24: Chapter 24 Counterattack Against the Veteran Driver

The truck suddenly braked.

Chen Mo's van nearly slammed into it. He jerked the steering wheel, and the vehicle skidded across the road in a harsh arc, barely coming to a stop.

The voice of Old Li came through the walkie-talkie.

"Get out."

Chen Mo was stunned for a moment.

"What's wrong?"

"You'll know when you get out."

Chen Mo gripped his cleaver, pushed open the door, and got out.

Old Li stood beside the truck, his back turned to him.

"Old Li?"

Old Li turned around.

His face had changed.

It was not the distortion of a Ghost Shadow, but his expression had become strange, cold.

"Do you know why I brought you here?" he asked.

Chen Mo did not speak.

The Pupil of the Sequence was spinning wildly.

In the golden vision, lines appeared on Old Li's body.

They were not the faint lines belonging to humans from before, but thick, active, writhing lines.

Exactly the same as those Transformed Ones.

"You..."

"Yes," Old Li said. "I am one too."

He took a step forward.

"That woman, that Transformed One, I delivered her myself, but not to save her."

He smiled, a strange smile: "It was to make her become like that, and then I ate her."

Chen Mo gripped his cleaver.

"Why?"

"Because only this way can I live until now," Old Li said.

"Why do you think the Old Driver Alliance had infighting? Because we all discovered this secret. Eating a Transformed One allows you to gain their power and live longer."

He took another step.

"But they dared not. They were afraid of becoming monsters, but I am not."

He spread his arms.

"Look at me. I am still human now, but I have the power of the Ghost Shadow. I am stronger than any Chosen One."

Chen Mo stared at him.

"So, it was a scam from the beginning?"

"A scam?" Old Li laughed. "Not a scam. The Source of the Sequence is real, the Memory Corridor is real. I just needed you to help me get what's inside."

"What thing?"

"The core of the sequence," Old Li said.

"Only those with the Pupil of the Sequence can see it. Once I have it, I can fully complete the Fusion of the Ghost Shadow's power and become a true—"

He didn't finish his sentence.

Because Chen Mo moved.

Infiltrator activated, and Chen Mo disappeared into the air.

Old Li was stunned for a moment, then laughed.

"Invisibility? Is that all you've got?"

He waved his hand, and countless golden threads surged out, covering a ten-meter radius like a net. Chen Mo became visible within the net. The threads wrapped around him, digging into his skin.

Old Li walked over and looked down at him.

"Your ability is useless against me," he said.

"Because I know you too well. Ever since you killed the Crying Face Driver, I have been observing you. Every step you take, every choice you make, is in my eyes."

Chen Mo didn't speak.

He was just waiting.

Waiting for the timing for Prediction.

Old Li continued.

"You are indeed very smart, smarter than any Chosen One I've ever met. But smart people have a flaw: they always think they can calculate the final step."

He crouched down and looked at Chen Mo.

"Do you know? That 'Dragger' you killed earlier was actually arranged by me. There was my mark in her sequence fragment. As soon as you absorbed it, I could locate you."

Chen Mo's eyes narrowed.

So that was it.

It was a trap from the beginning.

"Now, give me your eyes," Old Li reached out his hand.

"I will let you die quickly."

Chen Mo looked at him.

Then he smiled.

Old Li froze.

"What are you laughing at?"

Chen Mo was waiting.

Three seconds.

Two seconds.

One second.

Prediction vision activated.

In three seconds, Old Li would reach out to gouge out his eyes.

But in three seconds, it would also be the moment when the golden threads on Old Li were weakest, because he was focused, excited, and thought he had already won.

Chen Mo suddenly raised his hand.

The cleaver hacked toward Old Li's chest.

Old Li reacted extremely quickly and dodged to the side.

Chen Mo's target was not his chest.

It was the source of the threads wrapped around him.

A small bag on Old Li's waist.

The cleaver hacked into the bag, and the thing inside shattered.

It was a golden stone the size of a fist, covered in complex patterns.

【core of the sequence · Replica】

【Effect: Amplifies the Transformed One's abilities】

【Current Status: Damaged】

Old Li's face changed.

The threads wrapped around Chen Mo instantly disappeared.

Chen Mo stood up and gripped the cleaver.

"Now, it's fair."

Old Li stepped back.

The composure on his face was gone, replaced by fear.

"How did you know?"

Chen Mo didn't answer.

He wouldn't tell him that the Pupil of the Sequence saw it; the source of those threads wasn't in Old Li's body, but in that bag.

Old Li turned and ran.

But Chen Mo was faster.

Infiltrator activated, and he disappeared into the air.

Five seconds later, he appeared in front of Old Li and slashed with his cleaver.

Old Li dodged, but was half a step slow, and a cut appeared on his arm.

It wasn't blood; it was golden liquid.

He was no longer purely human.

Old Li clutched his wound, panting heavily.

"Chen Mo, we can negotiate," he said. "I know many secrets. I can tell you—"

"No need."

Chen Mo slashed again.

Old Li fell to the ground, struggling to get up.

Chen Mo walked over and stood in front of him.

Old Li looked up at him.

On that face, fear, anger, and unwillingness were mixed together.

"You... you won," he said. "But you will die too. They won't let you go..."

"Who?"

Old Li smiled, a strange smile.

"The people above," he pointed to the sky. "Those who are watching us."

His hand reached into his pocket and took something out.

It was a fragment, black, with smoke rising from it.

"Let's die together."

He crushed the fragment.

Instantly, everything around exploded.

Chen Mo was blown away by the shockwave and fell heavily to the ground.

He struggled to climb up and looked at Old Li's location—

Only a large crater remained there.

Old Li was gone.

Not even a corpse.

【Kill? Old Driver】

【Status: Unable to confirm】

【Acquired: Core Highway Map】

【Acquired: Heavy Truck Modification Blueprint】

【Acquired: sequence fragment × 15】

【Current Fragments: 152】

Chen Mo stood in place, panting heavily.

He was covered in wounds, his clothes were torn, and blood was flowing down his face.

But he was still standing.

Still alive.

In the distance, at the end of the highway, the lights of Trading Post No. 1 flickered.

Chen Mo turned and walked toward the van.

He started the engine and stepped on the gas.

The van drove toward the distance.

In the rearview mirror, the large crater got smaller and smaller, finally disappearing into the night.

The last sentence Old Li said still echoed in his mind.

"The people above."

"Those who are watching us."

Chen Mo gripped the steering wheel.

No matter who is above.

No matter what they want to do.

He would find the answer.

And then, make them pay the price.