This is an empty warehouse surrounded by brick walls. Inside the warehouse are bottled water, compressed biscuits, bagged food, as well as cash, mobile phones, and firearms.
Ronan picked up a mobile phone and took out some water and food, leaving the rest untouched.
If nothing goes wrong, this is likely a safehouse prepared by Demona.
Even escaping from Tijuana isn't safe.
Especially with Demona, who also works as an informant.
Ronan closed the warehouse door, cleaned and dried the purchased steel drill, took out the body of the spirit leopard from his bag, and used a scavenged dagger to peel the skin off the leopard's legs.
The skin was very tough, and cutting it with a military knife proved quite difficult.
The leopard had been killed by the big-bearded men's AK rifles, its chest and abdomen riddled with bullets.
This peculiar creature, facing large-caliber weaponry, was equally vulnerable.
Ronan had fought against the spirit leopard; its greatest feature was its incredible speed, moving and maneuvering with agility.
Its claws were also exceptionally sharp.
When it attacked, he wounded the spirit leopard with a gunshot, eliminating the immediate threat.
Ronan remembered what Father Thomas had said - it's an era of apocalypse, and the world might change at the turn of the century. Many strange beings might not have truly risen to power yet.
The meat was carved off the four leopard legs, cleaned with water, threaded onto the steel drill, and set aside.
Activating his clairvoyance, he summoned the Book of Dominion, took out fifty soul fragments one by one, and stacked them on the ground. Finally, he placed the golden soul fragment of the ancient one in the center.
He had never done this before, and the Book of Dominion didn't provide detailed instructions; he had to rely on intuition.
Ronan stepped back, focused his energy on the pile of soul fragments, silently recited "Soul Ignition." After about two seconds, a golden-red flame ignited.
Numerous flames merged together, not large in scale but incredibly intense in heat.
Ronan quickly went over, wrapped the steel drill in leopard skin, and placed it on the flames to roast.
His other hand was busy too, spreading the salt, pepper, and spices he bought on the road evenly over the meat.
Ronan had roasted ordinary meat on the Soul Ignition before, and it would catch fire directly.
But the spirit leopard meat was obviously different; it sizzled and released oil.
With his clairvoyance active, Ronan could see faint traces of soul energy entering the meat.
The Book of Dominion provided related instructions: catalyze with Soul Ignition, let the food absorb the soul energy before consumption.
Both the meat and the absorbed soul energy were equally crucial.
Ronan's skills were average, and he had never really tried self-service barbecue before. He saw that one side of the meat was almost done and flipped it over to grill the other side.
This was unlike regular grilling. As the leopard leg meat continued to absorb soul energy, the size of the flames gradually reduced. In a short time, the campfire-sized flames diminished to the size of a normal stove flame.
Ronan lacked experience and had to figure things out as he went along.
Soon, the flames went out, leaving nothing on the ground.
Ronan looked at the sizzling grilled meat and wondered if it was ready to eat.
Would there be any side effects?
But indecision was never his character.
Moreover, he had already embarked on the path of a hunter.
Garcia Group had been destroyed, and there was the colossal entity of the CIA.
Without enhancing his own strength, he would surely die in the pursuit of the CIA.
Ronan had a general understanding of the violent organization's modus operandi. Ian-Somos was right: if he killed CIA agents, the CIA would definitely not let him go.
Sometimes, there's no choice.
At this stage, to survive, strengthening oneself was crucial!
Ronan waited for the meat to cool slightly, opened his mouth wide, and started eating. The taste wasn't particularly good, as he wasn't skilled in cooking after all.
However, after being roasted by the Soul Ignition, the meat became tender and palatable, making it easier to chew.
The spirit leopard wasn't large, and there wasn't much meat on its legs. Ronan finished it all in one go.
At the beginning, besides feeling full, he didn't experience anything special. After about two or three minutes, his stomach began to warm up, and waves of warmth spread throughout his body.
In places densely packed with muscle, it felt warm and tingly - quite peculiar.
It was so comfortable that it made him want to sleep.
Ronan simply lay down on the bed, his pistol within reach. At some point, he fell asleep.
When he woke up, it was pitch black outside. Glancing at his phone, it was early morning.
Getting up, stretching, Ronan felt an indescribable comfort coursing through his entire body.
Turning on the light and flexing his arms, he noticed something was off - the scar on his left arm from the hand grenade detonated by the powerful demon Padi had disappeared.
It was caused by a hand grenade explosion, and the scar hadn't faded even after it healed.
But now, it was gone!
Ronan touched his left shoulder, and even the three claw marks from the werewolf were gone!
Did the grand feast prepared with soul cooking have an effect?
Ronan summoned the Book of Dominion and, upon opening it, found a new explanation on the page about Predators.
Leopard Leg Meat (Completed): You have acquired the Leopard's Swiftness!
Concise and to the point!
Ronan closed his eyes, contemplated the changes in his body, and after a while, he suddenly moved.
He darted and maneuvered, astonishingly fast!
Between running, jumping, and changing direction, Ronan's body could stop or start in ways that defied conventional logic.
People seemed to have become lighter; with a few running steps, he could jump and touch the warehouse ceiling, which was over four meters high!
He could even use his speed and agility to traverse walls briefly, just like in some Hong Kong action movies.
He wondered if Newton in this world was still alive and kicking.
His hand speed had also become incredibly fast - drawing the gun, firing, changing magazines - at least three times quicker.
In the early morning with no one on the streets, Ronan left the warehouse, took a few steps to build momentum, and then jumped against the wall, using it as leverage to flip over.
Then, he sprinted at full speed.
He moved like lightning, a gust of wind!
He hadn't warmed up, as battles weren't contests; they erupted suddenly without warning.
Ronan's experience was akin to driving a car with the window open, racing at high speeds on a straight road.
However, just as a car requires gasoline for energy, running also required energy!
After running at full speed for half a minute, Ronan sensed something was off. He slowed down, walked, and stopped.
His muscles felt sore, and he was distinctly fatigued.
He was even hungry!
Luckily, he had some chocolate on hand. He popped a piece into his mouth, took a few breaths, and felt slightly better.
Ronan's self-assessment was that he might have reached a speed of around 80 kilometers per hour during his sprint.
This kind of all-out burst consumed a lot, like a cheetah; it wasn't sustainable.
He ate two more pieces of chocolate in succession, rested for a moment, and felt his body recover somewhat.
He then tried various tactical moves: evading, jumping, changing direction, tackling, climbing walls, and more.
In summary, there were two words: agile and swift!
As his muscles and ligaments strengthened, even his strength had increased.
Without a force gauge, Ronan estimated that his full-force strike with the steel claw probably had about a 20% increase in power.
As for endurance, that was likely derived from other aspects of predation.
To ascend to the level of a Predator, he needed to use soul cooking on eight other specific animals.
Back at the warehouse, following the principle of not wasting, Ronan cut the remaining meat and roasted it using the Soul Ignition.
There were still plenty of soul fragments, enough to sustain the consumption of the steel claw.
As for the Soul Gate, Ronan needed to enhance his own strength first. Opening the gate might lead to a more dangerous or peculiar world, potentially spelling disaster.
After absorbing the soul energy from the cooked meat and consuming it, his stamina recovered quickly.
Ronan decided to roast some of the meat until it was dry, seal it in plastic bags, and carry it in his satchel.
Once done, he took out his gun and dagger, combined with the newfound speed and agility, and experimented with new combat techniques.
Ronan felt that even without cover, he could use the alertness of a predator, agile changes of direction, and precision marksmanship to contend against numerous skilled marksmen.
In close combat, the advantages of speed and agility were even greater.
If he were to encounter Alejandro, the werewolf, now, he was confident that he could defeat him in close combat without resorting to firearms or flame traps.
And this was just one of the nine types of soul cooking needed to advance as a Predator.
What changes would collecting all nine bring?
Human nature was never content.
Ronan was no exception; having gained the agility and swiftness from the spirit leopard, he wasn't satisfied. He was eager to know how to acquire the remaining abilities.
Since CIA agents had first-rank soldiers, there must be higher ranks as well.
And there were voodoo witches; even the basic abilities of a witch were quite mysterious and hard to deal with.
Ronan hoped that Alejandro was a lone wolf serving the CIA, and that there weren't packs of them.
Dealing with just the CIA was headache enough.
He decided to ask Demona for advice and, if necessary, lay low for a while.
Ronan adjusted his mood, taking advantage of the rare spare time he had gained, to experiment with and refine his combat skills.
The Book of Dominion granted him extraordinary abilities, but to truly make these abilities his own, he had to learn how to use them.
The fact that Ronan had survived until now was crucial; the experience from his original world had played an equally important role.
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