Chapter 176

Chapter 176: Urgent, Urgent, Urgent!

It took three or four days for a group led by someone with no sense of direction to escape the forest. If they had been walking, it would have been ridiculous, but the standards of ordinary people obviously couldn’t be applied to ability users.  

The existence of superpowers was inherently meant for cheating. If it weren’t for Yiwen’s limited stamina and control, they probably could have flown out on the same day.  

But here’s the question, where did Mi Xiaoliu, who was just with Yiwen, go?  

The answer, in Wei Shi’s car.  

“Hand it over,” Wei Shi stretched out his hand.  

Mi Xiaoliu obediently passed the teleportation device to Wei Shi, then gently tugged at his sleeve. “Yiwen.”  

Wei Shi stared at her expressionlessly.  

“Yiwen.” Her voice was even softer this time.  

“Are you stupid? She bullies you, and you still think about her?” The Hermit in the passenger seat turned around and rapped Mi Xiaoliu’s head.  

Over the past few days, she had occasionally used her clairvoyance to check on Mi Xiaoliu. Sometimes, she’d catch Yiwen spanking Mi Xiaoliu’s butt, and Mi Xiaoliu wouldn’t even resist.  

The Hermit’s blood pressure instantly spiked. How dare you bully our mascot?  

Even she couldn’t bring herself to go too far when teasing her.  

“We’ve already reached this point. She’ll be fine,” Wei Shi turned his head away.  

Cars couldn’t drive into the forest, so the search progress had slowed considerably, even directly affecting Wei Shi’s plans. For now, he recalled Hayato Shigenobu for other arrangements, and Mi Xiaoliu’s disappearance was the result of pulling the same trick again.  

The reason he didn’t bother with Yiwen was to avoid indirectly offending the Hermit.  

It was clear Wei Shi was also angry—though his anger was directed at Mi Xiaoliu for running off again.  

When he brought her back, he didn’t even let her walk. The entire way, he carried her by the collar like a cat, her feet dangling in the air without touching the ground.  

Mi Xiaoliu deactivated her beginner combat suit and sat upright obediently, letting Wei Shi take a photo to send to Heli.  

Within the Night Hawk squad, her conventional identity was no longer a secret. For Night Hawk members, it was hard to keep secrets anyway.  

She checked the items in her pocket—two phones and an ugly-as-sin gift box—all intact, with even the phones’ battery levels unchanged.  

Well, she could have just found a hidden spot to change out of her suit and retrieve the phones without Yiwen noticing. But on the first day, Yiwen had watched her like a hawk. On the second day, when she extracted drinking water and tried to show off to Yiwen, she ended up getting spanked instead—so she didn’t dare take out the phones after that.  

She was afraid Yiwen would spank her again.  

In a way, this was an unconventional storage method that didn’t take up system inventory slots. The beginner combat suit would overwrite her original outfit, but the whereabouts of the original clothes remained a mystery.  

With the teleportation device confiscated by Wei Shi, she now had extra space to carry Yiwen’s birthday gift.  

“What the hell does that little white-haired brat deserve?” Sasha said weakly. “By the way, it’s been three or four days. The Red Prince must’ve escaped long ago, right?”  

The biggest failure was that, in the end, she still couldn’t make her master hate the little white-haired girl.  

“Little sis, you’re seriously something else. You even dared to go near a meteorite crater. Did you miss me?” Hayato Shigenobu raised an eyebrow at Mi Xiaoliu and handed her a pack of gum as proof of her return to human society.  

That wasn’t entirely accurate, though—she had only experienced three days of “wilderness survival,” and even then, she had access to purified water and fresh, safe fruits since Yiwen tested them for poison.  

Wei Shi, sitting in the driver’s seat, tilted his head slightly. Though he wasn’t facing them, Hayato inexplicably felt a death glare and immediately turned away, pretending to admire the scenery.  

However, the car hadn’t even started yet. It sat quietly by the riverbank, with Wei Shi, the driver, looking down at his phone.  

“The Governor’s already on the move.”  

“He’s that fast?” The Hermit was surprised and checked her own phone.  

Though they had only hired miscellaneous mercenaries, the amount of money spent ensured at least some quality. Even now, the Governor’s people hadn’t noticed they were being followed.  

The Hermit had originally estimated it would take at least another three or four days before he entered Sunshine City’s borders… Did he not even let his drivers rest? Even if the drivers took shifts, didn’t he need to step out and take a break himself?  

“Tch.” Wei Shi turned his head irritably toward the back seat.  

All because of one troublemaker, his plans had been delayed.  

Mi Xiaoliu shrank back, covering her forehead protectively with both hands.  

But Wei Shi didn’t do anything to her. Instead, he pulled out a hamburger from the storage compartment—no one knew when he’d bought it—and, under Mi Xiaoliu’s seemingly expectant gaze, tossed it to Hayato Shigenobu.  

“Make her watch you eat it. If you let her take even one bite, you’re dead.”  

A new form of punishment.  

“Got it.” Unfortunately, Hayato was the kind of sadistic person who wouldn’t share even if the other party looked pitiful.  

“What’s the plan now? If we wait until he reaches the city, the defenses will be tighter,” the Hermit said from the passenger seat, secretly passing another hamburger to Mi Xiaoliu through the gap in the seatback.  

Wei Shi saw it clearly but couldn’t be bothered to call her out.  

“Next step? We switch cars.”  

Finally, the man occupying the driver’s seat put down his phone and drove away from this godforsaken place.  

It wasn’t until Wei Shi parked at the entrance of some village and tossed both him and the little princess out that Hayato understood what he meant by “switch cars.”  

So “switching cars” just meant the two of them were getting swapped out? Hayato had been looking forward to this mission, but now it had turned into escorting a little girl home.  

A rural village with brick-and-tile houses—who knew Sunshine City still had places like this?  

Several cars were parked at the village entrance, likely belonging to city workers who had brought their kids back to their hometowns during summer vacation. At least it made things convenient for them.  

Hayato casually picked a car that looked expensive but had been deliberately driven into a ditch, then demonstrated his expert car-stealing skills to Mi Xiaoliu using the organization’s specialized tools.  

The car’s owner rushed out of his house, shouting and trying to lock the two inside with his remote key, but it was useless—Hayato almost laughed out loud. It was like an open-world game: the more NPCs overreacted to the player’s mischief, the more fun it was.  

But were they really just going back without doing anything?  

“Hey, little sis, did you know? The boss is going to assassinate the Governor. That’s seriously dangerous—he might even die there,” Hayato said with an exaggeratedly troubled expression.  

Mi Xiaoliu glanced at him.  

“Let’s go check it out. You can watch from afar—I just want to have some fun,” Hayato bluntly stated his intentions.  

Completely forgetting how Wei Shi had taught him a lesson last time.  

————————  

While Mi Xiaoliu was hauled off to safety, Yiwen wasn’t so lucky.

Mi Xiaoliu was swiftly taken to a safe place, but Yiwen wasn’t so lucky.  

She thought the Black-Clothed One has something urgent to attend to—maybe needing to relieve themselves. Since they couldn’t communicate, the black-clad figure had often slipped away without a word these past two days. Even if they tried to signal her beforehand, Yiwen couldn’t understand what they meant.  

So, she just stood there foolishly, waiting for an hour.  

Well, of course—once they reached a proper path, it was time to part ways. Why stick around and wait to be caught by her? Though after so many encounters, Yiwen had already realized that in a real fight, she stood no chance against them.  

It was summer vacation. She had already applied for time off, so why waste her break obsessing over that little b*tch? She should be focusing on Mi Xiaoliu instead. All her summer plans were ruined, and she hadn’t even gotten any leads related to her father.  

Frustrating.  

There was only one path, not even a fork in the road. No matter how bad her sense of direction was, she could still find her way out.  

At the end of the path, she came across a large, all-wooden house—the kind city kids dreamed of when they were little. But after calling out a few times, no one answered.  

Exhausted both physically and mentally, Yiwen didn’t bother with politeness and barged right in. A strong smell of leather hit her immediately. There were clear signs of recent habitation—fresh traces of life inside. Probably out hunting.  

She drank some of their water and then… took some bread. After that, Yiwen quietly sat on the steps outside, waiting. But even after a long while, no one showed up.  

Either the owner of the house was also lost in the forest, or they had gone to sell their freshly hunted game in a nearby settlement.  

The latter seemed more likely since there was no car around the house.  

She also didn’t see a landline phone inside. These days, everyone just uses their mobile phones.  

Just her luck—finally finding a house, and no one was home. She must have used up all her good fortune back at Red Prince’s place.  

The best choice in this situation was to stay put and wait for the owner to return. Yiwen knew that. But when she went to use the bathroom, she stupidly got disgusted by how dirty their outhouse was and decided to go find a bush to pee in instead.  

And then… she couldn’t find her way back. Even flying up high didn’t help—the house blended perfectly into the forest.  

Yiwen felt like slapping herself. After living like a wildling for days, she had the nerve to complain about their outhouse?  

She had no choice but to fly out of the forest. The moment she did, the world opened up before her.  

Just three or four days had been unbearable. She couldn’t even imagine how tough those survival experts who lasted a week or a month in the wild must be.  

There were no fences marking the edge of the natural reserve, and she hadn’t seen a single forest ranger the entire time. It seemed that even after leaving the forest, she still wasn’t within Sunshine City’s boundaries.  

Honestly, leaving the forest didn’t change much for her.  

The despair of someone with no sense of direction.  

That little b*tch was probably in the same situation—running off alone, unable to fly, with no idea how to get back.  

Just as Yiwen was about to fly up again to get her bearings, she heard the sound of a car in the distance. It wasn’t very loud, but in the wilderness, it was easy to pick up.  

She quickly stopped flying and landed barefoot on the ground.  

When asking for help, it was best not to reveal her identity as a superhuman. Otherwise, she’d most likely just get mocked.  

It was a convoy of six off-road vehicles, driving straight across the uneven terrain.  

Yiwen waved at them. Thankfully, these people weren’t completely indifferent.  

But no one got out to check on her.  

Instead, the dark red car stopped in front of her. The rear window rolled down, revealing the face of what looked like a middle-aged man.  

His hair was slicked back in a greasy style, white—the unnatural kind from aging. He wore a simple plaid shirt.  

If not for the sunglasses that added an air of authority, he would’ve looked like a kindly uncle nearing retirement age.  

He gave Yiwen a once-over. “Young lady, did something bad happen to you?”  

No wonder he asked—Yiwen looked terrible. Her hair was a mess, her face hadn’t been washed in two days, and though her clothes were somewhat tidy, she was still barefoot.  

The only reason he could tell her gender was because of her pink pajamas with cute patterns.  

What? Boys could wear that too? Well, with his old-fashioned mindset, even if she were a boy, he wouldn’t be wrong to call her “young lady.”  

“I got separated from my group while camping. I’ve been lost for three days. Could you give me a ride? Just to somewhere with people,” Yiwen pleaded, trying not to let her eyes wander as she observed the car’s interior.  

Normally, when a car stopped for a pedestrian, it should’ve been the driver who rolled down the window to talk. But this driver didn’t even show his face—the car had stopped just so the man in the back could speak to her.  

She couldn’t tell much about the other vehicles, but with so many cars, there had to be a lot of people. As for this one, she couldn’t see the front seats clearly, but at least the back only had this man.  

After Yiwen finished speaking, the air went silent for a couple of seconds—as if she’d said something she shouldn’t have.  

The atmosphere was so strange that she couldn’t help suspecting this man was some kind of underworld boss. Maybe there was even contraband in the car.  

“Sure, sure. No problem,” he said, sounding like he was either comforting her or persuading someone else.  

With a click, the car’s locks disengaged. The greasy-haired man scooted over to make room.  

Yiwen opened the door and glanced at the driver. Instantly on guard, she hesitated before getting in.  

The driver’s outfit was bizarre—it resembled the Akatsuki’s red-cloud robe, with a high collar covering the lower half of his face. Underneath, he wore a mask like Kakashi’s for extra concealment.  

Hiding his appearance…  

The passenger seat held a red-haired beauty with frameless glasses, who gave Yiwen a friendly smile as a greeting.  

Unsure whether to get in or leave, Yiwen froze awkwardly—until the driver subtly adjusted his clothes to show her his badge. Only then did she relax a little.  

It was the emblem of the Superhuman Police—every officer’s uniform had one.  

“Young lady, this isn’t exactly camping territory. If you walk another two or three kilometers north, you’ll run into a meteor crater,” the greasy-haired man pointed out, seeing right through her excuse.  

“Oh… really? Maybe I walked too far, then,” Yiwen replied with a dry laugh.  

Come to think of it, wasn’t the state governor supposed to visit Sunshine City this month? Could this man be him?  

He did kind of look like the guy on TV, though she didn’t watch the news much.  

Whatever. Governor or not, it had nothing to do with her. All she cared about was whether she could still make it to the concert with Xiaoliu this month—she’d already booked the tickets.  

“Uncle, could I borrow your phone? I need to let my family know I’m safe.”  

“Of course, of course.” The man readily handed over his phone, unlocking it with a pattern before passing it to her.  

Yiwen first called Mi Xiaoliu—she had that number memorized.  

Busy. Again—who was that little brat talking to now? 

(It was Heli, letting her know she was safe.)  

Next, she called her mom. The call connected almost instantly.  

“Hello?”  

“Mom.” Yiwen’s voice was a little stiff using the affectionate term.  

“Yiwen?” Raven’s voice was thick with emotion, on the verge of tears. “Where did you go? Did you offend someone? Are you okay? Where are you? I’ll come get you right now—”  

“It’s… a long story. I’m fine, just haven’t eaten well these past couple of days.” Yiwen forced a laugh. “I don’t know where I am right now. I’ll call you again once I get somewhere with people.”  

How was she supposed to explain her location? Hey Mom, I’m near a meteor crater? Even if she sent her GPS coordinates, it wouldn’t help.  

She felt a little guilty, but being worried over like this… it kind of felt nice.  

“Okay…” Raven exhaled deeply, as if steadying her heartbeat. “What about Xiaoliu? Is he with you?”  

“Huh?” Yiwen was confused. “What about Xiaoliu? Why would he be with me?”  

Though in another sense… they had been together.  

Instead of an answer, she got a beep—the call had ended.  

Heli had called Raven on WeChat to let her know Mi Xiaoliu was safe. Raven had wanted to talk more with her daughter but accidentally accepted Heli’s call on the other line.  

Yiwen: “……”  

So what happened to Mi Xiaoliu?! Why leave her hanging like that?!  

Urgent, Urgent, Urgent (Panic)!

[Translator’s Note: See the index page for this Novel if you want to see the Amazon Link for the eBooks.]

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