"Be careful! That guy's the murderer I ran into yesterday."
The three of them followed cautiously, and when the man got out of the car and headed straight toward a dark alley, Chen Shu and hais two companions exchanged glances, wicked grins spreading across their faces.
Baldy Liu—that kindergarten graduate—walked into the alley. Hearing footsteps, he took off his hat to reveal his signature shiny bald head and turned around, his expression freezing for a mont.
Chen Shu stood with his arms crossed, chuckling. "Yo! Isn't this Brother Liu? Haven't seen you in a few days—your head's gotten shinier!"
"So I actually hooked you lot?"
The man instantly recognized Chen Shu. If it weren't for his failed assassination attempt, he wouldn't have beco a public enemy on the run. Though he'd been wanted by the Spirit Suppression Bureau for a while now, nobody knew he was hiding out in Nanjiang City. But now? The Nanjiang Spirit Suppression Bureau had mobilized, constantly searching for traces of him.
Baldy Liu looked at the three of them, a strange smile creeping across his face. "Kid, you ca here to die?"
Chen Shu frowned, feeling uneasy. What does he an, 'hooked us'?
Just as he was about to speak, options appeared before his eyes.
[Option 1: Run imdiately—survival cos first! Completion reward: Large amount of Beast Taming Power]
[Option 2: Shout at the top of your lungs: "Help! Yate!" Completion reward: Sli Strength 10%]
[Option 3: Annihilate the entire criminal gang! Completion reward: Sli All Attributes 20%]
Chen Shu's eyes widened. He ignored the rewards and locked onto the keywords: Criminal gang!!
I tracked him all the way to their hideout??
"Old Liu, is this your target?"
A voice ca from the darkness at the end of the alley, and several figures slowly erged, their faces fierce and nacing as they coldly stared at the three of them.
"Holy crap!" Chen Shu's heart lurched, and his gaze imdiately shot toward Xu Xingxing.
In an instant, Xu Xingxing summoned his Mutant Thunderbird. The three of them moved with lightning speed and hopped right onto the bird.
"Think you can run?" One of them sneered. The cent ground began to tremble, then transford into two massive hands that locked onto the Mutant Thunderbird's claws. Not far from the trio, a yellowish-brown humanoid creature materialized, its body shimring with skill energy.
"An Earth Elental Spirit! We're screwed!" Chen Shu's heart sank. He hadn't expected to run into an organized cri ring—originally he'd planned to catch the guy, but now it turned out they'd been counter-ambushed instead.
"Misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding..." Chen Shu let out an awkward laugh, trying to explain while shooting Xie Sunan a look.
Almost instantaneously, a green light flashed and descended right above Baldy Liu's head, transforming into a giant green hat. Every criminal's attention was drawn to it, and their nacing eyes instantly softened with amusent.
"Old Liu, you've been cucked..."
So of them wanted to laugh but felt it might be inappropriate. But since none of them had professional training in keeping a straight face, they all burst out laughing anyway.
"Hahaha!" They all pointed at the hat on Baldy Liu's head. Nobody expected soone to have such a dirty skill.
Right as everyone's attention was forcibly diverted, the Golden Sli appeared without a sound. Chen Shu lay flat on its head, both hands gripping its nostrils.
"Get on, quick!" Chen Shu was ready to pull his old trick again—running away was the smart play.
Xie Sunan and Xu Xingxing reacted just as fast, grabbing onto the Sli's nostrils too. They had no choice—the Sli's body was slippery as hell, and without sothing to grip, they'd slide right off.
"Stop laughing, you idiots! That Sli can fly!!" Baldy Liu caught their movent from the corner of his eye, and the other criminals snapped back to reality and summoned their own contract spirits. But by then, the Sli had already switched to flight mode. The Earth Elental Spirit tried to stop them, but unfortunately the Sli had no claws—it couldn't control sothing that big.
"You morons! Smile for the cara!" Chen Shu whipped out his phone, ready to photograph everyone's faces. These guys definitely weren't good people—perfect chance to let the Spirit Suppression Bureau sweep them all up.
Chen Shu fired off rapid shots, immortalizing the criminals' stunning mugshots!
Just as the three of them prepared to leave, the Sli's body began to tremble, its nose twitching. The smile on Chen Shu's face froze as a bad feeling crept over him.
"Hold on tight!"
ACHOO!
In an instant, the Sli let out a violent sneeze—and Xie Sunan and Xu Xingxing cried out as they were instantly flung off by the trendous force.
With six hands pinching its nostrils, anyone would want to sneeze...
"Are you kidding ?! A double reversal?!" Chen Shu watched his friends fall, his heart clenching tight.
The Sli was fast in the air but not very agile—it relied on wind currents to adjust direction, making it impossible to catch two people plumting down. Xie Sunan and Xu Xingxing looked panicked on the outside, but inside they were even more freaked out... Nobody could have predicted sothing like this would happen.
Fortunately, Chen Shu had been busy taking photos, so the Sli hadn't risen too high. Even if they fell, it wouldn't cause serious injury. But the problem was—there was a gang of criminals waiting below like hungry predators!
Sure enough, the mont the two hit the ground, the criminals seized them.
"Chen Shu! Save ! Save !" The two looked up at Chen Shu in the sky, waving their arms frantically.
Because of the night wind, Chen Shu couldn't quite hear them. But his eyesight was good—he could faintly read two words from their lips: "Go! Go!"
He said with a touched expression, "At a mont like this, how could I possibly leave? ...Of course, I bolted."
The Sli accelerated and vanished from everyone's sight.
Baldy Liu looked at the two captives coldly. "Looks like your friend can't save you now!"
A bespectacled young man spoke up. "Take them back first! If that guy really dares report to the Spirit Suppression Bureau, we'll kill these two."
Not far down the street, Chen Shu crept back stealthily. He'd only pretended to leave, hoping to make them lower their guard. His expression was now calm, the goofy deanor gone—these guys weren't pushovers, and if he wasn't careful, Xie Sunan and Xu Xingxing could very well end up dead.
"ss with the Nanjiang Bandit's brothers? Where would that leave my reputation?"
Chen Shu arrived at the far end of the dark alley, his shrunken Golden Sli by his side. He hadn't imdiately contacted Wang Qian—if the Spirit Suppression Bureau showed up, it would tip off the gang, and his two friends would be done for.
"I'm counting on you!" Chen Shu pulled out a potion, anticipation gleaming in his eyes.
It was the Invisibility Potion! Last night, when he'd encountered Baldy Liu's duo, he'd chosen to flee, completing the second option's conditions and earning an Invisibility Potion.
Chen Shu summoned the Sli and fed it a small amount first, wanting to see how it worked. Before his astonished eyes, the Sli's body vanished into thin air!
[1] "No matter how I fly, I can't escape this dazzling world" (怎么也飞不出，花花的世界): Lyrics from "The Drunken Butterfly" (酒醉的蝴蝶), a 2019 song that went viral on Chinese social dia. The song uses a drunk butterfly as a taphor for being hopelessly trapped in romantic confusion.
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