"Uncle John, this is Leon, the brother of the girl who saved Hannah's life."
Noticing the stout old man's odd demeanor, as if harboring an inexplicable hostility towards Leon, the cultured middle-aged man promptly explained,
"Do you know about the pipeline explosion at the hospital the day before yesterday? It was him who risked closing the valve, saving hundreds of lives!"
Hearing about Leon's heroic act, the stout old man's stiff, emotionless face finally revealed something that could be called emotion.
He slightly twisted the corners of his muscle-torqued mouth, revealing a smile that was more menacing than kind. Then he suddenly leaned forward, reaching out with a speed too fast for the naked eye, lightly pressing the jaws of the middle-aged nurse couple.
Caught off guard by the sudden attack from a familiar face, the couple didn't even utter a groan before rolling their eyes and fainting on the spot.
Before the stout old man could knock the couple unconscious, Leon had already reached out both hands, bracing against their backs and pushing their unconscious bodies towards him, then turned around without hesitation and ran, dashing into the inner room where the middle-aged nurse slept.
Seeing Leon's actions, the stout old man, who was about to pull out his giant scissors, couldn't help but click his tongue in displeasure. He then caught the couple one in each hand before they hit the ground, gently laying them on the carpet.
After handling the unconscious couple, the cigar at the corner of the stout old man's mouth self-ignited without wind. He reached behind him and retrieved a pair of terrifyingly large gardening scissors, dragging them while walking limply towards the inner room with a deadpan face.
*It's really... so hard to find an "innately kind" anomalous object, only to end up being hunted by it because my soul is tainted with demon aura. Am I just unlucky or what?*
Hearing the spine-chilling scrape of the metal scissors against the floor, Leon, who had run into the inner room, darkened his expression, no longer caring whether he would damage the middle-aged nurse's home, and kicked the security latch on the window with full force!
With the piercing creak of metal deforming, Leon forcefully removed the security latch, opened the window, and was about to flip out, eager to distance himself from the stout old man who clearly seemed combat-capable.
However, at that moment, his head spun slightly, and he heard the leisurely warning from the Black Goat by his ear.
'Kid! I'd advise you not to jump!'
Leon was momentarily taken aback by the words.
Why not jump? That stout old man with the scissors was about to enter; if he didn't hurry and jump out the window, should he stay and have some PK battle in the capital with him? Even if the leg is crippled, that build... Wait a minute!
In a flash of thought, Leon quickly reached into the shopping bag, rubbed the goat head, and was shocked to discover that somehow, the stout old man's soul, oozing with murderous intent, had already slipped through the floor like a fish and was slowly moving directly below him.
If he climbed out the window and descended using the security grille bit by bit, he might get caught directly between the second and third floors by the scissor-wielding man!
*Cunning! This old man is too cunning!*
Suppressing the urge to curse out loud, Leon hurriedly returned to the inner room, stepping over the unconscious middle-aged nurse couple and stormed out the door.
Not sparing a thought for injuring his knee, he descended five or six steps in a single leap, making it half a flight in two strides, racing downstairs with the fastest speed of his life like a madman!
It seemed the stout old man's soul, visible in the soul vision, paused slightly upon noticing that Leon hadn't jumped out the window and then started languidly heading toward the stairway.
'Hurry up, or he'll catch up~'
Hearing the Black Goat's gleeful warning, Leon's heart tightened, realizing his speed wasn't fast enough. He gritted his teeth and attempted to grab onto the stair handrails at the turns to execute quicker pivots between flights.
However, though the apartment was well-built, it had been some years. Occasionally, the wooden handrails would have splinters sticking out, instantly slicing into Leon's hands, leaving them blood-soaked all over.
Furthermore, maintaining bodily control while racing downstairs at such high speed was difficult. If he released just a tad late, his arm would be harshly yanked by his body weight, resulting in varying degrees of strain injuries.
Nonetheless, all these pains were drowned out by the clicking sounds of the opening and closing giant scissors. Fueled by surging adrenaline, Leon darted through the stairwell as though flying. In a matter of breaths, he managed to outdistance the relentless stout old man, racing from the fifth floor to the ground floor.
Damn... finally escaped!
Seeing the wide-open door five steps ahead, with the bright sunlight outside, Leon, his heart pounding with fear, staggered out. But just then, his foot caught on something, and he completely lost his balance, uncontrollably pitching forward!
Is this... a ball of yarn? The yarn the caretaker lady uses for knitting?
Upon identifying the object tangled around his foot, Leon was momentarily startled and was about to untangle it when he heard the Black Goat's sigh in his head.
'Farewell, kid; I'll miss you.'
*What the hell are you talking about?!!*
Realizing something was wrong, Leon jerked his head up, and his heart nearly leapt out of his throat!
At the very moment he tripped over the yarn, the stout old man, who had lagged far behind, seemed to sense the stilling prey on the spider web, charging along the embedded wall yarn, brandishing the giant scissors all along!
Seeing those enormously open, terribly gleaming scissors, Leon, having just dodged death, instinctively lifted the shopping bag containing the goat head to block!
Resounding like a cleaver chopping granite, Leon felt his arms go weak, and, like a bull hitting him head-on, sent him tumbling backward, rolling head over heels through the Happiness Apartment entrance.
'My horn! It's chipped!!!'
'I'm gonna k*ll you! You b*st*rd! You *ssho*e!'
'How dare you use me as a shield! Kid! This isn't over! *!'
*Finally out... asking a few questions almost cost me my life. The Purification Bureau's work truly is inhumane...*
Amid the Black Goat's beeping word-filled cursing, Leon, aching all over, lifted his head with effort, peering into Happiness Apartment.
Seeing the stout old man standing at the entrance, scissors in hand but not pursuing, Leon finally relaxed. He then raised his bloody right hand, flipping the bird at the cantankerous old fool before collapsing onto the street, panting heavily in the harsh sunlight.
*What a lousy Happiness Apartment! Feels like a haunted house! I'm never coming back!*
[After an ordeal of life-and-death caliber escape and pursuit, you have successfully activated the Black Iron Level Badge "Rookie Parkour Practitioner."]
[Rookie Parkour Practitioner: A novice parkour enthusiast who has mastered a few basic parkour techniques through self-study and physical training.]
[Wear effect: Though your skills remain rather clumsy, you indeed have acquired some acceleration techniques, granting you a slight speed boost during rapid movements in complex urban terrains.]
[Advancement Route: Upon completing 100 complex terrain movements and 100 fifty-meter sprint trainings, this badge will automatically advance to the bronze badge "Proficient Runner," current progress 0/100, 0/100.]
[Hidden Trait (no need to wear): Having gone through a harrowing real-world chase, you have learned how to better protect yourself during high-speed movement. The probability of injury during such movements will decrease by 10%, and if you unfortunately do get hurt, injury severity will lessen by 20%.]
[Through self-study and reflection, you've gained low-level complex terrain rapid movement capability. The heterochromatic badge "Materialist Soul (Crimson)" is activated. Your understanding of parkour is "basic," but thanks to your ability to think and summarize, and self-adjust, the more familiar you become with the high-speed movement setting, the stronger your obstacle avoidance becomes.]