37: Chapter 37 Mirror Highway

The convoy had been driving on the gray highway for three hours.

Twelve vehicles formed a long Dragon; Iron Bear's off-road vehicle led the way at the front, Hawkeye's rear guard vehicle followed from a distance, and the others' vehicles were in the middle.

Chen Mo's pickup truck was in the middle of the convoy, neither at the front nor the back, a position that wouldn't easily be noticed.

Lin Wei held the steering wheel while Chen Mo sat in the passenger seat, his eyes fixed out the window.

The scenery on both sides of the highway began to change.

The abandoned vehicles grew fewer, the wild fields turned into a desert, and the grayish-yellow sand stretched as far as the eye could see.

The sky was also gray, indistinguishable whether it was clouds or mist, hanging very low overhead as if it might collapse at any moment.

"Something's not right about this place," Lin Wei said.

Chen Mo nodded.

Within the Pupil of the Sequence, those golden lines began to grow chaotic—not the active lines of a Ghost Shadow, but the distortion of some kind of power.

It was as if something was interfering with the normal operation of the rules.

Iron Bear's voice came through the walkie-talkie.

"Everyone, pay attention. We're entering the Mirror Road section ahead. Stay close to the vehicle in front of you; don't fall behind."

Mirror Road.

Chen Mo remembered this name being marked on the map Old Zhou had given him.

[Mirror Road]

[Special Rule: Vehicle mirror images materialize and attack the original.]

[Suggestion: Maintain a constant speed and avoid stopping.]

The pickup truck continued forward.

After driving for another ten minutes, the road surface ahead began to change.

The originally gray asphalt turned into a mirror surface—the kind that could reflect a person's silhouette—smooth and bright, as if someone had laid down a massive mirror here.

Iron Bear's off-road vehicle drove onto the mirror surface.

Chen Mo saw the vehicle's reflection appear in the mirror, identical to the real car, even the searchlight on the roof was reflecting light.

Then, the reflection moved.

Not following, but in reverse: the real car drove forward, while the reflection drove backward.

But they were inside the mirror.

Lin Wei's voice was a bit tight.

"What is that?"

Chen Mo didn't answer.

He stared at the reflection.

After the real car drove past, the reflection did not disappear.

It stopped in place, and then—it crawled out from the mirror.

A black off-road vehicle, identical to Iron Bear's, but its body was pitch black with no reflection, as if it had been cut out from the shadows.

It started its engine and chased after the real car.

The walkie-talkie was a mess of chaos.

"What the hell is that thing?"

"It's chasing me!"

"Shoot! Shoot!"

Gunshots rang out from ahead.

Chen Mo saw Iron Bear's off-road vehicle accelerate, with the black off-road vehicle behind it in hot pursuit.

The two vehicles engaged in a frantic chase on the Mirror Road; the black car was clearly faster and was gradually closing in.

"This is the mirror rule," Chen Mo said.

"Every vehicle will have a mirror image that crawls out from the mirror to attack the original."

Lin Wei's expression changed.

"Then we..."

Chen Mo glanced at the rearview mirror.

Behind the pickup truck, a black pickup truck was crawling out from the mirror.

It was identical to their vehicle.

Even the three rifles fixed in the truck bed were the same.

"Accelerate," Chen Mo said.

Lin Wei floored the accelerator, and the pickup truck surged forward.

The black pickup truck accelerated as well.

The two vehicles chased each other on the highway, the distance between them closing.

Chen Mo gripped his cleaver.

He glanced at the rearview mirror; in the driver's seat of the black pickup truck was a black figure, identical to him.

That face, those eyes, that posture of holding the knife.

Exactly the same.

"Can it copy your abilities?" Lin Wei asked.

Chen Mo thought for a moment.

The Pupil of the Sequence could see through weaknesses, Prediction could see the future, and Stealth could make him disappear.

If the mirror image really could copy them...

"Yes," he said.

Lin Wei's expression grew even more tense.

"Then how do we fight it?"

Chen Mo didn't answer.

He was thinking.

The mirror image could copy abilities, but could it copy thoughts?

It could copy the seven seconds of Prediction, but could it copy the choices made after those seven seconds?

"Slow down," he said.

Lin Wei was stunned for a moment.

"What?"

"Slow down."

Lin Wei let off the gas, and the pickup truck's speed slowed.

The black pickup truck closed in instantly, the distance less than ten meters.

Chen Mo pushed open the car door and stood on the running board.

Through the driver's window of the black pickup truck, that black "Chen Mo" also pushed open the door and stood on the running board.

The two of them looked at each other.

Those eyes were pure black with no whites, and there was something in that gaze—killing intent, but also a look of curiosity.

It was also thinking.

Chen Mo activated Prediction.

Seven seconds later, the black "Chen Mo" would swing its knife at his neck.

But seven seconds later would also be the time when his Prediction expired.

Because the mirror image could copy Prediction, but it couldn't copy the decisions made after the Prediction.

Chen Mo gripped his cleaver, waiting for those seven seconds.

The black "Chen Mo" raised its knife.

Four seconds.

Five seconds.

The knife swung down.

At that exact moment, Chen Mo didn't dodge.

Instead, he took a step forward, meeting the knife with his chest.

The black "Chen Mo" froze.

Because in its Prediction, Chen Mo should have dodged.

But Chen Mo didn't dodge.

This was a choice outside of the Prediction.

The knife slashed into Chen Mo's chest.

But it only cut in a little bit because Chen Mo turned his body at the last moment, letting the blade slide along his ribs.

The wound wasn't deep, but it hurt.

Chen Mo didn't stop.

He swung his knife back, slashing at the black "Chen Mo's" neck.

The black "Chen Mo" tried to dodge, but its movement was a tiny bit slow.

The knife cut in.

Black liquid gushed out.

The black "Chen Mo's" body began to disintegrate, turning into countless fragments that scattered across the Mirror Road.

Chen Mo jumped back into the pickup truck and closed the door.

Lin Wei looked at the wound on his chest, her face turning pale.

"Are you crazy?"

Chen Mo didn't answer Lin Wei.

He tore off a piece of his clothing and gave the wound a simple bandage.

"Keep driving," he said.

Lin Wei grit her teeth and stepped on the gas.

The pickup truck continued forward.

Ahead, Iron Bear's off-road vehicle was still in the middle of a chase.

The black mirror vehicle had caught up and was driving side-by-side with the real car.

In the driver's seat of the black car, a black "Iron Bear" was throwing a punch at the window.

Chen Mo picked up the walkie-talkie.

"Iron Bear, listen to me."

Iron Bear's roar came through the walkie-talkie.

"Speak!"

"Your mirror image can copy your abilities, but it can't copy your choices," Chen Mo said. "Do something outside of its Prediction."

Iron Bear was silent for a second.

Then he heard a loud bang.

Iron Bear's loud laughter came through the walkie-talkie.

"It works!"

Chen Mo put down the walkie-talkie.

Ahead, Iron Bear's off-road vehicle had already shaken off the black mirror image.

The black vehicle was slowing down, eventually stopping on the highway and slowly disappearing.

The voices of others came through the walkie-talkie one after another.

"It's settled on my end!"

"Me too!"

"This method works!"

Lin Wei glanced at Chen Mo.

"How did you think of that?"

Chen Mo didn't answer.

He just looked out the window.

The Mirror Road was still extending, but the black mirror images had all disappeared.

Only the smooth mirror surface remained, reflecting the gray sky.

And the silhouettes of the convoy as it drove away.