As Chen Junnan walked along the road, he felt something was a bit strange.

This night was altogether too unusual.

It was almost at the point where you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face, yet the streets were quiet and peaceful—not a single “Ant” could be seen.

Having already experienced two “Heavenly-level Moments,” there were surprisingly human figures moving about inside many nearby buildings. They gathered in twos and threes, kindling faint firelight.

In a trance, Chen Junnan felt this scene resembled ten years ago, when many “Participants” were still alive. Back then, they would gather together like this once night fell. Although they couldn’t exactly be said to be chatting freely, there were always at least a few words to exchange.

The firelight from numerous buildings actually made this entire road no longer so pitch black, yet Chen Junnan still felt something was off.

After all, a long-haired girl had been following behind him at a distance that was neither too close nor too far, and she had been following for the entire journey.

Chen Junnan clearly remembered that after he walked out of “Heaven’s Mouth,” this girl also went out not long after. He had thought it was just a coincidence, but along this entire route, she seemed to be tracking him. No matter what, he couldn’t shake her off.

Finally, after turning three street corners, Chen Junnan stopped in his tracks and turned around to look at the girl.

“I say… big sister.”

“Oh, what’s up, little brother?” the girl replied without any courtesy.

“You really do climb right up when given a ladder…”

Chen Junnan sized up the long-haired girl before him. She wore all black clothes and had a tall figure, looking completely without the timid feelings of someone tracking another person.

“You call me big sister, and I can’t call you little brother?” the girl asked again.

“Fine, you’re absolutely right,” Chen Junnan nodded.

“I…” Chen Junnan furrowed his brows and said, “Big sister, that’s not how it works. You’ve been following right behind my ass this whole time—do you have business or not? If you have something to say, say it now directly so I can be at ease. If there’s nothing, then let’s part ways so I can be relieved. Otherwise, this young master is starting to suspect you’re coveting my beauty, and I can’t even walk steadily.”

“Ha,” the girl laughed, then reached up to brush her hair. “This young master little brother, your logic is off. The reason you feel I’ve been following behind you is precisely because you’ve been walking in front of me. What does this have to do with me?”

“What the fuck is ‘young master little brother’? Why does that sound like it’s mixing up generations?” Chen Junnan said irritably. “Big sister, if you feel I’m walking in front and blocking your way, why don’t you go first?”

“That won’t work,” the girl said again.

“Why won’t it work now?”

“If I walk alone in front, what if you don’t follow me anymore?”

The brief question stunned Chen Junnan, then he asked somewhat baffled: “This young master doesn’t quite understand. What’s the problem if I don’t follow you? This young master didn’t go out to track you in the first place…”

“Look, isn’t this the logic?” the girl said. “I’m a girl, walking on the road late at night—it’s actually not very safe.”

“Yes.”

“At this time, if I encounter bad people, I’ll be very passive.”

“Yes.”

“So I follow behind you. This way, at least we count as traveling together, and I can be a bit safer.”

“Yes.”

“Once I walk in front, if you directly leave, wouldn’t I fall back into the danger of walking alone at night?”

“Yes… yes my ass!”

Chen Junnan still couldn’t understand this girl’s thought process: “I really don’t understand… Am I not also a stranger to you? Oh, strangers aren’t safe, but I am? And whether or not you encounter danger—why should that burden be placed on me?”

“Stranger…?” the girl shook her head. “I don’t think so. Young master little brother, if I’m not mistaken, you’re Chen Junnan, right?”

“No, I’m Gourd Baby.”

“Ha…” the girl covered her mouth and laughed. “Someone told me that Chen Junnan is a person who, once you meet him, leaves a deep impression. Now it seems they were absolutely right.”

Chen Junnan looked at her with furrowed brows: “Then who might you be? I remember at ‘Heaven’s Mouth,’ you were with that white-clothed girl Yan Zhichun, right?”

“That’s right. My name is Jiang Ruoxue. Zhichun said you’ve always wanted to set her up with someone… What, do you take on this kind of business regularly?”

“Like hell I do,” Chen Junnan shook his head. “Big sister Jiang, where exactly are you going? Is there something that can’t be done the next day? You yourself know it’s late at night and very unsafe.”

Jiang Ruoxue smiled and shook her head: “You’re asking me? We should be pretty much the same—we both received some kind of orders tonight, which is why we started moving at the same time.”

“Oh ho… so tonight really isn’t peaceful…” Chen Junnan smiled. “Big sister Jiang, are you ‘Extreme Path’?”

“Yes, genuine article, real deal, unwavering from start to finish,” Jiang Ruoxue nodded. “What about you? What’s your identity?”

“I’m Gourd Baby.”

“Alright, alright…” Jiang Ruoxue sighed helplessly. “This young master little brother Gourd Baby, the sky is about to go completely dark. Don’t waste any more time—hurry up and walk forward.”

“Fine, you shouldn’t be idle either,” Chen Junnan said. “Although this young master has had social anxiety his whole life, if no one chats idly with me, I feel uncomfortable. It’s so quiet on this road—keep me company and chat.”

“That’s fine,” Jiang Ruoxue nodded, came to Chen Junnan’s side, and the two walked forward shoulder to shoulder.

“We couldn’t possibly be going to the same place, could we?” Chen Junnan asked again after walking a few steps.

“Hard to say,” Jiang Ruoxue said. “After all, we’re not from the same camp right now. I’m ‘Extreme Path,’ you’re ‘Gourd Baby.’ I can’t reveal too much.”

“Alright… big sister…” Chen Junnan sighed. “But walking in this direction… where else could it lead? Just say it directly—aren’t we both going to ‘Cat’?”

“More or less,” Jiang Ruoxue nodded.

Chen Junnan also keenly thought of something at this moment. Tonight, Qi Xia clearly had a major move planned, but coincidentally, Jiang Ruoxue as “Extreme Path” had also begun to act, and she chose to go with him to “Cat’s” headquarters. But was “Extreme Path” friend or foe?

He pondered for a while, then turned his head: “Big sister Jiang, what are you going to ‘Cat’ for?”

“I’m going to ‘Cat’ to find ‘Extreme Path.’ What about you?”

After hearing this, Chen Junnan blinked and said: “There’s also ‘Extreme Path’ inside ‘Cat’…? Which small-time character is it?”

“Probably not small-time,” Jiang Ruoxue smiled. “What about you? What are you going to ‘Cat’ to do?”

“If you’re going to ‘Cat’ to find ‘Extreme Path’… then I can only be going to ‘Cat’ to save grandpa.”