(1)
This is the end of the road.
Further ahead lies a deserted wilderness, with a few low mountains standing like stone pillars propping up the entire deep purple sky.
The engine of the sports car reluctantly quieted down, its exhaust slowly diffusing at this end of the road far from the city.
The convertible top slowly lowered, and Wen Ye, with some effort, lifted the girl in her arms by the armpits, raising her little by little.
“Taiyin, how is it? Can you connect to her?”
The doll-like girl nodded expressionlessly.
“I’ve sensed her. She’s at the boundary.”
“Can you do it? If we go any further now, we won’t be so fast!”
“I’m trying.”
Behind them, a black Santana slowly came to a stop in the night. There was no screech of brakes. After it stopped, the car quickly turned off its engine and headlights.
Xue Tianling looked ahead warily, as if understanding what Ye was trying to do. He didn’t ask questions immediately but waited in silence.
“The connection is established.” Taiyin nodded slightly, her face expressionless. “About three li away.”
“Good, you find a way to help her. We need to hurry over—Tianling!” Wen Ye turned and shouted. “It’s not far, just a kilometer or two ahead, probably in some mountain hollow!”
“Got it. We’ll split up and surround.” Xue Tianling quickly assigned the other team members their directions, then jumped out of the car and strode ahead. Although the traces here had been roughly dealt with and were hard to spot in the dark, with the tip, they could still find the bent grass and forcibly parted thorns.
There was no way the trail into the mountain could have been completely erased in such a short time, or else the opponent’s movement speed would have been severely hampered.
Xue Tianling lowered his voice. “Turn off all light-emitting devices when advancing. Try not to alert the enemy.”
“Yes, Captain.”
“Phew, Qiu Yi, you take over from here. I can’t carry her anymore…”
“Okay, Taiyin, I’ll carry you on my back.”
Taiyin expressionlessly wrapped her arms around Qiu Yi’s neck, letting him grip her legs. She seemed to be connected to something, but didn’t close her eyes. Instead, she looked up at the night sky, watching the moon, veiled by clouds, appearing especially hazy…
(2)
Jingye Luqiao’s hands clamped down on An Jing like vises. He hoisted her back onto his shoulder, and she only put up a token resistance before stopping, seemingly exhausted.
He looked up at the night sky. A bright full moon hung high.
But he suddenly paused.
No… something was wrong.
The grass at his feet tickled his ankles, and the sensation was clear even through his pants.
No insects chirped in the summer night mountain, silent as if it were winter.
Everything before him felt empty and dissonant, as if not in the real world.
He bit the tip of his tongue sharply. The intense pain came through clearly, and then the scene before him shattered like glass.
He shook his head vigorously. When he looked again, the slope ahead was empty. The dim starlight scattered over the hillside, making the weeds look gray-green.
As if sensing something, he spun around quickly and indeed saw a figure staggering away.
It was An Jing. She was running down the mountain, almost at the foot of the hill. There was a flat stretch of wilderness there, with weeds and low bushes obstructing the view, but it was enough for her to speed up.
Jingye Luqiao had no idea what had just happened. It was like briefly falling asleep and having a very short dream.
Losing focus during a mission was something he had never experienced before.
—Actually, even An Jing didn’t fully understand the situation. She only knew that a voice devoid of any emotion had sounded in her mind.
That voice carried a coolness like mint, greatly alleviating the discomfort she felt upon waking from the dream.
In a steady pace, it instructed An Jing to use her superpower—
First, control Jingye Luqiao’s body through eye contact, and then in the process, implant the seed of a dream.
Specifically, during the control, she constantly silently repeated phrases like “you’re about to fall asleep” to plant a suggestion, until the voice in her head allowed her to look away and run in the opposite direction.
And sure enough, Jingye Luqiao didn’t give chase immediately. Instead, as if sleepwalking, he inexplicably ran a long way up the hill, then lunged at the ground as if catching something.
This was the first time An Jing knew that her dream-entry ability could be used this way.
She also felt something connected to her body, making her feel extremely tired, but the burning pain on her skin had eased considerably—at least she no longer felt like she would grind her teeth from the pain if even a breeze touched her.
She finally put some distance between herself and Jingye Luqiao, but it wasn’t enough. Because he was a professional assassin, he didn’t even waste time being puzzled; he immediately turned and gave chase.
He ran downhill steadily, like a calm and cruel lone wolf.
“Hah… hah… hah…” But An Jing, unable to control her breathing while running, was already gasping for air. She felt all sounds around her fading away, only her own desperate panting growing clearer.
Lack of oxygen turned her world from color to black and white. The starlight falling on this night was especially dim, unable to light the way ahead.
Jingye Luqiao’s footsteps grew closer.
An Jing couldn’t imagine that kind of speed. In the wilderness, he moved as if on flat ground, nothing hindering him or slowing him down in the slightest.
But suddenly, “Stop! Don’t move!” came from the side, accompanied by the sound of clothes rubbing violently against bushes, followed by a steady voice appearing beside An Jing.
And the emotionless female voice in her head changed from ‘We’re almost there’ to ‘We’re here’.
She staggeringly ran a few more steps, until her legs could no longer support her. She stumbled and fell into a large thicket. Fragile but sharp twigs cut her skin, and the pain, stronger than usual, nearly made her pass out in the next second.
Fssst—
“Ahhh!”
“Captain!”
“I’m fine! Surround him!”
“Are you okay? Little An Jing?” At that moment, a pair of soft arms wrapped around An Jing’s body, lifting her up. A reassuring scent emanated from the person, like an older sister she had grown up with…
An Jing turned her head with difficulty and saw a slightly worried face—one she was very familiar with…
Yes, it was her class advisor, Wen Ye.
“Teacher Ye…?!”
“I’ll explain later. Can you stand on your own?”
“Barely… barely…” An Jing’s chest heaved up and down as she rapidly breathed fresh air. She felt her heart pounding “thump thump thump,” as if it would leap out of her chest any second.
This was the first time in her life she had run so hard. When she stopped, she felt she had almost no strength left to stand; her hands and feet were ice-cold and nearly numb…
Ahead, several plainclothes police officers were holding pistols, all aimed at Jingye Luqiao. One man with blood continuously flowing from his right wrist gritted his teeth and pulled out a badge from his breast pocket.
“Don’t make a desperate last stand. Surrender obediently. You can’t get away—!”
Jingye Luqiao calmly raised his hands high, seemingly ready to give up without hesitation.
“Stay where you are! Don’t move!” the bleeding man shouted. He glanced at the person beside him, who understood and produced a pair of handcuffs, then advanced cautiously with gun raised.
Whoosh—!
But in the next second, Jingye Luqiao suddenly moved, grabbing the gun from his hand. Then he fired four shots in quick succession, hitting the remaining officers’ arms with precision. The guns fell from their hands in excruciating pain, and Jingye Luqiao turned and sprinted off into the distance. In just a few breaths, he was almost out of sight.
“Call… Crackle— Xue Tianling, we heard gunshots! What’s happening over there?”
“The suspect grabbed a gun and fired back. All team members are wounded!”
“Copy. Reinforcements are on the way!”
(3)
Distant sirens wailed, and soon a clatter of footsteps approached.
Dozens of armed police surrounded the area in an orderly fashion. Some divided into groups of three, covering each other front and back, and continued the pursuit in the direction Xue Tianling had indicated. The rest stayed behind to give emergency treatment to the wounded.
“I’m exhausted…” An Jing leaned against a crooked tree. She couldn’t even move a finger now. Her body, no longer pumping adrenaline, was cooling down, as if even her bones had been drained away.
The thin veil of clouds that had obscured the moon slowly dispersed, letting the bright moonlight shine on this seldom-trodden wilderness.
A doll-like little girl stood beside An Jing, stood on tiptoe, and gently stroked her head.
An Jing knew that although this girl looked like a little loli, she probably had a superpower just like herself, because the person who had spoken in her mind just now was her.
“Your superpower is… long-distance telepathy?” An Jing asked softly, tilting her head.
“No.” It wasn’t her who answered, but Wen Ye. “Since then, Taiyin hasn’t had any superpowers. Her only ability now is to amplify other people’s power—you can think of it as an amplifier and a battery.”
“Amplifier… and battery?”
“Mm.” Taiyin nodded expressionlessly, still trying to stand on tiptoe and gently pat An Jing’s head with her palm. “Lend me your ability one more time.”
“What do you mean?”
“Taiyin means to borrow your ability to cover a larger area. Theoretically, with her amplification, you can use your superpower on any target within a five-kilometer radius.”
“A five-kilometer radius?!”
“It can be even bigger,” Taiyin said without emotion.
“What do I need to do?”
“Relax.”