After hours of trudging through complete darkness at a snail's pace, Ning Shan finally emerged from this forgotten tomb to a breath of fresh air. Only a singular rusted metal fence blocked his path, which quickly gave way with a single well-placed kick.

  The metal bent then broke, flying away into the night as the impact shattered the silence. A single thud echoed in the distance as it finally hit the ground.

  Once again, darkness reigned, with only the scarce light of the stars to guide their ways. Ning Shan looked around him, only to see the land bare. There was only desolate dirt under his feet and the scarce remains of a concrete jungle a stone's throw away.

  “It seems we emerged outside of the city’s perimeter,” Sera remarked, finally free from the confines of this tunnel. “What now?”

  Ning Shan ignored her as he took in his surroundings, only for her to insist on it. Before she could reiterate, Ning Shan put his hand before her face, which prompted her to stop. She remained still and waited.

  Although faint, he could hear the shallow breathing of living beings a short distance away. The scent, however, betrayed their animalistic nature. He waited silently, only for the sound to recede into the night, fading into oblivion. Only then did he address the question he was asked.

  "You said that government of yours has banned entry into this place. Does that mean this is their jurisdiction?"

  “It doesn’t belong to anyone,” she replied, somewhat perplexed. “I've heard that some corporations tried to make it theirs in the past but failed. A lot of people died, so they decided to make this off-limits. Still, that doesn't stop people from trying their luck."

  “Doesn't surprise me... As long as profit exists, people are bound to try and exploit it, even at the cost of their own well-being. How far away is this government of yours?"

  “Not much, maybe half a day on foot. Although it would be much shorter if we could reach our transport,” she replied.

  Somehow, the image of that purple-eyed bird flashed into Ning Shan's mind as he looked back toward the city enveloped by a slightly shimmering barrier, not much stronger than starlight.

  How long did it take to reach that level? How many lives have been lost to its predatory nature? It only makes sense that they would forbid anyone from encroaching upon its territory.

  “A transport, you say?” Ning Shan said, slightly intrigued. “Where have you left it?”

  Without a word, Sera raised her arm, looking straight at the screen that flashed to life. On it was a depiction of the surrounding geography, faithfully represented through colourful lines that indicated the elevation and distance.

  Ning Shan frowned, taking a step closer as he wished for a better view, only for Sera to lightly tap twice on it with the tip of her gloved finger. The two-dimensional depiction then sprung forth from the screen before becoming three-dimensional, as if drawn onto the air itself.

  The map was highly detailed, even depicting the two of them's current position. The only drawback was the range. The further it travelled from the epicentre, the more it degraded, only showing a vague outline more than a km away.

  "Piece of junk," she mumbled as she slapped the screen. "There's probably something blocking the signal. Otherwise, I would be able to pick up the transport, and it wouldn't be that bad..."

  "Probably a gift from those friends of yours," Ning Shan replied, and then a thought hit him.

  If the signal could be blocked, it could surely be hijacked. While he knew next to nothing about the technological state of this world, he knew enough about his own. Hijacking other's spells through high mastery of qi was a common occurrence. So much so that some even went as far as to booby trap them, turning the spell back onto the one that dared to tamper with it.

  Ning Shan voiced his doubts, only for her to dismiss them. According to her, each hunter squad had its own encoding process, which was registered with the government. Tampering with them was illegal and would be seen as corporate espionage. After all, each squad was a valuable contractor for the government, providing them with valuable resources. They couldn't afford for two of those squads to come into conflict that easily. It would only lower their own profit.

  Stolen story; please report.

  “An interesting system," Ning Shan remarked. "However, I don't know whether to call you trusting or naive. Do you really think people play by the rules? If people did, would there even be punishment for those infractions? There is no such thing as a Utopia..."

  "That's because you don't know what happens to people that break them," she replied.

  Ning Shan's eyebrow rose slightly, waiting for her to elaborate, yet all she could muster was an intense shiver that made her whole body shake. If not for the fact that Ning Shan had a substantial handle on her personality, he would have thought she had faked it just to make a point.

  “Anyway,” she added. “I doubt they’d risk it all, only for someone like me. What would they even have to gain?”

  She made a good point. Ning Shan doubted she had anything to offer them. Still, he knew better. He knew what a man could do if only to settle a grudge. After all he had done to them, these men would no doubt try to get back at him. Even if he were to reach the city they were from, they would no doubt become an obstacle, a thorn in his path. It would be better to deal with the wound now than to let it fester.

  “Found it!” Sera exclaimed, a red dot appearing on the hovering map. “We didn’t emerge that far from it. I feared we would be on the other side of the city, but it doesn’t seem to be the case. We can finally get out of here!”

  Sera then began to walk in the red dot’s direction, only for Ning Shan to follow soon after. Still, something was gnawing at his mind. There was no way those people were going to give up so easily. They were sure to come after them if they were lucky enough to survive the beast's onslaught. His premonition would soon come to fruition.

  Once they were less than five hundred metres from their objective, Ning Shan tugged Sera's arm, prompting her to stop. It even was sudden enough to make her fall backwards, but that instinctual reaction proved to save her life.

  A large hole opened in the wall next to where her head was just an instant prior. Although slightly broken by the passage of time, the large brick wall still stood firm, yet was pulverized into pieces by the impact, propelling shards and dust into all directions. Ning Shan didn't see the cause of all this but only reacted on instinct as he felt the threat of death loom over them both.

  Not wasting a moment, Ning Shan spun, throwing the dead weight that served as his guide backwards behind a nearby building before jumping after her. More explosions soon ensued, following his footsteps as he ran to safety.

  He rested his back on a sturdy wall, thinking himself safe with the structure blocking their line of fire. Although the impact was enough to pulverize stone, he hoped the thickness of his cover would deter this threat or at least confuse his whereabouts. However, he was soon proven wrong.

  Feeling another threat, Ning Shan threw himself on the ground just as a metal rod screeched past his ear, leaving a hole into the brick wall just big enough to allow passage. Unlike the previous projectile's destruction, this one was geared more toward piercing power.

  Ning Shan frowned, feeling cold sweat down his back. He hadn't felt such an intense threat of death in this world until now, not even when he came across the purple-eyed bird. After all, the bird didn't see him as prey; he had only been inconsequential. However, this foe was different in more ways than one.

  For one, he couldn't feel any killing intent, only the threat of death. This strangely reminded him of a foe he had faced countless times before: the living dead. Some people also liked to call them Jiangshi, corpses granted a second life through the dark arts. While most were merely puppets, a sufficiently proficient practitioner could allow Jiangshis a certain degree of autonomy.

  Still, he hadn’t seen any signs of the living dead. The characteristic stench of death and decay was nowhere to be found, and even the scent and warmth of the living were absent. The only remaining option was an autonomous puppet.

  Ning Shan rose to his feet and began running, feeling another threat to his life. In the hopes of making finding a target as tricky as possible, he chose a most convoluted route, vaulting over objects, going in and out of buildings, and changing elevation.

  While this mainly worked, as every impact missed its mark, something was glaringly apparent: he seemed to be the only target. He could see Sera ducking, hands above her head as she hid between a wall and a pile of rubble as if such measures could ensure her survival.

  "Stop trying to escape reality and think!" Ning Shan shouted as he swerved left and right, escaping the sight of this machine of death, bringing her out of her delusions. "How is it tracking me?!"

  With tears of dread in her eyes, Sera's head rose slightly. Ning Shan could see the gears within spin, yet he had no time to wait for an answer. He could only find the threat's origin and dispatch it immediately.

  I need a vantage point. Since it can see me regardless, these buildings are just a hindrance.

  Even while on the run, Ning Shan didn't remain passive. His mind spun at breakneck speed, analyzing his opponent's attack pattern, only to find it wholly predictable. After all, it was but a machine that prioritized efficiency above all else. It didn't take much for Ning Shan to realize that it fired at a constant rhythm, barely deviating from it, if only to reposition itself.

  Knowing all this, his course of action was set. He rushed into structure after structure, positioning straight in front of what seemed to be load-bearing pillars, only to wait a few milliseconds before the shot was taken to slip out of the way.

  The projectile would then collide with the structure, destroying it before Ning Shan would rush out again, repeating the process until the building was on the verge of collapse. While his plan was wrought with danger, and any single mistake could cost him his life, Ning Shan knew himself well. After all, this was but a mere puppet devoid of complex thought. This was far from the worst opponent he had ever faced.

  Buildings collapsed, sometimes colliding with others, saving Ning Shan the effort. Less than ten minutes later, their battlefield of concrete and steel had been reduced to a pile of rubble, offering Ning Shan an uninterrupted view of his surroundings. Only then did he finally find his opponent—an almost invisible blemish blending into the night.

  It was much smaller than he expected, just a small spherical construct hovering in the air despite possessing no wings. It stood silently, a red light at its core slowly diffusing its glow as if following him with its sight, resembling a large eyeball standing still in midair. Its body was made of a metallic alloy, but upon closer look, Ning Shan could see microscopic slits between each panel from which the surrounding red dust slipped in and out, as if the construct was alive, breathing.

  “An unmanned autonomous drone?!” Sera blurted out as her eyes widened. “How the hell can they even afford that?! Besides, how can a red team even receive permission from the government to field one?”

  “Who cares,” Ning Shan replied, feeling confident now that he could see what he was up against. He raised his hand, forming a fist as lightning coursed through his flesh. “Whatever it is, I just need to destroy it, then find the one behind it. One simply does not try to take my life and walk away unscathed.”

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