Chapter 273: Breaking Free

Cabs were usually equipped with GPS, but I still had a window of safety before the police caught the driver and contacted the taxi company.

Racing down the road at top speed, I didn't dare lower my guard. I used Chasing Eye to stare ahead; the moment I saw a flicker of police lights, I would turn around immediately.

About fifteen minutes later, a police roadblock came into view at the end of the road. The flashing red and blue lights stood out clearly in the rainy night.

'Setting up a roadblock on the main road. Are they trying to trap me here?'

I swerved into a side street. Before I got far, the silhouette of a police cruiser appeared in the taxi's rearview mirror. 'They're already catching up! So fast!'

I maintained my speed, bumping and scraping through the narrow alleys as the police car steadily closed the distance.

When I reached a three-way intersection, I decisively abandoned the vehicle. I changed into a different raincoat and hurried out of the car with Bai Qi.

Hiding deep in the alley, I didn't leave immediately. The taxi blocked the entrance; the police cars wouldn't be able to get in anytime soon.

Peering out, I watched two vehicles pull up. I could clearly see their shapes and the drivers inside.

The first was undoubtedly a police cruiser, but the one following right behind it was just a private car.

'An Audi A8? Since when did the Jiangcheng police get so extravagant?' The private car had a police light mounted on its roof, but the man driving it was only an auxiliary police officer.

Having worked as a trainee officer, I naturally knew the difference between an auxiliary cop, a criminal investigator, and armed police. I shifted my gaze to the passenger seat, where a fat man sat with a bitter expression, talking on his phone.

'Shi Youfu? What is he doing here?' I couldn't hear what he was saying, but given his submissive posture, the person on the other end was likely a high-ranking member of the Jiang family.

'The security captain of Century New Garden driving his own car to help the police hunt down a criminal—the Jiang family sure is enthusiastic!' If the Jiang family was involved in tonight's events, the pressure on me would multiply exponentially.

The Jiang family had operated in Jiangcheng for years; their influence in the city was terrifying.

Pressing down on Bai Qi's head, I retreated deeper into the alley. It took a full half-hour before I finally managed to slip out of the police encirclement.

'I really can't afford to be careless.' Pulling myself together, I repeated my previous trick and "hailed" another taxi. I had the driver avoid the main roads, and this time there were no accidents; the car cruised smoothly along the Route 14 bus line.

We drove all the way to the vicinity of Qingtu Temple before police sirens blared behind the taxi once again.

Heavy rain battered the city relentlessly. The desolate suburbs offered nowhere to hide, and with only a single main road stretching ahead, I had no way to evade them. If they caught up to me now, a direct clash was inevitable.

Even though I had the Fate Ghost on hand and wasn't afraid of the pursuing police, I held no grudge against them. There was no need to hurt them.

'How could the police possibly track me down?'

I turned my head to look at the taxi driver beside me. His hands gripping the steering wheel were trembling non-stop, and his forehead was drenched in sweat.

"Did you do this?"

"N-no..."

"If not you, then who?" With the police car hot on our trail, I couldn't let him stop. I reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his phone, but it was locked.

The driver was terrified. "It must be the dashcam!" he hurriedly explained. "It probably caught you on video. The camera is linked to the company's computers, and the footage is uploaded directly to the company cloud."

Before he could finish, I smashed the dashcam. Just as we neared the Huayuan district, I stopped the car and kicked the driver out.

Because of that slight delay, the police cars were even closer. With nowhere to hide, I had no choice but to risk it and push the speed to its absolute limit.

More and more police cruisers piled up behind me. Steering with one hand, I used the other to pull out the old man's phone, connect to the internet, and message Balding Uncle on WeChat.

"Uncle, are you at the crematorium yet?"

"I'm here! Didn't you already come here for a stream once? Why are we back?" Uncle replied via voice message. "I gotta tell you, coming to a place like this alone is genuinely creeping me out. I don't know how you manage to stay so calm."

"Drive to the previous stop, Zhanduan Watchtower, immediately. From my last stream, I remember there's an abandoned factory there. Just park the car inside. Make sure to turn off the headlights and don't make a sound."

"Why are we changing spots again?"

"Don't ask so many questions. Park the car, leave the keys inside, and wait for me around the corner behind the factory. Make sure you delete everything on your phone related to me—including our voice records and my WeChat account. This is absolutely critical!"

"Hearing you say it like that makes it feel like we're in a movie."

"What's coming next will probably be even more thrilling than you're imagining. Hurry up and do exactly as I said."

After sending the final voice message, I deleted every trace of Balding Uncle from WeChat. I then hid the phone—still powered on and connected to the internet—underneath the passenger seat.

'I'm sorry about this, Uncle.'

...

Ten minutes later, I spotted the dilapidated Zhanduan Watchtower in the distance. The police were biting firmly at my heels, but with the torrential rain and terrible road conditions, they didn't dare follow too closely.

'Here we are!' I yanked the steering wheel, swerving off the main highway. Circling around Zhanduan Watchtower, I quickly found the abandoned factory.

With the headlights cutting through the darkness, I drove past the factory's main gates. The moment I rounded the corner, Balding Uncle's voice rang out.

"Streamer, where are we broadcasting from this time?" Uncle was holding an umbrella, but the downpour was so heavy that most of his clothes were soaked.

Slamming on the brakes, I didn't even cut the engine before I threw open the door and jumped out with Bai Qi.

"Uncle, take this car and get out of here right now!" Without giving him a chance to react, I shoved him into the driver's seat.

"What's going on, Streamer?"

I slapped the car window. "I'll explain when the sun comes up! Drive toward the county district, and absolutely do not let the people behind you catch up!"

"Catch up? Who's chasing you?"

"Remember! If you get caught, insist that I forced you to do everything. Tell them we don't know each other and that today was the first time you've ever seen me." The wailing of police sirens warped in the storm. I couldn't afford to linger. Ignoring the muddy ground, I wrapped my dark raincoat tight, scooped up Bai Qi, and dove into the nearby bushes.

"What the hell is going on?" The commotion behind him was growing louder. Uncle wanted to say something else, but when he accidentally glanced back, he froze. The desolate suburban highway, which should have been pitch black, was now lit up by a long line of flashing police lights. Sirens wailed through the night—the scene looked like a massive National Day parade.

"Holy shit!" Uncle didn't even know what he was so afraid of, but he felt like he had just kicked a massive hornet's nest. Subconsciously, he stomped on the gas and fled for his life.

Uncle sped past, and the long line of police cars chased right after him in a spectacular pursuit.

I waited until the wailing sirens were completely drowned out by the storm before crawling out of the mud. I spat out the rainwater that had flowed into my mouth and climbed into the abandoned factory.

Starting up Uncle's taxi, I smashed its dashcam as well, then drove off in the opposite direction. My destination: Bridge No. 3 Crematorium.

It was the same familiar building. Whether day or night, very few people were ever willing to come here.

After parking the cab, I led Bai Qi inside the crematorium. This place had once been occupied by the ten evils, and an unknown, vicious beast was sealed beneath the building; the danger level was extremely high.

Bai Qi was very familiar with Mr. Gu's scent. With him leading the way, I saved a lot of time as we crossed the courtyard and entered the memorial hall.

This was the very place where I had used the Deity-Inviting Talisman to battle the fierce beast. Pushing the door open, I caught a strange odor drifting through the air. Covering my nose and mouth, I ventured further inside.

"Mr. Gu!"

The figure in the black robe lying in the corner of the hall was indeed Mr. Gu. He had no obvious wounds on his body, but his breathing was as frail as a thread, and his complexion was terrible.

I hurriedly rushed to his side and wedged my arm behind his back, hoping to make him a little more comfortable.

"Gao Jian... I'm sorry. I couldn't stop them."

"What happened? Did you run into Lu Xing?"

Mr. Gu gave a weak nod. Having just been discharged from the hospital, his vitality had taken another severe hit. "When I arrived, I heard noises coming from this room. I slipped in quietly, but I didn't expect Lu Xing to spot me anyway."

"We fought, but I was no match for them. In the end, if they hadn't been in such a rush to leave, I doubt I would have survived." Mr. Gu reached out, pointing toward the Two-Faced Buddha on the hall's wall. "They seemed to be here to retrieve something from the Buddha statue. I couldn't get a good look at the time. Quickly, go see if anything is missing from it."