The hunter, having received the order, changed direction and walked onto the bridge. On the other side of the bridge was the gathering place of that small group of people. Huang Xiaoming and the others, completely unaware of the impending danger, were still chatting and laughing.
Suddenly, someone shouted, "The hunters are here, run!"
The few people immediately fell into a chaotic scramble, instinctively choosing to flee in the same direction, completely forgetting the experience they had just gained.
Fan Tiantian, being the only female, naturally couldn't match the speed of the males. She was now at the very end of the group, and if nothing unexpected happened, she would soon be caught by the charging hunter.
And indeed, there was no surprise; she became the first Acceleration Team member to be caught, which also fulfilled her wish to see if the hunter was handsome or not.
She was seen firmly hugging the person who caught her, then extended a hand to remove his sunglasses, admiring him carefully.
Then she felt his abdominal muscles, letting out a cackling laugh that, in a fantasy novel, would surely belong to a major villain.
At the same time, the others received a message on their phones about her elimination. They all felt regret at one person being eliminated, a reduction in numbers even before Mission One had begun.
Jia Nailiang, having composed himself, continued walking down the street. As he passed a tea stall, he encountered a group of armored soldiers.
They held a wanted poster in their hands, depicting the portrait of a woman named Xi Shi.
"Seeing you dressed in such strange clothes, speak! Where are you from?" the leading soldier demanded angrily.
"I'm not from your dynasty!"
"Dynasty? What's a dynasty? Never mind. Have you seen the woman in the portrait?"
"No, I haven't." Jia Nailiang shook his head like a rattle-drum.
"Don't cause trouble in the city, or you'll also end up on a wanted poster."
"How would I dare?"
After the soldiers left, he sat on a bench, listening to the conversations of others. As he listened, his phone rang. He opened it and saw that Mission One had officially been released.
"A disarming device for the alarm system has been installed in the Star Moon Pavilion. From now on, whenever any female team member moves, the alarm device on her waist will sound."
"To deactivate the alarm device, a male teammate needs to find Fan Li and bring him to Xi Shi. The device can be deactivated by authenticating with the palm prints of Fan Li and Xi Shi."
The perspective returns to Yi Xing. The familiar buildings still surrounded him. He stood quietly at the corner, ever since he had shaken off the hunter's pursuit at the start.
He had stayed in the same spot without moving. After reading the detailed mission information on his phone, he immediately sent it to Ju Jingyi.
"Hello, have you seen the mission that was just released?"
A sweet voice came from the other end of the phone: "I saw it, yes. I've been staying with the empress at the rice shop this whole time; I haven't moved at all."
"Alright, I'm going to find Fan Li now. Remember to find a good place to hide."
"Mm-hmm, I will."
A few seconds after he hung up, his phone rang again. This time, it was Liu Xuhui calling.
"Hey, Yi Xing, where are you now? Let's meet up."
"Alright, there's a Fan Manor on the map. I'll wait for you there." Yi Xing glanced at the map and, based on the information provided in the mission, immediately deduced Fan Li's location.
Just as he was about to emerge from his hiding spot, his phone rang again. This time it wasn't a call, but news that someone had been eliminated. It showed: Zhang Yijie and Chen Ou have been captured. Current survivors: 14 people.
He put his phone back on his arm and said to his VJ, "It seems we need to speed up the mission; we can't afford to lose any more people."
However, the road to Fan Manor was fraught with danger. Yi Xing finally arrived near his destination, only to see a hunter pacing back and forth at the entrance. He could only cautiously hide nearby, waiting for the right moment to appear.
To prevent his phone from ringing unexpectedly, he proactively called Huang Xiaoming, relaying all the information he had deduced, while simultaneously observing every move of the hunter nearby.
He didn't wait for the hunter to leave on his own, but instead, Dou Xiao arrived, running towards Fan Manor, completely unaware of the hunter patrolling nearby. He knew he couldn't hide any longer, so he emerged from his hiding spot and shouted loudly,
"Don't come over, there's a hunter here!"
But it was a little too late. The hunter was already chasing Dou Xiao, which inadvertently created an opportunity for Yi Xing to enter Fan Manor.
He quickly slipped in during this interval and found Fan Li playing chess under a pavilion.
"Mr. Fan Li, I've finally found you."
"Young master, may I ask why you are looking for me?"
"Do you wish to see Xi Shi?"
"Young master, do you know where Xi Shi is? Please, quickly take me to her!"
With just two sentences, he made Fan Li willingly follow him. On the way to the Star Moon Pavilion, they encountered Liu Xuhui, who had rushed over to meet them.
"Oh, you're here."
"I'm here. Is this Fan Li behind you?"
"Yes, now we need to escort him to the Star Moon Pavilion to meet Xi Shi."
"Then let's go, what are we waiting for?"
There were no mishaps during their escort, and they safely arrived at the Star Moon Pavilion. After enduring a dose of PDA, they finally placed Fan Li's and Xi Shi's palm prints on the authentication device, deactivating the alarm on the movement devices.
The mission complete notification was then sent to the phones of all Acceleration Team members. Upon seeing this message, Ju Jingyi looked down and touched the alarm device on her body.
She instinctively moved a step, found that it really wouldn't sound anymore, and relaxed.
"I knew Yi Xing would definitely do it. I can finally move freely."
She stretched her body and left the rice shop with Ada Choi, wandering around outside as she pleased. She hadn't had a good look at the surrounding environment yet, having received the no-movement notification shortly after arriving.
"Since the mission is complete, Mr. Fan Li, we shall part ways here." Yi Xing and Liu Xuhui, with unspoken understanding, bowed to the actor playing Fan Li.
"We shall part ways here."
Just as they were chatting, a hunter walked up behind them. Due to being too engrossed in their roles, no one noticed his arrival. By the time they heard footsteps from behind, it was already too late.
Liu Xuhui became the next eliminated person after Dou Xiao. Currently, 12 people remain alive.
"Damn, when did he get here?"
"You ask me, who am I supposed to ask? How come he makes no sound when he walks?!"
"You carry on and do well for both of us!" Liu Xuhui extended his fist towards the person next to him, bumped fists, and then headed to the termination room.
"Don't worry, I'll survive until the end."
"Fun fact: Hunters automatically leave their current location after catching someone, so Yi Xing is safe at this moment."
Yi Xing watched his departing back, secretly clenching his fists. He picked up his phone and called Ju Jingyi; he was going to fulfill what he had said before the start.
He also planned to hide out at her hiding spot until the next mission was released, which would still be timely.
"Are you still in the rice shop? I'm coming to find you now."
"Not anymore. I'm in an alley right now, but I can't say which one specifically. How about I find a landmark building and wait for you there?"
"Let's do that."
After hanging up, he found a secluded corner to hide in. He wouldn't move a single step until he received another call.
Who knew if his current location was close or far from where Ju Jingyi had found? If he walked in the wrong direction, wouldn't that be a total loss?