Chapter 195 The Way follows nature, and all things have their constant order.

Jiang Wei's voice trailed off.

Officer Pei Yuanheng, Chen Yu, and Cheng Minglang. Water Bubble looked up at the same time.

Across the bridge, at the end of the grayish-white stone slabs, three figures were emerging from the shadows of the palm trees.

They wore identical clothes: deep blue robes with wide sleeves fluttering slightly in the wind, a section of white lining visible at the collar, black cloth belts tied around their waists, and cloth shoes on their feet.

The three of them walked side by side.

The one in the middle was the tallest, carrying a black sword on his back. The hilt was wrapped in a deep blue knot, the ends of which dangled and swayed with his steps.

The one on the left was the shortest and stout, holding a small yellow flag in his hand.

The one on the right was neither fat nor thin, his hands tucked into his sleeves and his eyes squinted into two slits.

?

Daoists?

Cheng Minglang squinted: "Officer Pei, am I seeing things?"

Officer Pei Yuanheng nodded: "Yeah, things have gotten tricky."

Jiang Wei also swallowed hard: "It couldn't be... that team... this is bad..."

Under everyone's watchful eyes,

They walked to the middle of the bridge and stopped.

About three seconds later...

The originally calm seawater suddenly surged, as if something massive was rolling over beneath the surface.

The entire sea surface abruptly bulged into an arc that grew higher and steeper. The edges began to turn white as foam exploded from the crest of the wave, and then—the entire wave crashed down!

"Boom—!"

Water splashed up, exploding into a field of shattered silver under the sunlight, turning everything white.

As the wave receded, something was left on the bridge.

A Treasure Chest.

It was bronze-colored with intricate patterns on the surface, looking exactly like the empty chest from before!!!

However,

This time, the lid of the chest that washed up was tightly closed,

Resting less than two meters away from the feet of the three Daoists.

On the Seventh Island side, everyone's breath hitched for a moment.

Officer Pei Yuanheng's hand suddenly tightened around the iron pipe, his knuckles making a soft "crack" sound.

Cheng Minglang and Jiang Wei were also on high alert.

Chen Yu was the same.

If those three Daoists dared to take even a single step, a battle would break out.

But after a strange silence of two seconds,

"Friends from the Seventh Island."

The squinty-eyed Daoist looked up: "This Treasure Chest—you all saw it, and this humble Daoist saw it too."

"So?"

Cheng Minglang frowned: "What are you trying to say?"

The Daoist chuckled: "But do you know why this Treasure Chest was delivered by this wave at this exact moment, in this exact place? Right to this humble Daoist's feet?"

No one answered.

He didn't need an answer and continued on his own: "The tides are faithful, and the heavenly timing is predetermined. The sea does not surge without reason, and the waves do not break in vain. When this Treasure Chest arrives, where it comes from, and whose hands it falls into—it was all decided long ago."

He looked up at the sun in the sky, then at the churning seawater under the bridge.

"This humble Daoist and the others came here today not to fight, but to retrieve what should have belonged to our Organization in the first place."

On the Seventh Island side,

Officer Pei Yuanheng's expression tightened: "As expected, it's the Xuantan Bus..."

Highway Rank: 7th

Serial Number: 0317 Sector - Fractal Branch Q9-δ

Number of People: 22

car owner: Zhang Shouyi

Affiliated Organization: Haicheng Taoist Association and Sanqing Temple

Cheng Minglang and Jiang Wei's expressions also changed, sensing that things were taking a turn for the worse!

This was the 7th rank on the highway out of three hundred thousand people!

Just like the Baby Bus, it was a fleet steeped in legend!

Most importantly...

With the items Awakened after the apocalypse, there was no telling what kind of strange foundations these Daoists possessed!

Chen Yu spoke in a deep voice: "The Treasure Chest was spawned by the Road to Survival. What the hell does it have to do with you? 'The tides are faithful'? 'The heavenly timing is predetermined'? Then why don't you calculate whose hands this Treasure Chest will fall into today?"

The squinty-eyed Daoist looked at him, not in a hurry to answer.

Instead, he looked at the other side: "Officer, do you believe in the Tao?"

Officer Pei Yuanheng shook his head: "I don't."

The Daoist continued: "The Tao follows nature, and all things have their constants. When the apocalypse arrived, some Awakened as S-rank, some as D-rank; some drew S-rank pets, some drew D-rank pets. If this is not the Tao, what is?"

He paused.

"Before coming here today, this humble Daoist predicted that this Treasure Chest would land here at this time. This isn't stealing; it's taking. It's not fighting; it's collecting. What is wrong with following the heavens and responding to the time?"

The stout Daoist beside him raised the small yellow flag in his hand: "If one does not take what Heaven offers, one will suffer the consequences. The Treasure Chest has been delivered to our door; we are merely accepting it."

At the front, the tall, thin Daoist also spoke coldly: "If you all feel dissatisfied, then you are going against the heavens. But do you truly have the ability to do so?"

The words of the three were filled with absolute confidence and composure.

Cheng Minglang couldn't take it anymore and took half a step forward: "Stop playing your tricks here! Heaven this, heaven that—the Treasure Chest is right there. Whoever grabs it, gets it!"

Jiang Wei chimed in: "The person beside us is the car owner of the Baby Bus."

But after he spoke, none of the three Daoists showed any expression of surprise.

There was none of the reaction Jiang Wei had expected.

Theoretically, the Baby Bus was extremely well-known; it was impossible they hadn't heard of it.

The only possibility was that these three didn't care at all.

The tall, thin Daoist drew the sword from his back. The blade was pitch black and didn't reflect any light, looking like a piece of charred wood.

He held the sword across his body, tip pointing down: "Temple Master Zhang said that today's building material treasure chest belongs to Organization, so it doesn't matter who you are."

The wind blew, making the hem of the Daoist robes flutter.

The squinty-eyed Daoist pulled his hands out of his sleeves and took half a step forward.

And with that half-step...

"Bang!"

Three figures simultaneously shot out from the end of the bridge!!!

Water Bubble was instantly thrown off Chen Yu's shoulder, letting out a "Gulu?" in mid-air!

Chen Yu charged at the front, machete in hand, the blade held at his side with the edge facing forward!

Officer Pei Yuanheng was on the right, swinging his iron pipe behind him. His strides were larger than Chen Yu's, but his frequency was slower!

Cheng Minglang was on the left, charging forward recklessly, his muscles bulging all over!

"Truly seeking death."

The tall, thin Daoist's right hand slid off the sword blade,

"Hum—"

An invisible sword qi shot out from the tall, thin Daoist's palm. The sword qi was as thin as a hair and fast as lightning, shooting straight at Cheng Minglang, who was charging on the flank!

"What is that?!"

Cheng Minglang didn't have time to react at all. As a strength-based Awakened, he craved a 1v1 manly battle!

But the opponent clearly didn't intend to give him that chance!

"Puchi!"

The sword qi grazed the outside of his right arm, and a thin, dark red line appeared on the surface of his skin!

"Ah—!"

Cheng Minglang let out a miserable cry as he was sent flying sideways. He flipped twice in the air before crashing onto the stone slabs, bouncing twice, rolling to the edge of the bridge, and finally letting out a muffled thud!

Officer Pei Yuanheng's steps paused for a moment. "Minglang, you rest first. Leave the rest to me and Chen Yu..."

Saying that, he held the iron pipe across his body and gripped it with both hands!

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. For just an instant, when he opened them again, a dark red substance seemed to be flowing in the depths of his pupils and eyeballs!

"Crack, crack, crack, crack!"

Cracks began to appear on the surface of the iron pipe, spreading from the middle to both ends like blood vessels!

Visibly, the iron pipe was thickening, growing from the thickness of an egg to that of a wrist! Even spikes began to protrude from the surface one by one! It looked increasingly ferocious and terrifying!

Officer Pei Yuanheng gripped it with one hand. "Try this..."