From Abyssal Invasion to Bursting Stars with a Single Sword-Chapter 41: Abyss Fire Stealer

Beneath the watchful eye of the reconnaissance falcon, Su Muyu caught sight of the photograph Gong ZhenTeng had produced, and her heart immediately started pounding furiously.

Because the person in the photo was unmistakably Lu Heng.

Gong ZhenTeng was using a Super Crystal Core as bait, asking Lei Jinhao to find and kill Gong Chusheng's murderer.

And the first suspect was Lu Heng.

Upon learning this information, Su Muyu was overcome with worry and hastily retracted her falcon, hailing a taxi to meet up with Lu Heng at the hotel.

The moment she opened the door of the room, she rushed inside, slamming it shut behind her, panting as she spoke, "I... I saw Lei Jinhao and Gong ZhenTeng meeting again, and Lei Jinhao has received the Fighting Artist Essence.

"And also, Gong ZhenTeng is offering a Super Crystal Core to compel Lei Jinhao to find his son's killer, and his first target is us."

She included herself in the mix, resolved that they would face whatever came together, although Gong ZhenTeng's photograph only depicted Lu Heng alone.

Lu Heng had previously considered this possibility, so the news didn't take him by surprise.

"What do we do now? Lei Jinhao's team consists of dozens of Superpower Users," Su Muyu expressed the immense pressure she felt.

Lu Heng grabbed a motorcycle helmet, placing it in her hands as he said, "In the Abyss Era, Strength determines everything. As long as we're powerful enough, it doesn't matter who the opponent is, we'll be fearless. Let's go! To Quenching Castle."

Thanks to the Quenching Castle Badge, they could enter Quenching Castle at will. Thus, the pair reached the ninth tunnel of Century Bridge and, without delay, passed through the tunnel directly into Quenching Castle.

"My friend, you're finally back. The success rate of Quenching has been dismal lately, and if I don't find my furnace lid soon, I'll go bankrupt," Master Gulu complained as soon as he saw Lu Heng.

"If that's the case, Master might consider raising the price for Quenching services," Lu Heng suggested a devious idea.

At this stage, anyone who afforded Weapon Quenching was never short of money, and even if the price doubled, the demand would still exceed the supply.

Based on developments in his previous life, even if the price wasn't raised now, it was bound to increase later.

After all, more and more Superpower Users would need Quenching services, and sooner or later Quenching Castle would cater only to an elite clientele.

After offering his wicked suggestion, Lu Heng steered the conversation back to the main point, "I came here today to help Master retrieve his furnace lid. I'm prepared."

"That's great! Black Fire, come out and find that damned thief," Gulu shouted into the castle.

A creature, entirely black and hairless, with a bundle of flames on its tail, leaped out.

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Despite its feline appearance, it was strictly speaking not a cat, because it originated from the Abyss.

Because it resembled a cat, humans had named this Abyss Creature the Flame-tailed Spirit Cat.

"This is my little pet, very docile. I've given it a new name from the Human World. It can sniff out that damned thief's scent. Follow it and help me retrieve my furnace lid," Gulu introduced the Flame-tailed Spirit Cat.

This Flame-tailed Spirit Cat appeared small, measuring about twenty centimeters in length, and while it seemed docile, it was an Abyss Creature that could be extremely vicious—rumored to be capable of swallowing mammoths whole.

Well, that was just a rumor.

Gulu handed over a bag of unidentifiable jerky to Lu Heng, cautioning, "Black Fire sometimes has a foul temper. She likes this—keep it with you."

"Uh..."

Once prepared, Lu Heng and Su Muyu set out with the Flame-tailed Spirit Cat to track down the Abyss Fire Stealer.

The Abyss Fire Stealer had infiltrated Quenching Castle to commit theft during the separation from the Abyss, ending up in Blue Star's overlapping space, and had since escaped Quenching Castle.

Therefore, this creature was likely hiding in a corner of the coastal area.

Following the scent, the Flame-tailed Spirit Cat led them to the outskirts of a steel factory, which was the largest in the coastal area—"Coastal Steel."

Looking at the main entrance of Coastal Steel, Lu Heng quickly realized why the Abyss Fire Stealer could be there.

The creature's name said it all.

It was drawn to anything related to flames, including the theft of the Quenching Furnace's lid, due to its obsession with flames.

And the one thing a steel factory was never short of was flames.

If the Abyss Fire Stealer was hiding in this steel factory, it meant the guide he had read in the previous life was not wholly applicable.

Because the "Abyss Hunter" of the Second Rank who found the Abyss Fire Stealer in his previous life had found it on the beach, not in a steel factory.

In fact, with a bit of thought, the reason was clear.

That "Abyss Hunter" caught the Abyss Fire Stealer half a year after the Abyss Descent.

At the present moment, it was only the second month of the Abyss Descent, with over four months of difference.

It was impossible for the Abyss Fire Stealer to stay in the same place for so long.

...

It was nighttime.

The steel factory had only a few employees working the night shift, and they were resting in the air-conditioned room.

Lu Heng had Su Muyu activate the "Invisibility Veil" to enter the steel factory.

Once it was confirmed that the Abyss Fire Stealer was hiding in the steel factory, it would be easier to find.

Su Muyu released a scouting eagle, which flew a circle around the steel factory.

It wasn't long before she spotted the mid-tier demon creature—the Abyss Fire Stealer—in the steel workshop.

From a distance, the Abyss Fire Stealer looked like a rodent-like demon walking upright, with sharp claws and dark red mane, its deep eyes extremely keen.

At the moment, the Abyss Fire Stealer was standing next to the Quenching Furnace, absorbing the heat from the flames.

Covered by the Invisibility Veil, Lu Heng went to the second-floor platform of the steel workshop to observe the surrounding environment, planning the strategy he would use momentarily.

The Abyss Fire Stealer excelled in stealth and escape; while beating it wasn't difficult, catching it was.

If it managed to escape, it would surely hide elsewhere, and finding it again would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

This was also the reason for perfecting his movement technique to the Micro-level before coming here; otherwise, he simply couldn't keep up with it.

After observing the environment, Lu Heng, in his invisible state, slowly approached the Abyss Fire Stealer from behind.

When he got within 20 meters, the Abyss Fire Stealer's nose twitched, and then it swiftly darted toward the exit of the steel workshop.

Lu Heng hadn't expected the creature's nose to be so keen, able to detect a scent from more than 20 meters away.

This was a downside of the "Invisibility Veil"; it only offered optical invisibility and couldn't mask scent.

At this point, there was no choice but to use brute force.

Lu Heng took off at high speed with Gale Step, pushing his speed to the limit. In the blink of an eye, he crossed the very spot where the Abyss Fire Stealer had just been and continued the pursuit.

Once the chase began, the commotion grew louder.

The Abyss Fire Stealer, sensing a pursuer behind it, spewed out a mist and disappeared within it.

Lu Heng passed through the mist, looking left and right, but couldn't see any trace of the Abyss Fire Stealer.

"Mu Yu!" Lu Heng called out over the Bluetooth headset.

Almost at the same moment, the scouting eagle flew in from a window, soaring low over the ground and pinpointing the location of the Abyss Fire Stealer.

Lu Heng continued the chase, following behind the scouting eagle.

After a strenuous run and fending off several obstacles thrown back by the Abyss Fire Stealer, Lu Heng's invisibility began to wear off.

As the Abyss Fire Stealer fled, it knocked over many things, causing a great deal of noise.

Two duty officers, hearing the commotion, ran out with flashlights shouting, "Who's there?"

Lu Heng didn't pay any attention to them and kept sprinting forward following the scouting eagle, reaching speeds of 30 meters per second, and swiftly passing in front of the duty officers.

The officers, who had never seen a human move so fast, were terrified.

The Abyss Fire Stealer remained in invisibility, escaping from the steel workshop in the blink of an eye, its speed not any slower than Lu Heng's and obviously possessing an acceleration skill.

The acceleration skill combined with its invisibility skill had optimized its ability to survive to the extreme.

It was fortunate that Su Muyu was there; otherwise, they wouldn't have even touched a hair on it.

Su Muyu controlled the scouting eagle, flying it two meters above the head of the Abyss Fire Stealer to lock onto its position.

Unable to see the Abyss Fire Stealer, Lu Heng could only follow behind the scouting eagle.

After escaping the steel workshop, the Abyss Fire Stealer started leaping between buildings and even running up walls.

Lu Heng maximized his In-depth Level Body Technique, following it closely with tumbling leaps and wall-climbing.

The chase led them out of the steel factory and into the forest, weaving through the pine woods.

The exaggerated speed of the Abyss Fire Stealer's escape made it almost impossible to keep up, even with Lu Heng's Micro-level Body Technique and Level C Gale Step.

At this time, there would not be a second person capable of mastering the body technique to the In-depth Level.

No one else stood a chance of catching this creature.

It's no wonder this hidden mission took a Superpower User with the Second Transition Class "Abyss Hunter" half a year later to complete.

Moreover, according to the description by this Second Transition professional, the Abyss Fire Stealer's escape methods weren't limited to what they had seen; it also had a final trump card given to it by its Professional Source Material.