Chapter 650: Capturing the Shadow Thief

The Shadow Thief was different from the two Strange entities Jie Ming had encountered before.

The Salty Fingers had no fixed physical form; it only created a temporary finger when killing, which disappeared after the task was complete.

Although the Graffiti Strange had a compressible core, its main body was usually merged with the rules themselves, only manifesting when pushed to the limit.

The Shadow Thief was different from both.

It constantly maintained a shadow-like main body.

That flattened humanoid dark shadow was itself.

In theory, this made tracking much simpler. As long as one could keep up with its movement speed and constantly identify this abruptly appearing shadow, tracking it would be possible.

In practice, however, it was extremely difficult.

After all, trying to track a shadow in the darkness was practically a fool’s dream.

Yet Jie Ming could still keep up.

The Micro-Light Eye clung to the surface of the Shadow Thief’s dark membrane as it moved through the underground sewers, abandoned buildings, and nighttime streets and alleys of Mist Capital.

Jie Ming followed behind without immediately taking action. This was an excellent opportunity to gather data.

Through careful observation of the Shadow Thief, Jie Ming discovered a pattern.

This Strange had “preferences” for certain specific locations.

Its instincts were similar to those of a living creature. It would linger and wander around places it had passed repeatedly that met its “hunting” conditions—such as dim alleys, long wall bases, and open areas with single light sources that could cast clear shadows.

Seeing this, Jie Ming selected a particular alley.

The alley lay between Seventh Street and Eighth Street in the old district. It was a narrow north-south passage.

Less than three meters wide, it was flanked by towering gables with mottled walls covered in dead, climbing vines.

At the southern end of the alley stood a single gas streetlamp, while the northern end had no light—only darkness.

Jie Ming stood beneath the streetlamp.

He had deliberately chosen a location with only a single light source.

The streetlamp’s orange-yellow glow slanted down from above his head, stretching his shadow long and far, extending deep into the alley until it nearly touched the edge of the darkness at the northern end.

The shadow was very long, very clear, and very… “tempting.”

Jie Ming leaned against the lamp post with his hands in his coat pockets, his expression calm as if waiting for someone.

The information from the Micro-Light Eye showed that the Shadow Thief was moving in this direction.

Its speed was not fast, and its path was winding, like a snake following a scent.

About ten minutes later, Jie Ming’s gaze shifted slightly.

From the darkness at the northern end of the alley, a nearly invisible dark humanoid shadow slid out along the ground.

It moved slowly, as if probing or confirming there was no danger nearby.

The edges of the dark shadow figure were almost indistinguishable in the darkness. If not for Jie Ming’s All-Purpose Eye operating continuously, an ordinary person would have had no chance of spotting it.

The Shadow Thief had arrived.

It moved along the base of the wall, its dark membrane sliding silently across the rough brick surface.

Perhaps because it had just been frightened, it did not immediately approach Jie Ming. Instead, it first circled back and forth twice along the walls on both sides of the alley, as if checking whether the area was safe.

Jie Ming remained perfectly steady. From any angle, he looked like an ordinary young man standing under a streetlamp in a daze.

…If one ignored the current time of night.

Unfortunately, the Shadow Thief clearly did not possess such high intelligence.

Jie Ming had already noticed during the earlier battle that although this Strange was powerful, its intelligence was probably lower than that of the Graffiti Strange. It was more like a beast driven purely by instinct.

After confirming there was no danger around, the Shadow Thief finally lowered its guard.

It slid out from the wall base, stayed close to the ground, and approached Jie Ming’s shadow.

Jie Ming’s shadow stretched long and clear from beneath the streetlamp into the depths of the alley. The Shadow Thief followed along the edge of this shadow, inching closer to its “prey.”

Jie Ming observed it from the corner of his eye, mentally recording its behavioral patterns.

Just as he had thought, the Shadow Thief’s behavior was more like that of a wild animal—possessing some “wisdom,” but not much.

Jie Ming’s shadow was long and distinct, with only a single light source nearby.

In the Shadow Thief’s eyes, it was the perfect prey.

The Shadow Thief reached the end of Jie Ming’s shadow.

Its “body” lifted slightly, resembling a snake taking aim at its target.

Then, a seam split open in the middle of its dark humanoid form, with fine tooth-like protrusions along the edges of the gap.

It bit down without hesitation on the edge of Jie Ming’s shadow.

Feeling the sensation of part of his shadow being bitten away, Jie Ming could not help but narrow his eyes.

It was a very subtle feeling—not any physiological reaction he was familiar with, but something more fundamental, as if a “loss” at the level of life itself.

Like standing by the sea as the sand beneath your feet is slowly carried away by the waves. You cannot feel each grain leaving, yet you sense yourself becoming lighter.

The Shadow Thief had bitten off a small piece of his shadow.

Jie Ming’s All-Purpose Eye clearly captured the entire process.

The fine protrusions in the Shadow Thief’s “mouth” clamped onto the edge of the shadow. Then, a fingernail-sized fragment peeled away from the main shadow and was swallowed by the Shadow Thief.

The peeled fragment disappeared into the Shadow Thief’s “body” the moment it was swallowed.

To be honest, Jie Ming was somewhat surprised. Things had gone slightly beyond his expectations.

Because… this thing could actually affect his true body!

His true body was a Void Refinement perfection Dharma Body—a thousand-meter-tall dark golden existence that had fused Body Forging methods, Internal Circulation, and countless resistance evolutions. Ordinary Strange powers were like a gentle breeze to him, unable to even break through the outermost layer of resistance.

Yet the bite from the Shadow Thief had genuinely stripped away a small portion of him at the life level.

Although the amount was tiny—almost negligible.

This was not a matter of quantity, but of “whether it could be done at all.”

The corners of Jie Ming’s mouth curved slightly. He could not help but reveal an interested smile.

The research value of this thing was even higher than he had anticipated!

Within his body, the Body Forging Method activated automatically.

This body refinement technique, already integrated into his instincts, immediately initiated its adaptive repair program upon sensing “damage” at the life level. Almost instantly after a small piece of his shadow was bitten off, the shadow “regrew.”

Seeing this, the Shadow Thief instinctively bit again.

The shadow regrew once more.

The Shadow Thief froze.

Jie Ming could clearly see that when the faceless shadow figure “froze,” its entire “body” stiffened slightly and the trembling at its edges stopped.

It seemed to be “perceiving” the prey before it in a way Jie Ming did not yet fully understand.

Then it bit again.

The shadow regrew again.

Jie Ming took out a cup of spiritual tea from his storage pouch.

The tea was hot, freshly brewed. The amber-colored liquid shimmered with a warm luster under the streetlamp’s light.

He held the cup, gently blew on the steam rising from the surface, and took a sip.

The fragrance of the tea spread through his mouth, carrying a faint sweetness.

He leaned against the lamp post, sipping tea while watching the Shadow Thief frantically gnaw on his shadow like a hamster eating sunflower seeds.

One bite, two bites, three bites.

The Shadow Thief’s “mouth” opened and closed rapidly at the edge of the shadow. The fine protrusions, like rows of tiny teeth, continuously tore and devoured.

Its speed grew faster and faster, its frequency higher and higher, as if competing against some invisible force.

Yet Jie Ming’s shadow was like a never-ending well. No matter how the Shadow Thief gnawed, it maintained its complete shape and length.

Throughout the process, Jie Ming’s All-Purpose Eye and Fate Subsystem operated continuously.

The All-Purpose Eye penetrated the Shadow Thief’s dark surface, reaching straight to its core structure.

He observed the transformation process of the swallowed shadow fragments within the Shadow Thief’s body and recorded various energy change data during the process.

Time passed slowly. Several minutes went by quickly.

In these few minutes, Jie Ming collected comprehensive data on the Shadow Thief—energy fluctuation frequency, shadow devouring efficiency, internal energy conversion methods, and its perception mechanism toward “prey.” All of it was recorded and archived into the database deep in his consciousness.

Of course, the reason he stopped collecting data was simply that the Shadow Thief could no longer continue.

After the initial excitement, the Shadow Thief’s movements began to slow.

Mainly because it discovered that its “mouth” no longer worked as well.

When those fine protrusions bit the edge of Jie Ming’s shadow, they could no longer easily peel off pieces as they had at the beginning.

Biting the edge felt like biting into tough, elastic rubber. Even with great effort, it could only create a tiny notch.

Jie Ming shook his head with a helpless sigh.

This was probably the only drawback of obtaining his true body.

The speed of evolutionary adaptation was too fast, and it was instinctive automatic evolution.

After sensing repeated “minor damage,” his body had automatically adjusted its life energy reserve structure.

Through continuous shadow erosion, it had rapidly evolved targeted resistance against this conceptual attack.

If Jie Ming had not deliberately suppressed his power and intentionally allowed his life force to dissipate, the Body Forging Method’s adaptation from “being bitten” to “nearly impossible to bite” would likely have completed in an instant.

Even so, by now the Shadow Thief was struggling to gnaw on his shadow.

The Shadow Thief bit once more.

This time, its “mouth” slipped across the edge of the shadow as if biting a smooth stone. Nothing came off.

It stopped.

The flattened shadow figure retreated slightly, as if reassessing the prey before it.

A subtle wave-like undulation appeared on its “body” surface. Through the All-Purpose Eye, Jie Ming determined this was an energy expression similar to “confusion” or “unease.”

“It seems… for Strange entities, power level and intelligence are not directly proportional. That makes sense. If the “Night” possessed intelligence, it probably wouldn’t have dared to provoke wizards,” Jie Ming mused, stroking his chin.

Glancing at the Shadow Thief, which seemed ready to flee, Jie Ming decided not to test it any further.

The spiritual tea was finished, and he had collected enough data. It was time to wrap things up.

He set down the teacup. The moment it left his fingers, it disappeared, sent back into his internal cave heaven.

Then he raised his right hand, fingers spread, palm facing downward.

A large number of blue runes simultaneously emerged on the four walls of the alley.

The blue runes spread rapidly across the mottled walls, connecting in the blink of an eye into a complete, closed circular sealing array.

The array’s light contracted inward, locking the Shadow Thief within a section of the alley’s central area.

This was a sealing technique Jie Ming had learned from the Spirit Medium Association.

The complete Strange entity he had won at auction came with the Association’s standard sealing container and sealing techniques.

After this period of study and disassembly, he had fully mastered the principles and operation methods of this technology.

Compared to the wizard world’s sealing arts, the Association’s techniques were more specialized.

In the sole aspect of sealing Strange entities, sealing arrays of the same level were even more effective than the wizard world’s barriers specifically designed for sealing rule-based entities. This was understandable. After all, this was essentially the core survival technology for humans in this world.

Although he had only recently mastered it, with Jie Ming’s skill, he deployed it effortlessly.

Under the pressure of the blue light, the Shadow Thief’s dark membrane began to contract.

It tried to escape through gaps, but every node of the array was tightly fitted together with no openings.

It tried climbing up the walls, but the array’s light covered the entire space from ground to roof, leaving it no shadows to hide in.

The dark shadow figure shrank smaller and smaller under the sealing array’s compression— from the size of a spread-out carpet, to a tablecloth, and finally to the size of a newspaper.

Jie Ming retrieved a specially made metal box from his internal cave heaven.

It was rectangular, silver-white, covered in runes, and very similar to the containers used by the Association at the auction for Strange items.

However, it was much smaller, more like a cigar box.

He opened the lid and pointed the opening toward the Shadow Thief, which had been compressed to palm size.

The final ray of light from the sealing array flashed. The Shadow Thief’s dark membrane was completely compressed into a thick, ink-like black substance.

Jie Ming reached out, folded the mass like paper—once, then again—and stuffed it into the metal box.

The lid closed. Runes glowed on the silver-white surface.

They flickered steadily a few times before returning to calm.

Shadow Thief—capture complete.

Jie Ming stored the metal box back into his internal cave heaven, leaned against the lamp post, and closed his eyes.

His consciousness connected to the Micro-Light Eyes scattered outside, checking their positions and statuses one by one.

Most of the Micro-Light Eyes remained quietly in various parts of the old district, transmitting normal signals.

A few were attached to members of the Spirit Medium Association and were moving with them.

Those were the elites who had participated in tonight’s operation and were now returning to headquarters.

Then he located the Micro-Light Eye attached to the shark monster.

The signal was clear. The location data showed that the creature had stopped moving.

“But this position… it’s still out at sea?”

Had that thing already returned to the mastermind’s base?

Or had it been abandoned?

Thinking this, Jie Ming’s figure vanished from the spot.