Chapter 1157: Rearview Mirror, Red-Clothed Ghost

Several figures moved swiftly through the chaotic laboratory.

Lu Xun's gaze swept over the walls, which were scarred with lava burns. His expression was grim. He strode past several fallen figures, forcefully pushing open the surrounding broken doors, as if searching meticulously for something.

"Lu Xun, what's your status?" Yang Xiao ran over from the other side.

"...Nothing."

"Nothing here either."

"Over here!"

Su Zhiwei's shout came from ahead. The two immediately followed, finding red warning lights flashing in the observation room. Corpses lay scattered haphazardly on glass shards, amidst the blood covering the floor.

Lu Xun's gaze sharpened as he saw the decapitated supervisor in a pool of blood. He then looked up ahead...

Instruments lay scattered around. Beyond an open doorway, a dim, narrow tunnel stretched into the darkness.

Lu Xun pulled out his phone and immediately dialed Chen Ling's number:

"Director Chen, they've taken Chu Changqing and fled!"

"I know."

The voice on the other end of the phone was calm. Faintly, one could hear whistling wind sweeping through the receiver, as if they were moving at high speed.

"I've already locked onto them..."

"They won't get away."

On the rugged, dim mountain road, the roar of engines sounded like beasts. Dazzling headlights flashed on, cutting through the deep night like swords.

Ying Fu casually closed the car door, his profound gaze sweeping towards the dim landscape outside the window. The laboratory, hidden within the mountain, was spewing thick black smoke. Fu Kun, Zheng Zhiqing, and others were quickly getting into the vehicles behind, closing the doors with dull thuds.

"Go," Ying Fu ordered calmly. "From now on, cut off all communication signals. Disregard any information transmitted via electronic communication."

"Understood."

All personnel removed their communication devices. Wireless signals between vehicles were also turned off. As the engine of the lead vehicle, carrying Ying Fu, roared, the entire convoy swiftly exited the winding mountain road in the darkness.

The convoy consisted of four vehicles. The lead vehicle, carrying Ying Fu, was an extended black business van. In the middle was a long, enclosed white cargo van. Two agile sedans brought up the rear, flanking the cargo van and shielding it in the center.

The mountain road rapidly receded outside the window in the darkness, while the city's neon streetlights shimmered in the distance like a torrent.

"Who exactly are you people?"

Chu Changqing sat beside Ying Fu, frowning as he asked, "You actually dare to openly oppose Bureau 749 domestically... Are you a long-hidden syndicate, or foreign agents?"

"I am your savior."

"'Zhen'?" Chu Changqing's frown deepened. "I meant to ask earlier... Are you playing cosplay?"

"I do not comprehend your foreign tongue... I saved you because you are special."

Ying Fu slowly turned his head, his sharp, phoenix-like eyes staring at Chu Changqing in the darkness, like a superior scrutinizing his spoils. He slowly raised his hand, reaching towards Chu Changqing's head...

"'He' has already gathered numerous Nine Monarchs. I, too, require a special being by my side."

The Imperial Trial commenced.

As the power of the Imperial Path activated, Chu Changqing instantly became dazed. But the next moment, his greenish eyes rippled and lit up again, as if some power within him was fiercely resisting.

*Snap—*

Ying Fu frowned, his palm repelled by an invisible force. He glanced back, seeing fine cracks that had been vibrated into the windshield by some power.

His Imperial Trial was forcibly interrupted. Chu Changqing's pale greenish eyes seemed not to understand what had happened, but were already staring at Ying Fu with hostility... The pinnacle of modern science would not bow before an ancient emperor.

"Did it fail...?"

Ying Fu glanced at his palm, his expression still calm. "No matter. Even if you cannot become a subject, you will still be of other use."

Chu Changqing's expression was grim. He was about to speak when Ying Fu suddenly sensed something and glanced into the rearview mirror...

He said to the driver in a low voice:

"Drive faster."

"Your Majesty, this is as fast as we can go. And we're about to enter the city; the road isn't easy to navigate..." the driver said with a troubled expression.

"What are you so nervous about?"

Chu Changqing keenly noticed Ying Fu's subtle change and spoke suddenly: "Since leaving the laboratory, you've seemed very anxious... But you don't even fear Bureau 749, and you're already halfway to safety. Who else could make you this nervous?"

Ying Fu seemed to have no intention of responding to Chu Changqing's question. His eyes remained fixed on the rearview mirror, and a chill rose within them...

Meanwhile,

In the sedan on the left rear flank, Zheng Zhiqing was driving, glancing at her rearview mirror, when she suddenly froze. She rubbed her eyes, then stared intently at the rearview mirror for a moment, an expression like she'd seen a ghost on her face. Abruptly, she rolled down her window and shouted to the adjacent sedan:

"Fu Kun!! I swear to God, I think I'm seeing things!"

The fur-clad strongman, also driving, heard the woman's voice from outside and impatiently rolled down his window.

"What did you say??"

"Damn it, look in your rearview mirror! Is that a red-robed male ghost?!"

Fu Kun, bewildered, looked into the rearview mirror. At the end of the rapidly receding, dim road, a figure in a large red opera robe stood eerily in the void. And no matter how fast they drove, or how many turns they took, the red-clad ghostly figure silently followed.

The red taillights shimmered in the distance upon the large red opera robe, casting a faint bloody glow that sent shivers down their spines!

Almost simultaneously, a faint static sound emanated from the car's audio system. It was like someone was sighing softly into everyone's ears:

"We meet again..."

Fu Kun cursed aloud, immediately twisting his head to look back. At the end of the dim road, the red-robed figure had suddenly grown countless scarlet tentacles, which shot towards the convoy like lightning!

Ying Fu, also hearing Chen Ling's voice inside the car, instantly furrowed his brow. Without hesitation, he stretched one hand out the window and slammed it hard onto the car door!

*CRACKLE—!*

The next moment, dense electrical currents instantly enveloped the car, spreading along its contours onto the road surface, also encompassing the long cargo van and the two sedans behind. The vehicles' original sheet metal bodies suddenly began to thicken incredibly, even pressing deep wheel marks into the road!

Reshape!

Under Ying Fu's power, the convoy transformed directly into steel war machines on the road. The extreme defense exerted an immense pressure, weighing over a hundred tons. Almost simultaneously, a burst of red light erupted from beneath the road!

*BOOM—!!!*

Countless red papers shot into the sky, directly scattering the hundred-ton steel convoy. Zheng Zhiqing gasped as a powerful sensation of weightlessness hit her. Amidst the dizzying spin, the heavy vehicle body crashed and rolled onto its side!