Chapter 270: Citywide Manhunt

This live broadcast would be another turning point in my life. Success meant a fish leaping over the dragon gate; failure meant being ground to dust.

I lit my last cigarette and thought quietly, 'This live broadcast can be split into three stages. Before midnight, I'll mainly be dealing with the police. I need to dodge them, find Qiu Ren, and complete the live broadcast task.'

'The second stage starts after midnight. The Two-Faced Buddha, represented by Lu Xing and Qiu Ren, will step in, turning it into a three-way battle.'

'The third stage will be when the winner is decided. The weak will be eliminated, leaving the strong to fight the final showdown.'

My thoughts were clear and my goals defined, but putting them into action would be incredibly difficult.

Even the old man running this convenience store in the urban village knew I was a wanted criminal. Thanks to the media reports, I had become public enemy number one. Any surveillance camera or passing stranger could expose me.

'I have to set up my plans in advance and disrupt the police deployment.' When an individual went up against the state apparatus, they held no advantage in manpower, resources, experience, or authority. If I didn't want to be chased, I had to take the initiative and lead the police by the nose.

Before taking shelter in Xinhu High School, I had memorized the phone numbers of all my key contacts. That preparation was about to pay off.

I gathered a few raincoats—different colors, but all the same brand—and plugged in the landline's phone cord. I called my most trusted ally, Er Gou, first.

"Hello? Er Gou, where are you? How far are you from the Lanjiang Dam?"

"Jian Ge?! My god, you finally called! I thought something had happened to you!"

"Calm down. Where are you right now?"

"I'm in a parking lot a little over two thousand meters away from the Lanjiang Dam. The storm is too heavy, and this whole area is locked down. I just took a look outside, and a ton of cops are rushing this way."

"Cops? Give me your exact location."

"Shanyang Mall Parking City. Jian Ge, you have to be careful. Your wanted posters are plastered everywhere."

"Stay where you are and keep an eye on the police. I'll contact you if anything else comes up. I'm using a landline right now—if this number calls you again, absolutely do not answer it."

"Got it. You stay safe too."

I hung up the phone, my brows slowly pulling into a frown. 'It's not normal for so many cops to head to the Lanjiang Dam. I only told Tie Ningxiang the eight locations tied to the Eight Characters Divine Fiends. She's currently suspended from duty, so there's no way she could mobilize that much manpower. Something must have gone wrong.'

I didn't think Tie Ningxiang would betray me, but logic told me that trusting her carried a certain amount of risk.

I made my second call to Blind Liu. Thanks to a tangled web of karma and fate, this descendant of the Liu family who couldn't leave Jiangcheng was stuck in the same trench as me.

"Gao Jian, you finally called! You're all over the news right now. There's a citywide manhunt..."

"Old Liu, has anyone come looking for you in the past three days?" I interrupted.

"No, I've been hiding at home for the past three days. Thanks to your 'care,' I've already packed my things and am ready to skip town at a moment's notice."

"Good." I let out a breath of relief before laying out my next step. "Old Liu, take all your ritual artifacts and Talisman Incantations and head to the Anxin Hotel. That's where Lu Xing grew up. Now that he's reforming his eight characters, he'll most likely go there!"

"Alright."

"The police might be watching the area around the hotel, so be careful. Also, this is a one-way contact. Make sure you delete the call record for this number. One more thing: the next time I call you, do not pick up right away. If there are no cops around and you are completely safe, wait for the eighth ring before you answer. If you pick up before that, I'll assume the police are with you, and I will instantly change my plans and act accordingly."

"No problem, but are you sure the cops will target me?"

"Don't let your guard down. From the moment you answered my call, I became the only person in this city you can trust."

"Fine, I'll do as you say. But before I head out, I have one question for you." Blind Liu's voice dropped low. "Is the news true? Did you really break into the Jiang Family Villa last night and kill all those people?"

"I only killed one person, and I own up to it! If you want to condemn me or blame me, wait until daybreak." I hung up on Blind Liu and dialed Mr. Gu. My instructions were mostly the same, with one key difference: I told Mr. Gu to head to the Bridge No. 3 Crematorium.

A savage entity was sealed beneath that building. I was worried Lu Xing might use his reformed eight characters to break its seal and unleash chaos upon Jiangcheng.

I couldn't even withstand the might of a single finger from that entity. If it broke out of its seal, the balance of power between me and Lu Xing would be completely shattered.

Unsurprisingly, my fourth call was to Tie Ningxiang. It only rang once before she picked up.

"Senior?" I said. "It's Gao Jian."

"Where are you? All of Jiangcheng is hunting for you, and assistance warrants have been broadcast across the entire province! Gao Jian, I know you were framed..."

"I really did kill someone. They didn't frame me, and I'm going to kill again tonight." I spoke in a frigid tone devoid of any emotion. But as the words left my mouth, an inexplicable ache gripped my heart. A bone-piercing chill seeped from my collar. I looked down. It was the United Heart Jade.

'Are you heartbroken, too?'

"Senior, I'm heading to Nianhua Alley in the Old Town District. If you still want to see me, wait for me there." I hung up the phone. Tie Ningxiang's reactions had seemed incredibly abnormal. There was an eighty percent chance she was already under police control, which meant everything I had told her had likely been passed on to the Jiangcheng Police Headquarters.

'This works out too. At least it'll make things harder for Lu Xing.' Unlike five years ago, the Jiangcheng police had at least narrowed their search radius and locked onto a clear target this time. And there was a reason I had chosen Nianhua Alley. Its passageways were a convoluted maze with countless entry and exit points, making it a nightmare to fully lock down. Moreover, a hidden path within the alley—known to almost no one—led straight to Jiangcheng's largest bank. That would make it easy for me to cash in my Underworld Live Show Points.

Holding the receiver, I pondered for a moment before dialing one last number.

It was a number I was intimately familiar with. I felt like I had remembered it for years, never quite able to completely forget it.

"Hello?" After two or three rings, the call connected. It was a woman's voice. It was deeply familiar, yet it had changed so much since our school days.

"Ye Bing, it's Gao Jian."

"Gao Jian?!" The woman's pitch instantly spiked. "It's been five or six years, and you're finally calling me."

"Why aren't you saying anything? Is something wrong? Don't laugh at me, but my heart is pounding right now. It feels just like the very first time you called me back in school."

It was the same woman on the other end of the line, yet five or six years had left her altered beyond recognition. The only thing that hadn't changed from my memories was this string of numbers.

I didn't reply to Ye Bing's nostalgia. Spilled water couldn't be gathered again, and tonight, I had to let all of this go. "Call the police immediately. Someone is trying to kill you. Don't go outside alone. Those people might already be lurking around your house."

I hung up as soon as I finished speaking. Whether she was left in fear, choking on sobs, or sinking into loneliness, I had no way of knowing.

'I haven't missed anything. The initial groundwork is laid. Now, the real game begins.'

I glanced over at the old man behind the counter. Sitting on a wooden stool for so long had to be exhausting for someone his age.

"Old man, thanks for keeping me company all afternoon. To repay you, I'm going to give you a chance to earn a hundred thousand yuan."

I pushed the landline over to him. "Call the police. Tell them I'm here."

"Call the cops?" The old man shuddered. "I absolutely won't call the police! And I'll never tell them you were here!"

The old man thought I was testing him before silencing him for good, but that wasn't the case at all. This was all part of my plan.

Shaking my head, I pulled the phone back, dialed 11o, and handed him the receiver. "Tell them the truth. Try to sound as convincing as possible."

"Hello, this is the Jiangcheng Public Security Bureau 11o Command Center. How can I help you?"

"I... I saw Gao Jian. The A-level wanted criminal they're showing all over the TV."

"Don't panic, sir. Speak slowly. Where are you right now?"

"I'm at the border of Jiangcheng and Xinhu City. In the faculty housing compound of Xinhu High School. The first convenience store after you turn north."

"What is the suspect doing right now? Has he spotted you?"

"He already spotted me. He—he's standing right next to me!"