章 180: Leiva, You Need a Little Help

Uncle, his face stern, asked, "Who are you, and under which Grand Sorcerer did you study?"

Leiva glanced at him briefly and replied, "You don't need to know that..." As he spoke, he raised his right hand, which bore the [Hydroforce] ring, and snapped his fingers with a crisp "Snap!" "Good luck."

In an instant, all the remaining water within a hundred meters shot up into countless water blades, slicing towards the load-bearing pillars of the surrounding buildings.

Clang, clang, clang!

Accompanied by a thunderous rumbling, the treasure chamber finally gave way under the strain and collapsed. A wave of dust burst forth, billowing through the air, blowing Leiva's silver-white hair across his forehead.

"Civilians or officials?" Despite their impressive physical skills, Leiva couldn't sense any bloodlust from Jackie Chan and his group, meaning they had likely never killed before.

"Never mind, the mission comes first." Deciding not to dwell on it, Leiva's figure disappeared into the swirling dust.

...

"Cough, cough... Tohru, Jade, are you two okay?" Shielding them from most of the falling debris with his broad body, Tohru asked worriedly, seemingly forgetting someone else.

"Cough, cough... Tohru, why didn't you ask about me?" Jackie, half-buried in the rubble, struggled to speak, exhausted. He was drenched in sweat, his body pushed to its limits.

First, he had tussled with the Dark Hand thugs, then had been swept away by the flood, and now buried in the collapsing building—surviving all this, Jackie realized how lucky he was.

"Uncle, who exactly is this Leiva?" Finally freed from the debris with Tohru's help, Jackie asked, still trying to catch his breath.

"I don't know, but this Leiva has two magical artifacts—one might even be space-related. In short, he's not someone to mess with..." Uncle's eyes suddenly widened as realization struck him. "...I know where the clue is! Hurry, Jackie, we need to get back to San Francisco!"

"But Uncle, don't we need to recover the mask... Ow! Why did you hit me, Uncle?" Jackie didn't get to finish his thought before Uncle whacked him on the head with a swift slap.

"The mask, the demon, the Japanese mummy—it doesn't matter right now!" Uncle snapped, not wasting any more time. "Quickly, search the ruins for anything useful, then we return to San Francisco immediately! The magic circle's warning is more important!"

Meanwhile, the Dark Hand thugs, who had narrowly escaped, stumbled away from the collapsed Shadowkhan temple, exhausted and defeated.

Realizing no one, including their "new boss," was coming for them, Ratso said, "Hey, wait a minute—does this mean we're free now?"

Finally, it dawned on them that they might be free from all the chaos. The four thugs cheered, feeling like they had survived one disaster after another. They just wanted to make a quick buck, but instead, they'd been endlessly beaten down.

But their celebration was cut short when, suddenly, Thud!

"Argh!" x4

...

The next day, with the knowledge Selene had imparted to him, Leiva successfully navigated his way via a flight to Tokyo, Japan.

While modern identification systems proved troublesome, Leiva managed to bypass them with a generous application of money. Fake IDs, private jet rentals—everything was easily arranged.

At night, inside a Tokyo hotel room, high-concentration Honkai crystals gathered, forming Selene's upper body in a projection in front of Leiva.

"So, you've acquired General Ikazuki's mask and even clashed with Tarakudo?" Selene inquired.

"Yes, my lady," Leiva replied respectfully, kneeling on one knee.

"Good. Now that you're in Tokyo..." Selene reflected, recalling her mental map. The Bat Warriors' mask was located in a museum in California; the Sumo Warriors' mask was at the base of a totem pole on the northwest Atlantic coast; the Samurai Warriors' mask was hidden in a certain sea region; the Mini Warriors' mask was embedded in a high mountain's rocky surface...

And then there were the Shadowkhan Masks for the Razor Warriors, Crab Warriors, and Mantis Warriors. The distances between each mask were vast.

After a moment of contemplation, Selene said, "The nearest one to you is General Murasaki's Razor Warrior mask, located in a mask hotel somewhere in Tokyo. Focus on finding it."

"As for the others, leave them for now. The distances are too far, and going after them one by one isn't efficient. The Tenth District operatives can help you gather them later."

"Also, you need some help—doing this alone is too slow, and it's not convenient for you to operate solo. Take out the Ninja Warriors' mask. You'll need their assistance."

"The Ninja Warriors aren't the strongest in any specific area, but their abilities are well-rounded and versatile."

Following Selene's orders, Leiva retrieved the purple-red Ninja Warriors' mask from its container.

"Here's a special will-protection sigil I crafted for you. Imprint it on your forehead before putting on the mask, and it'll minimize the risk of you being corrupted or controlled."

As Selene finished speaking, a diamond-shaped sigil melted from the Honkai crystal projection, falling toward Leiva.

"Understood!" Leiva caught the sigil mid-air and, without hesitation, pressed it onto his forehead. He then donned the Ninja Warriors' purple-red mask.

"You'll uncover its mysteries soon enough. When you gather all nine masks and the ultimate darkness descends, I will seize that moment to descend as well."

"Leiva, I await your good news..." With that, Selene's projection dissipated, and the Honkai crystal creation returned to its elongated form.

Once her presence faded, Leiva stood and gave a command. "Search every mask hotel in Tokyo."

From the shadows at his feet, countless pairs of red eyes flickered into existence.

...

Back in San Francisco, inside Uncle's antique shop.

"Aiya! Jackie, hurry up and set up the magic circle! Why are you so distracted? This is urgent, and time is of the essence!" Uncle, with his frazzled white hair standing up like an angry goat, was busily waving his hand and, once again, smacking Jackie's forehead with a resounding "smack!"

"Ow, Uncle... but..." Jackie, despite understanding the urgency, still had questions.

"The Shadowkhan mask was stolen. Shouldn't we focus on recovering it... Ow, Uncle!"

Before Jackie could finish, Uncle cut him off with another hard slap to his head.

"You still think the mask is important?! This magic circle is derived from the spell used to seal the eight demon sorcerers by the eight immortals!"

"If we don't figure out what the warning from the circle means, then..." Uncle's voice grew more somber as he said, "Our world could be facing a catastrophe!"