On the way back, Jiang Xiaohui asked me, "Big Brother, do you think the system could really be colluding with the Returnees?"
I glanced at him and lit a cigarette. "Hard to say. It depends on what each of them wants. If they want the same thing, there's nothing stopping them from working together temporarily."
Jiang Xiaohui said, "Listening to you two, it feels like we don't stand a chance at all."
I blew out a smoke ring. "That's right. Forget them joining forces—even against either one of them alone, we have no chance of winning. After all our clashes with the system, do you think we've ever gained any advantage? And now there's a third force, the one stirring up trouble everywhere. You've seen how they deal with the Returnees and the system. I have a feeling they may be even more terrifying than both of them!"
Jiang Xiaohui stuck out his tongue. "Being able to attack multiple factions in multiple places at once without anyone even knowing who they are... that really is more terrifying than the system and the Returnees. Big Brother, do you think this mysterious force is far more advanced than the Returnees?"
I didn't answer. I couldn't answer that question.
Suddenly, Jiang Xiaohui slammed on the brakes.
I looked ahead. Not far down the road, someone stood in the middle of it—an old man.
But I had seen this old man's appearance before. Guiguzi had met me twice dressed exactly like this.
Jiang Xiaohui said, "I thought he wouldn't show up. He finally came."
I was already out of the car as he spoke, and Jiang Xiaohui followed me out.
I looked around and realized there wasn't a single vehicle on the highway.
"Were there no cars around us while we were driving just