“Shen Yao!”
Qiao Yunxue’s long red hair fluttered in the air, her nose bleeding, her gaze sharp, just like her attitude toward the world: cold and merciless, unafraid of life or death.
The motorcycle drifted sideways inside the cramped study, crashing into bookshelves and the computer before finally skidding to a stop against the wall.
She took off her jacket and flung it out, covering Shen Yao with it.
Her Inspiration was insufficient to let her observe the bizarre entity, and the entity could not harm her.
“Hurry up! Don’t look at it!”
Her jacket covered Shen Yao’s head, adding another layer of protection for him in disguise.
Qiao Yunxue reached out and yanked him up, and Shen Yao leaped up accordingly.
Brushing past that foul-smelling, strange creature, he couldn’t see it with the jacket over his head, and by the same rules, the creature couldn’t catch him.
Shen Yao sat on the back seat of Qiao Yunxue’s motorcycle, instinctively wrapping his arms around her slender waist.
Gritting her teeth, Qiao Yunxue suppressed her anger and shouted, “Hold on tight!”
She twisted the throttle, and the high-displacement motorcycle engine roared, like an untamed wild horse leaping out the window!
The unrestrained rider steered her pure red Kawasaki ZZR-X down the empty, deserted streets. Bathed in moonlight, she looked as dazzling as a flame.
She drove so fast that she had to lean forward to resist the powerful wind resistance, leaving only a stream of red hair whipping wildly in the air, like a vivid red flag heralding victory.
Shen Yao looked back, seeing the villa grow smaller and smaller in his view.
From the broken receiver in his hand, angry roars came through: “Shen Yao, I will find you, I will find you!”
Shen Yao no longer felt fear. He spoke into the receiver: “I’m at West River Road to the east.”
As long as Qiao Yunxue’s speed was fast enough—fast enough to outpace the seven-second reporting interval—that thing would never catch him!
Facing the wind, Qiao Yunxue shouted, “Shen Yao, how much longer?”
“Fifty seconds!”
Qiao Yunxue laughed heartily, revving up even more: “Then let’s leave it far behind!”
She rode the motorcycle, flying over rivers, speeding along the winding city roads. The Night Riders on their modified bikes only saw a red afterimage flash past, each with a stunned expression.
“That speed just now… must have hit three hundred, right?”
“Who is that Boss?”
Confronted with a scene that shot past like lightning, Qiao Yunxue felt no fear in her heart; only a surging fighting spirit. She let out a joyous cry: “Wahoo!”
Shen Yao could only cling to her waist for dear life.
The speed was so great that his heart felt a strange, weightless sensation.
He craned his neck, shouting in Qiao Yunxue’s ear: “Do you have a motorcycle license?”
He remembered she could only ride a small e-bike.
“What’s that?”
Qiao Yunxue’s reply gave Shen Yao a bad feeling.
But he had no time to ask more questions.
The strange voice returned through the receiver: “I’m at West River Road, where are you?!”
This time only five seconds had passed—it was getting anxious, too.
Shen Yao reported another location, but by then, Qiao Yunxue had already sped past it twelve seconds ago.
At their speed, the entity had no chance of catching up.
Rather than hide somewhere and await death, it was better to race along the endless road and embrace the limitless future!
Under the moon, on city streets, a speeding motorcycle, a red-haired girl.
All of it seemed dreamlike, unreal.
A scene that could not exist even in a dream.
Shen Yao had a near-religious illusion: Could Qiao Yunxue have been sent by fate to help him break through The Nightmare Prophecy?
She was rude, arrogant, and merciless, yet also decisive, resolute, and brave.
The fifty seconds given by the entity slipped away without notice, and no more sound came from the receiver.
This meant Shen Yao had escaped disaster—or perhaps he and Qiao Yunxue, working together, had “fought their way out” from the entity’s pursuit.
Breathing in the scent of the girl’s hair, Shen Yao’s thoughts drifted.
Chengcheng once said that he fell in love with Qiao Yunxue at first sight, but that was a mistake.
It was nothing but a young man’s impulsive attraction to a beautiful body.
Yet now, he truly felt his heart leap; maybe this was real love at first sight.
Having escaped the entity’s chase, Qiao Yunxue gradually slowed down.
She rode the motorcycle along the Yunhe, the moonlight shimmering on the river’s surface, making the scene look like a painting.
Qiao Yunxue wiped the blood from her nose, showing a regretful smile: “Too bad we still didn’t catch the Phone Ghost in the end.”
“……”
“Hey, Companion, why aren’t you saying anything?”
Shen Yao looked at the river surface swept by the night wind: “I’m just amazed you actually came to save me.”
“You’re my Companion, of course I have to save you,” she said. “After all, honest people willing to work themselves to death for me like you aren’t easy to find.”
Shen Yao laughed. “Are you complimenting me or insulting me?”
“Depends on how you interpret it.”
“……”
A familiar silence.
“Companion.”
“Hmm?”
“Thank you.”
“That’s a surprise.”
“Although we didn’t catch the entity, we’ve definitely gotten closer to the truth of the Phone Ghost. You’re more useful than I expected.”
“Who says we didn’t catch the entity?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve already figured out The Truth of the Phone Ghost.”
“What is it?!”
“At least let me rest for a bit. For now, let me catch my breath.”
Qiao Yunxue pouted slightly, a little dissatisfied. “Fine, then.”
They rode down the city streets. Shen Yao felt that at this moment, it was almost like a date: a boy and a girl wandering aimlessly under the moon.
Maybe, from the start, he’d approached Qiao Yunxue for this very moment.
“What made you think to ride your motorcycle in to save me?”
“I figured your Inspiration was higher than most people, so the entity you faced must be more dangerous than most could handle.”
“Then how did you break through the entity’s spatial distortion?” he asked curiously. “I thought normal people without Inspiration couldn’t get in.”
Qiao Yunxue shook her head. “I don’t know. I’d already lost your signal, and I was worried you’d be in danger. The only thing I could think to do was to gun it from the ramp and crash in to save you.”
“Weren’t you afraid you’d die in a crash?”
“If dying meant I could see my mom again, that wouldn’t be so bad.”
Shen Yao was silent for a long time. “Don’t say things like that again.”
Suddenly she said, “Oh right, ever since I rode the motorcycle in to save you, I’ve been having nosebleeds. It only just stopped. Is that related to the entity?”
Nosebleeds?
Shen Yao remembered he too had a nosebleed not long ago, and had heard a strange woman’s laughter at the time.
A thought struck him. “Maybe… this means your Inspiration has increased.”
Qiao Yunxue’s eyes lit up. “Really? I can personally interact with entities now?”
Shen Yao was speechless. “Is that really a good thing?”
“For me, it’s the luckiest thing in the world!” She twisted the throttle, and the red motorcycle shot forward again, carrying the screaming Shen Yao deep into the heart of the city.
Scattered moonlight pierced the thick clouds, leaving behind only a broken telephone receiver lying quietly, bathed in moonlight.