No sooner said than done. While the effects of the Shrinking Earth Talisman were still active, Zhao Yuan pushed open his door, planning to find a more spacious area to continue testing its power.
Once outside, he walked very carefully, afraid that he might, like before, cover several meters in a single step and crash into something. The hallway was cluttered on both sides with all sorts of things. Besides the shoe racks and bicycles from each household, there were also some trash cans.
Crashing into shoe racks or bicycles would be one thing, but running into a trash can would just be bad luck... Who knew what kind of stuff people threw in there?
He navigated the corridor with extreme caution and finally reached the stairwell. But then, going downstairs, he ran into another problem. One step covered several stairs. Landing on the steps themselves was fine, but he was terrified of landing on the edge or missing a step entirely. Fortunately, Zhao Yuan's reflexes had improved dramatically after cultivating the Four Saints Technique; otherwise, he would have definitely tripped and tumbled all the way down!
His heart still pounding, Zhao Yuan finally made it downstairs and let out a long sigh of relief. He wanted to see just how far he could go in a single stride under the effect of the Shrinking Earth Talisman.
Just as he took a step, a young couple who lived in the building came home. Zhao Yuan didn't have time to pull his foot back and, right in front of them, crossed a distance of seven or eight meters in a single stride.
The young couple had been acting all lovey-dovey, but they were suddenly stunned when they saw someone WHOOSH—'drifting' seven or eight meters in the blink of an eye.
It was already late at night and pitch-dark. To make matters worse, a nearby streetlight was malfunctioning, flickering erratically on and off, creating a genuinely terrifying atmosphere! The young couple immediately jumped to a paranormal conclusion and shrieked at the top of their lungs, "A ghost! It's a ghost!"
"I'm not a ghost." Realizing he'd caused a commotion, Zhao Yuan quickly turned back and flashed a grin at the couple, wanting to explain.
But under the flickering streetlight, his smile looked downright sinister and terrifying. It scared the couple so badly that they screamed bloody murder and went stumbling and staggering into the distance, leaving Zhao Yuan standing there, completely dumbfounded.
The residents in the building were startled by the couple's piercing screams and poked their heads out to see what the commotion was about.
"Who's down there screaming their head off?"
"Where's the ghost? Where's the ghost? I've lived this long and I've never even seen one!"
"What? A ghost? Honey, quick, grab one of your sanitary pads! Let's show this filthy thing what we're made of!"
This unexpected situation left Zhao Yuan feeling beyond awkward. To avoid being hit by "ghost-slaying Divine Artifacts" like sanitary pads or buckets of feces, he didn't dare linger downstairs any longer. He hastily turned around, went full speed, and bolted out of the residential complex.
And so, the rubbernecking residents witnessed a flickering 'ghostly figure' zip through the complex at high speed. It was a speed that no normal person could possibly possess.
"Holy shit, there really is a ghost?!"
This time, all the onlookers were terrified. The few who had been shouting about exorcising the ghost fell silent, scurried back into their homes, and dug out their red underwear. Not only did they put a pair on, but they also wrapped one around their heads, hoping it would actually ward off evil.
In the time that followed, this little incident spread far and wide, the story growing more and more fantastic with each retelling.
It wasn't just people nearby; even some of the surrounding suburban counties heard that a residential complex in University City was haunted. Rumors even spread that a Fierce Ghost, incredibly vicious, had claimed dozens of lives! The result was that apartments in the complex were impossible to rent out for a long time to come...
Of course, this was all an epilogue. At that moment, how could Zhao Yuan have known that his spur-of-the-moment action would cause so much trouble?
After rushing out of the complex, he slowed his pace, taking tiny, measured steps. Even so, his speed was no different from an ordinary person's sprint.
As Zhao Yuan 'walked', he pondered, 'I need to figure out a way to keep people from seeing my face when I'm testing the Shrinking Earth Talisman at full power. Otherwise, it's bound to cause trouble!'
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a stationery store on the side of the road.
The stationery store catered to the elementary school next door, so besides things like notebooks and pens, it also sold small toys. And on their shelves, Zhao Yuan saw a few cartoon masks.
An idea immediately struck Zhao Yuan. 'I've got it. When I go all out with my test later, I'll wear a mask. That way, even if someone sees me, they won't know it's me.'
He hurried into the stationery store, bought a Bald Qiang mask, and then headed for the nearby Huiling Street.
The street was named for its many curves. Since it was also in a relatively remote location with little traffic, it had attracted street racers. Modified cars often showed up here late at night, when no one was around, to hold illegal street races.
When Zhao Yuan arrived, an underground street race was in full swing. But the police, having received a tip, had also arrived and were setting up roadblocks to catch the racers.
How was Zhao Yuan supposed to know any of this? Seeing that no one was around, he quickly put on the Bald Qiang mask and then took off down the road at full speed!
He was already a fast runner, but with the Shrinking Earth Talisman activated, he was as fast as a hurricane. The surrounding scenery blurred, whipping past him.
The feeling could be described in one word—awesome!
As he ran, Zhao Yuan came upon one of the police roadblocks. Several modified cars had already been stopped, their dejected drivers being dealt with.
Zhao Yuan had no intention of getting involved, so he accelerated and charged past.
An old policeman, who was taking a statement from one of the racers, felt a hurricane-like gust of wind. His instincts told him something had just sped past. He quickly looked up and asked his colleague next to him, "What was that?"
The younger officer he'd asked swallowed hard. "Bald Qiang... just sped past."
"Bald Qiang?" The old policeman was stunned. 'What in the world is he talking about?'
"A person wearing a Bald Qiang mask," the young officer explained.
The old policeman finally understood. He glanced back but didn't see a car. He frowned and asked, "How fast?"
The young officer thought for a moment. "At least a hundred miles an hour!"
"A hundred miles an hour? The speed limit on this road is sixty! He's seriously speeding! Quick, tell the guys at the next checkpoint to stop him!"
"He wasn't driving a car," the young officer corrected.
"Riding a motorcycle? Then we definitely have to stop him!" the old cop said.
"He wasn't on a motorcycle either..." the young officer said.
The old cop frowned. "Then how did he clock over a hundred? Don't tell me he was running on his own two feet."
"You guessed it. He was running on his own two feet," the young officer said, nodding emphatically.
"You said what?" The old cop's jaw dropped, his face a perfect picture of 'you've got to be fucking kidding me'.