Volume One, Chapter 17: When Away from Home, Your Identity Is What You Make of It!

Bats rippled invisible waves through the air, quickly sensing every intricate detail of the tangled alleys below.

Zhang Biao led Xia Yang and the others as they continued to explore the alleys. After rounding another corner, Wang Li’s figure appeared ahead.

The latter glanced back, then immediately quickened his pace, darting swiftly through the narrow lanes.

“You! You! And you! Follow me! Sister Su, and this young brother, you two stay behind him! We’ll take a shortcut to block him up ahead!” Zhang Biao ordered, leading the three burly men behind him as they sprinted toward the alley on the front-left.

All the exits of the alleys were now guarded. Capturing Wang Li would be as easy as catching a turtle in a jar—only a matter of time before they caught him!

Watching them disappear, Xia Yang and Su Yixue exchanged a glance before chasing after the alley Wang Li had fled into.

After a few more turns, Zhang Biao and his group soon reached the entrance of an alley, but Wang Li was nowhere to be seen.

“Boss, has that Wang Li already run off?” a bald man behind asked in confusion.

Zhang Biao said nothing, his eyes closed tightly as if sensing something.

Suddenly, Zhang Biao’s eyes snapped open. Before the others could react, he dashed into the alley, shouting over his shoulder, “Hurry up! Damn that bastard, seems like he’s not running anymore!”

The three men quickly caught on. Not running? That meant he was preparing to face them head-on—or was there some trick?

They too charged into the alley.

Meanwhile, inside the alley—

Wang Li stood in the middle of the path, gazing at a man and a woman not far off, along with a snarling little beast. A faint smile curled on his lips.

Having been pursued by Xia Yang and the others for some time, he noticed fewer pursuers behind him. Though uncertain why, he had already seen guards stationed at every alley exit.

He also realized these two were the ringleaders of this incident. If he could take them hostage, his chance of escape would skyrocket!

Most importantly, just moments ago, the contract demon he had bound to sent him a telepathic message: his magic power had been replenished, and the second explosion was ready.

During the chase, Wang Li had kept tossing various street debris behind him. Su Yixue, distracted, stepped on a discarded water bottle and twisted her right ankle.

Now, Su Yixue lay on the ground, clutching her ankle in pain.

Xia Yang knelt beside her, eyes fixed intently on Wang Li.

“Before you die, do you have any last words?” Wang Li taunted, though clearly just trying to intimidate. After all, if they died, he would lose his hostages.

“Why did you blow up the company’s underground parking lot?” Su Yixue gritted her teeth and demanded.

“I wanted to eat some fries before dying…” Xia Yang started to reply but stopped halfway. Catching Su Yixue’s puzzled look, he quickly corrected himself.

“Why did you blow up the company’s underground parking lot, really?”

Wang Li paused, then scrutinized Xia Yang and Su Yixue again.

“Who are you two with the company?”

“The chairman!”

“The general manager!”

They answered simultaneously. Su Yixue was a bit surprised by Xia Yang’s claim but said nothing.

Xia Yang had given himself that identity while out on the road, which also served as protection should anyone seek revenge.

“What a joke! Isn’t the chairman Su Guodong? And the general manager, that big fat guy?”

“I’ve lost weight, okay?”

“My uncle has handed the company over to me.”

“Whatever. No matter who you are, I didn’t expect there to be awakeners in the company.”

Wang Li hesitated, then continued, “As for why I blew up your parking lot—it’s because you brought it on yourselves!”

“What do you mean?” Su Yixue asked, confused.

“Last month, you merged sales teams three and four into one, then laid off many people because there were too many. I was among those fired!”

“You caused me to lose my job and my income! Don’t you understand?”

Wang Li roared in anger. Su Yixue, however, showed no surprise.

She had checked Wang Li’s employment history and suspected he bore resentment over this.

Though the company did fire Wang Li, they had compensated him according to labor laws with severance.

Moreover, the merger of sales teams three and four was due to poor performance. Wang Li hadn’t closed a single deal in half a year, merely coasting along.

Thinking this over, Su Yixue glanced sideways at Xia Yang. Compared to him, who completed only one task in two years, Wang Li was insignificant.

Though Xia Yang wasn’t part of the sales team and had little pressure to perform, he had almost fired Wang Li himself...

Suddenly, Su Yixue’s expression changed as realization dawned.

“That’s not right! The decision to fire you was made when my uncle was chairman. I only just took office a few days ago! Why did you blow up my car? Go blow up his!”

Wang Li was stunned, then shrugged nonchalantly.

“You’re family anyway, so no need to be polite.”

Su Yixue was speechless.

That car was bought with her very first earnings...

As they spoke, footsteps approached rapidly from afar. Wang Li’s eyes flashed with anger as he glared at Su Yixue and Xia Yang.

“How despicable! Using chatting to distract me!”

Xia Yang blinked in confusion. “Hey, you started talking first!”

Wang Li ignored everything else and immediately pulled something from his pocket.

His plan was simple: use the contract demon’s explosion to severely wound Xia Yang and Su Yixue, immobilizing them so he could take them hostage.

As he revealed the object in his palm, Xia Yang and Su Yixue both caught sight of it—

A translucent creature glowing with a faint green light... a ghost?

Though unsure if it was truly a ghost, its shape was unmistakable. This explained why the security footage never showed what Wang Li held—it was transparent!

In daylight, it was nearly invisible unless one looked closely. Only at night, when the ghostly green glow emitted, could the demon be barely seen.

The transparent ghost let out a sinister laugh. Wang Li laughed along.

With a fierce swing of his arm, the ghost was released, flying rapidly toward Xia Yang and Su Yixue.

The ghost expanded in midair, its green glow intensifying.

Xia Yang had witnessed the ghost’s destructive power on the surveillance footage; its explosion radius was formidable.

Seeing the ghost drawing closer, Xia Yang had no choice but to lift Su Yixue onto his shoulder and flee backward.

At a nearby fork in the alley, Xia Yang reached into his pocket, pulling out a Yatina, shaking it vigorously.

“Wake up, flashbang! Time to use you!”

“Go blind their damn eyes for me!”