If you were made a mascot, you would become a legend in the police force.

The titanium alloy nunchaku's shaft reflected a cold arc of light against the purple-gold sky.

Li Tuantuan, holding the stick, slowly walked towards the Golden Leopard King.

The way they were acting didn't look like they were going to fight; it looked more like a contractor carrying a crowbar to demolish a dilapidated illegal building.

"roar--!"

The Golden Leopard King has gone mad.

Its energy surged to a terrifying critical point, and fine golden cracks began to appear on its entire obsidian shell, as if there was a star about to explode inside it.

This is its final form, and its last resort—self-destruction!

"Oh no! It's going to take us all down with it!" The doctor's face turned deathly pale as he screamed, "Everyone, run! With an explosion of this energy density, nothing will be left within a 500-meter radius!"

The advance team members' expressions changed drastically, and they all frantically retreated to the rear.

Taishan grabbed two slower team members, tucked them under his arms, and ran.

Tianyin no longer cared about being reserved. She lifted her skirt and dashed out, the guqin clanging loudly on her back.

Lin Wan was about to retreat when she found that Li Tuantuan was still standing in the same spot, not moving an inch.

"Tuantuan! What are you doing! Run!" Her eyes were red with anxiety.

Li Tuantuan didn't even turn her head, but just swept her tail in her direction, the meaning couldn't be clearer—don't cause trouble, just watch.

[Li Tuantuan's inner monologue]: Self-destruct? Good heavens, is this supposed to be a human bomb? No, it's a rock bomb. You think I'd let you explode? If you explode, everything's gone, what about my merit points?

He looked at the increasingly bright golden energy core inside the Golden Leopard King, a calculating glint in his eyes.

In the system store, the pile of "glutinous rice grenades" and "garlic essential oil spray" he had previously bought wholesale were all trash in front of this thing.

But there's one thing he hasn't used yet.

【Life Spring Water (Diluted Version)】—Remaining amount: more than half a bottle.

The Fountain of Life is pure life energy, while these stone-carved leopards are constructs driven by a killing intent and death energy.

Positive!

"Let's take a gamble."

Li Tuantuan let out a low growl and gave the order to Mantou through the mental link.

"Steamed Bun! Give me your most powerful frost breath! Spray it right at its feet! Freeze it for three seconds, that's enough!"

"Woof!"

Mantou reacted with lightning speed. Although it was assigned to protect the rear guard, it rushed out without hesitation at the leader's command.

Its icy blue pupils suddenly shone brightly, its chest expanded violently, and an extremely cold ice pillar with a diameter of more than two meters, carrying a terrifying temperature of minus two hundred degrees Celsius, slammed directly into the Golden Leopard King's limbs.

"Snap!"

The lower half of the Golden Leopard King was instantly frozen in a huge lump of ice, and its self-destruction energy charge was interrupted by half a beat.

It's that half-beat!

Li Tuantuan exerted force with his feet, causing the ground to crack. His entire bear form, like a cannonball, crashed directly into the Golden Leopard King's mouth, which was charred black by his own ultimate attack.

Yes, he went inside!

They crawled into the mouth of this giant beast!

"Tuantuan!!!" Lin Wan's scream exploded behind her.

Everyone thought he had gone mad.

However, Li Tuantuan was perfectly clear-headed at that moment.

Inside the Golden Leopard King's mouth, using the system's night vision function, he clearly saw the golden energy core, like a small sun, deep in its throat.

The core surface was covered with cracks—a consequence of "absorbing its own ultimate attack" earlier.

"It's you."

Li Tuantuan took out the bottle of Life Spring Water, unscrewed the cap, and poured the entire bottle onto the core.

The moment the silvery-white liquid came into contact with the golden core.

A dazzling white light burst forth from the Golden Leopard King's body!

"Hiss! Aaaaaah—"

A heart-wrenching roar echoed throughout the demiplane. The Golden Leopard King's massive body trembled violently, and the golden markings on its surface rapidly dimmed, as if its soul had been ripped away.

Under the erosion of life energy, that core was like sugar meeting boiling water, dissolving, purifying, and dissipating at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The Golden Leopard King's body began to disintegrate.

Starting from the limbs, pieces of obsidian peeled off, turning into fine powder that drifted away in the wind.

Li Tuantuan jumped out of its collapsing mouth, covered in sticky energy residue, looking like a stray bear that had rolled in a mud puddle.

But in his hand, he held steadily a golden crystal the size of a pigeon egg, radiating a warm glow.

That was the energy core of the Golden Leopard King—a product purified by the Spring of Life.

[Ding! Successfully defeated the A+ rank psionic construct "Golden Leopard King"! Reward: +15000 Merit Points!]

[Bonus Reward: Obtain "Purification Core" x1! This item contains the pure power of spatial laws and can be used to repair or close dimensional portals!]

Fifteen thousand!

Looking at the number, Li Tuantuan's dark circles shone with a light more dazzling than the golden crystal.

[Li Tuantuan's inner monologue]: 15,000 points! I'm rich! This trip was worth it! This shabby door is practically my private gold mine!

With the destruction of the Golden Leopard King, the remaining dozens of ordinary stone leopards, like robots whose power had been cut off, all reverted to their stone sculpture forms, crashed to the ground, and shattered into pieces.

An eerie silence returned to the battlefield.

The advance team members looked at each other, all with expressions of relief.

Then, they all turned to look at the fat panda who was brushing the dust off its body.

Taishan was the first to step forward and knelt down on one knee with a thud.

"Captain! From this day forward, if you say go east, I'll never go west! If you tell me to die, I won't hesitate!"

"Me too!"

Count me in!

More than a dozen team members saluted Li Tuantuan in unison.

No one questions the panda's leadership anymore.

In a place where death could be a matter of life and death at any moment, the one who can save everyone's lives is the true leader.

Li Tuantuan waved her bear paw, looking completely calm.

[Li Tuantuan's inner monologue]: Alright, alright, get up, all of you. I'm not here to recruit followers, I'm here to rack up merit points. You're just wasting your time, aren't you?

Just when everyone was celebrating their survival.

The luminous stone tower that had been guiding them suddenly lit up again. And this time, the light was more than ten times stronger than before.

At the same time, the "Purification Core" in Li Tuantuan's hand also began to emit a resonant buzzing sound uncontrollably.

He raised the core and watched as a faint golden thread formed between it and the distant stone tower.

"That's the heart of Guixu." Li Tuantuan gestured to Lin Wan and then pointed to the stone tower.

Lin Wan looked into his eyes and understood what he meant.

"Are you going to close that door?"

Li Tuantuan nodded.

He thought of Bai Lu's warning, the ghoul in the sewers that almost hurt Mantou, and the myriad beasts on the Qinling Mountains that worshipped the giant gate.

I thought of the ordinary people in this city who were still sleeping soundly, unaware of all this.

[Li Tuantuan's inner monologue]: Oh well, what can I do? I'm paid by the government. I'm paid to do what's right. This government job isn't something I can just coast on.

He tucked the golden crystal into his pocket, picked up his nunchucks, and led the way toward the stone tower.

Behind him, a dozen human elites and three divine beasts followed in his footsteps silently and resolutely.

The stone tower ahead drew ever closer, and the terrifying aura emanating from the depths of the world, awakening within them, grew ever stronger.

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