Wearing ghillie suits, Su Jin and Du Wenyan ran uphill through the woods.
Du Wenyan had no unusual powers, but Su Jin knew she was much stronger and faster than an ordinary person.
The force and speed with which she'd ambushed him in prison had proved that.
Even with Yunlian on his back, Su Jin didn't pull far ahead of her.
Where the branches grew thinner, he set Yunlian down, ate a cherry, and faced her. "Yunlian, try using your ability on me... Ah! All right, stop! That's enough!"
Su Jin quickly took out a drone and prepared it.
After a few adjustments, it buzzed into the sky.
He had never used drones much. He'd only bought this one while stocking up after his first experience of the apocalypse.
He'd practiced a few times where no one was around in his neighborhood, but was only an adequate pilot.
He'd read online that a drone lost many functions without a network connection.
It would have to fly offline here. Fortunately, there was no wind.
In the city, he'd tested video transmission offline and reached less than two kilometers.
With practically no electromagnetic interference here, he might gain another kilometer or two of range.
He guided the drone as they continued uphill.
Beside him, Du Wenyan was both frightened and curious, but didn't dare interrupt.
Su Jin glanced over and explained. "The man chasing us likes moving through the treetops. I call this a Heavenly Eye. It lets me see him from above."
"We'll lead him around for a while and see what state he's in, then look for an opening... There he is!"
Su Jin turned the controller toward Du Wenyan. Lu Mingxuan hung from a treetop on its screen.
He looked up at the drone in bewilderment, then lowered his head and resumed leaping forward.
He was 1.4 kilometers away.
Su Jin found a direction with fewer obstructions to the signal and pointed. "That way. Let's keep him running."
....
Lu Mingxuan bounded from tree to tree through the forest.
He was puzzled.
The three must have gone into the woods. Had they spotted him?
That made no sense. They couldn't have seen him from inside the house.
Perhaps his finger strike had injured Su Jin badly, and they were looking for herbs.
But why would someone with a house like that have no medicine?
And what was that buzzing thing overhead?
Lu Mingxuan looked up again.
He'd never seen a square beast with glowing eyes.
It flew unsteadily. Perhaps it was young.
He considered attacking it, but striking an unknown beast in the wild was unwise.
Kill the young one, and its parent might come after you.
Still, it didn't quite look alive.
Could it be some scout Su Jin had sent out?
No. A scout would return to report what it saw. This thing just circled nearby.
Never mind. He would ignore it.
Lu Mingxuan leapt toward the place where the three had disappeared.
....
An hour later, he crouched on a branch, his mood darkening while the buzzing continued overhead.
He'd lost them. It made no sense.
He'd searched everywhere nearby. With an injured man and a child, they couldn't have gone far.
Nor had he found footprints.
They could be hiding in the invisible house, but he'd checked every clearing large enough to hold it.
They had to be somewhere around here!
Confusion and hunger were wearing on him.
He looked up angrily. "Get lost! Buzz somewhere else! Make another sound and I'll shoot you down. Take your brother with you!"
He broke off a branch and threw it at the drone.
"Bzzzz..." The drone with the low battery flew away.
"Bzzzz..." A fully charged drone took its place.
....
"Pfft!" Du Wenyan covered her mouth, but a laugh escaped.
Su Jin smiled too. Some of his tension eased.
Lu Mingxuan was an interesting man. Su Jin had worried he would shoot the drone down.
Instead, he'd watched even while one drone replaced the other.
"Brother Wu, how long will you keep him running?" Du Wenyan asked.
"Not long." Watching Lu Mingxuan put wild fruit into his mouth, Su Jin said, "Now. Light the fire!"
....
Below the trees, Lu Mingxuan picked wild fruit with a gloomy face, eating as he went.
The pursuit had gone on too long. Swimming across the river and then running so far had exhausted him.
The pills had kept his energy up, but not his stomach. In his haste, he'd brought no food.
Even if he had, it would probably have come apart during the long swim.
At this rate he'd lose them. Darkness wasn't far off.
And even if he found them before nightfall, fighting on an empty stomach could be dangerous.
As he looked around, a thin column of black smoke caught his eye.
His tense face relaxed.
Someone had lit a fire!
There couldn't be anyone else in this part of the forest but those three.
If they were making a fire, they must not know he was following them.
Lu Mingxuan breathed out, sudden relief washing over him.
At last, he had found both the fugitives and a meal.
Revived, he sprang into the trees and headed for the smoke.
Within minutes, he reached it.
From a tree, he looked down.
A pot boiled in a secluded clearing. Chopsticks and noodles lay beside it.
There was a cloth bag, a half-eaten sweet melon, and a bloodstained bandage.
Lu Mingxuan's gaze dropped to the ground.
Footprints. Huge beast tracks leading east.
Those fools had lit a fire and attracted a fierce beast!
With a beast nearby, he needed to be careful. The fugitives could wait.
He stared at the pot, swallowed, checked that it was safe, and jumped down.
He picked up the bag first. It held several melons.
They were a kind he didn't recognize. He tried one bite, and sweet juice filled his mouth.
Lu Mingxuan stopped in surprise.
Heavens, it was sweet. Even fruit offered to the emperor couldn't compare.
That Su Jin had plenty of good things. Even his melons were extraordinary.
Du Wenyan and the Suzai hardly mattered beside him now. Lu Mingxuan had to find him. Even if Su Jin died, the things on his body would be worth a fortune.
He finished the first melon in a few bites and started on a second.
Four meters away, three figures lay concealed beneath leaves.
Hearing Lu Mingxuan eat, Su Jin slowly reached out and touched Yunlian...