Chen Xiu couldn't help laughing bitterly.
In an instant, he understood the outline.
Lin Yuxia was too honest. She'd submitted the bounty under his name.
Her intention was good.
Generally, for an outsider to gain legal status in Lungmen, they had to meet three conditions:
First: contribute to Lungmen until their contribution score met the threshold.
Second: at least three Lungmen citizens had to vouch for them.
Third: a hospital had to certify them as not Infected.
Catching fugitives for the Guard Department definitely counted as contribution.
But compared to contribution points, Chen Xiu and Texas needed money more, so he'd chosen cash.
He hadn't said it explicitly, but he'd assumed the contribution credit would go to Grey Tail Hall by default.
He just hadn't expected Lin Yuxia to refuse to take it.
So when Zhongyi Hall noticed Huang Mingjie was missing and investigated, they still traced it to him.
Chen Xiu didn't know why Pan Hu was making such a big show.
But if he fell into Pan Hu's hands, the result would be horrific—he might not even be allowed the mercy of death.
Twenty-two hours remained.
How did he resolve this?
The simplest answer: hide.
Few people in the slums knew him. Zhongyi Hall finding him would be like fishing a needle out of the sea.
Texas likely wouldn't object.
The only regret was the new rental. Renting a place only to abandon it in less than a day was… painful.
Chen Xiu rubbed his fingers together, eyes lowered as if they reflected an invisible chessboard.
He already had the advantage.
If he did nothing with it, that would be wasteful.
A nameless nobody—yet who said small people couldn't tilt the board?
Chen Xiu suddenly looked up at the towering Lungmen Commerce Tower outside the window. A sharp, cold gleam flashed in his eye.
If so…
Why not wipe out Zhongyi Hall?
They already intended to strike Grey Tail Hall. Making them clash early wouldn't be hard.
As for Building 91—whatever it truly was, it likely belonged to Zhongyi Hall as well. He could use Ch'en Hui-chieh to smash it.
Once that happened, Zhongyi Hall would be severely weakened—too damaged to hunt him.
Han Jin and Pan Hu could be eliminated as well.
"The puzzle pieces are already forming," Chen Xiu murmured, arrogance leaking into his tone as if victory were certain. "All that's left is to slot in a few key elements…"
He lifted a hand, covering one side of his face like a theatrical mastermind.
…
In a blink, nineteen hours passed.
Day turned to night. Lungmen's evening was as loud and glamorous as ever.
Lights from high-rises drove away the dark sky—and, like a kind of charity, spilled a little brightness into the slums.
A fit figure vaulted over a wall.
Ch'en Hui-chieh glanced at the thugs chasing her and clenched her fist—then abandoned the thought of knocking them all out.
Seriously—what was wrong with these idiots these past two days?
They were hunting some Sarkaz named Chen Xiu everywhere.
What did that guy do to provoke them?
Ch'en Hui-chieh sighed.
She was already investigating the missing-girls case in the slums—this was supposed to be the critical phase.
And she had to run into this garbage.
No need to think: it was gang revenge again.
Someone hunted this hard by Zhongyi Hall was probably some extremely dangerous Sarkaz mercenary.
In short—none of them were good.
Ch'en Hui-chieh ground her teeth, wishing she could cuff them all on the spot.
"Wei Yenwu," she cursed under her breath, "this is your Lungmen? The Guard Department's inaction is disgraceful!"
As she tore into her uncle in her mind, a group suddenly surged from ahead and blocked her path.
"Over there! That suspicious one! Don't let her get away!"
"Yeah! She must be Chen Xiu's accomplice!"
Ch'en Hui-chieh stumbled.
What do you mean "accomplice"!?
Furious, she shot them a murderous glare.
Her eyes scanned for an opening. She pushed off hard, long legs driving her through a gap before they fully closed in.
She didn't know the slums' layout well. If this continued, they'd corner her sooner or later—and they'd definitely call reinforcements.
She couldn't drag this out. She'd be trapped.
Ch'en Hui-chieh's eyes hardened—
Then she saw a smooth concrete wall dead ahead.
No wonder they hadn't blocked this direction.
It was a dead end.
So—she'd have to fight.
But she hadn't brought her weapon, in order to keep her identity hidden…
"Hey! Here—here!"
A voice called from above.
A rope dropped down.
Ch'en Hui-chieh looked up and saw a ragged figure atop the wall waving to her—some slum drifter?
"Hurry up! They're almost here!"
She didn't have time to decide whether to trust him.
Ch'en Hui-chieh clenched her jaw, grabbed the rope, and climbed.
When the thugs arrived, she was already more than halfway up. She was almost at the top—
Then the rope shook violently from below as someone yanked it.
Her body swung like a leaf in the air.
Ch'en Hui-chieh clung tightly, legs and dragon tail locking around the rope as she fought upward with terrifying arm strength.
But the old rope gave out first.
The tension suddenly vanished.
Her heart dropped with it.
Falling from here wouldn't kill her—but if she fought the gang, she could expose her identity.
And without her weapon, her combat effectiveness would be compromised.
In that instant, a hand snapped onto her wrist.
She stopped falling.
It was the drifter.
Ch'en Hui-chieh's eyes lit up with relief.
With a strained shout, he hauled her over the wall and onto the ground.
Breathing hard, she clasped her fists. "Thank you!"
The "drifter" didn't accept it. He grabbed her arm instead.
"Now isn't the time for that. You don't seriously think you're safe, do you?"
Ch'en Hui-chieh halted. For a split second she'd thought he was attacking, and her body had almost gone into a throw.
"There's only one way to shake them."
Ahead was an artificial canal.
Ch'en Hui-chieh understood immediately.
"You can swim, right? Follow me. I'll take you somewhere safe!"
By the time the thugs reached the canal, Ch'en Hui-chieh had already swum hundreds of meters downstream with him.
They climbed out, wove through alleys, and slipped into a messy, broken shack. He lit an oil lamp.
Under the dim light, Ch'en Hui-chieh recognized his race.
A young Sarkaz.
"Sit," the Sarkaz said, settling onto a pile of old newspapers. "They won't find this place for now."
Then he introduced himself calmly.
"My name is Chen Xiu. And you are?"
Ch'en Hui-chieh froze mid-motion.
Her eyes locked onto him, muscles tightening.
Chen Xiu?
The dangerous target Zhongyi Hall was hunting?
He… saved her?
-------
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