A Game of Pursuit

A Game of Pursuit

Ji Xinghuo's first thought was not about what she had said, but rather, Your voice is so pleasant!

Only then did he become wary.

"May I ask who you are?"

"Mr. Ji, there's no need to be suspicious."

Her eyes blinked. Even with her face covered by a scarf, he could guess that she was smiling. It was highly infectious. "My team is recruiting an archer, but we haven't found a suitable candidate. I happened to see you several times at the recruitment center, so I became a little interested."

Ji Xinghuo was delighted inside, but his expression remained calm. "Your team?"

He had the feeling that this woman was far from ordinary. The more beautiful a woman was, the better she was at deceiving people—though he still could not be sure whether she was truly beautiful.

"Yes, I'm the captain of a Hunting Team. Our team is quite capable." The woman was clearly being modest.

Ji Xinghuo grew even more suspicious. "You should know that I'm only a junior Ranger. If your team is really that strong, why would you be interested in me?"

"Rank isn't important. My requirements are different from those of other teams."

The woman stood up and walked past him.

Ji Xinghuo caught a refreshing fragrance, a unique scent like a blend of peach blossoms, gardenias, white orchids, and other plants. It was fresh and elegant, extremely faint, almost too faint to notice. Yet once smelled, it was probably impossible to forget for a lifetime.

He was still in a daze when she had already reached the restaurant entrance. Turning back, she asked, "Mr. Ji, do you lack confidence in yourself?"

"I'm coming."

Ji Xinghuo set down his half-eaten dinner, wiped his mouth, and got up to follow her.

The two left the restaurant and walked along the street.

Walking beside her, Ji Xinghuo finally remembered to ask, "I still haven't asked how I should address you."

"My name is Ren Mian," she answered, turning her head. Then, as if afraid he would not know which characters she meant, she explained, "Ren as in willful, Mian as in cotton."

"As a surname, shouldn't Ren be pronounced rén?" Ji Xinghuo found it rather strange.

"For me, it's Ren as in willful." Ren Mian emphasized willfully, "If you successfully join my team, you can call me Ren-jie from now on."

Willful big sister?

Ji Xinghuo mocked her inwardly, but replied, "All right, Ren-jie."

After that, neither of them spoke.

They walked several hundred meters without stopping before Ji Xinghuo could not help asking, "Ren-jie, where are we going?"

"You said your strength exceeds that of a mid-level Ranger, and that your archery is very good. I haven't seen it for myself, so I'm taking you to test it." Ren Mian said evenly, "Although my requirements differ from those of other teams, as a Ranger, your fundamentals must still pass muster."

Ji Xinghuo nodded. "Thank you, Ren-jie, for giving me this opportunity."

"Don't be happy too soon. Archery is only the first test. The difficult part comes later. It won't be too late to thank me after you join my team."

Ren Mian pointed ahead as she spoke. "We're here."

It was an Archery Hall on the street. After they entered, Ren Mian directly had the receptionist arrange a private indoor range, the kind where no one else was allowed to watch.

Once the staff member had left, Ren Mian pointed at the farthest target opposite them.

"I'll give you ten seconds to prepare."

"Between the tenth and twentieth second, complete ten shots. Every arrow must hit the bullseye." After saying that, she raised her wrist and pulled back her sleeve, revealing a mechanical watch as she began timing.

Without a moment's hesitation, Ji Xinghuo took the Compound Hunting Bow from his back and lowered his quiver, slinging it diagonally at his right hip.

At the same time, he studied the target.

The target Ren Mian had designated was a standard target eighty centimeters in diameter, but it was one hundred and fifty meters away. That was already far beyond the distance a junior Ranger could reliably handle, and even mid-level Rangers would find it difficult.

Although it was a stationary target, completing ten bullseyes in one burst within ten seconds was something most senior Rangers could not accomplish.

For another junior Ranger, they might not even be able to see the bullseye on the target.

However, Ji Xinghuo did not complain.

Ren Mian kept timing. At the tenth second, she raised her right index finger as a signal.

Snap! Ji Xinghuo released his first arrow almost simultaneously. It became a black streak and vanished in the blink of an eye. He did not look at the result. Thousand Spirit Dexterous Hands worked at full capacity as he nocked the second arrow held in his palm, drew the bowstring, and fired again.

Snap snap snap snap snap! Six arrows flew in succession, their trajectories forming a rising arc. Every shot was precise to the finest degree as they streamed unceasingly toward the bullseye.

It took only around five seconds.

Ji Xinghuo had used up all five arrows he had prepared in his palm. His gaze remained locked on the bullseye, and his posture did not change, but his right hand reached into the quiver at his waist and deftly grabbed four arrows.

The seventh arrow went on the string.

At the instant he was about to fire, Ren Mian, standing beside him, suddenly snapped her fingers. Snap. The light from the crystal lamps around the room was instantly drawn to her fingertips. The range abruptly darkened, becoming nearly pitch-black.

Ji Xinghuo still fired the arrow. At the same time, he turned to Ren Mian and smiled. "Ren-jie, it's not good to launch a sneak attack."

As he spoke, he fired another arrow into the darkness, as if the change in lighting had not affected him at all.

Snap snap snap! The remaining three arrows were fired.

The range brightened again. Ren Mian looked at the target one hundred and fifty meters away. Ten arrows were densely embedded in it, every one landing in the bullseye.

"Eight seconds."

Ren Mian glanced at her mechanical watch. Unconcealed surprise appeared in her eyes as she praised, "That was faster than I expected. With archery like that, teams across Olympia would be fighting to recruit you."

Not to mention that he had accomplished it while she was interfering with him.

Ji Xinghuo let out a breath, as though venting all the pent-up frustration he had endured over the past two days. He laughed at himself. "They'd only look down on me."

"Hehe..." Ren Mian chuckled softly. "Looks like I picked up a bargain."

"Then have I passed?" Ji Xinghuo asked.

"You passed the archery test." Ren Mian gently shook her head, making the gauze at the edge of her conical hat sway like waves. She said meaningfully, "The next test is what I value more. Still, since you can shoot bullseyes in darkness, it shouldn't be difficult for you."

"Please set the test, Ren-jie." Ji Xinghuo looked completely calm.

"This test assesses perception." Ren Mian looked at the arrow-filled target. "Go retrieve your arrows. Come out in three minutes, and don't lose me."

After speaking, she turned and left, abandoning Ji Xinghuo alone.

Ji Xinghuo froze for a moment.

But he immediately ran over, pulled out all the arrows, returned them to his quiver, and checked the time on the mechanical watch. There was not the slightest trace of anxiety on his face.

Magnetic Field Induction had already locked onto Ren Mian.

After leaving the Archery Hall, she suddenly quickened her pace and moved at great speed. She turned into an alley more than two hundred meters away, then stood still.

It was a visual blind spot that ordinary people would have found difficult to notice.

But to Magnetic Field Induction, she stood out as clearly as a beacon in the night.

The moment three minutes were up, Ji Xinghuo walked out of the Archery Hall. At the entrance, he pretended to look around several times before approaching Ren Mian's location.

When the distance between them had closed by about half, Ren Mian immediately moved.

She went deeper into the alley where she had hidden, vaulted over a wall, and darted through gaps between buildings and beneath the eaves, changing direction from time to time.

Ji Xinghuo did not chase her into the alley. He merely quickened his pace slightly, trailing far behind Ren Mian while keeping her within the range of his Magnetic Field Induction.

Ren Mian's perception was extremely strong. She clearly had a way to track Ji Xinghuo's position as well.

So she accelerated again.

Much of the time, she leaped directly onto rooftops to take shortcuts, trying to shake Ji Xinghuo's pursuit. Ji Xinghuo had no choice but to speed up as well.

However, Ren Mian was clearly faster, and the distance between them gradually widened.

A few minutes later, she exceeded the range of Magnetic Field Induction.

Ji Xinghuo lost track of Ren Mian, but he was not panicked in the slightest. He turned his head toward a corner hidden from everyone's view. A ring of light flashed in his right pupil as he fully activated Myriad Stellar Eye.

At once, countless illusory lines, light, and shadows flowed before his eyes, unfolding one future after another.

Myriad Aspects of the Universe!

Ever since he had triggered Myriad Stellar Eye's ability to foresee the future in that previous crisis, Ji Xinghuo had explored it several times and finally gained control of it. He had named this ability "Myriad Aspects of the Universe."

Activating Myriad Aspects of the Universe consumed Stellar Force and could last for up to three seconds.

However, he did not need that long now.

Ji Xinghuo activated it only for an instant. In less than half a second, he obtained the direction he needed, then immediately shut down Myriad Aspects of the Universe.

He ran quickly in one direction. More than ten seconds later, Ren Mian reappeared within his Magnetic Field Induction.

Ren Mian stood at a turn on a street corner, seemingly unaware that he had caught up again.

When the distance between them shrank to only a hundred meters, Ren Mian finally noticed.

She quickly left again.

A moment later.

Ji Xinghuo lost her for a second time. It was not that Magnetic Field Induction was inadequate, but that his speed could not keep up. As a junior Ranger, this was still too much of a stretch for him.

So he activated Myriad Aspects of the Universe again for half a second and caught up to Ren Mian once more.

This repeated three times.

One ran and the other pursued. More than an hour later, they had crossed half of the East Xia District.

Ji Xinghuo had never been here before. There were fewer people in this district, patrols were tighter, and the Aberrants passing through were noticeably stronger. It was clearly one of Olympia City's upper-class areas.

Suddenly, Ren Mian's route changed.

She no longer sensed his approach and moved away in the most advantageous direction as she had before. Her direction of travel became much more random.

After thinking about it, Ji Xinghuo understood.

Ren Mian had lost her ability to sense his position. He lowered his head and sniffed himself, a smile appearing on his face. "So that's how it is."

Ji Xinghuo boldly closed the distance to Ren Mian, only to find that she had stopped moving.

When he got closer, he discovered that it was a bar.

Ren Mian stood at the bar's entrance. When she saw Ji Xinghuo walking toward her from the distant roadside at an unhurried pace, her beautiful eyes held both surprise and helpless curiosity. But in the end, she did not ask.

"Ren-jie."

Ji Xinghuo stepped forward and called out.

Ren Mian nodded slightly, extending a slender hand that was fair and delicate. She said seriously, "Welcome to my team."