I Start with a Mysterious Island

Chapter 352 - 270: Mutated Vine

’Oh no, someone snuck in while I was out...’

The flat-headed man’s eyes flickered as he came to this conclusion. Just as he was about to leave the now-unsafe rental unit, a knock came from the door behind him.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK...

The sudden knocking made the hair on the flat-headed man’s neck stand up. His ordinary face turned deathly pale in an instant, his heart began to race, and his palms grew clammy with cold sweat.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK...

Seeing no response from inside, the person outside raised their hand and knocked a few more times.

The flat-headed man, incredibly tense, knew the lights were on. It was impossible to pretend no one was home.

He took a deep breath, forcing his racing heart to calm down, then asked in a steady voice,

"Who is it?"

Hearing the response, the person outside replied, "I’m your neighbor. The landlord came by this afternoon and asked us to fill out a form.

You weren’t home at the time, so he left it with me and told me to give it to you when you got back. He said you need to fill it out, and he’ll come by to pick it up tomorrow."

"Oh."

"If you could open the door, I’ll give you the form."

...

Silence from within the room.

Standing outside the door was a man in his thirties, wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans. His expression was stern, his attention sharply focused.

After waiting for over a minute with no response, the man in the white T-shirt raised his hand and knocked again.

"Hey, I’ve got other things to do! Hurry up and open the door to get your form!"

The man in the white T-shirt, who had no form at all, had just finished shouting when he suddenly perceived a fluctuation of Spiritual Energy from inside the room.

He cursed inwardly. His stern expression changed in a flash, and he quickly dodged to the right side of the hallway.

BANG.

The instant the man in the white T-shirt dodged, the very same iron door he had just been knocking on was kicked off its hinges with immense force. It flew out and slammed heavily into the hallway railing, knocking it over.

Then, the iron door and the broken railing fell together from the second floor to the first, crashing to the ground with a tremendous noise.

Strangely, despite such a loud commotion, which should have certainly drawn out the neighboring residents to see what was happening, no one emerged.

But after the crash, there was no reaction at all from the surrounding units; their homes remained dark and silent.

"The target has discovered our capture attempt... I need backup, now."

The man in the white T-shirt stared at the railing destroyed by the iron door, then reported to his colleagues through the micro-earpiece he was wearing.

"We see it. On our way to help."

"Old Liu, your acting sucks! The target saw right through you."

The man called Old Liu replied with a frustrated look, "I don’t think it was my acting. He probably found some clues in the room that tipped him off—realized a stranger had been inside. That’s how he must have figured me out."

The flat-headed man retrieved the Spiritual Longsword he had hidden under his bed, kicked down his own iron door, and walked out.

He first glanced at the Investigator to the right of the hallway—the one who had knocked on his door and was now staring at him with a grim expression.

Just as he was about to jump from the second floor to escape, he saw three more Investigators appear below. The flat-headed man immediately abandoned the idea of jumping down.

A female Investigator called up to the flat-headed man, who was standing on the second floor looking down at them.

"Don’t bother with a pointless struggle. Surrender now! We’ve already evacuated the residents. You’re not getting away today..."

’No wonder no one came out to see what was going on, even with all the noise I made...’

Hearing the words of the Investigator who had shouted at him, the flat-headed man instantly gave up on the idea of using the chaos to find an opportunity to escape.

"Surrender! You’re surrounded." Investigator Old Liu drew an exquisitely crafted Spiritual Short Saber from his waist. He began channeling Spiritual Energy into it as he tried to persuade the flat-headed man to give up.

"Hmph..." The flat-headed man snorted coldly at Investigator Old Liu, ignoring him completely.

Then, he leaped up, grabbed the railing of the third floor, and vaulted over it. Repeating the motion, he reached the roof of the small building.

"Stop him! He’s trying to escape from the roof!" the female Investigator who had called out to him from below shouted upon seeing this.

Even before she had finished shouting, Investigator Old Liu was already in pursuit. He mimicked the flat-headed man’s movements and vaulted onto the roof as well.

The moment Investigator Old Liu landed on the roof, a faint golden light shot toward him. He reacted instantly, raising the Spiritual Short Saber in his hand—now infused with Spiritual Energy—to block the attack.

CLANG.

The Spiritual Longsword, glowing with a faint golden Spiritual Light, collided with the Spiritual Short Saber, producing a loud, ringing clash.

The sound spread in all directions, traveling so far that it could be heard clearly from over a hundred meters away.

"Old Liu, hold him off! We’re coming!" the other three Investigators shouted as they began vaulting up the building.

"A mere Second Rank Initial Stage daring to chase me alone? You really aren’t afraid to die," the flat-headed man said to Investigator Old Liu.