Chapter 152: A hefty bounty is offered!

Chen Yu didn't know how long he had been chasing.

By the time he came to his senses,

his surroundings had completely changed.

Abandoned factory buildings stood one after another, their red brick walls covered in black mold spots.

The windows were like dark, hollow sockets, staring like eyes at the empty long street.

Rusted iron frames protruded from the buildings, appearing as if they might collapse at any moment.

This was also the first time in all these days that Chen Yu had stepped into this area.

Road No. 3...

Here, there was no sign of the Eye of Peace in the sky, and no crowds watching from a distance.

Chen Yu's footsteps echoed through the empty ruins.

Within his field of vision, Lin Yue was still stepping on crystals, one step at a time.

Her figure weaved through the collapsed walls, her skirt fluttering in the wind.

Twenty-five meters.

Twenty meters.

Chen Yu narrowed his eyes, staring intently at that figure.

Fifteen meters.

Ten meters.

Almost there!!!!

Then, Lin Yue's figure suddenly blurred for a moment.

Just for a brief second.

Like an image on an old television, flashing with static when the signal was poor, it flickered and then returned to normal.

Chen Yu's pupils contracted slightly.

What was that momentary blur? An illusion?

Definitely not...

Chen Yu had seen this scene before.

But not in this life.

It was in his past life.

In his previous life, Zhang Zixuan had once used a type of card called a phantom card.

[Phantom continues the action, while the original body moves in stealth.]

She had relied on this card back then to complete an extremely difficult mission.

That was also the first time Chen Yu learned that items actually existed in Road to Survival.

And now,

as Chen Yu stared at the running figure ahead, it became increasingly familiar.

Finally, he decisively stopped in his tracks.

Then he turned around and ran in the opposite direction.

His boots pounded frantically against the ruins, sending gravel flying.

Behind him, Lin Yue was still running, completely unconcerned with Chen Yu's direction...

Subsequently, that figure blurred completely.

Like static on an old TV, the outline gradually bled away, and the colors faded bit by bit.

Finally, it vanished entirely into the air.

Chen Yu simply sprinted all the way,

passing through collapsed walls, leaping over piles of waste material, and rushing into every alleyway that could hide a person.

Nothing. There was nothing at all.

The corners were empty, and only the wind howled inside the half-collapsed factory buildings.

No footprints.

No crystal fragments.

No evidence whatsoever that she had ever existed.

Chen Yu stood up and scanned the surroundings.

A private message reappeared—

[Lin Yue: Chen Yu, you're quite impressive.]

[Lin Yue: That phantom, I thought it would last longer.]

[Lin Yue: Well, you saw right through it with one glance...]

[Lin Yue: Actually, when you ran back just now, you were going in the right direction.]

[Lin Yue: You were just a bit away from finding me~]

[Lin Yue: Just a tiny bit off, what a pity.]

[Lin Yue: Next time, I'll find a way to counter that glove.]

[Lin Yue: Once I find it, you won't be able to catch me.]

[Lin Yue: Then it'll be my turn to catch you.]

[Lin Yue: Next time we meet, I won't run anymore.]

The messages stopped coming.

Chen Yu stood in the center of the ruins, looking at those few lines of text.

The wind whistled past his ears, fluttering the hem of his clothes.

"Next time we meet, huh..."

Chen Yu narrowed his eyes, thinking about what Lin Yue had done to Liu Xiaoqian; it could almost be considered a provocation against the Eye of Peace.

Furthermore, she had killed so many people.

With her methods, it wouldn't be hard to make everyone hand over their supplies.

The amount of items she possessed was likely terrifying.

She was ultimately a hidden danger...

However, since the girls had items like the Shelter Generator and ghost mirror fragment, even if Lin Yue dared to appear, at least his group of red luans wouldn't face much of a threat.

Chen Yu shook his head, opened his private messages, and found Sun Haiyu at the Information Center.

[Chen Yu: Conduct a city-wide search for Lin Yue. For any information, as long as it's true, I'll cover a month's worth of food.]

The reply from the other side was almost instantaneous.

[Sun Haiyu: Brother Yu, are you planning to catch that Murderous Witch?]

[Chen Yu: Is there a problem?]

[Sun Haiyu: No, no! I'll arrange the manpower right away! I'll issue a heavy bounty!]

(Pork Chop's note: The follow-up for Lin Yue is designed to be interesting, light, and full of contrast. Please give Chen Yu a little more time; I won't let everyone down. And I guess everyone probably didn't realize that Pork Chop doesn't like purely formulaic writing; I prefer to work on some new plot twists, which leads to a huge workload. I often spend a very long time writing four thousand words, but I'm quite satisfied after finishing them.)

...

...

On the way back to the Villa Area, Chen Yu retraced his steps along the path he came.

The corpses were still where they had fallen.

One, two, five, ten.

Chen Yu took off his glove with a heavy heart,

and collected all of Lin Yue's loot.

The free attribute points on his panel became 2 again.

A full increase of two points.

Chen Yu stared at those numbers for two seconds and unhesitatingly added them all to Perception.

[Basic Attributes]

constitution: 101 (1)

Agility: 30 (20)

Perception: 15 (5)

charisma: 19 (9)

spirit: 13 (3)

luck: 17 (7)

To be honest, Chen Yu didn't feel anything particularly special.

The only sensation was that his vision seemed slightly better???

The outline of Villa Number One had already appeared in his sight.

Chen Yu withdrew his gaze and stepped inside.

The yard was empty, so he pushed open the door and walked directly into the living room.

"Brother Chen Yu!"

Wang Mengmeng was the first to rush over: "Did you catch her?"

She peered behind Chen Yu a couple of times, but it was empty.

"Huh? Where is she?"

Li Mengyao also stood up and glanced outside the door.

"Did you kill her?"

Yang Kexin leaned in: "He definitely killed her. How could anyone run when Brother Chen Yu makes a move?"

Deng Yuxin nodded beside her: "Exactly, after chasing for so long, how could she possibly have escaped?"

Zhang Wanyue stood nearby holding a cup of water. She didn't speak, but her eyes were also waiting for an answer.

Chen Yu shook his head and said in a flat tone, "She escaped."

The living room fell silent for a second.

"Ah?"

The girls all found it hard to believe.

After all, in their understanding, whenever Chen Yu acted, it was almost always with overwhelming dominance.

Yet he actually couldn't catch Lin Yue no matter what?

"Alright."

Chen Yu waved his hand, his gaze sweeping across the living room.

"Where's Liu Xiaoqian? How has she been resting these past few days?"

Qiao Xi spoke up: "On the Third Floor, the room at the very end. Her mental state has clearly improved these days, but she speaks very little and often just dazes off by herself."

Chen Yu nodded, "Take me to see her."

Qiao Xi opened her mouth as if to say something, but then stopped.

"...Go now?"

Chen Yu looked at her.

"Is there a problem?"

Qiao Xi hesitated for a moment and lowered her voice.

"Although her current state is stable, asking about being imprisoned might trigger her. I suggest waiting a few more days..."

Halfway through her sentence, she saw Chen Yu's expression and quickly shut her mouth.

She realized that her doctor's habit was acting up again.

"Forget I said anything."

She turned and headed upstairs.

Chen Yu followed her.

The Third Floor, the room at the very end.

The door was slightly ajar. Qiao Xi pushed it open gently and stepped aside.

Chen Yu walked in.

The light in the room was very dim, and the curtains were tightly drawn.

A small desk lamp was lit at the bedside,

its dim yellow light falling on the bed.

Liu Xiaoqian was leaning against the headboard. Hearing the door open, she subconsciously looked up.