Extraterrestrial demons invaded; I laid the groundwork eight years in advance.

Late at night, downstairs at Zhou Zheng's house.

A black sedan was parked in a corner where the streetlights couldn't reach.

Li Yang sat in the driver's seat, the car window slightly ajar, letting in a breeze that carried a hint of moisture and the sour smell of fermenting garbage cans from the roadside.

His gaze passed through the windshield and landed on the window on the third floor, where a faint light was shining. He glanced at the dark sky out of the corner of his eye, as if it was about to rain.

He picked up the bottled water from the passenger seat, but before he could unscrew the cap, the building entrance door was suddenly pushed open.

Wang Lili rushed out barefoot, wearing only a nightgown, her hair disheveled and plastered to her face.

She stumbled slightly after rushing out, looked around as if trying to find her way, and then turned and ran toward the roadside.

The bare feet made rapid, muffled thuds on the concrete, finally disappearing at the end of the street corner.

Li Yang put down his water bottle and picked up his communicator: "Attention all points, Zhou Zheng's wife has appeared. She's barefoot, wearing pajamas, and heading towards the road on the east side of the residential area."

A confirmation came through the communicator: "Received, tracking in progress."

Li Yang put down the communicator, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. When Wang Lili came out, she was flustered and her clothes were disheveled, as if she had been frightened.

He picked up his phone and contacted the section chief. The call was quickly answered: "Section Chief, Wang Lili just ran out of her house in a panic. There might be something unusual going on with Zhou Zheng."

"I was just about to call you." The director's voice was tired. "The task force has uncovered the network behind the scenes, identified all the suspects, and has a complete chain of evidence. We can proceed with the arrests."

"receive."

Just as Li Yang hung up the phone, the building door opened again.

Zhou Zheng changed into a dark coat, slung a bulging black travel bag over his shoulder, and walked out of the stairwell with Ping An in his left hand.

He stood at the door for two seconds after coming out, glanced around, and then walked towards the dilapidated electric scooter.

Zhou Zheng placed the travel bag on the footrest, helped Ping An onto the back seat, and got on the bike to leave.

Li Yang picked up the communicator: "Attention all units, target spotted. Riding a dilapidated electric bike, with his son, preparing to escape. All units block off intersections and carry out the arrest."

He put down the communicator, and without hesitation, started the car.

Two beams of white light sliced ​​through the darkness ahead.

He stepped on the gas, the engine roared, and the car shot forward.

Zhou Zheng had just started riding his electric bike when he heard the roar of a car engine behind him. He turned around and saw a black sedan speeding towards him.

  

His pupils contracted slightly, he turned the handlebars of the electric scooter all the way to the end, made a turn, and sped into a small alley.

The alleyway was narrow and the road surface was uneven, causing the electric vehicle to bounce up and down, but Zhou Zheng did not slow down.

Ping An buried her face behind Zhou Zheng, clutching a small duck in her hand, with half of its wing peeking out from between the two of them.

Li Yang stopped the car at the alley entrance, his gaze passing through the window as Zhou Zheng drove Zhou Ping'an deeper into the alley.

He picked up the communicator again: "Attention all units, the target has entered Taoyuan Lane and is fleeing to the south. Block off the intersection and don't let him get out."

A confirmation tone came through the communicator: "Received, all units are proceeding to their respective exits."

Li Yang put down the communicator, pulled out his tactical flashlight, got out of the car, and chased after them into the alley.

Zhou Zheng rode his electric bike through the alleys. The roads he chose became narrower and narrower, and the distance between the buildings on both sides became smaller and smaller. The electric bike turned left and right in the narrow alleys.

His breathing grew heavy without him realizing it. Ping An, sitting in the back seat, clutched his coat, her voice thin and trembling: "Dad... I'm about to fall..."

"Hold me tight."

Ping An wrapped her arms around his waist, pressed her whole body against his back, and closed her eyes in fear.

As the narrow alley gradually widened, streetlights shone from the end of the alley ahead. Zhou Zheng tightened the handle and sped up again.

Thirty meters.

Twenty meters.

ten meters.

A black SUV suddenly blocked the alley entrance.

Zhou Zheng slammed on the brakes, and the tires scraped across the concrete pavement with a short, sharp sound.

The SUV was facing the alley, its headlights blindingly bright. Two figures walked in front of the car. He couldn't see their faces clearly, but he recognized their clothes by the outlines illuminated by the light.

They are from the operations department.

He gritted his teeth, twisted the handlebars hard, and the electric scooter suddenly turned, veering into a narrower alley on the left.

As time went by, he tried several different directions, but the exits were blocked each time.

He turned to look behind him and heard footsteps approaching, and there was more than one. The beams of flashlights swayed between the alley walls, like a net being drawn in.

He visualized the alleyways of the old town and drove toward the last exit.

There was still a car parked there, its headlights illuminating the entire alley as bright as day, as if it had been waiting for him all along.

Zhou Zheng squeezed the brakes again, and the tires slid half a meter on the wet ground before coming to a stop.

The footsteps behind me grew closer.

There is no road ahead.

His palms slowly tightened, his knuckles turning white.

"Why... just one day off?"

His voice was very low, half of it swallowed up by the wind in the alley.

"Boom—Boom—"

A muffled rumble of thunder echoed across the sky, and the clouds pressed low, as if rain was imminent.

A figure walked up from behind, the footsteps clearly audible in the quiet alley.

"Zhou Zheng"

Li Yang's voice rang out in the alley.

"The authorities already know what you did: the shipping company's statements, Zhao Desheng's testimony, and every approval record you handled at customs—the task force has investigated everything. You can't escape now."

Zhou Zheng sat on the electric scooter without answering.

A night breeze blew in from the alley entrance, ruffling the hem of his coat.

He glanced back at Ping An—Ping An was sitting in the back seat, the little duck tightly held in his arms, its eyes wide open. It glanced at Zhou Zheng, then turned to look at Li Yang behind it.

Zhou Zheng parked the electric scooter against the wall, helped Ping An off, reached out and touched his hair, his fingers lingering on Ping An's forehead for a moment, and gently said, "Ping An, be good, close your eyes."

Ping An looked at him, pursing her lips.

"Close your eyes," Zhou Zheng said again, his voice a little deeper.

Ping An then closed his eyes, slowly squatted down, and covered his eyes with both hands.

Zhou Zheng raised his head, turned around and walked towards Li Yang, stopping three or four steps away from Li Yang.

Judging from Zhou Zheng's actions, Li Yang knew that he wouldn't surrender easily, but he still wanted to give it a try.

"Brother Zhou, turn back."

"Give up the resistance, and perhaps there will still be a chance to see peace again."

Zhou Zheng looked at Li Yang and remained silent for a moment.

"I can't turn back now." After saying that, Zhou Zheng pulled out a dagger from behind his back.

"well--"

Li Yang sighed, then pushed off with his feet, leaned forward, and reached out with his right hand toward Zhou Zheng's shoulder.

His first-level, fourth-stage spiritual power poured out, and with his cultivation level, few could dodge it at this distance.

Just as his finger was about to touch the ground, a faint, transparent halo of light illuminated the alley.