70: Chapter 70 The farce ends, bloodthirsty madness begins

Tao Jiajia felt a chill that pierced through to her heart.

In this room of less than ten square meters, there were only some simple furnishings; there was nowhere to hide, and everything was visible at a glance.

Chu Xuan had actually disappeared just like that?

Then what was the point of the massive scene she had made today, which had yielded no results at all?

Was it a joke?

“Are you sure you checked every single place? Those malls, every floor, every shop, and any other possible hiding spots? Have you checked them all?” Tao Jiajia asked repeatedly.

“Everything has been searched. All unrelated personnel have been cleared, and we even checked with thermal imagers. It’s impossible for anyone to still be hiding.”

Hua Jun also frowned, his face filled with disbelief. “And just five minutes ago, the target was still in a moving state on the positioning system. At that time, we had already surrounded this entire place. How could he have disappeared in such a short time? Could he have left his phone and blended into the crowd? No, that’s not right either; everyone who was cleared out went through facial recognition. It’s impossible for anyone to have been missed...”

“Impossible to miss? Hehe, impossible to miss? Hehe, then... where is he now? Hehe... hehe...”

Tao Jiajia’s expression suddenly became dazed for a moment, as if she were possessed.

She murmured to herself, her lips twitching, looking as if she were laughing yet not, crying yet not, staggering backward with a bizarre expression on her face.

The next second, she suddenly erupted in a hysterical roar: “He must have done it on purpose! He must have done it on purpose! He could have escaped long ago, but he insisted on wasting my time here all day, and only now did he discard his phone. He did it on purpose!”

Tao Jiajia felt an inexplicable surge of rage that she couldn't suppress no matter what.

She felt as if someone in the crowd was staring at her with burning eyes, but when she looked around, she couldn't find that gaze.

All she could see were the many law enforcement and armed personnel around her, as well as some ordinary citizens on the periphery.

Their gazes all seemed a bit strange.

What were they looking at?

They must be laughing at me!

At this moment, Tao Jiajia seemed to have suddenly become a mental patient, completely losing her rationality.

The many law enforcement officers around were somewhat dumbfounded, standing in a circle and watching Tao Jiajia like an agitated shrew, screaming and shouting like she was putting on a farcical performance.

“Captain Tao, I found this on the ground. Chu Xuan must have left it for you.” A capable-looking middle-aged woman walked over with a slip of paper in her hand.

Tao Jiajia hurriedly took the paper and unfolded it. On it was a line of small, neat characters.

“A mere clown, nothing more. —Gift from Chu Xuan!”

After staring blankly for two seconds, blood trickled from Tao Jiajia’s nostrils, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted just like that.

“Jiajia!”

Hua Jun was shocked and rushed forward to support her. He caught a glimpse of the line of small characters on the paper, and rage immediately surged in his heart as he glared fiercely at the middle-aged woman.

“Why did you show her this?”

“I don’t know, I don’t know...” The middle-aged woman panicked as she helped support her. She didn't know why, but she had just felt it would be very satisfying and refreshing, so she had done it as if possessed by some strange impulse.

The farce thus dispersed. The many law enforcement officers present watched as Tao Jiajia was carried away, feeling that the situation was both absurd and ridiculous.

The phone that had been recovered was placed in an evidence bag and handed to a young man in a suit, who followed the crowd out of the Small Commodities Market.

Just as he reached the roadside and was about to get into the car, the young man in the suit suddenly felt a burning gaze. He looked over subconsciously and felt a bit dazed.

“What are you standing there for? Get in. When that woman wakes up, she’ll definitely fly into a rage again. Don’t get caught in the crossfire,” a colleague nudged the young man and whispered a reminder.

The young man in the suit looked down at the phone in the evidence bag, and a sudden panic gripped his heart.

In his mind, he had taken the wrong phone. The phone that truly belonged to the target had been picked up by a passerby carrying a crossbody bag.

And now, that passerby was standing not far away, looking at him.

The young man in the suit didn't think about whether there were any flaws in this logic; he only knew that he must not let anyone know he had taken the wrong evidence.

“Wait a moment, I’m going to buy cigarettes.”

The young man in the suit replied absentmindedly and impatiently chased after the passerby with the evidence bag, following him all the way to a supermarket.

“You took the wrong phone, didn't you? Here, be careful in the future.” After the young man entered, the passerby handed him a phone of the same model with a smile.

“Thank you, thank you! You’re such a good person!” The young man in the suit thanked him repeatedly, taking the phone out of the evidence bag to exchange it with the passerby.

Immediately after, the young man in the suit turned to buy two cartons of Huazi cigarettes from the shop owner, intending to give one as a token of thanks. But when he finished paying and turned around, the passerby had already vanished.

“Huh? What was I supposed to do?”

The young man in the suit was stunned for a moment, then slapped his forehead. “Oh, right, I came to buy cigarettes.”

...

[Myriad Forms (Temporary/Fragmented): You can consume 10 points of spirituality value to change your appearance into any similar creature you have seen, maintaining it for up to 2 hours. Cooldown: 12 hours]

That passerby just now was precisely Chu Xuan.

When the many law enforcement officers began clearing the area for the search, he had already retrieved the package containing the oil lamp and prepared to evacuate.

In the final few minutes, he consumed 10 points of spirituality value and used the ability of [Myriad Forms] to transform into an ordinary-looking passerby.

Leaving his phone in the sugar-fried chestnut shop, he followed the other citizens through facial recognition and walked out of the encirclement in a grand manner.

However, he didn't leave immediately. Instead, he stayed nearby, silently watching the inside.

And without anyone noticing, he used the ability of [Heart Bewitchment].

He made Tao Jiajia fully expose her ugly side in front of everyone.

Everything that followed went exactly as expected, and he successfully retrieved his phone.

This was the series of plans he had mapped out in the morning when he received the text warning from Tang Zheng and noticed that those catching him were just ordinary people.

As for why he had waited until dark to take this final step, it was naturally to wear down the other party's spirit and energy.

Otherwise, if he had taken this step too early, what if they suddenly decided to check the location again after he got his phone back? Wouldn't all his efforts have been in vain?

By now, it was close to midnight. After such a long period of turmoil, those people must be exhausted and would have no time to worry about him anymore.

“What a fine show.”

The Phantom Demon's voice slowly rang out:

“It’s just a pity that you are still too merciful. Those who offended you have already carried guilt. You should have eaten them directly as punishment; that way, no one would ever dare to offend you again. I can feel the Bloodthirsty longing deep within your heart...”

Chu Xuan's expression remained calm.

Tao Jiajia had caused him no small amount of trouble today. He naturally took it to heart and wouldn't just let it go.

“Mm... speaking of Bloodthirsty, I seem to have sensed the [Bloodthirsty] authority. It truly is crazed and arrogant—worthy of a believer of the Tyrant of Destruction!”

Upon hearing this, Chu Xuan's expression tightened slightly.

Just then, a thunderous boom echoed.

A Star-rated hotel across the road let out a world-shaking explosion. Many glass windows were shattered, and amidst the billowing black smoke, a fire dragon rapidly surged up from the middle of the building, enveloping most of the skyscraper in an instant.