Chapter 106: Settlement and Return
"The method is real, of course, but it requires your cooperation."
Marcus feigned hesitation, finding it difficult to speak.
"Mr. Davis, just say it! I'd die for anything to eliminate the Soul Collector!"
Brother Kane said resolutely, no longer displaying the dejection and weakness he had shown at their first meeting.
"Death is not an option!" Marcus waved his hand.
"Then what's there to be afraid of? Mr. Davis, just tell me, I promise to cooperate."
Kane was somewhat anxious.
"Alright, that's exactly what I've been waiting for!"
"Kane, this method involves breaking the curse."
"You are Reaper's Chosen by destiny. As long as you get married and consummate the marriage, all evil spirits will surely retreat, and the Soul Collector won't be able to resist; it'll be destroyed."
Upon hearing this, Kane was completely dumbfounded. He had never even been on a proper date in his life, yet he was being asked to get married immediately.
Kane looked down at himself, feeling guilty, and said,
"Mr. Davis, I can't help it. The thing is, this isn't just my problem, I really can't do it."
"It's okay, just cooperate. You said you would cooperate,"
Marcus said, matter-of-factly.
Marcus took Kane to the nearest salon, and after some professional grooming, Kane shed his disheveled state.
Then came a high-intensity dating spree; he met five women in a row, and on the sixth, he actually hit it off.
Master Alex and Marcus both prepared gifts for Kane, and they quickly set a wedding date for next month—a whirlwind marriage.
After all, the woman was a 32-year-old professional who'd been focused on her career, and neither side could afford to wait any longer.
At this moment, Marcus finally received the notification from his system:
[Completed Story Mission Two: Reversing Fate, Reward 3000 Survival Points, Exploration Progress and Story Rating Increased]
[All Story Missions Completed, Early Return Permission Unlocked]
It's really not easy. Even in this supernatural world, completing a mission requires playing matchmaker.
However, it seems that family can truly change a man. Kane won't just casually risk his life to hunt demons later; it's hard to say whether that's good or bad.
But these things are irrelevant to Marcus now; his mission is complete.
In the remaining time, Marcus spent his free time studying various materials about this world, learning some of the church's techniques. These techniques were somewhat too ceremonial and lacked real power.
His focus remained on practicing the compression and control of his spiritual energy. This world, due to Father Goldstein's influence, had doubled the spiritual energy, causing his control to decrease further. Of course, the power had definitely increased rather than decreased.
Marcus was wearing his blessed iron knuckles, and he tried them out. He found that the spiritual energy could actually be transferred to the weapon he held so close to his hand—a significant improvement.
This also provided Marcus with a new attack strategy, awaiting testing.
On the 30th day, Marcus sat in his bedroom, locking the doors and windows.
He was about to perform another procedure.
Reaching in, he pulled out the box containing Jasmine's eyes.
Marcus took out a scalpel and performed an eye transplant on himself.
Jasmine could no longer see the evil spirits, which meant the supernatural ability was in these eyes.
The reason Marcus hadn't transplanted them earlier was because the Soul Collector was looking for a psychic; if he had these eyes, he might become the Soul Collector's chosen ritual target.
If he didn't transplant them now, he suspected he might be charged when he was teleported away.
Marcus opened his eyes; everything before him seemed unchanged.
However, upon closer inspection, the objects seemed to have acquired a cold hue, as if they had lost a layer of warmth.
It was like switching a camera filter from warm to cool; it didn't affect the view at all, but since there were no evil spirits around, it was impossible to test whether any hidden entities could be seen.
As the 30-day countdown ended,
Marcus's figure flashed and disappeared from the spot.
When Brother Kane came to find Marcus, he only found a letter, two bank cards, and a notebook on the table.
"I've already eliminated the Soul Collector, and the rundown building isn't suitable for a bride to live in, so this house deed is yours. Two cards, one is for your wedding gift, and the other is for Master Alex's church restoration fund."
"Oh, and I took the blessed cross with me. Borrowing it for now; there are a lot of evil spirits where I'm going, I'll use it for protection, and I'll return it to you later."
Kane angrily slammed his hand on the table:
"Damn it! You could at least attend my wedding! We fought the Soul Collector together, we've been through hell together, why are you in such a hurry!"
The blessed cross was originally a talisman for exorcising evil spirits, but for so many years, he had only used it to remember his mentor and express his longing, yet his guilt only deepened.
Even if Marcus hadn't taken it, he had planned to seal it away or give it to Master Alex.
Now that the Soul Collector had been completely eliminated, he had experienced life and death, and his burden had been lifted; if Marcus took it, so be it.
It was mainly Marcus who gave him the most. He not only saved his life and helped him find a wife, but also gave him a house. Even his own brother wouldn't do that.
Although it seemed that Marcus was the one who stabbed him with a sword and almost killed him, wasn't that to exorcise evil spirits? One thing at a time.
A prompt appeared in front of Marcus.
[Basic mission in the story world completed. You will automatically return in 5 seconds.]
Carryable items:
World: "The Collector: Evil Souls 2" (50,000,000 survival points)
Mysterious: Soul Dagger (2,000 survival points), Blessed Cross (1,500 survival points), Holy Seal (500 survival points)
Common items: Blessed Papers * 412 (42 survival points), Ceremonial Robe (1 survival point), Wooden Chair (1 survival point)
Looking at the options before him, Marcus noticed that the Spectral Eyes he obtained from Jasmine were indeed not in the carried items, but were counted as his own enhancement, which he could take for free.
Moreover, the mysterious serum and blessed knuckles obtained from other operatives were not present. It seems that even items from other agents, as long as they come from the System, do not require secondary payment.
"Yes, carrying the Soul Dagger, Blessed Cross, Holy Seal, Blessed Papers, and Ceremonial Robe."
[Survival points deducted successfully, teleportation initiated]
The environment before him seemed to be dyed with ink, gradually turning pitch black. Marcus had already appeared in the void settlement space.
Text began to appear before him:
[Story Summary]
[Anchored World This Time: "The Collector: Evil Souls 2"]
[Survival Mission Completed, 500 Survival Points Gained]
[Story Mission 1 Completed: Eliminate the Soul Collector (3000 Survival Points)]
[Story Mission 2 Completed: Reverse Fate (3000 Survival Points)]
[Completed all story missions, story score increased, exploration progress 32%, obtained one entry ticket for this world's story]
[Story Score: S]
[Settlement Completed, settlement space disappears in 10 seconds]
[Choose to return: Reality, Base]
This exploration progress was low, which was within Marcus's estimation range.
Because this world has a spirit realm, Jasmine went there once in the original events when she used blood as a catalyst to find a lost soul. Marcus didn't plan to go there, so he would naturally lose a lot of exploration points.
"Return to Base."
The void before his eyes dissipated, and Marcus was already standing in the Shadow Operations Hall.
The good thing about this place is that he doesn't have to worry about suddenly appearing in the main plaza and being attacked by some powerful operative he's crossed. It always makes him nervous and anxious; his safety is more guaranteed.
With a thought, Marcus entered his personal room. Next, it was time to sort out his gains.
(End of this chapter)
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