Chapter 403: Chapter 403: Escape and Pursuit
Jiang Zijin wasn’t looking at anyone. His eyes were fixed on the electronic map.
The smile that was usually on his face had completely vanished, replaced by a serious expression.
Finally, under everyone’s watchful gaze, he looked up, let out a soft sigh, and said, "Let’s make a strategic retreat for now."
Over the past four hours, he had used his reputation and connections to gather clear intelligence on Lin Xinghai’s combat style.
According to many people, Lin Xinghai’s invincibility was entirely due to his unnatural Gun Technique and terrifying Speed.
But in Jiang Zijin’s view, these people had missed something crucial: his opponent seemed to possess an unknown scouting ability. It was this ability, working in tandem with his other skills, that truly made him seem invincible.
Otherwise, dealing with him wouldn’t be impossible if all he had were his skills with Firearms.
He had previously considered Lin Xinghai a hypothetical enemy and thought about ways to counter him.
Initially, he had planned to find narrow terrain with many obstacles, which would be highly disadvantageous for using Firearms. This would severely limit someone with good Gun Technique.
For example, if they holed up in a shopping mall and secured all the chokepoints, it wouldn’t be so easy for their opponent to charge in and attack. With a good setup, they might even be able to cause an upset.
However, before he could implement such a method, other teams had already thought of it.
The result, however, was that Lin Xinghai had easily thwarted it.
Because Lin Xinghai seemed to have a special ability that revealed everyone’s position, the team defending the mall never even saw a glimpse of him from start to finish.
What they saw was the dark muzzle of a gun poking through a doorway or window, followed by a spray of gunfire.
From beginning to end, Lin Xinghai never needed to aim, or even look with his own eyes.
Under these circumstances, combined with that phantom-like Body Technique, he could easily break any stalemate, even in complex terrain.
So now, after pondering it again and failing to come up with a better method, Jiang Zijin could only reluctantly give the order to retreat.
When the others heard this command, surprisingly, not a single person objected. Some were even secretly pleased.
They had all heard that in any team stubborn enough to fight Lin Xinghai, some unlucky members would inevitably be targeted. The result would be a destroyed Communication Wristwatch and elimination from the assessment.
They had no desire to be the next ones forced to leave early.
Soon, led by Jiang Zijin, the team quickly fled in the opposite direction.
...
Meanwhile, the other teams watching their Communication Wristwatches were stunned to see the three red dots begin to flee, a look of sheer horror in their eyes.
Although they didn’t know which team had acquired the three Energy Balls, it was undoubtedly one led by a top-tier genius.
For them to flee immediately without even putting up a fight undoubtedly meant that even these top-tier geniuses didn’t dare to oppose Lin Xinghai.
In the minds of the other examinees, Lin Xinghai’s status had undoubtedly risen even higher.
Of course, it wasn’t just the ordinary examinees who were shaken. At this moment, even the top-tier geniuses felt their hearts tremble.
They put themselves in the other team’s shoes: what would they do if Lin Xinghai came for them?
Would they run or fight?
For a moment, many of them were thrown into turmoil.
Soon, a minute passed, and the red dots on the Communication Wristwatches vanished. They could no longer see what happened next, which left most of them itching with curiosity.
Now, they could only wait until the next hour, when the military synced the Energy Ball locations, to find out the result.
...
Meanwhile, Jiang Zijin, who was leading his team’s escape, saw the red dots disappear from his Communication Wristwatch and immediately ordered, "Turn right at the intersection ahead. From now on, avoid killing any Zombies you encounter, if possible, so we don’t reveal our position."
Everyone understood the unspoken implication, and a chill ran down their spines.
This clearly meant that Jiang Zijin believed they stood no chance against Lin Xinghai, which was why he was being so cautious even while fleeing.
No one said anything more. They just quickened their pace while becoming even more vigilant.
Time passed, minute by minute. Under Jiang Zijin’s lead, the team changed their route several times.
As time went on, the team members began to relax.
After all, logically speaking, it was nearly impossible for their pursuer to catch up.
Changing routes was one thing, but more importantly, the areas they passed through had traces of other teams’ activities. This would make it very difficult for Lin Xinghai to track them by following their trail.
However, their relief was short-lived. Just ten minutes later, as they rounded an intersection, they suddenly saw a figure standing in the road ahead.
The figure held a Tearing Rifle, watching them with a faint smile. His expression was relaxed and casual, as if he didn’t see them as a threat in the slightest.
Seeing this figure, a name was on the tip of everyone’s tongue.
Lin Xinghai!
Although no one here knew Lin Xinghai personally, under the current circumstances, who else would dare to move through Dong’an City alone?
Not even a top-tier genius like Jiang Zijin would dare. After all, no matter how talented they were, they were, at present, still just the Optimized. If they ran into a horde of over 100 Zombies, they would definitely be hunted down and killed.
Only Lin Xinghai, with his unparalleled Speed, could ignore the pursuit of a zombie horde.
"I’ve finally found you. I assume you know who I am, so I won’t waste any more words. Hand over the Energy Balls," Lin Xinghai said, straight to the point.
During the first hour or two of the scramble for the Energy Balls, he wouldn’t have said something like this. Even if he had, it would have been pointless. In the end, strength was all that mattered.
But starting from the third hour, when he caught up to one of the teams with an Energy Ball, they simply dropped the ball and fled without a word.
It was only then that Lin Xinghai realized no one had surrendered before simply because they didn’t think he was strong enough.
Once everyone realized he was invincibly powerful, his demands for surrender naturally began to have an effect.
And that’s exactly what happened.
Almost half the teams he caught, after weighing their options, would obediently hand over their Energy Balls, which saved him a lot of trouble.
Now that he had caught up to Jiang Zijin’s team, he repeated the demand out of habit.
Lin Xinghai had expected a strong team like this to refuse outright. He wouldn’t have been surprised if they’d taken it as an insult and started cursing at him.
However, when the members of the Celestial Book Brigade heard him, they remained completely silent. They all turned their gazes in unison toward the scholarly-looking young man in their midst.
Jiang Zijin stepped out from the group. He neither refused nor agreed. Instead, he asked, "Before we do anything, may I ask a few questions?"
