Lin Yi moved his joints. “I need to leave now. You should go too—staying here too long isn’t safe.”
Zhang Long glanced at his watch.
“Team Leader Lin, how long do you need to accomplish the task?”
Lin Yi frowned in thought. “Two hours.”
“It’s 1:38 a.m. now. If by 3:38 you haven’t succeeded, we’ll come to support you. We work inside and outside together—if you find an opportunity, leave; if not, withdraw and we’ll figure out another way.”
“That works.”
Lin Yi didn’t say anything else and prepared to exit the car.
Sambalo drew a cross across his chest.
“May God bless you. We still have plans to drink and feast together in the future.”
Lin Yi chuckled slightly, opened the car door, and stepped out.
But as soon as he got out, he froze in place, unmoving.
Zhang Long noticed something off. “What happened?”
“Stay in the car. Neither of you moves.”
With that, Lin Yi closed the car door himself.
Zhang Long and Sambalo, unsure of what was happening, cautiously scanned their surroundings.
Just then, they saw a red Civic Type-R approaching from not too far away. Other than that, their surroundings were entirely silent.
Instinctively, Zhang Long suspected Lin Yi’s reaction had something to do with the car.
Lin Yi stood still, his eyes fixed firmly on the Type-R as it drew closer.
Unexpectedly, a faint smile appeared on his lips, as though the person in the car was a long-lost friend.
He had been waiting for this moment for many days.
Soon, the Type-R stopped about ten meters in front of Lin Yi.
A man in black stepped out, wearing a clown mask.
The two stood silently in the night wind, their gazes locked, the atmosphere eerily quiet.
The rhythm of their heartbeats seemed to meld with the whistling of the wind.
Zhang Long and Sambalo shuddered involuntarily.
They exchanged a glance.
A thought arose instinctively—the man with the clown mask was undoubtedly a top-tier fighter!
Neither of them could possibly be a match for him with their abilities.
“His posture doesn’t seem tense at all,” Sambalo observed.
“I’m puzzled, too. He shouldn’t be acting like this,” Zhang Long replied.
“So, what do we do now?”
“He told us to stay in the car. Let’s wait and see how this plays out. Maybe it’s not as bad as we’re imagining. Just don’t interfere with whatever he’s doing.”
“That’s the only choice for now.”
Outside the car, Lin Yi faced the man in black, smiling faintly.
“I’ve been waiting many days for you. You didn’t disappoint me.”
Lin Yi stretched, his joints cracking audibly.
“Only you are worthy of being my opponent. I’ve been anticipating this day for a long time.”
The man in black remained silent but replied through his movements.
Both of them assumed fighting stances as the night wind blew between them.
In that moment, even the man in black seemed energized.
Inside the car, Zhang Long and Sambalo swallowed nervously.
The tension in the air heightened their adrenaline, their heartbeats quickening.
Suddenly!
The man in black made his move!
Taking a large stride forward, his hand curved claw-like toward Lin Yi. Lin Yi sidestepped swiftly, using his right foot as a pivot to rotate to the man’s side, throwing a backward elbow strike!
What looked like a simple move was, in reality, akin to a heavy hammer smashing toward the man in black.
The man in black sensed something amiss and immediately raised his elbow to block, instinctively leaning back to redirect most of Lin Yi’s force, avoiding substantial harm.
The two in the car felt their hearts tighten as they watched.
Only now did they understand that the strength Lin Yi had displayed on previous missions was merely the tip of the iceberg.
Just that one elbow strike from Lin Yi—none of them could have endured it!