Deep in the Living

Chapter 677 Aura (End of Volume)
Having graduated from a special education school, Jock has traveled to many cities and met numerous investigators and imposters disguised among the crowds.

Every life is different from the people in front of you.

Faced with the unknown, Jock's latent instinct to escape was triggered. Even though he was currently in high spirits, he decisively stopped performing and prepared to run away.

Survival is more important than anything else. Survival allows you to perfect your performances and do whatever you want.

Standing in the aisle without making a sound, Jock smiled and waved goodbye rhythmically as he retraced his steps, as if rewinding a video.

When he returned to the door and reached out to open it with his back turned.

However, they found that the door lock was completely fixed and could not be opened.

"Ok?"

Jock turned around to check and found that the keyhole was completely blocked.

For him, this door was obviously impossible to close, so he immediately placed his palm on the door panel and injected balloon material into the door through the gap.

With the door completely destroyed, there was a thick cement wall outside, airtight and impossible to get out.

He immediately went to the kitchen on the other side of the corridor, where he could see the view outside the window with the naked eye.

But as he got closer, he discovered that the so-called "scenery" outside the window was just a sticker, and underneath the sticker was still a cement wall.

this moment.

Jock realized that he, who had always been a random hunter, had actually been targeted by someone else.

The opponent's methods were quite sophisticated, surpassing even his magic tricks.

Since he couldn't escape directly, he had to think of other ways.

When he moved back into the restaurant, he raised his hand to greet everyone.

"Hello! Are you an investigator or a fake person?"

Do we have some deep-seated grudge? I remember that in all my performances so far, I've managed to eliminate any potential threats, so there shouldn't be anyone who holds a grudge against me.

The investigator's words wouldn't be as chilling as yours; you're practically a serial killer from a movie.

Hey~~
The mysterious man, soaked to the bone by the rain, had finished all the noodles in his bowl. His wet black hair covered his eyes, and a loud burp followed.

A burp is the only response.

Stand up.

He took off his still-dripping black coat and hung it on the back of the chair.

He was wearing a gray shirt underneath and a bright red tie.
He picked up a toothpick from the table and cleaned the beef bits from between his teeth.

All done.

The size 45 leather shoes stepped forward, passing right past Jock without attacking or touching him, and without even looking at him.

As the two passed each other,
Jock considered taking direct action, but felt as if he could be chopped down at any moment. He was already covered in sweat, and the sweat seeping from his forehead had already melted some of the white paint on his face.

A mysterious person arrived at the shoe changing area.

The movements remained methodical and orderly.

He took off his wet leather shoes and black and white socks, dried his feet completely with a towel, and then took out a pair of heavy work shoes from the shoe cabinet.

Snapped!
When the sole of the shoe hit the ground, it made a sound similar to the impact of heavy metal.

Not wearing socks,

They simply shoved his big foot into it and tied the shoelaces.

Everything is ready.
The mysterious man still didn't attack, but instead reached out and opened the door...click!

The previously closed door was easily opened, and outside was no longer a concrete wall, but a normal staircase structure.

He even made a gesture of invitation, his deep throat emitting a muffled low sound:

"Run for your life... In ten seconds, I will begin my hunt for you."

These words stunned Jock; he had never expected things to develop this way.

It seemed that in the other person's eyes, he was just a piece of trash used purely for entertainment.

In an instant, his emotions fermented wildly in his brain, and he actually overcame his will to survive in a flash.

He reached out to touch the other person.

As long as he can make contact, he can inject gas and perform a rapid head replacement.

however,
The hand that was about to touch the other person's body suddenly stopped.

A clear cut line appeared on the shoulder, and the entire left arm, along with some flesh, was ripped off and slammed heavily to the ground.

This was the first time he had been seriously injured since becoming a fake.

But before he could even feel the pain, a deep, death-like voice came from above.

9,

8,

7,

……

Jock didn't even have time to pick up his arm from the ground. His overwhelming will to survive drove him to run away, his legs almost leaving afterimages as he went down the stairs.

I rushed out of the residential area and flagged down a passing taxi.

When he reached out to touch the driver, the paint on his body spread over him, instantly covering the driver's skin, and a red smile appeared on his face.

Jock could feel a balloon thread emanating from his body maintaining a deep connection with the driver.

The other party has been transformed into a kind of "assistant".

"Huh!? This is my brand new ability?"
Did that death threat just now make me grow stronger temporarily? I feel like I've risen above a pseudo-human, like I've become a "monster" capable of living in the shadows, and my pituitary gland seems to have sprouted.

Jock could clearly sense the growth in his abilities and the changes in his vegetative state between his brain and pituitary gland.

With his confidence greatly boosted, his growth rate seemed to far exceed that of ordinary pseudo-humans.

but,

He still had to escape! After all, he couldn't see through his opponent at all. As long as he could escape and hide, he would be able to kill his opponent sooner or later once he had grown to a certain level.

The taxi sped through the city.
Jock, in the passenger seat, looked puzzled.

No matter how he regenerates flesh and blood through conventional means, or constructs an arm by blowing up a balloon, or even removes the driver's arm to reattach it, it's all useless.

Once the arm is reattached, it will wither away immediately.

Why can't my left arm regenerate?
Could that person's cutting and slashing have permanently erased the limb? Wait, didn't I lose my left arm a long time ago? Was I disabled from birth?

Jock suddenly fell into a mental block.

Many fragmented images flashed through his mind, including some that did not belong to the human world, and some that he had never been to before.

Just then, the vehicle drove through the streets near the park.

A person suddenly appeared on the pedestrian crossing where the light should have been green... wearing heavy work boots, standing in the middle of the road and blocking the way.

He was holding a jet-black weapon that was steaming hot.

A knife!

The car body was broken in the middle.

The side where the driver was crashed directly into a roadside shop, causing an explosion! He was completely engulfed in flames.

After rolling several times, the half of the car that Jock was in crashed into the park gate. He reacted quickly, using a balloon to pull him away and escaping unharmed.

look up,

The mysterious man was closing in on him.

Joker decisively escaped into the park, and anyone he came into contact with along the way would be "infected" by the clown.

The transformed passersby immediately surged towards the park entrance, attempting to block the mysterious pursuers.

but,

Any attempt to get close will result in instant death.

Jock could clearly feel the power of this killing blow; even though he had reached monster level, he couldn't withstand it.

He fled to the center of the park, where a familiar memorial stands.

For some reason, fragments of memories resurfaced, and Jock could sense that something important existed within the memorial.

He ran inside as fast as he could and went to the deepest part of the memorial hall.

There is a deep pit here, and at the bottom of the pit is a skeleton, surrounded by mist.

"This is... mine!"

Jock quickly used a balloon to bring the remains up. The moment the two came into contact, Jock's original head melted away, and the remains' skull attached to it.

The Fog of War system has been acquired; the Fear trait is highly compatible.
"This is a deep-seated fear, now it's become my creation!?"

A mist swirled around Jock's face.
Both the circulating blood in his body and the balloons he created were replaced by mist, greatly enhancing his abilities.

He could even spread this mist out in the form of a domain, which could be used for both self-escape and prey capture.

Jock also sensed his own rapid growth; his pituitary plant had matured and merged with the mist.

Even so,

Jock still did not choose to fight; his first thought was to escape and completely hide himself using the mist ability.

Just as he was about to leave the memorial hall, it seemed as if some passageway opened behind him.

The heavy work boots were already behind him, less than two meters away.

"Oops!"

A diagonal slash!

The entire memorial hall was cut open with a smooth surface, transforming it into an open structure.

Jock's body was also cut in two. He spat out a mouthful of misty blood and used the mist ability to escape immediately.

Escape from the park.

He had clearly turned into mist all over, and all his abilities revolved around [survival].

However, the stab wound had caused him real damage. Even after it healed, a large scar remained on his abdomen, and he continued to feel pain.

"How could he still hurt me?! What exactly is his sword? Has he ever cut down something of a higher level?"

Jock was terrified and ran around the streets like a headless fly, all the confidence he had gained from the fog system gone.

As he was walking down a street, he suddenly caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye.

There seemed to be a glimmer of light at the end of the dark alleyway beside him, something was drawing him in.

Jock followed that familiar feeling and went inside, only to find a mysterious comic book store located there.

Push open the sliding door and enter the shop.

Even though there were many different types of comic books on display, Jock immediately picked out one of them.

"The Head Balloon"

The atmosphere emanating from this comic is completely integrated with his own personality.

Reach out and touch.

The comic book enters his body directly in a fluid form, merging with the pituitary plant to complete the final transformation.

Within the pituitary space in the form of an amusement park
A plant made entirely of balloons stands upright in the very center, with a blower attached to its base, keeping the entire plant in an active state.

The "fruit" is connected to the upper part of the branch by a balloon string.
One by one, balloons depicting human heads, once harvested by Jock, are attached to it. "Pituitary Plant Overall Ranking - NO.45, §My Proudest Work§"

……

"I'm getting better and better! I'm a real monster, I can be a top-tier existence even in a corner... However, for now, escaping is still the top priority."

My priority is survival; there's absolutely no need to confront this 'unknown' entity head-on."

As Joker emerged from the comic book store, he immediately activated his new ability, separating his head from his body!
His head transformed into a balloon and floated into the air.

His body then transformed into mist and spread outwards.

Anyone who gets caught in the fog will be "inflated" and turned into a human head balloon.

The residents of the nearby streets, and even half the city, began to change.

Balloons filling the sky
Jock was among them.

With such powerful abilities, he couldn't help but laugh.

And so, he drifted among the clouds, trying to get as far away from the city as possible, trying to escape the pursuit of that person, but...

Slurp!
The sound of slurping noodles could be heard coming from deep within the clouds.

Jock thought he had misheard, so he focused and listened again.

Slurp!
It's that sound of slurping noodles again!
"impossible!"

He used his newly acquired comic book ability, inhaling continuously to completely erase the clouds!
What he was seeing was not the sky at all, and he was no longer floating. Instead, he was standing in the passageway with water still on the ground.

A man, soaking wet, sat at a table eating noodles, just finishing the last noodle.

This time, the other party broke the silence and took the initiative to speak:
"So you've finally remembered everything, Jock?"

As that familiar voice came...
As the other person reached out and combed their loose black hair upwards,

Jock's memories gradually became clearer.

“You are… Roddy! I am now…”

"Shh!" Roddy held up his index finger in front of him, signaling him not to talk nonsense, to get into character, and to indicate that this was a filming location.

Looking at his severed arm, Jock finally finished recalling everything, and the smile on his face stretched to its limit.

He finally understood!

In that case, let's do it.

"Domain Expansion: The Mist Theater"

The entire room was filled with mist; the faucet openings, sofa crevices, screw holes, and other areas all became air vents.

Correspondingly,
Covered in mist, Luo Di's pores also became air vents, allowing the mist to pour in unconditionally.

Numerous greasy white arms sprouted from the ceiling, each holding a balloon string that connected to Roddy's joints, physically binding him.

Meanwhile, a cloud of mist was still condensing in front of Jock.

hum!
It is constructed from a small knife that is both real and unreal.

Custom-made by Black Coffin Supermarket, this knife is tailored to Jock's abilities; all it takes is drawing a line on the target to decapitate them.

The fog shifts.

He had already arrived behind Roddy.
The blade was pressed against the other person's neck.

Suddenly... Buzz!

A beam of red light suddenly shone through the window, dispelling the mist wherever it went.

"Red light?"

While busy cutting off heads, Jock glanced out the window through the fog.

A blood moon was hanging in the sky outside.

The crater structure on it is clearly visible to the naked eye, and you can see groups of victims bleeding from all seven orifices standing on it, waving to him.

"What is this……"

Snapped!
Just as Jock was distracted.

His arm, which he was cutting, was grabbed and he couldn't move it any further.

Roddy, who was originally sitting at the dining table, had stood up, and the balloon string could no longer hold him.

He was wearing a homemade mask.

The spine was completely exposed.
Instead of being filled with mist, the air vents all over its body emitted scorching hellish ashes.

The black spine blade was raised high.
Knife up and down.

Jock was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized that his head was still intact and his body had not been split in two, but his center of gravity had been off.

He turned his head and looked.

His other arm was also severed, along with his soul!
The glow of the blood moon shone directly on the cut surface of the wound, making it smooth and fresh.

"Ah...ah!!!"

Jock's mouth opened wide, revealing an expression of extreme pain.

He wanted to cover his wound but had no arms.

He wanted to retaliate but had no arms.

He wanted to escape, but he had no arms.
Looking at his severed arm, Roddy had lost the excitement he felt the first time and simply sealed and stored it away.

Jock couldn't understand, "Why... can you do it so easily? You couldn't even do such a smooth soul severing back in the City of Sin."

That's unfair! Someone is definitely helping you!
This is not a one-on-one assessment!

Roddy tilted his head to the side, and his deep, heavy voice came from behind the mask:

"I severed the arm of God... Who are you to judge me?"

Roddy has grown up again.

During the infiltration operation, he continued to grow, adding the achievement of "assisting in the slaying of extraterrestrial gods" to his life experience.

Jock, however, remained stuck in the survival mindset, making no progress and already missing an arm.

Haha~ Hahaha!
Maniacal laughter echoed inside the room.

Jock suddenly withdrew all the mist field he had released, even clearing away the mist that had enveloped his face.

He plopped down in the spot where Roddy had just been eating his noodles, opened his large, bright red mouth, and began to boast:
"Roddy, this world stinks!"
This acting experience took me back to many places I had almost forgotten, and I must thank you for making me reaffirm something.

No matter which city,
Whether it's a shopping mall, a park, the city center, or the suburbs, there's a stench everywhere—a stench that makes me want to vomit.

Why do people have to live in such a smelly world?
Why are some people born weak, destined to be bullied, humiliated, and trampled upon, with even everything around them suffering the consequences?

Why do those foul-smelling, self-important individuals continue to live, and even receive praise from others?
Why must such a morbid world continue to function?

Roddy didn't respond, but simply walked silently to him. Half of the burning mask was illuminated by the blood moon, as if offering a silent answer.

Jock continued talking to himself:

"Do you want to know why I didn't kill you back then? Because at the time, I had a sudden idea to conduct an experiment."

As a young child, you happened to return home and witnessed your perfect, warm family being completely destroyed.

I want to see if the stench inside you will dissipate when faced with this situation, since your worldview and values ​​are not yet fixed.

Perhaps you will gradually become despairing of this world and become like me, then you will no longer smell bad.

Now it seems I was completely wrong; the experiment failed.

You still have a terrible stench, it's so awful, I can smell it even when I cover my nose.

I also learned what this stench is called: [humanity]... It's even stinkier than adulterated stinky tofu.

I admit, I lost.

However, if I were given another chance, I would still come here, kill your whole family, and spare your life.

Although the experiment failed, you were definitely the best audience member.

Keep living in this stinking world! I bet you've already smelled it, haven't you? Hehehehehe!

The laughter continued.

But Luo Di struck down, silencing the laughter.

A strike capable of harming gods, capable of easily severing arms... but this time it failed to sever the head, the blade remaining stuck in the neck.

Jock's nape was surprisingly tough and resilient.

But this blow also wounded his soul, disrupting Jock's thinking and leaving him stunned. His thoughts instantly returned to his former special school and the classroom filled with bullying.

He looked up at Luo Di, as if he were looking at a classmate.

He suddenly got up and ran to the bathroom.

Squat in the corner, burying your head as close to your body as possible.

He kept muttering to himself:
"As long as I get hit, I won't get hit again today. Anyway, I've eaten a lot and gained a lot of weight, so it doesn't matter if I get hit... I'm going to bring some meat to Xiaohua later, she must be hungry!"

next second.

His vision began to drop, landing on the cold, damp ground.

There was no pain, only sleepiness.

As his eyelids gradually closed, Jock was still worried about something and kept muttering to himself.

……

At the bathroom door,

Roddy looked at the severed head and the dissipating mist.

He felt no pleasure in revenge, nor did his expression change.

It was like kicking a stray dog ​​to death on the roadside, or like completing a very ordinary movie shoot.

He turned and went to the balcony of his home, opened the window, and breathed in the outside air.

indeed,

There was a foul smell in the air.

He had smelled this stench before, on Wu Wen's father, and in Lunar City.

but……

During his night runs, he was in Director Wang's office, in the Fifth Hospital, in the Exploration Bureau, and in Vortex Town, a so-called gathering place for monsters.

But he could smell a fragrant aroma.

Roddy let out a long sigh of relief; he had been holding his breath for so long that it was starting to smell.

He then popped a piece of chewing gum into his mouth to get rid of the odor.

Arms raised,

Shout loudly:

"Time to go home!"

……

P.S.: This volume is finished. I have a parent-teacher meeting tomorrow, and I also need to prepare some materials for my professional title application. Maybe I can get the same title as Boss Han. I plan to rest for two days. See you all in the new chapter!

(End of this chapter)