Chapter Eight: Captured Once Again

Shen An fixed his gaze on the two men, his body utterly still.

They made no move either.

They had undergone special training; their organization had absolute confidence in their abilities. If not, they would never have been sent on a mission. Yet, this was their very first assignment, and they had already failed. Now, another awakened individual had appeared.

There was no information whatsoever on this awakened one.

They hesitated.

Should they capture him alive, or kill him on the spot?

Suddenly, Shen An sprang into action.

Noticing their indecision, he was the first to strike. With a powerful step, his figure darted forward, his movement so swift it was impossible to trace.

In an instant, Shen An was right before them.

Their reaction was impressively quick. Both raised their guns at once, firing bullets as if cost were no object.

At close range, Shen An tilted his head, dodging the bullets aimed directly at him. His body twisted again, narrowly evading several more rounds that whistled past.

He continually used the architecture around him as cover, twisting and weaving as he dodged, gradually widening the distance between himself and his opponents.

Their marksmanship wasn’t especially impressive, but what they lacked in accuracy, they made up for in sheer volume.

For the moment, Shen An had no way to counterattack.

Devouring Gift, activate!

Spatial Gift, activate!

Shen An retreated into a patch of shadow behind him. In that instant, his gifts surged to life.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A vortex spun relentlessly; bullets flew past him, sucked into the swirling space.

They vanished without a trace, not even disturbing the surface of the lake within.

As the two men fired, their pistols were suddenly yanked from their grasp. Shock contorted their faces. Just as they tried to grip their weapons tighter, all manner of armaments concealed within their coats began to fly toward Shen An.

“What’s happening?”

Panic-stricken, they realized they were powerless to stop it.

Within moments, every weapon on their bodies vanished without a trace.

At the same time, Shen An was seized by a wave of dizziness. The vortex faded, the space collapsed.

In truth, only Shen An himself could perceive the vortex and the looming space, but unaware of this, he remained exceedingly cautious.

“Let’s go. This kid’s powers are unknown. We’ll report to the organization.”

Deprived of their weapons, the two men retreated at once, even faster than Shen An had moved before, clearly terrified.

Watching them flee, Shen An clutched his head and collapsed to the ground with a thud.

An hour later, Shen An awoke.

His head still throbbed with pain.

He opened his phone and contacted Future.

“Brother, I blacked out just now. No idea what happened.”

He had only just sent the message when a reply arrived.

“You expended too much mental energy during cultivation. Once you absorb enough ‘Prime Oxygen,’ you’ll recover. You’re not strong enough yet—don’t overuse your gifts, or you’ll suffer mental exhaustion, which can be very troublesome.”

Shen An was startled.

“What should I do? I have to go to the western suburbs tomorrow, and I won’t be able to devour Prime Oxygen there.”

He was deeply worried.

“No need to worry. Absorbing Prime Oxygen doesn’t drain your spirit; on the contrary, it increases your mental power. Just rest well. By the way, what happened to those two?”

“They ran,” Shen An replied.

“Be careful. They’ll come looking for you again soon. Next time, it’s best if you kill them. I know it’s your first time, but I hope you won’t hesitate.”

Reading his future self’s words, Shen An gave a wry smile.

No one knows oneself better than oneself.

He hadn’t gone all out; he could have killed them, but he was too indecisive.

“Remember, the world has changed. Especially as things develop, do not be merciful.”

Reading the message, Shen An could almost feel the regret, anger, and self-reproach of his future self.

It was mercy that had made him a weakling after the great change—one step behind, always behind, until disaster struck ten years later and he fell on the spot.

“All right. I understand.”

He said no more—just those few words.

There was no further reply.

All went unsaid; they understood each other.

Gathering himself, Shen An prepared to leave.

A flicker of flame illuminated the space around him.

A second, a third, a fourth…

A dozen flames burst to life in the darkness.

Shen An watched as the fire-wielding man strode toward him from afar.

“It’s not my birthday. Why so many candles?” Shen An quipped, lips curled in a sneer, shaking his head.

“Heh, I underestimated you. You’re strong,”

With a snap of his fingers, Su Yuan snuffed out each flame in turn, leaving only the last.

A slight twitch of his finger, and the flame perched upon it.

“You saw it—I control fire. What about you, brother?”

Without a word, Shen An turned on his heel and walked away, ignoring him completely.

This guy had sold him out before—Shen An wanted nothing to do with him.

People like that, you’d be betrayed without even knowing it.

He’d been polite before, but now? Sorry, don’t mess with me.

Watching Shen An walk away without a backward glance, Su Yuan’s expression soured.

The flame disappeared from his fingertip. He stared fixedly after Shen An.

“So that’s the one you mentioned—he actually drove them off. Interesting.”

From the darkness, a woman’s voice echoed.

It reverberated, distant yet uncannily close, as if whispering directly into the ear.

“Thank you for stepping in earlier. Otherwise, I might have been captured by them,” Wang Yuan said, wary of the voice’s owner.

“I only saved you in passing. But that one just now has piqued my interest,” the woman replied.

Wang Yuan smiled at her words.

Interest was good—it meant a chance to cooperate in the future.

“Thank you, Miss Jing. Until tomorrow, then.”

Wang Yuan bowed and vanished from the room.

In the shabby chamber, the woman’s voice still echoed.

“Deliberately attracting attention with a livestream, then playing the fool and hiding your strength?” She chuckled. “No matter how much you hide, I’ll always be a step ahead—just see.”

Amused, she disappeared without a trace, her footsteps gradually fading into silence.

Shen An lay on his bed, recovering his strength.

“What was that strange aura?”

He’d sensed extreme danger as he was leaving earlier.

The threat hadn’t come from the fire-wielder, but from somewhere else.

That was one reason he’d left so quickly—he’d felt the lurking peril.

“The world has changed. I’ll have to be careful from now on.”

“No—since I have Future’s help, there’s no need for caution. As long as I’m prepared for everything, that’s enough.”

“Perhaps it’s time to set a small goal.”

“For example, become the strongest in seventeen days.”

He laughed aloud at the thought.

With these dreams, Shen An drifted into sleep.

In his dreams, he found himself pinned beneath a woman, struggling to breathe.

Suddenly, a jolt of pain woke him with a start.

Bai Weiwei was smiling down at him, Shen An trussed up like a dumpling.

“Big sister, what are you doing here?” he asked, gazing at her with wide, innocent eyes.

He cursed inwardly. Why had this woman shown up in his room? His mood had already been foul, and now it was worse.

It seemed he was still under her surveillance. The question was, how much did she know?

Or had she only just found him?

He pondered.

“All right, confess! Where did you go this afternoon? What did you do?” Bai Weiwei stood there, calm and confident, as if she already knew everything.

Seeing her demeanor, Shen An’s thoughts raced.

He instinctively used the breathing technique he’d learned earlier and heard Bai Weiwei’s heartbeat.

It was slow and steady, as if she was deliberately controlling it.

“Hm? She wouldn’t trick me again, would she?”