Jianghai City was in complete uproar.
Many public figures even stepped forward to speak out on Ye Lingyun's behalf, believing she had simply suffered an undeserved calamity.
【I knew it. How could the Angel of Justice lose?】
【With an ability like Teammate Sacrifice, this murderer should have been locked up long ago.】
【Demanding severe punishment for the killer! Justice may be delayed, but it will arrive. Give the victims' families justice!】
【Poor little angel suffered an undeserved calamity, getting the crap beaten out of her—(This user has been muted)】
【I only came online today to demand three things: fairness, fairness, and fucking fairness!】
【...】
Public opinion was almost entirely one-sided.
Inside the peacekeeper detention center, Xie Litang was locked up with several other suspects.
A thief who had just been brought in looked around, then quietly made his way over to Xie Litang's side.
“Don't ask who I am.”
“If you must know, a guy calling himself a legendary salesperson asked me to pass along a message.”
“Everything outside is a mess right now. No matter what you say, you're the murderer.”
“In two hours at most, the Peacekeeper Bureau will pull your file and transfer you to a high-security lockup.”
“Your sister said that this summer is very hot and a lot of ants have died, so you might want to take a look.”
With that...
...he drifted off to another corner to talk nonsense.
“Bro, what did you get brought in for? ... Man, I love this place! Everyone's so talented and talks so nice!”
Xie Litang opened her eyes.
It seemed there was truly no room for maneuvering left.
If a few more hours passed, she would likely be treated as a high-risk violent offender under armed guard.
“Run.”
Xie Litang didn't hesitate for a second.
As for clearing her name or waiting for justice, that was even less necessary; she had no interest in proving her innocence.
As long as her own strength was formidable enough, there would be plenty of experts to rationalize her actions for her, wouldn't there?
Xie Litang tugged at the power-suppressing handcuffs on her wrists, then flexed her strength, snapping them directly in two.
This thing could suppress supernatural abilities...
...but she was relying on the pure force of Heartsteel.
BOOM!
Xie Litang slammed a punch right into the wall.
A gaping hole appeared instantly.
Alarm sirens blared across the Peacekeeper Bureau in an instant.
Xie Litang dashed straight out, and several peacekeepers immediately gave chase.
“Suspect Xie Litang—”
Xie Litang threw a punch right into his face and spat, “Suspect your ass!”
CLANG!
The peacekeeper spat out a large mouthful of blood, his health bar instantly dropping by half.
“Apprehend her!”
Another peacekeeper lunged forward.
His muscles surged instantly as he nimbly dodged Xie Litang's incoming fist, moving into a joint-lock grapple.
“Cease resistance immediately, or else—”
Before he could finish his sentence...
...Xie Litang tapped a single finger against his arm. CRACK!
A terrifying true damage value of over three hundred instantly shattered his arm into a comminuted fracture.
This was the game-breaking nature of Heartsteel—as long as an action was considered an attack and made contact, it triggered.
Suddenly...
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
Several icicles shot straight toward Xie Litang.
Sensing the trajectory of the wind, Xie Litang ducked and dodged them.
She then pushed off with her feet, closing the distance instantly, and drove a fist into the stomach of the female ice-element peacekeeper.
CLANG!
“Ahhh...”
The Peacekeeper Bureau's PA system blared.
【Suspect threat level is extremely high. Use of firearms authorized. Neutralization authorized if necessary.】
The moment the announcement ended...
Bang, bang, bang!
...a flurry of gunshots rang out.
The next instant, two bullets lodged into her right arm.
After a sharp burst of agony, her Vitality pool of over ten thousand plummeted by a full six hundred points.
Suddenly, her scalp went numb.
Without a second thought, she grabbed the critically injured female peacekeeper lying on the floor and yanked her in front as a shield.
BANG!
A sniper round whistled in from afar.
It tore through the female peacekeeper's head and blew into Xie Litang's shoulder, shaving off another thousand-plus Vitality in a single blow.
“Damn it!”
“There's a sniper!”
Perhaps due to accidentally killing a colleague, the sniper briefly halted their attack.
Taking advantage of the gap, Xie Litang bolted toward the back exit, running headlong into a fully armed peacekeeper.
As the guard drew his gun, Xie Litang snatched it right out of his hand.
She smashed a fist straight into his face, then followed up with a point-blank shot.
“You forced my hand.”
Life and death hung in the balance. Since they were out to kill her, holding back would be pure stupidity.
After taking down two more along the way, Xie Litang smashed open a window and leaped out onto the street.
Glancing around, she saw police cars speeding over as reinforcements.
Without hesitation, Xie Litang pried open a manhole cover and leaped down.
Stinking sewage flowed everywhere, but stench was far better than getting gunned down on the spot. Fortunately, as a newly built city, Jianghai City possessed an interconnected underground drainage network that reached in every direction.
However, she knew this wasn't a long-term solution. It wouldn't be long before peacekeepers descended to search the sewers.
“Head to the Under-City.”
She wasn't sure how long she wound through the tunnels.
Finally, Xie Litang climbed out of another manhole.
Returning to the Under-City felt no different than coming home; having grown up here, she knew every surveillance camera's blind spot like the back of her hand.
Before long, she slipped past the crowds and arrived at her former residence.
She sprinted all the way up to the top floor.
She smashed open a fire hydrant to release water.
In her mind, she recalled the message delivered by the informant: 【This summer is very hot and a lot of ants have died.】
This was Chen Linling's secret code for her.
Chen Linling had complained more than once that the air directly above the Under-City was filled with exhaust and heat pipes, making the top floor unbearably hot, to the point where insulation boards were completely useless.
And "a lot of ants have died" pointed to the specific spot.
Xie Litang went to the place where she had previously hidden the steel ants.
Prying open an insulation panel, a package came into view. She opened it to check.
Inside was her turbofan hoverboard, a sword...
...and a complete makeup kit.
Without a second thought, Xie Litang grabbed the makeup mirror and began applying cosmetics from memory.
Twenty minutes later...
...she confirmed one truth: makeup was truly a dark, sorcerous art.
Over a layer of liquid foundation, Xie Litang had fashioned a face with tiny eyes, a flat nose, and a wide, pancake-shaped face.
Stepping back out onto the street...
...police sirens echoed everywhere across the city.
The giant screen displays on the high-rises had stopped playing advertisements, replacing them with a wanted poster.
【Name: Xie Litang.】
【A-Grade Wanted Suspect. Extremely dangerous. Currently responsible for four peacekeeper fatalities and three injuries. Reward of 100,000 for verified, actionable leads.】
“An A-Grade wanted criminal?”
“You sure do hold me in high regard.”
Putting it out of her mind...
...she stepped onto her turbofan hoverboard and flew toward the city gates, though strict security had already been established there as well.
For now, the peacekeepers' primary search area was still within the city.
After all, nobody would expect that a high school dropout could actually go out into the wild to hunt demon beasts.
And aside from the designated gates, Jianghai City was surrounded on all sides by high perimeter walls, making escape impossible elsewhere.
Thus, Xie Litang was in no hurry.
She waited for less than two hours.
A commotion erupted near the checkpoint. In the demon beast hunter trade, who actually used their real name?
That was precisely why anonymous hunter credentials were so popular.
Now that the City Defense Force was trying to probe their backgrounds, who among them could stand for it?
Perhaps unable to handle the mounting pressure...
...or realizing that delaying any longer would cause a full-blown riot...
...the City Defense Force finally chose to stand down and let people through.
“Move, move, move!”
“Form a line and get out of here quickly!”
The City Defense Force soldiers urged them along.
Xie Litang blended into the crowd. A City Defense soldier gave her a glance—tiny eyes, flat nose... no need to look any further, and promptly waved her through.
Xie Litang stepped past the city gates.
She stepped onto her turbofan hoverboard and bolted.
Rate on N.U.
