Pursuers
At this moment, the fatigue in Chen Ling's eyes was swept away, and his physical and mental state had both recovered to peak levels!
Although in the ćTimeline Save Fileć he had only closed his eyes for less than two seconds, in reality, Chen Ling had already spent a month in the ćAncient Vault of the Drama Pathć.
This month had been very fulfilling for Chen Ling. His main task every day was sparring with his ćFirst Senior Brotherć, Ning Ruyu. Since stealing that ćBone-Stripping Knifeć, he found its weight and length to be very suitable, so under Ning Ruyu's bizarre gaze, he temporarily used it as his melee weapon.
Under the high-intensity combat load every day, Chen Ling's melee skills skyrocketed. If previously he couldn't last three moves under Ning Ruyu's spear, now, armed with the ćBone-Stripping Knifeć, he could fight back and forth with him for over twenty exchanges... Of course, this was under the condition that neither side used their mental energy.
This was undoubtedly a qualitative leap. One had to know that Ning Ruyu's ćFightingć skills were top-notch across all the ćNine Great Realmsć. The fact that Chen Ling could fight him back and forth in close combat meant his combat techniques had reached an extremely terrifying level, far surpassing ćPath of the Soldierć practitioners of the same tier, or even the Fourth Order.
For the rest of the time, Chen Ling studied ćSingingć with his senior brothers and ćSenior Sisterć, and gathered intelligence related to the ćPath of the Sovereignć.
"You're already well-rested?" ćYang Xiaoć asked in shock. "Didn't you just close your eyes for a second?"
"It's enough. I'm in very good shape right now... very good."
Chen Ling rolled his neck, letting out a cracking sound. His eyes were bright and piercing like a Torchlight, and his essence, qi, and spirit were completely renewed.
"...What a monster." The utterly exhausted ćYang Xiaoć muttered to himself.
At the same time, ćSu Zhiweić turned to look at Chen Ling:
"ćDirector Chenć, can you explain things now?"
Chen Ling had taken ćSu Zhiweić away without fundamentally explaining any situation. Both sides relied purely on trust and the camaraderie of shared hardships. To be honest, ćSu Zhiweić was still very confused about all of this.
Chen Ling didn't answer, but instead looked towards ćYao Qingć in the driver's seat.
"ćYao Qingć is one of us," ćSu Zhiweić said.
"I'm Sister Zhiwei's person!" ćYao Qingć immediately added, staring at Chen Ling through the rearview mirror. "My anti-fraud awareness is very strong! I want to see what kind of tricks you're playing... I'm warning you, as long as I'm here, don't even think about deceiving her."
Chen Ling directly ignored ćYao Qingć's warning. After pondering for a moment, he slowly spoke:
"Doctor Su, recently... have you felt any kind of changes occurring in your body?"
ćSu Zhiweić was taken aback.
"Changes?" ćYao Qingć's heart skipped a beat. "Sister! You're not sick, are you..."
"Not an illness, it's something else... For example, being able to sense things? Being able to control certain things? Or feeling some kind of energy flowing through your body?" Chen Ling's eyes narrowed slightly.
Since leaving ćShennongjiać, ćYang Xiaoć had already been able to faintly sense the presence of magnetic fields. It was highly probable that ćSu Zhiweić would also perceive changes occurring in her body. Starting from this point should allow ćSu Zhiweić to trust him more.
"Hah, as expected of a swindler!" ćYao Qingć gritted his teeth.
"What era is it now, and you're still here using superpowers and special abilities to scam people? My sister is a scientific researcher! How could she possibly believe your nonsense??"
ćSu Zhiweić frowned and thought for a long time, then nodded.
"I have."
This single word instantly made ćYao Qingć, who had been firing on all cylinders, come to a screeching halt.
"No, Sister, you..."
"Since coming out of ćShennongjiać, I've been able to faintly sense some things... It's everywhere, and vibrating at a certain frequency. I can clearly hear their 'sounds'." ćSu Zhiweić closed her eyes. "I thought I was having hallucinations after fainting in ćShennongjiać, so I specifically took a leave of absence to rest at home... But no matter how much I tried to clear my mind, there was no sign of it disappearing. In fact, the sound has been getting louder."
ćSu Zhiweić's answer was pretty much what Chen Ling had guessed. He spoke in a deep voice, "You should be able to guess what it is that you're hearing... right?"
ćSu Zhiweić opened her mouth, seeming to struggle for a long time before tentatively giving her hypothesized answer:
"Is it... 'ćStringć'?"
"The theory you've been researching is currently becoming your power... Doctor ćYang Xiaoć should also have a profound understanding of this." Chen Ling glanced at ćYang Xiaoć, who was also nodding. Chen Ling continued, "The changes happening to your bodies will trigger a series of events in the future, and perhaps even change the world... And right now, someone wants to eliminate you."
"Didn't you also enter ćShennongjiać, ćDirector Chenć? Did you undergo changes too?"
"No, I'm different from you... What I possess is a 'ćDivine Pathć', a concrete manifestation of spiritual civilization. Your 'theories' can actually also be considered spiritual civilization, but there should only be nine of you in the world with this kind of authority."
"No, this is getting more and more ridiculous!!" ćYao Qingć couldn't help but interrupt their conversation. He asked ćSu Zhiweić while driving, "Sister Zhiwei, you don't actually believe his nonsense, do you?! Doesn't this sound exactly like those evil cults?"
"ćYao Qingć, this world is not as simple as you see..."
As a member of the exploration team, ćSu Zhiweić had witnessed a series of supernatural phenomena with her own eyes and walked the line between life and death. She was well aware that Chen Ling's words were not baseless.
But from ćYao Qingć's perspective, as a materialistic college student, he fundamentally couldn't accept it for a while. He only felt that Chen Ling was deceiving ćSu Zhiweić, trying to make her join some evil cult resembling a pyramid scheme. In light cases, she would be swindled out of money and virtue; in severe cases, she would be brainwashed into committing suicide... He had seen too much news of this kind.
ćYao Qingć became anxious. He unconsciously stepped hard on the accelerator. The vehicle shot through the heavy traffic on the main road and sped straight down another path.
"Sister, think about this carefully. I really feel like this whole thing is wrong..."
While ćYao Qingć was still attempting to awaken ćSu Zhiweić's rationality, Chen Ling frowned. His gaze locked onto several vehicles trailing closely behind them through the rearview mirror.
[ćAudience Expectation Valueć +3]
Seeing this prompt, Chen Ling's eyes narrowed slightly...
"Keep driving, head towards a place with fewer people," Chen Ling suddenly ordered.
"What's wrong?"
"Those cars have been following us ever since we left the ćSu Estateć." Chen Ling said in a deep voice. "The traffic on the main road was heavy, so I didn't pay much attention... but looking at it now, they're most likely coming for us."
"Are they ćNie Yuć's men?" ćYang Xiaoć's expression darkened instantly.
"Probably. Since he knows he can't get here in a short time, he sent other people? It seems... he's dead set on killing Doctor Su."
Hearing these words, ćYao Qingć's heart skipped a beat. He also looked behind them. There were indeed several cars following, but he had no impression of them... After all, there were too many cars on the main road earlier, and they were all blocking each other. Who could remember the make or license plate of every single car?
"Are you sure? A lot of cars usually take this road, aren't you overthinking it?" he asked doubtfully.
"They're hiding well enough, but they can't hide from my eyes." A faint glint flashed in Chen Ling's pupils. "ćYao Qingć, was it? If you don't want your Sister Zhiwei dragged into danger, floor the gas pedal and keep driving. Don't worry about the traffic cameras, they won't catch you."
Although ćYao Qingć couldn't tell if Chen Ling was telling the truth or not, since it involved ćSu Zhiweić's safety, he gritted his teeth and stepped on the accelerator. The vehicle instantly sped up and roared forward, running five or six red lights in a row!
At the same time, the several cars behind them also abruptly accelerated, tailing them closely.
"They're really chasing us?!" ćYao Qingć exclaimed in shock.
"What do we do now? It's practically impossible to lose them on this kind of city road network." ćYang Xiaoć asked in a deep voice as he watched the cars biting tightly onto their tail.
Chen Ling's eyes narrowed slightly. He glanced at his remaining ćAudience Expectation Valueć. After a moment of hesitation, a ćBone-Stripping Knifeć slid out from his sleeve...
The mirror-like sharp blade reflected his face and his cold, flashing pupils as he spoke unhurriedly,
"Just keep driving... Leave the rest to me."