Chapter 81: Heaven

“What’s going on? Wasn’t the plan to move tonight?”

Xiao Pei, startled and incredulous, muttered, “Could they be trying to capture Zhao Jiayi first? Won’t that alert the snake?”

But the thought vanished instantly—he realized at once he was wrong! Because—

“Boom!”

“Chu Tianyao” surged like a storm, his body dissolving into a blurred phantom as he shot through the patrol group in an instant.

His cold eyes never left Xiao Pei; with a sonic boom, his right leg became a blur—a war axe splitting the air—to crush down upon his head! “Why me?!”

Xiao Pei’s pupils shrank to needle points, flooded with boundless terror.

Before the blow even landed, the crushing wind-pressure slammed into his face!

Facing this devastating strike, his instincts screamed a despair as deep as darkness.

“No!!!”

In that instant, Xiao Pei unleashed every ounce of his combat technique—his arms glowed with metallic sheen, and dense black lines erupted deep within his eyes as he fought desperately to resist—but—

“Crack!!”

The force of the blow exceeded his limits by far—he felt his arms snap and shatter like rotten wood, flesh and bone exploding outward in a spray of blood.

The leg’s momentum didn’t stop—it kicked straight into his skull! “Boom!!”

Xiao Pei’s skull, weaker even than his reinforced arms, exploded instantly—red and white matter sprayed everywhere, skull fragments punching craters into the ground.

Only a headless corpse remained, slumping lifelessly into a pool of blood.

Dead in an instant—beyond any chance of revival.

“Chief Xiao!!”

“Damn it!”

All of this happened in a flash—many patrols hadn’t even noticed Chu Tianyao’s arrival; when they turned, their chief was already dead. Instantly, Zhao Jiayi and every patrol officer drew their sidearms and opened fire in a frenzy! “Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!!”

Amid the gunfire, massive bullets spun through the air, tearing toward “Chu Tianyao” in a relentless hail.

But “Chu Tianyao” stared coldly—his gloved right hand vanished, flickering into afterimages as he caught each bullet with a single hand. Then, he blurred into a phantom again, slicing through the traffic-choked road and vanishing from sight.

Only the stunned, furious patrol officers remained, frozen in place across the street.

Chase? How? The reason this road has barriers is because driverless vehicles move too fast.

If they were slower, the cars would stop automatically—but at high speed, their laser sensors can’t react in time, and inertia just flings people into the air.

Only someone as absurdly fast as “Chu Tianyao” could slip effortlessly between them.

None of the patrol officers here could do it.

Even if they tried, they’d only add more corpses.

“...This is a major incident.”

Patrol Group Leader Liang stared at Xiao Pei’s blood-soaked corpse, voice trembling: “Chu Tianyao... dared publicly assassinate a patrol officer?”

“And he struck right after Xiao’s discharge? The satellite surveillance was just lifted!”

“Chu Tianyao is even more brutal than the rumors said!”

“Arrogant... utterly arrogant!”

“Patrol Headquarters will be furious—they’ll launch a full investigation. Even if they turn over every stone in Lian’an City or all of Jiangnan, they’ll find Chu Tianyao!”

“This time... Chu Tianyao has gone too far...”

The patrol officers knew full well their Xiao Shan branch couldn’t touch a monster like Chu Tianyao—they could only issue furious condemnations and hope Patrol Headquarters acted.

“Using Patrol Headquarters as a blade to strike at Yuan Hong Society and the Original Research Institute? That’s a stretch...”

Zhao Jiayi muttered under her breath in the crowd, her mental energy spreading far beyond.

Several hundred meters away stood Xiao Shan District People’s Hospital.

Along the gray-white building’s corner, a figure hidden beneath gray cloth clung to the wall like a gecko, climbing at an insane speed.

In the blink of an eye, the figure reached a fifth-floor window.

The window opened automatically; the figure, wrapped in cloth, slipped inside—and the window sealed shut behind him.

Nearby, surveillance cameras lined the building walls.

But the two cameras that could capture this angle—one had been smeared with bird droppings yesterday, the other now had a single leaf drifting past, obscuring its view for a single blink.

Everything remained perfectly normal—no trace of suspicion remained.

Inside a bathroom stall on the fifth floor of the hospital.

“Chu Tianyao” instantly shed his torn clothes, shoes, hat, and the bald-cap disguise. His hands glowed metallic, blurring into motion as he shredded the garments into scraps, then crushed them into powder with bare hands.

Simultaneously, his face and body reshaped rapidly—soon, he was Lin Qing again.

Just seconds later, the sewer carried away only a pile of meaningless powder, swept away by rushing water.

Lin Qing swiftly donned his patrol uniform, tidied his hair and collar, then walked out calmly, washing his hands slowly at the sink.

“The cameras at the hospital entrance were disabled too—only distant ones remain, capturing blurry images that can’t identify anything.”

Lin Qing thought to himself, “This uniform’s too weak. My power’s too high—even the toughest clothes Jiayi stole for me can’t withstand prolonged output. Luckily, Xiao Pei was weak—one hit, done...”

Some fabric fragments might remain at the scene, but they’re meaningless.

The clothes he wore were reduced to powder, then flushed through the sewer—even if fragments were found in the city’s drainage system, they’d prove nothing.

Only skin tissue residue would matter.

But with his current physique and the combat technique “Gang” activated, killing Xiao Pei left not a single scratch.

Besides, “Chu Tianyao” fled toward the hospital’s opposite side—no one would suspect he’d circle back along a route perfectly hidden from every camera.

Mostly because Zhao Jiayi’s mental energy had remotely adjusted camera angles or simulated aging damage in advance.

Even if pedestrians passed by, Zhao Jiayi subtly nudged their subconscious to turn away at the right moment.

Combined with his speed, no ordinary person could have glimpsed him.

He’d rehearsed this plan with Zhao Jiayi multiple times to perfect every detail.

Even his cousin’s surgery time—he’d had Zhao Jiayi subtly suggest it to his cousin, making it seem like a coincidence that it fell today.

“I’m innocent... I even sent flowers to my colleague upon his discharge, and I’ve been here all along, waiting with my sister for her surgery...”

Lin Qing muttered under his breath, shook water from his hands, walked out of the restroom, and took a few apples from a shy nurse—leaving a witness impression—before returning to the waiting area outside the operating room.

In truth, he’d been gone less than a minute.

Charging into the crowd, killing Xiao Pei, and fleeing took only one or two seconds.

The detour back to the hospital and evidence disposal took longer—but still less than a normal person’s bathroom break.

“Auntie, Brother, the nurse gave me some apples.”

When Lin Qing returned to the waiting area, his aunt and cousin Chen Ruizhe were still sitting silently.

He sat down on the bench, handed out the apples, and picked up his phone—the one he’d deliberately placed aside when he went to the restroom.

—The phone constantly emitted signals, leaving traces at every base station; if anyone checked, they’d find it. He never carried it.

“Patrol officers are different,” Chen Ruizhe laughed, taking an apple. “I noticed that young, pretty Dr. Chi was pretty forward with you.”

“I’m still young. Early romance isn’t good,” Lin Qing waved it off.

“...”

Chen Ruizhe was speechless—you’re a Level One Patrol Officer, and you’re still talking about early romance?

“Shut up, stop giving dumb ideas.”

His aunt glared at her son. “Xiao Qing just turned eighteen—he’s still innocent. That female doctor? Clearly a veteran. Don’t let Xiao Qing get tricked. I think his assistant is much better—pretty, sweet, clearly pure.”

Lin Qing coughed awkwardly, turning his head away, feigning embarrassment.

His aunt and cousin laughed.

Sure, he was a Level One Patrol Officer who could get rare high-end mechanical prosthetics through connections—but in reality, he was still just a shy, timid boy...

Lin Qing thought silently.

Makes sense—I’m just an eighteen-year-old innocent kid. No reason to suspect me...

“Ding.”

At that moment, Lin Qing’s phone rang.

Caller ID: Zhao Jiayi.

“Hello?”

“What?”

“Alright, I’m coming now.”

Lin Qing frowned, ended the call, and turned to his confused aunt and cousin. “Brother, Auntie—something happened at the hospital entrance. I’m going to check it out. You stay here.”

Chen Ruizhe and his aunt immediately noticed Lin Qing’s expression—something major had happened. They nodded.

“Go quickly.”

Outside Xiao Shan District People’s Hospital.

Temporary cordons now blocked all vehicles and pedestrians.

Several “Tiger Wasp” patrol drones, armed with heavy machine guns, had taken to the air, forming a net of firepower around the scene.

“What happened?”

Lin Qing frowned, staring at the corpse and blood on the ground, voice cold: “Chief Xiao just got discharged—and Chu Tianyao came to ambush him?”

He turned sharply, icy eyes sweeping the patrol officers: “Only those of us here knew Chief Xiao’s discharge date and time. How did Chu Tianyao time it so perfectly?”

The patrol officers remained silent.

Everyone present understood this: Chu Tianyao had acted like a madman, a desperate outlaw who openly attacked and killed a patrol officer—how insane was that? Yet in the end, he had killed only Captain Xiao; even when other patrol officers fired, Chu Tianyao made no move to retaliate.

This in itself was a point of suspicion.

It was enough to suspect that someone among the patrol officers present might be Chu Tianyao’s informant.

“Wait for the investigation.”

Lin Qing said grimly: “After such a major incident, headquarters will send people soon.”

…

Xiao Mountain District Branch.

Inside the director’s office.

“Director Kou.”

Lin Qing frowned at Director Kou behind the desk and asked: “When will headquarters send someone over?”

“They’ll arrive soon,” Director Kou said gravely. “Headquarters is furious too. I heard they’re sending a ‘Patrol Envoy’ and three ‘Senior Patrol Captains,’ along with high-tech equipment for large-scale searches, ready to thoroughly investigate Lian’an City and its surrounding areas.”

Good… Lin Qing silently praised.

The Original Research Institute had its eyes on him, and he had no way to fight such a behemoth—he could only rely on the Patrol Headquarters to deal with it.

“Patrol Envoy? What rank is that?” Lin Qing asked curiously.

He had only heard that above Patrol Captain came Senior Patrol Captain—he’d never heard of a “Patrol Envoy” before.

“It’s normal you haven’t heard of it.”

Director Kou explained: “It’s the highest rank in our patrol system, and even within headquarters, they’re considered true elites.”

“Are they gene-awakened?” Lin Qing asked involuntarily.

“More precisely… they’re among the strongest within the gene-awakened,” Director Kou nodded slightly.

“So headquarters takes this seriously.”

Lin Qing felt even more at ease, yet frowned again: “But… I worry Chu Tianyao might escape before they arrive.”

“He won’t.”

Director Kou said gravely: “Three near-Earth orbit patrol satellites have already locked onto Lian’an City. Every major route, even the sewers, are sealed and patrolled by drones. Under this net, Chu Tianyao cannot escape.”

Lin Qing nodded slightly and exhaled in relief: “Good. I still don’t understand why Chu Tianyao killed Captain Xiao.”

“Perhaps it’s revenge.”

Director Kou sighed: “A while back, Chu Tianyao attacked the Yuanhong Society’s outpost, didn’t he? Clearly he holds a grudge against them. Today, by killing Captain Xiao, he probably intended to trigger a full investigation by the Patrol Headquarters—so the Yuanhong Society would suffer heavy blows.”

“How insane,” Lin Qing murmured.

…

…

South Bank Street.

Inside a hidden basement of a bar.

“Again…”

Bald and lean, Chu Tianyao looked at the urgent intelligence just received on his phone, his lips curling slightly: “Someone pretending to be me is causing such a stir? How brazen… good, kill, kill more…”

He viewed the message with pleasure, growing even more eager.

He dared not act so wildly because he knew that after one such mad act, he’d be trapped.

But someone else acting so wildly gave him a faint sense of satisfaction.

Suddenly—

“Bip.”

His phone received another message.

Chu Tianyao opened it cheerfully and found an order from his BOSS.

【The Patrol Envoy from headquarters will arrive in Lian’an City in two hours. Immediately capture Lin Qing and Zhao Jiayi, escape via the β-route underground passage. Someone will meet you at Point Three.】

“Are they abandoning me? Looks like I’m trapped after all…”

Chu Tianyao suddenly broke into a brilliant smile. “Fine. Then let’s go even wilder. Capture Lin Qing and Zhao Jiayi? Fine—I’ll kill them all. Oh, and his sister’s family too—last time I didn’t finish them. A family should be whole.”

(End of Chapter)