The woods had been around for several years, accumulating numerous leaves on the ground. In strict terms, both the highway and the forest were constructed and planted for the nearby villa clusters, so few people strolled here at night.
After nightfall, the light from the street lamps could barely penetrate, casting a hazy glow. However, this didn’t bother Lin Tian at all, because he had night vision!
"Come out, no need to hide," Lin Tian said as he walked into a clearing, looking around and spotting a dozen people hidden behind trees.
It was amusing that these dozen people thought they were well-concealed, when Lin Tian had already discovered them much earlier.
The capabilities of this group could pose a threat to an Ancient Martial Artist like Xiao Manxue, and even more concerning was the sniper whose hiding spot was unknown.
Ancient Martial Artists aren’t gods, they too would die if shot in a vital spot. Although Xiao Manxue could handle these people in a surprise attack, she wouldn’t gain much from a direct confrontation. Only if she advanced further in her martial prowess would she consider these people unworthy of her concern.
A few seconds after he spoke, two people, one tall and one short, both masked, came out from behind a tree.
"Mr. Lin, I know you’re an Ancient Martial Artist, but we have our people all around. You’d better stay where you are and don’t move," the taller one gestured for Lin Tian not to come closer.
"Speak up. Why have you called me here? I don’t have time to dilly dally," Lin Tian said lightly, hands clasped behind his back.
The two masked figures looked at each other, then the taller one spoke, "We called you here for no other reason than to ask you to stop helping the Xiao Family and to leave them. As long as you agree, we won’t make things difficult for you."
"Oh, so you’ve come tonight to show off your power and then to threaten me?" Lin Tian conversed with the two, while stealthily searching for the sniper’s position.
Of these people, Lin Tian was only interested in the sniper. The others he barely considered a threat.
The tall figure, expression unreadable, stated, "You can think of it that way."
"Bai Zhengchu!" Lin Tian suddenly yelled out loud, trying to provoke a reaction. A flicker of agitation passed through the eyes of the two men, then quickly steadied. Lin Tian couldn’t help but smile; they were well-trained indeed, showing only a slight disturbance at the sudden mention of the name.
In this dim forest, unlike others who wouldn’t have noticed their unusual reaction, Lin Tian could. He easily guessed it was Bai Zhengchu - who else from the Bai Family would have conflicts with him, and these people looked just like mercenaries. Perhaps they were ostensibly the Bai Family’s bodyguards but secretly handled their more troublesome issues.
Bai Zhengchu was ruthless enough to deploy such force just to threaten one man. Seeing that they didn’t admit it, Lin Tian didn’t care, a faint, enigmatic smile crossed his face. Because he had just spotted the sniper’s location, on top of an abandoned building behind the forest.
With a swift movement, Lin Tian’s figure vanished from the clearing. By the time the encircling men reacted, Lin Tian had already raced to the base of that building.
From Lin Tian’s long-distance perspective, he noticed that the sniper reacted quickly too — just as his own figure had vanished into the woods, the sniper decisively packed up his rifle and swiftly retreated from the other side of the building.
"Such a vigilant and decisive sniper," Lin Tian thought with admiration. The sniper had already rigged ropes at the edge of the building and began to slide down them.
"Thinking of leaving? Not so easy!" Lin Tian sneered internally. He didn’t take a detour, directly punching through the cement brick wall in front of him. With a booming sound, broken bricks flew everywhere, and before the dust had settled, Lin Tian had already passed through.
Rushing to another wall, Lin Tian threw another punch, creating a hole in it as well. A sniper who had just landed outside was hit squarely by the flying bricks, and together with the bricks, was thrown outward.
Amidst the billowing dust, Lin Tian emerged like a Demon God. He broke through the dust, his fingers forming into claws, reaching for the sniper’s neck.
However, Lin Tian surprisingly grasped at air; the sniper twisted his body in a strange way and escaped Lin Tian’s claw strike.
"You actually dodged my attack, how interesting," Lin Tian stood still, sizing up the person in front of him.
The sniper was dressed in casual clothes, seemingly about 1.7 meters tall. He wore a skull mask on his face, leaving only his sharp, bright eyes exposed. He was wearing a hat, obscuring the length of his hair.
"What kind of power is this? It’s too exaggerated!" he glanced at the holes in the wall, then back at Lin Tian.
"That was nothing. But you, why didn’t you keep running?" Lin Tian felt it odd that the man in front of him showed no sign of fear.
Given the power and speed Lin Tian had displayed, the man should have been frightened. Unexpectedly, he spread his hands and candidly said, "Running is pointless; why waste the energy?"
This was a peculiar captive, the likes of which Lin Tian had never heard of before. Unfazed by the situation, Lin Tian couldn’t help but laugh, "Did Bai Zhengchu send you?"
"Yes and no. I’m not part of the group you just met. Those guys are too arrogant. If I were them, having seen your strength, I wouldn’t have followed you; that’s like courting death." The man in the mask shook his head, his frank words surprising Lin Tian. Such honesty in a sniper!
This made Lin Tian even more puzzled. Involved in the operation but claiming not to be part of it, what did that mean? Lin Tian asked, "What do you mean?"
"I am your captive; you are entitled to an answer." He spoke with pride, then paused before continuing, "Since you already know it’s Bai Zhengchu, I won’t hide it. I owed him a favor, and since he found me, I came to repay that favor. It’s as simple as that."
"Take off your mask and tell me your name?" Lin Tian became increasingly curious about this interesting individual.
After hesitating for a moment, he reached up and unmasked himself, revealing a young face, not much older than Lin Tian.
"I’ve been injured once and lost some of my memory. I’ve forgotten my original name, but now everyone calls me Ghost, and I think it’s quite fitting, so I kept the name." As he spoke of his memory, a hint of pain and a sad past seemed to reflect in his eyes.
People called him Ghost probably because he moved unpredictably, rather than it being his real name.
"You can go, but remember, don’t think of harming Xiao Family’s mother and daughter!" Lin Tian instinctively felt that Ghost was different from those others and decided to let him go.
Ghost was surprised by Lin Tian’s mercy. He glanced towards the direction of the woods, where people were quickly approaching. He put the skull mask back on, turned around decisively and walked away. After a few steps, he said, "I owe you a life, but since the mission isn’t complete, I will find you again. Don’t give me an opportunity! Also, I never harm women."
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