Escape

True Martial Sect member: Song Yongkang.

The moment he saw that scar, the name surfaced in Xu Ziming's mind.

Although he had only caught a fleeting glimpse of him last night, that gaze and that scar had left a deep impression.

How could he be here? Is my family still safe? What should I do now?

Three questions flashed through his mind in an instant, but his first instinct was to press his wristband to summon his Type 1 Psionic Sword into his hand, followed by sending a message to the Pengcheng police station.

Message content: Discovered the location of True Martial Sect member Song Yongkang, currently in Yunhai Residential District, send reinforcements immediately!

He finally understood why there were situational questions in his cultural studies classes; such damn sudden emergencies really did happen.

In the few seconds it took him to draw his sword, Song Yongkang's figure had drawn significantly closer.

The bright moon hung high, the stars filled the sky, and the warm spring breeze suddenly took on a desolate chill.

Xu Ziming took a deep breath, adjusting his entire state to its absolute peak, his aura surging to its zenith.

Suddenly, a hair-raising, murderous aura, sharp as a physical bayonet, lunged at him from behind.

It's here!

Xu Ziming's heart began to pound violently. Though he didn't know why the attack was coming from behind him, he moved the instant he felt it.

He had to run, to buy as much time as possible for the police to arrive. Neither martial artists nor alien races were things he could handle, let alone a fusion of both in one body.

Police station.

"Chief Sun, someone has encountered Song Wenkang. His status is unknown."

"What? Wasn't he being kept under close surveillance?"

"We lost contact. Xiao Zhao, who was sent to tail him, is no longer responding!"

"Move out. We must not let any innocent civilians get hurt. Wang Hu, bring the airship around for me."

"Yes!"

As the words fell, a sleek, high-tech airship descended at the station entrance.

Xu Ziming ran at full speed, not daring to look back even once.

That aura, which had condensed into something almost tangible, remained glued to his back, showing no signs of dissipating.

Behind him, the black shadow had fully manifested. Aside from the scarred face, there was nothing human left about him.

His entire body resembled a rat from a sewer, yet it was grotesquely large, standing like a man.

And this thing was moving much faster than Xu Ziming.

In the darkness, Song Wenkang's eyes flickered with a chilling, inky green light, eerily locked onto the back of the fleeing Xu Ziming.

He didn't sprint with full force either; he simply trailed behind, ensuring Xu Ziming remained in his line of sight while maintaining a set distance.

He was observing, checking if Xu Ziming had any other tricks up his sleeve. He had come to Pengcheng to heal, and currently, he couldn't even exert half of his peak strength.

Besides, he had just spotted the police, and he was preparing to flee when he ran into this brat.

I must kill him! If he reports this to the police, I won't be able to escape.

Xu Ziming felt a jolt of alarm; for some reason, the killing intent behind him had intensified.

He accelerated abruptly, darting into a narrow alley he often passed by, instantly vanishing into the shadows.

Seeing Xu Ziming speed up, Song Wenkang abandoned his cautious observation, his legs pushing off the ground as his speed doubled in an instant.

Boom!

He moved with such velocity that he tore through the air with a crackling sound, leaving a visible wake of air pressure behind him.

He entered the alley as well, the distance between the two closing rapidly, the stench of a rat clinging to the air around Xu Ziming's nose.

He's going to catch me!

Now! Xu Ziming swung his longsword backward in a fierce arc, his legs planting firmly as he grabbed a piece of scattered rebar from the ground and hurled it like a javelin.

However, the target of the rebar wasn't Song Wenkang, but a massive billboard in the distance.

With a teeth-grinding screech, the billboard came crashing down.

Song Wenkang had just been forced back a step by the sword light when the billboard plummeted from above.

Yet, the moment the billboard struck him, the clothes on Song Wenkang's body tore apart completely, and his entire form transformed into a giant rat monster.

Even his human face vanished. His body twisted in the air with a bizarre, unnatural motion, instantly halting his backward momentum.

BOOM!!!

The billboard slammed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust that filled the alley, causing the entire passage to shake.

Xu Ziming's heart skipped a beat, his pupils constricting within his otherwise steady face.

That pitch-black, foul-smelling figure stood fully revealed before him.

At this moment, Song Wenkang no longer resembled a human in the slightest; his rat tail had been crushed and was dripping blood incessantly, while foul-smelling saliva continued to drool from his mouth.

"I-WILL-EAT-YOU-!!"

"Keep running!"

The pressure radiating from this monster was too intense. A head-on collision would yield no advantage; he had to get away as quickly as possible.

Could this True Martial Sect member have turned himself into a vessel for alien parasites? How could he have lost every trace of his humanity?

He moved swiftly, weaving through the narrow alleyway once more, his entire form blurring into an indistinct shadow.

Song Wenkang unleashed his full power, his speed several times that of Xu Ziming. Even with Xu Ziming's head start, the distance between them continued to shrink.

A hole! A seemingly bottomless pit appeared in the ground at the intersection ahead.

Just before he could be caught, Xu Ziming leaped inside.

"Bang!"

Song Wenkang's claws slammed violently into the ground, sending gravel flying with a sharp, rhythmic clatter.

His body rapidly shrank in size, and he squeezed into the opening as well.

Inside the cavern lay a bottomless sewer, a complex maze that served as the perfect place to hide.

Xu Ziming darted through one foul-smelling tunnel after another like a swimming dragon, with Song Wenkang in hot pursuit.

The two engaged in a life-or-death chase within the stench-filled water tunnels.

Xu Ziming utilized the complex terrain to his advantage, sprinting wildly without a care for the sewage splattered all over his body.

Clang!

Timing it perfectly, he smashed open a massive water pipe, and the next moment, murky, putrid water sprayed out, drenching Song Wenkang.

It significantly hindered his continued pursuit.

However, he had underestimated this monster; a rat entering a sewer was like returning home, and he moved with complete ease!

Screech!

With a massive slide, Song Wenkang teleported behind Xu Ziming, his ferocious claws already slashing out, aimed directly at Xu Ziming's heart.

This strike was unavoidable!