has nothing left to report. Once Fang Ning left, Anderson used his Arcane Soul Realm to group all of the criminal’s spiritual sense together to collectively lecture them.
“See that? The Venerable Dragon God could destroy the soul of a Pond-level powerhouse with just a snap of his fingers. That Pond-level powerhouse even has a defense talent that was etched to his soul! Some of you here would understand how powerful that is.”
“If you want to survive here, the only way to do so was to be obedient and listen to instructions. First, you should listen to the Venerable Dragon God, then the honorable warden. Do I even need to say who you should listen to after that?”
Elder Feng grumbled, “I know the answer the best.”
Ma Dechun supplied, “You should also listen to Mr Anderson.”
The other souls collectively thought. “Understood.”
