In the middle of the intersection, the city bus that had been brutally snapped in half was billowing thick black smoke.
The severed metal chassis continued to burn, crackling loudly as if an enraged Grim Reaper were roaring.
The pungent stench of burnt tires and leaked fuel permeated the surrounding air.
Everyone was left dumbfounded by the sudden accident.
Terry's legs gave out completely. Drained of all strength, she collapsed onto the cold asphalt, her pupils shrinking violently.
While everyone was still caught in the shock and chaos...
A "Batmobile" drove out from the wreckage of the bus.
Despite the violent impact just moments ago, its streamlined body didn't have a single dent or scratch.
"Click."
The car doors silently swung upward.
Yang Yi calmly stepped out from the driver's seat.
Immediately after, Tomie hopped out from the passenger side. She curiously surveyed her surroundings, wearing an expression that clearly showed she was just here to enjoy the show.
Inside the car, Megan and Bart pressed their little faces against the windows, peering out with a mix of nervousness and excitement at a scene straight out of a movie.
"Terry! Terry, are you okay!"
Clear screamed and rushed over, throwing her arms around Terry, who was still slumped on the ground with a vacant stare.
When her gaze drifted over Terry's shoulder and landed on the Eastern face slowly approaching them, it was as if a drowning woman had just grasped a lifeline. A fierce desire to survive instantly erupted in her eyes.
Yang Yi stopped in front of her, looking down at the two shivering girls huddled together.
"Miss, are you the one who submitted the request?"
His voice reached Clear's ears, carrying a strange, soothing power that instantly calmed her nerves.
Clear was just about to nod, her heart finally beginning to settle from her throat.
But another disaster struck!
"Screech—Crash!"
The burning wreckage of the bus began to disintegrate, its side collapsing heavily against a nearby streetlight.
The impact easily toppled the streetlight, its base screws already loosened.
Falling like a domino, the heavy pole smashed directly into the construction scaffolding erected against the exterior wall of an adjacent apartment building!
This triggered a terrifying chain reaction, sending out a series of ear-piercing metallic crashes and the screech of twisting steel.
A rusty iron pipe shot out from the collapsing scaffolding. Tearing through the air with a sharp whistle, it flew like a deadly arrow straight toward Terry, who was still paralyzed on the ground!
The sudden turn of events made everyone's heart skip a beat.
The rapidly approaching iron pipe reflected clearly in Terry's pupils. Her mind went completely blank, leaving her unable to even scream.
In the nick of time.
A figure instantly materialized in front of Terry.
Yang Yi shot out his right hand, effortlessly catching the steel pipe that would have otherwise impaled her.
Before the crowd could even process this unbelievable feat, another scalp-numbing groan of metal echoed from above.
Yang Yi frowned slightly. Grabbing Terry and Clear by their collars, he yanked them violently backward.
The very instant the two girls were pulled away...
"Splat!!!"
A bucket of paint plummeted from above, smashing heavily into the exact spot where Terry had just been sitting.
The lid popped off, and scarlet paint splattered everywhere, instantly dyeing the ground a glaring red. From a distance, it looked exactly like a fresh pool of blood.
Staring at the "bloodstain," Terry and her friends could no longer suppress their terror, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
Terry buried her face in Clear's embrace, shaking like a leaf.
This wasn't an accident, nor was it a coincidence!
Some invisible, intangible, yet omnipresent and terrifying force was hunting them down!
Alex had been telling the truth!
"Ah! Look up!"
A terrified scream erupted from the crowd.
Shouts from the construction workers echoed from above, accompanied by the deafening groan of steel buckling under immense pressure.
Then came the sharp snap of snapping cables.
Everyone looked up in horror.
A massive billboard that was in the middle of being installed was peeling away from the building's exterior wall. Showers of sparks erupted from severed wires as the colossal structure plummeted, casting a shadow of death over the crowd below!
Faced with a terrifying billboard massive enough to crush them all into meat paste, the bystanders scrambled to flee, but it was already too late.
Caught in this relentless series of deadly crises, Terry was completely paralyzed. She could barely even stand, relying entirely on Clear to hold her up.
Amidst the desperate screams of the crowd, Yang Yi didn't retreat. Instead, he stepped forward, moving right beside the two girls. Facing the massive falling shadow, he simply raised a single hand.
At that exact moment, his casual clothes seemed to melt away, instantly replaced by flowing purple Daoist robes!
BOOM—!!!
A deafening crash echoed as the billboard fully descended.
Terry and Clear squeezed their eyes shut in absolute despair, but after several seconds passed, the expected embrace of death never came.
The two girls looked up, only to find that the colossal billboard was being steadily held aloft by Yang Yi's casually outstretched hand.
With a slight flex of his arm, Yang Yi gently set the heavy billboard down onto an empty patch of ground nearby.
The surrounding pedestrians were utterly stunned by a sight that completely defied human comprehension.
After a deathly silence, countless bystanders whipped out their phones, frantically snapping photos and recording the figure in the Daoist robes.
As they got a clear look at Yang Yi's purple robes fluttering gently in the wind, a Chinese international student in the crowd let out a trembling gasp of disbelief.
"Oh my god! That's... that's a Chinese Celestial Master!"
His words snapped the crowd out of their daze!
Realization dawned on everyone. No wonder he was so powerful! It was the mysterious power of the East!
What was a Celestial Master? Probably some kind of Eastern mage, right?
But that only brought about a new question.
"Shouldn't an Eastern mage be flying on a sword? Why is he driving the Batmobile?"
While the crowd was busy gawking, Yang Yi sensed something else. He shouted at Terry, who had just been helped to her feet by Clear.
"Don't move!"
"Screech—!!!"
A split second later, the ear-piercing shriek of tires tearing against asphalt rang out. An out-of-control sedan completely ignored the red light, hurtling straight toward Terry!
The female driver behind the wheel wore a hideous expression. Letting out an incomprehensible, shrill scream, she slammed the gas pedal all the way to the floor!
Her crazed demeanor made it seem as though she harbored some deep, irreconcilable blood feud with Terry.
Yang Yi's eyes instantly turned ice-cold. He was no longer going to hold back.
In a flash, he leaped into the air and delivered a vicious flying kick straight into the speeding car!
"BANG!!!"
The sedan was literally kicked flying. It tumbled through the air for who knew how many rotations before violently crashing into a nearby storefront.
The female driver's brain was probably scrambled like an egg.
Having dealt with the threat, Yang Yi turned to look at the shell-shocked protagonist group.
"If you don't want to die, get in the car. Now!"