Chapter 152 (1): Hide And Seek

Chapter 152 Part 1: Hide And Seek

Chen Xiaolian was in low spirits.

It would be more accurate to say that he was feeling vexed.

Back when Chen Xiaolian was inside the underground research institute, faced with a dangerous predicament, he could still force himself to calm down and find a way to survive through the desperate situation.

At present however, he had finally grasped onto the light of dawn brought about by victory, only to be pulled back down into the abyss… this feeling was not easy to swallow.

However, what vexed Chen Xiaolian the most was that he had fully taken into account all the surrounding circumstances and utilized whatever he could get his hands on in order to pave out a path to victory.

In the end however, an unexpected situation arose!

Hunt Prolonging Card?

He really, really hated such a kind of unexpected situation!

Chen Xiaolian was essentially someone who was confident and unyielding. For someone like him, this random and unexpected situation was something he detested the most!

The submersible vehicle moved forward at full speed.

Seeing that the submersible vehicle was already at maximum speed, Chen Xiaolian sat down and took a few deep breaths. He forced himself to calm down and pinched his ears – this was a minor habit of his. Whenever he was in an irritable mood and was unable to focus, he would pinch his ears.

All right! Calm down! Chen Xiaolian, calm down!

Now, let’s begin by analysing the current situation.

Presently, the biggest hurdle was the ten hours of hunting time. Additionally, the hunter in question, Tian Lie possessed a strength that far surpasses his... back then, he had utilized all the advantageous factors he had and all his strength, only to be able to delay Tian Lie for a while. All evidence pointed toward the fact that he did not possess the necessary strength to fight against Tian Lie’s immortal body.

Hmmm… maybe… Bai Qi?

Chen Xiaolian let out a sigh. The cool down period for summoning Bai Qi has yet to end. Yesterday afternoon, he had already summoned out Bai Qi to do battle on the highway. After each summoning, a cool down period of 24 hours was necessary.

The time left before he could summon Bai Qi again was…

Chen Xiaolian checked the time: Another 9 and a half hour to go!

All right, then! Let’s make it through this cool down period first! At least there is one good possibility here. Once the cool down period for summoning Bai Qi is over, then… perhaps I can summon Bai Qi out to deal with the bald headed fellow!

Chen Xiaolian’s mind quickly made the calculations.

There was another condition that he could utilize. In this instance dungeon, a restriction was placed onto everyone’s radar. As such, Tian Lie would be unable to accurately pin down his location.

Which meant to say, this is a hunt. As long as I run away fast enough and hide myself properly, there exists the possibility for me to safely make it through the rest of the hunting time.

Since that is the case, choosing to return to land would be a wise move. Only when we are on land would we be able to find more place to hide. If we remain on the sea… we lack the ability to move about.

“Hide and seek?” Chen Xiaolian gave a bitter smile.

Furthermore, there was another question troubling Chen Xiaolian’s mind: What is the situation regarding the other group?

Qiao Qiao, Soo Soo, Xia Xiaolei, Lun Tai, Bei Tai, Nicole… are they all right?

Glancing at the unconscious Roddy, Chen Xiaolian let out a resentful smile. “Son of a bitch! You sure can sleep. Right now, I have to do all the heavy thinking alone ah.”

…

The submersible vehicle has been moving for roughly 2 hours. By this time, they could already catch a glimpse of land upon the horizon.

However, Fujino Masayoshi came to report a bad news.

“The propeller is running out of power,” Fujino Masayoshi said with a frustrated expression. “The propeller runs on battery. Considering how long we have been moving, the battery power is almost exhausted. In five minutes time, we will begin to slow down… I cannot be certain if the remaining battery power will be sufficient to bring us over until the coast.”

“Are there any ways to solve it?”

Fujino Masayoshi considered the matter for a moment. “We can try to reduce the weight. By reducing the weight that the submersible vehicle has to carry, perhaps we can reduce the amount of power consumed.”

Chen Xiaolian quickly led Nagase Komi together with him as they tossed away anything that could be done without within the submersible vehicle. Several oxygen tanks were the first to be thrown off – two oxygen tanks were left as backup.

Even so, the submersible vehicle was only able to keep going for another 20 minutes.

The submersible vehicle’s power ran out and the propeller’s rotation speed gradually became slower until it came to a halt.

Chen Xiaolian sighed and glanced at the rising sun.

The next phase of the journey would depend on Chen Xiaolian himself.

According to Fujino Masayoshi’s calculation, the distance between their current location and the coastline should be less than two nautical miles. That distance was the equivalent to around three km.

Within the submersible vehicle was a life raft. It was a self-inflating life raft.

The self-inflating life raft automatically inflated itself after it was thrown onto the surface of the sea. Then, the four of them abandoned the completely immobile submersible vehicle and got on the life raft. Picking up the oars, they rowed toward the coastline.

Thankfully, the day’s weather was good and no storm was in sight.

Chen Xiaolian was the main rower when rowing the life raft forward.

Fujino Masayoshi was simply a civilian researcher with a weak body. As for Nagase Komi, she had not enhanced her body much and has as much physical attributes as an ordinary under aged female.

Rowing the life raft in the sea was not an easy thing to do. For beginners, it was very easy to lose control of the direction.

Chen Xiaolian, Fujino Masayoshi and Nagase Komi exerted all their might to row the life raft. Even so, the two nautical miles took them nearly one hour to cross. When they were close to the coastline, Chen Xiaolian simply jumped down into the sea. He used his own enhanced body strength to pull the life raft forward.

When they finally stepped foot onto land, Fujino Masayoshi’s body slumped onto the sandy beach and he broke out in tears.

Observing Fujino Masayoshi, Chen Xiaolian’s heart felt heavy and he let out a sigh. “It is time to separate.”

“You… you people are going to leave now?”

Naturally, Fujino Masayoshi had long since deduced that these people were not from the Special Assault Team.

“Yes, we will go our separate ways,” Chen Xiaolian thought about it and smiled. “You are now free. Not only that, you will be safe. Do not worry about it. That fellow is only chasing after us, not you. So, us separating ways would ensure your safety.”

“…” Fujino Masayoshi’s face revealed a complicated expression.

Chen Xiaolian patted Fujino Masayoshi on the shoulder and smiled. “We will not be meeting again in the future… besides, even if we do meet up again, you will not recognize us.”

Chen Xiaolian picked up Roddy and led Nagase Komi as he moved ahead, going deeper into the land area.

They were in a desolate beach. There was a ring of tide embankment.

Circling around from the outside, they found a coastal highway.

Chen Xiaolian and his group walked along the road for a moment and found a seafood processing plant located by the seaside. Chen Xiaolian found a pickup truck inside the processing plant’s warehouse. After successfully starting up the pickup truck, his spirits was lifted!

“Tian Lie! If you have the ability, then try to catch up!”

Chen Xiaolian tossed Roddy onto the back seat while he sat on the driver’s seat. Nagase Komi sat beside him. Stepping on the throttle, Chen Xiaolian drove the pickup truck toward the road and sped off.

Chen Xiaolian found a map inside the pickup truck and found that the road they were taking would lead them toward Tokyo City. Seeing no other option, he simply drove the pickup truck toward Tokyo.

At the very least, Tokyo was a huge place with a complicated terrain and a chaotic circumstance!

It was a very suitable place for hide and seek!

Arriving at Tokyo, Chen Xiaolian saw that it was already 11 o’clock in the morning.

Nearly 5 hours of the hunting time has passed.

It was already half over!

Hope burned anew within Chen Xiaolian’s heart!

…

Bang!

The impact of the punch created a concave upon the surface of the yellow submersible vehicle.

Tian Lie stood upon the sea and regarded the submersible vehicle with a cold demeanour.

“Hmph, I am getting closer now, my little prey!”

…

“Guild Leader?” Nagase Komi who was seated on the first passenger seat looked out through the window at the scene before them. She was unable to restrain herself and she whispered out. “It… it seems like…”

“En! I know!” Chen Xiaolian knitted his eyebrows and a complicated look appeared on his face, his eyebrows carrying a trace of uncertainty within them.

The pickup truck had already entered the Tokyo area.

However, Chen Xiaolian was puzzled to see that the streets before their vehicle were empty.

The street on both sides were very clean and quiet.

Furthermore, it was… too quiet!

Along the way, they saw no one at all!

The houses and buildings they saw on both sides of the street were all intact – that made things even weirder.

Chen Xiaolian clearly recalled that when his team was leaving Tokyo yesterday, all of Tokyo had fallen into a state of chaos.

Back then, the city area was filled with monsters, flames, explosions and collapsing buildings… abandoned cars littered the streets.

There was also the shrill sound of sirens ringing out from the various regions of Tokyo from time to time…

However, at this moment, after returning to Tokyo and entering the city, Chen Xiaolian found that this place… was extremely quiet!

The streets, the houses and buildings… they were all intact.

The streets were utterly clean and devoid of pedestrians.

As they were speeding through an intersection, Chen Xiaolian caught sight of a tall building from far away. The sight of this tall building made Chen Xiaolian extremely puzzled. He clearly recalled that this building and many others were already destroyed by the time he and his team left Tokyo yesterday.

But as of now, all of them were seemingly intact!

Indeed, the destroyed Tokyo appeared to have been restored to its original state!

Furthermore… all the people that should be here was nowhere in sight.

Not a single person!

The streets were empty; with the exception of the flashing traffic lights, the entire area was a sea of silence!

Chen Xiaolian’s objective was simple, and that was to travel to the most bustling and central area of Tokyo, Ginza. However, now that he had arrived, he saw that the usually crowded street had become something reminiscent of a ghost town.

An indescribably uncomfortable feeling welled up from within Chen Xiaolian’s heart.

“How much time is left?”

Chen Xiaolian asked Nagase Komi.

“There is… less than four hours,” Nagase Komi replied in a trembling voice.

In the face of this ghost town like Tokyo City, Nagase Komi was also feeling frightful.

This scenario was something that would only appear in movies.

Chen Xiaolian suppressed the feelings of bewilderment within his heart and decided to get something to eat first.

After fighting throughout the night and exerting so much effort to row the life raft in the seas, even Chen Xiaolian with his enhanced physical body felt somewhat exhausted. An expression of fatigue was on Nagase Komi’s face as well. If not for the fact that she was too frightened, this girl might have long since fallen asleep.

The hunger within their stomach was discomforting and their bodies felt weak.

Chen Xiaolian quickly stopped the pickup truck by a street and walked into a supermarket located by the street. He went to check the items on the food shelves and showed no hesitation to sweep a handful of them with him as he walked back out.

Chen Xiaolian sat in the pickup truck as he munched onto bread, ham and other foods. Then, he gulped down a bottle of mineral water. It was only then did he feel slightly better.

Chen Xiaolian also summoned out Garfield and fed it with pet food before summoning him back into the system.

“I believe that we cannot keep going around at random,” Chen Xiaolian furrowed his eyebrows. “I have this uneasy feeling. Since Tian Lie was willing to use the Hunt Prolonging Card, he must have some form of method to track us down. Otherwise, even though 10 hours is not a short period of time, to track us down within this large area is simply no different from trying to find a needle in a haystack. I believe that he should have a trump card that we do not know of.”

“I… I will listen to your orders, Guild Leader,” Nagase Komi replied gingerly.

“Just what is Tian Lie’s trump card? What method does he have to track us down?”

After having eaten his fill, Chen Xiaolian felt more clear-headed. He then turned to glance at the empty streets. Suddenly, a thought came to his mind!

“I understand now!”

Chen Xiaolian suddenly shouted out loudly. “I nearly made a mistake!”