When the residents surrounded Feng Jue and the other two, the huge commotion they caused had already attracted Su Zhan's attention.
Su Zhan peered through the gaps in the railing and saw three familiar figures completely encircled by residents.
Liu Ziming was gesticulating wildly as he tried to explain sothing.
Xu Hao was attempting to reason with them.
Feng Jue simply watched with a cold, detached expression.
This familiar scene made him chuckle softly despite himself.
It was them...
He watched as mbers of the Aberrant Purge Division arrived and handed over uniforms.
It seed like standard procedure.
Su Zhan's gaze lingered on the three forr comrades now changing into their uniforms.
Liu Ziming was still as lively and animated as ever, gesturing about sothing.
Xu Hao was still playing the diator, constantly apologizing while trying to restrain Liu Ziming.
Feng Jue remained as calm and taciturn as before.
His old friends were right there, within reach, yet he didn't even have the right to acknowledge them.
Su Zhan slowly closed his eyes.
All those deliberately buried mories now resurfaced in his mind.
It was them... it was really them.
Liu Ziming's exaggerated body language, Xu Hao's little mannerisms, Feng Jue's expressionless face.
Every detail was so vivid, as if those two-plus years of life-and-death flight had just been one long nightmare.
He could almost sll the sweat on the training ground, could almost hear the laughter of everyone when Liu Ziming cracked jokes.
They were right there before his eyes...
A powerful impulse surged in his chest.
Su Zhan imagined himself leaping down from the rooftop, standing before them, watching their astonished expressions.
But this thought was imdiately crushed by reason the mont it arose.
He was now the wanted criminal Chen Qing, the murderer who killed Aberrant Purge Division mbers, the aberrant that must be eliminated.
Any attempt to reveal himself would only drag these three forr teammates, who he once trusted most, into an abyss from which there was no return.
Why did it have to be them?
Su Zhan's thoughts turned to more dangerous possibilities.
It was normal for Vermilion Bird Academy to send a squad to participate in this operation, but why did it have to be them?
Had Teacher Wang Mingyuan noticed sothing?
Or was this so kind of test from the academy's higher-ups?
Or worse... was this a trap set by Qin Bai?
That man was completely capable of using his forr teammates as bait to force him into making a mistake during an emotional mont.
Su Zhan analyzed each possibility one by one.
If this was Teacher Wang Mingyuan's arrangent, it ant the teacher already suspected that Chen Qing was Su Zhan, and this was a signal being sent to him.
If this was Qin Bai's sche, then these three teammates likely knew nothing about it and were just being used as pawns.
Regardless, he couldn't act recklessly now.
Su Zhan slowly exhaled a heavy breath. When he looked down through the railing gaps again, his gaze had already regained its calmness.
Those three young figures in Aberrant Purge Division uniforms were gradually walking away, just like the past he could never return to.
At least for now, knowing they were alive and well was enough.
"Tap, tap, tap..."
Footsteps!
Su Zhan's nerves instantly tightened.
Disorderly yet heavy boot steps were approaching upward along the fire escape.
Seventh floor... they were coming up.
Su Zhan moved silently, his eyes rapidly scanning the rooftop.
Behind the water tower, the pile of discarded construction materials, the ventilation ducts...
Every potential hiding spot was quickly assessed and rejected.
These places were too conventional. The Aberrant Purge Division mbers would definitely check them thoroughly.
"Search every floor carefully!"
A mber's shout ca from downstairs. "Especially the rooftop!"
Ti was running out.
Su Zhan's gaze finally locked onto the decorative ledge at the edge of the rooftop, less than twenty centiters wide.
This was the most dangerous hiding spot in the entire building, and also possibly an unexpected blind spot.
Su Zhan flipped over the railing, his feet landing precisely on the narrow ledge, his entire body pressed tightly against the outer wall.
The fingers of his right hand gripped the gaps between the bricks, while his left hand maintained a posture ready to exert force at any mont.
"The boss is being way too cautious. How many buildings is this already..."
A young voice complained.
"Cut the chatter."
Another steadier voice interrupted him. "Did you forget about last week's aberrant attack case in the southern district? It was hiding in a rooftop water tower."
The iron gate to the rooftop was kicked open with a bang.
"Standard procedure, focus on checking the water tower."
The steady voice said. "Xiao Li, take the east side. Xiao Wang, check the material pile."
The mber called Xiao Li sauntered over to the water tower and actually pulled out a cigarette to light. "Brother Zhang, do you really think the target would hide in a place like this? I heard it's a high-risk peak-level aberrant."
The captain, addressed as Brother Zhang, was checking the ventilation ducts and answered without turning his head. "The higher the level, the more likely they are to do the unexpected."
"If you ask ,"
Xiao Li blew out smoke rings, "this job is really boring. I heard Vermilion Bird Academy sent a few students? Tsk, even kid soldiers are joining the fun now."
"Focus."
Brother Zhang frowned.
"Report, no abnormalities behind the water tower."
Another person said.
Su Zhan held his breath.
One mber walked to the railing, his gaze casually sweeping over the street below.
Su Zhan could clearly see the collar of the other's uniform.
Just half a step forward... if he just leaned out a bit...
Xiao Wang called from the material pile area. "Brother Zhang, I found sothing over here!"
Everyone's attention was drawn there.
Su Zhan heard footsteps gathering in that direction.
"What's the situation?"
"Look at these marks, seems like soone was here."
"Collect samples for testing back at the base."
The three of them crouched on the ground collecting evidence.
"This building is cleared, move to the next one."
Su Zhan remained in his original position.
He glanced down at the bustling traffic beneath his feet and gently flexed his numb fingers.
That was close...
The third day, dusk.
Su Zhan observed the street through the gaps.
The checkpoints had been reduced from five to three.
The intervals between patrol team handovers had noticeably lengthened.
Even the buzzing of aerial drones had beco sparse.
Su Zhan calculated silently.
The Aberrant Purge Division's forces had withdrawn by at least twenty percent.
He licked his currently chapped lips, his stomach empty.
But for soone at the high-risk peak level like him, this level of discomfort could be completely ignored.
The abundant energy reserves within his body were enough to let him survive for over a month without eating.
Su Zhan could endure for much longer.
They were wavering.
Soone like Qin Bai would never give up easily, but continuously investing resources into a fruitless search would eventually face pressure regarding resource allocation.
Su Zhan gently moved his stiff joints.
Just hold on for five more days... seven at most...
He imagined the scene in the Command Center: Qin Bai's cold face as he flipped through reports showing no progress, new aberrant incidents occurring constantly in various areas consuming manpower, forcing him to eventually reassess the priority of this manhunt.
Night deepened, and another patrol team passed by downstairs.
Su Zhan noticed their gait carried fatigue.
The hunters' patience was wearing thin.
And what this prey needed to do was simply endure longer than the hunters.
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