Disgusting eyes that slope outwards but actually, but also closed in the air, the special soldier who suffered the Xu Le three chain blows snorted, then fainted. If this person hadn't possessed exceptional fighting skills, he would have feared having his throat cut or being struck in the temples by Xu Le's middle finger, resulting in a violent death. It may be fortunate that the soldier's throat bone is still intact, although he is heavily injured.
Without wasting any time, Xu Le immediately grabbed the body of the special soldier, preventing him from falling to the ground and making a sound. Then, with incredible speed, he ran towards the window, believing he could accomplish it within four seconds. Like a leopard, he leaped out of the window onto the pavement, swiftly passed through the green grass, and sneaked into the distant sewer.
To his surprise, there were no sounds of gunfire, and no one had noticed his escape.
Having evaded the encirclement of the special troops, Xu Le began dashing wildly through the sewer. Over the past few years, although he had distanced himself from the group of orphans led by Li Wei, he still maintained the character he had developed since childhood. When it came to the underground passages of Hexi Province, no one was more familiar with them than Xu Le, in order to avoid the police's underground network.
Despite the dim lighting in the sewer, it couldn't hinder his footsteps. The sound of his fast-paced steps echoed through the air filled with an unusual smell and dampness, gradually fading into the distance.
As Xu Le ran frantically, the pain from his wounds didn't affect his speed, but his mind remained in chaos, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
Had he really incapacitated a special soldier earlier? The stench of the wind hitting his face made it hard to think clearly. Xu Le couldn't believe why his body had instinctively reacted in such a way, and how that reaction had perfectly avoided the special soldier's attack and struck his vulnerable points. In that brief moment of instinct, the strange posture he assumed made it as if he had guided the special soldier's fist to hit his own strategic points.
That strange posture was none other than the "stiff" dance his Uncle had forced him to practice for four years.
Two years ago, he secretly speculated that this set of rigid movements might be some kind of combat skill used in the army. Today, he had obtained some evidence to support that theory. However, could this set of movements, which he had only studied for four years, really be so simple as to easily defeat a special soldier?
Running along the sewer platform, Xu Le's toes touched the surface of the sewage-covered ground, making a faint sound. The reality had already happened, and there was no need to ponder it further. The immediate task at hand was to find his Uncle as soon as possible.
Was he an accessory culprit to treason? Xu Le, who had managed to escape the clutches of the soldiers, couldn't be certain about this charge. Wiping away the blood and tears on his face, he was well aware that if the Federation deemed him guilty, under the authority of the first charter, he would undoubtedly be arrested, imprisoned, and denied any chance of a fair trial.
How had his Uncle managed to hide within the Federation for over ten years? Although the Eastwood Grand District was remote from the Capital Star Circle, doubts began to arise in Xu Le's heart. His mood turned ice-cold once again. Even if he possessed the skills to flee to Bermuda as a refugee, he would still spend the rest of his life unable to set foot on Federation soil again. It was where his parents had lived and died, where his younger sister had first showcased her talents in Eastwood...
He was just a young soldier who wanted to live a good life. He had recently taken the Ministry of Defense officer exam and had seen a glimmer of hope for a better future on the capital star. The course of his life had changed.
Whether due to running too fast or some other reason, Xu Le felt a twinge in his heart, a tinge of sadness. He lowered his head, continued to run, then raised his head once more, never stopping his stride.
He was a law-abiding, straightforward young man. If Feng Yu was truly a heinous treasonous criminal, he would never reveal his hiding place to these people. However, he believed in his boss, his teacher. He understood them better than anyone else. The soldiers from the Federation and the Eastwood garrison today were not here to apprehend Feng Yu; they were here to kill him!
Had all the officials paid the price for the death of his parents and younger sister in the mining accident? There weren't many fair things in this world. Xu Le persisted in his belief that certain matters required his unwavering commitment. Even if Feng Yu, the skilled machine repairer, was a fugitive criminal, he still believed that the Federation and the law owed him a chance to speak up and defend himself.
The end of the sewer led to a dark corridor beneath the capital stratum of Hexi Province. Over the years, these abandoned mine tunnels had been excavated into an intricate network of passageways. If it weren't for those familiar with the underground, one would never suspect that hidden beyond the sewer's exit was a direct link to the abandoned mining tunnels in the suburbs.
Gasping for breath, Xu Le crawled into a dilapidated minecart within the corridor. In the darkness, he checked the time on his wristwatch, silently praying.
He was unaware of the speed at which interstellar information transmission occurred, and he didn't know how long it would take for the soldiers to pinpoint his exact location through the electronic surveillance network. He had to create confusion and mislead their search direction during these days. But above all, he needed to find his injured boss; otherwise, he would essentially be leading the soldiers directly to him!
This was a race against time, or more precisely, a race against the speed of the Federation's first charter. As the minecart rumbled deeper into the distance, Xu Le finally understood the significance of the words his boss had spoken in the past and why he despised the first charter so much...
"Target 2 information trace report requires..." Colonel Lake lifted his wrist and frowned at the time displayed. "Four minutes and 12 seconds."
He then shouted at the special troops, "Four minutes and 12 seconds! Find him! Find the machine repairer!"
After uttering those words, Colonel Lake removed his sunglasses and glanced back at the room where the special troops had been divided by two plastic lines, along with the injured soldier who had received first aid. He remained silent for a long time. Bleeding out target 2 had been an alternative plan, but he hadn't made the decision to execute it. The 17-year-old young man had given him a tremendous surprise.
To think that a young boy could free himself from military-grade restraints was truly unfathomable. How did he manage such a feat? Colonel Lake's complexion gradually regained its composure, but his grip on the sunglasses caused them to warp slightly.