Chapter 385
The reins of the warhorse ridden by Qiangyin were instantly severed, and the two split up, beginning their pursuit, though their speed had noticeably decreased.
...
At this moment, Xia'er was sprinting towards the more chaotic eastern district.
Her Level 3 agility kept her from being caught, and she was even increasing the distance between herself and Lafayette.
If she kept running like this, Lafayette would never catch up to her in this lifetime.
But the problem was, Xia'er’s stamina couldn’t support a twenty-minute sprint.
However, she wasn’t actually trying to escape; she just needed to buy some time.
With the prefrontal lobe in her pocket, her opponent wouldn’t be able to move against her if they wanted to keep it safe.
Moreover, just moments ago, she felt a terrifying heavy sound sweeping in from the direction of Qiangyin’s carriage—Qiangyin had likely sensed the commotion and was heading this way.
Both the "Head Hunter" and "Deadly Blood Roland" had been rendered useless by the "Overlimit Gear," leaving Xia'er with two of her combat options completely disabled.
“Ha... ha...”
After sprinting for nearly five minutes, Xia'er felt as if her lungs were about to burst. Her speed began to slow, but the pursuer behind her was closing in...
And faintly, she could hear the heavy sound of iron hooves approaching from behind.
No... Qiangyin might be catching up... She couldn’t let Qiangyin see her.
Another buzzing sound came from behind; it was the heavy sound emitted by Qiangyin. Through her recollection, her position was once again exposed in Qiangyin's mind—now it was confirmed, the second pursuer was indeed Qiangyin herself!
Six minutes... That was the interval for Qiangyin's echo scan...
Xia'er didn’t know if this was Qiangyin’s limit, but she had to gamble on it.
Xia'er intentionally slowed her pace a bit, allowing Lafayette to close in tighter.
Turning a corner, Xia'er darted into an alley where horses couldn’t go. Thanks to her reconnaissance from the previous night, she was no longer completely unfamiliar with the eastern district’s layout.
Following the route in her memory, she dashed towards the Cathedral District.
One minute... three minutes... five minutes...
Xia'er could barely feel her legs anymore, and behind her, she heard Lafayette’s furious roar.
“(Falos language) You dare to toy with me! Little brat!”
It was almost time...
Xia'er quickly turned back onto the main road, reached into her pocket, and activated the "Overlimit Gear."
Overlimit—[Agility].
Silver cracks appeared almost instantly in Xia'er’s veins and muscles, as if an endless power was being injected into her, allowing her to temporarily forget the pain and fatigue in her muscles.
But the side effect was that after one minute, [Agility] would be rendered useless.
And Xia'er’s physical condition would degrade to a level even below that of an ordinary girl—her muscles were already beginning to dissolve.
Once her Overlimit ended, barring any surprises, the muscles in her thighs would dissolve completely, leaving her unable to move even an inch—if her lungs could still hold out.
“What’s going on?”
Seeing Xia'er suddenly speed up, Lafayette was taken aback.
A "detective" could run for this long, which exceeded her expectations, but she hadn’t anticipated that her opponent could accelerate again... What kind of potion was this? Or was it some kind of sealed object?
As she turned into the next alley, Lafayette stopped at the entrance, for she saw that Xia'er had finally come to a halt, standing still and gasping heavily.
“Just like a little deer...” Lafayette slowly approached Xia'er, her voice low and menacing, “Too bad, you’ve run out of options.”
“Thirty seconds...”
Xia'er panted heavily, keeping track of the time she had left.
If Qiangyin’s echo scan really was six minutes, then she should expect Qiangyin to perform another scan when her Overlimit Agility had about five seconds left.
With 25 seconds left on Overlimit [Agility], and 20 seconds until Qiangyin’s scan...
“What are you waiting for?” The headless Lafayette’s voice rumbled from her chest. She didn’t take another step forward, wary of potential traps.
After all, that red-haired girl had proven to be quite tricky—she could actually inflict damage.
And Qiangyin would be arriving soon; with Qiangyin’s abilities, capturing Xia'er would be a matter of time.
“Waiting for Qiangyin,” Xia'er replied slowly.
At this moment, Qiangyin, unable to ride in the alley without scanning, had likely lost track of them. Xia'er needed to wait for Qiangyin’s next scan before she could act again.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t last the remaining few minutes.
“Whoosh—”
A strange whistle emanated from Lafayette’s chest as she slowly swung her arm, revealing a pulsating red tumor in her hand. She said, “Don’t worry, I’ve already called him for you.”
“Uh... thanks?”
The heavy sound of hooves seemed to follow the whistle, accompanied by a crashing noise, and a cloud of dust rose at the alley entrance.
“Fifteen seconds... scanning in ten seconds...”
In the dust at the alley entrance, Xia'er saw a tall figure.
She couldn’t wait any longer; she had to take a gamble.
“Don’t rush; there’s a second round.”
Click—
Xia'er reached into her pocket, pressed the pocket watch, and a smile curved on her lips as she crashed into a nearby shed.
Bang—
The thin wooden door shattered upon impact, and she quickly opened the secret passage and leaped down.
Qiangyin had just arrived behind Lafayette, quickly asking, “Lafayette? What’s going on?”
“Your Excellency Qiangyin, someone killed Windsor and stole that thing...” Lafayette spoke as she hurried into the shed, glancing at the secret passage below, her brow furrowing.
This place looked like a trap...
Someone stole that thing?
Connecting it to the cultists who had tried to stop her earlier... Qiangyin linked these two events together.
Was it the Keybearer’s scheme... had they finally made their move?
Did they even sense that he had learned certain things?
This feeling of being seen through sent a chill down Qiangyin’s spine—he couldn’t remember the last time he felt this way. Usually, he was the one who saw everything as the “prophet.”
“Wait.” Looking at the secret passage in the shed, Qiangyin raised his hand to stop Lafayette.
He was also worried that there might be danger inside... gifts from the Keybearer.
He admitted he was afraid...
The Keybearer was undoubtedly the most formidable opponent he had ever faced...
After a few seconds, a phantom button appeared in Qiangyin’s hand. He quickly pressed it, and a heavy sound radiated from him, expanding rapidly.
Everything around him was reconstructed in his mind, including a panicked shadow running through the sewer, preparing to enter a hidden door.
No traps... this was her lair; she was cornered.
“Let’s go.”
Qiangyin jumped down the secret passage, charging towards the girl’s location. This was one of the few leads he had gathered over the past few days, and even if it was dangerous, he had to pursue it to find out more.
Lafayette quickly followed, keeping pace with Qiangyin as they traversed the hidden chamber below, heading towards the girl’s “hiding place.”
At that moment, Xia'er, who had opened the secret room door, looked at the empty hideout of the Holy Church, breathing heavily.
The sound of pursuing footsteps echoed in the sewer; it wouldn’t be long before they caught up to her...
But the fifteen seconds of [Echo of Time Lv.2] had already ended.
Buzz—
Xia'er’s figure shattered into a silver light ring.
In the next moment, she reappeared at the spot she had occupied fifteen seconds ago—the entrance of the dilapidated shed.
Meanwhile, Qiangyin and Lafayette had rushed to the entrance of the secret door. Qiangyin took a deep breath, looking into the secret chamber, and said, “Search inside; she’s hiding her presence somehow.”
...
Xia'er moved step by step, her hand against the wall, weaving through the alley as she walked away from the shed.
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