Without hesitation, Li Su got up and left.
She couldn’t even be bothered to drive to the gold shop in the neighboring city anymore. Instead, she simply picked a nearby jewelry store, planning to buy the cheapest gold bars available.
But the moment she stepped inside, a sharp sensation of being watched pricked her back like a needle.
Thinking of what Chen Miao had told her, she quickly understood—Shen Jianchen’s private investigator had already silently locked onto her.
So she pretended to browse casually, looking but not buying, then left that shop and went to another. After confirming that the same person was following her, she turned around and walked out, driving away directly.
In the rearview mirror, a low-profile black sedan followed her at a steady, unobtrusive distance.
Li Su’s expression darkened completely.
If this were before, she would have been more cautious and waited two or three days to confirm things. But now—she couldn’t afford to wait even a single day.
Because tonight, she still had to help her father and brother transport supplies into the mine bunker. That operation could not be exposed. Especially not to someone sent by Shen Jianchen.
Thinking this, she opened the car navigation map and selected a remote wild lake. It was isolated, with no cell signal and no surveillance cameras—a perfect blind spot.
The next few hours turned into a carefully orchestrated cat-and-mouse game.
She drove between the city and the outskirts, even parking at a shopping mall for two hours where she bought milk tea and sat by the window. Using her Perception Ability and Cat Hearing, she completely mapped out the investigator’s movements.
He always kept a distance of about one hundred meters, acted cautiously, never called—only texted. A seasoned professional.
After confirming he didn’t communicate in real time, Li Su moved again. She circled repeatedly, went shopping, even ate a meal—completely dulling his vigilance.
On the fourth loop, she finally drove straight to the wild lake and stopped by the shore.
The northern winter wind was bone-chilling. A thin layer of ice covered the lake, cracking at the slightest touch. Dry grass rustled underfoot.
As she got out of the car, she casually pulled a long boning knife from the glove compartment. It was sharp and slender—something she had prepared in advance—and now hidden beneath her thick down jacket.
She deliberately slowed her pace and walked toward the dense pine forest by the lake. The trees blocked visibility; anyone trying to follow would have to close the distance.
Behind her, footsteps were light as falling leaves—but they could not escape her Cat Hearing.
As she went deeper into the forest, the footsteps grew closer. Her Perception Ability precisely tracked the distance: ten meters, nine, eight…
Her nerves tightened. Her fingers gripped the knife handle until her knuckles turned white.
This wasn’t her first kill. In the apocalypse, she had already hardened her heart. She wasn’t nervous—only waiting for the perfect moment.
But when the distance closed to three meters—
The investigator suddenly let out a terrified gasp and turned to run.
“The Stealer! It’s the Stealer!!”
The fear in his voice was almost tangible.
A cold chill shot up Li Su’s spine.
Her internal alarm blared.
He actually knew she was the “Stealer”?!
In the apocalypse, “Stealer” was her greatest secret—and her most fatal label. Once exposed, there was only one option left: kill the witness, or die herself.
Instinctively, Li Su turned sharply, activated [Grasshopper’s Jumping Ability], and shot forward like an arrow. In an instant, she closed several meters and landed right in front of him.
The investigator hadn’t expected her speed. His ordinary face twisted in panic. He slipped on the frost-covered ground and fell hard, scrambling backward while screaming:
“Stealer, don’t come closer— I—ugh!!”
Li Su didn’t let him finish.
She pounced, knee pressing down on his spine with crushing force. One hand clamped over his mouth, cutting off his screams. The other raised the boning knife.
A flash of cold light.
Clean, precise.
Silence returned to the forest, broken only by the man’s final gasping breaths. His eyes froze in terror before losing all life.
Without hesitation, Li Su activated her skill:
[Your power is mine!]
Acquired abilities:
Stolen ability:
A flood of skill notifications made Li Su’s heart tighten.
Luckily, she acted fast—but more importantly, the investigator had panicked upon hearing “Stealer,” which gave her the opening. Otherwise, with his firearms and combat training, she might have been the one who died.
She didn’t have time to examine the skills yet. She immediately searched his body.
Two GPS trackers were found, both still flashing—active. A miniature camera was hidden in his collar, still warm.
Her expression sank instantly.
The camera was recording!
Had it captured the moment he shouted “Stealer”? Had it already been transmitted?
Who would see it—Shen Jianchen? Lin Tianrou? Or someone else watching from behind the scenes?
If the footage leaked…
Killing intent surged.
She had originally planned to fatten them up before slowly stripping them of resources—but now it seemed she might have to eliminate them early.
But just as she was about to destroy everything, she realized there was no signal here.
The footage couldn’t be transmitted at all—it could only be stored locally.
Her tension finally eased.
She crushed the camera, destroyed the memory card under her foot, and stuffed the GPS trackers into her pocket.
Only after confirming there were no more devices did she finally focus on the newly acquired ability:
[Eye of Breaking Illusions] (S-Class)
It could actually see ability levels?
Previously, she could only see skill levels—but now even ability ranks?
An S-class ability.
Her eyes lit up as she continued reading.