Chapter 6: Momo

"From now on, you do everything I say, no problem?"

In the narrow alley, Qin Changsheng and Chen Yuanyuan were confirming their plan one last time. Just moments ago, he had laid out his entire strategy for her. Qin Changsheng knew that to escape the mysterious pursuer, running blindly was futile; the only way to end this once and for all was to take the initiative and strike back.

However, Chen Yuanyuan’s cooperation was essential to pull this off.

"I understand," Chen Yuanyuan nodded. To be honest, she wasn't entirely confident in the feasibility of Qin Changsheng’s plan, but her innate personality made it difficult for her to oppose others. Regardless, Qin Changsheng sounded incredibly confident—perhaps this wild, imaginative plan could actually work?

"Excellent!" Qin Changsheng clenched his fist. He had rehearsed the specific execution of the plan in his mind countless times; it shouldn't go wrong. Even if complications arose, he had already prepared a contingency plan to ensure they could escape safely.

It was strange, though; he felt as if his mind was unusually sharp today. If he had been in this state during his college entrance exams, he wouldn't have scored a mere 69, would he? Thinking of his exam results, his previously confident spirit took a hit, and he felt a tightness in his chest. He quickly shook his head, casting these depressing thoughts aside. Now was not the time for that! Compared to the imminent danger, failing the entrance exam seemed trivial.

In an instant, Chen Yuanyuan sensed something—or more accurately, her Shanhai Beast sensed something. Her expression turned serious. "The target has entered the designated area. What do we do next?"

The target Chen Yuanyuan referred to was the mysterious person wearing the meme mask. Qin Changsheng had previously estimated a radius of four hundred meters—exactly the range within which Chen Yuanyuan’s Shanhai Beast, Tang Qianxiang, could detect its own kind. As soon as the mysterious person entered this perimeter, Tang Qianxiang would alert them.

The mysterious person had just entered the detection range, and their speed seemed to have slowed significantly, suggesting they were carefully searching for their location.

That was perfect.

Qin Changsheng and Chen Yuanyuan exchanged a silent look of mutual understanding and whispered, "Operation start!"

Chen Yuanyuan nodded and turned to run deep into the alley, while Qin Changsheng stood where he was, looking up at the narrow strip of sky framed by the buildings on either side.

The next second, the thick hair on his head began to writhe, shapeshifting like liquid. It grew rapidly, extending until it hooked onto the safety ladder above and hoisted him upward. Qin Changsheng didn't have to lift a finger; his hair continuously morphed, pulling him up step by step. In the blink of an eye, he had scaled two-thirds of the height, a feat that left him marveling inwardly.

His Shanhai Beast, Momo, possessed the ability to transform into any shape based on Qin Changsheng’s imagination, with the added capability of altering its own hardness.

Momo pulled him onto the rooftop, where the view was optimal, allowing him to quickly assess the situation in the surrounding area and facilitate the next stage of his plan. Remembering how the mysterious figure moved through the air using explosions, Qin Changsheng found a corner with cover and crouched down, peeking just his head out.

He waved his hand, and a piece of Momo detached itself, forming a telescope in his grip.

"Hey, that’s quite convenient."

Qin Changsheng raised the telescope. It even replicated the thin, transparent glass texture, though due to Momo’s inherent color, it felt like looking through sunglasses.

"Of course," Momo replied, having sprouted a mouth from the underside of the telescope, sounding immensely proud. "Momo, Shanhai Beast, the strongest!"

This guy certainly didn't lack confidence.

Qin Changsheng shrugged and peered through the telescope, quickly spotting Chen Yuanyuan. She was running quite fast, having already crossed several streets and putting over two hundred meters of distance between them. She wasn't running aimlessly; she was heading toward a target, just as instructed.

That target was the mysterious person with the meme mask.

Shifting his view along the direction of her path, Qin Changsheng soon caught a glimpse of a figure moving between the buildings. Unlike before, the person wasn't crouching on a rooftop but darting through the air. As the figure slowed for a brief moment, Qin Changsheng finally saw his face clearly.

That ghastly meme mask was enough to make anyone shudder and break out in goosebumps.

"Found him!" Qin Changsheng said to the Momo in his hand.

In response, Chen Yuanyuan’s voice came through the mouth on the telescope: "Received!"

This was another function of the Shanhai Beasts; as long as they knew each other, they could relay messages through their beasts, essentially acting as supernatural mobile phones.

"He's two hundred meters to your northwest. It looks like he hasn't spotted you yet," Qin Changsheng reported.

Although Shanhai Beasts seemed capable of sensing each other, the effective ranges varied. For instance, while Chen Yuanyuan’s Tang Qianxiang could detect the mysterious person at four hundred meters, Qin Changsheng’s Momo couldn't sense anything at that distance. It was this realization in the alley that led Qin Changsheng to formulate his counter-attack.

First, he had to determine the exact detection range of the mysterious pursuer.

Qin Changsheng had already confirmed his own range; once Chen Yuanyuan crossed about one hundred meters, Momo could no longer rely on its senses to pinpoint her location. This meant his range was a circle with a radius of one hundred meters.

Since the mysterious person hadn't yet moved directly toward Chen Yuanyuan despite being seen through the telescope, it could be inferred that his detection range was less than two hundred meters.

Qin Changsheng stood up from his cover. Momo sprouted four insect-like limbs, carrying him across the rooftop as he sprinted to close the distance to Chen Yuanyuan. He couldn't afford to be too far away; he needed to be ready to provide support at a moment's notice.

On the street, Chen Yuanyuan continued to close in on the mysterious person. As they moved toward each other, the distance between them rapidly shrank. When they were about fifty meters apart, Qin Changsheng noticed the mysterious person’s movements suddenly become erratic.

While still mid-air, the figure’s head snapped to the side, looking directly toward Chen Yuanyuan’s position through the gaps between two buildings.

They were separated by structures; logically, the mysterious person shouldn't have been able to see her. There was only one reason he would look in her direction.

"The target has detected you!" Qin Changsheng immediately warned Chen Yuanyuan. At this moment, he finally reached his conclusion: "The target’s detection range is fifty meters!"