Chapter 724 - 439: An Interesting Handbook of Curiosities

Chapter 724: Chapter 439: An Interesting Handbook of Curiosities

As the last rays of the sun vanished from the horizon, a clamor arose from the perilous wilderness.

RUMBLE...

A figure in a helmet and camouflage fatigues on a black dirt bike sped toward the safe zone.

Lin Li had finally managed to reach the safe zone just as the sun went down.

When he first started back on his black dirt bike, he had worried he might run out of time and have to travel part of the way in the dark.

Fortunately, he hadn’t been attacked by any Mutant Beasts on the way back. Coupled with the flat terrain, his return to the safe zone was much smoother than he’d anticipated.

CRUNCH.

The black dirt bike cut through the tall grass and onto the flat pavement, where Lin Li brought it to a steady stop.

He took off his helmet, letting out a long sigh, and looked around.

He was on the border between the safe zone and the wilderness, and everything was quiet except for the faint chirping of insects coming from the pitch-black grass.

An ordinary person probably couldn’t stand such a silent environment for even a moment.

GROWL...

His stomach was reminding him to find a place for dinner soon. Lin Li reined in his wandering thoughts, stored the black dirt bike in the Mysterious Small Island, and then took out his silver-white van.

The moment the silver-white van appeared, the signal from a small device attached to its undercarriage was no longer blocked.

Outside the Ping’an Garden District, Zhu Daqi sat in a sedan parked by the roadside, anxiously staring toward his target’s home in the distance.

The sun had set, and the target still hadn’t shown up. Zhu Daqi had been clinging to the hope that the tracker he’d placed under the target’s car had simply malfunctioned and wasn’t discovered. Now, that hope was beginning to crumble.

DING. ℴ

His phone vibrated in his pocket, letting out a soft chime. Though he heard it, the anxious Zhu Daqi kept his eyes fixed on the target’s distant home as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the phone.

He glanced down at the screen, and his expression froze when he saw the notification.

Then, his mouth fell open in astonishment as he muttered to himself.

"What’s going on? Why is the tracker sending back a signal again?"

Zhu Daqi opened the tracking app on his phone and saw that the target was now in a remote corner near the wilderness.

He stared at the screen for half a minute before the small red dot representing the target began to move. It looked like it was heading back toward the city center.

Zhu Daqi’s eyes filled with confusion. He couldn’t explain what was happening. After a moment of thought, he came up with what he believed was a reasonable conclusion.

’The tracker under the target’s car must have lost its signal due to a malfunction. Now that it’s back, it must have fixed itself by some coincidence.’

"It’s a good thing the tracker’s signal is back. I’ll keep an eye on it..."

With the tracker sending a signal again, the waiting Zhu Daqi’s mood improved considerably, and he unconsciously began humming a current pop song.

...

The night was hazy and moonless. The sky, like a black curtain, was dotted with only a few lonely, twinkling stars that cast down faint wisps of light.

A silver-white van drove steadily from the outskirts near the wilderness, heading toward the city center.

With the sun down, the moon absent, and his proximity to the wilderness, there was very little traffic on the road.

At first, the road had no streetlights, but as the van drew closer to the bustling city, orange points of light began to appear ahead.

The dim yellow streetlights only illuminated small patches directly beneath them, leaving the surroundings shrouded in darkness. On either side of the road, wild vegetation swayed with the occasional gust of wind, making a rustling sound.

GROWL...

Lin Li endured the constant growling of his hungry stomach as he drove the silver-white van back toward the city center.

"I’m starving! I’d better have a snack to tide me over," Lin Li muttered. A thought flashed through his mind, and a chocolate bar appeared in his hand.

Slowing the van a little, he tore open the chocolate wrapper and popped the candy into his mouth.

The sweet treat quieted his protesting stomach a little.

Just then, a group of figures suddenly appeared on the roadside ahead.

’A cycling group?’

As his van passed the group, Lin Li looked at them through the window, thinking to himself.

’These cyclists are heading toward the outskirts at night. Most of the roads in that area don’t have streetlights; it’s easy to get into an accident...’

’Ugh, why am I overthinking this? If they chose to ride at night, they must have already considered the safety risks.’

Shaking off his wandering thoughts, he pressed down on the accelerator, and the van sped up.

As he neared the city center, the streets grew livelier. Pedestrians appeared on the sidewalks, and he could occasionally spot barbecue stalls that only operated at night.

Before heading home, Lin Li decided to find a restaurant and have a proper meal first.