Here at Last

Even though the surrounding was as dark as the yawning grave, Fang Ning's vision was as clear as day from the System's view. Qi Yan took nearly half a day, burying herself in contemplation, before she finally took action.

Suddenly, she started jumping in the courtyard. She looked somewhere between a jumping Chinese zombie or a dancing robot, which made Fang Ning sympathize with her. She was a beauty, but now she was a professional failure.

It was unfortunate that he could not record while he watched, thought Fang Ning, entirely unabashed.

Fang Ning only managed to watch for a short while before he heard footsteps. He was disappointed when he saw Qi Yan stop her actions. Then, someone spoke.

"Yan-er, what exercise are you doing in the yard? The yard lights are broken, so be careful and don't hurt yourself in the dark, okay?" A man spoke, his voice gentle and warm.

"It's fine, dad. I'm feeling quite tired after reading so I was just dancing a little bit. Stretching about and all, you know?" Qi Yan's voice was slightly tense and rushed.

"Alright. I'll ask Wang Ma to get someone to fix it tomorrow. Don't get too tired from reading, okay? I'm here to talk to you about something."

"I'm listening." Qi Yan sneakily wiped the sweat forming around her forehead. Luckily, she paid enough attention to break the lights in the yard before she started her training. Else, she would've lost all of her image in front of her father by now.

"Tomorrow, a family meeting will be held again, and apparently the son of our clan leader, Qi Ye, would cooperate with the elders to release a type of pill, consisting of a multitude of rare herbs. Allegedly, Internal Strength can be stored and sealed within the pill, which would be immensely effective if it were used to suppress some chronic disease. They've only made 10 pills this time, and they're now looking for funds from the family. Aside from getting shareholders, they're looking to recruit members of the clan who possess Internal Strength to move towards mass production for market release. You should go and have a look. Here's some money for you to go and invest in it. After all, it's also something good the clan leader is doing for us."

"Alright, father," answered Qi Yan, delighted. That young man was one of the most brilliant minds in the family, and was associated with quite a number of new innovations. Before this, she would look at them and their riches from afar, not bothering to care even if she were invited to join. Now, there was no need for her father to worry anymore; she now possessed the actual ability to join them, and no one would be able to gossip about her. In hindsight, that flailing was not much of a problem after all.

"Ah, the world has changed. There's no need for us to rush; sometimes, it's better to take it slow," consoled her father, who understood her best.

Fang Ning no longer had the patience to listen in to their conversation. Instead, he quickly asked the System, "Sir System, was he speaking the truth?"

"The truth is unknown," The System replied.

"You can be less cryptic than that, really."

"Each individual's cultivated Internal Strengths have their own qualities, stemming from and being similar to the cultivator. It takes an immense amount of control for it to flow in another person's body without destroying the natural composition. If something went wrong, it would run rampant and damage the nerves and vital channels in the body. However, you humans are an imaginative bunch, and they might've used some herbs to neutralize the personal qualities sealed in the Internal Strength. It is a possibility that it might not harm the user, but there's no way to know how the Internal Strength in the pill could identify the illness without a guide."

Fang Ning knew that even if the System was not very intelligent, it would not lie about anything. After he listened to its explanation, an idea occurred to him.

"Wait, why did you ask this out of the blue?" For once, the System was smart about things.

"Oh, I'm just saying, because since you've been on standby for so many days, something that good would most definitely attract quality prey for you, right? Of course, it's still your call to make," blabbered Fang Ning. He was already very experienced in toying with the System.

"That's true. It seems like we'll need to standby here tomorrow as well."

Not long after their shared conversation, the System controlled Fang Ning's body and ran towards somewhere far away. Referring to the System Map, Fang Ning spotted a blinking dark red dot, and judging from how dim it was, the prey was as only as important as an ant. It was barely worth the trip, but to be fair, the System was starving.

///

Just as the night fells on the next day, the System had Fang Ning's body squatting just outside the Qi Family's house, his cover so perfect no one in the Qi Family members spotted him.

These people had smiles plastered on their faces as they greeted each other with their fist-wrapped salutes, their voices brimming with excitement. 

The System was excited too, Fang Ning even more, but it was for an entirely different reason.

The System could not be less bothered by whatever the Qi Family was showing off in their gathering. It was only interested in the possibility of a big-shot showing up during the night. Fang Ning, on the other hand, was enthusiastically waiting for whatever spoils the System could reap tonight.

The heavens do not disappoint those who yearn and desire. After a long wait, the System finally saw not one, not two, but three big-shots appear just before midnight. Each of them pinged on the System Map with shining red spots, and of course Fang Ning understood that they're not necessarily sinners; but that meant that they're worth a high enough EXP each.

As expected by Fang Ning, the System's disposition in conning the con man had caused it to hold the fort for now. However, the results this time were not as good as their previous experiences.

///

Fang Ning checked the time, feeling utterly resigned. It was 2 a.m. already, but our beloved Sir System had not farmed even one of the three big-shots. It was controlling Fang Ning's body to go on a demented chase for this one thief who ran as fast as a bullet. He had a speed that could compete with the System's amazing Qinggong. 

The perpetrator escaped the Qi Family's mansion in the dark with the other two, but he had no idea that the System was already onto their backs, waiting just nearby for them. These three were all superpowered individuals who just awakened their respective abilities, and were aware of the infamous Vigilante A.

When the System continued with its Standard Appearing Procedure (the System ignored all of Fang Ning's hushed suggestions to ambush them as it thought that it might threaten its secret heroic identity), the three thieves escaped simultaneously before it could finish the 'daylight' part of the sentence. In a flash, the System was one street behind.

The fact that they could run so fast proved their worth in terms of EXP. The System Map was accurate, so the System immediately launched into a full-fledged chase. Initially, Fang Ning did not think that it stood a chance of catching up, but he did not expect one of them to be extra; this thief was the fastest of the three and ran the furthest, but for some reason he slowed down purposely to let the other two leave while he stayed to play around with Vigilante A.

And that was the reason why this dude was in literal sh*t right now. The two was engaged in a chase from 12 a.m. to 2 a.m…. 

"God d*mn it, why are you still chasing me? Didn't I already throw the things to you?" The thief in front turned to yell angrily while he ran past the alleys, his voice echoing in the night.

The System remained silent and only powered on. Their distance seemed to be closer now.

The thief was choked with rage. He knew that he will never be the hero's match if he went face first into a battle with him, so he could do nothing but to explode in power to increase the distance between them. Once again, he looked back to find the Vigilante A still maintain his steady stride. The hero followed him, as if the idea of giving up never crossed his mind.

"F*ck me, no wonder people said Vigilante A has a one-track mind! Which dynasty did you pop out of? What kind of freaking antique are you! Are you planning to chase me until the morning?" The thief, Lu Er, could only blame his bad luck. He had a plan with two of his partner in crime to steal one of the new products exhibited in the Qi Family. They planned to gain massive profit after they sold it to the family's competitor.

One of them would be the eyes, another the stealing hand, and the last as the support.

He was the stealing hand, and he had the most skilled within the team. Just as they happily escaped after they had successfully gotten the goods, thinking of the riches they would obtain from the steal, they were already watched by the Vigilante.

Initially, he thought that since he was the fastest to evolve his superpower among the three, and that his superpower was a Speed Enhancing one, he must be able to devastate the famous Vigilante A with his skills. The latter was recently the hot topic within the circle of the superpowered in Qi City, and he thought that Lu Er could defeat him and leave him to stare helplessly as he left.

Then, he would be able to boast about it in front of his two friends, and subsequently be the leader of the team. He would finally be able to realise a certain dream he had years ago… That was why he intentionally slowed down even if he already ran a safe distance from the hero. He allowed the other two to escape before him, and he stayed to distract the Vigilante A. 

And then, he found out that yes, his opponent's speed was no match for his, but he was not slow either. Additionally, he had a much stronger endurance than himself.

Somehow, he would not lose his way either. No matter how many turns he made, Vigilante A would always locate the nearest shortcut at a moment's notice. If he didn't have some reserve energy that enabled him to have short bursts of speed, he would've been captured long ago.

He knew the only outcome that he would face if this fellow managed to catch up to him. It would happen like how the other Awakened had described, like how the surveillance footage had captured. He would get a palm from the Vigilante, collapse to the ground, and the Special Affairs would show up and drag his unconscious *ss and file him in as an achievement. That had become one of the Standard Operating Procedure of Qi City's Special Affairs Department recently.

When it was clear that he could never escape this fate, he thought of an idea and pretended to throw the stolen good that he had spent much effort to steal. He actually threw a fake, but he thought that he could stall some time for himself.

The result? Vigilante A did not even take a look at the fake he threw. Instead, the hero managed to get closer when Lu Er was busying himself with throwing…

Alas, he had no other choice but to throw the real one. 'Since you got the real deal, you should be satisfied and stop chasing me now, right?' thought the thief, 'It's not like you're getting a single cent out of this, right?'

The hero did spend some time to find the real good that he discarded. What Lu Er never imagined that when he was taking in much needed oxygen, assuming that he finally escaped, the hero was back on his tail…

And the most heartbreaking part? The chase was now at its second hour, and his legs were as heavy as lead. The only thing spurring him forward was inertia and his drive for freedom, but when he looked at the hero, he saw his opponent running as freely as he did two hours ago…