Chapter 91: 91, Fighting alone

Xu Man was cautious; he first pretended to walk past the mall as if nothing had been discovered, and only after confirming he was far from the mall did he immediately call for support to surround the entire building.

They carefully retreated back, and the other five operational squads had already approached. The communication channels inside their helmets were far more convenient than imagined.

Xu Man led his team slowly toward the main entrance, returning as if it were a routine patrol, with nothing unusual. Their combat boots had hard soles, and walking on cement roads would inevitably make noise, so pretending to be on a normal patrol was the better choice.

Yet when Ren Xiaosu heard the footsteps, he already sighed inwardly. He understood that those who clung to luck in this world did not live long, and if he still believed the other side had not discovered him, he would be too foolish.

The Qing Shi Group's tactical forces suddenly turned back. No matter how nonchalant they appeared, Ren Xiaosu knew this must have a reason.

For a moment, Ren Xiaosu felt a pang of pain. He slowly placed the golden-wrapped coat on the ground, deciding to abandon them.

Now, it was time to flee for his life; he could not have both gold and survival.

Even if his strength were great, carrying a pack of gold would inevitably slow his speed and even affect his balance.

Ren Xiaosu had always treated money as a tool—he liked it, but never became obsessed, remaining steadfast in this way.

Not only did he abandon the gold, but Ren Xiaosu also decided not to take the coat, for at this moment, trying to pull the coat out from under the gold would surely create a great commotion.

He turned and lightly ran toward the depths of the mall, which was vast and had several floors.

Outside, they were likely already surrounded, and Ren Xiaosu would not risk his life to check if there was someone outside a door—opening it might result in a hail of bullets that would end him. Thus, Ren Xiaosu had to flee upward!

In memory, there was a building of equal height beside this mall, and the area around it had once been the city's most bustling commercial center, so the mall was not isolated.

Ren Xiaosu was not reckless; since Xu Man had discovered someone hiding in the mall through keen observation, Ren Xiaosu had also sought an escape route before entering.

The distance between the two buildings was about twenty meters, and Ren Xiaosu was confident he could leap across with his current strength and agility.

Xu Man led his squad slowly into the mall's structure, activating their tactical flashlights to penetrate the darkness bit by bit.

But not long after entering, Xu Man spotted Ren Xiaosu's discarded coat and gold on the ground.

He spoke into the communication channel: "Confirmed target's trail; the target has realized they are surrounded and is fleeing in another direction! The target is extremely cautious!"

At this moment, Qing Zhen's voice came through the channel: "Who did you find?"

Xu Man hesitated and replied: "Possibly that vagrant, Ren Xiaosu. We have not seen the target yet, so we cannot confirm."

"How can you guess it's Ren Xiaosu without seeing the target?" Qing Zhen asked: "What clues did you find?"

Xu Man paused and said: "We found a pile of gold here... I suspect only that kid would be so interested in gold."

Qing Zhen laughed, agreeing with Xu Man's judgment. Xu Xianshu and Yang Xiaojin's objective was clearly the secret of Jing Mountain, and such people would not be drawn to gold—at the very least, gold would not be their primary target.

Who would travel so far, endure so much danger and fear, only to carry away a bag of gold?

If Ren Xiaosu heard this, he would surely be the first to object: Gold was so lovely, why couldn't he take it?

Earlier, Luo Lan and Liu Bu had said Ren Xiaosu was just a vagrant, but Qing Zhen did not fully believe it.

He was a suspicious person; even if everyone claimed Ren Xiaosu was merely a vagrant, he would not underestimate him. Perhaps everything before had been Ren Xiaosu's disguise—perhaps he was not an ordinary vagrant.

Everyone who appeared here might be after Jing Mountain's secret and might have another identity.

Yet at this moment, Qing Zhen laughed, suddenly realizing that Ren Xiaosu might truly not care much for Jing Mountain's secret—at the very least, his interest in gold preceded the secret...

Qing Zhen said: "This Ren Xiaosu is interesting. Bring him to me."

"Understood."

The next moment, the Qing Shi Group's tactical forces moved like black snakes, swiftly infiltrating the mall!

"Target fleeing to the second floor."

"Target fleeing to the third floor!"

Xu Man continuously updated the information on the communication channel, and by now, they had found Ren Xiaosu's footprints on the ground. The building was covered in years of accumulated dust, and anyone stepping on it would leave marks.

Finding Ren Xiaosu's trail was a good thing, but Xu Man was considering a problem: the building had six floors in total, with a height of thirty to forty meters. If Ren Xiaosu fled upward like this, the only possible outcome was a dead end.

Was Ren Xiaosu a fool? Why would he flee toward a dead end?

As Xu Man and his squad pursued upward, he recalled every detail of his previous encounters with Ren Xiaosu. The youth, upon realizing their return, had decisively abandoned the gold and fled at top speed.

The opponent was greedy yet not attached to wealth; upon realizing the crisis, he had no illusions and discarded the gold.

By ordinary thinking, one might carry the gold for a while, then decide to abandon it when it became cumbersome—this was human nature.

Yet Ren Xiaosu was different; his decision to abandon the gold was too swift.

Xu Man already understood that the youth he faced was no ordinary opponent. The other had a strong survival instinct and a remarkably clear mind.

Moreover, even if their target were a fool, he would treat them as the cleverest person—this was the mark of a warrior.

So why did Ren Xiaosu flee upward? Was there a way out there?

It was a standalone building; where else could he run?

No!

Xu Man suddenly remembered that beside this building, there was another adjacent structure about ten meters away, slightly shorter. Perhaps Ren Xiaosu could escape by leaping from the building!

He had not considered this earlier because, subconsciously, Xu Man believed Ren Xiaosu could not leap across the two buildings—he himself could not do it.

There was a cognitive bias here: humans often measured others' abilities by their own, assuming others could not do what they could not.

But just because Xu Man could not do it did not mean Ren Xiaosu could not!

Xu Man shouted into the communication channel: "Outer operational squads, go block the adjacent building!"