Su Xiao drove through the midnight streets, with a thug sitting in the passenger seat. "How much longer?" Su Xiao had his foot pressed down on the gas pedal, speeding at least 160 kilometers per hour. It was late at night, and there were very few cars on the road.
At this speed, Su Xiao realized something: even driving this fast, he felt completely in control. His agility not only boosted his speed but also sharpened his reflexes.
"We're almost there, man. Please slow down; I don't want to die yet."
The thug looked desperate. He felt like he might not make it out of this alive. He had seen that look in Su Xiao's eyes before—it was the look someone had after committing murder.
The thug also sensed that Su Xiao was different from other killers; his gaze was far too fierce.
"Help me find my knife, and the people who tried to kill me before, and you can live."
Su Xiao lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. The thug sighed and finally nodded.
After driving into a neighborhood, Su Xiao arrived at his destination.
"Get out."
Su Xiao held a sleek black handgun, the one he had found earlier in an apartment building. This was likely the same gun that had been used against him before.
Following the thug's directions, Su Xiao stood in front of a house.
"Knock on the door."
The thug hesitated, glancing at the gun in Su Xiao's hand, which was already loaded.
With no other choice, the thug knocked on the door.
"Knock, knock, knock."
After a few knocks, light footsteps could be heard from inside.
"Who is it, at this hour?"
A tired female voice came from behind the door.
"It's me, Xiao Zhang."
A few seconds later, a middle-aged woman with a graceful demeanor opened the door.
"Come in, what time is it...?"
The woman's question was cut short as a black handgun was pressed against her head.
"Slowly back away, and don't make a sound."
The woman was frozen in fear, staring at Su Xiao. After a moment of shock, she slowly retreated.
Su Xiao pulled the thug inside and quietly closed the door.
As the woman backed away, she accidentally bumped into a half-meter tall vase behind her.
"Crash." The sound of ceramic breaking echoed painfully in the quiet living room.
"Don’t, don’t be impulsive, I didn’t mean to."
Su Xiao ignored her, his eyes fixed on a knife rack on the coffee table. There lay his sheathed dagger.
He stepped forward and picked up the dagger, feeling its familiar weight, and a smile crept onto his face.
"Mom, it's so noisy~"
A girl in a tank top appeared at the door of a nearby bedroom, rubbing her eyes.
The girl stared blankly at Su Xiao and the gun in his hand, her mouth slightly open as if to scream.
Su Xiao raised the gun, motioning for her to go back inside. The girl quickly nodded and slammed the door shut.
With the knife found, Su Xiao walked out of the room and left the place.
Before news of Su Xiao's survival spread, he had already boarded a high-speed train to a neighboring city.
At this point, Su Xiao's appearance had changed significantly; he looked like a student. With a little makeup, he could easily pass for a college student.
Upon arriving in the neighboring city, Su Xiao didn’t linger and hopped onto a long-distance bus.
As the bus bounced along, Su Xiao's body swayed slightly. He appeared to be resting with his eyes closed, but he was actually alert to his surroundings.
He could hear a child crying, two girls chatting and laughing in the front seats, and a young man swaying to music with headphones on.
"Breaking news: a fugitive has been spotted in the neighboring city."
The movie playing on the bus suddenly cut off, and Su Xiao's photo appeared on the screen.
"Suspect..."
Passengers on the bus turned to look at the screen, captivated by the news.
Su Xiao sighed inwardly, realizing how fast things were moving. In less than six hours, a wanted notice had already been issued. Given his background as a killer, it was no surprise he was being hunted.
But for Su Xiao, the threat of being wanted didn't bother him much. Not only did he have strength, but his ability to hide made him hard to find.
After several days of travel, Su Xiao finally stopped when he no longer knew where he was.
Checking his new phone for location, he discovered he had arrived in DL City, a coastal city.
"Not a bad place."
DL City was surrounded by the sea on three sides. Even if the police were searching for him, he could always try to sneak out of the country.
He didn’t want to escape abroad unless things got really bad; he had plenty of enemies overseas.
Right now, the most important thing was to find a place to settle down. He didn’t want to stay in a hotel; those places were crowded and not suitable for long stays.
Standing on the bustling street, Su Xiao felt a wave of hunger. He had been on the move for days without a proper meal.
He found a restaurant and ordered some local hairy crabs.
It was May, the peak season for hairy crabs, and they were at least a pound each.
After cracking open the hard shells and dipping the meat in the restaurant's special sauce, he took a delicious bite. The rich, tender crab meat delighted his taste buds, and the unique seafood flavor left him wanting more.
"Boss, check please."
Su Xiao set down the last crab shell and let out a satisfied burp.
The restaurant owner approached, looking surprised at the pile of crab shells on the table.
"This~." The owner was shocked by Su Xiao's appetite, as he had eaten more than seven or eight times the average amount.
His enhanced physical attributes meant Su Xiao needed a lot of energy; strength didn’t just appear out of nowhere.
"That'll be 789. You can give me 780."
Su Xiao took out some hundred-dollar bills and handed them to the owner.
"Is there anywhere to rent around here? I'm a student just moved here and need a place to stay for a few months."
The owner pulled out his phone, fiddled with it for a moment, then turned the screen toward Su Xiao, which displayed 'DL City Rental Network.'
The owner looked at Su Xiao as if to say, 'Young man, no one looks for rentals on the street anymore.'
Su Xiao chuckled awkwardly, noted the website, and left the restaurant.
Walking down the busy street, Su Xiao quickly tapped on his phone screen, browsing the site. It was a small local social site focused on housing rentals.
After browsing for a while, he found a rather strange rental listing.
"Prime location, convenient transportation, starting rent of 100,000 a month."
In DL City, a rent of 100,000 a month was uncommon but not unheard of. What was puzzling was that the ad didn’t provide much housing information, just a phone number.
Su Xiao wasn’t short on cash, so he decided to call. A place costing 100,000 a month must have decent conditions, likely a luxury villa.
The call connected quickly, and a raspy male voice answered.
"Let’s meet to discuss. 37 Tianhai Road."
After that simple sentence, the call was abruptly ended.
Su Xiao was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head. It seemed too troublesome; there might be more to the story. A rent of 100,000 a month was already strange, and he didn’t want to get involved. So he chose to look elsewhere.
(End of Chapter)