36: Chapter 36

36

On the top floor of the Bai Group building, Bai Wenluo and Xu Jing sat opposite each other in front of floor-to-ceiling windows. The city lights outside were as usual, but their expressions were dark enough to drip water.

A knock sounded at the door, and a bodyguard in black walked in quickly, hesitating to speak.

"Speak."

Bai Wenluo's voice was dry.

"Number Four... has been found."

"Then what are you waiting for? Recover it immediately!"

Xu Jing looked up sharply.

The bodyguard gave a bitter smile and turned his phone screen toward them.

On the screen was that very live broadcast: a hideous monster, a masked man with fierce palm strikes, and a barrage of comments passing like a plague of locusts.

The camera occasionally panned across a shattered kindergarten sign on a street corner, the close-up piercingly clear.

Xu Jing slammed her hand onto the coffee table, making the cups rattle.

"It's him again... X!"

Bai Wenluo's brow furrowed into a knot. "How did Subject Four appear on Fangyu Street?"

"The reason is still being investigated, but it's too late—it has been exposed to the public eye.

Boss, what should be our next move?"

The subordinate's voice was tense.

Bai Wenluo remained silent, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the tabletop.

Everything had been running smoothly in the shadows, and the laboratory's security measures had never failed before.

Who would have thought an accident would happen today?

That test subject, numbered four, had actually broken through multiple layers of containment during a shift change.

If the outside world discovered the connection between this monster and the Bai Group, those above would definitely not let it go easily.

In Dragon Country, unauthorized human experimentation is a serious crime; once exposed, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Xu Jing's voice came through the communicator, cold as ice: "Keep calm.

Even if the monster is discovered, no one will immediately associate it with the Bai Group.

For now, stay put and avoid alerting the enemy."

Panic will only create flaws.

"Roar—!"

The sound waves exploded like physical matter as Jiang Haojie activated the Lions Roar Technique once more.

He had exhausted his strength, yet he still couldn't budge the monster in the slightest.

Thanks to the C-grade Crocodile Scale Vest he was wearing; otherwise, he would have fallen long ago.

The monster tanked the attack and suddenly whipped its long tail!

Bang!

Jiang Haojie was sent flying by the heavy sweep.

A shadow loomed over him as the monster lunged close—just as its claws were about to descend, several blazing light bullets shot from behind, forcing the monster to turn and defend.

The people from the Guard Department had finally arrived.

The onlookers breathed a sigh of relief, and Jiang Haojie's tightly clenched fist loosened slightly.

A moment later, and he probably wouldn't have held on.

Since the official forces had intervened, he no longer intended to interfere.

His previous action was only to protect the children who hadn't had time to flee.

There were two Third-Order Awakened in the Guard Department's team; Jiang Haojie took advantage of the chaos to retreat deep into the alleyways.

By the time everyone regained their senses, that figure had long since disappeared.

But "X"

this code name had already spread quietly.

Jiang Haojie did not return to the hotel but headed straight for the Fallen Zone.

He was still far short of the money needed to buy a house, so he set his sights on the wandering magical beasts.

...

At noon the next day, as Jiang Haojie walked out of the edge of the Fallen Zone, his phone vibrated.

It was Qin Qinglan.

She was concise: "I've arrived in Longcheng.

Are you coming here, or should I find you?"

"I'm on the outskirts of the Eastern Suburbs,"

Jiang Haojie looked up at the grey sky, "If it's convenient for you, come over."

"Alright, I'll be there in forty minutes."

The call ended.

Jiang Haojie waited by an abandoned gas station for nearly forty minutes before he saw the familiar off-road vehicle approaching.

Qin Qinglan got out of the car, sized him up, and a playful arc appeared at the corner of her mouth: "I didn't expect it; you became a celebrity overnight."

"A celebrity?"

Jiang Haojie was startled. "What do you mean?"

Qin Qinglan raised an eyebrow: "You really don't know?"

Jiang Haojie shook his head in denial with a look of confusion, and only then did Qin Qinglan believe him.

She looked down and fiddled with her phone for a bit, saved the content, and handed it over.

The title of the video that popped up on the screen made the corner of Jiang Haojie's eye twitch—

[Mysterious Masked Man in a Fierce Battle with a Terrifying Lizardman]

Below, it played the scene of his fight with the monster from the previous day.

Jiang Haojie hadn't expected that the scene would actually be recorded by someone.

"You're considered a celebrity now,"

Qin Qinglan's tone held a hint of teasing. "Quite a few people are secretly looking into you. But then again, you're really something—everyone only knows you as 'X', and even the Bounty Guild can't dig up more information, let alone your true identity."

Jiang Haojie twitched his lips, secretly glad he had asked that extra question when registering as a Bounty Hunter.

"Let's talk about your mission instead."

He changed the subject.

Qin Qinglan said seriously: "This mission isn't too complicated; it's cooperating with the Guard Department to capture a fugitive. I heard that person escaped from prison."

"The Longcheng Guard Department can't even handle a Fourth-Order Awakened?"

Jiang Haojie frowned. "Wasn't that monster from yesterday handled by them?"

"You really are oblivious to the world,"

Qin Qinglan shook her head. "The Guard Department didn't take down that monster at all; it escaped."

Escaped?

With so many people deployed and two Third-Order Awakened overseeing things, they actually let the target escape—Jiang Haojie was indeed a bit surprised.

He had always thought the monster had already been dealt with.

"Are there any clues about the fugitive?"

He asked, "We can't just search aimlessly."

"Coincidentally, before coming to find you, I went to the Longcheng Guard Department. According to the information they provided, the fugitive slipped into the Fallen Zone yesterday afternoon."

Yesterday afternoon? Jiang Haojie's heart stirred—he had also entered the Fallen Zone yesterday afternoon but hadn't run into the other party.

Could it be that the person didn't take this route?

"Do you have a photo?"

He asked again.

A fugitive hiding in the Fallen Zone was not good news.

Compared to the living areas, the Fallen Zone was full of too many variables.

The other party had slipped in a day early; a day was enough to travel quite far in the vast Fallen Zone.

Finding someone here was practically like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Qin Qinglan nodded, pulled up a photo on her phone, and handed it over.

Jiang Haojie carefully memorized the fugitive's appearance and handed the phone back.

"Do you have a plan?"

"No,"

Qin Qinglan said bluntly, "In my opinion, we should just go in and grab him."

Jiang Haojie shook his head helplessly, his gaze turning toward the hazy silhouette of the Fallen Zone in the distance. He suddenly asked: "What exactly is... in the depths of the Fallen Zone?"

"No one knows yet what is hidden in the depths.

The strongest known realm for humans is the Ninth-Order, but no one has broken through yet; however, some magical beasts have already reached the Ninth-Order level."

Qin Qinglan paused and looked up at him. "Why ask this all of a sudden?"

Qin Qinglan's gaze fell on Jiang Haojie, carrying a hint of imperceptible scrutiny.

Three hundred years have passed, yet humans are still helpless against the mist in the depths of the Fallen Zone. "What... is it really like in there?"

She asked softly.

Jiang Haojie just shook his head and didn't respond. "Let's go."

He set off, taking the lead toward the area shrouded in shadow.

"Do you have a plan in mind?"

Qin Qinglan followed him and pressed.

"A plan?"

Jiang Haojie didn't stop. "The situation is unclear; how can there be a plan? We'll see once we're inside."

He didn't have a foolproof strategy at the moment and could only act according to the circumstances.

There was only one point he had to keep in mind: move steadily and avoid being reckless.

"What is the time limit for your mission?"

He suddenly turned his head and asked.

If it were only a few days, this job wouldn't be worth continuing.

" one month，"

Qin Qinglan replied, "There's plenty of time."

"I don't have that many days."

Jiang Haojie's tone was flat. "Ten days at most."

School was about to start, and he couldn't spend all his time here.

Ultimately, he was doing this to quickly get the reward.

If it took a whole month to earn this million, the efficiency would be too low; it would be better to hunt mutated beasts alone.

From yesterday until now, he had killed no fewer than eighty magical beasts in this area; if he sold all the weapons he obtained, the value would have already exceeded a million.

"Ten days... should be enough."

Qin Qinglan quickly made an assessment in her mind.

Magical beasts ran rampant here; even if the target was a Fourth-Order Awakened, they wouldn't dare go deep into the heartland.

With the two of them working together, the chances of winning were high.

During their conversation, the two had already crossed that invisible boundary and truly entered the Fallen Zone.

"Where are you going?"

Seeing Qin Qinglan about to rush forward with her head down, Jiang Haojie had no choice but to reach out and stop her.

Qin Qinglan blinked and said as a matter of course: "Naturally, to search for that person's tracks."

"Searching like this?"

Jiang Haojie chuckled. "The region is so vast; it's no different from looking for a needle in a haystack."

"Then in your opinion, what should we do?"

The corners of Jiang Haojie's mouth curled up slightly: "Just let him reveal himself."

"..."

"This is the method you were talking about?"

Qin Qinglan didn't stop her pace, turning her head to look at Jiang Haojie beside her, veins seemingly throbbing at her temple.

She originally thought this man could come up with some clever plan, but unexpectedly, he had somehow gotten a large pile of foul-smelling offal and was scattering it along the way.

At this moment, the surrounding magical beasts had been provoked into a frenzy; roars rose one after another, and there was even the faint pressure of a Fourth-Order magical beast approaching from the distance.

But Jiang Haojie nodded with certainty: "That's right.

You also said that person doesn't dare go deep.

Since he only dares to move around the outskirts, we'll completely muddy the 'waters' of the outskirts."

He watched the woods, which were agitated by the scent of blood. "With the magical beasts in a frenzy, there's no way he can continue to hide."

For now, this might be the most time-saving and labor-efficient method.

Of course, the premise was that the person hadn't left the Fallen Zone yet.

The two sped through the trees, leaving a trail of pungent blood behind them.

The thrown organs were like cold water dropped into boiling oil, causing the magical beasts lurking everywhere to break out in violence, the chaos spreading like ripples.

...

Under an ancient tree that would take several people to encircle, a figure sat on the ground leaning against the trunk, seemingly dozing.

He wore a simple white short-sleeved shirt and had a baseball cap pulled low, covering most of his face.

"Roar—!!"

Suddenly, a continuous series of violent beast roars tore through the silence of the woods.

The middle-aged man snapped his eyes open.

The middle-aged man looked around warily.

Although this area wasn't particularly hidden, few magical beasts usually appeared here. Now, however, continuous roars reached his ears, and the sound was getting closer and closer.

Before he could think it through, a large number of magical beast figures emerged in his vision.

—Not good!

The middle-aged man's expression changed drastically, and he got up to flee.

As a Fourth-Order Awakened, he knew well that he couldn't face such a number of magical beasts head-on; he had no choice but to escape.

He was just full of confusion: why had these magical beasts suddenly become so agitated?

And the magical beasts, already in a frenzy, went even wilder as soon as they discovered his tracks, surging forward madly as if ignited.

The middle-aged man almost cursed out loud.

At the same time, Jiang Haojie and Qin Qinglan were also sprinting under the pursuit of magical beasts.

"The commotion should be big enough."

Qin Qinglan lowered her voice.

"Wait a bit longer; we haven't seen the target yet."

Jiang Haojie shook his head.

The Fallen Zone was vast; they hadn't even explored a tenth of it yet, and no one could be certain if the criminal was here.

The two continued to flee forward.

Not long after, Qin Qinglan suddenly pulled Jiang Haojie: "Look over there—is that him?"

Jiang Haojie looked in the direction she indicated and indeed saw a middle-aged man wearing a baseball cap moving rapidly toward them.

"Most likely."

Jiang Haojie narrowed his eyes.

The other's cap brim was pulled very low, making his face hard to distinguish.

"How confident are you in dealing with a Fourth-Order?"

"I can barely restrain him, but defeating him is impossible."

Qin Qinglan's tone was grave.

Jiang Haojie nodded.

As long as she could tie him down, it would be enough.

"Let's go, move in."

Before he finished speaking, Jiang Haojie had already taken the lead in darting toward the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man also noticed these two figures but didn't pay much attention.

Although the Fallen Zone was sparsely populated, encountering other Awakened occasionally wasn't unusual.

It wasn't that he hadn't suspected they might be from the Guard Department, but then he thought: if the Guard Department really moved, they would never send only two people.

According to their style, they would surely come in a large group.

Nevertheless, he still didn't lower his guard.

The distance between the two sides closed rapidly.

At the moment they crossed paths, Jiang Haojie and Qin Qinglan finally saw the face under the cap brim—it was indeed the person they were looking for.

Their eyes met for a split second before parting.

In the instant after they brushed past, Qin Qinglan's form suddenly shifted, and the phantom of a Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox emerged from behind her, lunging straight for the middle-aged man's back!