Ya Ya's eyes widened – she had never heard such words spoken to her before, not even Chen Xiao.
Unbeknownst to them, during their conversation, the mysterious JOKER had already taken Ya Ya's little hand and led her down the path.
The sound of the two talking could still be heard from the alleyway.
"What clothes you wear...is that such a big deal?"
"Hehe, believe me, girl, for a woman, this is definitely a very important matter."
...
...
"What? You're saying Ya Ya is missing? What do you mean?!"
Zhu Rong and Gong Gong stood opposite Lao Tian, both of them looking solemn and guilty.
Zhu Rong had lost all her fiery temper at this moment, her face filled with guilt and anxiety: "I...I don't know what happened."
"What do you mean you don't know?!" Old Tian slammed his hand on the table and jumped up. "Zhu Rong, you two were following a little girl in this small place, and you actually lost her?!"
"Old Tian, don't get angry yet." It was Gonggong who spoke. Although Gonggong also felt guilty, he was still a little calmer: "Something's strange. We've been following Ya Ya around town, but when we got to an alley, Ya Ya was clearly less than five steps in front of us, but Zhu Rong and I suddenly felt a strange sensation..."
"A strange feeling?" Old Tian calmed down as well.
"Yes, it was a strange feeling." Gonggong took a deep breath. "I don't know how to describe it. It was like, in that instant, all the hairs on my body stood on end. It was like there was a ferocious beast right next to me, watching me intently, ready to pounce and bite me at any moment! Yes... that's the feeling. We felt as if we were suddenly being watched by someone hiding in the shadows!"
"Killing intent?" Old Tian frowned.
“It wasn’t murderous intent.” Gonggong scratched his head. “I don’t know how to describe it. The other side didn’t seem to be deliberately targeting us. The feeling was more like… um…” Gonggong thought for a long time, then suddenly thought of a word, which he said…
"powerful!"
powerful?
"Do you remember what I told you? That night in K City, the night Champagne was taken away by Lin San, Zhu Rong and I were lured away. On the way back, we encountered a woman called Poseidon. Zhu Rong and I joined forces, but we lost miserably to that woman."
Old Tian nodded: "This is not your fault, it's just a difference in strength. That Poseidon is S-rank."
“Yes, she is S-rank.” Gonggong carefully chose his words: “When we fought her, we could feel the powerful aura emanating from her. It felt like there was a mountain in front of you, always higher and bigger than you, and you could never cross it! You knew that very well… That’s how I felt back then, how insignificant I was in front of that woman. Although we were full of fighting spirit, we knew in our hearts that we absolutely, absolutely, absolutely could not be her match! It was like a lower creature facing a higher creature, like a mouse seeing a cat… It was an instinctive awe of a powerful being!”
Old Tian's expression turned serious: "You mean..."
“Neither Zhurong nor I are weak,” Gonggong shook his head. “Although we are not psychic beings, we can still sense powerful individuals approaching us. But at that moment, the sensation was far too intense! We felt completely enveloped by that powerful aura; it was almost suffocating. Believe me… neither that sea god nor you, Lao Tian, have ever given us this feeling!”
"...And then what!" Old Tian gritted his teeth.
"Then... as I said, in the blink of an eye, the child in front of us disappeared, and in front of us was that empty alley, without a single person in sight. Zhu Rong and I were stunned, and we chased after him as fast as we could, but..." Gonggong said with some shame.
“Let me put it this way!” Zhu Rong chimed in, “We ran a very, very long way… damn it! Do you know how long we ran? Almost half an hour!!”
"Half an hour?"
Old Tian knew that if A-level ability users like Gonggong and Zhurong ran at full speed to catch up, it wouldn't be surprising if they covered a hundred kilometers in half an hour... Half an hour was enough for them to run around this town many times!
"But after half an hour, we still hadn't gotten out of that alley. I think you understand what I mean. That damn alley is less than two hundred meters long, but we ran for half an hour and still hadn't covered two hundred meters! Clearly, we'd been tricked. And after half an hour, we suddenly realized that we'd been standing still for the entire half hour!"
Old Tian could feel the muscles on his face twitching.
This is no simple "prank"!!
The facts are clear: Zhu Rong and Gong Gong were controlled by someone and then thrown into an illusion.
But the problem is...
How long is a blink of an eye?
A fraction of a second?!
In a fraction of a second, the consciousness spaces of Zhu Rong and Gong Gong, two A-level powerhouses, were instantly shattered, and their consciousness was completely taken over, trapping them in an illusion...
In a fraction of a second, he completely took control of the consciousness of two A-level powerhouses!
What incredible strength!
What immense mental strength that must have required!
At least, Lao Tian knew very well that even though he was an S-rank, he absolutely could not do this even at his peak!
...
...
"Chen Xiao, is he here?"
"Shh..." JOKER puts an index finger to his lips.
The two stood side by side behind a large tree. In the distance, amidst a grove of trees, stood a simple house built of blue bricks. There was a small lawn in front of the house, and an earthen stove behind it.
JOKER gently patted Ya Ya's shoulder and whispered, "Don't speak loudly."
"Why?" Ya Ya looked at JOKER in confusion. Instinctively, she sensed that this guy seemed to be very friendly to her.
“Because… Chen Xiao is right there, and I’m afraid I can’t see him, not now.” JOKER smiled, gently touching the middle of his mask, and whispered, “Alright, you can go over now, but be careful. Chen Xiao is in a bit of trouble right now, busy dealing with something very important, so he might not be in a good mood.”
Ya Ya stood there, bit her lip, looked at the house in the distance, then at JOKER beside her, and suddenly a look of sadness appeared on her face. She shook her head: "I... I'd better not go."
"Why?"