The shadow believed it had concealed itself perfectly well. Considering it was at the very least a Meridian Opening stage cultivator, it knew Xiang Beifei definitely couldn't see him, so he watched the unfolding scene with ease.
However, what he hadn't expected was for Xiang Beifei to suddenly turn tail and run this way, seemingly planning to find an obstacle to hide from the mutant hound, with the great tree serving as an ideal target.
Yet he wasn't in a hurry; his disguise was not something this kid could see through.
The mutant hound charged fiercely, pouncing towards Xiang Beifei, its sharp bone blade drawing a vicious arc in the air, slashing towards Xiang Beifei's back.
Xiang Beifei cried out in alarm, ducking awkwardly to the side and covering his head, appearing as if he were terrified, with no intention of fighting back.
But the hound's massive body found nothing but air. The bone blade's chilling gleam missed by barely brushing Xiang Beifei's hair, and the beast couldn't dodge in time, crashing into the crisscrossed branches before letting out a miserable yelp.
A tree branch had just stabbed into the soft cartilage beneath the mutant hound's bone blade!
Howl!
The mutant hound's body went numb, and it fell to the base of the tree, its limbs twitching faintly, deprived of its combat strength.
"My God! What monster! Terrifying!"
Xiang Beifei exclaimed, hastily pulling out his phone and dialing Jiuzhou Alliance's emergency hotline 999 in a panic.
"Hello, is this 999? There's... there's a desolate beast here! Someone come quick!"
Xiang Beifei shouted into the phone.
"This guy really got lucky!"
The shadow was surprised to see the mutant hound hit in its vulnerable spot by a tree branch.
He had planned to probe further, but after seeing Xiang Beifei calling for help, he pondered briefly, then flashed out from one side, leaving the big tree behind.
Jiuzhou's Law Enforcers were capable of tracing the location of an emergency call, and some powerful officers would likely arrive within a few minutes.
By now, he was almost certain that Xiang Beifei was nothing but an N-level scrub, so there was no point in loitering around.
Only after the shadow had gone did Xiang Beifei stand up, the panicked expression on his face long gone, replaced by puzzled eyes intently following the direction where the shadow had disappeared.
He didn't pursue, for he couldn't catch up.
The anguished words from just now were uttered on the spur of the moment.
The desolate beast at the Qi-Controlling mid-stage posed no threat to him; he could have dispatched the mutant hound with a rock, but he had deliberately run this way to better understand the system of this individual.
The mutant hound's collision with the tree and the subsequent puncture of its soft cartilage was not luck, but part of Xiang Beifei's calculated plan.
Fortunately, Beifei's disguise was not in vain.
In the rush of the moment, he clarified the system information of the other party:
[Host: Xu Yang]
[S-level, Mutation System]
[Realm: Meridian Opening initial stage]
[Mutation System: Can cause any living creature to undergo a brief mutation]
"Who is this Xu Yang? Possessing an S-level system, and still at the Meridian Opening initial stage?"
Xiang Beifei was quite puzzled.
A cultivator at the initial stage of Meridian Opening, as per his system, should still be a martial artist, and it would be easy for such a person to take action against him.
But he had actually left, without even considering capturing him and throwing him into a confinement cell.
Was the other party truly just probing him?
"Could it be because of yesterday's anomaly with the thunderstone when I activated the Awakening System?"
The only possibility Xiang Beifei could think of was this.
The mutant hound on the ground twitched twice, seemingly about to regain its ability to move. It hadn't died earlier; it was merely incapacitated for a short time after being impaled in the soft cartilage.
"Lie down and wait for the police to come."
Xiang Beifei broke off a branch from the tree, gestured with it, and poked the mutant hound's soft cartilage to ensure it would rest a little longer.
——
A shadow flickered through the night.
It wasn't until he was two streets away from the alley that the shadow finally came to a stop.
The person known as "Xu Yang" walked to a secluded spot, looked around to ensure no one was there, then took out his phone and dialed a number.
Soon, a voice came through from the other end of the call, "Is it confirmed?"
"Confirmed."
"Is it a UR talent?"
"Definitely not. He couldn't even defeat a mid-stage Qi-Controlling mutant hound, got scared yelling for help. If such a guy is a UR talent, that would be an insult to UR itself."
"He was defeated by a mutant hound?" The voice on the other end of the phone seemed a bit surprised, "Is he that weak?"
"Yes, he didn't inherit his father's talents at all. His father was at least SR-level, and he's just an N-level."
"Xiang Tianxing's son is only N-level? Hard to believe..."
The person on the other end of the phone fell silent, seemingly in thought.
Xu Yang continued, "Maybe I really got it wrong, he doesn't have the potential."
"He didn't discover you, did he?"
"How could he possibly notice me? With his strength, I could stand behind him, and he wouldn't even see me," said Xu Yang.
"It's best he didn't notice. Given that, don't bother with him anymore. Your mission is over; you can come back."
"Okay."
Xu Yang hung up the phone and took another look at his system interface:
[Your mutant hound attacked Xiang Beifei, mutant hound proficiency +2, the strength of the next mutated hound +1, mutation value +1]
"Eh? Not a total loss, the proficiency of the mutant hound actually increased tonight? Jackpot!"
Xu Yang's mood brightened, "Though Xiang Beifei lacks talent, he inadvertently helped my mutant hound level up; that's rare."
Usually, when mutant hounds attack others, the chances of proficiency increasing are very slim.
Today is my lucky day!
----
Xiang Beifei waited on the spot for five minutes, noticing that the police still hadn't arrived.
The main reason he had called the police just now was for his own safety, and as a way to frighten the other party away.
Actually, that person had already left; there was no need to involve the police.
However, since he had called the police, he still needed to handle it, otherwise they might trace him using his cell number, find his home, and then he would have to explain it to his grandfather, causing the old man to worry.
The mutant hound lying on the ground seemed to gradually regain its ability to move; this was already the third time it recovered, with the previous two times being knocked down by Xiang Beifei.
The mutant hound slowly crawled up and, baring its teeth at Xiang Beifei, prepared to continue its attack.
Just when Xiang Beifei was about to jab it for the third time, suddenly, a crisp commanding voice came from behind, "Demon! You shall not harm people!"
A shadow flashed by Xiang Beifei's side, with a leg sweeping over and kicking the mutant hound in front of him.
"Oof!"
The mutant hound, just standing up, was sent flying by a long leg.
She was a short-haired girl, with a delicate appearance, tall figure, wearing jeans and a white shirt. After kicking, her leg still maintained the lifted posture; it was very stylish.
She slowly lowered her leg, turned her head to look at Xiang Beifei, and asked, "Did you call the police?"
Xiang Beifei looked at the girl's system:
[Host: Lu Zhiwei]
[S-level, Super Police System]
[Realm: Advanced Qi-Controlling]
"Lu Zhiwei?"
Xiang Beifei knew this girl.
"Eh? Beifei!"
Lu Zhiwei seemed to only then recognize Xiang Beifei's face.
Xiang Beifei's father was a pioneer, while Lu Zhiwei's father was a city guardian; the two had work-related interactions in the past, so Xiang Beifei and Lu Zhiwei also knew each other from before.
Lu Zhiwei was a year older than Xiang Beifei. She awakened her system last year and started her freshman year of university this year at Liangzhou University.
"I'm the one who called the cops, but why did you show up? You're not a city law enforcer," Xiang Beifei asked.
Lu Zhiwei put her hands on her hips and replied, "I attend classes during the day and intern at my dad's office in the evening, is that a problem?"
After a pause, she added, "I'm here, and you're being picky. If I hadn't responded to the call, you might have been carried away by this desolate beast by now. You should thank me for arriving in time to deal with this beast."
Deal with?
That desolate beast was lying down obediently just ten minutes ago!
"Then I really should thank you. Lucky you came on time, or a moment later..."
Xiang Beifei dusted off his clothes, picked up his backpack nonchalantly, and said, "My wounds would have healed."
Lu Zhiwei: "..."