In fact, the moment the spirit-energy array was cracked, the remaining three spirit-vein nodes immediately stopped working as well. Their operators stayed remarkably calm. Though they had already guessed that their plan had been exposed, they withdrew from the crowd without giving themselves away and began evacuating according to their contingency plan.
They thought they had prepared thoroughly and were experts at counter-surveillance. Unless something unexpected happened, they should be able to get away safely.
In reality, the moment they disengaged from the spirit-energy nodes, Yu Lian had already locked onto them.
There was no helping it. In this world, crawling with idealist idiots, using spirit energy to cause trouble could indeed get around most technology-based security measures. But if you used spirit energy to cause trouble, other people could use spirit energy to come after you, too.
The faint fluctuations in the force field when the spirit-energy nodes shut down were enough for Yu Lian to pinpoint their movements.
Still, there were three of them, and they had split up at the park entrance. They probably had different safe houses.
Yu Lian couldn't yet use the miraculous technique of "astral projection," which only "true gods" above the eighth ring could master. Even if he really did reach the eighth ring, his bucket-shaped build's "balance" probably gave him a very slim chance of drawing that particular prize. So he could only choose to follow the strongest person there.
The man wore a cheap jacket and looked utterly ordinary, a middle-aged fellow who might have spent half his life working diligently in a factory without ever making manager—some technician or old accountant. His meager future held little more than a hint of murky gray.
Yet Yu Lian could tell that the man was probably around the third ring in strength.
Given