North American Detective: I am Proficient in All Kinds of Gun Quick Draws-Chapter 648 - 360: Sequel 3, Blood Moon (End)_1

The furious sands swept through the air. Within the smoggy grayness, a tall man, fully wrapped up, his eyes closed, struggled through the storm. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Time passed unknowingly. When all settled, the Silver Moon hung in the sky above.

When Dean opened his eyes again, he found himself in a small oasis. Under the dim moonlight, ripples reflected the Silver Moon in the water of the oasis. A sculpture of the moon stood in the middle of the small lake, emitting a strange red glow under the radiance of the Silver Moon.

CLAP. CLAP. CLAP.

Applause came from the water.

SPLASH. SPLASH.

The sound of water spread out.

A muscular man with long, disheveled hair walked toward the shore, his eyes glowing eerily as if piercing through the darkness, focusing on Dean. "Dean, you've come."

Dean looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar face and cracked a smile. "Anthony, my instructor, long time no see."

Indeed, the robust man by the lake was Anthony. But compared to before, the current Anthony appeared to be only in his thirties or forties. Except for some dishevelment, his body exuded a strong essence of life, with no signs of aging.

Anthony looked at Dean, a student he had once casually accepted and barely taught, and heaved a slight sigh. "You shouldn't have come."

"Instructor, you mean, once I've come, I shouldn't leave?" Dean's expression was serene.

The poison-laced necklace was bait left by Anthony for Carol. And those last words Carol had told him, weren't they also bait for himself? Curiosity, after all, was unavoidable.

Anthony didn't speak but silently walked over to a patch of grass and busied himself. After a while, a small fire started. The two sat on the ground across the fire.

After a long time, Anthony finally spoke in a tone of regret, "What do you want to know?"

"Tell me about Carol. I don't understand why you used her as a backup plan."

"Because her heart was exceptionally malevolent," Anthony replied candidly. "Even now, I am not sure if the legend of the Blood Moon is true or not, but I've researched those influenced by the Blood Moon; all of whom once had extremely dark hearts. Everyone has thoughts of legacy; thus, Carol was my contingency, my legacy left behind in case of the unforeseen."

Hearing this, Dean remained silent. If Anthony had failed, then the antidote to the poison would surely have awaited Carol. Yet, given Anthony's current condition, he had clearly succeeded. Carol's fate was self-evident.

Dean had also come to understand many things. "You created the Lucifer Organization and that research island both to make yourself malevolent and to find another way to cure your cancer?"

Anthony nodded. "Yes." He curiously gazed at Dean. "Aren't you curious how, after disappearing for so many years during the Blood Moon, I am still affected by it?"

Dean spread his hands. "If you're eager to confide, I don't mind being an audience in these final moments."

Seeing Dean's understanding attitude, Anthony, who hadn't spoken to anyone in a long time, showed an excited expression. "It's simple. I knew why, many years ago, God's Beloved either died or ended up here! It's because of the special magnetic field here! The magnetic field here retained the environment from the time of the Blood Moon! I suspect that the Blood Moon that year was a special kind of energy. It could awaken the darkest part of one's heart and then transform that power into Spirit power, eventually impacting the physical reality to grant various supernatural abilities!"

Dean understood. "Like you are now?" he asked.

He knew how those God's Beloved had found this place back then. It was simple: through sensing. That's how he had found this place as well. Under the influence of powerful Spirit Power, he'd gained perception akin to that of a wild beast, able to sense the unique magnetic field here.

"Yes!" Anthony said, somewhat vexed. "This ability comes with significant side effects. For instance, what I desired most back then was immortal life without side effects, but the result was that my body and memory began to reset. Every few years, it would reset again, I would shed my skin, and then forget many things. Perhaps, had you come a bit later, I might not have remembered you anymore."

"It sounds pretty good; at least you attained immortality." Dean found himself somewhat tempted.

Nevertheless, Anthony continued shaking his head. "Immortality is impossible; that power isn't safe. Do you know why most of the first generation of the God's Beloved died in ancient times? It's because their inner greed constantly drove them mad. When their willpower could no longer maintain their sense of self, their bodies would collapse."

At this point, a bitter expression appeared on Anthony's face. "What is willpower? Memory, emotions, all of your experiences—they make you who you are. So, when most of my memories are gone, that's probably when my life will end."

"If that's the case," Dean said, puzzled, "then why do you, Tutor Anthony, still want to keep me here?" He didn't sense any killing intent from Anthony.

"Because you, you're one of us!"

A figure appeared silently behind Dean. Dean turned around and saw that it was Carol, whom he had thought Anthony had done away with. Carol, like Anthony, had nothing on her. The only difference was that her head seemed to have grown quite a bit.

"Join us, Dean..." Carol's voice started to become ethereal and elusive. "Stop pretending. Your heart is more wicked than any of us. Your twisted spirit is destined to become one of us. Stand under the Blood Moon and accept the favor..."

A pained expression crossed Dean's face, and he ground his teeth. "Then become a slave bound to this place, just like you?"

"It's different!" Anthony walked up to Dean, grabbing his hands. "Join us, receive the Blood Moon God's favor, and then with your influence, we can rebuild a new organization. At that time, what's the difference between being here and outside?"

Dean acknowledged the thought. The greed for immortality that had just surged within him instantly shattered. The pain on his face subsided, returning to calm as he stared into Anthony's stunned eyes. "Because you're too weak!"

"What?" Anthony had yet to react, unclear why Dean hadn't been affected by Carol's spiritual seduction.

The next moment, an immense force, capable of tearing through the air with a sonic boom, struck him right in the head.

A dull THUD sounded. Anthony's head, like a smashed watermelon, splattered in a shower of flesh and bone, yet miraculously, the rest of his body remained unscathed from the supreme force, pinned in place, turning into a headless corpse.

Having blasted Anthony's head to pieces with a punch, Dean twisted his neck, letting out a grating CREAK. He turned his head and bared his teeth chillingly at Carol behind him. "Did you actually want me to sacrifice my sanity to become a waste like you?"

"No!" Carol screamed madly. "Impossible! My spirit control is a gift from the gods! How can a mere mortal resist it!"

"Because..."

Another head exploded.

Dean looked at Carol's headless corpse and grinned. "Your purity is too low!"

By now, his Attribute Points in all aspects had reached the human body's ultimate limit, making him comparable to a humanoid tyrannosaurus. A mere God's Beloved aspired to control him? If this weren't the technological era, Dean might even have qualified to transform into a national hero, singlehandedly confronting armies and establishing an ancient feudal dynasty!

"It would have been nice to part on good terms, but you had to try and drag me down with you." Dean shook his head, stacked the two corpses together, took gasoline out of Subspace, poured it over them, and then lit it.

Not until the remains were charred did he walk to the lakeside, gazing at the distant Blood Moon sculpture. Whether it was because of the magnetic field's peculiarities or the environment's uniqueness, with Dean's powerful perception, he saw that on the lake surface, there were many things invisible to the naked eye, similar to wave bands, or perhaps even more wondrous forces, gathering above the Blood Moon sculpture, spreading out in all directions, ultimately causing the area's peculiar magnetic field.

"If I were alone, perhaps I'd find you a little interesting. But I have family now, and friends. All I want is a peaceful life. So, please follow history and disappear with it!" Resisting the inner craving, Dean threw the rudimentary nuke he had found earlier into the lake.

After scavenging the legacy left behind by Anthony, he set the timer on the explosive device modified by Little Mike and sprinted towards the outside.

「Half an hour later.」

A mushroom cloud rose in this seldom-traveled area. A bloody radiance, mingled with countless shockwaves, seeped into the void and vanished...

「Back at home.」

Dean went to the safe house, isolated from everything, before starting to check the relics left by Anthony. To his surprise, among them was the life technology Anthony had researched, spending countless resources and manpower.

Little Mike, preserved in cryogenic stasis, could be saved!