Chapter 17
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
The black sedan emerged from the tunnel, leaving a trail of dust as it sped forward.
The road turned into wilderness, and the accompanying vehicles gradually disappeared, leaving only the eagle in the sky still following the direction of the black sedan.
Finally, on a road without people or surveillance, the black sedan slowly came to a stop.
The eagle circled in the sky, its cold eagle eyes staring down at the car below.
A black gun barrel protruded from under the car window, moving up and down until it aimed at the circling eagle.
With a “whoosh,” the bullet broke through the air. The eagle keenly sensed the danger of the bullet and let out a long, crisp cry, flapping its wings in shock. The bullet flew past it, not hitting the raptor, but the eagle seemed enraged, fiercely flapping its wings twice and extending its sharp claws as it swooped down towards the black sedan.
“Good boy…” Lou Yan aimed at it again, murmuring softly, “I knew you would come.”
The eagle could fly thousands of meters above the ground, far beyond the range of a sniper rifle. But Lou Yan knew the temperament of this eagle. The eagle was already fierce by nature, and Fu Xuezhou’s eagle was even more so, full of cunning and hostility. If attacked, it wouldn’t flee in fear but would instead angrily try to eliminate anyone or anything that threatened it.
Sure enough, the eagle’s reaction was exactly as Lou Yan had expected.
It was difficult to hit a fast-flying eagle, but Lou Yan focused intently on the black dot. In the blink of an eye, the eagle entered Lou Yan’s shooting range. Another bullet was fired at the eagle, and this time it hit! The eagle let out a sharp cry and plummeted from the sky, falling into a nearby forest.
Lou Yan relaxed his brow and put away the gun decisively, saying, “Let’s go.”
Duan Zege breathed a sigh of relief. It had only been a minute of confrontation, but he had been sweating bullets for Lou Yan. “Do we need to check if that eagle is dead or not?”
“No need,” Lou Yan refused. “Don’t waste time. Let’s leave now and try to take routes with more people.”
Duan Zege stepped on the gas pedal, following the navigation. He asked, “The eagle has been shot down, why are you still so tense?”
Lou Yan glanced at the rearview mirror from time to time, paying attention to the movement behind them. He replied simply, “Fu Xuezhou has the ability to track us quickly.”
Duan Zege understood. The eagle had been following them in the sky all along, so Fu Xuezhou might be following the eagle’s direction from behind. Lou Yan was so wary of Fu Xuezhou, so Fu Xuezhou’s speed must be fast. Maybe when he saw the eagle falling from the sky, Fu Xuezhou had already sped up in this direction.
These thoughts flashed through his mind, and Duan Zege immediately stabilized the steering wheel, almost stepping on the gas pedal to the floor.
The scenery flew by, and Duan Zege reminded, “The license plate of this car has probably been seen by Fu Xuezhou. We’d better change to another car before going home.”
Lou Yan raised an eyebrow, surprised that he had noticed this detail. “You’re right. We should indeed change to another car.”
With that, Lou Yan typed “Shengxing Car Dealership” on the navigation. “Let’s go here to change the car.”
***
The sedan quickly left the wilderness behind.
Three minutes later, Fu Xuezhou appeared here.
The road was deserted, and all around was desolate. Fu Xuezhou detected a very faint smell of blood in the air and heard the weak moaning of the eagle. He followed the traces into the forest and saw the weak eagle lying on a patch of dry grass.
The eagle was covered in bloodstains, with its wings shot and severely injured from the fall. As soon as it saw Fu Xuezhou, it began to cry out weakly, looking pitiful.
Fu Xuezhou walked over and squatted down, reaching out to touch the eagle’s head. The eagle laid weakly on the ground, its head moving slightly.
“He knows you’re my pet eagle,” Fu Xuezhou said thoughtfully. “And he even has the ability to rewind time, knowing my speed is fast. So, smartly, he escaped in advance, without even coming to confirm if you were dead… He’s probably the one who made the threatening call to me, and the one who secretly investigated me a few days ago…”
Fu Xuezhou withdrew his hand, his pale fingertips stained with the eagle’s blood and dust, and said softly, “Strange.”
In all his numerous rebirths, there had never been such an unexpected beginning. Now, there was someone out there full of hatred, trying to kill him, and completely beyond his control.
“Rewinding time…” Fu Xuezhou stood up and looked into the distance. “Who is he?”
Of course, no one could tell him the answer.
Except for the rustling wind and the weak breath of the eagle, it was as if there were no signs of life here.
Fu Xuezhou stood quietly for a few seconds, then took out a mobile phone from his pocket. He opened a webpage and began to search for information about the black sedan.
Only law enforcement agencies could access information about car owners, but Fu Xuezhou simply operated a few times, and the page displayed the photo and basic information of the car owner.
The person in the photo looked like a middle-aged man in his forties, with an ordinary appearance, named Zhao Hai, and the vehicle was mortgaged at a car dealership.
At the first glance of this information, Fu Xuezhou smiled, “He’s hiding pretty deep.”
The person who came to kill him was a smart and cautious person, even using someone else’s car to avoid being discovered. But such assassination attempts would not happen only once.
Fu Xuezhou tilted his head, his silver hair brushing past his shoulders. He thought lightly: It’s okay, he’ll catch him next time.
***
Two hours later, Lou Yan and Duan Zege arrived at Shengxing Car Dealership, where they successfully changed to another car. After that, they headed home.
Duan Zege asked meaningfully, “Wasn’t that car just now not yours, but from the dealership?”
“Yeah,” Lou Yan replied. “Fu Xuezhou is a very…”
He paused. Although he didn’t want to use such a word to describe a college student, Lou Yan couldn’t think of a more appropriate term besides this: “…mysterious person. He knows a lot of things. I’m not afraid of him finding out about me, but I also don’t mind giving myself an extra layer of protection. Having a slight advantage over him, if he’s in the light and I’m in the dark, is beneficial to me.”
Duan Zege wouldn’t ask why he knew all this, nor would he ask about the entanglement between him and Fu Xuezhou. He just listened quietly and then praised, “Well said. That person is indeed terrifying. The longer we can stay hidden, the better.”
Lou Yan smiled and took out a lighter, playing with it between his fingers. “Aren’t you worried that I’ll involve innocent people? Like you, or the original owner of the car I borrowed?”
Duan Zege, however, responded very indifferently, “When I chose to be your companion, it meant I was prepared to accept such consequences. As for others? It doesn’t matter. Their deaths are always better than yours or mine.”
Lou Yan’s finger was flicked by the flame, and he couldn’t help but look at Duan Zege with some surprise. After nine days of being together, he had roughly figured out what kind of person Duan Zege was. He seemed humorous and easygoing, but he always kept himself at a distance from the crowd. If others talked to him, he would respond, but if others ignored him, he would stay alone. Lou Yan felt that although Duan Zege was mysterious and not simple, he wasn’t a bad person. But Duan Zege’s indifferent tone at this moment was really unexpected to Lou Yan.
Seeing Lou Yan’s expression in the rearview mirror, Duan Zege chuckled, “What’s wrong? Do you think I’m too selfish?”
“Not really, I just didn’t expect you to be so direct,” Lou Yan said. “Those who do not act for themselves will incur the wrath of both heaven and earth. If one’s life is on the line, ninety percent of people in the world would choose to live and let others die for them. You’re just speaking too truthfully and directly.”
“Ninety percent?” Duan Zege laughed softly, “I think that probability is low, it should be ninety-nine point nine percent.”
“You’re really…” Lou Yan chuckled helplessly. “Your thoughts are much darker than mine.”
He slowly lit a cigarette he didn’t intend to smoke, just holding it between his fingers. He looked down at the flickering flames, his expression becoming incredibly complex. “But, having said that, the original owner of that car won’t be affected by me. As for you, as long as you don’t pose a threat to Fu Xuezhou, he won’t come to kill you. Just like when we were alone in the internet cafe box today, even if he saw you, he didn’t kill you but came straight for me.”
The white smoke from the cigarette rose slowly, and Lou Yan didn’t smoke it, just holding it in his hand. He looked down at the flickering flames, his expression becoming incredibly complex. “Fu Xuezhou won’t kill innocent people.”
Fu Xuezhou wouldn’t kill ordinary people.
On the contrary, not only would he not kill them, sometimes he would casually save those ordinary people from strange situations.
Even if someone verbally provoked him, even if someone resented him and wanted to kill him, as long as it didn’t hinder Fu Xuezhou’s purpose, he could ignore them. Even if those people cursed Fu Xuezhou to his face, he wouldn’t kill them just because of the insults.
Of course, Fu Xuezhou wasn’t a great person. He could also watch others die indifferently and would sacrifice some lives to save the majority. In the world after the anomaly resurgence he was a rare “good person.”
It was precisely because of such behavior that Fu Xuezhou was called the “world savior” in the apocalypse.
Countless people followed him, countless people trusted him, and countless people admired him.
Countless people believed that Fu Xuezhou would lead them to end the terror brought by the strange resurgence.
Lou Yan was once one of the “countless people.”
Perhaps because he had deeply trusted that man, when he was betrayed, burned by the fire, and destroyed by Fu Xuezhou who destroyed the world, Lou Yan felt so much hatred and despair.
What’s the use of not killing innocent people? In the end, wouldn’t he be the one who killed the most people? Laughing directly to destroy the world and kill everyone. Lou Yan felt ridiculous when he thought about it, and felt a chill all over his body. Fu Xuezhou, Fu Xuezhou… How could he be so hypocritical?
How could he be so good at deceiving people?
The unknowing Duan Zege was surprised, “I didn’t expect him to be quite principled.”
Lou Yan just sneered directly, nodded, and said, “During the early stages of the Anomaly Resurgence, his principles could still be trusted.”
At half-past five in the afternoon, the two arrived home.
Only Lu Haoxiu was watching TV in the living room. As soon as he saw them return, his heavy expression relaxed, and he waved eagerly, “Brother Lou, Brother Duan, come over quickly, something happened.”
Lou Yan and Duan Zege exchanged a glance and quickly walked to the television. The TV was broadcasting a local news report:
【Dear viewers, today we have received urgent news from Liushu Village, Dayan Town, Chengjiang City. It is reported that a serious chemical pollution incident has occurred in the area, resulting in severe casualties and environmental damage.】
【In order to ensure the health and safety of the masses, relevant departments have taken emergency measures to block Liushu Village. Non-rescue personnel are now prohibited from entering the scene… At the same time, relevant departments are working hard to ensure the safety of people’s lives and property. Please remain calm and refrain from going to the scene without authorization, and work together to maintain social stability and harmony… Thank you for watching.】
Can’t wait until next week to see more? Want to show your support? Come to my Patreon where you can get up to 5 more chapters of Monster Resurgence right away ! Or go donate at Paypal or Ko-fi to show your appreciation! :)
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
