Su Ze sprinted to the roadside and jumped into a taxi.
He didn't breathe a sigh of relief until the car pulled away, feeling as though he'd just cheated death.
He couldn't stay in Mu Country any longer. The Zhao Family had already tracked him to the bathhouse where he was staying. If he hadn't happened to be out today, he would've been caught.
Especially since he had just killed Gao Long. By tomorrow, the Zhao Family would likely brand him a fugitive murderer and put out a city-wide arrest warrant for him.
'Good thing I can leave tomorrow. I just have to get through tonight…'
Sitting in the back of the taxi, Su Ze took out Gao Long's phone and wallet. He'd only taken them to avoid leaving the Zhao Family any more clues, hoping to buy himself some time.
For example, the Black Bar membership card in Gao Long's wallet. If the Zhao Family followed that lead, they could quickly track him to the Black and White Bar.
When they passed a public restroom, Su Ze asked the driver to stop. Using the excuse of needing the toilet, he threw Gao Long's wallet and phone down the drain of a squat toilet.
He then got back in the car and had the driver take him to the vicinity of the Black and White Bar.
He chose not to go into the Black and White Bar. If the Zhao Family surrounded the place tonight, he'd be a sitting duck.
After wandering the area for a bit, Su Ze walked into a 24-hour convenience store not far from the Black and White Bar. He ordered a coffee, found a seat in a corner, and settled in. He planned to wait there until dawn before heading to the Black and White Bar for the rendezvous.
Su Ze mulled over his fight with Gao Long. In terms of raw power, he was actually weaker than him. As a minor local prodigy, Gao Long's combat strength was nothing to scoff at. There was a clear gap between them in both number of skills and physical conditioning. The only reason he'd managed a one-shot kill was the perfect synergy between his abilities.
Rhino Charge ensured he could close the distance. The perfect combination of Ant Power and "Needle Strike" boosted his instantaneous burst damage to a terrifying level. Since Gao Long couldn't withstand his strongest blow, defeat was inevitable.
'My current skill set has its advantages: high burst, insane damage output. It allows for a one-hit kill, letting the weak overcome the strong. Take Gao Long, for instance. He was loaded with skills but never even got the chance to use a single one against me.'
'The disadvantages are just as obvious. My methods are one-dimensional. I have this single combo, and if it doesn't kill them instantly, I'll be the one on the back foot.'
Su Ze knew his current defensive and escape capabilities were rather weak, making him a squishy, high-burst assassin. But it wasn't a big deal. He had plenty of skill slots; he could just pick up some defensive and escape skills later.
Besides, Su Ze was confident that not many Pupa Stage evolvers could withstand his full burst combo.
Speaking of which, after completing his first evolution, Su Ze was able to absorb extracts again. The problem was, you couldn't buy Tier-2 S-Class extracts in Heiyan City, so Su Ze decided to put it off for now. He would figure it out once he got to Luofan Country.
After sorting through his thoughts on the battle, Su Ze took out his newest trophy—a small toe bone—and toyed with it in his hand.
As for this Tier-1 Oddity, Su Ze had just looked up some information about it online. It was called the "Traceless Walker."
Information on any Oddity that had been publicly sold on major platforms or had gone up for auction could be found online. Of course, this was limited to low-tier Oddities; information about high-tier ones was kept confidential.
The skill granted by the "Traceless Walker" was "Traceless Walk." When activated, the user would leave no tracks and make no sound, whether walking or running. It also provided a minor speed boost.
It wasn't a particularly powerful Oddity, but it was quite practical. Gao Long had clearly used it to silently tail Su Ze.
"Dr. Liou, what would you like to drink?"
A vaguely familiar voice sounded near Su Ze. He looked up to see it was the beautiful woman and her expert bodyguard.
The speaker was the woman suspected of being a Butterfly Stage expert, and the "Dr. Liou" she spoke of was none other than his beautiful client.
Su Ze was a little surprised. He'd originally assumed that this beautiful client, much like Zhao Lingxiao, must come from a prominent family to have such a powerful personal guard. Now, it seemed that wasn't the case.
Su Ze had once been personally protected by the Butterfly Stage expert Zhang Fantie, but Zhang Fantie had never been this deferential to him.
'And then there was the way the woman addressed her… Dr. Liou?'
A few theories began to form in Su Ze's mind.
"Just water is fine," Dr. Liou replied. "And, Mrs. Yun, I've told you so many times, you don't have to be so polite with me."
Mrs. Yun simply smiled.
After a moment's thought, Su Ze took the initiative to stand and greet them. "Miss Liou, Mrs. Yun."
The two of them looked over warily. They relaxed slightly upon seeing it was Su Ze. "What are you doing here?" Mrs. Yun asked.
"I'm here for some coffee." Su Ze's face bloomed into a warm, enthusiastic smile. He gestured for them to join him as if he owned the place. "Come on, have a seat."
Dr. Liou and Mrs. Yun exchanged a look. Since they, like Su Ze, had already planned on waiting in the convenience store until dawn, they didn't refuse and sat down across from him.
Su Ze glanced at the water in front of Dr. Liou. "What's so great about plain water? Let me buy you a milk tea, Miss Liou."
At the mention of milk tea, Dr. Liou's beautiful, large eyes lit up, but her brow quickly furrowed. "But milk tea makes you gain weight. It's also full of trans fatty acids, which are difficult for the body to metabolize. I've done research on it—even for a Pupa Stage evolver, it's best not to drink more than one cup per day, or it will still affect your health."
"And I already had a cup this morning…"
Dr. Liou's gentle voice earnestly lectured Su Ze, making one thing perfectly clear to him: she really, really loved milk tea.
'So… is that a yes or a no?'
"Let's drink it." Dr. Liou's brow smoothed out. It was hard to tell if she was talking to herself or explaining to Su Ze when she said, "I'm about to complete my second evolution anyway. Once I become a Cocoon Stage life-form, I'll be able to drink two cups of milk tea a day."
'So you're evolving just so you can drink an extra cup of milk tea every day?'
Snarky thoughts aside, Su Ze immediately went next door to "Yukiko's Tea" and came back with two cups of milk tea.
Dr. Liou cradled the milk tea, poked the straw in, and began to take small sips. Her bodyguard, Mrs. Yun, however, didn't touch the cup in front of her, maintaining her expert composure.
Whether it was because of Su Ze's sweet-talking—calling her "Miss Liou" with every other breath—or because the milk tea had bridged the gap between them, he and Dr. Liou began to chat off and on.
Through their conversation, Su Ze learned that Dr. Liou's full name was Liou Wenxin and that she was from the Dongli Kingdom.
The Dongli Kingdom and Mu Country were separated by Luofan Country. It was a long journey with inconvenient transport. He had no idea how she had ended up in Mu Country, but it seemed she'd stirred up a good deal of trouble.
However, Liou Wenxin was extremely tight-lipped about herself, revealing nothing more despite chatting with Su Ze for a long time.
It was clear that when the topic wasn't milk tea, her intelligence was firing on all cylinders.
Of course, the only reason Su Ze had been chatting with Liou Wenxin for so long wasn't because she was gorgeous, had a great figure, a wonderful air about her, long legs, fair skin, and was a 36D... but purely because he had a question to ask her.
"Miss Liou, what's your phone number?"