If I don't catch you, I'll take your last name.

Seeing Su Yang charge at him, the boy opened his bloodthirsty maw and pushed off with all four limbs to meet Su Yang head-on.

Just as the two were about to collide, the boy slammed to a sudden halt, then planted his hands on the ground, spun 180 degrees, and swung both feet up to deliver a fierce kick aimed at Su Yang's abdomen.

Su Yang saw it coming. He executed a forward somersault, flipping over the boy on the ground to evade the kick.

However, after flipping over, his back was now facing the boy. Seizing the opportunity, the boy swiftly reached out with both hands, grabbing Su Yang's calves, and yanked backwards with all his might.

Su Yang, pulled off balance by this tremendous force, plummeted face-first towards the ground.

He hurriedly thrust out his hands to brace against the ground, while simultaneously driving both feet backward with a powerful kick, trying to shove the boy away.

But his posture was wrong, and the force he could generate wasn't at its maximum. The boy wasn't dislodged.

Holding Su Yang's feet in a death grip, the boy rapidly scrambled backwards. Seeing his kicks were ineffective, Su Yang gave up on that tactic. The boy was still dragging him backwards.

Su Yang tilted his head to look. This guy was probably trying to drag him into the woods on the other side.

Su Yang wasn't about to give him that chance. Using his hands for leverage, he pushed off the ground with explosive force, propelling his entire body rapidly upwards.

As his body sprang up, he twisted with all his strength, driving his right knee into a vicious collision with the boy's head.

Thud! A solid impact echoed. Su Yang's powerful knee strike sent the boy flying sideways.

With his feet now free, Su Yang landed smoothly and stood upright. Not giving his opponent a moment to catch his breath, he lunged forward, charging at the boy with speed.

The boy had just regained his footing when Su Yang was already upon him.

Su Yang drew his right fist back in a wide arc, then unleashed a fully-loaded heavy punch straight at the boy's cheek.

BANG!!!

Another dull thud resonated.

The boy was sent flying like a kite with its string cut, landing a good five or six meters away.

Meanwhile, Ren Lingxi, hiding behind the large tree, felt her heart racing.

Her eyes were wide open, her mouth agape, watching unblinkingly as Su Yang battled the bizarre young man.

The scene made her feel like she was watching a live-action martial arts movie, her face a picture of utter disbelief.

......

On the other side, after being sent flying by Su Yang's heavy punch, the bizarre boy lay motionless on the ground like a pile of mud.

However, Su Yang didn't dare let his guard down. He narrowed his eyes slightly and began walking towards his opponent.

Just as he was about to get close, the boy's right hand twitched suddenly.

Su Yang quickly halted, observing.

After watching for over ten seconds with no further movement, he relaxed slightly and moved in again.

Once in front of the boy, he crouched down, wanting to see if the other was truly knocked out or just playing dead.

But the moment he crouched, the boy sprang up without warning, both hands shooting out to clamp around Su Yang's neck.

Su Yang hurriedly stood up, lifting the boy with him. The boy brought his feet together and delivered a powerful kick to Su Yang's stomach, sending him stumbling back three or four steps.

The kick packed a serious punch, making Su Yang grimace and yell, "Oof! Damn it, resorting to sneak attacks now?"

But with his healing ability, the pain in his stomach vanished completely within three seconds.

He brushed the dust off his clothes and looked at the boy, who was now back on the ground.

The boy was still snarling and baring his teeth at him.

Su Yang rubbed his stomach and smiled faintly. "If I don't catch you today, I'll take your surname!"

As he spoke, his expression turned serious again and he charged at the boy once more.

Right at that moment, several beams of light appeared on the path in the distance, followed by four or five 'ferocious ghost' NPCs and four staff members in work uniforms, armed with clubs, running over.

They were shouting as they ran.

But Su Yang paid them no heed. His only focus now was subduing this bizarre boy.

Seeing a group of people rushing from behind, the boy wasn't stupid. He already knew the guy in front of him was more than a match for him.

Now with more people arriving, if he didn't run now, when would he?

Just as Su Yang was about to reach him, the boy pushed off hard to the right with all four limbs, rolled over on the ground, and then dashed into the pitch-black woods behind like a wild monkey.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Su Yang shouted, breaking into a sprint to give chase.

By now, the staff members had caught up. "Brother, stop chasing! We've already called the police!!"

But Su Yang had already made his bold declaration. If he didn't capture this kid, wouldn't he have to take his surname, Ge?

Ge Yang... sounded pretty awful.

Ignoring the people behind him, Su Yang yelled, "I'll be right back! Please help my teammate get back safely."

After saying that, he broke into a full sprint, chasing the boy who had fled into the mountain woods.

......

Meanwhile, Ren Lingxi had also jogged over to the group of staff members.

They immediately asked her, "Miss, what on earth is going on? Who was that guy?"

"I don't know. At first, we thought that person was one of your NPCs, but my companion sensed something was off, and then they started fighting."

"Alright, alright. Little Lin, Hong, you two go follow them and check it out," said one of the staff members holding an iron rod.

"Got it!" The two 'ferocious ghost' NPCs hurried off towards the woods.

"Zhang Hai, Little Feng, Li Bing, you three escort this young lady back first. The rest of us will stay here and guard the area. Damn it, a weirdo actually got in. Notify everyone else: the back mountain area is temporarily sealed off, all games are suspended!"

"Understood!"

The three staff members turned to Ren Lingxi. "Miss, please come back with us. It's not safe here anymore. Where are your other friends?"

"We split up."

"We'll contact them right away."

As they spoke, they led Ren Lingxi out of the mountain area.

Ren Lingxi walked, her face full of worry as she glanced back at the dark woods.

"It's okay, miss. We've called the police. And we saw your friend on the monitors earlier—he's really skilled. He'll definitely be fine."

"Okay, thank you for your trouble."

"Don't mention it. Let's go quickly."

"Alright~"

......

Elsewhere, in the pitch-black mountain woods.

Su Yang swiftly weaved through the dense forest, hot on the heels of the bizarre boy about twenty or thirty meters ahead.

He quickly closed the distance. However, a two-to-three-meter-high wall appeared ahead.

This was likely the boundary of the escape room's back mountain area. Beyond this wall lay the even vaster, deeper wilderness. If he didn't catch the boy here, it would be much harder once they entered the deep mountains.

Thinking this, Su Yang increased his pace once more.

Just as the boy ahead was about to reach the wall, Su Yang pushed off hard with both feet, launching into a diving tackle aimed at the boy's back.

Whoosh!

The boy was just about to jump and climb over the wall when Su Yang caught him from behind, wrapping his arms around him.

The two of them tumbled down together onto a bed of dry branches and fallen leaves beside the wall.

......