Chapter 1 Night Escape

On the highway at night, red and blue police lights flashed continuously, and sirens buzzed incessantly.

Due to the thunderstorms, the police couldn't mobilize helicopters to pursue Feng Bujue and his companion, so they could only set up roadblocks on the ground to intercept them.

And this... gave the two of them an opportunity.

Under Feng Bujue's direction, Hill skillfully broke through several police roadblocks, successfully driving the car into the city.

Upon reaching the city's complex terrain, Brother Jue took advantage of the time difference while the police tightened their encirclement, abandoned the car with Hill, and disappeared into the night.

However, leaving the car didn't mean they were safe... Due to the weather, 98% of the city's population was indoors, and there were almost no vehicles or pedestrians on the streets. Although Feng Bujue and Hill had gotten out of the car, they were still within the police's encirclement. A single misstep could lead to their capture.

"Haa... haa... what should we do now?" Hill panted as he ran, asking Brother Jue how to proceed.

Compared to this constantly drunk homeless man, Feng Bujue was in much better physical condition. Even with his shrunken body, he wasn't out of breath. "I'm very familiar with the American police's arrest tactics. When they have sufficient manpower, they usually create a 'pocket', driving the prey inside and then tightening the pocket... to take them down in one fell swoop." He calmly replied, "This tactic is highly oppressive, efficient, and has a good success rate, but... it also has obvious weaknesses."

"Wha... what is it?" Hill asked anxiously.

By now, Hill wasn't surprised that Brother Jue could say such things. He only hoped that Mr. F could lead him to escape.

"In this showdown, what's the fundamental difference between the police and the criminals?" Instead of answering Hill's question, Feng Bujue threw one back.

"Difference? Well, of course, one's running and the other's chasing." Hill blurted out an answer.

"Heh..." Feng Bujue chuckled dryly, offering no comment on Hill's answer, and continued, "It's the psychological advantage... Mr. Hill." He glanced at Hill. "Take you as an example. Right now, you've already naturally categorized yourself as the 'runner' and the police as the 'chaser.' Because of this, you'll get caught."

"But that's the truth..." Hill responded.

"Then tell me, why can you only run?" Feng Bujue asked again.

"Because they have more people and guns!" Hill replied matter-of-factly.

"Having more people is relative." Feng Bujue continued, "Specifically speaking... before their 'pocket' tightens, as long as we don't approach the main force responsible for 'driving' us, and head in any other direction, we'll only encounter a maximum of two police cars... or even just one blocking our path." He paused. "That means it's two against two in terms of numbers."

"But they have..." Hill was about to emphasize the enemy's firepower when he saw Brother Jue take out a strangely shaped device from his bag, and immediately changed his words. "Uh... what's this?"

"Composite Anti-Gravity Catapult." Feng Bujue announced the name of the item, successfully shocking Hill, an ordinary man whose mind was still stuck in the eighties.

"This... is it more powerful than a gun?" Hill asked after looking at it for a couple of seconds.

"Its power is close to that of a nineteenth-century large-caliber cannon." Feng Bujue replied.

Hearing this, Hill swallowed. "I see..."

"Most petty thieves find it difficult to escape once the police are after them." Feng Bujue continued, "On the other hand, those notorious master thieves... often manage to escape. The reason... besides the difference in equipment and personal ability, mentality is the key." As he said this, he led Hill through an alley and towards the bottom of an overpass. "Only when you knock down the wall in your head will you truly have a chance to overcome the obstacles in reality."

A minute later, the two had passed under the overpass and arrived at the entrance of a used car dealership.

Screech--

No sooner said than done, a police car suddenly emerged from a small road to their side, the driver braking sharply and performing a beautiful fishtail, blocking their path.

The next second, two officers quickly opened the car doors and got out while the engine was still running, aiming their guns at Brother Jue and Hill.

"Police! Hands up! Put your hands on your head..."

Bang--

One of the officers didn't even get to finish his sentence before he was hit by a roadside trash can.

And the person who "launched" that trash can... was naturally Feng Bujue. He had reacted the moment the police car charged out, using the catapult to attach a nearby "ammunition" at the fastest speed.

A catapult is different from a gun... as long as the object it launches is large enough, it doesn't need to be aimed very accurately. A casual shot can still be pretty close.

"Damn it!" Seeing his partner knocked unconscious by the flying trash can, the other officer, on the other side of the police car, quickly crouched down, using the hood as cover, resting his gun on the engine cover, and shouting at Brother Jue and Hill, "Drop your weapons! Or I'll shoot!"

"Drop your weapons, or I'll kill your partner." Feng Bujue remained completely unfazed, turned around, used the catapult to attach another "ammunition" (another trash can), held it in front of him, and threatened the officer in return.

The officer raised his voice even louder. "Kid! I'll say it one more time! Drop your wea..."

"Shut up!" Brother Jue shouted with his ten-year-old body, his voice louder than the officer's, interrupting him with all his might. "I'll count to three! If you don't come out and surrender before I finish counting... this trash can in front of me will hit your unconscious partner at three hundred meters per second. He'll either die or be crippled for life!"

"Officer... I think you better do what he says..." Hill, who had ducked behind a low wall by the roadside, raised his voice and shouted to the officer, "... This kid is capable of anything! I advise you not to provoke him!"

"One!" Before Hill finished speaking, Feng Bujue had already started counting.

The officer hiding behind the police car was under immense pressure... First of all, he still hadn't figured out what had just happened; secondly, although he was holding a gun and aiming it at where Brother Jue was standing, all he could see was a trash can...

Clearly, Feng Bujue had thought of all the countermeasures before acting. The trash can being used as "ammunition" was floating right in front of him, blocking most of his ten-year-old body; in addition, because the officer was crouching behind the car aiming, the shooting angle was also limited... Overall, even if the police officer actually fired, the probability of Brother Jue being hit was very low.

"Two!" Feng Bujue quickly counted the second number, giving the officer no extra time to think.

"Okay! Okay! I'll come out! Don't mess around!" Under heavy pressure, the officer compromised.

After saying a few loud words, he raised the gun in his hand, slowly stood up straight, and moved from behind the police car.

Normally, the side in control of the situation should try to get the threatened side to slow down their movements as much as possible to prevent the latter from playing any tricks.

However... Feng Bujue's approach this time was...

"Why the hell are you constipated? Get out here in three seconds! Put the gun on the ground! Or I'll fire... one!" Brother Jue cursed repeatedly and started counting again.

The officer really didn't expect this development, and was a little flustered: "Okay... calm down, I'll do it..." As he spoke, he took two quick steps forward, bent down and put the gun on the ground.

Unexpectedly...

Bang--

The moment he bent down, Brother Jue unhesitatingly launched the trash can at him, knocking him unconscious.

When Hill heard the sound and peeked out from behind the low wall, Feng Bujue had already walked to the police car and taken the guns from the two officers.

"Don't stand there, come drive." Feng Bujue stuffed both guns into his pockets and turned to Hill.

"They..." Hill jogged over from a distance, looked down at the two officers on the ground, "... are they... dead?"

"It's okay, they just fainted, at most a slight concussion." Feng Bujue stated the terrifying line very calmly.

He wasn't saying this to comfort Hill, but to state the facts... With the catapult's normal power, attacking ordinary people at this distance would most likely be fatal; but in this script, all of Feng Bujue's items, equipment, and skills had been weakened just like his body, which allowed the two police officers to survive.

"3204, 3204, please respond, what's the situation over there? Over."

Just as Brother Jue and Hill got into the police car, the car's radio rang.

"What do we do?" Hill looked at Brother Jue in a panic. "They must have reported it over the radio before driving out..."

"Then let's report again." As Feng Bujue spoke, he took out the [Deceptive Pocket Watch], held it to his lips for a few seconds, then picked up the radio and said, "This is 3204, sorry... that was a false alarm, everything is normal here, over."

As Feng Bujue spoke into the radio using the officer's voice, Hill turned his head numbly and looked at Brother Jue with an expression as if he was looking at God. But he didn't interrupt, just twitched his lips a few times, and silently accepted this setting...

"Roger, all units be advised, the alarm at southwest sector 3204 is canceled, over." The radio quickly responded.

Hearing this, Feng Bujue hung up the radio with satisfaction, put away the Deceptive Pocket Watch, put his hands behind his head, and leaned back in the seat. "Drive, lead the way."

............

9:20 PM, inside the castle.

After determining the policy of accelerating the pace, the Blade Team's efficiency had increased a lot.

After breaking out of the [Demon Castle Library], they respectively passed through the [Ballroom] and the [Phantasmagoric Palace]. During this period, they encountered countless monsters of all sizes, and also defeated several mini-bosses.

Of course, these were nothing to them... Just as Tan Lang had said, the difficulty of this process was no more than the level of an ordinary scenario.

Tan Lang's previous reasoning was very accurate -- Feng Bujue was indeed busy with other things at this moment, and he didn't plan to eliminate his opponents as soon as possible.

Seeing this... the three members of the Blade Team could be described as unstoppable, and in the blink of an eye, they had reached the [Garden of Forgetfulness].

"The monsters are really getting stronger and stronger..." After killing a giant rooster that could shoot petrifying rays from its eyes, Qi Sha's breathing finally became a little ragged.

"And speeding up the pace... objectively speaking, it does consume more stamina." Long Ge added.

"Don't worry... we've played so many matches..." Tan Lang continued, "How many times have we encountered the enemy in perfect condition? Most of the time... isn't it over within five skills?"

"That's true..." Qi Sha smiled bitterly. "Masters clash, life and death in an instant."

"I don't feel that way at all?" Long Ge laughed, "I often have a great battle with masters for three hundred rounds before a victor is decided."

"Heh..." Tan Lang also laughed. "There are very few defensive fighting players like you among the top players. It's okay in Thriller Paradise... if you were to participate in a competition in another game... the entertainment value would be greatly reduced."

As they chatted, their pace didn't stop. At this point in the conversation, another red door appeared in front of them.

After the three of them passed through another white corridor, the system prompt arrived as expected: [Clock Tower].

"Oh... we're here..." As soon as he heard the system prompt, Tan Lang muttered, "I have a deep impression of this map..." He paused for a second, recalling, "I remember when I played that Demon Castle game, I died many times here, so I looked up a walkthrough. It was also when I was looking up the walkthrough that I saw some information about Demon Castle."

"Oh? So... there are a lot of instant-death traps here?" Long Ge asked suspiciously.

"Or... are the monsters here particularly fierce?" Qi Sha also asked.

"Not really." Tan Lang replied, "I only realized later that the reason I always died here... was just because I was clumsy."

"Tch~" Long Ge and Qi Sha both clicked their tongues in unison, and both gave their commissar a disdainful look.

"But!" Every qualified commissar, in the middle and later stages of a conversation, will often use these two words, and Tan Lang was no exception. "According to my observation... we should be able to skip the Clock Tower's Boss."

As he spoke, he took out the "treasure map". At this time, in the middle of the treasure map that was originally made up of graffiti, many clear geometric figures had appeared, and the outlines that were drawn... were clearly every space they had passed through along the way.