The chase!

A group of people raced through a cold, gloomy alley!

Tap, tap, tap!

Footsteps rang out, feet splashing through shallow potholes filled with muddy water that had collected over several days.

But neither the pursuers nor the person fleeing paid any attention to such minor details.

At that moment, two groups were chasing through the alley.

More precisely, four men dressed in black were pursuing a lone man... His handsome face had gone pale with fright, and he stumbled as he fled. The men behind him were far more composed. They looked more like cats toying with a mouse, clearly holding back!

Once they had had their fun, catching him would only be a matter of time.

"Help!"

"Is anyone there? Someone, please help me!" Zhao Zixuan shouted as he ran, his voice choked with tears! One of his high heels had fallen off, and the heel on the remaining shoe had snapped.

A day earlier, Zhao Zixuan had never imagined he could end up in such a miserable state.

He had been nothing more than a student at Shangjing Media University. He should never have encountered anything like this.

He had only recently started looking for an internship and found work as a trainee reporter... Then, while investigating a news story involving the supernatural, he had run into serious trouble!

The vicious-looking men chasing him now were the very people implicated in that story.

And they were ruthless!

Zhao Zixuan knew that if they caught him, he would undoubtedly die!

Fear, despair, helplessness!

Overwhelming terror consumed Zhao Zixuan's entire mind!

With his good looks, Zhao Zixuan had always been doted on, whether at school or at home, by his classmates, parents, and relatives alike. When had he ever endured anything like this?

Truthfully, he regretted it.

His internship, his dream of becoming a reporter—everything lay shattered in his heart!

He was now like someone on the verge of drowning.

As long as there was even a sliver of hope, he would struggle desperately to survive!

"I can't die!"

"Run!"

"Run! I can get away!"

"They still haven't caught me after all this time. I can escape! If I can just reach somewhere with people and call for help, I'll be saved! I can do it!"

"I can do it!" Zhao Zixuan sprinted with all his strength. His sprained left foot had swollen like a steamed bun, but he paid it no heed.

At that moment, he seemed to have lost all sense of pain!

Everything else gave way to survival!

As he ran for his life, an incredible power erupted from Zhao Zixuan's small body!

Had Yang Yu been there, he would certainly have been astonished!

Under the immense pressure to survive, Zhao Zixuan had exhausted his body, pushing it to its absolute limits... In that desperate struggle for life, his life soul had actually begun to burn and grow stronger. The blood energy within him burned as well, rising far beyond that of an ordinary person!

A burst of latent potential!

This was an exceedingly rare phenomenon in the world of ordinary people!

It could only occur under specific circumstances where death seemed inescapable!

Even among a hundred people subjected to the most extreme threat of death, there might not be a single one who could unleash their latent potential!

Those who experienced such an awakening generally gained a substantial boost to their aptitude for cultivation, and their innate physical attributes became stronger than those of ordinary cultivators! Likewise... they were better suited for the Insectoid Civilization to modify into biological weapons!

Humanoid biological weapons.

Humanoid, commander-class biological warriors under the Insectoid Civilization, such as the Blade Queen, the Master of All Things, and others of their kind!

These biological warriors were born with considerable intelligence and possessed formidable combat power from the moment they were created. Moreover... they could independently lead vast armies of ferocious insects to wage war for their master!

They were the finest subordinates!

As Zhao Zixuan fled desperately, with the men in black pursuing him.

Elsewhere, Yang Yu put away all his giant mantis beasts and... concealed the spoils wrapped in the enormous canvas bundle!

He dug a huge pit in the ground, placed the canvas bundle inside, and covered it with earth.

With his current immense physical strength, Yang Yu accomplished this easily.

It took him very little time.

As for concealment?

The alley was so dim that, unless someone searched carefully, they would never notice that the ground had been disturbed.

Once he had finished, Yang Yu stood quietly where he was and waited.

He could already faintly hear cries for help coming from the darkness of the alley... But he remained unmoved.

He was not some softhearted busybody.

If he could avoid a conflict, he had no desire to invite trouble at present.

Especially now that he had just discovered traces of the Immortal Civilization, suggesting that Earth might still harbor many of its descendants!

Under these circumstances, Yang Yu chose to develop his strength in secret, putting self-preservation first!

Meanwhile, among the men in black.

The four men pursuing Zhao Zixuan were outer disciples of the Ghost Infant Sect.

The Ghost Infant Sect was a small sect lying low within Shangjing City.

They practiced ghostly spiritual arts passed down from ancient times... Since the resources required for their cultivation were somewhat unorthodox, the sect had also been involved in numerous murders. Its hands were far from clean!

The supernatural news story Zhao Zixuan had been investigating was connected to them.

At that moment, the four men pursuing Zhao Zixuan were acting rather cautiously. Their caution deepened further when they saw him suddenly go wild, the blood energy within him surging sharply.

Originally, the four of them had merely been playing cat and mouse.

But everything had changed once they entered this network of alleys...

As cultivators, they had easily noticed how these alleys differed from the outside world.

Space and time were distorted here!

This place had been expanded by a spatial formation... Usually, places like this were connected to cultivation sects. Every such location was protected by layers of guards.

Yet this place had none!

There were no guards watching over it, but the spatial expansion formation was still operating normally.

A place like this was very likely to harbor danger.

Or perhaps... opportunity!

The leader of the four men in black spoke. "There shouldn't be anything special about this man. He's just an ordinary person. Although I don't know why his blood energy suddenly erupted, the strength of that burst has only brought his physique to a little over twice that of an ordinary person."

"This place is strange, too. I keep feeling uneasy... Let's use our full strength before anything else goes wrong."

"Catch him!"

"He only stumbled across our secret by accident! Our earlier killings and the refinement of those living souls shouldn't have drawn the attention of those above."

At the man's words, the other three exchanged glances.

A trace of lechery gleamed in their eyes.

"Boss, we've been waiting a long time for you to say that."

"Heh heh!"

"Kill!" In the next instant, the three men in black surged forward, their speed suddenly increasing four- or fivefold!

They became streaks of dark light, closing in behind the desperately fleeing Zhao Zixuan almost instantaneously.

Yet Zhao Zixuan seemed entirely unaware!

In the darkness a short distance ahead of him, a figure faintly emerged and stood still.

Judging by his silhouette, it was none other than Yang Yu!

PS: Thanks to "Fallen Leaves' Parting Sorrow" and "Lone Cry of the Night Owl" for their tips! Please also send recommendation votes and add this book to your favorites!