"That Liu Chuang, he really pissed me off! He actually dared to threaten a police officer!"
A police car drove through the bustling streets of Juxia City. Beneath the neon lights and moonlight, the city's clamor had yet to subside.
People flowed through the streets, even though this wasn't the central district.
Qi Lin wore a sharp, beautiful police uniform and a police cap. Her features were delicate and stunning, and she stood with her arms folded, fuming.
"Don't stoop to his level. It's fine, I've got you covered!"
The male officer named Wang Yuan was driving. Hearing Qi Lin's complaint, he immediately replied.
He wasn't actually that old. He just looked older than he was. At thirty, he was still in his prime.
Obviously, he knew about Liu Chuang—the hooligan who had claimed during the day that he would become a superhero who saved all humanity, who did seem to possess superhuman strength, yet remained every bit the same old thug.
He barked orders, spewed foul language, and even threatened Qi Lin to release him, saying there would be consequences if she didn't... Honestly, it was infuriating, but also worrying.
The strength he showed when he tore apart an air conditioner, kicked someone more than ten meters away, and survived with his head embedded in a concrete floor was clearly anything but normal.
And judging from the situation, some higher-ranking department was protecting both Liu Chuang and Ge Xiao Lun.
"Who needs your protection?" Qi Lin snorted dismissively.
They could be colleagues just fine, but if he had other intentions, then forget it.
With looks as outstanding as hers, she had rejected far too many confessions since childhood, whether they came with ulterior motives or simple good intentions.
"Sigh... Fine, fine. I've given up on a flower like you. Stop being so guarded all the time." Officer Wang Yuan waved helplessly, speaking half-jokingly and half-sincerely.
Looking at how she usually avoided dressing up and tried to go bare-faced, thinking of all the wealthy young masters she had rejected, then recalling the stunningly handsome young man she had turned down today, he finally understood that his hopes of getting close to her through proximity were definitely useless.
Even if he refused to admit it, he really was ordinary-looking, from an average family, and a little too old.
Besides, he had noticed long ago that Qi Lin's family background was probably anything but ordinary.
"Hmph~"
The corners of Qi Lin's lips curled up slightly, and she smiled.
As long as someone didn't have ulterior motives toward her, she was quite approachable. She had no airs about her when it came to being friends.
Though she was already twenty-six this year, she still needed to focus on her career.
What was the point of dating? Building a career was the serious business.
"Still, that kid today was really good-looking. And he's eighteen, fresh meat, and somehow already a graduate... You didn't give him even the slightest chance. Wasn't that a little cruel?" Wang Yuan drove as he idly recalled the younger guy from earlier.
Handsome men and beautiful women were always the center of attention, always conversation material.
"Hehe~"
Thinking of that big boy, Qi Lin smiled too. He had time to write cheats but no time to practice his skills, and got reported on the very first day he used hacks. How embarrassing.
"Him? He really is pretty good-looking, but he's too young... If he were twenty-four or twenty-five, twenty-seven or twenty-eight, I might consider it.
He hasn't even settled down yet. A big boy who believes in love at first sight, fresh meat... I'm not going to embarrass myself like that."
She shook her head. She truly hadn't considered him in the slightest.
Eighteen was just a child. There were at least two generation gaps between them.
"Sigh... Keep waiting, then. When you've waited until you become an older leftover woman and finally change your mind, remember to let me know. Maybe I'll get lucky and pick up the leftovers." Wang Yuan said with a grin, holding the steering wheel.
"Get lost!" Qi Lin rolled her eyes at him.
"Car 143! Car 143! An emergency has occurred on Airport Road in Feiliu District!
Terrorists of unknown identity have attacked a police car. Car 143, immediately proceed to the scene and provide support..."
The sudden transmission interrupted their chat.
"This is Juxia City!" Qi Lin frowned, finding it hard to believe.
"Everyone, be careful!
All responding police vehicles, attention! Evacuate the civilians and protect the people!"
The messages kept coming. The situation was clearly dire.
The engine roared, and the police car sped away.
"Only one target, but it appears extremely large. It is suspected of wearing heavy metal armor. Ordinary bullets cannot penetrate it, and standard missiles cannot inflict fatal damage.
The target is temporarily inactive. Special forces are moving in from the flanks."
Highway. Battlefield. Guns and artillery. Military vehicles. Special forces.
Stray bullets. Rubble. Trenches. Cordon lines.
When Qi Lin and Wang Yuan arrived at the scene, they were somewhat dazed. Looking at the fully armed soldiers, the tanks and artillery vehicles, and even the roaring helicopters overhead, they were caught completely off guard by the battlefield that had suddenly appeared on the outskirts of the city.
BOOM!!!
They got out of the car and had just reached the outer edge of the cordon when Qi Lin watched an armed helicopter get blown apart by a pink laser beam. Shattered wreckage flew everywhere.
The burning helicopter crashed, while the thunderous artillery fire continued without end, making hearts race and heads buzz.
Blazing flames, just like the flames that had been burning endlessly on the distant road.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
In the blink of an eye, five more unknown laser blasts struck. Advancing military vehicles and tanks on the ground were instantly destroyed, flames shooting into the sky as explosions erupted one after another!
Qi Lin stared blankly. Within mere breaths, before she could do anything, she saw a huge shadow some two hundred meters away flying around and moving with incredible agility as it bombarded everything in sight.
It looked like a large mecha, like something from a movie.
In just a few seconds... on the battlefield, life was so fragile.
Suddenly, she instinctively sensed that something was wrong!
In that instant, which seemed both incredibly long and utterly meaningless, she felt as if she saw a laser beam flying toward her. There was absolutely no way she could react in time... It seemed she was about to die.
So death came without any warning at all.
The second before death was so long... as though everything had slowed down.
What should she say? If she survived, she ought to give herself a sweet romance... Did every single person think that way?
She didn't want to die... Who would want to die?
BZZZ!!!
BOOM!!!
She felt as if she had been torn apart. A sudden, tremendous impact slammed into her body, and the intense pain made her groan...
A second later, she opened her eyes in confusion.
Something seemed off.
"So it really was you, Sister Qi Lin. Be careful, it's dangerous here."
Wang Ji gently let go, feeling slightly reluctant. So a girl's body was this soft... It was the first time he had known.
Qi Lin stared at him blankly, watching him set her down from his arms. She then saw her colleague Wang Yuan in his right hand, along with three young soldiers.
It seemed... he had saved her, as well as the other four people nearby.
He had held her in the crook of his left arm while gripping the collars of the other four with his right hand.
In an instant.
"Cough! Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough..."
Unlike Qi Lin, who had felt a moment of sharp pain but no further discomfort afterward, Wang Yuan and the other grown men had nearly been strangled to death when they were yanked by their collars at extreme speed!
The men gasped and coughed like they were resuscitating themselves, their faces flushed red.
"Kid... you've really been hiding your talents. Th-Thanks!"
Wang Yuan immediately understood what had happened. With Liu Chuang and Ge Xiao Lun as precedent, and having just been whisked out of the blast zone by Wang Ji, it wasn't hard to figure out.
They were more than fifty meters away from their original position, having avoided the laser blast.
Wang Yuan gave a thumbs-up and stared in amazement at the tall young man.
Wang Ji sighed inwardly. If he hadn't seen their police car midway and changed his mind about taking a detour, he would never have come here.
Exposing his abilities... Sigh, forget it.
"Sister Qi Lin, Brother Wang Yuan, do me a favor. I'm going to take down that big monster."
Not wanting to dwell on it, Wang Ji spoke directly.
And in that brief span of time, the mecha monster had yet to notice anything unusual.
"W-What? Tell us what you need. I'll help." Qi Lin came to her senses and immediately answered.
She had realized that this young man possessed superhuman strength, but there was no time to ask questions.
Wang Ji nodded and said crisply, "It's simple. Let's form a team. Then hide somewhere safe and don't get yourselves killed. I'll need your help later."
"Huh? Form... a team?"
Qi Lin, Wang Yuan, and the three soldiers all failed to understand what Wang Ji meant, looking confused.
"No time to explain. Just nod and agree."
"Okay, I agree... to form a team." Qi Lin immediately replied.
"I agree too!"
"I agree too!"
"That's enough people."
Wang Ji waved to stop the fifth person, then said nothing else. A dark gleam flashed in his hand, as if he had grabbed hold of something.
There was a crisp click.
Then he pushed off with his feet, turning into a blurry black shadow and vanishing from where he stood in the blink of an eye.
Qi Lin and the others froze instinctively.
How could they even describe that...
Had a huge black rat just gone by?
A black streak leaped over trenches in an instant, crossed the wreckage of artillery vehicles, and lunged toward the enormous mecha monster that was flying about and bombing everything at will.
BOOM!!!
The blast was inconspicuous amid the artillery-filled battlefield, just as its burst of flame was inconspicuous.
Yet after that explosion, the battlefield instantly fell silent. The large mecha dropped helplessly to the ground, kneeling there with one huge hand clutching its abdomen, completely still.
Not entirely still—it looked as though it was still crawling—but it truly seemed to have lost its ability to attack.
No more laser fire. No more incredible speed. It crawled helplessly and dazedly along the ground.
Every unit on the battlefield was stunned... For a moment, no one knew whether they should open fire.
But Qi Lin suddenly had a bad feeling. Her heart seemed to stop, and she abruptly shouted, "Wang Ji! Wang Ji!"
She was suddenly afraid. For no reason at all, she regretted forgetting to ask whether Wang Ji would be in danger... He was only eighteen. He was just an ordinary civilian.
When the mecha fell, she had also seen a figure sent flying away.
He...
Then, at that moment, she suddenly froze.
This time, she really saw it. All of them saw it: a huge black rat shot over with a whoosh!
It crawled along the ground, yet at an indescribable speed, like a phantom. It instantly wound around layer after layer of trenches and obstacles before darting right in front of her.
He knelt weakly on the ground, his clothes blasted to pieces and blood streaming from his body. One hand braced against the ground while the other clutched his stomach, just like the large mecha in the distance that was helplessly crawling around while holding its abdomen.
Having crawled before Qi Lin, he seemed unable to lift his head. Yet his voice still carried some strength. "Sister Qi Lin, h-help... help me up."
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