Chapter 74: Why Don’t You Keep Running?
The narrow street was deathly silent. A gust of wild wind swept through, stirring up some dust.
Thousand Faces wiped the bloodstains from his chin. He now had two choices: fight to the death or flee. If he fought to the death, he felt he’d be ice-cold within seconds. If he fled, it wasn’t entirely hopeless.
Thousand Faces stood still, sensing he was locked onto. At this moment, even moving a finger could mean his head being severed. But as long as he didn’t reveal a flaw, the enemy couldn’t strike easily and would keep locking onto him. The opponent was wary of his speed—even restricted, he was still fast.
“Shazhi, don’t sleep. If you don’t help me detect, I’ll be dead, and you’ll die too.”
As soon as Thousand Faces spoke, a female face the size of a goose egg appeared on the back of his hand. Thousand Faces was truly a winner in life, wearing a mobile ‘wife’ 24 hours a day.
“Thousand Faces, you’ve caused trouble again.”
The face on his hand, Shazhi, spoke.
“No nonsense. Compare our combat power head-on.”
“Already done. Your frontal combat power is tentatively set at 300…”
“That high?”
Thousand Faces was surprised. Usually, his frontal combat power was tentatively set in the single digits by Shazhi.
“Yes, but the enemy’s frontal combat power is over 40,000. At least 40,000, maximum unknown.”
“Damn!”
Thousand Faces knew he wasn’t good at fighting, but this power gap was too vast. The enemy had a minimum combat evaluation of 40,000, and the maximum wasn’t even assessed.
Thousand Faces hesitated no longer. A gem embedded in his palm shattered, and he vanished instantly, leaving only spatial ripples.
In a nearby alternate space, Baha didn’t intervene. The Peregrine Falcon·Horus was still there, and activating the Demon Hawk Domain now wasn’t wise. Based on its familiarity with spatial fluctuations, it judged the enemy had made a short-range spatial shift, no more than 1,000 meters.
“9 o’clock direction.”
Baha left the alternate space, shouted, and began gliding over the buildings.
Hearing Baha’s shout, the ground beneath Su Xiao cracked, and he turned into an afterimage, disappearing.
As Su Xiao sprinted at full speed, he kept an eye on the Peregrine Falcon·Horus’s location—that was roughly the direction of the violator.
A kilometer ahead of Su Xiao, Thousand Faces was leaping at full speed between buildings. It had to be said, even with his speed restricted, Thousand Faces was slightly faster than Su Xiao, since he’d poured all his resources into speed and survival.
The wind howled past Thousand Faces’ ears. Even ambushed, he hadn’t given up. This wasn’t his first time facing such a situation. He knew better than other violators how ruthless the Hunters of Reincarnation Paradise could be.
“Fast! Fast! Fast! Thousand Faces, the enemy is only 1,250 meters away. You’re too slow! And why aren’t you using Flash Step?”
“Can’t. The shackle on my ankle has fused into my body. If I don’t resist fully, it’ll suck me into the ground.”
Thousand Faces leaped, and midair, he seemed to step on an air wall, making several consecutive forward jumps.
Behind him, Su Xiao crushed a water tower beneath his feet. Metal twisted, water splashed, and he shot forward like a cannonball from a barrel. Scenery blurred past, wind roared in his ears, stirring his hair. He saw the enemy ahead. He couldn’t stop now—if he paused for even 0.5 seconds, the enemy would vanish from his sight.
“You dog thief down there, dare to fight to the death? Weren’t you so cocky last night, huh? Believe me, I alone could kill you…”
Baha, flying at high speed, launched a ‘mental attack,’ cursing all of Thousand Faces’ direct relatives.
Thousand Faces, fleeing for his life, felt a surge of frustration. Being chased was bad enough, but getting insulted at the same time? Could he endure it? The answer was yes—not because he was a coward, but because he simply couldn’t win.
The chase continued. Thousand Faces reached the outskirts of Youke City, sprinting at full speed across the wilderness. Just then, he heard a roar from behind.
“Run fast! Thousand Faces!!”
Shazhi on his hand nearly went dark. With her expression now, she could be a meme—utterly ridiculous.
Thousand Faces ignored Shazhi as he fled. His situation was dire: a peregrine falcon high above, a feathered beast low in the sky, and a Hunter chasing from behind.
As he pondered a countermeasure, a whistling sound came from his side—a bullet about ten centimeters long, covered in patterns.
Crack.
The bullet grazed his shoulder, tearing off a large patch of flesh and sending blood splattering.
At a high point two kilometers away, a lean man in Alliance military uniform lay prone. He had only one ear—the sniper Go·Zewu, a Gun Grandmaster!
Go·Zewu’s first shot failed to kill the enemy. He mechanically worked the bolt on his nearly three-meter-long sniper rifle, which had no optical scope. This was his trait—even at extreme range, he relied on mechanical aiming.
Go·Zewu slowly inhaled, then held his breath. His indifferent eyes held no emotion; he was like a cold killing machine.
Bang.
Go·Zewu pulled the trigger. The bullet left the muzzle, trailing spiral air patterns behind it. From the bullet’s rear, it seemed it wouldn’t hit Thousand Faces, but remember, Thousand Faces was sprinting at full speed.
Another whistling sound came from Thousand Faces’ right. His right temple throbbed, and a sense of dread hit him. Without hesitation, his body turned semi-transparent mid-run. The bullet passed through his head, embedding into the ground a hundred meters away, kicking up dust.
Thousand Faces re-solidified and immediately changed his escape route. A sniper lying in ambush meant more traps ahead.
Thousand Faces’ speed, even restricted, was among the top tier of this world. The chase continued.
Three hours later, Thousand Faces stopped before a ten-thousand-zhang valley. He leaned on his knees, gasping for air. Like a leopard, his burst speed was formidable, but endurance wasn’t his forte. He was so exhausted he nearly stuck out his tongue. He’d broken his record—sprinting at full speed for over three hours. Normally, three minutes was enough to shake off any pursuer. That feeling was unbeatable.
“I don’t believe he can catch up here. Shazhi, shut up and let me rest in peace.”
Thousand Faces sat down, but just as he tried to rest, Shazhi on his hand shouted, “Rest your sister! Get up and run! He’s coming again! What the hell did you provoke?!”
“Damn it!”
Thousand Faces jumped up, ready to leap into the ten-thousand-zhang valley. The height was terrifying. If the enemy used a slow-fall device, their speed would plummet, giving him time to widen the gap. He didn’t believe the interference substance in his body would last forever. Once it was gone, he could go full speed and use three escape abilities.
Thinking this, he leaped from the steepest point. He fell faster and faster, plunging into a narrow valley crevice a few meters wide, with deep water below.
The terrain resembled a skyline, but with water below, winding forward alongside towering cliffs.
Thousand Faces fell rapidly. When he was a few meters from the water, his descent abruptly slowed, and he landed steadily on the surface.
He stood on the water, letting out a long sigh. Finally, a moment to catch his breath.
Boom!!!
Something landed dozens of meters behind him, splashing water high. Amid the spray, fragments of shattered crystal could be seen. Looking up, a groove ran up the cliff wall, as if someone had clawed their way down.
A figure with blue light in its pupils stood in the splashing water.
Drops of water fell on Thousand Faces’ back. Without a second thought, he took out a seed and crushed it. He wanted to escape this world—this damn place was no longer fit for humans.
“Grandson, I’ve been waiting for that move.”
Baha on Su Xiao’s shoulder spread its wings, activating the Demon Hawk Domain. The surrounding air became like frosted glass.
With a crack, the seed in Thousand Faces’ hand shattered into powder. A brief shock flashed in his eyes before he sprinted across the water at full speed.
Boom!
Thousand Faces heard an explosion behind him. He glanced back to see a figure skimming low over the water at high speed. His soul nearly jumped out of his body.
“Running all morning, aren’t you tired? Stop chasing, big brother!”
As Thousand Faces shouted, Su Xiao had already closed in behind him. A straight kick.
Bang.
Thousand Faces sped up even more, his body bent into a reverse C-shape, flying over the water. He crashed into the cliff wall at the turn ahead, sending rocks flying as if explosives had been planted inside the mountain.
After taking Su Xiao’s straight kick, Thousand Faces didn’t die. Instead, a silver glow emanated from him—one of his survival abilities.
‘Blade Path Sword: Flow.’
A graceful wind scar slashed out, cutting toward Thousand Faces’ nape.
Crack. The space around Thousand Faces solidified. His face twisted with pain—one of his survival items was gone, similar in nature to the [Sacred Cross Emblem].
Having endured two of Su Xiao’s killing moves, Thousand Faces got up and fled. His investment in survival resources had truly paid off.
A blood-red spear appeared in Su Xiao’s hand, condensed from the Blood Beast. He hurled it with all his might.
The next instant, with a boom, Thousand Faces flew forward. A crystallized layer on his body rapidly dissipated—another item like the [Sacred Cross Emblem]. This violator was wealthy.
‘Blade Path Sword: Azure Demon.’
Clang!
An azure-blue blade aura shot out. Thousand Faces, just getting up, felt a chill at his neck. He froze, a bloodline appearing on his throat.
“Survival measures… used up?”
Thousand Faces’ head slid off his neck, splashing into the water. His body began to sink.
Su Xiao, standing by the water, was about to charge forward when a notification from Reincarnation Paradise appeared.
[Notification: You have killed Violator No. 14023.]
[Hunting Mission: Eliminate Anomalous Violator (Completed).]
[You have received Diamond Honor Medal ×82.]
…
Seeing these notifications, Su Xiao felt a slight surprise. This was the best escape artist he’d ever encountered, bar none.
Thousand Faces had blocked Su Xiao’s straight kick, blocked ‘Blade Path Sword: Flow,’ blocked the ‘Blood Beast: Spear Form,’ and then… was killed instantly by ‘Blade Path Sword: Azure Demon.’