Anomaly

Su Xiao drove down the midnight street, the thug riding shotgun.

"How much farther?"

He had the accelerator floored, the speedometer pushing at least 160. It was the dead of night, and the streets were nearly empty.

At this breakneck pace, Su Xiao noticed something—even at this speed, he handled the car with ease. His Agility stat hadn't just boosted his speed; his neural reflexes had skyrocketed too.

"Almost there, buddy. Please, slow down. I don't wanna die."

Despair flickered in the thug's eyes. He had a sinking feeling he wouldn't make it out of this alive.

He'd seen that look in Su Xiao's eyes once before—the look of someone who'd killed.

The thug also sensed that Su Xiao was different from your average murderer. His gaze was far too savage.

"Help me find my blade, and the people who ambushed me earlier, and you live."

Su Xiao lit a cigarette and took a deep drag.

The thug sighed, then finally nodded.

After driving into a residential complex, Su Xiao arrived at the destination.

"Get out."

A pitch-black pistol was in Su Xiao's hand—the same one he'd found in that apartment building earlier. It was likely the very gun that had shot him before.

Following the thug's directions, Su Xiao stopped in front of the gang leader's door.

"Knock."

The thug hesitated, glancing at the gun in Su Xiao's hand. It was already chambered.

Left with no choice, the thug knocked on the door.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

After a few rounds of knocking, light footsteps sounded from inside.

"Who is it, at this hour?"

A woman's drowsy voice came through the door.

"Sister-in-law, it's me, Xiao Zhang."

A dozen seconds later, a still-attractive middle-aged woman opened the door.

"Come in. Do you know what time it is—"

Her words cut off as a dark gun barrel pressed against her forehead.

"Step back slowly. Not a sound."

The woman froze, staring blankly at Su Xiao. After a dazed moment, she shuffled backward.

Su Xiao grabbed the thug and pulled him inside, then quietly closed the door.

As the woman backed up, she accidentally bumped into a half-meter-tall vase behind her.

Crash. The sound of shattering ceramic cut through the silent living room like a knife.

"Don't—don't get jumpy. I didn't mean to."

Su Xiao ignored her. His eyes locked onto the coffee table, where a blade rack held his sheathed sword.

He stepped forward and picked up his sword. The familiar weight in his hand made him smile.

"Mom, what's all the noise~?"

A bedroom door in front of Su Xiao opened. A girl in a tank top stood at the doorway, rubbing her eyes.

She stared blankly at Su Xiao and the dark pistol. Her lips parted, ready to scream.

Su Xiao raised the muzzle and twitched it, signaling her to go back where she came from. The girl nodded frantically and slammed the door shut.

With his sword recovered, Su Xiao turned and left the room.

--

Before news of Su Xiao's survival could spread, he was already on a high-speed train to the neighboring city.

His appearance had changed drastically—he looked like a student. At his age, a bit of makeup was all it took to pass as a college kid.

Arriving in the neighboring city, Su Xiao didn't linger. He hopped onto a random long-distance bus.

As the bus jostled along, Su Xiao's body swayed slightly. He appeared to be resting with his eyes closed, but in reality, he was alert to everything around him.

A child's crying, two girls in the front seat whispering and giggling, a young man diagonally ahead bobbing his head with earphones in.

"We interrupt this broadcast with breaking news: a fugitive has been spotted in the neighboring city."

The movie playing on the bus's front LCD screen cut out, replaced by Su Xiao's photo.

"The suspect is..."

Every passenger on the bus turned to look, drawn by the news.

Su Xiao silently cursed their speed. Less than six hours had passed, and his wanted notice was already out. No surprise—a dead man coming back to life, and a former assassin at that, was bound to be hunted.

But for Su Xiao, this kind of manhunt wasn't much of a threat. Forget his combat ability—with his stealth skills, he could vanish without a trace.

After several detours, Su Xiao traveled continuously for four days. By the end, he had no idea where he was, but he finally stopped.

He pulled out his new phone to check his location and found he was in DL City, a coastal city.

"Not a bad place."

DL City was surrounded by the sea on three sides. Even if the police came after him, his best option would be to smuggle himself abroad.

Unless things got truly desperate, Su Xiao didn't want to flee overseas. He had plenty of enemies abroad.

The priority now was finding a place to settle down. Hotels and the like were out of the question—too many people, too many eyes, not suitable for a long stay.

Standing on a bustling street, Su Xiao felt a pang of hunger. He'd spent the past few days traveling nonstop without a proper meal.

He found a restaurant and ordered the local specialty: swimming crab.

It was May, the season when swimming crabs were at their fattest and most flavorful, each one weighing at least a pound.

He cracked open the hard shell, dipped the meat in the restaurant's secret sauce, and took a satisfying bite. The flesh was thick, the texture excellent. The tender crab meat teased his taste buds, and the unique seafood aroma lingered, leaving him craving more.

"Check, please."

Su Xiao set down the last crab shell and let out a burp.

The restaurant owner walked over with the bill, staring in shock at the pile of shells on the table.

"This..." The owner was stunned by Su Xiao's appetite. He had eaten seven or eight times the amount a normal person would.

An increase in physical attributes meant Su Xiao needed more energy. Strength didn't come from nowhere—it required a massive intake of energy.

"That'll be 789. Just give me 780."

Su Xiao pulled out a few hundred-yuan bills and handed them to the owner.

"Are there any rentals around here? I'm a student who just arrived and need a place for a few months."

The owner pulled out his phone, fiddled with it for a moment, then held it up to Su Xiao. The screen displayed 'DL City Rental Network.'

The look in the restaurant owner's eyes seemed to say, 'Kid, nobody looks for rentals on the street anymore.'

Su Xiao gave an awkward laugh, noted down the website, and left the restaurant.

Walking along the busy street, Su Xiao's thumb moved quickly across his phone screen as he browsed the site. It was a small local social platform specializing in housing rentals.

After browsing for a while, he came across a strange listing.

'Prime location, convenient transportation. Starting rent: 100,000 yuan per month.'

In DL City, a monthly rent of 100,000 yuan wasn't unheard of, but it wasn't common either. What puzzled him was that the ad barely provided any details about the property—just a phone number.

Su Xiao wasn't short on cash, so he decided to call. A place with a 100,000-yuan monthly rent should be decent, probably a luxury villa.

The call connected quickly. A hoarse male voice answered.

"Let's talk in person. 37 Tianhai Road."

After that brief statement, the call ended.

Su Xiao was taken aback, then shook his head. Too much trouble. There might be something shady going on. A 100,000-yuan monthly rent was already odd enough. He didn't want to get involved, so he decided to look elsewhere.