The photo showed the face of a beautiful young girl, about the same age as Iggy six years ago, smiling brightly.
It turned out that while searching the house earlier that day, Iggy found the photo wedged in a crack between the wooden planks under the bed.
On the back was written, "To my beloved dad, Annie."
"What do you want!? Kids are innocent!" the big man cried out.
Six years ago, Orion had been ordered by his superiors to travel to Mount Golbo and find Iggy's whereabouts, seeking an opportunity to eliminate him.
He never expected to stay there for six years and come back empty-handed.
That photo was the last thing Annie ever sent home — a gift from his daughter, now treasured like a relic and the only thing left in his heart.
"Innocent? Hahaha!" Iggy laughed bitterly, a dark sound that hadn't escaped his lips in a long time. Now, even he didn't believe such nonsense.
"CP4 says children are innocent? Tell me where your headquarters is, or I'll make sure every girl named Annie in this world disappears."
Iggy's hand suddenly shot forward, grabbing the big man's shoulder and digging in deeply along the muscle lines, tearing downwards.
A sickening ripping sound echoed in the darkness as Iggy peeled the flesh from the man's shoulder like removing a banana peel.
The man screamed in agony, strips of flesh falling away, his bone exposed. Yet Iggy's hand pressed down again.
"Coordinates 7.10… 1.5 kilometers northeast of Marin Vando… There's a deserted island."
The man gasped for breath, barely able to speak through the unbearable pain.
Whether for his daughter's sake or out of desperation, this merciless opponent forced the man to yield.
"Under the sea near that island… there's a cave that leads inside."
After the last words, the man's face twisted in pain; sweat dripped onto the floor, pooling beneath him.
"Good… as a bonus, I'll test out my new power on you."
After getting the information he needed, Iggy pressed his palm firmly onto the man's shoulder, producing a faint, unsettling sound.
Starting at the palm, the man's skin and flesh began to wither and shrink, spreading outwards from the shoulder.
"For my sake…"
The man watched in horror as his flesh rapidly decayed, crawling up to his face.
He had revealed the secret location and CP4's orders — and now there was no mercy for this little devil.
As the photo dropped to the floor, a strange corrosion seemed to invade his mind; his eyes fixated on the image.
"It seems this power can work even on the injured."
Pulling back his hand, Iggy looked down at the man now reduced to a dried husk, his eyes sunken, sitting cross-legged on the floor.
Iggy smiled, satisfied — his life-draining ability could finally affect even those already wounded.
(A/N:He thought it only worked on the dead)
Lighting a fuel lamp, he threw it onto the wooden floor. Flames quickly consumed the room.
He stepped on the photo one last time before walking away.
The next day at dusk, Iggy arrived at the deserted island by fishing boat. The surroundings felt eerily familiar.
"This is… the deserted island from six years ago!"
Iggy realized fate had brought him back. Six years ago, after falling from a height of 10,000 meters over the Red Earth Continent, he had washed up unconscious on this very island — the hideout of CP4.
His enemy had been closer than he ever imagined.
"Underwater caves…"
Recalling Orion's words, Iggy ate something aboard the boat and then sat down calmly.
Closing his eyes, he activated his energy and began to meditate, feeling the currents beneath the waves.
As darkness fell, Iggy's vision caught movement beneath the water — an oval-shaped object slowly gliding forward.
When it neared the rock wall under the island, Iggy sprang up and dove into the sea.
"Found it!"
Behind some coral, a cave about six or seven meters wide revealed itself.
A small submarine was entering the cave. Iggy followed.
The underwater passage twisted for about 100 meters before opening into a hidden pond.
Exiting the pond, a stone cave opened up nearby, surrounded by several submarines.
From the top hatch of one submarine, two men and a woman climbed out and walked toward a small metal door.
"Face recognition? The Navy tech has advanced this far."
Iggy approached and glanced at the screen beside the door. It slid open, allowing the three inside.
"Wait!"
As the last woman stepped in, Iggy appeared behind her. The metal door began to close.
"Who's there?!"
The woman spun around, but Iggy's hand was already clamped around her neck, lifting her off the ground.
"Let go of my wife!"
The man at the corridor's entrance turned in fury upon seeing the woman held captive.
"Where is your boss?"
Iggy's face was expressionless as he looked at the man. The woman struggled, choking, her groans turning desperate.
"Please… let her go…"
Blood and saliva dripped from her mouth as the man dropped to his knees, pleading.
"That's not the answer I'm looking for."
Iggy's palm suddenly squeezed like a vise, crushing her cervical vertebrae, her neck reduced to a thin, lifeless strand of flesh.
Before she could scream, the woman's eyes bulged and rolled back. Her head lolled limply.
"Who the hell are you!"
Enraged and horrified, the man drew a dagger and charged at Iggy.
Calm and precise, Iggy braced, then swung the woman's broken head like a heavy club at the man.
The two heads collided with a sickening crunch, bursting open and splattering blood.
The leader's corpse slumped next to Iggy, his remaining head half-shattered.
Within seconds, two bodies lay dead in the corridor; the last man trembled with fear.
Iggy didn't glance at the corpses. He fixed his gaze on the terrified man.
"Where's your boss?"
___
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