182: I really am a person from the Black Prison!

Upon hearing this, Ye Chen's eyes flickered slightly.

Oh.

It's probably because she's been continuously using her abilities these past few days, causing her to constantly absorb power.

But clearly... Night Owl's body can't quite handle this surge of power.

"Alright, I understand."

Without further ado, Ye Chen agreed directly, "At Yi Yue's place, right? I'll be there immediately."

"Quick... hurry up!"

Night Owl dropped the line, and the call was immediately cut off.

Ye Chen put away his phone and turned to head towards Bing Lan's room.

The door was slightly ajar.

Bing Lan was sitting at the dressing table, using a towel to dry her slightly damp long hair.

Seeing Ye Chen enter, she looked up at him.

"A friend of mine is having some trouble; I need to go check on them."

Ye Chen walked over to her, casually took the towel, and gently dried the ends of her hair for her. "It might take a while. You should rest early. I'll explain everything that happened over the past day and night tomorrow."

Bing Lan nodded slightly. "No need to explain; I understand. Be careful on the road."

"Mm."

Ye Chen put down the towel and gave her a light kiss on the forehead.

Then,

with Bing Lan's face instantly flushing bright red, he turned and walked out the door.

The night was deep.

Ye Chen drove straight to Yi Yue's residence.

The car model sped along the empty streets.

But—

Just as he passed the third intersection, Ye Chen's brow furrowed slightly as he glanced in the rearview mirror.

The street was empty, with occasional vehicles passing by—everything seemed normal.

Yet a certain alertness, like a fine needle, pierced his senses.

Something was off.

It wasn't a gaze, not an aura, nor killing intent.

But a feeling of being "locked on" by something.

As if a pair of eyes in the darkness were measuring his trajectory from a great distance.

He didn't let up on the accelerator, maintaining his speed, but his mind had already settled into calmness.

Earth Vein Tracking quietly activated!

Centered on him, an intangible perception spread out like ripples in water, silently seeping into the road beneath his feet and extending along the earth's veins into the distance—

Ten meters, fifty meters, a hundred meters... streets, buildings, trees, parked vehicles, night-returning pedestrians... everything took shape in his mind like a three-dimensional image.

No ambush.

No trailing vehicles.

No deliberately hidden auras of martial artists.

Everything was so normal it was almost eerie.

Ye Chen's eyes narrowed slightly.

His perception couldn't be wrong; that feeling of being watched still existed and was growing clearer.

Since there was nothing on the ground—

His mind stirred slightly, and his "gaze" slowly shifted upward.

The rooftops of buildings on both sides of the street, behind billboards, windows of distant high-rises... suddenly!

Just as his perception swept over the edge of the rooftop of a seven-story office building to his right front—

"Whoosh—!!!"

A sound of something tearing through the air abruptly ripped through the night!

A black shadow, fast as lightning tearing through the night sky, shot violently from the direction of the office building's rooftop!

It wasn't a bullet.

But it was faster than a bullet!

In Ye Chen's abruptly constricting pupils, the black shadow rapidly enlarged in his field of vision.

It was a crossbow bolt, pitch-black all over!

The shaft was carved with dense runes; the arrowhead wasn't metal but a material resembling jade yet not jade, bone yet not bone, shimmering with a strange luster as it shot toward him.

The next second.

It directly pierced through the front windshield!

Ye Chen's face turned cold. He tilted his head, sharply turned the steering wheel with his right hand, and almost simultaneously pressed the brake and accelerator with his feet!

"Screech—!!!"

The piercing sound of tires screeching exploded!

The car model's body swung violently sideways in a perfect arc in the middle of the street!

Immediately after,

Ye Chen opened the car door and darted out of the vehicle like a Leopard!

Landing!

Rolling!

Rising!

All in one fluid motion!

His gaze sharp as lightning, he locked onto the rooftop of that seven-story office building!

Under the night sky, the edge of the rooftop was empty.

Only the night wind howled.

But deep in Ye Chen's pupils, a glint of golden light quietly flashed.

Earth Vein Tracking was pushed to its limits!

Within a radius of three hundred meters, all life auras lit up in his mind like stars—

Found it!

Ye Chen stomped hard with his foot!

The asphalt road surface cracked and dented with a "crack"!

His figure shot like an arrow toward the office building!

...Inside the office building.

One of the three elevators was slowly descending.

Inside the elevator car stood a man wearing a black windbreaker and a baseball cap.

He was holding an alloy case about 1.2 meters long.

The man lowered his head, a strange smile appearing on his face.

Mission... accomplished!

Although the prey dodged in the end.

But his arrow was coated with colorless, scentless, and odorless "Soul-Eroding Fragrance."

That stuff could silently erode a martial artist's soul; within ten minutes, the five senses would gradually fade, and internal energy would stagnate.

Plenty of time for him to make his next move.

He pressed the "B2" button, heading to the underground parking lot.

The elevator descended smoothly, the numbers jumping from "7" to "6," "5"... Just as the number was about to jump to "4"... suddenly!

"Clank—thud!"

A dull sound of metal jamming abruptly rang out!

The elevator car shook violently and then stopped without warning.

The lights went out abruptly, and emergency lights lit up.

"What's going on? A malfunction?"

The man's heart tightened. He instinctively pressed his earpiece. "Control, what's wrong with the elevator?"

Before a voice came through the earpiece, a sudden change occurred!

"Boom!!!"

The elevator wall to his right exploded inward!

The hard metal plate twisted and tore as if struck by an invisible giant hammer, denting inward into a large hole!

Immediately after,

A figure stepped in from the dark elevator shaft like a ghost!

Fast!

Too fast!

The man didn't even see how the other appeared. His vision blurred, and a hand grabbed his throat, slamming him hard against the opposite wall!

"Thud!!!"

A dull impact sound exploded in the narrow elevator space!

The man's back collided with the metal wall. The terrifying force made the entire elevator shake, and the wall dented outward in a human-shaped outline centered on his body!

"Ugh—!"

The man grunted, his vision darkening, and the alloy case in his hand fell to the floor.

He struggled to lift his eyes, which then abruptly contracted!

The person gripping his neck and pinning him against the elevator wall was none other than... the target, Ye Chen!

Ye Chen narrowed his eyes, his voice icy. "Who sent you?"

His throat gripped, the man's face flushed purple, but he squeezed out a sneer through gritted teeth.

"You... guess?"

He hadn't expected Ye Chen to catch up so quickly, even breaking into the elevator directly.

But!

If he could just hold on a little longer, Ye Chen would surely collapse.

So... if he held on a bit, victory would definitely be his!

However, Ye Chen also smiled.

A somewhat playful, somewhat cold smile.

"Guess?"

"I'm not really fond of guessing games."

"I'd rather see—"

He leaned in slightly, staring into the man's bulging eyes from suffocation, and said word by word, "whether your bones are as hard as your mouth."

Before the words finished, Ye Chen's right leg lifted without warning, his knee like a heavy hammer, smashing into the outside of the man's left knee joint!

"Crack—!!!"

A crisp, teeth-grating sound of bone breaking exploded in the narrow elevator car!

"Aaaah—!!!"

The man let out a shrill scream, his entire left leg bending outward at a grotesque angle.

His kneecap was completely shattered; the intense pain made his whole body convulse.

Ye Chen released his grip on the man's throat.

The man slid down into the corner like a pile of mud, clutching his twisted left leg, crying and howling in pain.

Ye Chen bent down, picked up the alloy case that had fallen on the floor, and opened it for a glance.

Inside was an unusually shaped, pitch-black crossbow.

The crossbow body was carved with runes, and beside it were three short black arrows of the same material.

He hadn't caught the wrong person.

Then continue the interrogation.

He closed the case, tossed it aside casually, then crouched down, looking at the man who was almost passing out from pain.

"Now, I'll give you one more chance."

"If you don't talk..."

"Your other leg is next."

In pain and blurred consciousness, the man fearfully rasped, "Black... Black Prison! I'm a member of the Black Prison..."

Ye Chen's brow furrowed abruptly.

Black Prison?

If he was from the Black Prison, why hadn't Black Blind Man heard anything about it?

His eyes grew even colder.

"It seems you're not planning to be honest?"

"Fine then..."

Ye Chen reached out, a Silver Needle as fine as an ox hair appearing between his fingertips, its tip shimmering with a faint blue glow.

"I'll let you know what it truly means..."

"To wish for death but be unable to die."

The man broke down crying. "I really am a member of the Black Prison!!!"

Ye Chen's eyes turned icy. Just as he was about to speak... suddenly.

He clutched his chest, his face instantly turning pale!