I am a hero of the former civilization.

'I just saw him the night before last, and today he's become a Herrscher, somewhat like the Herrscher of Domination, but definitely not Him.'

Ryan had just observed every micro-expression of the copper rust, and it was truly exquisite. If he didn't have two kinds of authority, he would definitely be completely fooled.

Unfortunately, I am also a 'Herrscher', and a 'Herrscher' with two kinds of authority.

He placed his hand on his abdomen and looked toward the patina. The small door was creaking and swaying in the wind. Ryan stared at him, a few thoughts running through his mind.

First, He failed to discover my true nature, and seemed somewhat clumsy than the previous Herrschers, which may be related to the emergence of the secret.

Second, it is confirmed that His authority does not belong to any of the Thirteen Law Masters, and that He will not leave this snowfield.

Third, they lack the ability to control the Herrschers; otherwise, Mei would have been exposed and would never have been able to see the other party.

Fourth, even with Mei's cover, his identity was quickly exposed.

In conclusion, I should take action now, but unfortunately, I failed to catch a big fish.

Ryan put on his hat, casually pushed open the wooden door, and disappeared into the alley behind the bar, then followed closely behind Copper Rust for several hundred meters.

Unaware of what was happening, the other person slipped and weaved through the alley, quickly opening another iron gate and disappearing inside. A gentle snow breeze swept in, spreading throughout the room.

The basement, another mirage system, with hidden walls extending deep underground, looked like an air-raid shelter. He stopped. Had he finally found something?

Ryan glanced at the little boy who came out from the corner of the alley. He was wearing a sky-blue down jacket and had a very healthy complexion. He was clearly the child of some important person.

The latter glanced at him, a frightened expression on her face, and timidly retreated.

Everything seemed natural, but Ryan knew the other party was also a 'Herrscher,' which raised the threat level to a new level.

There is more than one, it's like manipulation, and we must deal with it here.

Ryan didn't know the true nature of this authority, but he knew how terrifying it would be if it infiltrated a city. He had to see for himself, and perhaps Alicia could do the same. There was no other way.

The detector can only detect a slight increase in Honkai energy, which can almost be considered an error. If it really enters New York, it will be almost invincible. Who can identify countless 'Herrschers' among millions of people?

Ryan marveled at his good luck; no matter who the other party was, they had to stay here. Ignoring the fact that he had already been exposed, he followed them directly, and cautiously took out his phone.

"Alice, notify Sakura to prepare for the attack."

"Huh? You really ran into the Herrscher of Ice?" Alicia covered her mouth, sat up from the bathtub, water droplets running down her collarbone.

She blinked, realizing she'd become a jinx.

“It’s not him, it’s something more interesting. Don’t be nervous, I have—” Ryan suddenly put down the phone, turned around and pulled out a pistol.

Boom!

The boy who had silently pounced on him had his head smashed open, sending him flying several meters back before bouncing back.

His hands turned black, as if they were smeared with ink, and he charged forward with his mangled head protruding, a sight that sent chills down one's spine.

Another volley of bullets was fired, but they sparked as they hit steel. Ryan dodged the attack by sidestepping and kicked the drooping iron door with a whip kick.

slam-la-

The half-inch-thick iron plate was pierced and torn to shreds like thin paper, and the figure darted over.

It's not physical enhancement, it's a shadow?

Even though it was daytime, Ryan saw that the boy had no shadow at all. Instead, his body appeared as a shadow of darkness. Because of his excellent eyesight, he could even see that the boy's legs did not touch the ground at all. Instead, the shadow of his boots bounced him up.

He aimed straight for her face, thrusting both palms in at once, but Ryan was faster; his dark hands barely grazed her hair.

Ryan quickly crouched down and then sprang up like lightning.

Inch-force. Rising Dragon.

Boom! !

The fist struck his abdomen, and the surging Honkai energy shattered his defenses, injecting itself into his flesh before the shadows could turn into blades. Then, his body, just over a meter long, swelled up above Ryan's head and burst into a shower of minced meat with a 'whoosh'.

The alleyway looked as if it had been smeared with tomato sauce, turning the snow crimson. Ryan glanced around and saw human remains scattered everywhere, even in broad daylight—

There was no projection.

It really is a shadow. Is this some kind of possession?

Ryan felt it was somewhat similar because those people acted so naturally, without any hint of acting. But this touched on another core issue:

Lawyers should not have emotions.

Or perhaps it's like the Herald of Domination, controlling the original vessel. Because the vessel shattered, the shadow also dissolved. Then another question arises:

Why stay here with such a lowly skill, and what does it have to do with certain people in the Fire Moth?

"Hey Hey hey?"

Alicia's voice came through, and Ryan snapped out of his reverie and picked up the phone.

"I've finished taking care of things here."

"Are you alright? Do you want me to help you right now?" Alicia had already climbed out of the bathtub, naked, and was quickly drying her hair.

"No need, it's still under my control, and besides, these problems..."

Ryan closed his eyes, a joy welling up from the depths of his heart—the joy of unraveling the mystery and constantly exploring the truth.

This is truly exciting.

Chapter 168 You all deserve to die!

Pioneering lies in constantly exploring the unknown and changing one's inherent destiny, regardless of whether such change is beneficial or detrimental.

Therefore, Ryan did not hesitate to create the butterfly effect, allowing the world to give back more unknowns. If he were not cautious by nature, he would have been rushing headlong down the road to self-destruction long ago.

The eeriness of Snow Prison Town did not deter him; on the contrary, he became increasingly delighted, even forgetting his original goal. After touching upon the core truth, he became so excited that his brain trembled.

The authority associated with shadows, the Herrscher who has never appeared, and the vague feeling of 'artificial'—everything is impossible. And exploring this impossibility is precisely what he desires deep in his heart.

Of course, as someone who follows his heart, he also instructed Alicia to prepare for an attack, and to immediately activate Run if things went wrong, and then call on her friends to gang up on her.

'Interesting. So the essence of authority is indeed a concept, even possessing abilities related to shadows. Should this be called a Herrscher of Shadow? No, this doesn't seem like an ordinary Herrscher.'

Ryan hurried forward with his head down. According to the information he knew, Herrschers must be produced by intense Honkai, and they could not have been artificially created in previous civilizations, much less cooperated with humans.

I can't figure it out. Oh well, I'll just have to figure out how to deal with Him.

Ryan pushed open the door, ducked into the small room, and reviewed the two battles, gaining some understanding of the situation.

It's somewhat like erosion and domination, parasitizing humans and gaining access to all their memories. No, this thing is more than just manipulation and performance; it's like becoming one with them.

In this way, He is difficult to find, can carry out many infiltration and sabotage missions, and even launch nuclear missiles, but does not have the various powers like the Herrscher of Domination.

Its core capability is its shadow, which currently demonstrates a combination of offense and defense, but its output is not very large.

Let's assume it's a clone, which makes sense. If it weren't broken down, the massive Honkai source would have been discovered long ago.

Ryan looked around. The room was empty, with hardly any furniture. There were some boxes against the wall, which contained weapons and food.

The firearms were wrapped in tarpaulin, along with several rocket launchers and two boxes of grenades. There was even more food, filling a large box to the brim, and 700,000 euros in cash.

Copper Rust secretly made a lot of money, enough to live comfortably in the reserve, but he was more comfortable here, and then, that was the end of it.

Ryan wouldn't be so disheartened by a speculative information broker; if it were a petty thief, he'd be happily moving his stuff by now.

thump.

He closed the box, knowing perfectly well where the hidden door was, yet he still fumbled for it inch by inch, glancing to the side out of the corner of his eye.

Several mice, carrying food, scurried under the cupboard, chirping as they went.

Is it not just humans? What kind of ability is this?

Ryan didn't know, but it was very illogical. He heard footsteps, cries, and searching sounds outside, and calmly checked the walls. Just that alone made him seem very professional.

"Find them! You must find the person who killed my son!"

"I'm going to tear him into pieces!"

The roar grew closer, but Ryan remained unmoved, demonstrating the professionalism of a secret agent. He casually took out his phone, unlocked it, and then used it like a detector.

"found it."

A look of obvious joy appeared on his face. He pressed it inward and indeed touched the iron door. He pulled it outward and saw a dark tunnel. Just then, the door on the other side was kicked open.

That ability of yours is really useful for disrupting people.

Ryan pulled a stun grenade from his chest and threw it right in the middle of the crowd outside the door. It exploded with a 'boom' and a chorus of screams erupted.

I'm doing this for your own good.

Ryan glanced around, then went inside, closed the gate completely, and turned his attention back to what was in front of him.

The emergency lights emitted a faint glow. The passageway was not complicated and had few turns. There were metal walls on both sides, and a weak airflow came from the ventilation vents.

The walls were painted with some patterns, still the kind of imaginary creations based on Honkai Beasts, like church sculptures, with lines as red as blood, and the silence was unsettling.

"That's really impressive. What is this? Some kind of mysterious technological project?"

Ryan was speechless. These people just had a wildly imaginative mind. The monster painting stretched forward and disappeared into the dark passage, while the glowing green emergency lights looked like will-o'-the-wisps.

It has a very postmodern style.

Ryan chose to ignore it. He was joking; he had killed real Judgment-level Honkai Beasts before, so why would he be afraid of a work of art? He simply closed his eyes and carefully sensed it for a moment.

It's a huge area. I had Mei check it out. There were missing persons cases in this town many years ago, and the research started then.

He clenched his fist slightly and strode forward. The power was indeed strange, but this world also required effort. So what if this place was a beehive?

Da da da......

The footsteps carried far, and the situation underground echoed in his mind.

It stretches for over ten kilometers and contains storage rooms and other similar structures. There are ventilation shafts everywhere, and due to the freezing weather, there are many rats and insects. How many of them are His clones?

Ryan squinted and saw many closed iron doors on both sides of the corridor. After opening them, he saw a room with a flush toilet and a bed. The furnishings were extremely simple, and the air was filled with a musty smell.

A prison cell?

He returned to the corridor and saw nothing but these sealed iron doors. If this was truly a prison, how many people had been imprisoned here?

Research institute, secret passages, cells—some things were connecting, and Ryan had a pretty good idea of ​​where this place was headed.

He raised his head, looked at the flashing electronic lights in the darkness, slowly grinned, took out his rifle, cocked it with a 'click,' and stepped into the depths.

"Has he still not found out who is carrying out the mission?"