A melodic tune drifted from the speakers, and after the prelude, a magnetic voice slowly began to sing.
It was an English song.
“I’ve been reading books of old, The legends and the myths…”
Huang Xiu typically only played music when he was gaming.
He was the sort who never remembered song titles; only when a familiar melody struck him would he have an epiphany, exclaiming, ‘This is it! This is the one!’ yet still be utterly unable to name it.
However, ‘Something Just Like This’ was a rare exception, being his absolute favorite song.
Huang Xiu closed his eyes slightly, humming along silently.
After the duration of three songs, the vehicle turned left, directly entering the highway via the ETC lane.
The straight, smooth road stretched endlessly into the distance, seemingly without end.
Professor Yuan pressed down on the accelerator, and the red needle on the speedometer sharply swung to the right.
The hefty price tag translated into outstanding performance.
The six-cylinder engine roared to life, and a buzzing vibration resonated through the vehicle’s frame into the cabin.
Immediately, the vehicle shot forward like a rocket.
The immense G-force pinned Huang Xiu firmly against his seat; just as he opened his eyes, he heard Professor Yuan murmur, “We’re almost there. Get ready.”
“Mhm,” Huang Xiu and Yun Ning replied in unison.
This highway, usually bustling with traffic, was remarkably sparse today for some unknown reason.
‘Perhaps the Jurisdiction Bureau has made its move,’ Huang Xiu mused inwardly.
This illicit raid, which could not be exposed to the public, permitted no witnesses.
As he pondered, the vehicle suddenly decelerated and moved into the right-hand slow lane.
The next second, a green-backed, white-lettered ramp sign appeared in Huang Xiu’s vision, ahead on the right.
–Baisha County, 1KM.
The Mercedes beneath them continued to slow but did not stop, instead turning right towards the ramp.
The traffic police officers glanced at the Mercedes’ license plate, said nothing, and reached out to remove the barriers placed before the ramp.
The moment the vehicle entered the ramp, Huang Xiu looked out the window, his gaze level with theirs.
Beneath the police cap was an unremarkable face, yet the eyes were exceptionally sharp.
Exceptionally… familiar.
It was him!
The stranger who, dressed in a white isolation suit, had handed him his homework outside the teaching building that day.
“Good luck,” Su Ming murmured, then watched the Mercedes accelerate and enter the ramp.
Exchanging a glance with his companion, he reached out, pressed a button, and activated his headset. “Commence operation!”
“Understood!” “Received!” “Yes!” came the responses through the in-ear headset.
He released the button, replaced the sign at the entrance, and then retrieved a palm-sized metal disc from his pocket.
Bending down, Su Ming affixed the metal disc to the sign, activating it with the Void Energy within his body.
Instantly, milky white patterns illuminated on the metal disc, slowly flickering.
This was a miniature Void Energy device, inscribed with a Void Art called [Weakling Dispersion]—a Normalcy Shielding Device.
Its effect: to repel all normal individuals with a Void Energy index below 10, meaning non-anomalous persons.
Although the Jurisdiction Bureau had already restricted highway traffic through official channels, they had still prepared a fallback to prevent anyone from accidentally straying into the battlefield.
At the same time, at the ramp exit, the national highway entrance from Baisha County to the highway, the national highway exit…
One after another, individuals in traffic police uniforms silently activated their Normalcy Shielding Devices.
Milky white light surged, and an invisible dispersion field emanated from the Normalcy Shielding Devices.
It caused all ordinary people without Void Energy to feel nauseous, instinctively prompting them to leave the area.
If anyone could have overlooked the scene from above at that moment,
they would have noticed these Normalcy Shielding Devices forming a massive, irregular circular encirclement.
And at the very center of this inescapable net,
were three luxury vehicles, arranged in a single file formation, driving along the national highway outside the city.
****
The instant Huang Xiu recognized the man, he understood.
From the very beginning, this was not merely a battle for him, Professor Yuan, and Yun Ning.
Rather, it was a confrontation orchestrated by the Ying City Jurisdiction Bureau against their targets!
Even if it meant defying regulations and violating the Present World Management Law, the Jurisdiction Bureau would not allow any guilty party to escape!
“The guilty cannot be forgiven. All consequences and penalties that follow, let me bear them alone!”
—These were the words Liu Xin had spoken that day to Professor Yuan and his colleagues at the Jurisdiction Bureau.
It was precisely these words that prompted the Director of the Jurisdiction Bureau to nod in agreement and Professor Yuan to finally consent to intervene.
As the vehicle sped away on the ramp, Huang Xiu took deep breaths, adjusting his mental state.
While he had participated in life-or-death battles before, the current situation was markedly different.
Back then, everything had unfolded so abruptly that he hadn’t even had time to feel nervous, focusing solely on the immediate threat.
Now, however, he felt like a student about to enter an examination hall; despite his confidence, a degree of tension remained, a fear of performing poorly due to unforeseen circumstances.
Clutching the jade pendant on his chest, Huang Xiu felt the cool, smooth touch of the stone, and his heart slowly settled.
“We’re here!” Professor Yuan exclaimed suddenly, immediately slamming on the brakes.
The brake pads instantly clamped down on the tires, producing sparks from the friction of metal against metal.
The tires ceased their rotation, leaving scorched marks on the ground as the acrid smell of burning rubber permeated the air.
Residual inertia propelled Huang Xiu forward, but thankfully, he had fastened his seatbelt beforehand.
Otherwise, he would have undoubtedly ended up with a bruised and swollen face.
“Where are they?” Huang Xiu peered around, yet found no trace of the enemy.
Snap!
Professor Yuan and Yun Ning pushed their doors open and emerged; unable to spot anyone, Huang Xiu quickly unbuckled his seatbelt, pushed his own door open, and followed them out.
The trio walked to the ramp’s guardrail, leaning over to look down.
This highway, which passed through Yanghai and led to Zhongyun Province, was designed as an elevated bridge section in Baisha County.
Thus, beneath the spiraling downward ramp, a national highway connecting Ying City to Yanghai City passed directly underneath.
At that moment, three luxury cars approached from a distance on the national highway.
“Are those them?” Huang Xiu squinted, scrutinizing the three vehicles from afar.
Even though he wasn’t knowledgeable about cars, he could tell that these three vehicles carried price tags many people would never be able to afford in a lifetime.
“Yes,” Professor Yuan said, looking at Huang Xiu and Yun Ning.
“This is your test. Unless absolutely necessary, I will not intervene.”
Huang Xiu and Yun Ning nodded upon hearing this, exchanging a glance before the latter spoke first: “Junior Brother Huang, I’ll go ahead.”
With that, he vaulted sideways over the guardrail, leaping down; a distance of over ten meters seemed insignificant to him.
He descended as lightly as a feather, executing a practiced roll upon impact, then knelt on one knee before slowly rising.
The entire sequence was undeniably cool, like something out of a superhero movie.
“Whoa, that’s awesome!”
Huang Xiu watched from the side, utterly dumbfounded.
He wanted to imitate it, but the moment his hand touched the guardrail and his gaze fell upon the distant, seemingly unreachable ground, he instantly sobered.
Damn it!
From this height, a weakling like him would surely break both legs jumping down, then wait for an ambulance.
Though he had once jumped from Agui’s shoulders,
that hadn’t been nearly as high; the distance from the shoulders to the ground was less than seven meters.
Moreover, at that time, he had been in his female form, with physical prowess and regenerative abilities far surpassing his current state.
Therefore…
“Time to transform!” Huang Xiu murmured softly.
!