It had to escape the most immediate threat—Xiaojiu!
But before Xiaojiu, it was all in vain.
Having already cultivated Spiritual Power and officially crossed the threshold of a Spirit Beast, Xiaojiu was no longer an ordinary cat.
Its dynamic vision could easily track the chameleon, picking up on the subtle energy fluctuations and shifts in skin texture the instant it changed color.
Nourished by Spiritual Power, its reaction speed and coordination had reached an extraordinary level.
More importantly, to Xiaojiu’s senses, the chameleon’s aura was as distinct as a candle flame in the dead of night.
When the chameleon tried to blend in with its surroundings, Xiaojiu only needed to narrow its eyes. Spiritual Power would flow into its pupils, allowing it to see right through the fragile camouflage and lock onto the Spiritual Light at the core of the creature’s life.
When the chameleon gathered its strength to launch itself away, Xiaojiu would always anticipate the direction and trajectory of its muscles, either taking a light half-step aside or batting a paw at its path, completely foiling the chameleon’s clever escape plan.
This was the utter dominance of the "cultivation" system over "technological" modification, a crushing superiority in both the plane of life and the dimension of perception!
On the roof.
Hearing the commotion, Zhang Cheng quickly climbed up as well. He drew his pistol, aiming it steadily at the half-crouching "Li Jiahao," whose expression was grim and uncertain, and shouted sternly.
"Don’t move! Hands on your head!"
On the ground, four special police officers also raised their guns, cutting off "Li Jiahao’s" potential escape routes from various angles should he try to jump.
"Li Jiahao" remained in his half-crouch, silent and still, as if gathering his strength or waiting for something.
Suddenly, with lightning speed, he plunged his hands into his clothes and whipped them out, forcefully scattering two paper-wrapped packets of powder.
One packet of white powder, carrying a pungent, spicy odor, flew straight toward Zhang Cheng and Yang Qi, who were closest to him.
The other packet, filled with a pale yellow powder, he threw toward the ground. It quickly diffused in the night wind, enveloping the special police officers below.
"The powder’s poisonous! Hold your breath!"
Yang Qi held his breath and shouted the warning.
Startled, Zhang Cheng clamped his mouth shut, held his breath, and instinctively took half a step back.
The officers on the ground were also well-trained. They immediately held their breath and quickly retreated to get out of the powder’s effective range.
Seizing the brief moment of chaos as everyone’s attention was drawn to the poison powder, "Li Jiahao" spun around, grabbed the rope still hanging from the edge of the roof, and leaped off, using it to swing toward the shorter building next door.
’Trying to run?’
Yang Qi’s gaze turned cold.
’Since you’re putting up a desperate struggle, don’t blame me for what comes next.’
With a concealed pull and push of his fingers at his side, Magical Power circulated through his body, and he activated the Small Transport Technique once again.
This time, his target was the inside of the elbow joint of the arm "Li Jiahao" was using to hold the rope!
An invisible, precise force, like a perfectly calculated lever, pried gently—
"Ah!"
"Li Jiahao" felt his arm go numb. A sudden twisting force made him lose his grip, and his body instantly lost its balance. Instead of successfully swinging away, he lurched forward off the edge of the roof and plummeted straight down.
THUD~
The heavy sound of impact was followed by a suppressed groan of pain.
"Li Jiahao’s" right leg hit the ground first. A clear, sickening "CRACK" came from his ankle—it was clearly broken.
However, to Yang Qi and Zhang Cheng’s surprise, "Li Jiahao’s" pain tolerance was beyond imagination.
His face was contorted in agony and his forehead was beaded with cold sweat, yet he didn’t utter a single cry. Dragging his obviously deformed and useless right leg, he started hopping on one foot, still trying to escape into the deeper, darker corners of the factory complex.
"After him!"
Zhang Cheng and Yang Qi immediately came down from the roof.
On the ground, the special police officers who had inhaled a small amount of the powder were dizzy and disoriented, but they fought through the discomfort and began to close in, guns raised.
They watched as "Li Jiahao" dragged his broken leg, stumbling and hopping toward the base of a wall where a thick, thorny bush of wild roses and a patch of messy plantains grew.
A glint appeared in Yang Qi’s eyes.
"Verdant Soldiers!"
As the Divine Ability activated, the motionless wild rose vines, as if injected with life, suddenly sprang into action!
Like green tentacles, the tough, thorny vines wrapped around "Li Jiahao’s" ankles with incredible speed.
"Ah!"
Caught off guard, "Li Jiahao" was tripped by the vines and fell heavily to the ground. The thorns dug into his flesh, sending a wave of stinging pain through him.
To everyone else, it just looked like "Li Jiahao" hadn’t watched his step and had tripped.
Seeing this, the two closest special police officers started to rush forward to subdue him.
"Don’t go near him!"
Yang Qi stopped them just in time. "He might have something more dangerous on him. That powder was just the beginning. A cornered animal is dangerous."
Zhang Cheng was startled. Recalling the culprit’s previous use of modified poisonous lizards and his precise poisoning methods, he was instantly on high alert and quickly directed the officers.
"Back off, maintain your distance! Form a perimeter and just make sure he can’t make another move!"
He then called for backup, telling the people outside to bring riot shields and other equipment.
After a moment’s thought, he added another command.
"And bring a high-powered tranquilizer gun!"
The moment the word "tranquilizer" was spoken, Yang Qi keenly noticed that "Li Jiahao," lying on the ground entangled in vines, gave an almost imperceptible twitch.
Yang Qi couldn’t help but laugh to himself.
’Before, it was you, "Li Jiahao," using special tranquilizers to harm people, controlling animals to stage "accidents." ’
’In a moment, you’ll get a taste of being tranquilized yourself.’
’Now that’s what I call karma!’
Following their orders, the special police officers spread out, forming a loose perimeter. Their guns and high-intensity flashlights remained locked on "Li Jiahao" on the ground, but they all maintained a safe distance.