Cthulhu America, I can see the kill line.

"Damn it, this emblem is just irritating!"

The scarlet emblem on his palm was faintly warm, subtly drawing Kong Jiu's gaze in a certain direction.

He was standing by the window of his hotel room, looking down at the metropolis, the most prosperous, modern, and expensive city in all of Amerigo Veterans:

Xinxiang, Manhattan, Midtown.

After a nearly full-day flight, he finally arrived in the most bustling city and the most prosperous district in all of Amerigo Veterans.

Upon landing, countless figures with full health bars appeared before my eyes.

Kong Jiu had to admit that the sight gave him a strange sense of shock.

Everyone here, including the taxi driver who picked me up from the airport this morning and charged me sixty-one dollars, is in a state of full health.

As an outsider, his purpose in coming to Xinxiang was simple: to find Eller's adopted daughter and reclaim that emblem.

The task seemed to suddenly become easier after he got off the plane.

As soon as he stepped into the city, he vaguely felt some strange pull, guiding him to look in a certain direction.

It wasn't just a simple directional prompt; it was accompanied by a strange tactile sensation, as if someone were gently blowing into his ear or lightly tracing his lower abdomen with their fingertips, continuously stimulating his nerves.

Kong Jiu stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the view of the city outside.

That eerie attraction was spreading from the concrete jungle beneath his feet, like a silent call, luring him forward.

Continue, continue, continue...

He shook his head violently, breaking free from the mysterious allure, and sighed.

Without anyone noticing, he inadvertently caught a glimpse of those common little cards on the floor of the hotel room out of the corner of his eye.

After hesitating for a moment, he picked up one of the cards, stared at the hot woman printed on it, frowned, and casually threw it into the trash can.

The next day.

Kong Jiu stepped out of the hotel and, following the elusive guidance, strolled through the steel forest.

Colorful LED screens, patrol drones patrolling the streets, towering skyscrapers... the cityscape of Midtown gradually unfolds before your eyes.

Xinxiang truly deserves its title as the largest city in the United States, and Midtown Manhattan certainly lives up to its reputation as the most prosperous area of ​​this largest city.

Kong Jiu didn't see a single homeless person here, and even people dressed in ordinary clothes were rare.

Everyone was dressed in their finest attire, as if they didn't live here but were glamorous passersby wandering through.

What alarmed him even more was that he discovered that his health bar, which had been reduced by about one-eighth, had somehow become completely full.

"What's going on? Does Xinxiang not allow death?"

Kong Jiu glanced around at the people's full health bars, a sense of doubt rising in his heart.

But he didn't think too much about it. He simply followed the guidance of the emblem on his palm and the inexplicable temptation, walking step by step toward a certain neighborhood.

Suddenly, a hand landed on his shoulder.

Kong Jiu turned his head and saw an Eastern woman wearing a beret and a gray-yellow coat. She was dressed like an old-fashioned detective from the last century, and at that moment she had her hand on his shoulder.

[Strength 11, Agility 17, Intelligence 2, Swift Warrior]

The woman had a delicate and beautiful appearance, not the kind of striking beauty that comes from heavy makeup, but rather a clean and simple beauty like the ideal woman from one's student days.

"What's wrong with you? You've come all the way to Midtown, don't you know to check in at Chinatown first?"

She blurted out a string of fluent Chinese, but her brows were slightly furrowed, and her expression clearly showed dissatisfaction.

check in?

Kong Jiu politely shrugged, letting the hand slide off his shoulder: "Sorry, you may have mistaken me for someone else."

After saying that, he turned to leave.

For Kong Jiu right now, the most important thing is to find the source of that temptation that has been stirring his heart.

Unexpectedly, just as he took a step, a slender yet strong hand suddenly grabbed his wrist.

"Are you crazy? Just because Master Liu has a good temper doesn't mean you can act like this!"

The woman gripped him tightly, with an unusually strong force, and Kong Jiu struggled but couldn't break free.

"Miss, you may have mistaken me for someone else. This is my first time in Xinxiang."

Kong Jiu had no choice but to patiently explain to the woman.

"Nonsense! Of course I know it's your first time here, but I can smell the altered reality on you that Mr. Li has given you!"

The woman's almond-shaped eyes widened as she glared at Kong Jiu, her expression stern and resolute.

Master Li?

Kong Jiu silently repeated the name in his heart, vaguely recalling something.

Before he could think it through, the woman had already grabbed his arm and half-pushed, half-pulled him across several blocks to a quaint, old-fashioned place.

"He was brought here, but he acted like he had amnesia and wouldn't admit that he was here to participate in the competition."

In a Cantonese restaurant in Chinatown, a woman shoved Kong Jiu forward. Kong Jiu staggered a couple of steps, almost falling, and quickly grabbed the edge of the bar.

"Please, I already told you you've got the wrong person. My name is Kong Jiu. Is the person you're looking for the same name as me?"

Kong Jiu rubbed his wrist, which was red from being gripped, and complained in his voice.

The burly man behind the bar glanced at Kong Jiu. "E-level psychic, 1.9 meters tall, male, and most importantly, he has a scent that Master Li altered. Hmm, well done, Viper, this is definitely him."

"Close the door, I'll go ask Master Liu to come out."

As he spoke, the burly man turned and went into the kitchen, while the woman nodded, turned around and took down the "Open for Business" sign of the Cantonese restaurant, and slowly pulled down the door.

"Hey! Hey! What do you want? I'm really not the person you're looking for!"

Kong Jiu felt a little panicked, afraid that he would be dragged into some strange shady deal. If he actually saw something with his own eyes and proved that he was not the person they were looking for, he would be silenced!

He hurriedly grabbed the hand of the woman called "Viper," saying, "Please, you've got the wrong person! My name is Kong Jiu, and I'm not the person you're looking for!"

Viper simply glanced at him coldly, ignoring him completely, and continued to seal the door shut step by step.

In a moment of desperation, Kong Jiu quickly lunged forward and slid out through the crack in the closing door.

Viper was clearly not expecting this 1.9-meter-tall man to be able to make such a swift move. Before she could react, Kong Jiu slipped into the street.

"Hey, are you really crazy! Master Liu will be angry!"

Viper shouted angrily, opened the half-sealed door again, and chased after them.

"Who is Master Liu? I really don't know you!"

Kong Jiu had no choice but to turn and run away, only to bump into a big man.

Upon closer inspection, this burly man seems to bear some resemblance to the hulking man behind the bar earlier.

However, before he could even open his mouth to defend himself, the burly man slapped Kong Jiu on the back of the head, and he passed out.

……

When he opened his eyes again, he saw a woman named Viper and two burly men who were clearly twins standing in front of him, while he himself was sitting in a mahogany chair.

Kong Jiu was so frightened that he jumped up from his chair, only to find that he was not tied up like in typical police and gangster movies.

"What do you want? My name is Kong Jiu, and I'm really not the person you're looking for."

Kong Jiu threw back his chair and took a few steps back, looking at the people surrounding him with extreme panic.

The three people in front of him had high attribute values ​​and were all quite capable in combat. They were obviously not ordinary people. Kong Jiu guessed that they were probably from the local gangs.

Although if a real fight breaks out, Kong Jiu, with the blessing of the Rat God, will definitely be able to entangle with the three for a long time, it is hard to say how much his rationality will drop to negative levels at that time.

"You three brought the wrong person, and instead of apologizing, why are you staring at them like that?"

Just then, a voice came from the doorway, and the three of them changed their expressions and turned around to look.

Kong Jiu followed their gaze and saw a man.

He had a handsome and dashing face, with several gray-white headbands tied around his head. His sword-like eyebrows slanted upwards, and his eyes shone brightly as if they were glowing. His bronze skin exuded a ruggedness and a touch of sharpness, and two soaring dragons were tattooed on his forearms. His whole person was like a drawn blade, possessing both the composure and ferocity of an Eastern martial artist.

Wait, his eyes seem to be really shining?

wrong!

If no panel or health bar can be detected, is this man a demigod?

Kong Jiu's heart skipped a beat.

The man clasped his hands in a fist and bowed slightly, offering a slightly apologetic greeting to Kong Jiu: "I'm sorry, Kong Jiu, this has caused a misunderstanding. My disciples were supposed to pick up an informant introduced by Li Yingying, but you match his characteristics perfectly, so they mistakenly brought you back."

"Li Yingying?"

Upon hearing the name, Kong Jiu's tension eased considerably, but looking at those gleaming pupils, he asked somewhat uneasily, "Who are you?"

The man cupped his hands in greeting, his expression becoming more serious: "I am Liu Kang, the protector of the mortal realm, the God of Flames. Entrusted by others, I have come to this plane to destroy the Iron Curtain."

Kong Jiu's eyelids twitched.

Finally, someone has voluntarily admitted to being a god?