Chapter 55: Reporting

Early the next morning, Su Hao went into town to gather information. Sure enough, a few more people had gone missing the previous night. The locations were scattered, but all were near the warrior academy, and one of the missing was a student who had stayed behind at the academy. It was likely that they had been ambushed when they left.

There were also discussions about the corpse found in the academy, with its face smashed beyond recognition—everyone blamed it on the "Killer."

This confirmed Su Hao's suspicion that the missing people were connected to the previous night's attack.

Having confirmed his guess, Su Hao didn't dwell on it and headed to the library to read.

In the evening, he started patrolling around the academy, with his [Minimap] fully activated, searching for the presence of another attacker.

After nearly a month of adjustment, Su Hao's Blood Qi had been fully saturated, stabilizing his [Radar]'s perception range at 400 meters. When he fully mobilized his Blood Qi, the [Radar]'s range could extend beyond 1,500 meters, but beyond that, the perception became blurry and only directional.

Activating the [Radar] to its maximum consumed Blood Qi faster, but Su Hao's vast reserves allowed him to disregard this consumption.

Su Hao wasn't sure if the attacker would strike again tonight, targeting students entering or leaving the academy. The previous night's setback might have made them change their hunting ground, avoiding the area for now.

Still, he had to try.

From the attacker's perspective, Su Hao believed the academy and its surroundings were an ideal hunting ground. The academy was almost deserted, with few students remaining—all young warriors around are twelve or thirteen, with abundant Blood Qi. Whatever their captors' motives, these young warriors made perfect targets. Moreover, it was the holiday period, with no teachers stationed at the academy, except for an old man who never moved from his spot, making the place relatively low-risk.

Where else could they find such a perfect spot?

After half an hour, Su Hao's [Radar] picked up a strange Blood Qi signal.

"There you are!" Su Hao immediately moved toward the source of the eerie Blood Qi, carefully observing his surroundings.

Due to the Killer, few people were out at night; most were hiding in fear.

As he drew closer, Su Hao sensed a second eerie Blood Qi signature, similar to the first, causing him to frown.

"Two? Could there be more? Last night's failure might have made them increase their numbers.?"

Approaching cautiously within a hundred meters, Su Hao hid in the shadows to observe.

He didn't intend to attack immediately—it would be pointless. Su Hao wanted to understand what these attackers were up to.

He suspected that the attackers were being controlled by a rune master, and Su Hao hoped to learn something from this rune master. Of course, this meant learning by eliminating the opponent and taking their belongings.

Performing human experiments in the name of research was a morally gray area that Su Hao couldn't quite label as right or wrong yet. But such actions offended his sense of justice. As long as his strength justified his sense of justice, he would uphold it, clearing away anything that displeased him.

Su Hao kept in mind the "The Three Stricts, Four Diligents, and Five No's" that his father Wu Yuntian had taught him.

Among them was "Don't engage unnecessarily; don't speak excessively" and "Strict in honoring your principles." 

To Su Hao, it meant there was nothing to dispute or say with most people. If someone crossed his principles and boundaries, he'd deal with them. If he could overpower them, his justice was correct. If he couldn't, then his justice was flawed.

His countless deaths had taught him that no matter how righteous his views or how just his heart, if fate dealt him a bad hand, death would still come. No one would understand his inner thoughts, nor would anyone care.

Su Hao spotted the source of the strange Blood Qi: a young woman and a bearded, burly man. Both had blank, vacant expressions, dull eyes, and slightly open mouths. They appeared completely devoid of consciousness, controlled by someone else, yet their movements were agile and well-coordinated, fully matching the level of high-level elite warroirs.

Their purpose was clear—they were prowling around the academy, hunting for lone students.

Despite the rampant rumors and widespread fear, there were still some fearless individuals.

Before long, the controlled pair each carried an unconscious young warrior on their shoulders and silently moved away from the academy.

Su Hao used his [Radar] to tail them from 200 meters behind.

Soon, they arrived at the eastern side of town.

Lingyun Town was built against the mountain, and this was the town's edge, where the city wall met the mountain. The terrain was complex and remote, with few residents—hardly anyone ever ventured here.

It seemed that wrongdoers always preferred these secluded places.

Upon arriving, Su Hao detected three more strange Blood Qi signatures, each accompanied by a much weaker Blood Qi response, indicating that each controller had brought back a target.

Additionally, Su Hao's radar picked up a powerful Blood Qi signature.

"A high-level Master!" Su Hao noted that this Blood Qi intensity was comparable to that of the academy's instructors, though slightly weaker. Its characteristics matched those of the controlled individuals, suggesting the same source, but far more condensed and powerful.

"It seems I've found the target. A Master-level warrior with the additional identity of a rune master."

Su Hao hesitated.

Charging in recklessly was out of the question. The opponent was also a Master, not to be underestimated. Su Hao had never fought a Master before and didn't know what to expect from such a battle.

The most critical factor was the opponent's identity as a rune master, which meant Su Hao couldn't be sure what other strange techniques they might possess.

"Should I report this to the Guards?"

Su Hao weighed the pros and cons. If he attacked directly, he could claim all the benefits but at great risk; it might end his journey in this world prematurely.

If he reported it, his safety would be significantly increased, though he might not get what he wanted.

"I need to think this through carefully." Su Hao squinted as he watched the controllers, each carrying their prey. They moved a stone, revealing a dark entrance, then filed inside and resealed the opening.

After some thought, Su Hao quietly scouted the area before retreating quickly.

"I'd better report it! If handled well, I might still get what I want and even save the abducted people."

Su Hao swiftly outlined three primary objectives: the first and most important, obtain the target's materials or data; second, find a chance to engage the opponent and assess their combat ability; third, if possible, eliminate the opponent.

As for rescuing people, well, that's what the Guards was for!

….

Su Hao quickly formulated an action plan.

He first identified the location of the Guard's headquarters, then wrote about ten notes with the heading: "Master-level Murderer in Lingyun Town, Committing Heinous Acts." Each note included a simple map and description of the location.

Wrapping each note with a small stone, Su Hao found a hidden spot and tossed them toward the Guard's headquarters. Without looking back, he retreated to about 500 meters away, using his [Radar] to monitor the Guard's response.

At the Guard's headquarters, an elite member holding a stone-wrapped note knocked on the door of Captain Luo's office.

"Captain Luo, these notes were thrown in from outside. They all say the same thing. Please take a look!"

Captain Luo was tall and imposing, clad in gleaming armor, with a square jaw that exuded righteousness and authority.

He was a high-ranking member of the Guard, one of its top fighters, second only to the Grandmaster-level chief commander. He led the Second Division of the Guard, answering directly to the chief commander.

Captain Luo took one of the notes and read it, frowning as he finished.

The elite member cautiously asked, "Captain Luo, could this be someone's idea of a joke?"

Captain Luo shot the elite member a glance, then stood up, removed his helmet, and ordered, "Assemble the Second Squad in the front hall immediately."

The elite member snapped to attention. "Yes, Captain!"

He then ran out.

From his distant vantage point, Su Hao watched as about twenty Guards began to gather at headquarters: 20 elite warriors and 5 Masters, including one whose Blood Qi was far more vigorous than the experimenter hiding in the cave. Su Hao knew his plan was unfolding.

He immediately headed toward the cave entrance on the eastern outskirts of town but maintained a pace that kept him about 500 meters ahead of the Guards.

He planned to use this time gap to his advantage! Now, the real game begins.