Chapter 133

Under the illumination of the red moon high above, Lu Mian tracked the footprints, moving neither too fast nor too slow, amidst the light of gas streetlamps that were spaced far apart.

Before long, the damp marks dried completely and lost their utility as a guide, but Lu Mian had already memorized the size of those four pairs of footprints, the patterns on the soles, and the individual walking characteristics of each, so he would not confuse them with other tracks.

Even so, his tracking remained quite difficult; unlike the ruins of Cordu Village, thousands of people came and went in the Market District and its surrounding areas every day, leaving behind countless footprints that were not only layered over one another but also mutually destructive, making it impossible to lock onto the true target.

At the same time, there was all sorts of trash left behind by street vendors, as well as certain negative influences brought about by the terrible environment; Lu Mian occasionally felt as though he were searching for a single drop of water in the ocean.

Fortunately, it was currently midnight, so there were very few pedestrians on the road, and most of them were drunks who emitted a scent as distinct as fireflies in the night, their tracks more or less appearing unsteady, which Lu Mian could rule out at a glance.

Coupled with the fact that Margot and his men had passed by not long ago, many traces had yet to be destroyed, so he managed to follow them.

Sometimes, limited by the environment or Margot's caution, the footprints would suddenly break off, but Lu Mian was not discouraged and did not give up; he would calm his heart and attempt to walk a considerable distance forward, to the left, and to the right to search for new traces, and after repeated trial and error and a significant amount of time, he ultimately found the tracks he was looking for.

Just like that, Lu Mian tracked them all the way to Nightingale Street in the Market District, stopping in front of a five-story apartment building far from several cheap dance halls.

The footprints of Margot and his men entered inside.

After careful identification, Lu Mian determined that the three thugs eventually left the place, each heading in a different direction.

In other words, only Margot remained in one of the rooms inside the apartment.

"No need for the protection of his subordinates, enough confidence in his own strength..." Lu Mian muttered silently, becoming even more convinced that his target was a Beyonder.

Glancing at the pitch-black stairwell and pondering how a "Hunter" might handle corresponding traces before returning to their true residence, he concluded that even if he brought a carbide lamp and searched floor by floor, it would be difficult to lock onto Margot, and he might even fall into a trap set by the other party.

After thinking for a while, Lu Mian had a preliminary plan; he withdrew his gaze and walked toward the neighboring street.

Before long, he encountered a man in his twenties who was drunk and already unsteady on his feet.

When the man reached a broken gas streetlamp and began to vomit, Lu Mian lowered his hat, walked over, and said in a suppressed voice:

"I want to buy your jacket, 1.5 verl d'or."

The drunkard's first reaction was to suspect that he was so drunk he was hallucinating.

He was wearing a gray-blue wool jacket he had bought at a cheap clothing store in the Honest Man Market for only 1 verl d'or, and now, someone actually wanted to spend 1.5 verl d'or, which was 30 riels, to buy such a piece of old clothing that he had worn for two whole years!

Am I crazy, or is this guy crazy? The drunkard struggled to lift his head to look at the person opposite him, but due to the lack of light, he could only see a blurred outline hidden behind the darkness.

The next second, two cold coins appeared in his hand.

The drunkard instinctively weighed them and felt the patterns on the surface of the coins.

He hiccuped and said:

"Why... do you want to buy it?"

"If you don't want to, I'll find someone else." Lu Mian made a gesture as if to take back the two silver coins.

The drunkard stopped asking, mumbled, and slowly took off his jacket, taking out the things in his pockets.

By the time Lu Mian walked away with his clothes, he struggled to lift his head and waved his hand:

"Haha, a madman, a madman who gives away money... *urp*..."

When he returned to the bottom of the apartment building on Nightingale Street, Lu Mian had changed his attire, wearing a dark blue flat cap, a gray-blue wool jacket, and washed-out white trousers, with a pair of old, dirty leather shoes on his feet.

Including some things he would need later, he had spent a total of 12 verl d'or.

Looking up at the apartment that no longer had any light shining through, Lu Mian suddenly froze:

Why must I target Margot, this Beyonder?

His three subordinates weren't innocent even if they died, and they were obviously very weak and didn't know how to hide their tracks; dealing with them wouldn't be much harder than killing a chicken...

The fate of "being attacked by the Monsuri Ghost" wouldn't pick what kind of person would suffer it next!

Why did I only think about how to hunt Margot just now?

I wasn't like this before; I could be ruthless when I needed to be, and I would solve things as simply as possible when I could, without taking on extra burdens...

As these thoughts raced through his mind, Lu Mian gradually curled the corners of his lips.

He discovered that he had "instinctively" chosen the more dangerous prey, the reason seemingly being that it was more challenging and made him feel that doing so would be more comfortable and satisfying.

Looking down at his left chest covered by his clothes, Lu Mian suspected that this was a certain change brought about by the corruption within his body.

After a few seconds of silence, he lowered his voice and laughed softly:

"Looks like I'm a bit crazy after all..."

He didn't intend to change his target; he felt as though he could already smell the stench of fresh blood.

This was a gift, and also a curse.

Lowering his flat cap, Lu Mian carried a pile of things and circled to the rear of the target apartment.

He placed chunks of meat saturated with grease, flammable sofa stuffing, and other items in a corner against the wall, and created a firebreak around them.

Then, Lu Mian struck a match and threw it over.

The sparks spread rapidly across the most flammable materials, quickly growing from small to large, devouring the things around them.

Black smoke rose accordingly.

Once the thick smoke grew larger and shrouded the surroundings, Lu Mian shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Fire!

"There's a fire!"

While shouting, he ran back to the front of the apartment and shrank into the shadows of a corner.

His plan was: since I don't know which room you, Margot, are staying in, or what traps you've buried, I'll make you come out yourself!

And if Margot were an "Arsonist," he would inevitably realize that the flames and smoke below couldn't possibly form a real fire; his response would be completely different. At that time, Lu Mian could judge the other party's sequence based on this to decide whether to push the plan forward or give up right there.

With the rising thick smoke, the flickering firelight, and Lu Mian's shouting, the tenants of that apartment and the surrounding buildings ran down the stairs to the street one after another.

Because the "fire" wasn't large and the interior of the apartment hadn't been affected by the smoke, no one risked jumping down.

Lu Mian stopped making noise and stared fixedly at the entrance of the apartment, while other people "replaced" him in shouting similar things and began searching for the source of the fire.

Two seconds later, a figure jumped down from a window on the second floor and landed steadily.

It was none other than Margot, wearing a red shirt and sail-colored trousers, with his light yellow crew cut standing on end!

Relying on the fact that he was a Beyonder and lived on a low floor, Margot didn't take the stairs like the other tenants but jumped directly out of the window.

After landing, he looked back at the apartment and discovered that the fire wasn't big at all; his act of jumping out the window was completely unnecessary and made him look panicked and foolish.

Just at this moment, he saw a figure wearing a flat cap and a gray-blue wool jacket dart out from a corner nearby.

That figure lowered his head, pointed at him, and laughed loudly:

"Look, this guy is so stupid!"

*Boom! * Margot's emotions exploded.

With slightly reddened eyes, he lunged toward the man who was mocking him.

He was fast, but that figure was faster; he had already turned around and sprinted toward the nearest alley.

Margot only wanted to beat that guy up severely and pursued him relentlessly.

The two of them, one after the other, ran into the dark, deserted alley.

*Thump, thump, thump*, that figure rushed to the front of a barricade, pressed his right hand down, and vaulted over it.

Margot didn't pause; he stepped hard with both feet, his entire body soaring into the air, jumping directly over the barricade.

Just as he landed, he saw that figure stop and turn his body around.

Under the illumination of the crimson moonlight, the face beneath the dark blue flat cap was revealed to Margot's eyes.

It was wrapped in layer after layer of white bandages, revealing only the nostrils, eyes, and ears.

The other party's left hand was the same, and it was holding a silver-black, slightly sinister-looking dagger.

Margot's pupils dilated rapidly, and his heart skipped a beat.

He sobered up instantly, realizing that he had just encountered an influence similar to "Provocation."

Suppressing the slight unease rising in his heart, Margot drew the black revolver hidden at his waist.

He aimed at Lu Mian and activated his "Provocation" ability:

"Just with that knife?

"Idiot, this is the era of guns!"

*Bang! *

Margot pulled the trigger, and a bullet shot out, heading straight for Lu Mian's head.

Lu Mian suddenly fell backward, as if bending into an arch bridge.

Immediately following this, his waist snapped, and his entire body flew horizontally, dodging the second bullet Margot fired.

Then, Lu Mian straightened his body like a spring and took the opportunity to throw the "Fallen Mercury" in his hand toward Margot, as if it were just a throwing knife.

Considering that the enemy possessed an ability similar to "Provocation" and might also have poison on his weapons, Margot didn't dare to catch it head-on and hurriedly turned his body to the side, letting the silver-black dagger pass him and embed itself into the stone crevice of the barricade.

Just having dodged this strike, Margot saw Lu Mian pounce toward him like a fierce tiger.

Only then did he discover that the other party had thick paper balls stuffed in his ears, barely affected by the "Provocation" he had just uttered!

The one who understands a "Hunter" best will always be another "Hunter"!

This caused the anger in Margot's heart to flare up again, as if he had been silently "provoked" by the other party's performance.

*Snap*, Lu Mian clenched his right hand into a fist, creating a crisp sound, and smashed it toward Margot's temple.

Margot blocked it steadily with his left arm.

At the same time, he raised his right hand once more, aiming his revolver at Lu Mian's head.

At such a close distance, let's see how you dodge this!

In an instant, Lu Mian leaned his body forward, as if he were going to ram his head into Margot's chest, and reached out his left palm to grab his right wrist.

Meanwhile, his right leg kicked toward the back of his own head with extreme flexibility.

No, he wasn't kicking the back of his own head, but the "Fallen Mercury" embedded in the stone crevice of the barricade nearby!

That silver-black, sinister dagger soared into the air, half-carried and half-guided by Lu Mian's instep as it flew toward Margot.

PS: Last half-day of double points, asking for monthly votes~

(End of chapter)