Cthulhu America, I can see the kill line.

The crisp sound of high heels clicking on the floor completely disappeared at the end of the corridor.

Kong Jiu waited a few more moments to make sure the footsteps wouldn't come back before letting out a soft sigh of relief.

That nun whose name I didn't even know, she's really gone.

That woman was incredibly fast. Although there was no spiritual energy fluctuation on her body, the weapons that appeared out of thin air were real things that could actually hurt her.

Kong Jiu knew that if she was really determined to fight him, he could rely on his self-healing ability to wear her down until the end, but the process would not be easy and he would inevitably be entangled in a protracted battle.

"What a strange nun."

He muttered to himself as he turned around, his gaze returning to the gnarled metal tree in the center of the hall, and the hazy, pulsating halo beneath it.

According to the nun, the Bloodline is also destroying the Iron Curtain and plotting something.

"A revenge killing targeting Mina...?"

Looking at the halo of light under the tree, Kong Jiu was a little puzzled.

His relationship with Mina began with these vague "concepts".

What exactly is his relationship with Mina?

An unpleasant first meeting in Lixin Township, escaping from the wreckage of a plane at 10,000 meters altitude, having his spiritual energy depleted by Abel while trying to cover for him...

Comrades who fought together to destroy the Iron Curtain? The Stuart family, escaped humans? The protagonists of a romance novel?

If... Mina were really facing the threat of revenge killing, would I step in and protect her?

The moment the thought popped into his head, Kong Jiu was stunned.

The halo seemed to sense the fluctuations in his mind, and its pulse became even more intense, trying to draw his thoughts into a deeper vortex.

I was jolted awake by a sudden shiver, as if I had been pulled out of the water.

"Damn it!"

He cursed out of shame, shook his head vigorously, and found a thin layer of sweat on his back.

The effect of this thing on the mind is terrifying. It can trap you without you even realizing it, making you think deeper and deeper, almost dragging you into an endless maze of thoughts.

Frustrated, he swung his fist and slammed it into the glass dome.

"boom--"

The entire glass dome shattered with a crash, and countless transparent shards fell with a clatter, creating a crisp echo in the silent hall.

"Damn, Commissioner Hills is so greedy! This thing isn't even bulletproof glass!"

Looking at the shattered glass scattered on the ground, Kong Jiu's lips twitched.

He grumbled as he stepped through the shattered glass and walked into the halo of light.

The intense halo instantly engulfed him.

The light was so dazzling that it temporarily blinded him, leaving him with only a blinding white light.

"What a hassle."

[Spiritual Vision]!

He muttered something, closed his eyes, and with a thought, switched to a vision composed only of spiritual energy.

The white light that filled the sky instantly dissipated, turning into countless specks of spiritual energy that floated slowly all around.

At the center of the mottled spiritual energy, there was a heart-like object beating powerfully. The object was filled with extremely dense spiritual energy, but it was tightly wrapped by a thin membrane with a metallic texture.

That spiritual energy outline... looks like a heart?

Could this be the core concept of the Iron Curtain?

Kong Jiu reached out and touched the heart.

Cold, smooth, metallic texture.

Unfortunately, unlike "Loyalty," it doesn't possess a machine spirit and cannot communicate with itself.

Kong Jiu clenched his five fingers, grasped the heart, and with a burst of strength, ripped the entire heart from the void.

In an instant, countless points of spiritual energy gushed out from the broken heart, like bursting blood, throbbing wildly all around.

wrong!

Kong Jiu's pupils contracted.

This is not a spirit based on a "concept"!

This is a container that suppresses and shields the 'concept'!

The people of the Hills Federation used this to seal off the influence of this concept on those around them!

Sure enough, as the metal heart was removed, the luster on its surface quickly faded.

His heart rotted and decayed at a visible speed, eventually turning into rusty ashes that fell through his fingers.

The true spirit that embodies the "concept" finally revealed itself before him.

"What's this thing called again...?"

Feeling the spiritual energy disturbing his mind, Kong Jiu recalled the information he had read earlier.

"By the way, this concept is called,"

"excellence!"

Kong Jiu recalled the name of this concept mentioned in the materials.

But he prefers the names he comes up with when he's going through the documents.

There are different levels of social class.

This is a concept belonging to the collective consciousness, and it is the most terrifying of all solidified ideas.

The Hills people believe in individual heroism.

Almost everyone takes it for granted that individuals can unleash tremendous power to lead others toward the light.

Almost everyone firmly believed that their suffering stemmed from their humble origins and lack of ability, while those high-ranking white gentlemen were entitled to enjoy luxury cars, beautiful women, fine wine, and ladies.

Almost everyone accepts that people are divided into different classes, and then yearns day after day for the appearance of a "hero" to save them.

As the light gradually faded, Kong Jiu broke free from the mental interference of the concept and used his spiritual power to suppress its scattered aura.

He steadied himself and finally saw the object clearly.

A square piece of jade.

Yes, it is jade.

The top is carved with a strange beast that is neither dragon nor tiger, with simple and vigorous carving; the bottom is a whole piece of jade with a warm and light yellow hue, with a delicate texture and soft luster.

This is an image that every Chinese person is very familiar with.

Kong Jiu's fingers trembled slightly. Almost instinctively, he turned the jade over and looked at the seal characters engraved on the bottom.

"By the mandate of Heaven, may your life be long and prosperous."

The eight words, like eight thunderclaps, exploded in his mind.

Kong Jiu stared at the jade seal, unable to look away for a long time.

"This...this..."

Kong Jiu was so excited that he became somewhat incoherent.

He was so excited that he was incoherent, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. For a moment, he didn't know whether to wonder how this thing could appear in Amerigo, thousands of miles away, or to marvel and affirm that it was indeed the most concrete manifestation of the "three, six, and nine classes".

Yes, this is an imperial seal.

If it's fake, the craftsmanship of missing a corner and then inlaid with gold is so convincing that it's almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

If true, then it would be a perfect embodiment of the concept of "excellence"...

The aura of spiritual energy completely dissipated, and Kong Jiu, holding the jade seal, was somewhat incoherent.

He made up his mind almost the instant he saw the jade in his hand.

We can't destroy this thing!

The concept must be stripped away from it, or its connection to the Iron Curtain must be severed!

He hurriedly examined the jade seal, searching for any runes related to the Iron Curtain.

Sure enough, after a careful search, he noticed two faint, unusual spiritual lines extending into the distance from the eyes of the spirit beast carved on the jade.

Kong Jiu stretched out his fingertips, intending to pinch off the two connections related to the Iron Curtain.

"stop!"

Just then, an old and angry voice, like a thunderclap, came from behind.

With his fingertips hovering in the air, Kong Jiu looked back.

At the entrance of the hall, a large number of fully armed personnel had suddenly poured in.

A black riot shield, a cold gun muzzle, and a ruthless gaze beneath a tactical helmet—

Dozens of people spread out in a fan shape and surrounded him.

At the very front of the crowd, an elderly man in an expensive suit with gray hair was staring intently at the jade seal in his hand, his eyes practically spitting fire.

Kong Jiu then realized that when he was suppressing the mental interference caused by the concept, he had not noticed that this group of people had quietly sneaked in.

"Who are you?"

Kong Jiu looked at the old man who was clearly a leader and said calmly.

This is a mortal; the reconnaissance shows that his three dimensions add up to less than 10, making him a person from a completely different world from the nun from before.

"Arkham, Mayor Hills, Akken!"

The old man, his hair standing on end in anger, glared at the intruder whose face was murky and whose features were completely unrecognizable, and said indignantly.