Chapter 297: Chapter 72: Onward, Mu Fan
“Metallic response detected above the right hind section, approximately a 3mm Mechanical Ant as per the Academy’s scanning range,”
Mu Fan, advancing shoulder to shoulder with White Hair, showed no change in expression. He clicked his teeth and, as White Hair stepped onto the levitation platform, pretended to stoop and tie his shoelaces.
In the instant his head was lowered, his palm scooped behind the heel of the shoe, and between his fingers, he felt the Mechanical Ant that had already penetrated halfway into the sole.
Flexing his fingers, he pulled out the tiny Mechanical Ant and held it motionless in his hand for the moment.
“Hurry up,” Yin Shuai turned his head and urged.
“Just tying my shoelaces,” Mu Fan nodded, and in the same moment, his teeth lightly touched as he whispered a message only Lord Black could hear, “Crush it?”
“No need, this is a tracking method exclusive to the Solomon Organization. To think it would appear so brazenly before the omniscient Lord Black. Just toss the ant aside, no need to crush it. I’ve already modified its internal sensor system through the magnetic field control of my wristwatch not long ago. Let it continuously feed false information.”
Hearing Lord Black’s words, Mu Fan flicked his fingers lightly, directly flipping the Mechanical Ant into a reserved slot in the wall.
Then he entered the levitation platform with an unperturbed demeanor.
As he sank down below, the Mechanical Ant lying quietly within the slot in the wall emitted an invisible signal that penetrated the metal inner walls of the sealed station, crossed tens of kilometers of obstructions without any loss, and spread far and wide.
Finally, at the entrance to a Mecha repair station in the eastern district, an ordinary-looking man suddenly lifted his hand to press the screen of his wristwatch.
“Hmph, the Hunting Target has sent the latest coordinates again. This time it should expose his end location, right?”
During this period, he had received thirty-seven messages, indicating that the Hunting Target’s trajectory was moving steadily eastward, following a main road.
The Hunting Target’s effective communication range was 300 kilometers, and within that distance, the target had almost no place to hide.
This was the pinnacle of Solomon’s nanotechnology!
“The pause just now was at… Dingchuan Academy, now continuing eastward… That area is the dense academy district of Zhongjing City. So it looks like he must be a student at a B-level or C-level Academy?”
Finally, after the man had silently observed his wristwatch for more than ten minutes, the trajectory sent by the Hunting Target no longer continued to move but remained at one set of coordinates, slowly shifting.
He switched transportation!
That meant the target had reached his destination.
Record coordinates: 2415, 483.
“I’ve locked onto you,” the ordinary-looking man stood up and entered Mecha repair room number one.
“Under the cloak of night, the hunt begins.”
A series of strange clinking and clanging sounds emanated from the repair room.
…
These detailed, precise coordinates did not show on the standard map, but if one actually went to the location, they would find that it was in fact a recycling station in the eastern district of Zhongjing City, specially designated for the academies’ waste disposal.
Since it was added only three days prior, the map had not yet been updated, and this location was still a full six academies away from Mu Fan’s Dingchuan Academy.
Moreover, this was just the first step.
Afterward, Lord Black would lead this mysterious follower on a grand tour of the various sewage treatment sites of Zhongjing City.
After going through iris, palm print, and DNA verification, Mu Fan finally returned to the Special Training Base once again.
At this time, Mu Fan’s Crystal Sky Communication buzzed.
Mu Fan took it out to look: the sender was Wang Nuonuo.
The time stamp of the message was from 10 minutes earlier.
Hmm? A delayed message, wasn’t I underground at that time?
“Lord, do you always have your rest day on the weekend?”
No other words or greetings preceded the question.
However, Mu Fan had long been used to this chubby little sister’s whimsical way of asking questions, as he had felt this unusual mode of thinking in the Battle Net.
Moreover, Mu Fan himself was someone who didn’t play by the rules, so he silently replied on Sky Communication, “Yeah, one day a week.”
After sending the message, Mu Fan went silent again.
Eight light-years away, a girl who resembled an elf, with her hair playfully curled at the tips and dressed in a pale pink off-the-shoulder dress with ruffled edges, was laughing and chatting with an equally tall and beautiful companion when she suddenly stopped talking. She took out an exquisitely crafted Crystal Sky Communication device from her small purse, and upon seeing the message that appeared, her eyes curved like crescents with a smile.
“What’s up? Why the sudden bliss?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Hehe, let’s go on our final big shopping trip before departure.”
“Hmph, little miss, you’re becoming less and less honest.”
The beauty beside her wrinkled her nose, mockingly teased, and they continued to walk forward, laughing and talking.
There were still thirteen stores awaiting their conquest on this street!
Lagging half a step behind, the elf girl who had put her Crystal Sky Communication back into her purse had a sly flash in her eyes.
Next weekend, huh…
…
Over here, White Hair casually mentioned he was off to sleep, while Mu Fan immediately changed his clothes and started weighted running on the training track.
The path to becoming stronger never ends!
This morning’s events had still caused a ripple in Mu Fan’s heart.
His goal was the vast sea of stars; did he want to be a traveler among the interstellar or a true powerhouse capable of shaking a star domain? At the age of 17, as his awareness grew, he encountered the first problem on his path forward.
What would Black say if he heard this?
Having run more than ten laps, Mu Fan couldn’t come up with an answer, so he decided to toss the question to Black.
Black was silent for dozens of seconds before finally saying, “I don’t know.”
Mu Fan stumbled, nearly falling to the ground.
“Wait, I’ll go ask the old guy.”
In less than 2 seconds, Black was back with the Fighter Instructor’s words relayed verbatim to Mu Fan.
“Protect the people you want to protect, do what you want to do, and don’t dwell too much on momentary emotions. Both individuals and powers are reflections of your own strength. As you continue to become stronger, you’ll realize you don’t need to consider these things at all.”
“Because as you become more outstanding, equally excellent people will be drawn to you; they will naturally appear by your side.”
“So, keep pushing yourself, keep getting stronger! When you grow to this point, all problems will be resolved easily!”
The voice of Black, now that of the Fighter Instructor, seemed to transform Mu Fan, filling him with a sense of the cloaked instructor’s profound wisdom as if he were right by his side.
Their tone was flat but struck him like lightning, shattering the barriers in his thoughts.
Get stronger!
That’s it!
The young man’s eyes gleamed with realization; overthinking was indeed exhausting—the simplest was actually the most direct answer.
Under the scorching sun, the youth was drenched in sweat, but his eyes sparkled like the stars, and the flame of his conviction burned fiercely, elevating his spirit immensely.
March on, Mu Fan!