After Cao Linxuan fled, Chen Xiao turned back with a quiet helplessness that only sharpened his awareness: speed mattered more than ever. Fortunately, every competitor in the third stage would sooner or later converge on the Underground Furnace—Cao would have to reappear.
"Zhou Xun... no, Mad Ghost Boss! Can we follow you?""Mad Ghost Boss, we'll die for you!"
Zhang Longqi and Zhao Yuanhang approached on unsteady feet, faces drawn. Learning that the "Zhou Xun" in their midst had been the Mad Ghost Butcher in disguise had turned awe into near-worship. The Mad Ghost Butcher was a legend in the Beijing Military Region—the most ruthless man alive since the apocalypse.
Chen Xiao let out a short laugh. "Why so nervous? I won't eat you."
"Of course not!" Zhang babbled. "You've always been my idol since the apocalypse!"
"Enough with the flattery," Chen Xiao cut him off. "Tell me your talents and I'll decide whether to take you."
Zhang straightened: "I'm Zhang Longqi—awakened as an Ox. I have SSS-rank Tremor Earth and S-rank Bull Strength."Zhao Yuanhang nodded: "I'm Zhao Yuanhang—awakened as a Wolf Dog. I wield SSS-rank speed Desperate Dash and S-rank Swift Dog Paddle."
Dual-talent holders—no small potatoes in the military region, probably local cadres—yet before Chen Xiao they shuffled like obedient pups. He accepted them, and the three streaked deeper into the forest together.
Cao Linxuan, meanwhile, had collided with Kawakima Aki and chosen flight over fight. He had no choice: betrayed by a trusted subordinate and crippled after using an "opportunity," he was still reeling — and now this woman had found him. Her SSS-rank speed talent Spirit Cat Step made her terrifyingly quick; she closed on him in a flash.
Cao had anticipated being pursued. Even injured, he could mobilize lightning—he unleashed a crackling arc that staggered Aki, forcing her to retreat. She tasted the captain's strength and hesitated. "If he's injured and running, whatever hurt him must be monstrous," she thought. Better to harvest advantage than finish him.
She followed his trail at full tilt. Her Dynamic Radar pinged a distant fast movement. She hesitated—then pressed on, and quickly realized her mistake. The newcomer ahead was a Huaxia man who looked unscathed. Could he be the one who'd struck Cao? Impossible — yet his presence set her nerves on edge.
"Kawakima… Aki?" Chen Xiao said, pausing and rubbing his chin. He'd picked up a fast-moving signature and left Zhang and Zhao behind to investigate. He'd expected A Yao; instead he'd run into the Cherry Blossom speedster — a name he'd researched but deprioritized once A Yao's talent became his aim.
Aki was striking in a black slit dress, cool and contained like a night-blooming flower. She stopped, reluctant. "Are you going to block me?" she asked.
Chen Xiao shook his head. "Just curious about your talent rank," he said.
Her brow tightened. "What do you mean?"
He smiled faintly. "Nothing. Just curious. But you'd be wise to be obedient."
Aki's eyes flashed cold with killing intent. "You're bold — knowing my name and still acting arrogant. Do you know how many Huaxia I've slain?"
Chen Xiao shrugged. "I've killed more Huaxia than you."
She had no retort for that odd logic. Her face twisted with contempt. "You think that first-stage score means anything? You only have more survivors left. Cherry Blossom will win the final—so die."
She vanished in a blur, her dagger catching the moonlight. Chen Xiao moved, too, summoning a slender water blade.
"Frogs in a well," he said.
Their blades met with a crisp clang. Kawakima Aki felt a force like a tide sweep through her — her dagger spun from her fingers as if swept aside by a gust. She locked eyes with him, searching for the crack he must surely have. There was none. Only an unsettling calm, a depth she could not measure.
She gritted her teeth, drew a short knife, and closed to strike at close range — certain she'd leave him no room to escape. But the instant before she lunged a chill crawled up her spine: something in that gaze, some signal she couldn't name, made her blood run cold.
For an instant the world tilted. Her limbs felt suddenly foreign, clumsy. The knife in her hand trembled. An instinctive, animal fear — not of death itself, but of something more absolute — flared in her chest. The air around Chen Xiao seemed to thicken; shadowy shapes flickered behind his silhouette, like the twitch of a black goat's shadow seen in the corner of the eye.
She stopped.
Her mind screamed for retreat. The speed queen who'd lived a life of decisive strikes now froze, breath hitching. Terror sharpened into raw, visceral panic.
Chen Xiao didn't press the advantage. He let the moment hang, watching the color drain from her face. Then, softly: "You should choose which side you're on."
Kawakima Aki tasted bile. Her mouth went dry. She backed away on instinct, every muscle coiled for flight. The arrogant mask crumpled; for the first time, she looked very small.
Without another word, she retreated into the trees, her Spirit Cat Step carrying her away in a streak.
Chen Xiao watched her go, feeling the truth of the night settle in. Speed was no longer a luxury; it was a keystone. He had A Yao to find. He had to move.
He spread his wings of Divine Wind and faded into the treetops, the forest swallowing him up as he hunted for the Underground Furnace — and for the speed that would let him close every gap the game kept forcing open.