"Thank you, little kid! But stealing money is wrong, you know?"
Qi Xu deftly dodged the child’s hand reaching for his pocket and unceremoniously poked the kid away with a tree branch from the roadside.
"Waaah! Mommy, someone hit me!"
The brat immediately resorted to kicking, punching, and throwing a tantrum.
Before Qi Xu could fully appreciate the supposed charm of the normal world, he found himself transformed into a fugitive...
Though, for now, it wasn’t law enforcement chasing him—it was the kid’s entire family, two middle-aged parents and four elderly relatives, sprinting toward him while cursing at the top of their lungs!
Worried about causing too much of a scene, Qi Xu lunged forward, snatched the rainbow lollipop from the brat’s hand, and bolted. As he passed a trash can, he tossed the candy inside without hesitation.
Instantly, the kid’s wailing amplified tenfold...
After leaving the neighborhood, Qi Xu slipped into the busiest marketplace in the area, where you could buy just about anything. He swapped out his entire outfit from head to toe.
But the moment he stepped out of the market, the streets were already echoing with police sirens. The cops had probably noticed his recent escape.
And so, Qi Xu’s "great escape" began. The only silver lining was that high-tech pursuit equipment wasn’t too advanced in this era, so even with his abysmal stamina, he managed to hold out for 17 days.
At first, he could still crash in cheap motels in the city’s slums. But as the police widened their search, Qi Xu was forced to drift along the urban fringes, living like a homeless man...
Now, Qi Xu was on the verge of losing his mind. His limbs ached, his entire body throbbed with pain, and despair had sunk deep into his bones.
He couldn’t figure out where he’d gone wrong, turning his first "map dungeon" into this nightmare.
Had he made the wrong choice? Should he have just surrendered and let himself be thrown in jail?
Inside this "map dungeon," none of the items in his backpack were usable, and the body he was stuck with had laughably poor stamina—even sprinting a few steps left him gasping for air.
Holding out this long was already a miracle.
"Pink Romantic Journey"—where was the pink? Where was the romance? Where was the journey?!
Hiding in a rural wheat field, Qi Xu didn’t dare lift his head or move. The entire city was plastered with wanted posters for a murderer—even the food carts had them.
If he hadn’t sold all his gold jewelry for cash on the first day, bought a bag, and stocked up on food and water, he probably wouldn’t have lasted this long.
Just then, Qi Xu faintly heard rustling to his right. He turned his head and saw a rat snake.
"Hey, wanna chat?"
Used to handling snakes, Qi Xu instinctively reached out to grab it, scaring the poor creature into slithering away in a panic.
Qi Xu’s eyes lit up. Why would a rat snake appear out of nowhere? Could this be the dungeon’s guidance? Was it leading him to awaken his ability?
In an instant, Qi Xu scrambled to his feet and chased after the snake...
The rat snake experienced the peak of its serpentine existence, though thankfully, the human chasing it was slow.
Realizing he couldn’t keep up, Qi Xu started taking shortcuts, trying to cut it off.
He wasn’t trying to catch it—he just wanted to see where it was going!
Qi Xu never expected that, in this hopeless situation, a snake would be the thing to push him past his limits.
The snake slithered faster and faster, eventually darting into a peach grove. Seeing the endless sea of pink blossoms, Qi Xu let out a small sigh of relief. Had he finally reached his destination?
But the dungeon played by no rules. The rat snake quickly crossed the grove, paused for a brief breather, and then vanished.
And then, disaster struck. His earlier sprint had caught the attention of someone, who alerted the pursuit squad.
Now, Qi Xu had no choice but to run again!
Scaling hills, fording rivers—driven purely by sheer will to survive, Qi Xu ran until his lungs felt like they were about to explode. Just as he was about to be caught, he suddenly took a step that covered three or four paces in one go...
Stumbling, he crashed into a nearby tree, and a faint pink mist emanated from his hand. The tree—about as thick as a grown man’s thigh—snapped and toppled over.
Qi Xu froze. Was this his ability? Had he succeeded? Was this how abilities awakened?
Catching his breath, he steeled himself and kept running.
Strangely, the pursuit squad didn’t react at all to the pink mist swirling around Qi Xu’s wrist. They didn’t even blink, simply sidestepping the fallen tree and continuing the chase.
No gunfire, no shouting, not even vehicles—just relentless pursuit. It was obvious now: they were pure NPCs.
Qi Xu had no idea how he’d triggered his "ability" earlier, but when he tried to replicate it, nothing worked. No matter what he did, he couldn’t summon it again.
Hesitating, he stopped to rest briefly, waiting until the pursuers were almost upon him before bolting again.
The tension was high, and he nearly got caught, but still, no ability triggered. Instead, his rhythm was thrown off completely.
Frustration gnawed at him—until he spotted the rat snake again! The moment he focused on it, Qi Xu suddenly found himself teleporting right beside the snake.
And again, without thinking, he unleashed another burst of pink mist. This time, it sliced a clean gash into the ground about 20 cm ahead of the snake.
Trembling, the rat snake turned its head to glare at Qi Xu, its tiny face radiating unmistakable betrayal: "How could you do this to me?"
"Sorry, sorry! Didn’t mean to! Go on, run—I’ll keep chasing you!"
The snake looked ready to give up, but Qi Xu grabbed it and hurled it forward another seven or eight meters, as if reigniting its will to live.
And so, the chase resumed: Qi Xu pursued the snake, while the pursuit squad pursued Qi Xu.
Gradually, Qi Xu began to grasp the trick to using his ability. It required absolute focus—a strange, indescribable sensation...
This sudden movement could cover up to 5 meters. At the moment of arrival, he could actively release a slash of pink mist, dealing cutting damage to a target or location.
Just as he finally figured it all out, the rat snake ahead suddenly transformed into a venomous serpent with gaping jaws—and lunged straight at him!
Qi Xu activated his ability, appearing beside the snake, and with a swift motion, sliced it clean in half, severing nearly half its tail...
But the snake seemed unaffected. Its upper body kept lunging forward. At the critical moment, Qi Xu triggered another teleport, dodging behind it, then spun and unleashed another pink slash—
This time, he split the snake’s head clean down the middle.
At last, Qi Xu understood how to wield this "ability." The frustration of the past 20 days finally erupted in a cathartic release!
But before he could let out a triumphant roar, he was forcibly ejected from the dungeon...
..........
