Escape Alive

Jia Meng said softly, "I'm afraid it was just an ordinary person who happened to be hit by a meteorite. You should think about how much Soul Force you'd get from that."

"My mission is to protect this world, not create more chaos."

With the three of them working together, the meteorite's impact on the ordinary people caused hardly any disturbance.

It was like a dark speck in the sky, vanishing in an instant without drawing much attention. The panic it caused soon subsided.

Night had fallen. A crescent moon hung in the sky, casting a faint glow below.

More than a hundred miles from the town, Mei Chu's figure flickered through the night. At that moment, his heart was filled with mixed emotions.

Although he'd successfully escaped after summoning a meteorite from the heavens, he'd also left himself with all kinds of restrictions that meant he couldn't use the powers he'd previously gained from his host.

At present, aside from the Soul Force he'd gained from his own possession, he could use no other powers. His strength had taken a serious hit.

Having witnessed Jia Meng and the others work together to resolve the threat posed by the falling meteorite, Mei Chu knew that with Xia Bu around, the Soul Force world was no longer something he could easily turn upside down.

A surge of frustration rose in his heart, but it was quickly replaced by a feeling of helplessness.

"On my own, there's no way I can manage this. Maybe only by working with those monsters can I compete with him."

Mei Chu's eyes flashed with a trace of menace. He'd already come up with a plan, but the Soul Force he'd accumulated over hundreds of years was now greatly diminished. Even if he used it all, he might only get the opposite of what he wanted.

Even if he awakened the powerful Soul Force he'd painstakingly cultivated over the millennia, it still wouldn't be enough to guarantee that he could defeat Jia Meng.

He might be able to cause some trouble in the Soul Force world, but it wouldn't do him any good if he couldn't completely take over a human body.

Besides, with his Soul Force greatly weakened, he couldn't form a partnership with those monsters.

Perhaps the first thing they'd do once they woke up would be to kill him.

Mei Chu felt torn between fleeing and staying to carry out his plan.

Just then, a lone little girl caught his eye.

She wore a pink dress and had a delicate face. But in her eyes lurked a gloomy, sinister air that didn't suit her young age.

"Looks like fate hasn't abandoned me. I've actually come across a little demon with enough Soul Force to rival the heavens."

The corners of Mei Chu's mouth curled into a wicked smile. He seemed to see a glimmer of hope.

He immediately turned and ran toward the little girl, each step as quick as he could manage.

Mei Chu's body had grown terribly weak. He needed a new host to continue carrying out his plans.

He went up to the little girl, crouched down, and asked in a gentle voice, "Little friend, are you lost? Where are your parents?"

The little girl looked at Mei Chu. Her eyes held a trace of fear, and she trembled as she cried out, "Uncle, don't come any closer! I'm a jinx! My parents are both dead because of me! Anyone who gets near me will die! Run!"

Mei Chu's eyes widened in surprise, but the expression was quickly replaced by a cold smile.

He smiled faintly and reassured her, "Don't be afraid. Uncle's strong. You won't hurt me. On the contrary, I can protect you."

As he spoke, he slowly stretched out his right hand, palm facing upward, as if waiting to receive something.

A mouth suddenly opened in his abdomen. A thick, twisted tongue slithered out. It was the great intestine he used to parasitize his host, and the organ through which he carried out his parasitic possession.

The little girl watched the scene, so frightened she could barely stand. She wanted to run, but Mei Chu had already activated his parasitic power.

A dark shadow flashed across Mei Chu's palm, quickly enveloping the little girl.

The girl's shrieks faded, and at last she lay still.

Mei Chu's face broke into a satisfied smile. It seemed he'd finally found a suitable host.

But just as Mei Chu activated his parasitic power, intending to swallow the girl whole, her body suddenly burst into a golden glow.

"You're a bad uncle, not a good one. When you meet a bad uncle, you have to fight back. Punch him, then eat him."

The little girl's voice was clear and sweet, without a trace of childish fear. In her eyes shone a courage and defiance far beyond her years.

The golden Soul Force seemed to understand its master's words. Its mouth opened wide, and in one gulp it swallowed Mei Chu whole—great intestine and all. Then, satisfied, it carried the little girl away.

The night was ink-black. Moonlight filtered through sparse branches and dappled the ground, adding a touch of silver to the silent forest.

Half an hour later, Jia Meng, Wu Songyao, and Xia Bu arrived in the moonlit forest.

Jia Meng's gaze swept across the broad expanse of forest. There was nothing here but trees, yet a strange foreboding lingered in the air.

"Looks like we're too late. He's already found a new host."

He turned to Xia Bu, his eyes full of expectation.

"Xia Bu, do you have any Soul Force that can track him? I have to find him as soon as possible."

Xia Bu shook his head, his expression grave.

"No matter what kind of Soul Force you use to track him, you need a trace of his power to serve as a guide."

"But everything about him has been cleared away. Not a trace of Soul Force was left behind. I can't sense anything."

Wu Songyao looked around, her eyes filled with worry.

"Let's look around. The person nearby has become his new host. Mei Chu is on the run, but we can't just give up."

Jia Meng sighed and frowned.

"We can only keep searching. If we let that monster get away, we won't be able to catch him later. That'll only make things harder."

The three of them split up in the forest and searched carefully, hoping to find some trace of Mei Chu's new host.

In the darkness, their figures moved through the trees like three golden lights, trying to find the enemy hidden in the shadows.

Jia Meng and the others searched the surrounding area for several days, but the result was exactly as Mei Chu had predicted: nothing.

Although they hadn't been able to eliminate the threat posed by Mei Chu, their efforts hadn't been entirely wasted.

Through the painstaking work of faking the meteorite incident, he'd successfully exposed Gao Bao, who'd been hiding among the Soul Force users.

And aside from Jia Meng's family, there were six other people involved. That was a shocking number.

"It's hard to imagine what crime could have led to so many people being sentenced to death."

Xia Bu's voice carried a hint of helplessness.

Jia Meng fell silent, his gaze deep and distant.

Jia Meng understood that even if he found more names, it would be useless.

These Gao Baos had been able to come back to life because a series of complicated, subtle exchanges had taken place behind the scenes.

To ordinary Soul Force users, they were either prisoners or war criminals. But given the special treatment they'd received, their names might just be a smokescreen.