The sound of the wind rushing past both ears accompanied Ark as he leaped from the window, hurling himself toward the building five meters away.

  Swinging his arms forward, his black hair whipped back while his golden eyes locked onto the structure dead ahead.

  At that moment, the edge of the building appeared in his line of sight, only to vanish just as quickly!

  Revealing the backdrop of countless large and small buildings reflected in his eyes, propelling him forward at high speed.

  His lower body slammed into the edge of the building instantly! The impact whipped his face down, smashing it against the rooftop!

  With the sickening thud of his head striking the ground, Ark lay completely motionless at the edge of the building, his body slowly beginning to slip downward.

  Just then, he jerked his head up, instantly slamming both hands onto the concrete ledge in front of him before using his arms to push himself up!

  A second later, he managed to scramble up, kneeling on the rooftop while panting heavily. After staring at the ground for a moment, he slowly raised his head, taking in the sea of buildings sprawling before him.

  The faint sound of liquid dripping onto the surface, like water hitting the ground in a steady rhythm, caught his attention. Hearing it, he looked left and right before glancing down.

  Tiny droplets of blood dotted the concrete. As another drop splattered against the floor, he raised his right hand to touch his nose.

  Holding his hand up, the moonlight washed over his glove, clearly revealing crimson stains on the tips of his index and middle fingers.

  Ark stared at it in silence before wiping his nose with his arm and quickly forcing himself up from the ground. Dragging his right leg slightly, he limped forward, his right hand still gripping his nose.

  He glanced back over his shoulder, his eyes fixed on the building he had just jumped from.

  Seeing that no soldier was crazy enough to make the leap after him, he looked forward again, locking his eyes on the lights of a 12-story skyscraper almost five blocks away.

  He turned his focus back and shifted from a limp to a walk, before breaking into a run. Taking a slight hop forward, he accelerated into a rapid sprint.

  The remaining ten meters to the edge of the rooftop closed in rapidly! Driven by his sudden sprint,

  He let go of his nose, accelerating even more as the distance dropped to just five meters. In that split second, he launched himself forward, twisting his body mid-air.

  The box strapped to his back whipped violently from left to right. Leaping off the roof, he launched himself across the narrow gap between the structures.

  After a brief moment of hang time, he shot through the space between the buildings and landed squarely in the middle of the next rooftop!

  His momentum made him stumble forward, nearly face-planting into the ground! But he shoved himself up with both hands, swaying slightly to the left and right!

  Despite that, he kept charging forward, reaching the edge of the roof in mere seconds before immediately leaping to the next building!

  Clearing the gap, he dropped onto the opposing rooftop. Touching down from the sky, both his feet hit the concrete, and he instantly went into a forward roll.

  Ark came to a sitting position on the ground after one roll and reached his right hand behind his back. The moment his hand brushed against the box,

  He quickly scrambled to his feet and kept running forward. But after only a few steps, he forced himself to decelerate, coming to a halt at the edge of the roof. He stood completely still, staring straight ahead.

  A building stood almost 25 meters away, separated by a street that cut through the gap. Seeing the impossible distance, he froze in place, his heavy panting breaking the silence.

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  The sight made him slowly turn around, only to see a soldier actively climbing up onto the rooftop.

  Seeing that, his hand immediately reached backward, desperately trying to grab something. But all he could feel was the box.

  He froze. A flashback of him undressing in the room flashed through his mind, revealing that the assault rifle he had slung over his back had been taken off all at once along with his gear.

  He stood in dead silence for a moment before letting out a soft, guttural chuckle. He lowered his head, his right hand dropping down beside his gun holster.

  But finding his pistol, he snapped his head up, locking eyes with the soldier who was already raising a rifle to his shoulder, amid the sounds of heavy panting and violently pounding hearts.

  With only the sound of ragged breathing ringing in his ears, he took a deep breath, held it, and stepped backward! Instantly, his body plunged off the rooftop.

  The soldier, who had just shouldered his weapon, halted in shock as he watched Ark fall off the building. He quickly let go of his rifle with his right hand, snatched the radio from his belt, and keyed the mic.

  "Target jumped off the building! I repeat! Target has jumped off the building!"

  Finishing his sentence, he released the push-to-talk button and holstered the radio back onto his right hip, standing there aiming his weapon for a moment.

  Seeing no sign of Ark resurfacing from below, he turned around and climbed back down into the building.

  Meanwhile, Ark was panting heavily, both hands desperately gripping a third-floor window sill.

  Glancing at the ground far below, he quickly looked back up. Reassessing the situation, he looked down again, inhaled sharply through his mouth, and held his breath.

  He let go of the window, plummeting downward, but abruptly jerked to a halt as both his hands managed to catch the second-floor sill just in time!

  Looking down once more, he desperately tried to find footing on the flat wall. Taking a deep breath, he used his feet and hands to violently push himself off the wall!

  Flipping backward, he plummeted toward the ground. The next second, his feet hit the pavement, and he instantly rolled forward.

  Rising from the concrete, he sat dead still on the ground, gasping for air. He tried to force himself up,

  But suddenly froze as a stifled groan escaped his throat. His right hand shot up, clutching his chest over his heart.

  He sat there breathing heavily for about four or five seconds before finally standing up. Taking a deep breath, he checked both directions before hurrying forward.

  Dragging his right leg across the street, he scanned both sides of the road before breaking into a run, diving into the opposing building.

  Once inside, he checked his surroundings, revealing a hallway. Glancing to his right, he spotted a deeper corridor and immediately limped toward that door.

  Pressing himself against the right wall, he leaned his right arm against the surface, pushing himself forward until he reached the iron door.

  Turning slightly, he rammed his left shoulder into the door, bursting into the room. He found a corridor leading to the back, with another room slightly off to the left.

  Leaning against the right doorframe, he used his right arm to push himself forward, dragging his body along the wall. Stopping in front of the door, he pushed off the wall slightly and rammed his right shoulder into it.

  His body collapsed, crashing heavily onto the floor. Ark, keeping his head just above the ground, lay still for a moment before slowly scanning the room. He found an empty square space with nothing inside, save for a door on the far side.

  Slowly picking himself up, he walked to the door and shoved it open with his shoulder, revealing a parking lot outside.

  Seeing the lot, Ark dragged himself out. His right hand instinctively came up to grip his left arm as he scanned the area, limping along the path.

  Glancing at the top of the building, he looked back over his shoulder briefly, pressing himself tightly against the wall on his left.

  The view of the buildings and the street was completely obstructed. Turning his attention back, he kept moving forward until he reached a crossroads leading left, right, or straight ahead.

  Looking to the left, he saw an empty alleyway with a dumpster. He then checked the right, spotting another path forward.

  Looking straight ahead at yet another path, he made his choice and walked straight. His right foot dragged along the ground, making a faint scraping sound against the pavement.

  At that moment, the clouds broke, and the moonlight spilled over the dark street.

  Standing right in the middle of the crossroads, he gradually came to a halt and looked down, spotting a steel manhole cover beneath his right foot.

  Stepping back slightly, he crouched down, using his right hand to heave the heavy cover up, revealing a dark tunnel leading below.

  Ark stared at it in silence. Glancing behind him one last time, he turned back, sat on the ground, and lowered himself into the hole.

  Pressing his back against the sewer pipe and bracing his feet against the wall, he reached up with his right hand, dragging the steel cover back to close it above him.

  Complete darkness swallowed him whole. Hanging in that position for a moment, he slowly began to climb down. But in that split second, his left leg trembled violently, and he plummeted downward!

  A loud thud echoed, followed by a faint groan of pain in the pitch black. The groan resonated, its echo bouncing left and right down the tunnel.

  Unable to see a thing, he felt the ground with his right hand, slowly pushing himself up. But as he rose, his head slammed into the ceiling above.

  He froze, raising a hand to touch his head. Crouching lower, he gave up on standing and switched to crawling forward, using his right hand to navigate the unseen floor.

  As he slowly crept along, his left hand trying to pull the box from his back to hold it in front of him, he carefully pressed forward.

  Suddenly, his head collided with a wall again, forcing him to stop. Reaching up, he felt the solid surface blocking his path, then turned to his left, crawling slowly along the wall.

  With only the sound of his heavy breathing and the steady scrape of his crawling echoing in the silence.