Chapter 49: Hiding True Strength?

"Beep-beep-beep!"

Just then, Lin Qing's work phone suddenly sounded an alarm.

At this moment, Changshui Street had been completely sealed off by several laser detectors. Except for the temporarily set checkpoints where one could pass after identity verification, anyone daring to force their way through the laser wall's cordon would trigger an alarm! Three consecutive 'beeps' meant someone had broken in from the outside!

"Vroom—!"

Three drones hovering nearby to record the scene immediately flew over like a swarm of bees.

If it were an ordinary person, the tranquilizer gun built into the drones would be enough to intercept them.

Just as Lin Qing picked up his work phone, preparing to check the surveillance footage transmitted by the drones—

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Only the sound of a terrifying air explosion suddenly came from the distance. As soon as Lin Qing opened the surveillance screen, he saw only a blur sweep across it; the three drones in the distance had already shattered and exploded in mid-air, turning into countless fragments.

"Enemy attack!"

Lin Qing moved like a phantom, instantly striking the alarm button.

"Beep—!!!"

In an instant, the shrill, piercing alarm sound echoed throughout the entire street.

Everything happened in an instant, and Lin Qing also turned his head to look in the direction of the drone explosion.

At the same time, a blurry human-shaped phantom suddenly appeared at the street corner. In the blink of an eye, that phantom crossed the empty space of the intersection near the corner and charged straight here!

"Whoosh!"

The speed of this phantom was truly terrifying; under such close-range conditions, most of the crowd nearby hadn't even reacted yet.

And even those at the level of the Patrol Bureau, if they could react, would find it difficult to see the phantom's movements clearly; their very line of sight couldn't keep up with that terrifying speed!

"So he really came!"

At this moment, Lin Qing actually saw the appearance of that afterimage.

It was a bald man wearing black goggles, with a lean build! His physique and appearance were much the same as on the wanted poster.

It was Chu Tianyao!

At this moment, the opponent was approaching him at a terrifying speed; even with a distance of over fifty meters, it wouldn't take a second! Xiao Peidong, not far away, was also one of the few people whose vision could keep up with Chu Tianyao's speed.

"It's settled!"

At this moment, a flicker of anticipation and excitement burst forth in Xiao Peidong's eyes, and he laughed loudly in his heart: "Hahaha, no matter how talented you are, don't even think about competing with me after becoming disabled!"

He seemed to already see the scene of Lin Qing's legs shattered, his body covered in blood, lying on the ground.

Just like Chen Yanan back then! And Lin Qing merely stood expressionless in place, gazing at the approaching Chu Tianyao, a thought surfacing in his heart: "He's not faster than me in speed; that's enough for self-defense..."

Just then—

"Haha!"

Suddenly, a frivolous laugh sounded. From inside a car on the side of the street, a misty phantom suddenly flew out, meeting Chu Tianyao head-on at an equally astonishing speed!

"Bang!!"

Only the heart-shaking sound of a collision was heard; Chu Tianyao and that misty phantom immediately crashed head-on, and then the whole person was knocked flying backward!

The air, compressed by the terrifying speed and force, expanded into wind pressure like ripples, and Chu Tianyao, like a cannonball, flew out at high speed for more than twenty meters, even knocking down two neon light poles in succession before finally stopping.

"That kick felt good."

Amidst a playful low chuckle, that phantom also landed in front of Lin Qing, revealing to be a long-haired man in casual clothes.

Except for a very few people, the patrol officers and public security personnel who recognized this long-haired man at this moment were stunned.

Yuan Anping, the Chief Captain of the Lin'an City Patrol Bureau? Although many people had seen this Chief Captain in person for the first time, they had seen his photos.

After all, there was only one Chief Captain in the entire Lin'an City.

Only the Chief Captain, as the strongest, could possess such terrifying, inhuman strength! It must be known that the work of the Patrol Bureau was originally very simple and didn't require too much professionalism; just following superior assignments and being responsible for search operations was enough, but the possibility of encountering danger was relatively high, so the most important thing was martial power.

And the Chief Captain was destined to be the highest martial power within a city! After a moment of shock, Xiao Peidong, although he also pretended to be surprised and shocked, couldn't help but curse loudly in his heart.

Damn! Why did Yuan Anping happen to be here?

And he was wearing plain clothes, obviously staking out here in advance! Was it because Yuan Anping heard about this operation, suspected Chu Tianyao would appear, and hid here in advance? Or was it for some other reason? Anyway...

Yuan Anping's appearance made his heart immediately turn ice-cold, realizing this plan would probably fail.

At the same time—

【Current Order Level increased by 1.0 levels】

The green prompt floating before his eyes also made Lin Qing secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

Although Chu Tianyao had not yet left and that terrifying threat still existed, after Yuan Anping intervened, he could fully protect him, instantly making the threat he faced completely disappear.

It was just...

Lin Qing originally thought that after Yuan Anping intervened, the threat he faced might decrease significantly, and the Order Level might rise by 0.6 levels or even 0.7 levels; that was possible.

After all, even for masters of the same level, it was very difficult to fully protect another person.

But he didn't expect that as soon as Yuan Anping intervened, he completely eliminated the threat brought by Chu Tianyao? This indicated one thing—

"This Chief Captain's strength is at least significantly greater than Chu Tianyao's..." Lin Qing made a judgment in his heart.

Yuan Anping's strength was stronger than it appeared on the surface, which made him feel even more at ease.

"You are Yuan Anping?"

Chu Tianyao was seen standing in the distance, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, then gazing at Yuan Anping, with an unmistakable wariness in his low voice.

"Chu Tianyao, an escapee from Qinghu Island Prison, an S-class wanted criminal. I've heard of your notorious name long ago; indeed, you are very tough."

Yuan Anping clicked his tongue in praise, "I heard the combat techniques you master are the Hundred Beasts series; it seems they are several beast forms focusing on speed and physical defense?"

During the previous exchange, he had caught Chu Tianyao off guard; the opponent had solidly taken his kick, yet there was no major effect.

"Try it and you'll know."

Chu Tianyao said lowly, then suddenly retreated violently, turning into a blurry phantom and charging in another direction at an astonishing speed.

"Escaping already? How boring." Yuan Anping shook his head slightly, his figure blurring as he pursued at the same high speed.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Only two extremely fast phantom figures could be seen colliding and weaving past each other, while astonishing air explosions and impact sounds rang out in succession.

In just a few short seconds, the two figures had already left the blockade zone.

"As expected, they're all gone..."

Lin Qing couldn't help but exhale slightly in relief.

He had long guessed that once Team Leader Yuan Anping appeared, Chu Tianyao would flee as quickly as possible, at least escaping the blockade of the Patrol and Public Security.

After all, both the Patrol and Public Security were carrying firearms this time and could form effective support.

Relying solely on firearm firepower posed no real threat to Chu Tianyao, but last time Chu Tianyao faced Chen Yanan, whose strength was far weaker than his own, so he naturally handled it with ease.

But now Chu Tianyao was still facing Yuan Anping, who possessed strength at the same level! When fighting an expert at the same level, having to divide attention to block bullets naturally made the task far more difficult, let alone killing a squad-leader-level expert skilled in speed under such conditions.

Chu Tianyao choosing to flee was the normal thing to do; only someone with a sick mind would stay at the scene.

A Class S wanted criminal who has survived until today—how could he possibly be a fool? "It's safe..."

Lin Qing breathed a sigh of relief and abruptly turned to look toward the direction of the Red Oak Boxing Gym.

"Chu Tianyao is eager to shake off the Team Leader; now is the best time to search the underground boxing arena of the Crimson Oriole Society!"

(End of this chapter)