The one who created the urban legend of the cat monster that hits people is, of course, Leon himself.
After acquiring a new skill—Shadow Clone—Leon became completely addicted to the thrill of grinding for skill proficiency.
And as it turns out, this method actually works.
Aside from the main body sleeping soundly at home every day due to extreme mental exhaustion, Leon would send his four clones out every night to grind skill proficiency. The clones' consumption, combined with the skill usage itself, left Leon's mere twenty-something Intelligence attribute points stretched thin. Even sleeping all day couldn't fully recover his energy.
Fortunately, he got lucky. One of the two "potions" refreshed by the [Wooden Arhat's Lone Wooden Barrel] on the second day was perfect for his current situation.
**[1982 Binsy Royal Salute]**
- **Effect**: Increases mental recovery speed by 100% within 24 hours of drinking. Effects diminish upon repeated use within a short period until they become completely ineffective.
- **Grade**: Green
- **Quality**: Ordinary
- **Note**: There's not a drop of pee in this stimulant.
Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't have been much use, but now it was different.
The prompt about repeated drinking was useless since there was only about a shot's worth; how could he drink it multiple times?
Leon bought a bunch of small test tube-like bottles specifically for storing the output of the Lone Wooden Barrel. Over the past few days, he's collected four or five bottles, some useful and others whose effects were yet to be determined, but he stored them all anyway.
Interestingly, after Leon drank this 1982 Royal Salute, his Void Fear Bloodline immediately granted him a single attribute point. This was after he had consumed seven hamburgers, four cups of milk tea, and two servings of some sweet-and-sour General Tso's Chicken all in one day, leaving him so stuffed he kept burping.
It seems he'd better return to eating more rationally!
Casually, he allocated the attribute point to Intelligence, gaining an additional ten points of mental energy, which was quite pleasing!
Despite getting a full 12 hours of sleep daily and having the help of recovery potions, Leon still looked utterly exhausted.
After all, first, there's creating clones, then turning them into cats, and then having the cat-shaped clones continuously use Physical Anesthesia to hit people, all while wearing death makeup…
It's already quite impressive that he lasted this long!
If only his clones could activate passive skills, Leon wouldn't have spared even those.
The memories and experiences of the clones do indeed upload entirely to the main body when they dissipate. It's a very peculiar experience.
It's like having split personalities!
Every night at midnight, one second he's punching a thug who isn't very good at playing with a butterfly knife in the face, and in the very same second, he's in another place, squatting on a trash can lid, giving a lecture to a few stray cats!
Who would do such a thing?!
Alright, Leon admits, that's definitely something he would do.
Through the integration of memories, Leon "remembers" many amusing incidents.
For example, there was a young man who had just stolen a car but was knocked out by one of his clones before he even drove away.
When he woke up, he hadn't driven 20 meters before another clone floated beside him using Levitation, scaring him so much that he slammed the brakes and knocked himself out again.
That clone was also persistent. It waited for over 20 minutes until he woke up, then whispered in his ear, "Young man, time to take your medicine..."
And then the young man got punched again. This time, when he woke up, he was so scared that he didn't dare to drive the car anymore; he crawled out of that block in terror. Even when he heard a noise, he was petrified, only to turn around and see it was just a cat...
Anyway, Leon hasn't seen that guy again in the following days.
He's probably hiring some exorcist to perform rituals at home!
Even though it shattered what might have been the firm materialist worldview of a young man, replacing it with a shrine built upon its ruins, Leon felt no guilt.
I mean, seriously, preaching materialism in the Marvel Universe? That's just asking for trouble!
Breaking it now at least broadens his horizons so he won't be too shocked when he sees a donut-shaped spaceship in the future.
...
Leon now routinely suffers from a headache for an hour and loses consciousness for another hour each day. The latter is due to mental exhaustion, while the former is because his clones disappear simultaneously when his mental power runs out, and when he wakes up, all their memories upload at once.
But ultimately, it's all Leon's fault.
You could say Leon is just afraid of dying!
His determination to get stronger is unwavering!
It's definitely not because he has some kind of masochistic tendency! Absolutely not!!
Anyway, he decided to give himself a day off, to relax, take a walk, and reduce his mental consumption.
After all, for the past few nights, no one has dared to go out in the surrounding neighborhoods...
Rumors are spreading about a black-market-fighting cat…
Though good people might muster up the courage to walk around at night, Leon can't exactly target those people!
"Just take a break for a few days. Having injuries on my face all the time isn't ideal; I'll wait until they heal."
Yeah, just like that, once they're healed, hit them again.
Makes perfect sense!
With a cup of coffee in hand, Leon finally spent an entire day outside, which surprised even Aiza, who asked if a friend had introduced him to a girl.
"As an unemployed drifter, I should first think about how to take care of myself!"
Leon chatted idly with Aiza.
"How's that real estate company or whatever doing?"
Hearing Leon bring it up, Aiza indeed had something to say: "Your friend really has some well-informed sources!"
"Oh, really? Tell me more!"
"Well... blah blah blah... Now... blah blah blah... it's great. You don't have to worry about something bad suddenly happening or someone buying your house for a dirt-cheap price, leaving you homeless."
Although not someone fighting for justice, Leon's actions were more out of personal interest. However, seeing that his actions indeed brought tangible benefits to the people around him, genuinely improving their lives, Leon felt quite happy.
"You're welcome!"
Leon said out of nowhere, and with a puzzled look from Aiza, he walked away with a swagger.
Sudden joy is often intense and leaves quickly.
Leon soon detached himself from that emotion and began wandering aimlessly. He'd been to every place in this neighborhood before, though only at night.
Strolling around places where he'd previously fought, Leon recalled encountering S.H.I.E.L.D. agents here once—Agent Barbara, quite memorable!
"By now, it should've grown back... Ahem! Those were lies, Leon! You were tricked!"
Looking up, wasn't this the place where he negotiated with S.H.I.E.L.D.? It was a safe house!
"What the..."
...
Later that night, Leon, fully equipped, came to this place.
Hannibal's Dining Workshop.
"What a name. Almost like they don't want customers to come!"
No need to guess—this must be a front for S.H.I.E.L.D.
He strode in boldly.
Half an hour later, Coulson, who was notified, rushed in, seeing Leon sipping something from a small cup with his half-mask lifted. He immediately spoke urgently, "I think it's time we left a contact method this time."
Leon found it odd. What's the rush?
Coulson then cleared up Leon's confusion.
"We have a valuable new perspective on the collaboration."
Are they going back on their word?
Are they about to signal a hidden attack squad or something?
"I wonder if Dr. List is open to employment?"
That's a new one!
But Leon wasn't keen on getting too involved with S.H.I.E.L.D.; that was Captain America's main storyline. If he got involved, he wouldn't know which S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had one head and which had nine.
Slightly shaking his head, Leon continued sipping his drink.
Undeterred, Coulson continued, "It's just to find someone in the desert. Due to certain reasons, it's inconvenient for us to show up."
Hmm?
What's he saying? A desert?
"Who exactly are you looking for?"
Without hesitation, Coulson replied, "A weapons tycoon, billionaire, playboy: Tony Stark."
Woohoo!
The main storyline is here?!
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*Also, thanks to The Dream-Seeking Magician!←_←*