They Are Back Again

Fang Qi was stunned.

Didn't dodge?

...Was it that the person across from them had shot wide?

From such a short distance, and they still managed to miss...?

In the backseat, Liguang's crimson eyes flickered faintly.

She tilted her head slightly to glance at An Lian, the blush on her pretty face not yet fully faded, but her expression had already returned to focus.

An Lian pursed her lips, her fingers lightly tightening around the edge of the gauze on her knee.

"When that gun was shoved in, it was definitely pointed right at my forehead."

She recalled the moment with a slight daze, her gray eyes fixed on the street scene rapidly receding outside the car window.

"But I was frozen at that moment, I didn't have time to react, and..."

She pursed her lips gently.

"No time to respond. Definitely no chance to dodge."

"But..."

She raised her hand, her fingertips lightly touching her bandaged ear.

"That gun barrel shifted the exact moment it fired."

"The bullet didn't hit my head—it hit my ear instead."

"I'm not sure why it shifted. Maybe the shooter's hand shook, maybe..."

"Maybe he never intended to kill me?"

Fang Qi stared at her blankly.

...?

"...Maybe I'm overthinking it."

An Lian shook her head again softly.

"Could just be that the shooter's skill was terrible, and the recoil made the barrel drift, so I..."

Her eyelashes drooped slightly.

"Managed to cheat death."

The car fell silent.

Lin Xiaoyou drove without a word.

Both hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, her almond-shaped eyes fixed straight ahead on the road. Her Little Round Face was completely expressionless.

The lively banter from earlier seemed nothing more than a brief performance.

Fang Qi narrowed his eyes.

It seemed...

Things weren't as simple as he had thought?

The gun...

Right, the gun was still in his hand!

He immediately pulled from his waist the pistol he had picked up in the hallway earlier!

The feel of a real gun was heavy.

But this wasn't his first time holding one; he was pretty used to it.

The black body of the gun gleamed with cold light.

A faint, lingering smell of gunpowder clung to the muzzle.

He raised the gun to eye level and studied it carefully.

This gun...

"Master."

Liguang's voice came from behind.

"Could you let Liguang take a look?"

Fang Qi snapped back to reality.

"Of course."

He handed it over.

Liguang reached out and took the pistol. A faint crimson flicker passed through her red pupils.

Her gaze swept over every detail of the gun.

"This is a standard-issue police semi-automatic pistol currently in use."

She explained softly.

"The recoil isn't strong—its recoil energy is around 3 to 4 joules."

"Trained individuals can handle it easily, and even an untrained ordinary person... can adapt after just a few rounds."

As she spoke, her slender fingers expertly pressed the magazine release.

"Click."

The magazine slid out of the grip and landed steadily in her palm.

She raised the magazine to eye level, her crimson eyes flickering slightly.

"The pistol only fired one round."

She continued to explain softly.

"The remaining rounds in the magazine are intact, and there are no signs of successive firing in the chamber."

She looked up, meeting Fang Qi's gaze.

"If the shooter had intended to kill Miss An Lian and missed the vital point with the first shot..."

She narrowed her eyes slightly.

"He should have immediately fired again."

Fang Qi squinted.

True, when using a pistol to kill someone...

You'd usually empty the whole magazine to be sure, right?

"But he didn't try multiple shots."

Liguang speculated softly.

"He fired once, and regardless of the outcome, he just stopped."

Fang Qi frowned.

An Lian's eyelashes trembled slightly.

She raised her hand again, her fingertips brushing her bandaged ear...

Gray eyes once again lost focus.

"So..."

She murmured, her tone uncertain.

"That man who looked so much like Uncle Lin—why on earth... Ah!"

An Lian let out a sudden short gasp!

Because Lin Xiaoyou had stomped on the accelerator!

That one stomp pressed the other three in the car back into their seats!

The whole vehicle lurched forward!

It shot ahead through the sparse traffic!

Fang Qi was thrown back by the momentum as well!

"Lin Xiaoyou!"

He glared at the round-faced girl in the driver's seat beside him!

"Slow down! There's still an injured person in the car!"

Lin Xiaoyou tilted her head slightly and shot him a glance.

"Senior~"

A mischievous grin appeared on her Little Round Face.

"Are you sure about that?"

She turned her gaze back to the road ahead, gripped the steering wheel, and raised an eyebrow.

"We only have one hour left until 'time's up'!"

Time's up...

Fang Qi froze for a moment.

Then his eyes sharpened.

...Right.

There was only one hour left until the time An Lian was supposed to have died a few weeks ago!

Fate seemed to have locked onto that exact moment.

Around nine in the morning!

Sister An Lian hadn't died just now...

But that didn't mean she wouldn't encounter danger at that time.

And Lin Xiaoyou!

She could also be in danger at that same moment.

And now...

There was only one hour left until nine o'clock!

He fell silent.

Lin Xiaoyou was right.

Right now, time was life itself!

"So we have to hurry!"

Lin Xiaoyou stomped on the accelerator again!

The pink "Zucchkin" surged forward on the main road!

Once more, the three of them were pressed into their seats!

Fang Qi's breath caught for a moment!

Every time he felt this little car's speed, it was just absurd!

Behind him, An Lian was pressed into the pink seat, her gray eyes wide open.

"...This little electric car can actually go this fast?"

She murmured.

Liguang said nothing.

She just watched out the window with a faint flicker in her crimson eyes, frowning slightly.

"BZZZZ—!!!"

The electric motor roared fiercely!

Lin Xiaoyou floored the accelerator again!

The car lunged wildly down the main road, then she jerked the steering wheel—

"SKRRR—!"

Tires scraped against the asphalt! She was pulling off drifting moves right on the street!

The pink "Zucchkin" swerved!

It took a sharp turn and drifted up onto the highway overpass!

"YEAH!!!"

Lin Xiaoyou shouted!

As for Fang Qi... he instinctively grabbed his seatbelt tighter!

If he hadn't been belted in, he would have been thrown out long ago!

Lin Xiaoyou, can't you go slower and not die...?

Wait—maybe they really would die...?

"BANG! BANG!! BANG!!!"

Suddenly, the sound of continuous collisions came from behind!

...Huh?!

That sound was familiar!

He immediately twisted his head around to look back!

Had the car accident finally happened?!

Then his pupils contracted.

Through the rear window of the "Zucchkin," he saw...

Several cars had crashed into the roadside!

Some had plowed onto the sidewalk!

Some had rear-ended the vehicles ahead!

And one had smashed straight into a fire hydrant, sending a pillar of water shooting up into the air!

And the ground was covered in scorched black tire marks!

Huh? Those cars...!

Fang Qi's eyelids twitched!

It looked like they had tried the same sudden turn and drift onto the overpass?

But...

They didn't have Lin Xiaoyou's skill! And their cars didn't have the "Zucchkin's" performance!

So they all failed!

One by one, they all crashed!

"Master, those c-ars..."

Liguang wasn't looking behind them; she was watching Fang Qi.

Her crimson eyes narrowed.

"Had been following us the whole time."

Fang Qi: "...!"

An Lian was also turning her head to look back.

Her face was still deathly pale, but her gray eyes narrowed slightly.

“One of those cars, and its license plate number…”

She murmured softly.

“Looks familiar.”

“I think… I’ve seen it in the parking lot in front of Dawn Headquarters.”

Fang Qi: “!!!”

Behind them, the accident scene was already out of sight.

Lin Xiaoyou was driving far too fast!

He took a deep breath.

So…

Ever since they left the neighborhood, someone from Dawn Corporation had been tailing them?

…Dawn?

Not a ghost informant, not the police…

But someone from Dawn Corporation?

“…Senpai!”

Lin Xiaoyou suddenly shouted.

Fang Qi snapped back to attention and saw her gripping the steering wheel with both hands!

A glint of excitement shone in her almond-shaped eyes!

Her expression had turned that annoying smug look again!

“Don’t look back, senpai!”

Her voice rose with exhilaration.

“Hold. Tight!”

“Vroom——!!!”

The scenery outside the window blurred into streaks!

The pink chopped pepper fishhead car suddenly accelerated on the elevated road!

Wind howled, the electric motor roared!

The entire car shot through the traffic on the overpass like a pink bolt of lightning!

…

…

“Screech——!”

The pink fishhead car screeched to a halt at the foot of the mountain.

Tires left black marks on the asphalt.

The whine of the electric motor slowly faded.

The driver’s door opened first.

Lin Xiaoyou almost jumped out.

She raised both hands in the air and shouted at the mountain before her:

“THAT—WAS—SO—FUN—!!”

Her voice echoed through the empty valley.

The passenger door opened too.

Fang Qi stepped out.

His legs were a little shaky. He wobbled when his feet touched the ground…

But he managed to steady himself.

Compared to the first time he rode in Lin Xiaoyou’s car—when he ended up leaning against a tree, throwing up violently—this time, he was in much better shape!

And he was almost getting used to it…

The back door opened as well.

He rubbed his forehead and turned to look.

The silver-haired girl was helping a pale-faced An Lian out of the car.

As soon as An Lian’s feet touched the ground, she stumbled sideways!

One hand grabbed a tree trunk, the other covered her mouth as she bent over…

“Ugh—!”

She dry-heaved a few times!

Her black hair was disheveled, and the bloodstained gauze on her right ear was crooked.

Her usually cool gray eyes were red-rimmed, glistening with involuntary tears.

Liguang stood beside her, gently patting her back.

The silver-haired girl’s movements were soft and unhurried, one pat at a time.

“Miss An Lian, take a deep breath,” she said softly.

“The air here is fresh. Breathing it in will help you feel better.”

An Lian dry-heaved a couple more times before finally recovering.

Holding the tree trunk, she slowly straightened up.

“…This car… is way too fast…”

She wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand, her gray eyes still a bit dazed.

Fang Qi couldn’t help but glare at Lin Xiaoyou.

Lin Xiaoyou blinked, shrank her neck, and gave him a cheeky grin.

“We’re in a hurry!”

Yeah, she really enjoyed that drive.

Goofing off as usual!

He turned and looked at the lush green mountain before him.

The mountain air was crisp.

It smelled of earth and grass warmed by the sun.

In the distance, the verdant mountain looked just the same.

The familiar silhouette, the familiar trees, the familiar winding path leading upward.

…They were back again.

He turned around.

Liguang was still helping An Lian, her crimson eyes calmly glowing.

An Lian had recovered somewhat. Her face was still pale, but she could stand on her own now.

Lin Xiaoyou had finished stretching and was standing at the foot of the mountain, looking up toward the peak—lost in thought for a moment, too.

Fang Qi took a deep breath.

“Let’s go. Head up!”

His eyes sharpened.

“Victory is right ahead!”

“Yes, Master.”

“Alright!”

“…Mm.”

He looked up toward the end of the mountain path.

The little wooden cabin was waiting for him there.

They had returned.