150: Chapter 149 A Clever Escape, A Secret Maneuver

Su Qing's momentary communication sync was like a warning light flashing in the dark.

Whether its content was a report to superiors, a sync with colleagues, or the activation of some tracking or surveillance program, it meant that he might have already entered a higher-level, more active observation list.

Returning to that relatively fixed temporary base in Rust Town at this moment posed a huge risk.

He had to immediately cut off direct contact with the base, "disappear" in the city for a period, use his mobility and familiarity with the city's terrain to shake off any potential tracking, and observe the other party's reaction and subsequent actions.

This was survival instinct, and also a necessary "discarding of pieces" and "probing" in this game.

Thoughts raced through his mind in an instant.

The trace of fatigue and confusion belonging to "Ling Ye" quickly faded from his face, replaced by a cold calmness.

He put down his water cup, stood up, and like any ordinary reader who had finished a meeting and was preparing to leave, walked unhurriedly toward the library exit.

Walking out of the library doors, the afternoon sun was somewhat blinding.

He squinted slightly to adjust to the light, while his "Spiritual Sense," like an invisible radar, centered on himself, quickly swept through the crowd, vehicles, building shadows, and any unnatural energy or information disturbances in the air within a fifty-meter radius.

He did not find any obvious, direct gazes locking onto him or any pursuers.

However, that feeling of being "watched," like a maggot on a bone, lingered faintly.

It did not come from any specific direction; it felt more like some kind of systematic, grid-based surveillance, and he happened to be within the perception range of a certain grid node.

The power behind Su Qing was indeed extraordinary.

He did not hesitate, merging into the flow of people on the street and walking in the opposite direction of Rust Town—toward the downtown commercial district.

The crowd there was dense, the architecture complex, and surveillance cameras were as numerous as hair on a cow, but precisely because of that, individual actions were more easily drowned out by the massive information flow, making it better suited for complex anti-tracking maneuvers.

He first walked into a large shopping mall, weaving through the dazzling array of shops and crowds, stopping from time to time to look at shop windows or entering fast-food restaurants to use the restroom.

During each stop, he used mirror reflections, glass glares, and even the blind spots of store surveillance to observe whether there was a "tail" behind him.

In the crowded clothing section, he quickly slipped into a fitting room, took off his jacket, turned it inside out and put it back on (the jacket was double-sided), and used a hat and scarf he had prepared in advance to slightly alter his hairstyle and facial contours.

Then, he stuffed his original backpack into an inconspicuous shopping bag.

The entire process took less than a minute.

After changing, he did not leave immediately; instead, he walked out of the fitting room area from another exit, blended into another wave of people, and took the escalator to the underground parking lot.

In the parking lot, he did not look for any transportation, but quickly weaved through the gaps between vehicles and returned to the street level from another pedestrian exit.

By now, he had completely changed his external image and movement trajectory.

That faint feeling of being "watched" seemed to have weakened significantly, but it had not completely disappeared.

The other party's technology or methods might be unconventional.

He did not try to completely "shake them off," as that might be counterproductive and expose his own anti-tracking capabilities.

His goal was to "delay" and "confuse," making it impossible for the other party to precisely locate his final destination and buying time for his next move.

He walked into a large public transportation hub, where there were hover buses and rail trains heading in all directions of the city.

He did not buy a ticket, but instead used the cover of the crowd to quickly pass through the hub hall, exited from the other side, and merged back into the streets.

Repeating this process, he carried out irregular and varied movements in the downtown area for over two hours.

He transferred between short-distance public transport multiple times, frequently changed walking routes and directions, and occasionally entered large buildings only to quickly leave through other exits.

He pushed all the skills he had learned from his exploration and anti-tracking training in "Rust Town" to the limit, combined with the vague warnings of his "Spiritual Sense" regarding the environment and potential dangers, weaving through the city's veins like a slippery fish that could not be caught.

As the sun set and the sky grew dim, Ling Ye had completely moved away from the downtown area and Rust Town, arriving at an Industrial Zone in the northeast corner of the city, dominated by logistics Warehouses and small-to-medium-sized processing plants.

It was busy during the day but relatively quiet at night, with wide streets, low buildings, and lower surveillance density.

That faint feeling of being "watched" had finally become almost imperceptible.

Either the other party had temporarily lost his trail, or the coverage of the surveillance network had become sparse in this area.

He did not relax.

On the edge of the Industrial Zone, he found the backyard of a semi-abandoned vehicle repair shop, which was piled with scrapped hovercar shells and parts, forming a natural maze.

He crawled into it, found a relatively dry and hidden corner, sat down against the cold metal car shell, and let out a long sigh of relief.

Hours of continuous high-intensity mental focus and physical exertion left him feeling exhausted.

But he knew that temporary safety did not mean permanent safety.

Su Qing and the power behind her had already revealed their reach.

The base in Rust Town was likely no longer safe, or at least he could not return in the short term.

He needed a new, more hidden and secure hiding place, and he had to be prepared to deal with the next actions the other party might take—for example, searching for him through official channels (the academy, the community)?

Or, using technical means to conduct a wider search?

He took his backpack out of the shopping bag and checked his supplies.

There was very little food left, and half a bottle of water.

He did not have many credit points.

He had to solve his survival problem as soon as possible, but he could no longer operate in a relatively fixed manner as he had in Rust Town.

Perhaps it was time to consider more extreme methods of concealment.

For instance, utilizing the complex underground pipelines and abandoned facilities in the Industrial Zone?

Or, simply leaving Dawn City and heading to other colonial outposts?

But the latter required identity, credit points, and transportation, none of which he currently possessed.

He needed information; he needed to understand how Su Qing's side would react to his "disappearance," and he also needed to assess the overall progress of the situation.

He took out that old, disposable terminal used to contact "Midnight Wind" and tried to connect to the network.

The signal was weak, but it still worked.

He logged into that anonymous alt account; there were no new messages.

He also tried using this terminal to browse local news and forums as a guest.

Reports on the Oak Street incident still maintained the official narrative, but the "energy barrier" and the continuous lockdown had become public topics, and skepticism among the public was growing.

As for the academy, it seemed that no public notice regarding "searching for missing student Ling Ye" had been issued yet.

For the moment, things seemed relatively calm beneath the surface.

But Ling Ye knew that this calm would not last long.

Su Qing's attitude today and that secretive communication indicated that the value or risk of himself as a "sample" might have been upgraded in their assessment.

He had to make a decision as soon as possible.

Should he continue to fight a guerrilla war within Dawn City, using the environment of the Industrial Zone to hide and trying to obtain necessary supplies and information?

Or... take a risky move and attempt to actively contact another faction, for example, by using his vague understanding of Zhou Ming and the potential power behind him to conduct a more dangerous "transaction" or "defection"?

Or perhaps, try to obtain information from "Midnight Wind" regarding the "screening," the "strange illness," and the possible existence of a civilian mutual aid network for those who were "in the know" about "anomalies" or were "sensitives"?

The night, like thick ink, completely swallowed the Industrial Zone.

In the distance, there were only a few scattered lights and the low hum of unknown machines.

Ling Ye leaned against the cold car shell and closed his eyes, but his consciousness, like the sharpest radar, remained alert to everything around him.

He knew that he had just completed a "shedding of the cicada's skin."

But what came next?

Should he hide deeper and wait for an opportunity?

Or... take the initiative and, in this desperate situation, search for that glimmer of light to break the deadlock?