You've activated Sprint

Soon, everyone walked back to the hotel.

upon arriving at the parking lot, Su Yang looked at Pan Ning. "Tell the others I have a friend nearby I need to meet. I'll be back soon."

Pan Ning nodded. "Okay, remember what I said. An hour and a half."

"I know, go on now."

Watching the others enter the hotel, Su Yang walked quickly to his car and got in.

He set the navigation to a random spot in the suburbs and drove out of the hotel.

"I'm going to see exactly what the hell this is!" Su Yang muttered to himself, slamming on the gas and disappearing at the end of the street.

Twenty minutes later, Su Yang arrived at the suburban location.

The area was pitch black, the road narrow and surrounded by mountains. The only things visible were some dilapidated, uninhabited brick houses scattered on the hillside.

Su Yang drove a bit further along the road until he reached a relatively open patch of dirt.

He turned off the music, cracked the window slightly, reclined his seat, and lay back.

Instantly, a sense of emptiness washed over him.

The surroundings were terrifyingly quiet, save for the faint chirping of crickets from the distant woods.

Su Yang turned off the headlights, closed his eyes, and waited in silence.

He had a strong premonition that the sensation of being followed would definitely return.

However, after lying there for over ten minutes, he didn't sense anyone approaching or that feeling of being watched.

'Could it really be my imagination?' Su Yang wondered with his eyes closed.

'I'll wait another ten minutes.'

Soon, ten minutes passed. Su Yang opened his eyes; if he waited any longer, he'd probably fall asleep.

"Damn it. Was my gut wrong?"

Just then, his phone vibrated. Su Yang picked it up and checked; it was a message from Liu Bo.

"How's it going, Brother Yang? Find anything?"

Su Yang typed back: "Nothing yet."

"Then you probably just imagined it. Have you been 'battling' with sister-in-law too late into the night recently? Maybe you're weak from lack of rest and hallucinating?"

Su Yang rolled his eyes, speechless. "You're the weak one. I could battle all night and be fine."

"Hehe. Anyway, who would be bored enough to follow you all the way from Licheng to Ya'an? It's such a long way. Besides, you haven't found anything, so just come back. We're all waiting for you to play games~"

"Fine, heading back now."

Su Yang shook his head and locked his phone, ready to give up. But the moment the screen went dark, that feeling of being watched finally emerged from the depths of his mind.

Su Yang shuddered, his expression shifting slightly as he gently set the phone down. 'Finally here. I knew it wasn't an illusion.'

The rearview mirror was pitch black. Su Yang tilted his head but couldn't see anything, yet he sensed the person was not far behind the car.

—System, can you scan the person behind me?

[Cannot scan.]

—Still can't scan? That shouldn't be right.

—Do I have to see the person with my own eyes to scan them?

[To be precise, the Host must see the face of the target before their information can be scanned.]

Hearing this, Su Yang pondered for two seconds.

—You need an update. Go fix this bug.

After saying that, he closed his eyes again to focus on the sensation.

A few minutes passed. The presence was still there, but it didn't get any closer.

Su Yang opened his eyes, pushed the door open, and stepped out of the car.

He cracked his neck, took out a cigarette, and lit it. Then, he shouted into the silent darkness, "Come on out, friend! I'm all alone tonight."

There was no response.

"Phew~" He exhaled a cloud of smoke into the night sky. Ten seconds later, a faint rustling sound came from the ground about thirty meters to his left.

It sounded like the footsteps of a beast locking onto its prey, slowly moving in.

Su Yang turned to look, but the darkness made it impossible to see clearly.

He only vaguely sensed someone walking slowly toward him.

'It's not that Ge Hai? That guy didn't seem capable of walking upright.'

'Then who could it be? This is getting interesting.'

Su Yang stared into the darkness dozens of meters away.

Scuff—

Scuff—

The footsteps sounded once every five seconds.

Su Yang wasn't in a rush. He waited patiently, planning to let the System scan the moment he got a clear look at the intruder.

Scuff—

Scuff—

......

After eight consecutive steps, the sound stopped.

Yet, Su Yang still couldn't see anyone.

He finished his cigarette, threw the butt on the ground, and crushed it. Just as he looked up, a deep green light flashed about thirty or forty meters away.

"Hmph, I knew it was this guy. Damn it, come over here if you have the guts!"

"Sneaking around... what are you trying to do? Stop dragging this out."

Since the other party wouldn't approach, Su Yang started walking quickly toward where the green light had flashed.

After walking forward about ten meters, he finally saw a figure in black standing there.

The person was around 175 centimeters tall and appeared quite thin.

Su Yang stopped. Although the person was visible, he still couldn't see their face.

The stranger seemed to be wearing a long black robe with a large hood covering their head. Their face was likely hidden by a mask or something similar.

"Who are you? Why are you following me?"

Su Yang shouted at the robed figure, but the person neither moved nor replied.

"Not talking? You followed me all this way, and now I'm right in front of you. Whatever you want to do, get on with it. I'm in a hurry."

Silence followed his words. The figure remained motionless.

Su Yang was losing patience. Looking at the robed figure, who had almost blended into the night, he gave a final warning: "I'll give you ten seconds. If you don't come over, I'm coming to you."

"Ten."

"Nine."

"Eight."

......

"One."

As Su Yang spoke the last number, the robed figure moved.

Whoosh!!

Not only did they move, but they were incredibly fast—far faster than Ge Hai had been. The figure rushed toward Su Yang at breakneck speed.

"What the f*ck? Did you pop a speed buff?!" Su Yang tensed up instantly, but instead of retreating, he charged forward to meet the incoming robed figure.

Just as they were about to collide, Su Yang clenched his right fist, ready to deliver a frontal strike.

Bang!

Before Su Yang could even throw his punch, a sharp pain exploded in his chest. He was sent flying backward like a kite with a cut string.

Thud!

The moment his back hit the ground, Su Yang slapped the earth with both hands, springing back up to regain his footing.

"Whew..." Su Yang's mind went blank for a second. He hadn't even seen how the opponent struck him before he was sent flying.

Fortunately, with his healing ability, the pain dissipated quickly.

The robed figure before him was the first person in a long time who had managed to knock him back so far.

Su Yang suddenly felt a surge of excitement.

He rubbed his chest, looked at the robed figure ten meters away, and said indifferently, "You've got some skills. But not enough."

As the words fell, Su Yang's gaze sharpened. He stomped his right foot on the ground and launched himself violently toward the robed figure.

The man stood motionless. It wasn't until Su Yang closed the distance and unleashed a sweeping kick that he moved, dodging swiftly to the left.

Su Yang's kick sliced through empty air. Before he could recover for his next move, a pitch-black arm shot out, aiming straight for his face.

"What the hell?"

He snapped his head to the side, barely dodging the punch.

The black arm retracted immediately after the missed strike, but Su Yang seized the moment. He shot out his right hand, gripping the opponent's arm, and yanked violently, dragging the black-robed figure toward him.

Driving his left leg upward, he slammed a powerful knee strike into the figure's abdomen.

Bam!

The heavy blow forced the robed figure to stagger back two or three meters.

Su Yang didn't let up. Pressing the attack, he pushed off the ground, leaping high into the air to deliver a kick aimed squarely at the figure's head.

This time, the figure dodged with ease. Then, without warning, that black arm shot out from beneath the dark robes once more, seizing Su Yang by the collar.

Su Yang immediately clamped both hands onto the opponent's arm. Using his body weight for leverage, he wrenched it to the left, forcing the robed figure to bend at the waist.

Spinning rapidly, Su Yang delivered a spinning back kick that connected solidly with the figure's head.

Wham!

The robed figure stumbled diagonally backward for a few meters before regaining his balance.