An Opportunity

Time seemed to freeze for an instant.

When they saw Chen Chong throw the flying knife, everyone in the security squad, including Liu Xun, felt their scalps tingle.

Liu Xun's expression changed drastically. He roared,

"What the fuck are you doing? Wait! He—"

"Open fire! Open fire, you bastards! Kill them all!"

The bald man's bellow cut Liu Xun off before he could finish.

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat—

A dozen rifles atop the slope spat flames, their gunfire drowning out everything in an instant.

Two members of the security squad were hit at once. Bullets poured down like rain, making them shudder violently before they dropped dead in moments.

The others immediately hit the ground behind the uneven terrain, taking cover in the natural trench. But they were still pinned down by the enemy's fire and couldn't raise their heads. They could only return fire in occasional bursts, their firepower no match for the Skull Gang's.

When Liu Xun saw another subordinate hit and wounded, his eyes reddened. He thrust out his gun and swept two Skull Gang members off their feet, only to be forced back by an even more ferocious hail of gunfire.

He swept his bloodshot eyes across the battlefield, trying to find the culprit, only to discover that Chen Chong had vanished!

Meanwhile, underground.

Chen Chong hurried through a tunnel just wide enough for one person.

The spot where he had been standing was where the Earth Dragon had burrowed underground earlier. He had found an escape route as soon as the Skull Gang appeared.

The soil in these Hunting Grounds is soft, a paradise for Earth Dragons. The slime on their bodies keeps the tunnel they just dug from collapsing, but it'll probably cave in eventually... Still, it'll stay open long enough for me to get out.

Using the faint light filtering through the tunnel entrance to assess his surroundings, Chen Chong sprinted toward another patch of light ahead.

He soon reached it and cautiously peeked out. He had emerged at the edge of the battlefield, where both sides were pouring out bullets. No one would spare a thought for him in the distance.

Chen Chong's eyes flickered.

Captain Liu, don't let yourself down. The General Manager will miss you.

He climbed out of the tunnel, crouched low, and quickly circled behind the gentle slope. Sure enough, he spotted several off-road vehicles in the distance, each bearing the emblem of a skull.

Chen Chong's heart began to race.

If the security squad was wiped out, he could escape now. Thunder Dragon wouldn't know where he had gone and would assume he had died in the Wasteland.

This was exactly the kind of opportunity he needed.

Chen Chong glanced up at the slope. The Skull Gang members were all focused on shooting, and no one had noticed him appearing behind them.

He immediately straightened up, broke into a run, and raced toward the off-road vehicles!

Chen Chong quickly reached the vehicles and confirmed that no one had been left behind to guard them. The keys were still in the ignitions.

The Skull Gang had come to ambush Thunder Dragon, so they clearly hadn't expected anyone in the Hunting Grounds to steal their vehicles.

Gunfire still roared in the distance. Chen Chong glanced back to make sure the Skull Gang hadn't spotted him, then quickly checked the vehicles and chose the newest one with the fullest tank.

There was a spare fuel can in the vehicle. He took two more from the others, then found a map.

The moment he opened it, excitement surged through him.

"No. 97... Lichuan!"

Chen Chong clutched the map tightly and took a deep breath. He didn't look at it any further, but quickly rolled it up. Then he searched the vehicles again and found a large bag of Magic Food Nutrient Paste and two barrels of clean water. He moved them all into his vehicle.

It took less than two minutes. He climbed into the driver's seat and was about to close the door when he suddenly remembered something.

Chen Chong started the engine and confirmed the vehicle was working, then jumped out again.

He took a spare tire off a nearby vehicle and fitted it to his own. Then he slashed the tires on all the other off-road vehicles with his combat knife. Finally, he climbed back in, released the handbrake, and stepped on the gas.

The off-road vehicle roared and shot forward, leaving the battlefield behind in the blink of an eye!

Leaving the Wasteland behind!

"Hahaha!!!"

Chen Chong could no longer contain his excitement. He burst out laughing and slapped the steering wheel hard.

At last, the pressure that had been building for days found an outlet. Tears of laughter welled up in the corners of his eyes. He tried to wipe them away with the back of his hand, but perhaps he had drunk too much water that morning. The more he wiped, the more tears came.

The gray Wasteland streaked past behind him like a pencil sketch, blurring into messy lines. Just like the memories of these past days, it quickly grew hazy and unreal.

The off-road vehicle raced west across the land, leaving everything behind and carrying him farther away from it all.

After letting himself go for a while, Chen Chong regained his composure.

The Hunting Grounds are south of the Settlement, and Lichuan lies to the northwest. If I just keep driving west along the safe route on the map, I'll make it back.

Chen Chong spread the map over the passenger seat and adjusted his heading according to the vehicle's compass.

No. 97 Settlement was two hundred kilometers from Lichuan as the crow flies. Even if the roads across the Wasteland were terrible, he was fully prepared. He should make it in a full day's drive.

He should be home by the end of the day.

Chen Chong's emotions stirred again.

This really was a rare opportunity. With the Skull Gang and Thunder Dragon Company fighting each other, no one would care where a mere fighter like him was. Even if someone figured it out, he would already be far from the trouble.

Chen Chong wanted to hum a tune, floor the gas, even lean on the horn.

But some things had changed him forever. He let those thoughts pass through his mind, then gently set them aside and continued forward in silence.

He looked at the compass to check his heading, but his eyes suddenly narrowed.

The compass wobbled as if affected by a powerful magnetic field, refusing to point in the right direction.

"Bzzzt... bzz... bzzzzzz—"

Chen Chong watched as the compass sped up, spinning wildly until it seemed to break completely.

A nameless unease settled over him.

But he quickly steadied himself. The clouds were thick, but he could still make out the daylight. As long as he headed roughly west, even if he missed his destination by a wide margin, he should still reach the vicinity of a Satellite City.

As long as he made it back to the civilized world, everything would be all right.

"Stop."

Chen Chong was thinking this when he heard a soft voice from the back seat.

What was that?

Chen Chong's eyes narrowed. He immediately turned to look in the rearview mirror, his face twisting in disbelief.

He really thought he was seeing a ghost.

Because, among the pile of supplies in the back seat, a young woman was sitting there. He had no idea when she had appeared.

Screech—

The off-road vehicle carved two deep furrows through the black soil before skidding sideways to a stop.

Chen Chong's body jolted as he slammed on the brakes. He whipped around and saw the young woman still sitting calmly in place, unmoving.

He couldn't help staring for a moment.

There was no doubt about it: she was an astonishingly beautiful young woman. Chen Chong had seen plenty of famous actresses from Central City on television, but none had been as beautiful as her.

Her features were exquisite, beyond compare, and her skin was white as fine porcelain. Her small, oval face seemed dreamlike and radiant, almost as though it glowed, dazzling anyone who looked at her.

Her face looked as if it had been generated by a high-level AI, yet it was more harmonious and realistic than any virtual image, without a single flaw.

Perfect was the only word Chen Chong could think of.

Her hair, black as satin, was braided into two plaits that fell over her chest. She wore round silver-framed glasses, which lent her clear, lake-like eyes a quiet, studious air. The style slightly concealed her beauty, but also made her otherwise untouchable loveliness seem warmer, like the girl next door.

Her clothes were unusual too: a silver-white, skin-tight bodysuit that looked like some kind of combat suit. It seemed both futuristic and perfectly fitted.

The suit traced the graceful curves of her figure. She was about 1.7 meters tall, with a full bust, a slender waist, and a figure every bit as stunning as her face.

In both his lives combined, Chen Chong had never seen a girl this beautiful. He couldn't help but stare.

The young woman seemed used to this reaction. She simply sat there quietly, her hands at her sides, her voice as clear as a cool spring.

"Please stop the car. I—"

Her lovely voice abruptly cut off.

Before the young woman could finish, a fist came rushing toward her, rapidly growing larger before her eyes!