Desperate people, accept the seed of my soul!

The further north you go, the lower the temperature gets.

But Duan Changming didn't care.

A little cold is just right; it will keep him awake.

My phone isn't with me.

He threw away all his electronic devices.

He knew that Li Su's tracking method was unclear, but most awakened individuals possessed perception abilities far exceeding those of ordinary people.

So he chose the most primitive method: no signal, no location tracking, no monitoring.

The truck driver was his old partner, who had been with him for fifteen years and only cared about money, not people.

"Old Duan, there's a checkpoint ahead."

The truck driver coughed as he tapped the partition twice through the metal sheet.

Duan Changming opened his eyes.

"What checkpoint?"

"It's a joint operation between the public security bureau and some kind of 'abnormal incident response center,' and they check very strictly. All vehicles heading north have to go through X-rays."

Duan Changming remained silent for a few seconds.

X-ray.

Hiding in the container won't help him.

The machine scans everything, inside and out, clearly.

"Which route can we take to get around this?"

"There's no way around it. Once you get past this mountain, there's only one road. Going around would add over a hundred kilometers to the journey, and there are checkpoints along that path."

Duan Changming stood up and reached out to knock on the partition.

"Slow down. Pull over to the side of the road before the checkpoint, I'm getting out."

The truck driver hesitated for a moment: "You're going to get out? There's no village or shop in sight, where can you go if you get out?"

"We'll climb over the mountain."

Duan Changming tucked the military knife into his belt.

"Go through the checkpoint, then wait for me in the next town. Same place."

"Alright. Be careful."

The truck slowed down.

Duan Changming opened the back door of the container, and a cold wind blew in, whipping rain into his face.

He squinted and looked at the mountain road ahead.

The lights of the checkpoint flickered at the foot of the mountain, like a swarm of hungry fireflies.

He jumped out of the truck and crouched in the bushes by the roadside until the truck's taillights disappeared behind the bend.

Then he stood up and walked towards the mountainside.

He grew up in the mountains, and traversing mountains and valleys is an instinct ingrained in his bones.

The mountain path was very steep, with gravel and mud mixed together, making it slippery to walk on.

He walked carefully, not daring to make too much noise.

It would take another hour and a half to get from here to the border by mountain road.

Once he crosses the border, he can get into the car of the person who will pick him up on the other side, and from then on, he can have a wide-open world.

He walked for a while longer and suddenly noticed white dust falling from above.

Duan Changming stopped in his tracks.

He slowly raised his head.

The moonlight was blocked by a floating human figure.

A woman in a black trench coat slowly descended from the top of the mountain and hovered less than ten meters away from him.

The metal box in her arms gleamed coldly in the moonlight.

Duan Changming's expression changed drastically, and he turned and rushed down the mountain.

He had only taken three steps when the tree behind him was uprooted as if by an invisible giant hand and slammed down in front of him.

Mud and rocks flew everywhere.

Several pine trees, each as thick as a bowl, blocked the way haphazardly.

Duan Changming drew his military knife, turned around abruptly, and looked up at Li Su in mid-air.

"I've been working on the border for twenty years, I've seen all sorts of monsters. So what if you can fly? Have you ever even seen a hand grenade?!"

As he roared, he pulled out a homemade grenade from his waist, pulled the pin, and threw it toward Li Su, who was in mid-air.

The grenade spun toward Li Su, but was blocked by telekinesis a meter in front of her, hovered for a moment, and then flew back.

"boom--!"

Duan Changming lunged to the side, avoiding the direct impact of the explosion.

Shrapnel and gravel flew over and sliced ​​off a piece of flesh from his left arm.

He groaned, struggled to his feet, and continued running downhill.

Blood gushed from the wound on his left arm, as black as ink in the moonlight.

His breathing became heavier and heavier.

Fear gripped his heart like an iron hand.

Li Su followed him above his head.

Not too fast, not too slow.

Like a cat following a mouse.

"Do you think you can escape?"

Li Su's voice came down from above, carrying the chill of the night wind.

Duan Changming suddenly stopped, took a few deep breaths, and raised his military knife, pointing it at Li Su.

"I've killed more people than you've ever eaten salt! I'm not afraid of you! Come down here if you dare! Face me head-on!"

Li Su did not respond.

She simply raised one hand.

Duan Changming felt the ground beneath his feet suddenly soften.

He looked down and saw the soil beneath his feet churning like waves.

The mountain paths he had trodden for twenty years came alive, beginning to engulf his legs like a swamp.

He struggled desperately, but the mud only tightened around him.

"Let me go! You fucking let me go!"

His roar echoed through the mountains, filled with a broken voice and despair.

The mud reached above his knees, above his waist, and above his chest.

His military knife fell into the mud and was swept away by the mud.

Duan Changming finally realized that he couldn't escape.

"Li Su! Listen up! The Five Mountains Society! The Five Mountains Society has its eyes on you! You killed Chen Hui, you killed me, and now the Five Mountains Society will come after you! You can't fight them alone! Let me go, and I'll help you contact the Five Mountains Society, I'll pave the way for you!"

His voice was urgent and flustered.

Li Su looked down at him, her face expressionless.

"You don't need to pave the way."

"I'll kill them one by one as they come."

The mud covered Duan Changming's chin, his mouth, his nose, and his eyes.

Finally, only one hand remained outside the mud, its five fingers stiffly pointing to the sky.

Then that hand was also swallowed by the mud.

Li Su withdrew her hand.

The mountains returned to peace.

Moonlight shone on the undulating hillside, where uprooted pine trees lay scattered haphazardly.

The broken muddy ground has been restored to its original state, except for a small dent in the ground, as if someone had fallen there.

Li Su turned around and flew towards the northern night sky.

This is the fourth one.

It was also the last one.

------

The next day, the sunlight shone on the glass curtain wall of Changning International Airport, casting a blinding white glow.

The terminal has returned to apparent order, with passengers hurrying by with their suitcases and flight information being broadcast as usual.

But what happened last night, like a crack, has been etched into the memory of this city.

The first images to appear online were a few blurry photos.

A user named "Changning Night Owl" posted a thread on a local forum at 2:17 a.m.

The title has only four words: I saw it.

The post was very simple: I saw a woman floating on the roof of the terminal building.

The accompanying photo, taken with a mobile phone, is blurry, but you can see a black figure floating in mid-air near the skylight of the terminal building.

In the corner of the photo, you can also see passengers running around in a panic below.

Within minutes of the post being published, dozens of replies flooded in.

"Are you drunk?"