Mastering the Sword Manual, sweeping across the globe

Zhang Qiliang appeared on the platform of the last half-step of the stairs, his gaze sweeping over the iron gate, his steps not faltering at all.

With one last bit of leverage, at least five patrol officers witnessed this incredibly picturesque scene.

With a light step on the edge of the platform, as if stepping on an invisible spring ramp, his entire body rose into the air, tracing a smooth and full parabola, and flew straight toward the open, glassless window on one side of the corridor.

Outside the window is the rough cement wall of the sixth floor and the dazzling street view below.

Just as his body was about to burst out of the window, Zhang Qiliang's right hand, like a hawk's claw, precisely landed on the outer edge of the concrete window frame.

With just this casual gesture, not only was the forward momentum instantly neutralized, but the trajectory of the parabola was also forcefully twisted into a straight upward curve!

Using this pull, Zhang Qiliang's body rose swiftly and lightly upwards like a sailfish emerging from the water.

He then pressed his left hand against a slightly protruding brick seam at a higher position, and his whole body was now above the window frame.

With his arm outstretched again, his fingertips gripped the slightly rough cement eaves of the rooftop, weathered by time. With a slight effort, he silently flipped up and disappeared from the sight and shooting angles of the people in the corridor.

From here on out, it's even simpler.

In urban villages, the dormitory buildings are naturally cramped, and the streets are naturally narrow and congested...

But the rooftop...

The rusted solar water heater brackets stood in rows, and clotheslines of various colors hung on the crisscrossing clotheslines. Cooing came from the pigeon coop, and several pigeons took flight in fright.

The rooftops of adjacent residential buildings are very close, with a narrow gap of less than three meters. Not far away, the rooftops of even taller self-built buildings cast patches of shadow in the afternoon sun.

For Zhang Qiliang, who was 2.45—no, for someone whose mind had been at ease and clear-headed in just a few seconds, and whose thoughts had quietly surged to 3.11—this undulating, chaotic yet full of possibilities rooftop world before him was an incomparably vast realm where he could roam freely.

Down on the street, the piercing sound of police sirens grew louder as more vehicles surrounded the area.

At the same time, urgent walkie-talkie calls began, and the content changed rapidly:

"The target...the target has gone up to the rooftop!"

"The sixth-floor rooftop! He went up to the sixth-floor rooftop!"

"Damn it! How did he get up there?!"

"Sniper vision! Give me sniper vision! Locate the target!"

"Report! The target is moving! Moving on the rooftop! At an extremely fast speed!"

"I can't see him! He went into Building 5, and there were lots of clothes!"

"Out of sight! Repeat, target out of sight!"

"Attention, Sector B and Sector C! The target may be moving in your direction!"

"Thermal imaging! Activate thermal imaging to scan the roof area!"

"Signal interference...too many heat sources...unable to lock on!"

"He jumped over! He's moved to Zone C!"

"All units, Zone C! Zone C!"

……

The calls became more frequent and the instructions more complex, yet they still couldn't accurately capture that nimble figure leaping between the rooftops.

Until a certain moment, all relevant frequency bands fell into a brief silence almost simultaneously.

Immediately afterwards, an seemingly unbelievable voice clearly resounded across every terminal:

"The target... has disappeared."

A few seconds later, another, more somber voice confirmed:

"No units matching the target's thermal signal and movement trajectory were found within the coverage area. Repeat, no target found."

"All observation points reported that the last lost target location was southeast, and the approximate range... cannot be determined."

……

At the same time, at the temporary command center.

The cold electronic screens reflected the solemn faces in the room.

The flashing red dot representing the last area where the target disappeared remained stationary on the electronic map covering the urban village and adjacent blocks, and then the marker disappeared.

The brief silence was finally broken by a calm voice:

"Notify the command center of the Ministry of Transport and Horse Administration to immediately activate the 'Skynet-7' contingency plan!"

"Within a 20-kilometer radius of the vanishing point, immediately dispatch additional officers and set up temporary checkpoints at all highway entrances and exits to conduct thorough checks on vehicles leaving the city, especially vans, buses, and lone men matching the physical characteristics of the target!"

"All long-distance bus services at the main passenger station, East Station, West Station, and North Station are to be suspended! Security checks will be upgraded, and the identities of all passengers will be verified one by one. The monitoring room will keep a close watch on every corner!"

"At high-speed rail stations and airports, coordinate with railway authorities and airport security to distribute photos and characteristics of the targets to personnel on duty at every security checkpoint, waiting hall, and boarding gate. Increase patrol density, especially in hidden corners such as restrooms, mother and baby rooms, and storage rooms."

"Inspection Department, I need cross-location data of all mobile phone signal base stations in this area over the past half hour, especially signal sources that have experienced abnormal power on/off cycles or are moving rapidly!"

"The Bureau of Rumors and Informants is to continuously monitor local and surrounding areas' social media, short video platforms, and taxi/ride-hailing platforms. Any suspicious leads must be reported immediately!"

The orders came crashing down like hailstones, and the sounds of keyboards clicking and communications calls in the command center suddenly intensified.

After a brief pause, the calm voice rang out once more:

"Notify all branch offices and baojia stations to work with village chiefs and community leaders to conduct a comprehensive search of all accommodations within their jurisdictions! Hotels, guesthouses, inns, and even family-run guesthouses—leave no one out! The focus is on check-in records for tonight and the next three days. Young male travelers checking in alone, using cash, with unclear identification, or of similar age and appearance must be checked in person!"

"Internet cafes, bathhouses, foot massage parlors, KTVs, cinemas... all places that operate at night and allow temporary stays will have their inspection frequency increased! Anyone found behaving suspiciously, evading inspection, or matching the description should be reported immediately!"

"Issue an internal notice to assist in the investigation, raising the target's danger level to 'Category A,' noting that the target has extreme violent tendencies and superhuman physical abilities. All personnel on duty are required to prioritize their own safety when encountering a suspected target, avoid direct confrontation, focus on tracking and monitoring, and await special operations support!"

"Contact other state and county government offices to report the situation and request assistance in setting up a control point..."

With each command issued, the massive machine began to rumble into operation.

Countless nets, both tangible and intangible, rapidly spread and tightened in the direction the vanished figure might have escaped.

Time ticked by in anxious anticipation.

On the large screen in the command center, the dots representing the deployment of various government officials moved and converged, forming lines of blockade.

Reports from various units filled the communication channels:

"The A3 checkpoint at the highway exit is now in place..."

"The East Bus Station has suspended all departures and begun screening..."

"Patrol density at high-speed rail stations has increased..."

"The first team conducting hotel inspections in Hexi District has begun operations..."

……

However, all the reports shared the same tone: no findings found.

The oppressive atmosphere lasted for about half an hour.

A sharp, almost distorted call abruptly pierced through a certain internal coordination frequency band:

"Target spotted! Repeat, target spotted!"

Inside the command center, everyone's heart felt as if it were being clenched by the same hand.

The commander grabbed the microphone:

"Location?! Report the exact location! High-speed rail station? Airport? Or hotel?"

The voice on the other end of the frequency band did not answer immediately. Instead, there was a very brief, confused pause, as if the speaker himself was doubting what he was seeing.

Then, the voice rang out again, with an incredulous hesitation, even a somewhat absurd stutter:

"Report... The target has appeared at... Shuxianglou."

Shuxianglou?

The restaurant where he worked?

A moment of silence fell over the command center.

Everyone was stunned, and even the commander finally lost his composure.

Two seconds later, the voice reporting seemed to finally recover from its initial shock:

"He...he's back...looking for the restaurant, asking for his wages for the past few days!"

22. A drop of water in need

Shuxianglou is not open for business.

Inside the glass doors, the hall was empty, with neatly arranged tables and chairs, but not a single diner in sight.

Only a few men in hats stood near the counter, their expressions serious.

Not long ago, a group of people entered the restaurant and simply told the packed diners, "To cooperate with the investigation, please leave first," and everyone wisely left.

Unlike how they treated the people in dormitory 302, they didn't take them all away directly. It wasn't that the uncles were particularly considerate. Firstly, there were quite a few people on site, more than twenty in the kitchen and front of house combined. Secondly, asking questions on the spot made it easier to cross-verify and clarify the connection between "Liu Wei" and the person present.

This was the scene that greeted Zhang Qiliang when he pushed open the door.

In the lobby, Zhao Jianguo, Sun Haoran, Chen Tao (the deputy head of the local security police station), and two henchmen were questioning Manager Wang, the supervisor, several waiters, and Chef Li from the kitchen.

The questioning seemed to have just begun; the atmosphere was heavy and oppressive, and the shop assistants being questioned all looked nervous and spoke incoherently.

The sound of the door hinges turning was very soft, but it was exceptionally clear in the empty hall.

Everyone—the yamen runners and the shop assistants—turned their heads in unison.

The air froze the moment they saw who had walked in.

Zhao Jianguo's pupils suddenly contracted, and Sun Haoran subconsciously took a half step back.

Deputy Constable Chen Tao reacted the fastest. A flash of shock crossed his face, quickly replaced by professional instinct. He abruptly raised his hand, pointed at Zhang Qiliang, and shouted sternly:

"Liu Wei! Don't move! Stay where you are!"

Before the shout had even finished, his hand had already decisively reached for his waist.

However, just as he raised his arm and his finger was about to pull the trigger guard, his vision blurred.

Suddenly, my hand felt lighter.

Chen Tao didn't even see how the other person moved; he only felt a gentle breeze brush past his wrist, and the familiar, heavy metallic sensation disappeared.

Upon closer inspection, he found his hands were empty.

Across from him, a few steps away, Liu Wei was fiddling with his sidearm in his right hand.

Zhang Qiliang didn't raise the gun and point it at anyone; he just casually let his hand hang down, as if holding an insignificant little object.

With his left hand, he even slowly pulled out another pistol from his pocket, a more compact one with a clearly visible tactical rail.

“There’s really no need to be so polite,” Zhang Qiliang said, glancing at the governor’s gun in his left hand and then weighing the constable’s gun in his right. “I already have one.”

Chen Tao's face turned pale instantly.

Zhao Jianguo, Sun Haoran, and their two hangers-on stood frozen in place, their blood seemingly chilled to the bone.

The five of them were not special agents involved in the front-line arrests.

This visit is primarily to conduct on-site investigations and stabilize the emotions of those involved.

Even Chen Tao carrying a gun was more out of caution, just in case. He had been a yamen runner for many years, and this was the first time he had actually pointed a gun at a "living" target—well, actually, he couldn't even aim it at all.

Zhao Jianguo and Sun Haoran didn't even bring batons.

In their minds, or rather, in the minds of the vast majority of grassroots law enforcement officers, the skin they wear is their most powerful weapon.

But now, facing this target with superhuman strength coming through the walkie-talkie, who had just easily escaped from the encirclement, and the two dark gun barrels in his hands that represented completely different sources of violence, his usually invincible uniform instantly lost its weight.

The five people stood scattered in different parts of the hall, as if bound by invisible ropes, stiff and motionless, even their breathing became shallow.

Cold sweat silently soaked through their vests.

"Hmm," Liu Wei seemed satisfied with their reaction and nodded. "You guys rest for a bit, I have some things to take care of."

No one answered, and no one dared to move.

At a time like this, everyone is already in an awkward position, and making any statement would inevitably be politically incorrect.

Zhang Qiliang stopped looking at them, turned around, and walked towards the counter.

Manager Wang's body trembled violently, and he could barely stand by gripping the edge of the counter with both hands.

“Mr. Wang,” Zhang Qiliang stopped in front of him, “you see, I think I can’t continue doing this job.”