The driver relaxed and focused on the road ahead, pressing the accelerator to increase speed sharply.
Zhou Tianming, with his eyes closed, felt the distinct push against his seatback. He secretly opened his eyes a slit to observe the driver.
Through his blurred vision, seeing the driver concentrating on driving without paying much attention to him, he sighed in relief.
It would be troublesome if he were constantly watched.
Zhou Tianming tried to calm himself, holding his breath and steadying his mind, controlling his heartbeat to around 50 beats per minute to reduce his body's oxygen consumption.
While squinting to watch the driver, his hands groped along the leather seat.
Breaking the car window with his strength alone was impossible—he needed a tool.
Although there was a window-breaking hammer hanging by the window, reaching for it would be too noticeable.
For safety, he searched for another target.
Soon, he found it—the metal buckle of the seatbelt.
His fingertips touched something cold. Pulling it behind him, he tried bending it with both hands—it was very sturdy. Finally, he weighed it in his palm.
Zhou Tianming confirmed the buckle was metal. Running his fingers along its edges, he memorized the curve.
His mind raced, recalling strange short videos from his past life that revealed the weakest spot of car windows—the corners.
He then simulated the window-breaking process repeatedly in his mind. He had to succeed on the first try; alerting the driver would leave little chance for a second attempt.
How to swing his arm for maximum force, at what angle to strike the window for an instant shatter...
Countless calculations ran through his mind, accompanied by vivid simulations—successes and failures.
Three minutes later, Zhou Tianming completed his calculations. He slowly turned his head to observe the scenery outside, searching for the right moment to jump.
As the car moved forward, the landscape flowed by. Zhou Tianming pondered carefully.
Then, the car stopped at a red light, surrounded by vehicles of all sizes.
Was this the opportunity?
Zhou Tianming quickly considered but gave up after a second, lowering his head to feign unconsciousness.
Ahead, the driver gripped the steering wheel, glancing sideways at Zhou Tianming in the back.
Sensing the driver's gaze faintly, Zhou Tianming grew slightly nervous. His heartbeat quickened involuntarily, accompanied by a tightening in his chest.
He had been holding his breath for five minutes now. The discomfort from oxygen deprivation grew stronger, and Zhou Tianming knew time was running out—he had to act fast.
Although jumping now seemed safe, with surrounding vehicles blocking the car's movement, he still didn't know why the driver had abducted him.
Did they want him alive or dead?
If he escaped, was there a risk of being shot?
The surroundings outside were too orderly—if the driver had a weapon, it would be too easy to aim and shoot in such an environment.
He had to find an unexpected moment to jump out of the car, one that would also allow him to quickly disappear from the driver's sight using the surroundings.
The car started, gradually accelerating, pressing him back into the seat.
Time passed minute by minute, and Zhou Tianming felt drowsiness creeping in again, along with a wave of dizziness.
He pinched his thigh once more to stay alert, silently calculating that he had already held his breath for seven minutes.
Zhou Tianming felt he couldn't hold on much longer.
Panicked, his heartbeat quickened, consuming even more oxygen.
Suddenly, a deafening engine roar came from outside the car window.
A heavy-duty truck hauling a long container passed by.
A moment no ordinary person would think of.
Opportunity!
Zhou Tianming abruptly shifted from stillness to motion, gripping the seatbelt buckle and swinging it in an arc, channeling all his strength to smash it against the corner of the window.
In an instant, the window cracked, fissures spiderwebbing across the entire pane.
A split second later, Zhou Tianming pushed off the leather seat with both legs, launching himself like a cannonball into the window.
With a crash, the window shattered.
The driver reacted a beat too late, only turning his head at the sound before stomping on the brakes in shock.
Screech—the piercing sound of brakes echoed as tire marks streaked across the road.
The abrupt stop forced the car behind to slam on its brakes, barely avoiding a collision.
But the next second, the car behind that one failed to react in time, plowing straight into the rear of the second car, sending it lurching forward.
Bang! Bang! Three cars collided in a pile-up.
Meanwhile, Zhou Tianming, the moment he hit the ground, curled into a roll under the heavy truck, arms shielding his head.
The massive wheels, larger than his entire body, rolled toward him. Even mentally prepared, Zhou Tianming's heart pounded wildly as he clung to the concept of [Unyielding] in his mind, ready to activate it at any moment.
Fortunately, his calculations were precise—he slipped under the truck just before the wheels could crush him.
The moment his roll stopped, he reached up and grabbed the pipes lining the truck's undercarriage.
His arms screamed in pain as they were yanked taut, his entire body lifted off the ground, heels scraping against the pavement.
Immediately, Zhou Tianming gasped for air, gulping down several breaths before mustering the strength to pull himself up and cling to the truck's underside.
Back at the scene, the driver of the black sedan stumbled out, clutching his dizzy head as he frantically scanned the surroundings. But Zhou Tianming had already vanished.
"Damn it!" he cursed, kicking the shattered rear door.
A burly man emerged from the car behind, stepping out just in time to hear the loud curse. Instantly enraged, he rolled up his sleeves and charged forward.
Not far from the three-car collision, inside a small pink two-seater, a chubby, bespectacled middle-aged woman curiously watched the brewing conflict.
The man in the black suit effortlessly knocked the burly man to the ground, pinning him underfoot as he pulled out his phone to make a call.
The woman's eyes lit up. She rummaged through the glove compartment and pulled out a photo, carefully comparing it.
A surprisingly gentle voice, mismatched with her appearance, murmured, "Just as I thought—Holy Order members. What luck, stumbling upon their trail here."
Starting the car, she cautiously drove past the accident scene, ears perked to listen.
"I'm sorry, he got away. I didn't expect him to jump out—there was a heavy truck right beside us, and I…"
The rest became indistinct as the small car drove away. The old woman walked slowly, her voice tinged with surprise: "Jumping out next to a truck? What a madman. But I really should thank him for helping me catch a big fish. I must find out what the 'Hammer of God' really is."
...
The driver of the heavy truck never noticed someone had been clinging to its undercarriage the entire way.
After about ten minutes, Zhou Tianming spotted a greenbelt beside the road and seized the moment to let go and land.
His back hit the ground, and momentum sent him sliding forward several meters. He straightened his body and lay completely still to avoid being accidentally run over.
A moment later, the truck passed overhead, and sunlight spilled over his face again.
He exhaled deeply and stood up.
SCREECH—!
A sharp screech of brakes. The front bumper of the vehicle behind him stopped less than a meter from his chest.
His heart pounded wildly.
Both the driver inside and Zhou Tianming outside froze in shock, motionless.
After a brief pause, Zhou Tianming scrambled away in a panic amid angry shouts, darting into the nearby greenbelt.
...
In a study, an elderly man with a weathered face sat in an armchair by a large glass window, basking in the sunlight as he read a book.
Knock, knock, knock.
A knock sounded at the door.
"Enter."
A man in a well-tailored suit walked in, bowing respectfully. "Zhou Tianming has escaped."
The old man frowned, closing his book to look at the man. "What happened? Can the people below not even keep watch over a child?"
"My deepest apologies. It was truly unexpected. Somehow, Zhou Tianming wasn't affected by the Hypnotic Gas. Moreover, he chose to jump precisely when a truck was passing by. It was just..."
"Hahaha." The old man suddenly laughed. "Good, good. As expected of a child favored by Patrick and Hibiki."
Then his expression hardened, his aged eyes glinting coldly. "Find him. Tell him he either joins us or dies."
"But..." The man hesitated. "Are we really going to kill him? Wouldn't that be a waste?"
"What waste? If he can't be of use to us, then destroy him. We can't afford to let him become our enemy."
"Understood."
The old man reopened his book, adding one last order before the man left the room. "Keep it quiet. The 'Hammer of God' plan must not be disrupted."
The man nodded and closed the door behind him.