514: Chapter 514 Changing the Timeline, Bloodthirsty Instinct

"Clack."

The colored pencil in her hand snapped, making a crisp sound.

The starlight in Lin Chuqiao's eyes instantly receded, restoring their original stark black and white.

She couldn't care about the paint stains on her hands, staring intently at the newly completed painting on the table, her face looking somewhat pale.

This was something she insisted on doing every day—divining fortune and misfortune for Fang Cheng.

Ever since learning about the threat of Utopia, especially the existence of that mysterious leader, the string in her heart had never relaxed.

No matter how confident Fang Cheng acted, she couldn't truly feel at ease.

Therefore, every morning after waking up, she would routinely use her predictive ability.

Even if she only captured a glimpse of the future, it could give an early warning and allow Fang Cheng to be a bit more prepared.

But past visions were mostly blurry, or just trivial fragments of daily life.

But today's painting…

Tubular Building, explosion, chase, jumping from a building.

This was clearly a life-and-death struggle happening in Jiuchang Street!

"Has the danger already approached…"

Lin Chuqiao muttered to herself, her fingers gently stroking the figure of the man in the painting, her eyes filled with worry.

The rough touch of the paper came from beneath her fingertips, as if she could feel the scorching heat waves and suffocating sense of urgency rushing straight at her from the painting.

This caused her breathing to involuntarily quicken a bit.

But Lin Chuqiao did not let herself immerse in this unease for too long.

As the "housekeeper" of the Illuminati, and even more so as the woman behind him, now was definitely not the time to panic.

Lin Chuqiao took a deep breath, forcibly steadying her mind.

Then she grabbed the phone placed by the table, unlocked the screen, and her fingertips rapidly tapped on the keyboard.

Even if it was just a vague early warning, even if it was just a lead of a few hours, it might become the key to turning the tables at the juncture of life and death.

"I must tell Fang Cheng immediately!"

The moment the phone connected, a slightly heavy sound of breathing came from the earpiece.

In the background, there seemed to be a soft sound of some metal equipment clicking back into place.

"Hello, Chuqiao?"

Fang Cheng's voice was steady and powerful, exuding the heat of someone who had just finished high-intensity exercise.

Lin Chuqiao's fingers holding the phone tightened slightly.

Hearing this familiar voice, her heart that had been hanging in mid-air dropped slightly, but her throat felt as if it were blocked by cotton.

The word "Careful" that reached her lips couldn't be spoken out for a moment.

"...It's me."

She took a deep breath, trying hard to make her vocal cords sound less trembling:

"So early, I didn't disturb your rest, did I?"

"No, I just finished a set of training."

On the other end of the line, Fang Cheng seemed to have sensed something, picking up the towel hanging around his neck to wipe the sweat off his face.

Pausing, the ease in his tone instantly receded, and he asked casually:

"Your voice sounds a bit wrong... Did something happen?"

Lin Chuqiao smiled bitterly; as expected, nothing could be kept from him.

"Brother Cheng, you must calmly listen to me finish what I'm going to say next."

Her gaze fell once again on the shocking painting on the desk, steadying her mind before saying in a deep voice:

"I just made another prediction, not that kind of vague sense, but a very clear picture."

"The situation shown in the picture is very perilous, and the location is right at the Tubular Building where you live in Jiuchang Street. A violent explosion happened there, flames soared into the sky, thick smoke billowed, and the entire floor was blown off."

"I saw you in the sea of fire, being hunted down and jumping down from the rooftop..."

Speaking to the end, her voice already carried a trace of undisguised anxiety:

"Brother Cheng, Utopia might have already tracked you down, and that place is no longer safe. Can you not go back tonight? Or... move directly to my place?"

The other end of the phone fell into a brief silence.

A few seconds later, Fang Cheng's voice sounded again:

"Don't panic."

"Chuqiao, tell me every detail you saw."

Fang Cheng's as-steady-as-a-mountain tone carried a soothing power, instantly calming Lin Chuqiao's mind on the other end of the line a bit.

She furrowed her willow-like eyebrows, staring at the drawing paper on the table, and recalled carefully:

"I saw a blazing fire across the sky, you running wildly on the rooftop, leaping down, closely followed by the figure of a man..."

Lin Chuqiao spoke very slowly, weighing every word, striving to recount the scenes she saw without any omission.

Including the process of the fight, the intensity of the explosion, and the destruction and impact on the surrounding environment.

Fang Cheng listened quietly, without a single ripple rising in his pitch-black pupils.

It was as if the person being hunted down and deeply trapped in danger in Lin Chuqiao's mouth was not himself.

He held the phone in his hand, looking at the scenery outside the window, sharp glimmers flashing slightly in his eyes.

Explosion, chase, jumping from the building.

It seemed that Utopia's counterattack came even faster and was much more ruthless than expected.

These people actually dared to directly make a move in a bustling downtown area, creating such a huge commotion.

Could it be that they were confident in eliminating the subsequent impact and resisting the investigation by the Xia Country authorities and the Special Investigation Team?

"Chuqiao, in the picture you saw, what did the person who attacked me look like? Are there any specific facial features?"

Fang Cheng thought for a moment and immediately grasped the key point.

"Specific features? I can only barely see a bit..."

Lin Chuqiao frowned deeply, trying hard to recall, her tone somewhat annoyed:

"The picture showed nighttime, that person's figure was a bit blurry, plus the surroundings were full of flames and thick smoke, which interfered with my perception."

"I could see that he wasn't tall, wore black clothes, had a rather thin face shape, and right, he had a mustache on his upper lip, and a black mole grew on his forehead..."

Speaking of this, Lin Chuqiao increased her tone a bit and added:

"Brother Cheng, I can feel that person's killing intent is very heavy, and... extremely fast, so fast that even my perception can hardly capture it, he has been biting tightly behind you."

"Oh, it seems not a mental ability user, but rather an agility-leaning assassin-type opponent."

Fang Cheng nodded slightly, muttering in a low voice.

In his mind, he quickly constructed a portrait of the enemy.

Subsequently, he clearly and logically threw out the second question:

"Then, what about the specific time? Can you judge roughly when this matter will happen?"

"Very soon."

Lin Chuqiao answered very affirmatively this time, glanced at the broken red pencil in her hand, and said in a deep voice:

"The picture I saw is very clear, the color saturation is extremely high, especially that big fire, which is blindingly red in the dark night, and even the wind direction of the thick smoke can be distinguished, just like watching a live broadcast..."

"Brother Cheng, you know my ability, the content of the prediction is a possibility on a timeline, the blurrier the picture, the further the time, the more variables."

"And the clearer the picture, the more realistic the colors, which means..."

Speaking up to here, Lin Chuqiao couldn't help but pause, and the words below were somewhat unspeakable for a moment.

"It means that the node where this matter happens is already very close, and the probability is almost one hundred percent."

Fang Cheng immediately took over her words, his tone as calm as if discussing tomorrow's weather.

"That's right."

Lin Chuqiao let out a breath, not denying his judgment, a trace of anxiety carrying in her voice:

"According to past experience, this kind of clarity means the matter is imminent, and the time of occurrence will definitely not exceed twenty-four hours."

"Even very likely... tonight."

"Twenty-four hours..."

Fang Cheng repeated this time node, then chuckled softly.

There was not the slightest fear in that laughter, but instead it exuded a strong self-confidence and a biting Battle Intent.

"Enough."

"Fang Cheng, I'm not joking with you!"

Lin Chuqiao's voice raised a bit, persuading anxiously:

"This time is really dangerous, it's obviously Utopia tracking down your whereabouts, sending someone to retaliate against you for ruining their plan."

"How about you first take your mother to leave Jiuchang Street, go somewhere else to hide, as long as you leave that place..."

"Useless."

Fang Cheng decisively rejected the proposal, his voice so calm it was close to cruel:

"Since the other party can find my address, even if I take my mother to leave Jiuchang Street, I'm afraid it'll still be hard to escape their monitoring, and instead it would bring danger elsewhere, implicating my mother and other relatives and friends."

"But..."

Lin Chuqiao wanted to persuade further, but was at a loss for words for a moment.

She of course understood what Fang Cheng said was right.

But concern makes one chaotic; agreeing intellectually is one thing, and accepting emotionally is another.

"Chuqiao."

Fang Cheng interrupted her words, his tone gentle yet unquestionable:

"Predicting the future is not to make us feel fear and worry, but to give us time to rewrite it."

"Now that we already know the script content, let me change this ending."

"Besides, evasion is not my style. If this nail is not pulled out, it will always hang over our heads. Rather than defending against thieves a thousand days, it's better to solve it once and for all."

The other end of the phone fell silent for a moment.

Lin Chuqiao lowered her head, looking at the painting on the desk, her voice full of self-blame:

"Brother Cheng, I'm sorry. I predicted for you several times before, but didn't find any signs at all, until this morning I saw these..."

"I'm really too useless. If I could have sensed it a bit earlier, I could have prepared more thoroughly."

Hearing this, Fang Cheng did not comfort her, but raised his eyebrows slightly:

"You predicted for me every day before, did you completely fail to perceive this danger?"

"Yeah."

Lin Chuqiao was slightly startled, then sighed dejectedly:

"The pictures perceived before were all very peaceful daily life, without any abnormalities."

"I believe in your ability."

Fang Cheng thought thoughtfully and muttered:

"If certain interference factors are excluded, this can only show that the assassin was not premeditated for a long time, and most likely just happened to trace here by chance, or suddenly received an order."

"Because the incident happened suddenly, maybe even running directly into me and exposing their tracks, they chose to make a move, which is why they didn't leave traces on the long-term timeline."

Lin Chuqiao's eyes lit up:

"You mean... this attack was a spur-of-the-moment decision?"

Fang Cheng didn't answer, instead asking:

"Did you see other suspicious people appearing around?"

Lin Chuqiao recalled for a moment and shook her head gently:

"No, they all seemed to be unimportant passersby. If there were abnormalities around, I should have been able to perceive them."

"That's right."

A cold gleam flashed in Fang Cheng's eyes:

"The protagonists in the picture are only me and the assassin, isn't that obvious enough? The other party clearly didn't prepare a rigorous capture plan and struck alone."

"Then I'll send more manpower to help you!"

Hearing this, Lin Chuqiao suddenly realized, her tone full of urgency:

"Right, Dachui and Monkey have already arrived in Dongdu, I'll have them rush over immediately to help you."

"Chuqiao, don't be too nervous."

Fang Cheng chuckled softly, that smile exuding bone-chilling coldness:

"Since I've already seen the script in advance, how this play is performed, where, when, and with whom, is no longer up to them."

"Now the initiative can be said to be completely in our hands."

Lin Chuqiao opened her mouth, wanting to say something more, but was interrupted by Fang Cheng a step ahead.

"You just said, in the picture you saw, I jumped down myself, instead of being knocked down, right?"

Lin Chuqiao was stunned for a moment, looked at the painting again, identified it carefully for a while, and nodded:

"Right. Your posture is very relaxed, looking like active evasion, not like falling down losing balance."

"Then you should feel even more relieved."

Fang Cheng's mouth curved slightly upward, saying calmly:

"It shows that until the very last moment, I still have room to counterattack."

"After all, with my perceptual ability, it's impossible for the other party to approach silently. Maybe it was still me discovering his whereabouts and actively choosing to strike."

He pondered slightly, then instructed:

"Chuqiao, help me do one thing. You immediately contact Dachui and Monkey, set up surveillance in Jiuchang Street, especially unfamiliar faces entering and leaving the Tubular Building, help me screen them, and pay special attention to that Man in Black matching your description."

"Since the matter will happen within a day, the other party should also be about ready to enter the field to scout the location and figure out my background."

"Okay, I'll send people over right now."

Lin Chuqiao bit her white teeth lightly, forcing herself to calm down: "Is there anything else that needs help?"

"That's it, leave the rest to me."

Fang Cheng paused and added a sentence:

"Tonight, no matter what commotion you hear, don't come over. This is my hunting ground, I don't want extra variables to cause the situation to get out of control."

"Brother Cheng..."

Lin Chuqiao stopped talking mid-sentence, her heart filled with worry.

"Trust me."

Fang Cheng's voice became a bit gentler, yet carried strong confidence:

"No matter if it's an explosion or an assassination, I will personally twist and change this timeline, my destiny can only be controlled by myself!"

The other end of the phone fell into a long silence.

For a long time, Lin Chuqiao's helpless yet trust-filled sigh came through:

"Alright... I know I can't persuade you. But you must promise me to be extremely careful."

"If needed, me, the professor, and other Illuminati members are all on standby at any time."

"Rest assured, I know my limits."

After hanging up the phone, Fang Cheng put it aside, the smile on his face vanishing completely in an instant.

He stood on the balcony, the early morning sunlight was a bit dazzling, yet it couldn't shine through the gloom at the bottom of his eyes.

Outside the window, this city had completely awakened.

On the distant viaduct, traffic was weaving like a fabric, and the hustle and bustle of the morning rush hour faintly came over.

Fang Cheng's mind flashed with the thrilling scene described by Lin Chuqiao.

In his heart, not only was there not the slightest fear, but instead a surge of irrepressible excitement welled up.

That was a beast's instinctive restlessness after smelling blood.

Pondering for a long time, a sharp gleam flashed in his eyes, vaguely having a plan set.

Then he turned and walked into the kitchen, opened the freezer, took out a piece of raw beef and threw it into his mouth, chewing while continuing to refine the plan.

Bright red blood burst between his teeth, carrying an original fishy sweetness.

After supplementing nutrition, Fang Cheng casually took out a large bottle of iced mineral water, tilting his head back to gulp it all down.

The icy liquid slid down his esophagus into his stomach, making his already calm brain even clearer.

"Want to retaliate against me?"

He wiped his mouth, the tip of his tongue sweeping across the residual bloodstain on the corner of his lips, hooking up a bloodthirsty arc.

"Then let's see, who on earth will be the aerial acrobat tonight."