ebookslot Chapter 2 Cold Case
Chapter 2 Cold Case
Five years ago, on her way home from school, Haruka Kobayashi and her friends were attacked by a door monster and nearly lost their lives.
The official statement regarding the incident is that "Lin Qing was unfortunately caught up in the fight while passing by, resulting in her spine being injured by flying debris."
Although Lin Jue was initially very saddened by the accident, he did not hate anyone.
After all, the attacks of the Gate Beasts are no different from natural disasters. Being killed by them is like dying from an earthquake, tornado, or tsunami, which is beyond human control.
If something like this really happens, what can you say besides sighing, "That's just fate"? Saying anything is meaningless.
But when Lin Qing was in a coma for a full month and woke up to tell her brother what had happened, he was shocked to discover that the truth was far more complicated than he had imagined.
"At that time... that shiny uncle had already... defeated the giant monster, so Jiajia dragged us over, saying she wanted the superhero's autograph."
"When I got closer... I heard that uncle discussing the magazine cover with a few people. They wanted him to reenact the moment he defeated the monster so they could take a picture to record it."
"That uncle punched the monster hard on the head, and a lot of hard things flew over here... I turned around to run away, and then I felt a pain in my back, and then I knew nothing more."
......
Hearing his sister's description of what happened, Lin Jue felt a chill run down his spine.
This is not an "accident caused by being caught up in the battle" at all; it is a completely man-made accident!
Diamond had already defeated the Gate Beast, but because he needed to pose for a magazine cover shoot, he deliberately struck the corpse lying on the ground, completely unaware of the situation.
The attack was so powerful that it not only shattered the monster's head, but the flying fragments of hard skull also struck Lin Qing and her two companions who were about to ask for autographs.
Even more outrageous is that after the accident, the superhero immediately took his team and ran away without even calling an ambulance.
If it weren't for kind passersby rushing Lin Qing and the others to the hospital, they might not have survived even with emergency treatment.
The accident was quite tragic. In addition to Lin Qing being paralyzed from the waist down due to a broken spine caused by debris, the other two female students were also seriously injured.
Upon learning of this, Lin Jue immediately contacted the families of the two classmates in anger, intending to file a joint appeal with them, accusing Diamond of causing serious injury through negligence.
However, their families rejected the request and stated that they would not pursue the matter further.
The reason they gave up pursuing the matter is self-evident: besides Diamond being an extraordinary being, the Hero Corporation behind him is also incredibly powerful, wielding almost absolute control in White Harbor City.
"Forget it, Lin Jue. How could ordinary people like us possibly fight against Hero Company? People should always look forward. There's no need to punish ourselves for other people's mistakes."
The other party politely ushered Lin Jue out the door and repeatedly told him that the matter was over and he should not come looking for him again.
Although he was rejected, Lin Jue did not hate the parents of those two classmates.
In their eyes, Lin Jue also saw deep exhaustion and resentment.
But even though the child was seriously injured, these two families still had to go on with their lives.
They cannot, and dare not, risk retaliation to fight this almost certain defeat.
Even if the other party is rich and powerful, the professional legal team behind Diamond has a hundred ways to exonerate them, even if they are taken to court.
Moreover, this world needs extraordinary individuals, it needs these heroes who provide shelter for ordinary people.
Even if they win the case against Diamond, at most they'll just have to pay him some medical expenses.
Could it be that I accidentally hurt a few little kids?
Would they really imprison a dignified Class B superhuman? Obviously not.
Even though Lin Jue knew all this perfectly well, he just couldn't let it go.
In any case, diamonds must pay the price.
This obsession had long been deeply rooted in his heart.
So much so that when I saw that infuriating figure on television again...
A chilling murderous aura uncontrollably emanated from Lin Jue's eyes.
But he quickly realized his lapse in composure, immediately put down his water glass, and apologized to Li Qiang:
"Sorry, Brother Qiang, I'm a little tired, I'll head back now."
Li Qiang gave him a deep look, nodded, but still offered some words of advice:
"Let bygones be bygones. Don't put too much pressure on yourself... If you develop 'delusional disorder,' your life will be over."
"Yes, I know. See you next week."
Before leaving, Lin Jue bowed to the foreman who had been so kind to him.
Only then did he leave the temporary tin shack and ride his "anti-theft MK2" home.
Because her parents passed away early, my younger sister has been living in the hospital for many years.
Whenever Lin Jue returned home, the small Western-style house located on the outskirts of Baigang City was always dark.
This two-story villa is the only inheritance left by my parents, and it looks somewhat dilapidated due to years of neglect.
Although Lin Jue had considered selling the house to pay for medical expenses, no one wanted this kind of house located in a remote suburb, and he couldn't even sell it at a low price.
These days, people don't want to live in the suburbs; they're all desperately trying to squeeze into the city center.
The closer you are to the central core area, the more extraordinary heroes there are, and the safer it is.
Otherwise, if they were attacked by the gate beasts in the suburbs, they would probably be finished by the time the superhumans came to their rescue. Nobody can afford to gamble on that probability.
As night fell, a heavy, rhythmic rumble came from the ground not far away, as if another long transport train had passed by overnight.
Meanwhile, Lin Jue continued doing sit-ups in his room as usual, accompanied by a rumbling sound.
"Two hundred and sixty-eight...two hundred and sixty-nine...two hundred and seventy..."
Even though the afternoon's moving work had already exhausted a lot of physical strength.
But after returning home, he never stopped exercising.
Clearly, these physical training methods alone cannot give Lin Jue the power to defeat Diamond.
But if he didn't do that, he felt that sooner or later he would be driven crazy by his obsession.
Only by taking action can Lin Jue feel that he is still alive and has not yet become a walking corpse.
After finishing his workout, Lin Jue took a quick shower and boiled some water to make some protein powder.
To their surprise, when they opened the tin can, they found it to be completely empty, as clean as if it had been licked by a dog.
"I remember picking up a few cans before... I think they're in the basement, let's go check."
Lin Jue put down the empty can in his hand, stretched his limbs, and walked towards the underground storage room.
Because of his high level of physical activity, Lin Jue always drinks protein powder at night.
Although he was drinking expired drinks that he had picked up from the port, it was better than nothing.
However, just as Lin Jue came down from his bedroom/training room upstairs.
Upon arriving at the entrance to the underground storage room located on one side of the stairwell.
He had just pushed open that familiar little door when he found himself in front of a long, narrow, and deep corridor.
Yes, when you open the door to your basement, you don't see the familiar staircase.
Instead, it is a stone corridor that stretches for at least a hundred meters and seems to have no end.
The stone corridor is made of rough rock, which does not look like a modern decoration material.
There seemed to be no light bulbs inside, only many antique-style oil lamps hanging along the way.
In an instant, the faint firelight, like flowing blood, stained the space inside the stone corridor, filling it with mystery and danger.
...What's going on? Have I been training for too long and developed muscles in my eyeballs?
Lin Jue rubbed his eyes hard many times, but the scene inside the door remained unchanged.
If it were an ordinary person, they would have been stunned in this situation.
Lin Jue hesitated for only a few seconds before taking out his flashlight and walking into the passage without hesitation.
Although I don't know what's inside, since it's in my home, I have to figure it out.
What's more... Lin Jue's most important protein powder is still in the basement.
If I can't find protein powder, I won't get enough protein today, which will seriously affect muscle growth.
For Lin Jue, nothing in the world is more important than his muscles, except for his sister.
After walking along this dimly lit stone corridor for a while, a spacious hall appeared at the end.
Many statues stand around the hall, each with a different appearance.
Just as Lin Jue was frowning, trying to see if his protein powder was hidden inside some statue...
Suddenly, lines of translucent, shimmering text appeared before him:
[The Rank E dungeon, Goblin Highlands, has been generated.]
The "Goblin Highlands" strategy is valid for 30 days. After 30 days, the dungeon will be permanently removed, and the completion rewards will no longer be issued.
[Please select your starting sequence and enter the dungeon for exploration.]
......
What is this? A dungeon? A labyrinth? A sequence?
Just as Lin Jue was somewhat surprised by this sudden explanation.
He instinctively took two steps back, and his arm happened to touch a statue behind him.
The statue looks like a swordsman, striking a cool pose with his sword drawn.
At the same time, a new text emerged from the statue.
[Sequence I: Sword Saint]
[Synopsis: The strongest swordsman who has mastered all sword techniques in the world and walks the path of righteousness]
[Core Talent: Sword Bone (Gain ten times the attribute bonus for each sword-type weapon wielded)]
......
After reading this text, another dialog box popped up in Lin Jue's eyes.
[Should I choose "Sequence I: Sword Saint" as my dungeon class?]
[Once a career is chosen, it cannot be changed. Please consider carefully before making your selection.]
Seeing this, Lin Jue finally understood the current situation.
So that's how it is. It seems I've entered some kind of system-generated underground world.
Is this some kind of game where I have to choose a class first and then go into the dungeon to fight monsters? It's not hard to understand.
He nodded first, then shook his head, muttering to the swordsman statue:
"But this profession looks so weak. Without a sword, it's nothing. I don't think any idiot would want to choose it."
After rejecting this sequence, which was clearly weak and had little potential for development.
Lin Jue arrived at the red statue that seemed to be burning with flames.
He placed his palm on it, and the second sequence came into view.
Sequence II: The Lord of Flames
[Synopsis: A king who controls flames, capable of absorbing all the world's unique fires for his own use]
[Key Talent: Soul Burn (After eliminating an enemy, burn their soul, treating it as a different kind of fire and absorbing it)]
......
This time, it's not about relying on external things, but about absorbing them?
But it's not all that great. Only low-level henchmen use flames; it's not manly at all.
Lin Jue still looked disappointed as he continued walking toward the next statue.
This time, the third statue in front features a glamorous and handsome figure with bat wings.
Sequence III: Queen of Succubi
[Description: A beautiful assassin with irresistible charm who can control all men and command them at her beck and call]
[Key Talent: Flying Together (Automatically acquires all attributes and skills of opposite-sex team members)]
......
"Pah!" Upon seeing this, Lin Jue spat at the statue in disdain.
What a trashy sequence! They're even here to make a living off women. Who do they think they are?
As he walked along, Lin Jue grumbled and touched every single statue in the hall.
To his utter disappointment, the statues housed only these gaudy and useless sequences.
What kind of sequence can replicate all superpowers, create all items and equipment, or predict and change the future...? What's the use of these abilities?
"Isn't there a single decent sequence to choose from in this godforsaken place...? Huh? What's this?"
Just as Lin Jue was walking around the hall, looking speechless and irritable.
But he suddenly noticed an inconspicuous statue silently existing in the corner.
The statue looks like a shirtless martial monk.
There was nothing particularly special about him, except that he exuded a familiar aura of unwavering determination.
Immediately, Lin Jue carefully walked towards the statue and placed his hand on it.
[Sequence IX: Seeker]
[Synopsis: A cultivator who abandons all external forces and embarks on the path of seeking enlightenment through an iron will]
[Core Talent: Ultimate Body Tempering (Permanently disables the use of all items, equipment, and skills; grants a thousandfold increase in physical ability efficiency and removes attribute caps; all other attributes are permanently locked to zero)]
......