Chapter 020: Misunderstanding

What puzzled Bai Yuxi was that the five Overlimit Warriors pursuing him showed no concern whatsoever about being monitored; they simply chased him in a straight line. This only made Bai Yuxi feel that his pursuers acted with utter impunity! Because of this, even though Bai Yuxi was almost twice as fast, the distance between them continued to shrink.

Being constantly hunted from behind made Bai Yuxi both tense and frightened, but above all, confused and helpless. He didn’t even understand what he had done wrong to end up fleeing for his life like this. Aggrieved and agitated, anger welled up within him—a cold light flashed in his eyes. If killing one is murder, then killing a group is the same!

Suddenly, he changed direction, sprinting toward the most remote and desolate part of Saddle Mountain Forest Park. As if sensing his shift, the group of Overlimit Warriors behind him immediately adjusted their route. One of the white glowing figures broke away from the group, accelerating in pursuit.

Though called a mountain, Saddle Mountain was in fact just one of the low hills within River City, its highest peak barely over a hundred meters. However, the forest park sprawled over nearly a thousand hectares, encompassing dozens of hills, wetlands, and lakes—a perfect place for murder and burial at this quiet hour.

Sensing that the swiftest Overlimit Warrior had already caught up, Bai Yuxi abruptly stopped on a broad, gentle slope at the foot of a hill. The moonlight overhead was faint, and the forest, deliberately kept in its natural state without artificial lighting, was shrouded in darkness. But for Bai Yuxi, equipped with his digital visor, the gloom made no difference; the brightness-enhancing feature rendered the night as clear as day.

Leaping out from the woods was a young black man clad only in a tight black leather suit. He too wore a pair of digital glasses, and judging by his ease in the darkness, they must also have night vision.

Bai Yuxi’s sudden stop caught the young man off guard. He stumbled to a halt several steps ahead, his face showing obvious surprise. Clearly, the sight of Bai Yuxi in his Nightmare Mark VII suit had exceeded his expectations.

Facing his pursuer, Bai Yuxi said nothing. The young black man, too, seemed stunned and remained silent, so the confrontation lingered in a tense stalemate. Bai Yuxi was not foolish enough to waste time; if he delayed, the others would catch up. Silently, he drew the short sword from the sheath at his thigh.

Startled by the movement, the young man’s visor registered only a “safe” white level threat—meaning, unless weapons were used, Bai Yuxi posed no danger. The Overlimit Shield would render him impervious to unarmed attacks. Of course, there was always the chance Bai Yuxi could conceal or disguise his true combat level. Yet, based on his displayed Overlimit Energy of 1600, he was just a third-rank “nobody”—far less threatening than the Axeman, whose energy exceeded 25,000 and who was at least a fifth-rank “mediocre warrior.”

Bai Yuxi was confident he could finish this in a single exchange. Even a lion hunts rabbits with all its strength; having only just entered the mysterious Overlimit world, Bai Yuxi wouldn’t underestimate an opponent just because their energy level was low. Since they dared pursue him, they must have some hidden cards—who knew what strange tricks they might possess? The wisest choice was to eliminate the threat as swiftly as possible.

“Hey! Hey! Hey!”
“Wait! Buddy! Calm down!”
“Let’s talk! We mean you no harm!”

Bai Yuxi had barely bent his knees, ready to attack, when the young black man frantically waved his hands and shouted, “We’re members of Firebird Team Seven from Jialuo Mountain Base!”

What?
They weren’t from the Jiang Snake Society, the group the Axeman belonged to? Bai Yuxi had never heard of this mysterious “Firebird Team Seven of Jialuo Mountain Base,” but the young man’s confident and unflustered demeanor made him pause.

Locked in Bai Yuxi’s killing intent, the young man’s tightly coiled hair seemed to stand on end. Seeing Bai Yuxi hesitate, he hurried to explain himself at breakneck speed.

“Buddy, you’re a newly awakened rookie, aren’t you?” The young man’s first question made Bai Yuxi tense. He had changed into what should have looked like state-of-the-art combat gear, and his Overlimit Energy now matched that of a level-seven warrior—how could his “rookie” status still be so obvious? Was there something about new initiates into the Overlimit world that was impossible to hide, or was there some other factor at play?

“The short sword in your hand belongs to a friend of ours—she’ll be here any moment!” The young man pointed at Bai Yuxi’s sword, explaining, “We wanted to thank you for saving her and Jason near River University earlier in the residential district!”

“Oh, right! Her name is Maya, the blonde foreign girl with, uh, a very ample chest…” He gestured an exaggerated parentheses shape over his chest to jog Bai Yuxi’s memory.

“And Jason—the big guy, also a foreigner. Remember?” he asked tentatively.

So, they were that blonde girl’s companions? Bai Yuxi blinked and glanced at the short sword in his hand. He had assumed some hidden tracker in his gear had given him away, but it turned out that from the very start, the sword he’d been carrying had revealed his location.

“Ha! I guessed right!”
“Hey—nice to meet you! I’m Willy!” The young man visibly relaxed, his tone turning friendly and familiar, grinning as he tried to approach. “Also from Firebird Team Seven…”

“Don’t come any closer!” Although half-convinced, Bai Yuxi lifted the short sword warily to halt him. “I don’t know you.”

“Okay, okay, relax! I’m just darker, I don’t bite!” The young man raised his hands in a placating gesture, looking utterly innocent. “Let’s just wait for Maya and the others to arrive.”