novelraw Chapter 268: Once It Happens, It'll Happen Again
Chapter 268: Once It Happens, It'll Happen Again
Perhaps his method of cutting off the opponent's arm wasn't effective at all.
Perhaps that gambler was just an extremely rare exception within the Transcendence Society.
But Su Zhan believed.
Where there's one, there will be a second.
The Transcendence Society definitely wouldn't have only that gambler as the sole coward.
Some things, you only know after trying them.
Su Zhan lifted the bag in his hand.
The cash on him needed a secure place for storage, and more importantly, he needed a relatively fixed and hidden place to stay, he couldn't keep drifting around the city.
Renting became the most practical choice at the moment.
Su Zhan walked into a real estate agency that looked neither too big nor too small.The doorbell chimed.
A young salesperson in a suit immediately came forward to greet him, wearing a professional smile:
"Hello sir, looking for a place? Please come this way, have a seat, have some water."
The salesperson warmly ushered him to the reception area, poured a cup of warm water, with an attentive attitude.
Su Zhan took the water but didn't drink it, directly stating his purpose: "I want to rent a place."
"Alright sir, do you have any specific requirements for the place? Such as size, location, budget?"
The salesperson took out a tablet, ready to filter options.
Su Zhan pondered for a moment, then said: "The budget isn't high, looking for good value for money. It's fine if the location is a bit remote, just quiet is good."
He still had several hundred thousand in cash from his previous looting, saying he didn't have much money was naturally an understatement;
his real purpose was to find an old residential area with lax management and lacking modern surveillance.
To his slight surprise, upon hearing his budget wasn't high.
The enthusiasm on this salesperson's face didn't diminish one bit, still smiling brightly: "Understood, understood, we have quite a few listings with good value for money, let me find some for you."
The salesperson swiped on the tablet, quickly pulling up a few options: "What do you think of this one? An apartment in the new district, fully furnished, ready to move in, just the price is a bit..."
Su Zhan glanced at the picture;
the residential area environment was brand new, the hallways clearly had surveillance, he directly shook his head: "Too new, don't like that feel."
The salesperson readily adapted, immediately switching: "Then how about this one? Near the subway entrance, convenient transportation, it's a building from the early 2000s..."
Su Zhan interrupted again: "Subway entrance is too noisy, I like quiet."
Being near a transportation hub meant dense crowds, more cameras, which didn't meet his requirements.
Not a trace of impatience appeared on the salesperson's face, instead nodding: "Quiet is good, I understand, please take a look at this one, over in the old city area, a building from the 90s, walk-up apartment, on the fifth floor, lighting might be a bit poor, but absolutely quiet."
Su Zhan's heart stirred;
old city area, walk-up apartment, this matched his initial expectations.
But he didn't immediately show his hand: "Fifth floor is a bit high, climbing stairs is tiring, are there any lower floors? Preferably first or second floor."
He deliberately made the lower floor request as a negotiation tactic, also to observe the salesperson's reaction and the true situation of the listings.
First and second floors are usually more damp, and also easier to be spied on.
He actually wasn't inclined towards them, but this way he could appear demanding and difficult to please, making the other party focus more on satisfying his real needs behind the pickiness.
Concealment and low profile.
The salesperson indeed showed a somewhat troubled expression, carefully searching on the tablet for a while longer, then eyes lit up: "Got it! Sir, look at this one, also in an old residential area, but...
still fourth floor, not large in area, but north-south through ventilation, just the place is quite old, the decoration is also very simple, done by the landlord many years ago, hasn't been lived in much.
The advantage is the price is very affordable, 800 a month, and that residential area... uh, is quite old, not much property management, quite... free."
"Free?"
Su Zhan caught this keyword.
"Means not many people managing it, neighbors are also old residents who've lived there for decades, relatively... keep to themselves."
The salesperson explained euphemistically.
Meaning the residential area lacked management, basic infrastructure like surveillance was basically non-existent.
This was exactly what Su Zhan wanted: "Sounds quite fitting for my requirements... just a bit too old, can you take me to see it?"
"Of course! I'll contact the landlord for the keys right now!"
Seeing a chance, the salesperson immediately arranged enthusiastically.
After seeing the place, Su Zhan was basically satisfied.
An old unit building, dim hallways, no surveillance cameras, neighbors mostly elderly, not bothering each other.
The place was simple, but had complete water and electricity, sufficient for his needs.
He deliberately picked a few trivial flaws, like the faucet being a bit old, the walls a bit dirty, and finally settled the rental contract at an extremely low price.
Throughout the entire process, this salesperson maintained patience.
Not changing attitude because of Su Zhan's low budget and pickiness, which made Su Zhan's impression of this agency much better.
Su Zhan got the keys, standing in this simple room.
Temporarily having a shell to hide in.
As for the future... take one step at a time.
...
The night was as dark as ink.
Su Zhan changed into a black hood that completely covered his head, not revealing a single strand of hair or skin, moving through the shadows, conducting routine patrols and intelligence gathering.
A burst of hurried footsteps broke the night's silence.
"Aberrant! Stop! Killed our people, and still want to run!?"
Su Zhan immediately hid behind a broken wall, golden vertical pupils slightly contracting, looking towards the source of the sound.
He saw a figure running at extreme speed through the ruins, a man in casual clothes but with agile movements, legs unusually powerful, each push off propelling him forward twenty to thirty meters.
Clearly his Life Soul was related to leg enhancement or speed.
Several dozen meters ahead of him, another panicked fleeing figure had a faint Mist energy aura around them.
An Aberrant, judging by the energy fluctuations, roughly around Medium-risk third stage.
But currently this Aberrant appeared quite disheveled, injured, speed clearly inferior to the Awakened individual chasing behind.
"I really didn't kill your people! At least... at least definitely not in this past month!"
The fleeing Aberrant in front desperately ran while turning back to shout with a tearful voice.
"Bullshit! That was also done by you bastards from the Transcendence Society! I'll f*ck your mother! My brother Zhang Hai just died like that! Today I must use you as a sacrifice!"
The Awakened individual's eyes were bloodshot, grief and anger mixed, his speed actually increased another notch, closing the distance.
Simultaneously shouting into the communicator at his collar: "East District, Third Alley! Target spotted! Requesting backup! Don't let him escape!"
The Aberrant in front was bitterly complaining, not expecting disaster to fall from the sky.
Seeing the pursuer getting closer, he panicked and took a wrong turn, abruptly swerving into a dead-end alley piled with construction debris.
"Damn it!"
The Aberrant's face turned deathly pale.
"You can't run anymore!"
The Awakened individual roared, leg muscles bulging, reaching this Aberrant in two steps, delivering a whip kick.