"Stop! Don't run!"
"I'm going to shoot!"
Completely unprepared for Xi Nian's speed and decisiveness, the two SWAT officers were stunned. One, in a moment of panic, aimed his gun at Xi Nian's back and pulled the trigger, ignoring the crowded city streets.
Bang!!
The gunshot sent nearby pedestrians screaming.
"Huh?" Xi Nian glanced back mid-run and could clearly see the bullet flying toward him, even the spinning grooves on its tip.
Though living in the U.S., where gunfire is common, this was the first time he had seen a real bullet—and it was coming straight for him.
Most people would freeze in fear. Even the weakest modern handgun could be lethal if it hit a vital spot.
But Xi Nian felt no fear.
To him, the bullet was painfully slow.
He felt that as long as he accelerated, he could leave it far behind. So, he easily sidestepped the bullet, letting it pass through his scattered silver hair.
"Not good!"
Just after dodging, his peripheral vision caught vehicles waiting at the intersection. In a split second of instinct, Xi Nian extended his empty left hand and, incredibly, caught the bullet mid-air!
"What did he just do?" "No way!"
The SWAT officers screamed in disbelief.
A slight pain and heat spread through his palm.
Xi Nian glanced back at the officers, crushed the bullet into a metallic button in his hand, and threw it to the ground, then turned to run again.
This time, the officers didn't fire. They stood frozen like wooden posts, their weapons raised.
It was as if Pandora's box had opened—the night's chaos was only beginning.
Xi Nian turned at the intersection, spotting three police cars racing straight toward him. Sirens blared from both sides of the road.
"I just want to go home. Is that so wrong? And why are they so fast?" Xi Nian's mouth twitched. In movies, the police usually arrive after everything is over, not immediately.
How could it be this quick? This made no sense!
"No choice. I can't stay on the busy streets." Xi Nian didn't want to hurt civilians. He glanced at nearby buildings and chose a four-story convenience store to use as a launch point.
He sprinted, leaping toward the rooftop, but this time his force was too much.
His body faltered mid-air, rising only about six meters, and he was about to fall short. Below, police vehicles swarmed the streets.
"Damn, don't toy with me!"
In mid-air, Xi Nian flailed, feeling the familiar rush of falling, watching the roof edge slip farther away.
Then—
Shh!
From his left hand, a golden rope appeared, weaving like a dragon across the city. One end gripped in his hand, the other looped around a lightning rod on the building ahead. Without thinking, Xi Nian yanked the rope, pulling himself onto the rooftop safely.
"That was close."
He retracted the golden rope, eyes scanning the area, using nearby high-rises as stepping stones to escape.
Below, five or six police cars screeched to a halt where he had jumped.
"Who is this person?" one officer muttered, looking at the broken ground.
"Definitely not normal," another replied.
"Seriously, catching bullets with your hand, running a hundred yards in seconds, leaping four stories—normal people can't do that!"
"What do we do now?"
Just then, a police car finally arrived, sirens blaring.
Chief George jumped out, commanding, "Where did the suspect go?"
"Reporting, sir, they… jumped!" an officer saluted, pointing to the tall building.
George took five seconds to process "jumped."
After a moment, he said gravely, "Request helicopter support immediately. We cannot allow such a dangerous unknown to roam free in the city!"
"Yes, sir!"
Meanwhile, Xi Nian navigated the rooftops of the city. His enhanced body was still new to him, but he had begun mastering it through experience.
"So this is what flying feels like."
Using the golden rope, he leapt between buildings several stories high. When his force waned or he faltered, he used the rope to pull himself to another roof.
The rope was mysterious, able to stretch, hook onto rails, ledges, or even clotheslines.
Astonishingly, it could latch onto smoke rising from a chimney as if solid, allowing him to leverage it. He even wondered if it could hook onto clouds—or souls, if they existed in this world.
"Should be safe now," Xi Nian thought, standing on a nearly precarious railing, watching the tiny vehicles and pedestrians below.
"It's time to head home."
He leapt again, attempting to swing the rope toward the next building. But as he threw his hand, the golden rope vanished.
"No way… again?"
Xi Nian felt the third intense rush of falling that night.
Newton would have been thrilled.
Thus came the scene we first saw: Xi Nian crashed onto the roof of a five-star hotel. Seeing a police helicopter pursuing him, he continued escaping using his unstable powers.
Ten minutes later, even Xi Nian lost track of how long he had been leaping across rooftops, only knowing he was moving farther from his home city area.
He ducked into the shadow of a water tower, watching the helicopter patrol the wrong area until it disappeared from view.
Exhaling, steam rising from his exhausted body, he murmured, "Finally… I can go home."
But as he spoke, a figure appeared, landing gracefully atop the water tower.
[Please give powerstones if you're enjoying the story.
500 stones = 1 extra chapter ]