Cook P. Jones's cry for help echoed hauntingly through the night sky!!

"Boom!"

The ground collapsed! Dust billowed into the air!

A large, twenty-centimeter-deep pit suddenly appeared in the ground in front of Cook P. Jones!

And at the center of that pit!

A tall figure wearing a hat, with broad wings sprouting from his back, instantly appeared!

His figure completely blocked the path in front of Cook P. Jones!

Loren looked at the strong man in the tactical trench coat opposite him and asked in a low, measured tone:

"Round two has begun."

"Agent, do you have any last words?"

His tone still carried a hint of that cat-and-mouse playfulness.

Upon seeing Loren suddenly appear, the man opposite him sharply narrowed his pupils.

Then, he silently lowered his raised hand and said with apparent calm:

"It seems my luck is quite good, running into you like this..."

"I didn't expect you to dare return to the Jadeite Star Domain, Las Loren."

"Ready for prison?"

Hearing this, Loren smiled faintly.

"Is that your last will? Doesn't seem very original."

But what surprised Loren was that the moment his words fell!!

The figure of the man opposite him began to blur in a bizarre way!

It was as if every part of his body was vibrating at a high frequency simultaneously!

Seeing this, Loren inwardly raised his guard.

"Raven, layer a massive amount of Fortune on me!"

After quickly issuing that command in his mind, Loren silently activated his first ability, frantically layering a huge amount of Misfortune onto the other man!

"Thud!"

A faint, muffled sound echoed, and the man's figure vanished from the spot...

The man had disappeared!

"Huh?" Loren let out a soft sound of surprise.

He instantly expanded his spiritual perception to its maximum!!

Loren's Spiritual Power scanned everything in the vicinity at full force, trying to locate the other's presence!

Unfortunately, he still found nothing!

Loren frowned!

"He ran???"

His tone carried not only confusion but also a hint of poorly concealed disappointment.

His intuition told him the other didn't seem to be hiding to launch a sneak attack, but rather had genuinely fled...

Looking disappointed, Loren very cautiously took out that Federation Coin and tossed it into the air.

"Did the other party run? If he ran, the coin lands heads." Loren silently recited this phrase in his mind.

The coin landed!

Heads!

The other party had indeed run!

At that moment.

Raven's voice also timely rang out in Loren's mind.

"I just checked, within my perception range, there's no trace of the other party..."

"Master, it seems... he really did run..."

Hearing Raven's confirmation, Loren shook his head with considerable disappointment.

Come to think of it, it had been a long time since he'd encountered a Psychic with such interesting abilities...

He thought he could have a good play...

The Security Bureau really is full of bullies who fear the strong, a bunch of cowards...

After mentally complaining about the other for a while, Loren retracted the wings on his back, turned around with an uneventful expression, and looked at Cook P. Jones lying sprawled on the ground.

"Mr. Cook, can you still stand up?"

Hearing Loren's question, Cook P. Jones struggled to get up, grimacing as he looked at Loren and giving a slight nod.

"I'm fine, it's just the backlash from the partner contract. I'll be okay after resting a bit."

Then, he added with a lingering sense of fear:

"Good thing I asked you for help, otherwise I'd have been done for today..."

Seeing the other could still stand, Loren gave a slight nod and asked directly:

"Next, are you still going to continue with your plan?"

"If you are, I think you'd better hurry."

"If nothing unexpected happens, the Jadeite Main City Security Bureau is probably frantically calling for reinforcements from the Central Star Domain right now..."

Hearing Loren's reminder, Cook P. Jones looked up at the night sky above.

The sky above the high-end residential district was now completely empty! 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

There should have been dozens of fighter Mecha belonging to the Security Bureau there!

But after Loren's appearance, the dozens of Mecha in the night sky had quietly withdrawn at some unknown time...

Cook P. Jones shook his head with a bitter smile.

So this is the imposing aura of a big shot?

Just appearing, without even taking action, can easily scare off the nightmare that's been haunting me for years...

The next moment.

Cook P. Jones withdrew his gaze from the night sky and looked at Loren with a complex, bitter expression, saying:

"Mr. Loren, I feel... my persistence and plan seem like a joke..."

Loren silently furrowed his brow, simply looking back at Cook P. Jones without saying a word.

His intuition told him the other had fallen into some extremely peculiar state.

After a long while.

Loren shook his head slightly.

I haven't gotten the stone slab yet, and you're already losing your sense of direction?

That won't do, my friend.

For my sake, you should also be brave...

Thus, he spoke in a flat tone:

"Mr. Cook, obsession and resentment have crawled all over you."

"Someone like you cannot become Legendary..."

"The pain of the past should become your spiritual strength, not the mire that imprisons your soul."

Cook P. Jones was stunned.

He looked up at the night sky again, where thick clouds obscured any stars or moonlight.

He silently stared at the lightless night sky and asked softly:

"Can someone as greedy and clumsy as me truly achieve the Legendary rank, Mr. Loren?"

Cook P. Jones's tone now carried deep confusion and self-doubt.

Seeing this, Loren silently sighed.

He didn't answer Cook P. Jones's question, nor could he.

Indeed, I'm really not suited to comforting others... Loren mentally mocked himself.

Then!

Loren quietly activated his first ability!!

After recognizing that his comforting skills were practically "zero."

He decided to comfort the other in a different way!

The next instant!

A massive amount of Fortune was applied by Loren onto Cook P. Jones!!

Loren couldn't comfort people, but the all-powerful "Fortune" could!!

"Mr. Cook, calm your heart and ask it. It will give you the answer; it won't betray you."

"Let go of everything and face the fears and weaknesses within your heart."

"The mire of the soul isn't terrifying. What's terrifying is not being able to see the mire..."

"The source of power is right there."

Loren said meaningfully.

I've applied Fortune to you, now go advance to Legendary rank!

Then take me to find that stone slab!! Let's just decide it's settled!

Fortune, tonight, let me see your limits, shall we?!

After mentally mocking himself a few times, Loren silently stood to the side, quietly watching Cook P. Jones, who had fallen into deep thought.

Loren had done everything he could!

What remained depended on whether Cook P. Jones's talent and past accumulation were sufficient.

As Loren's words fell, Cook P. Jones, now imbued with a massive amount of Fortune, suddenly sank into a bizarre state of contemplation...