C48: Try
"…"
Inside a shadow-draped antique store in Lower Manhattan where East meets mystic—Li Ran gritted his teeth and forcibly severed the activation of the [Broken Curse Seal].
As the writhing black marks slowly receded from his skin, curling back toward his shoulder like ink retreating from light, the oppressive, malefic aura that had blanketed his senses gradually withdrew. Li Ran exhaled a long breath he hadn't realized he was holding. A flicker of dread still danced behind his eyes.
The power of the [Broken Curse Seal] was unquestionably potent—terrifying, even.
As it spread across his body, Li Ran's physical capacity had clearly been elevated, his striking force in particular rivaled the kind of kinetic burst he had achieved using [King Kong Leg] at full power. And his speed—he now moved more like Quicksilver during his slow-motion prison break in X-Men: Days of Future Past than any ordinary fighter.
But power came with a price.
Staring down at the dark seal snaking along his forearm, Li Ran's expression turned bitter.
Only now did he understand why the system had added the adjective "broken" to the [Curse Seal] descriptor not just due to the instability of Mizuki's source in Naruto, but because of the profound backlash the seal inflicted. Its malignant chakra was volatile, invasive, and clearly tainted by Orochimaru's experiments similar to the unstable gamma radiation that had mutated Bruce Banner into the Hulk or the Venom symbiote's parasitic nature.
This wasn't a technique to use freely.
The Curse Seal was a trump card—a final move reserved for when every other option was gone.
Li Ran made a mental note: only in dire circumstances would this power see the light again. The risk of corruption was real, just like when Jean Grey first tasted the Phoenix Force. And while Li Ran's body hadn't been consumed yet, he knew it was playing with fire.
After cycling through a few chakra-breathing exercises, similar to how Stephen Strange had stabilized his astral form during early mystic training, Li Ran centered himself and activated [Three Body Technique] once more.
Another clone appeared in the center of the antique store.
The two locked eyes and exchanged a nod.
The novelty of this ability still hadn't worn off. Even with all the powers he'd encountered, cards ranging from Gotham's elusive [Phantom Thief Kidd] to martial arts legends like [Ip Man] this felt particularly surreal. The clone mirrored him perfectly, down to posture, breath, and subconscious micro-expressions.
Li Ran didn't waste time. He gave the order.
A brief puff of smoke signaled the activation of the transformation function embedded within [Three Body Technique]. When the haze cleared, the clone across from him now bore the appearance of a young man in a red buttoned shirt and weathered straw shoes, [Ah Xing], his Fifth Senior Brother from Penglai Temple.
Time to experiment.
Li Ran's eyes flicked toward the system's floating interface. He navigated swiftly through the card index and selected the [D-Rank Character Card – Ah Xing].
What he attempted next had never been done before.
Instead of equipping the card onto himself as usual, Li Ran pointed the card's energy thread toward the transformed clone standing across from him.
A long shot but potentially game-changing.
If this worked, it would mean the clone could be imbued with a complete character card's data. It would allow him to maintain a multi-character deception—eliminating the risk of exposure that came with being a one-man army.
The Brotherhood of Mutants wasn't built on one mutant. Hydra didn't thrive on one head. Even the Justice League needed more than Batman.
If Li Ran wanted to build a credible myth around Penglai Temple or the League of Shadows especially under the scrutiny of S.H.I.E.L.D., the NYPD, and perhaps even Batman himself, he needed more faces. A proper organization required diversity of presence, not just smoke and mirrors.
His pulse quickened as he watched the system begin its process.
The [Ah Xing] card flickered. A swirl of white light streamed outward and struck the clone's chest.
Then, nothing.
Silence… until the clone opened its eyes, smirked, and winked.
Li Ran's breath caught in his throat.
He could feel it—the mental link. His consciousness had been split, not severed. The sensation was different from the usual clone technique more complete, more autonomous. He still had control, could issue commands, dissolve the clone with a thought but it felt like this version had a greater degree of self-will.
The sense was similar to controlling a remote-operated Iron Legion drone through a neural interface fluid and near real-time, like what Tony Stark had achieved in Iron Man 3.
Recovering quickly, Li Ran looked at the red-shirted clone across from him.
Before he could speak, the clone, now truly embodying Ah Xing—simply nodded. "Leave it to me."
"…"
A minute later, the doorbell chimed.
Ah Xing, or rather, the clone imbued with the D-rank card, stepped out into the New York night.
Li Ran stood by the window, watching him go.
After a moment, he shifted his attention inward, sensing the chakra within his body. There was just enough left to conjure one more clone.
And that meant one more role, one more deception, perhaps a member of the Court of Owls, or a supposed student of K'un-Lun.
He wasn't done.
---
Cliff Villa, Upstate New York – Stark Basement
"Sir."
Tony Stark didn't even glance up from his workstation. Arc reactor schematics hovered mid-air in the glowing holograms. "Jarvis, unless Doomsday is breakdancing in my living room, I said no interruptions."
"I understand, sir. However… the Phantom Thief has reappeared."
Tony froze.
He dropped the precision-calibrated component he was holding, swept the 3D blueprints away with a flick of his hand, and spun toward the screen.
"Location. Objective. Notice content. Display everything."
"Of course, Mr. Stark."
Within seconds, Jarvis brought up the relevant data. News clips, traffic cam footage, eyewitness reports, and most importantly the thief's trademark notice.
> 'Riding the blessings of carnations, the gentleman stole the hope of the dead and the blue diamond of bad luck in a moment.
– Phantom Thief Kidd"
Tony narrowed his eyes.
"Jarvis, search for any recent public or private exhibitions of blue diamonds. Cross-reference with maternal symbolism—'carnations' and 'hope'."
"Understood."
Moments later, dozens of articles appeared. Tony skipped past the outdated ones, swiping rapidly until he found the clue he needed: an article dated six weeks prior from The Daily Bugle.
> 'The Ocean Star'—once dubbed 'The Hope Diamond' will be displayed at the New York Museum of Natural History this May.
Tony's lips curved. "Gotcha."
But his satisfaction was short-lived.
"Regrettably, sir," Jarvis interrupted, "you've solved the riddle but too late. The theft has already occurred. The NYPD confirmed the diamond's disappearance twenty minutes ago. They've recovered a calling card, but not the perpetrator."
"…"
Tony's eye twitched.
"Jarvis."
"Yes, Mr. Stark?"
"Shut up."
"Of course, sir."
---