Chapter 505: Hunting

Nearly four months had passed since Chen Ling promoted to Tier 3 and left the Aurora Realm.

For these four months, Chen Ling had never come here, which meant his spiritual power was still growing slowly but hadn't reached the standard to trigger the next "performance." But at this moment... his hurdle had arrived.

Chen Ling lowered his head. He was currently standing on the third step of this heavenly Divine Path. Dimly, he could see the outline of the fourth step, though it was still a long distance away. His current position was roughly halfway through the third tier.

"Just like the promotion from Tier 2 to Tier 3, it requires completing two performances..."

Only by completing the performance before him could he continue to advance on the Divine Path; otherwise, he would be stuck here forever... This was the price of stepping onto the twisted Divine Path.

Chen Ling took a deep breath, his gaze looking at the line of small text beneath his feet:

—[Complete a thrilling murder performance in front of at least 2,000 witnesses]

Chen Ling’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Fortunately... the conditions for this performance weren't that abstract. If it had been another "stage with no one watching" or "a curtain call with thunderous applause," Chen Ling might not have been able to complete it.

The keys to this performance were only three: 2,000 people, thrilling, and murder.

In the ancient Theater Path, Chen Ling certainly couldn't complete this performance, so it was highly likely he would have to find a way in the era archive... But 2,000 people wasn't a small number. Making them witness him killing someone was even harder, and it would likely cause extremely negative social impact, hindering his actions in the era archive later.

But compared to these two specific conditions, "thrilling" might be the real challenge... How could one kill someone in a way that could be called thrilling?

Pairs of scarlet pupils stared at Chen Ling in the darkness, playful and expectant. Chen Ling pondered for a long time on the twisted Divine Path before completely transferring his consciousness, and everything around him slowly faded...

When he came to his senses, Yao Qing’s face was pressed against his, looking at him in confusion.

"What are you spacing out for in broad daylight?"

Chen Ling pushed him away expressionlessly and continued walking toward the museum’s main entrance.

"...Hey, where are you going?"

"Back to the city."

Hearing this, Yao Qing seemed to think of some bad memories and lowered his voice to ask, "Why go back? Aren't you afraid they’ll hunt you down again?"

"If it’s just me, they can't catch me."

Yao Qing looked at him with a strange expression, as if saying, "You’re really showing off."

Chen Ling was naturally telling the truth. If it were just him, he could change his face and blend into the crowd. Before, it was because Su Zhiwei and the others were driving, making them too big a target, so he had to forcibly remove all the eyes.

Now that Xiao Chunping was guarding the museum, protecting Su Zhiwei and Yang Xiao, it undoubtedly gave Chen Ling more room to maneuver. Going out for activities in the short term shouldn't be a big problem.

"Then go ahead." Yao Qing crossed his arms and said, raising his head, "Leave this place to me."

"Leave it to you?"

Chen Ling raised an eyebrow. "Are you good at fighting?"

"..." Yao Qing bit the bullet and said, "Although I can't beat you, I did practice Sanda in school! Sister Zhiwei is a girl, Grandma is old and in poor health, and Dr. Yang Xiao looks weak and frail. Of course, I’m the only one who can stand up!"

Chen Ling looked at him with a half-smile for a moment and nodded slightly.

"Good, then I’ll leave it to you."

After saying that, Chen Ling turned and left, heading straight toward the city.

Yao Qing was suddenly stunned. "Aren't you driving?"

"Your license plate has already been exposed. I’m going to change to another car."

Chen Ling walked to the side of the road, casually flagged down a passing empty truck, and after transferring two million in "rent" to the driver on the spot, he roared away, leaving Yao Qing dumbfounded.

Second floor of the museum.

Xiao Chunping stood by the window, leaning on her cane, also watching Chen Ling’s departing back, lost in thought.

……

At the same time.

Loujiang Highway.

On the empty, spacious road, a black sedan slowed down and pulled over. A figure in a pitch-black cloak stepped out of the car, his deep gaze beneath the hood scanning the surroundings slowly.

"This is it." In the driver’s seat, Vulture calmly lit a cigarette for himself,

"This is the spot where the two cars collided for no reason; there are still brake marks on the ground. The place where the people from the other two cars were taken out should be further ahead."

Nie Yu cast a light glance, then pulled a few pebbles from his pocket and flicked them with his fingers.

Bang, bang, bang—!

The pebbles, traveling at speeds no less than bullets, tore through the air with a sonic boom. The next moment, they shattered the nearest road surveillance cameras. Only then did he slowly remove his black hood, revealing his true face.

"So vigilant?" Vulture raised an eyebrow.

"I'm still a wanted man; it would be troublesome if I were discovered." Nie Yu paused for a moment. "Besides, that man in the brown coat can manipulate electronic devices. These things are his 'eyes'."

"I see... But there are only a few brake marks left here. How do you plan to track them?"

"Any object in the world, as long as it moves, leaves a trace."

Nie Yu closed the car door and walked alone to the center of the road, his gaze sweeping over the faint tire burn marks on the ground and the edge of the highway that had just been repaired.

"These traces are invisible to the naked eye, but I can see them... Hunting humans in a steel city is no different from hunting beasts in the deep mountains."

He crouched halfway down, his right fingertips lightly touching the ground, as a pair of hunter's double pupils—unique to the "Sky Wolf"—gradually replaced his original eyes.

"[Hunt]."

As the double pupils completely covered his eyes, the world in Nie Yu's vision changed instantly. The bright sky was gradually covered by a deep blue, as if he were looking at the world through a piece of dark blue glass; the color tone visibly cooled... At the same time, a massive amount of detail, invisible to the naked eye, began to emerge before him.

Overlapping and chaotic tire tracks were outlined on the ground—these were the traces left by all the vehicles that had passed along this road in the last few days. Among these dense tire tracks, there were also a few scattered footprints.

These details left on the ground slowly rose under the gaze of Nie Yu's double pupils. Based on the depth and degree of wear, they arranged themselves in chronological order, flickering beside him like a movie.

The tram and the car seemed to collide before his eyes, a figure descended from the sky, smashing another car into pieces with a single punch. Finally, the last car slowly pulled over to the edge; the figure stepped out from the back seat and then vanished without a trace.

He frowned and pondered for a long time, his gaze sweeping over all the tire tracks from different time periods, until he finally locked onto one of them...

He followed the trail of these tire tracks into the distance, muttering to himself:

"Found you..."