Su Ze sprinted to the roadside and jumped into a taxi.
He didnāt breathe a sigh of relief until the car pulled away, feeling as though heād just cheated death.
He couldnāt stay in Mu Country any longer. The Zhao Family had already tracked him to the bathhouse where he was staying. If he hadnāt happened to be out today, he wouldāve been caught.
Especially since he had just killed Gao Long. By tomorrow, the Zhao Family would likely brand him a fugitive murderer and put out a city-wide arrest warrant for him.
āGood thing I can leave tomorrow. I just have to get through tonight...ā
Sitting in the back of the taxi, Su Ze took out Gao Longās phone and wallet. Heād only taken them to avoid leaving the Zhao Family any more clues, hoping to buy himself some time.
For example, the Black Bar membership card in Gao Longās wallet. If the Zhao Family followed that lead, they could quickly track him to the Black and White Bar.
When they passed a public restroom, Su Ze asked the driver to stop. Using the excuse of needing the toilet, he threw Gao Longās wallet and phone down the drain of a squat toilet.
He then got back in the car and had the driver take him to the vicinity of the Black and White Bar.
He chose not to go into the Black and White Bar. If the Zhao Family surrounded the place tonight, heād be a sitting duck.
After wandering the area for a bit, Su Ze walked into a 24-hour convenience store not far from the Black and White Bar. He ordered a coffee, found a seat in a corner, and settled in. He planned to wait there until dawn before heading to the Black and White Bar for the rendezvous.
Su Ze mulled over his fight with Gao Long. In terms of raw power, he was actually weaker than him. As a minor local prodigy, Gao Longās combat strength was nothing to scoff at. There was a clear gap between them in both number of skills and physical conditioning. The only reason heād managed a one-shot kill was the perfect synergy between his abilities.
Rhino Charge ensured he could close the distance. The perfect combination of Ant Power and "Needle Strike" boosted his instantaneous burst damage to a terrifying level. Since Gao Long couldnāt withstand his strongest blow, defeat was inevitable.
āMy current skill set has its advantages: high burst, insane damage output. It allows for a one-hit kill, letting the weak overcome the strong. Take Gao Long, for instance. He was loaded with skills but never even got the chance to use a single one against me.ā
āThe disadvantages are just as obvious. My methods are one-dimensional. I have this single combo, and if it doesnāt kill them instantly, Iāll be the one on the back foot.ā
Su Ze knew his current defensive and escape capabilities were rather weak, making him a squishy, high-burst assassin. But it wasnāt a big deal. He had plenty of skill slots; he could just pick up some defensive and escape skills later.
Besides, Su Ze was confident that not many Pupa Stage evolvers could withstand his full burst combo.
Speaking of which, after completing his first evolution, Su Ze was able to absorb extracts again. The problem was, you couldnāt buy Tier-2 S-Class extracts in Heiyan City, so Su Ze decided to put it off for now. He would figure it out once he got to Luofan Country.
After sorting through his thoughts on the battle, Su Ze took out his newest trophyāa small toe boneāand toyed with it in his hand.
As for this Tier-1 Oddity, Su Ze had just looked up some information about it online. It was called the "Traceless Walker."
Information on any Oddity that had been publicly sold on major platforms or had gone up for auction could be found online. Of course, this was limited to low-tier Oddities; information about high-tier ones was kept confidential.
The skill granted by the "Traceless Walker" was "Traceless Walk." When activated, the user would leave no tracks and make no sound, whether walking or running. It also provided a minor speed boost.
It wasnāt a particularly powerful Oddity, but it was quite practical. Gao Long had clearly used it to silently tail Su Ze.
"Dr. Liou, what would you like to drink?"
A vaguely familiar voice sounded near Su Ze. He looked up to see it was the beautiful woman and her expert bodyguard.
The speaker was the woman suspected of being a Butterfly Stage expert, and the "Dr. Liou" she spoke of was none other than his beautiful client.
Su Ze was a little surprised. Heād originally assumed that this beautiful client, much like Zhao Lingxiao, must come from a prominent family to have such a powerful personal guard. Now, it seemed that wasnāt the case.
Su Ze had once been personally protected by the Butterfly Stage expert Zhang Fantie, but Zhang Fantie had never been this deferential to him.
āAnd then there was the way the woman addressed her... Dr. Liou?ā
A few theories began to form in Su Zeās mind.
"Just water is fine," Dr. Liou replied. "And, Mrs. Yun, Iāve told you so many times, you donāt have to be so polite with me."
Mrs. Yun simply smiled.
After a momentās thought, Su Ze took the initiative to stand and greet them. "Miss Liou, Mrs. Yun."
The two of them looked over warily. They relaxed slightly upon seeing it was Su Ze. "What are you doing here?" Mrs. Yun asked.
"Iām here for some coffee." Su Zeās face bloomed into a warm, enthusiastic smile. He gestured for them to join him as if he owned the place. "Come on, have a seat."
Dr. Liou and Mrs. Yun exchanged a look. Since they, like Su Ze, had already planned on waiting in the convenience store until dawn, they didnāt refuse and sat down across from him.
Su Ze glanced at the water in front of Dr. Liou. "Whatās so great about plain water? Let me buy you a milk tea, Miss Liou."
At the mention of milk tea, Dr. Liouās beautiful, large eyes lit up, but her brow quickly furrowed. "But milk tea makes you gain weight. Itās also full of trans fatty acids, which are difficult for the body to metabolize. Iāve done research on itāeven for a Pupa Stage evolver, itās best not to drink more than one cup per day, or it will still affect your health."
"And I already had a cup this morning..."
Dr. Liouās gentle voice earnestly lectured Su Ze, making one thing perfectly clear to him: she really, really loved milk tea.
āSo... is that a yes or a no?ā
"Letās drink it." Dr. Liouās brow smoothed out. It was hard to tell if she was talking to herself or explaining to Su Ze when she said, "Iām about to complete my second evolution anyway. Once I become a Cocoon Stage life-form, Iāll be able to drink two cups of milk tea a day."
āSo youāre evolving just so you can drink an extra cup of milk tea every day?ā
Snarky thoughts aside, Su Ze immediately went next door to "Yukikoās Tea" and came back with two cups of milk tea.
Dr. Liou cradled the milk tea, poked the straw in, and began to take small sips. Her bodyguard, Mrs. Yun, however, didnāt touch the cup in front of her, maintaining her expert composure.
Whether it was because of Su Zeās sweet-talkingācalling her "Miss Liou" with every other breathāor because the milk tea had bridged the gap between them, he and Dr. Liou began to chat off and on.
Through their conversation, Su Ze learned that Dr. Liouās full name was Liou Wenxin and that she was from the Dongli Kingdom.
The Dongli Kingdom and Mu Country were separated by Luofan Country. It was a long journey with inconvenient transport. He had no idea how she had ended up in Mu Country, but it seemed sheād stirred up a good deal of trouble.
However, Liou Wenxin was extremely tight-lipped about herself, revealing nothing more despite chatting with Su Ze for a long time.
It was clear that when the topic wasnāt milk tea, her intelligence was firing on all cylinders.
Of course, the only reason Su Ze had been chatting with Liou Wenxin for so long wasnāt because she was gorgeous, had a great figure, a wonderful air about her, long legs, fair skin, and was a 36D... but purely because he had a question to ask her.
"Miss Liou, whatās your phone number?"