Chapter 10: Su Qu Takes Action

"You only have two choices."

"First, drink this glass of water, then join us."

"Second, die!"

The man dressed as a courier tossed a pill into the glass, then handed the glass to Yu Lin.

Yu Lin didn't take it, but retorted:

"How about you tell me first, who are you?"

The man gave no answer, only gesturing for him to drink the water first.

He seemed very cautious.

Yu Lin still didn't take it, and asked again:

"Are you so sure no one will come?"

The man said lightly:

"You mean... Su Qu?"

"Possibly."

"He can't notice it, unless he himself is here; otherwise no one can detect it.........."

"Look behind you."

"Hm?!"

The man whirled around in an instant, but saw nothing.

When he turned back again,

he saw a faint glow emanating from the ring on Yu Lin's finger.

His pupils contracted; he suddenly realized something and reached out to grab Yu Lin—

but it was already too late.

Yu Lin's figure suddenly blurred, like smoke scattered by the wind, and vanished from the spot in an instant.

"Damn it!" the man roared, slamming a fist onto the coffee table, and the glass surface shattered instantly!

He quickly pressed his earpiece, his voice cold and urgent:

"He used a spatial ring!"

"Everyone, seal off the surrounding area immediately, find him for me!"

"The 'Heavenly Luck' Authority, we must have it in our hands!"

Meanwhile.

A night market street a hundred meters from the apartment.

Clamorous voices, barbecue smoke, and vendors' shouts intertwined, creating a chaotic yet lively atmosphere.

Yu Lin crouched in a dim alley, his back against the damp wall.

The summer heat and stifling air didn't make him sweat a drop; his expression remained utterly calm.

The night market's lights and shadows outside the alley cast mottled marks on his face, slicing his outline into fragments of light and dark.

He pulled out his phone, slid his fingertip across the screen, and dialed the number he had just saved.

Beep—

Before the first busy tone ended, the call was answered.

"Anything else?"

"I'm being hunted."

"Hm?! Location."

"Alright, back to the night market, the alley at the entrance."

"I'm on my way."

Su Qu's voice came through the receiver, with a faint rustle of pages in the background.

Yu Lin gave the coordinates, his voice as calm as if discussing the weather.

After hanging up, he retrieved the black‑gray ring and gently turned it between his fingers.

The ring's surface glowed with the characteristic cold sheen of metal, reflecting his slightly narrowed eyes.

Footsteps suddenly sounded at the alley entrance.

Yu Lin didn't look back, merely slipping the ring back onto his index finger.

When the shadow fell over him, he smelled a familiar perfume—Su Qu.

"You came quickly," Yu Lin said, still leaning against the wall, looking up at Su Qu standing at the alley entrance.

"I never left; I just used you as bait, to see if I could lure some reckless souls over."

"Heavenly Luck ones, in the process of achieving great deeds there will certainly be setbacks, but they pose no danger to him; now it seems, indeed it is."

Moonlight slanted from behind him, stretching his shadow long, reaching all the way to Yu Lin's feet.

Su Qu's mouth curled into an approving smile: "Looks like you're far more composed than I imagined."

"You're really just a fresh graduate from the college entrance exam?"

"Just got used to it," Yu Lin said, standing up and brushing off nonexistent dust from his clothes.

"You know, I'm an orphan."

"Everything depends on oneself."

"Panic won't help me at all; it only makes me lose reason."

"Not bad," Su Qu nodded, appearing very agreeable.

"If my first mission had someone with your insight, it wouldn't have earned an F rating... no more idle talk."

"You wait here; I'll go take care of them."

Yu Lin leaned against the shadow at the alley entrance, watching Su Qu's silhouette merge into the bustling night‑market lights.

The next second—

The whole world seemed to have hit the pause button.

Su Qu's shadow suddenly twisted and elongated, spreading across the ground like a living thing.

The darkness spread rapidly, covering the entire night market in an instant.

The noisy chatter abruptly stopped.

The barbecue stall's oil smoke solidified in midair.

Pedestrians' steps hung, their smiles frozen, even their eyeballs unable to move.

The whole street fell into a strange stillness.

Yu Lin's pupils contracted slightly—

He saw Su Qu standing in the middle of the street, hands in his trench‑coat pockets, a lazy smile at the corner of his mouth.

And those who had chased after them now, in terror, discovered they were trapped within shadows, unable to move!

"You guys..." Su Qu sighed, his voice unusually clear on the silent street:

"Never learn properly."

He raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

Snap!

All the pursuers' bodies suddenly twisted, as if squeezed by an invisible force, their bones emitting a sickening cracking sound.

Their forms began to collapse, eventually turning into clumps of black mist, devoured completely by Su Qu's shadow!

The whole process lasted no more than three seconds.

Su Qu turned back and waved at Yu Lin at the alley entrance:

"All right."

Yu Lin, however, shook his head:

"No, we're missing one."

Su Qu slapped his forehead abruptly, exasperated: "Almost forgot the big fish!"

He raised his right hand, and the shadow that had engulfed the night market receded like a tide, reconsolidating beneath his feet. At the same time, he pulled a crystal‑clear glass sphere from his trench‑coat pocket and gently tossed it into the air—

Snap!

The glass sphere shattered, a blinding WhiteLight instantly sweeping the entire street.

Yu Lin instinctively closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the night market had returned to its bustle.

Pedestrians continued chatting and laughing, vendors kept hawking, as if the earlier stillness had never occurred.

"Memory cleared, done," Su Qu whistled, then turned to Yu Lin and said:

"You wait here; I'll be back in a flash."

Before the words finished, his figure had already turned into a Black Shadow, skimming along the ground at high speed toward the distance.

As if he had never appeared, and no one ever noticed.

In a side alley three hundred meters away.

A man dressed as a courier was frantically fleeing, his body intermittently becoming insubstantial, passing straight through walls, then solidifying, darting and weaving through the narrow alley.

"Damn! How did someone from the Civil Affairs Bureau get here so fast!" he gritted his teeth, pressing his earpiece:

"Headquarters, the plan failed, requesting support—"

Before he could finish, a Black Shadow sprang from the ground, shaping into Su Qu's slender figure, blocking him.

"Authority?" Su Qu tilted his head, a dangerous smile: "Quite the runner."

"Was it you who stole the bank last time?"

The man's complexion changed abruptly, his body instantly becoming insubstantial, attempting to slip past Su Qu.

"Same trick, second time it won't work."

Su Qu clenched his right hand, and the surrounding shadows suddenly solidified, forming a wall of black as if tangible.

The man "bang" collided with it, his insubstantial body forced back into solid form!

"You..." the man stared in terror, eyes wide: "How is that possible?!"

Su Qu leisurely approached:

"Nothing is impossible; you're just too weak."

He reached out, clutching the man's throat, the shadow coiling around him like a living thing.

"Divine Authority Association member?"

The man remained silent, his eyes about to be devoured by the shadow...

Whoosh!

Su Qu released his grip, leaping back several steps.

A brilliant light arrow skimmed his fingertip, shooting into the ground and exploding into a dazzling WhiteLight.

He looked up and saw, at the edge of a skyscraper rooftop, a woman holding a light bow.

She wore a cloak, her face obscured, only the slightly rounded lower half visible, yet her figure was tall and slender.

"........." Su Qu squinted, his tone turning cold:

"So it was you, after all."

The woman smiled faintly, her voice carrying a familiar tone as if meeting an old friend:

"Chief Su, long time no see."

She gently raised her hand, and a soft beam of light descended from the sky, enveloping the courier man.

The man's body gradually became transparent, as if being assimilated by the light.

"This time we lost," the woman said, looking down at Su Qu.

Before the words finished, she flicked her wrist, turning herself into a dazzling radiance that, together with the courier man, vanished instantly into the night.

Su Qu stood where he was, his brows tightly knit.

He stared at the direction where the woman disappeared:

"Has the result for that Heavenly Bestowed Artifact abroad already come out?"