After a calm, measured acknowledgement from Deputy Chief Wang, several minutes of agonizing silence followed.
Then, Wang's voice cut back through the line.
"Based on the vehicle description and license plate you provided, we've locked onto the target.
"Heading east on the provincial highway. Just passed the third intersection. Speed is fifty-five kilometers per hour. I've had Traffic Control sync their real-time location. You'll get an update every fifteen seconds."
In an instant, Shu violently kicked over the mind-bogglingly complex labyrinth he had built in his Mind Palace.
Every single calculated route that didn't align with this new information was mercilessly discarded as trash, entirely disregarding the immense mental effort it had taken to construct them.
"Thank you." Shu choked back the tremor in his voice to express his gratitude.
"When you pursue, you must prioritize your own safety." After a brief pause, Wang added the mandatory warning.
Shu didn't answer. He simply turned his head to look at the middle-aged driver.
The car had been idling by the curb for nearly ten minutes. While Shu was on the phone with the police, the driver had rolled down his window, lit a cigarette, and silently listened.
The cigarette had burned all the way down to the filter, a long, unbroken ash hanging precariously from the end.
Feeling Shu's gaze, the driver took the cigarette from his mouth and crushed it fiercely into the ashtray.
Only after the last ember was completely extinguished did he place both hands back on the steering wheel, gripping it so tightly his knuckles turned white.
Emotionally... the kid beside him was a fragile youth begging for help... no, begging for rescue.
Logically... that ten thousand yuan was an undeniable windfall. It was more than enough to justify doing something slightly out of line.
Saving someone... is that really out of line?
The electric motor suddenly roared to life!
"Where to?" The driver shot Shu a fierce, blood-pumping glare, unleashing a fiery resolve he hadn't felt in years.
"Right turn at the second intersection. Cut straight through the building materials market and get onto the elevated expressway!"
The EV launched forward with terrifying acceleration, pushing Shu back into his seat.
Without another word, the driver pushed the car right to the edge of the city speed limit. He weaved through traffic, overtaking car after car, as if he were leaving behind decades of cautious, mundane existence.
He had spent over twenty years burying his youthful fire beneath the asphalt of this city.
But today, the asphalt responded, screaming back as the tires bit into the road!
Every corner they took, the centrifugal force was perfectly countered by a veteran driver who had spent his life behind the wheel, masterfully balancing the throttle and the steering angle.
He pushed the car to its absolute limit, driving like a gambler throwing his last chips onto the table.
Shu sat in the passenger seat, gripping his seatbelt tightly, his breathing heavy and ragged.
Deputy Chief Wang's voice continued to broadcast from the phone's speaker.
"Van is heading east on the provincial highway. Passing the fourth intersection. Speed fifty."
"Passing the fifth intersection. Speed maintaining."
"Approaching the end of the construction zone. Speed limit about to return to sixty."
With every location update, a massive chunk of the map in Shu's mind was torn away. Eventually, only one line remained.
East on the provincial highway. Heading toward the elevated expressway.
"Left turn ahead. Get on the expressway." Shu gave his next instruction with clipped precision.
The driver barely glanced at the oncoming traffic before violently cranking the wheel all the way to the left.
The car swung off the main road and onto the on-ramp of the elevated expressway.
The incline of the ramp pressed Shu gently back into his seat. The driver kept the speed perfectly locked at the absolute maximum limit, the whine of the electric motor sounding like a single, unbroken breath.
The reflectors lining both sides of the bridge flashed cold white in the headlights, bouncing backward in an endless stream.
But over the phone, Deputy Chief Wang's updates suddenly ceased.
A moment later, Wang's voice exploded with shock and anger: "Wait—what are you planning to do?!"
The driver heard the shout clearly, and the unbroken breath he had been holding hitched for a second.
[Received: 10,000 Yuan.]
Shu lowered his phone after completing another transfer. He switched back to the call screen, turned off the speakerphone, and brought the device close to his mouth.
"Deputy Chief Wang, thank you for everything you've done for me," Shu said, his voice terrifyingly calm. "Everything that happens from this moment on is solely my responsibility. I am leaving this statement on a recorded line, hoping it will absolve you of any and all liability."
"No! You can't—"
Beep.
The sound of the call disconnecting was harsh and abrupt. Shu tossed the phone casually onto the dashboard. He leaned back, gave the driver one final instruction, and closed his eyes.
The driver opened his mouth to say something, but ultimately gritted his teeth and slammed the accelerator down.
Men die for wealth, just as birds die for food... This is justified, right?!
In Shu's Mind Palace, the final route suddenly gained a Z-axis.
The road the target was on and the road Shu was on were completely different. In Shu's initial projection, the two lines would eventually intersect, and he was confident he had reached the intersection point before the target.
But when "height" was added to the map, the two-dimensional intersection point "vanished."
The two lines ran parallel. From a top-down view, they overlapped perfectly. But—
In reality, the two roads were vertically separated.
And the distance separating them was the height from the bridge deck to the ground below.
Nearly ten meters.
SCREEECH—!!
The agonizing shriek of rubber burning against asphalt shattered the quiet evening. Shu snapped his eyes open as the car skidded to a violent halt. A heavy, dark shadow seemed to fall over his eyes.
He ripped off his seatbelt, threw open the door, and left his phone—his final tether to reason and rationality—behind in the safety of the car.
Charging straight into the breathtaking sunset, Shu sprinted toward the guardrail of the elevated expressway with nothing left to lose.
Panicked, the driver scrambled out of the car after him. Deputy Chief Wang's final, desperate shout had finally made the middle-aged man realize something was horribly wrong.
And the moment he stepped out of the car, that realization solidified into pure horror.
Bathed in the dying light of the sun, he watched Shu climb onto the ledge of the elevated bridge!
What the hell is he doing?!
The evening breeze whipped Shu's hair and clothes, blowing away the last remnants of the gloomy haze that had covered his face.
Revealed beneath that haze was the expression of a man who had entirely discarded safety and logic, entrusting his entire being to raw, primal emotion—
It was the ultimate manifestation of human "madness"!
Right here!
Standing high above the world, Shu stared down at the road beneath the overpass.
They were nearing the outskirts of the city. Traffic was sparse; you could go minutes without seeing a single car.
But Shu had already locked eyes on the white van approaching rapidly from the distance!