At this point, Chen Nuo had already made a judgment. Continuing the search for Fang Lin’s second older brother was no longer very meaningful. A man like Fang Lin’s second older brother, hiding in Bangkok’s tourist district, living in a slum, and working under the table in a small restaurant, definitely didn’t have the ability to kidnap Li Qingshan’s son. That means all these events must have been orchestrated by the Electric General. Li Qingshan’s son was kidnapped by the Electric General—as for why, that was still unknown. Moreover, Chen Nuo had a vague feeling: It would be best not to let the Electric General find Fang Lin’s second older brother! This feeling was inexplicable, just a faint Sixth Sense. The next step was to figure out how to find the Electric General. "You better not get involved in this matter any further, nor should you harbor any ulterior motives or try to play tricks to gain some advantage," Chen Nuo solemnly warned "Mouse" Cha Wang before leaving. "This matter isn’t something an Ability User of your caliber can meddle in. This is your final warning. You could die!" After saying these words, Chen Nuo immediately left the private clinic. Actually, he could have severely punished Cha Wang. After all, if Cha Wang hadn’t acted on his own—if he had immediately informed Chen Nuo upon finding Fang Lin’s second older brother so Chen Nuo could personally apprehend him—these accidents wouldn’t have occurred. According to Chen Nuo’s habits, in this kind of situation, he would definitely have severely punished Cha Wang. For one thing, he had long understood this guy’s nature: cowardly and greedy. On the other hand, and more importantly, he was taking old loyalties into account. In his past life, this Mouse Cha Wang had once been a disciple of Yama, playing a role similar to that of a "Gold Digger" within Yama’s organization. He had been quite diligent in his work. *** ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✶𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮✶𝓷𝓮𝓽 Electric General... How to find a Controller... This was rather difficult. It could be said that this was a top-level challenge in the Underground World. Controllers sat at the apex of the Underground World’s ecosystem. When a Controller intentionally went into hiding and didn’t want to be found... no one could find them. Take the Wizard, for example, that old crafty one; he hid for several months. Even the Star Sky Empress’s extensive sweep of the Cultivator Association throughout Europe couldn’t force this guy out. After all, encounters like the one with the Son of the Sun were low-probability events, and not every Controller was an LSP like the Son of the Sun. After Chen Nuo left the clinic, he walked for a while and then suddenly slapped his forehead. Eh? I almost forgot something important. He turned around and walked back. Cha Wang was still trembling with fear, pondering the warnings Chen Nuo had issued before his departure. He was terrified he had truly caused a huge disaster. Then, he saw the door to the clinic being pushed open, and Chen Nuo walked back in. Cha Wang’s face instantly turned deathly pale! It’s over! Had the other party decided to kill him to silence him after all? Watching this strange young Ability User show him a cold smile and then raise a finger... Cha Wang exclaimed, "Wait, wait a minute!" Then, he was struck by a powerful storm of spiritual power and fell straight to the ground, unconscious. Before losing consciousness, the last thing Cha Wang sensed was Chen Nuo approaching with a cold smile... An hour later, back in his hotel room, Chen Nuo quickly took out his laptop from his luggage. He actually felt somewhat happy. 14/17!! Only three more fissures remained before he regained his Controller strength. Alright, let’s figure out how to find the Electric General, Chen Nuo thought, frowning. To make a Controller reveal themselves, if there were no leads, the only way was to issue a direct challenge to force their appearance. After some thought, Chen Nuo decided to use the simplest, most straightforward, and most efficient method: Using the established rules of the Underground World! Minutes later, a new thread appeared on the Octopus Monster website. Posted by: [Captain]. Account level: Silver tier. Title: [Attaining Godhood: A Challenge to the Esteemed "Electric General"]! Content: I, [Captain], leader of The Abyss organization and a Destroyer, hereby announce a breakthrough in my strength. To ascend to the Controller tier, and in accordance with the rules of the Underground World, I formally issue a trial by combat to the honorable Controller, [Electric General]! I hope the esteemed Electric General will accept my challenge, upholding the honor of an Underground World Ability User and the glory of a Controller! Within minutes, this post rocketed to the top of the user-posted topics section! This was an everlasting hot topic in the Underground World! Any Ability User at the peak of Destroyer strength who experiences a breakthrough and believes they have reached the Controller level can issue such a challenge! The challenge involves selecting any of the currently recognized Controllers as a target and initiating a one-on-one duel! If successful, the challenger is recognized as a new Controller, ascending to the pinnacle of the Underground World’s ecosystem. Furthermore, the Octopus Monster website will upgrade the challenger’s account to the Gold tier, symbolizing top-tier status. This grants them all the privileges of a Gold-tier user on the Octopus Monster website—such as the power the Star Sky Empress used to directly silence Chen Nuo when he teased her on the site. Of course, there were other ways to become a Controller that were recognized by the Underground World. For instance, by single-handedly taking on and defeating a Level A Underground World organization. There were others, but there was no need for a detailed explanation. However, issuing a direct "Attaining Godhood" challenge was acknowledged as the most prestigious, most glorious, and most convincing of all standards. What could be more compelling than directly challenging a Controller and proving one’s absolute individual strength? Every time an "Attaining Godhood" event occurred, it immediately became the Underground World’s hottest, most-watched topic worldwide! This was because such events often carried an undercurrent of tension, a "scent of gunpowder" not meant for polite discussion. These challenges were often extremely brutal! Refusal was not an option! If one refused such a challenge, it was assumed they feared the challenger and considered themselves no match. The challenger would then effectively usurp the challenged party’s lifelong reputation to ascend! From then on, the challenger is recognized as the new Controller, and it’s universally acknowledged that they are stronger than the one they challenged! Therefore, Controllers who faced such challenges would typically accept them to maintain their renown. A narrow victory won’t suffice! The challenged must utterly crush their opponent! Destroy them! Kill them! Only then can they prove they are no pushover among Controllers and dispel any doubts. In such a trial, once a challenge was made, the challenger faced the most brutal of battles. In a duel with a Controller, the outcome was either success or death! And assessing the result was very straightforward. It’s usually difficult for a battle between Controllers to result in death. There might be victory or defeat, but not necessarily life or death. As long as the challenger survived the duel with a Controller, even in defeat, they were considered to have successfully ascended. However, such an ascension often implied that while they were a Controller, they were slightly weaker than the one they challenged. Generally speaking, though, this scenario didn’t happen often. This was because if the challenger genuinely possessed Controller-level strength, the duel usually ended with both sides tacitly ceasing hostilities. Then, a more official statement was typically released: the challenged party acknowledges the challenger’s sufficient strength for ascension and, as a fellow Controller, welcomes and congratulates the new member into their ranks. —It was considered a more gentlemanly and graceful way to handle things, preserving face for both parties. Note: achieving such a mutually face-saving outcome was contingent upon the challenger genuinely reaching the Controller level! This kind of mutually respectful outcome was only possible under that condition. If the challenger’s strength was insufficient... or if they mistakenly believed they’ve reached Controller level when they haven’t (which did happen)... Then the challenged powerhouse would go all out to kill them! For the challenged Controller, it carried a special implication: What’s this? Of all the Controllers in the world, you pick me to challenge? What are you implying? That I’m a pushover, the weakest of all Controllers? If you’re strong enough, fine, I’ll grit my teeth and accept it, and we’ll issue a statement that saves face for both of us. But from that day forward, we’ll definitely be enemies whenever our paths cross. But if your strength isn’t up to par... Damn it! I’ll slaughter you!!!! Half an hour after the post was published, logins on the Octopus Monster website surged, setting a new record for the year. The Underground World had gone far too long without a new Controller! And this method of "Attaining Godhood" usually signified intense rivalry, a "scent of gunpowder," and a potentially life-or-death battle. Either a new Controller would emerge. (If their strength was sufficient, both sides would tacitly cease hostilities.) Or, a peak Destroyer would die. (If their strength was insufficient, the challenger would be beaten to death.) Theoretically, there was even another possibility: a Controller could die! (It was possible that during the challenge, tempers might flare, and the duel could escalate from determining a victor to a life-or-death struggle.) That’s why such a public challenge was hailed as the most prestigious and convincing method for a Controller’s advancement. Incidentally, in his past life, Lord Yanluo was recognized as a Controller using this very method of "Attaining Godhood"! Moreover, in his past life, Chen Yanluo’s "Attaining Godhood" challenge had targeted none other than this very same... And the outcome of that contest had even broken a record in the Underground World for "Attaining Godhood" challenges. Chen Yanluo’s strength was, of course, sufficient. However, the outcome wasn’t an "official statement" designed to let both sides save face. The Electric General didn’t make any public statements that sidestepped the challenge’s outcome, such as vaguely "acknowledging Lord Yama’s Controller status and welcoming Lord Yama as a new Controller." No such face-saving official result occurred. The outcome of that challenge was Chen Yanluo arrogantly posting a message on the Octopus Monster website: The Electric General then had no choice but to reply, "You won. I am not your equal." Chen Yanluo attained godhood in a single battle! And he made a seasoned, core Controller publicly admit inferiority! In his past life, after Chen Yanluo became famous and subsequently gathered a group of eccentrics scouted from around the world, his companions had asked him about the inside story of that "Attaining Godhood" challenge. Firefly, Little Candy, Lan Mei, Hummingbird, Fox... all had asked. Yama’s answer was simple, "When we met, I told the Electric General that I wouldn’t run from this battle. Either you kill me, or I kill you. If you run, you’d better make sure to avoid me whenever our paths cross in the future." "Then? We fought. He ran. Because he knew damn well that if he hadn’t, I would have beaten him to death." There was also a little-known Easter egg that only Chen Yanluo himself was aware of. This Easter egg was: among all the Controllers of that era, why did Yama specifically choose the Electric General? If ensuring success was the goal, there were a few Controllers rumored to be weaker than the Electric General. For example... the Son of the Sun? That old fellow who never liked direct confrontations. Given Lord Yama’s youthful arrogance, he might have directly challenged those recognized as the strongest. Such as the Wizard or the Star Sky Empress. So why did he specifically choose the Electric General, whose strength was considered middling among Controllers? Only Chen Nuo himself knew the answer. Because... he had heard rumors that a few years prior, this Electric General had tried to woo the Star Sky Empress. Damn him! Chen thought. I’ll destroy him! After making the post, Chen Nuo sat listlessly in his room, idly watching the thread on the website. The replies below grew more and more numerous. Many replies were from well-known experts in the Underground World. Others were clearly from users on alternate accounts, there for the drama or even to stir things up. "Captain? Damn, is The Abyss, that old organization, finally going to produce a Controller?" "I don’t buy it. A friend of mine fought Captain a few years ago, and he wasn’t even top-tier among Destroyers." "Hey, commenter above, watch your mouth! Lord Captain might just kill you!" "Pfft. I’m using an alt account~" "Speaking of the strongest Destroyers, it’s been a while since Sea Monster made an appearance, hasn’t it?" "You’re behind the times, pal. Word is Sea Monster has already fallen." "You’re well-informed. I’ve heard similar rumors. Honestly, though, I always thought Sea Monster was the newcomer most likely to ascend to Controller." "Captain is mighty!! Kill the Electric General!!" —This was clearly someone on an alt account, just stirring the pot. "Go to hell, commenter above! Electric General is Invincible!!" Soon, an official announcement appeared! In the announcements section, a new pinned post materialized! Posted by: Administrator! [Amazing World Company is honored to witness this great contest where a challenger boldly confronts a Controller. We will closely monitor the outcome of the challenge issued by user [Captain] to user [Electric General] and are prepared to notarize the contest’s results, backed by our company’s reputation. Furthermore, we eagerly welcome an invitation from either party to observe the duel. Should both parties consent, we will dispatch our most qualified personnel to witness this contest. Additionally, we extend our best wishes to user [Captain] for a successful advancement to the Controller rank. P.S. Upon your advancement, a contract for the position of "Senior Security Consultant" will be ready for you.] This post instantly caused the website’s activity to explode. Everyone knew that observing such a battle was impossible. The Octopus Monster site was dreaming. No Controller would permit outsiders to witness their fight. The Octopus Monster site was merely making a formal statement of its position. Once the official post was out, many replies immediately followed. Many of them asked: When will the duel take place? Has the Electric General accepted the challenge? Soon, the administrator replied to a randomly selected comment: [Our company has already contacted the Electric General through official channels. The Electric General has indicated he will release his personal statement on the website shortly.] This sent the site’s activity soaring even higher. A major concern for many was: What if the challenged Controller didn’t see the challenge, or simply pretended not to? After all, Controllers were enigmatic figures. What if they were in secluded cultivation? Since the Octopus Monster officials confirmed they had contacted the Electric General, the duel was now inevitable. Chen Nuo read the official message from the Octopus Monster site with a smile, then slowly took a sip of water. The problem now seemed straightforward. Once the Electric General appeared, things would be much simpler. The only remaining issue was how to defeat this guy. Should I ask the Son of the Sun to step in? The old man’s strength is actually quite formidable, as seen in the Brazil battle. The so-called ’weakest Controller’ label is just due to his conservative and low-profile approach. In terms of strength... I’ve fought the Electric General and teamed up with the Son of the Sun. I can tell the Son of the Sun is actually stronger than the Electric General. The old man can change his appearance anyway. Asking him to fight the Electric General... winning shouldn’t be an issue. The only tricky part is persuading him. Hmm... maybe I could use that ’too quick’ incident to pressure him? Or would he kill me first? If that doesn’t work, should I handle it myself? I’m already at 14/17. Only three more ’heads’ needed to recover my Controller strength. If I can find three Ability Users to... contribute... it should be quick. Chen Nuo was confident. Once he regained his Controller strength, drawing upon his past life’s experience of fighting and defeating the Electric General, and his understanding of the man’s capabilities, victory wouldn’t be a problem. If all else fails... I could always rely on my wife, right? Huh? He frowned. I feel like I’ve forgotten something really important... Emmmm... What was it? Captain sat before a window, a pair of binoculars in front of him. He peered at the windows of a residential building across the street for a while. Yes, the targets, Fang Lin and her daughter, were both at home. All was calm. Captain lowered the binoculars and sighed softly. What a boring mission... Huh? He suddenly shivered. Why do I feel a chill?