Chapter 164: Mirror Clone

Chapter 164: Mirror Clone

The sword light slashed down, and Nagakawa Tomo's body distorted and deformed along with the direction of the sword light, eventually dissipating into nothingness.

Witnessing this, Lu Heng's eyes flashed with a sharp gleam, realizing it was some sort of clone technique.

Moreover, this Nagakawa Tomo had been a clone from the moment he appeared and was not the original body.

If that was the case, the original body of Nagakawa Tomo was nowhere to be found.

This fact alone revealed that this person was extremely cautious.

As for the reason behind such caution, it was not hard to guess.

Sato Ichiro, accompanied by the Soulstealer, had come to Daxia, and not only did he die, but the Soulstealer was also lost.

In terms of strength, Sato Ichiro was not weak at all. He already possessed the Source Essence of the Second Rank, the Soul Reaper, and was undoubtedly at the top of the pyramid among mutants.

With a mutant of this caliber dead, Nagakawa Tomo naturally understood the danger of this mission's target. The safest approach was to use a clone for reconnaissance.

The only question now was, what was this clone skill? Lu Heng carefully recalled the details of his encounter with Nagakawa Tomo.

When they first met, the first impression Nagakawa Tomo gave was that he might have some form of obsessive-compulsive disorder, with his clothing and hairstyle precisely symmetrical on both sides.

Initially, Lu Heng thought he had a symmetry obsession, but now, upon reflection, it might not have been OCD.

Aside from the symmetrical clothing and hairstyle, there was also the fact that he used his left hand when drinking tea.

Normally, seeing someone using their left hand would lead to the assumption that they were left-handed.

Lu Heng initially thought so too, but now he understood.

He wasn't left-handed; he was a mirror image.

The extremely symmetrical clothing and hairstyle also confirmed this.

His clone skill was Mirror Clone.

This was an A-Class skill, and the mirror clone would perform mirror-image actions opposite to the original body.

In other words, if the original body picked up a teacup with their right hand, the mirror clone would pick it up with their left hand.

The symmetrical clothing was intended to maintain consistency between the original body and the clone.

Mirror Clone and Shadow Clone were two extremely rare clone skills, both of A-Class.

However, there was a difference between the two.

One of the most significant features was that Mirror Clone could use the original body's skills, while Shadow Clone could not.

This was Mirror Clone's advantage, and it was a significant one.

However, Mirror Clone also had a drawback.

The mirror clone imitated the original body's mirror-image actions.

In other words, the original body needed to control the clone's actions constantly and couldn't do other things.

Shadow Clone couldn't use the original body's skills but could move freely, and during combat, the original body and the clone could attack the target together.

Because Mirror Clone required the original body to control the mirror image, the original body and the mirror clone couldn't engage in battle simultaneously.

Therefore, Shadow Clone was more suitable for combat-oriented mutants, while Mirror Clone was better for mental and support-type mutants who preferred to stay behind the scenes.

Additionally, the Shadow Clone's appearance was identical to the original body, making it challenging to detect it as a clone unless the clone's energy was destroyed.

Mirror Clone had a drawback—the clone and the original body were mirror images of each other.

This distinction allowed one to differentiate between the original body and the clone.

Of course, the caster also had ways to compensate for this drawback, as Nagakawa Tomo did, by obsessively maintaining symmetry.

...

As Lu Heng had deduced, in a five-star hotel two kilometers away, a mutant sat on a sofa, gazing at the energy mirror surface before him, placing the teacup in his right hand back onto the table.

This person was Nagakawa Tomo.

In front of him was a three-meter-tall oval energy mirror surface.

This was the mirror surface created by the Mirror Clone skill.

Just now, he had communicated with Lu Heng through this mirror.

All the actions made by the mirror clone, including the teacup-holding gesture, were under his control.

Just a few minutes ago, Lu Heng's image had been displayed on the energy mirror surface.

Until Lu Heng drew a longsword from thin air and slashed, destroying the clone's identity, the image in the mirror also disappeared.

Nagakawa Tomo picked up a cigar from the table, trimmed both ends with a cigar cutter, lit it, took a few puffs, and exhaled the smoke, filling the entire room with swirling clouds.

After the recent confrontation, he confirmed one thing.

Sato Ichiro's death was not unjust.

Lu Heng was the first person to break free from Dominate Will control within three seconds.

Moreover, it was evident that Lu Heng hadn't resisted at first, probably trying to understand his purpose. So, when Nagakawa Tomo searched his body through control, Lu Heng didn't resist.

When it was time to ask about the Soulstealer's location, he broke free in an instant.

This target was far more challenging than he had anticipated.

...

Two kilometers away.

The Tea House in the International Trade Building.

In the hall, Lin Zeyu sat in the sofa area, watching a tea master brew tea. The tea master, dressed in a qipao, displayed graceful tea-brewing gestures.

Lin Zeyu nodded and shook his head, looking like he was appreciating the art.

When Lu Heng came out of the tea house, he saw this guy flirting with the tea master, completely unaware of what had just happened.

"How did it go? What happened?" Lin Zeyu hurriedly approached Lu Heng when he came out.

"Not good."

"What do you mean by 'not good'?"

"I gave that guy a sword."

Lin Zeyu raised his eyebrows, his reaction a bit peculiar, "Did you get the Core Crystal?"

Lu Heng glared at him, "It wasn't the main body, it was a Mirror Clone."

Lin Zeyu's eyebrows rose again, "So, what's the situation now?"

"We'll talk about it later."

The two quickly went downstairs and got into a car to head back.

On the way back, Lu Heng sent a message to Su Muyu, asking her to meet at the Flame Emblem Tower.

After meeting, Lu Heng used the most concise way to explain what had happened earlier: "A man named Nagakawa Tomo from Sankei Corporation came to retrieve the Soulstealer, and I had a little conflict with him, so we need to make some arrangements."

Lin Zeyu raised his eyebrows and asked, "So, this guy tricked me, and he doesn't have the Dominate Will Core Crystal, right?"

"No, he has the Dominate Will Core Crystal..."

Lu Heng paused and added, "But he's already used it."

"Damn! What about me?" Lin Zeyu was instantly annoyed.

"This skill is dangerous, and this guy has another even more dangerous skill called Mirror Clone, an A-Class skill that can use other skills of the main body. So, he can release a mirror clone and then control anyone using Dominate Will." Lu Heng explained the combined use of the two skills.

"How effective is the control of Dominate Will?" Su Muyu asked a crucial question while pondering.

"I broke free from the control in three seconds, but others might be controlled for ten minutes or even longer." Lu Heng replied.

Dominate Will can control people for ten minutes, not an analytical conclusion but an effect he had witnessed in his memories.

In his past life, he had seen someone controlled by Dominate Will pull out a gun and kill all four of their teammates.

When Su Muyu heard that Lu Heng could break free from control in three seconds, she raised her eyebrows and asked, "Is there a way to break free from the control?"

Lu Heng organized his thoughts and began to analyze the skill, "The control effect of this skill is determined by the difference in mental strength. The higher the mental strength, the lower the control effect and the shorter the control time."

"Besides, to break free from control, you can rely on willpower resistance or intense pain.

"Intense pain stimulates the brain, quickly breaking free from control. The more intense the pain, the faster the escape."

"Additionally, psychic resistance skills can temporarily increase mental resistance and strengthen willpower, also effective against psychic control."

Su Muyu listened and pondered, simulating in her mind a scenario of encountering Dominate Will control and thinking of how to counter this skill.

Compared to Su Muyu, Lu Heng had more experience dealing with psychic control skills, and with the Psychic Resistance Ring, he was relatively less afraid of this skill.

Su Muyu's psychic attribute was relatively high, making her resistance to psychic skills also higher. As long as she was careful, the problem wouldn't be too big.

Lin Zeyu, on the other hand, was more troublesome. He wasn't a psychic-type mutant and lacked experience in countering psychic control. If he were controlled, the threat to his teammates would be significant when using firearms.

Therefore, he was Nagakawa Tomo's best target.

Seeing the unfriendly gaze from the two, Lin Zeyu cleared his throat and said, "Why are you both looking at me like that?"

Lu Heng continued with the matter at hand, "Originally, I wanted to find a psychic control skill for Muyu, but now it seems like psychic resistance skills might be a higher priority."

Lin Zeyu snapped his fingers and said, "If it's a psychic resistance skill, there are many more options."

For the majority of mutants, offensive skills were more favored.

This led to attack skills in the market being priced 50% or even double the price of defense skills.

The prices of support skills were even cheaper, only a third or a quarter of the price of attack skills.

Within psychic skills, psychic control skills were offensive, while psychic resistance skills were supportive and defensive.

As the market for psychic control skills is scarce and expensive, it's challenging to find suitable ones for purchase.

However, psychic resistance skills are a different story.

There are already few mutants willing to take the support route, so the demand for these auxiliary skills is naturally low.

If one wishes to acquire such skills, it's much easier, and there are plenty of options available.

Lin Zeyu took out a newly acquired batch of skill crystal cores and handed the list to the two of them.

Since the price of auxiliary skills is not high, he decided to purchase the good ones directly.

Lu Heng had previously mentioned that major forces would increasingly value support-type mutants, and these skills would appreciate in the future.

Therefore, even if they didn't use them, it wouldn't be a loss.

Lin Zeyu pointed to a name on the list and asked, "What do you think of this one? Will Awakening, a C-class skill. I bought it after seeing its effect, and it only cost two million."

Lu Heng quickly scanned the list and spotted the skill called Will Awakening. He nodded and said, "Good choice. If used well, it'll have excellent results."

Lin Zeyu made a call and asked for the Will Awakening crystal core to be delivered.

After Lu Heng checked the attributes, he passed it to Su Muyu, saying, "Take a look and see if you want to learn it."

Su Muyu took the crystal core and carefully read the skill description on the data interface.

Will Awakening: Passive effect, the skill owner's willpower resistance +50%. Active effect, release Source Energy to stimulate and awaken the target's consciousness, clearing their mental instability. Skill cost: 50 Source Energy; Skill level: C-class.

This skill is powerful, as it can not only clear a teammate's mental instability but also enhance the user's willpower resistance.

"This effect is great. I'll use it," said Su Muyu as she began absorbing the energy of Will Awakening.

Lin Zeyu leaned back on the sofa, crossed his legs, and casually said, "Miss Su, don't be nervous while absorbing. There are several similar skills. If this one doesn't work out, we can try others."

Su Muyu glanced at him, and after a moment, she retorted, "I've already absorbed it successfully. Do you think I'm as unlucky as you?"

She then tested the skill.

Both Lu Heng and Lin Zeyu felt the effect of the Will Awakening energy entering their minds, a peculiar sensation of sudden heightened awareness.

"What should we do now? Our recruitment countdown is down to four days. We need to deal with Nagakawa Tomo before entering the Abyss Battlefield," Lin Zeyu said as he took out the Silver Python Revolver, emptied the bullets, and reloaded them one by one.

He liked to play with bullets while thinking, although it didn't help him come up with any brilliant plans.

However, he was right about one thing.

They must deal with Nagakawa Tomo before entering the Abyss Battlefield.

Once inside, they wouldn't be able to handle external matters.

And in the Abyss Battlefield, anything could happen.

This hidden danger must be eliminated before the recruitment countdown ends.

After a moment of thought, Lu Heng said, "This time, we'll take the initiative. Let's find this person first, and then consider our next move."

Su Muyu pursed her lips and asked, "Is there a way to narrow down the search area? It's like finding a needle in a haystack."

With the vast size of Binhai City, finding a person was indeed a daunting task.

Lu Heng clasped his hands in a fist under his chin and began to recall the details from the tea room, thinking of clues to narrow down the search area.

"This person has a compulsive need for symmetry, which can be accommodated with symmetrical clothing. But when it comes to their hairstyle, it's not possible to maintain it for long periods. They must visit a hair salon daily.

"Moreover, with their unique requirements, ordinary salons won't be able to cater to them. They'll likely choose the most luxurious stylist."

As Su Muyu listened, she asked, "Is it possible they have a personal stylist?"

Lu Heng nodded. "Yes, that's possible. But even if they have a stylist, they can't bring a large hair curling machine. So, even with a stylist, they'd need to borrow a salon.

"Additionally, the clones created by the Mirror Clone skill have a limited controllable range. We can search within a three-kilometer radius around the International Trade Building."

Su Muyu listened attentively and slowly nodded. "I understand. I'll search in the star-rated hotels near the Trade Building that have salons. The area is still large, but I can cover it in a day or two."

"Alright, let's do that. Once we find the person, we can discuss our next move."

After the discussion, the three of them prepared to split up.

Lin Zeyu stood up, scratched his head, and commented, "Is this person stupid? Shaving their head would be so much easier."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end