The warm autumn sun hung high in the sky, and the streets of Amber City were bustling with heavy traffic and throngs of people.
Outside Wutong District, a figure suddenly crashed through the window of a residential building and leaped out. He tumbled awkwardly several times in the air before landing heavily on the roof of a car below with a loud "bang," drawing gasps from the surrounding pedestrians.
It was a pale youth in pajamas. Ignoring the deformed car roof beneath him, he scrambled off the vehicle and began to run frantically.
Almost a second later, another figure leaped precisely from that broken window. His movements were elegant and swift, and he landed soundlessly—it was Yue Shi.
His gaze locked onto the fleeing "youth" ahead. Without a moment's hesitation, he gave chase.
"Whoa! Someone jumped!"
"What's going on?"
"Is that a transcendent?"
The sudden turn of events caused a stir on the street.
Some people immediately fled the scene. After all, two people jumping from a high-rise and remaining unscathed were definitely not ordinary people, and whatever was involved couldn't be a normal matter. It was best to avoid it if possible.
Others stopped in their tracks, watching with a mix of curiosity and terror, some even raising their phones to record.
Yue Shi was extremely fast, closing the distance in just a few steps.
Boss Pi, wearing the skin of a beautiful boy, felt the approaching killing intent behind him. Terrified, he pushed himself to his absolute limit, weaving through the crowd and knocking over several pedestrians.
"Get out of the way! Everyone get out of the way!" he shrieked, his voice filled with the heartache of seeing his precious collection being constantly depleted.
Yue Shi's eyes turned cold. He exerted force through his legs and closed in again instantly, his right hand glowing with an eerie light as he clawed toward the other's back.
As if he had eyes in the back of his head, the beautiful boy felt the fatal aura and stopped caring about anything else.
Rip—!
Before the eyes of the public, a scene that all the bystanders would never forget unfolded: the pale youth's skin suddenly tore open down his back, and a young man in a sweatshirt who looked like a college student scrambled out in a panic, continuing his flight with stumbling steps.
The "youth" skin he left behind rapidly withered and decayed in Yue Shi's hand, finally rotting into fragments with a soft pop.
"Ah—a monster!!!"
"What the hell is that thing?"
"Oh no, it's a supernatural incident!"
The onlookers, who had been watching for entertainment or even thought Yue Shi was bullying someone, erupted into screams of absolute terror.
The crowd became like a boiling pot, desperately scattering in all directions. Phones were dropped and left unretrieved as a large area of the crowded street was instantly cleared.
Yue Shi remained indifferent to the surrounding commotion, focused solely on his target. Under his control, the ravens locked onto the "college student" from various angles in the sky; no matter how the target changed directions, he couldn't shake them.
Boss Pi felt like his heart was bleeding!
Another one! Another carefully collected youthful high schooler skin was gone just like that! These were all his precious treasures!
As he ran for his life, he tried to use words to shake Yue Shi: "Stop! Stop! Don't chase me anymore! Let me go and I can give you plenty of benefits. Anything I have is yours for the taking! Please, stop chasing me!"
His voice sounded pitiful and desperate, as if he really were just an innocent college student driven to a dead end.
But Yue Shi was completely unmoved. He moved even faster, like a bolt of black lightning streaking across the street.
Bang!
Yue Shi caught up and delivered a sharp side kick to the "college student's" waist. A clear sound of bone cracking followed, and the "college student" shrieked as he was sent flying, crashing into a roadside snack stall. Scalding soup drenched him, but he didn't stop for a second upon landing. Using both hands and feet, he scrambled up and continued to run.
Yue Shi followed like a shadow, his talons reaching out again to seize the man's neck.
Rip—!
The "college student" skin tore apart, and a young woman dressed in professional attire, looking like an elite office worker, scrambled out in a panic. She even lost a shoe as she stumbled away, leaving the college student skin behind to crumble into dust.
"My god, it changed again!"
"What kind of monster is this?"
In the distance, a few pedestrians who were brave enough to keep watching cried out in shock. Although the supernatural incident was terrifying, this monster that could constantly molt and change its appearance was so bizarre that they couldn't help but want to see more.
The pursuit spanned several streets, moving from residential areas to parks and then to commercial districts. Boss Pi was caught by Yue Shi time and again, suffering heavy blows each time, only to remove all damage by molting and performing his golden cicada shedding its shell trick.
The skins he discarded were varied and all possessed top-tier looks. His reserve of human skins seemed endless. Every Molt rendered Yue Shi's attacks useless and repeatedly shattered the understanding of the terrified onlookers peeking from afar.
Yue Shi's brow furrowed deeper. The target was slipperier than a loach, and his survival ability was simply inconceivable.
After fighting for so long, Boss Pi showed no signs of weakening; he still had the energy to wail and grieve over his losses.
"Aaaaah! My pure male model skin!!"
"Stop it! That was my favorite streetwalker skin!"
"Stop hitting me! Those were the limited edition twins I worked so hard to collect! Only one left..."
His howling and pleading didn't stem from a fear of death, but from the unbearable heartache of a collector watching his rare treasures being smashed one by one.
Boss Pi didn't want to keep fighting; the losses were too great.
But Yue Shi was relentless, refusing to be swayed by either soft or hard tactics.
However, through the high-speed chase and constant molting, Boss Pi hadn't gained nothing. He gradually noticed that no matter how he changed his image or hid in visual blind spots, the other party could always find him with precision.
Realizing something was wrong, his eyes scanned frantically until he finally noticed a few pitch-black ravens circling high above him.
He recognized them as summons from Yue Shi.
Summoned creatures with a tracking function?
He would find out soon enough.
Boss Pi's eyes darted around as a plan formed in his mind.
He suddenly changed direction, no longer heading for secluded corners but instead charging toward the most prosperous and crowded commercial plaza in the city center.
"Get out of the way!" he screamed as he crashed through the crowd, causing a massive disturbance.
Yue Shi followed closely, equally indifferent to the surroundings.
Everywhere the two went, the crowd scattered in fear.
Boss Pi glanced up at the ravens in the sky and darted beneath a massive billboard, using the structure and the chaotic crowd to temporarily block the ravens' vision.
A few seconds of cover would be enough.
A ghastly grin appeared on his face. He stopped, plunging his hands into the skin at the back of his head. This time, he wasn't molting; instead, he reached beneath his skin and pulled something out from within himself.
It was several human skins!
"Let's see if you can still find me this time!" He laughed maniacally, randomly flinging the human skins toward nearby passersby.
Rate on N.U.
