# 13
**Chapter 13: He Ran Away**
Cangnan City, a high-rise building.
Creak.
The door slowly opened, and Zhao Kongcheng walked in, looking dejected, sighing every few steps.
“Old Zhao, what’s wrong with you?”
The five people inside were surprised to see him like this.
“Did you get hurt last night?”
“Judging by that expression… probably heartbreak.”
“Damn, Old Zhao, don’t tell me your wife wants a divorce?”
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
The five of them chimed in with guesses. After a while, the silent Zhao Kongcheng let out a long sigh.
“Am I really… that unattractive?”
“…”
All five rolled their eyes in unison, pretending not to hear, and went back to what they were doing—sharpening knives, cleaning guns, scrolling on phones, napping…
“No, I’m seriously asking you guys!” Zhao Kongcheng was getting anxious.
Seeing no one respond, Hongying, who was cleaning her gun, sighed. “Brother Kongcheng, did something traumatize you?”
“You could say that.” Zhao Kongcheng paused. “I ran into the owner of that golden Forbidden Ruins last night.”
At those words, everyone snapped their heads up, eyes lighting up.
“That guy suspected to be the Seraph’s proxy?”
“Yeah.”
“Is he strong? Who is he?”
“You’re overthinking it.” Zhao Kongcheng shook his head. “He’s just an ordinary high schooler. That Klein-level energy fluctuation was probably just residual power the Seraph left on him. He’s only just stepped into the ‘Zhan’ realm.”
Disappointment flickered across their faces.
“Thought we were getting a Klein-level powerhouse in Cangnan City…”
“But yeah, if that ultra-dangerous god had really chosen a proxy and they’d already reached Klein, the higher-ups would definitely know.”
The man on the sofa narrowed his eyes. “Either way, the Seraph choosing a proxy and granting a God’s Ruins is major. We need to report it up the chain immediately.”
“Right, Old Zhao, since you met him, where is he? How could you not bring someone that important back?”
“He ran away…” Zhao Kongcheng said gloomily. “Said he was going to get his backpack, then bolted while I was zoning out.”
“…” Everyone was speechless.
Just as they were about to roast him, the door opened again.
A man in a dark-red cloak walked in, blood still on his face, steps as heavy as if filled with lead.
Seeing him, everyone—including Zhao Kongcheng—stood up instantly.
“Captain!”
“Captain, are you alright?”
The captain waved them off, shed his blood-stained cloak, and sat on the small stool by the door, exhaustion etched between his brows.
“I’m fine, but… the Ghost-Face King escaped.”
Everyone’s expressions turned grave.
The captain continued, “I chased it last night to the northern outskirts, fought it. It was badly wounded, then burned its own origin to force an escape.”
“So it might already be outside Cangnan City?”
“Not necessarily.” The man on the sofa spoke up.
All eyes turned to him; the captain raised an eyebrow. “Let’s hear it, Xiangnan.”
Wu Xiangnan stood, pulled a map of the Cangnan City area from under the sofa, and spread it on the floor.
“Cangnan’s location is remote, far from neighboring cities. The fight was in the northern suburbs; the nearest city is dozens of kilometers away.” He drew a circle on the map.
“So?” Hongying was puzzled.
The captain’s eyes lit up. “The Ghost-Face King is badly hurt. Without recovering, it can’t cover that distance.”
Wu Xiangnan continued, “And to recover, it has to feed on humans, which means…”
“It’ll definitely come back to Cangnan City?”
“Exactly.”
Zhao Kongcheng frowned. “But the city’s huge—we have no idea where it’ll appear.”
“The sewers.” Wu Xiangnan adjusted his glasses and traced a red line on the map. “Ghost-Face creatures love the sewers, and the king escaped through them before. There’s only one sewer line connecting the northern suburbs, so it’ll likely surface somewhere along this route.”
“Deploy teams to search the sewer immediately. This time, we don’t let it escape!” The captain’s eyes flashed coldly.
“Roger!”
“One more thing.” Wu Xiangnan turned to Zhao Kongcheng. “Bring the Seraph’s proxy back. His potential is enormous—he absolutely cannot fall into the Church of the Ancient Gods’ hands! In a way, this takes priority over eliminating the Ghost-Face King!”
Zhao Kongcheng straightened. “Leave it to me. I’ll drag that kid back personally!”
“Didn’t he already run? How will you find him?” Hongying muttered.
“He was wearing No. 2 High’s uniform. I’ll camp at the gate today—bet I’ll catch him!”
A confident grin spread across Zhao Kongcheng’s face.
…
“Bro, why aren’t you going to school today?”
Yang Jin watched Lin Qiye, who wasn’t in uniform and carried no backpack.
“Got something to do, skipping today.” Lin Qiye slipped on his shoes and opened the door. “Auntie’s still asleep?”
“She got back an hour ago.”
“Got it. Go to school early later—don’t copy me.”
“Okay.”
Lin Qiye closed the door and quietly pulled off the black cloth over his eyes, tucking it into his pocket.
His eyes had healed, but he hadn’t told Auntie or Yang Jin yet. First, Auntie had worked the night shift, so they hadn’t seen each other. Second, he’d only just gained these eyes and couldn’t control their power well—golden light still flickered in them sometimes. If Auntie saw, she’d force him to get another eye exam—waste of money.
He’d announce it once he had full control.
But since he was outside, wearing the cloth would draw attention, so he slipped on the sunglasses Yang Jin had bought him and strode toward the bus stop.
After more than an hour of jolting, he reached his destination.
Sunshine Psychiatric Hospital.
The last time Lin Qiye had come was ten years ago.
He’d changed a lot in those ten years; so had the hospital.
Every old wall had been renovated, the gate was twice as wide, two modern high-rises had replaced the old three-story building, and even the sign “Sunshine Psychiatric Hospital” was now gold-embossed.
Standing at the entrance, he couldn’t connect this sleek facility with the small building in his memory.
The only thing unchanged might be the old gatekeeper—just more stooped, hair whiter.
The old man seemed to spot him, squinted, and raised a finger…
Just as Lin Qiye thought he was remembered and was about to greet him—
the elder barked:
“Hey, dummy! You’re blocking the cars behind!”