Book 3 Chapter 10 – The Mantis Stalks the Cicada

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　　The city of Shang Bei plunged into the darkness of the night was beautiful, especially around the museum. The sight was particularly impressive when seen from where Li Yiming was. However, to Li Yiming, the colorful lights s.h.i.+ning below were tantamount to the calling of the grim reaper himself. 'I must be at least seventy meters above the ground… Oh, my legs feel weak when I look below. If I am ever to fall, there would probably be nothing left…'

　　"Uh, Eyegla.s.ses, is it possible to get there from a less elevated place?" Li Yiming whispered into his transmitter.

　　"This is the best angle I can find. Anywhere lower and the risk of being noticed will increase," Eyegla.s.ses answered impa.s.sively.

　　'Alright.' Li Yiming raised his grappling-hook gun and aimed it at the location Eyegla.s.ses had calculated. He pulled the trigger and a black arrow with a thin steel cable attached to the shaft shot toward the rooftop of the museum. Li Yiming pulled on the cable lightly after it landed; he did not dare to use too much of his level three strength, but it did at least seem stable enough.

　　"Alright, let's check our time. We will start in exactly four minutes, when the current patrol finishes," Eyegla.s.ses gave his orders, "We have thirty-five minutes. Remember that you can see the alarm devices using the contact lenses I gave you. Red for infrared, green for motion, blue for weight, orange for noise and yellow for body heat. Avoid triggering the alarm at all cost."

　　"Eyegla.s.ses, can you play some music so we can relax a bit?" Qing Qiaoqiao did not sound nervous in the slightest.

　　"Just not from Fang Shui'er, please," Liu Meng added.

　　Li Yiming took a deep breath and checked the hook he had strapped to his own clothes one last time. He put on his protective gloves, wrapped a mask around his face, and tried his best not to think about the cars below that looked like ants. "How about "A Man Needs to Be Brave"? That'll help me, at least." Li Yiming's m.u.f.fled voice made Qing Linglong chuckle.

　　Eyegla.s.ses complied, and soon, the energetic, rhythmic song was heard through Li Yiming's earphone. Li Yiming closed his eyes and pictured the giant red rising sun that was supposed to bring all the courage out of him, but somehow the sun soon crashed towards the ground.

　　"Ready," Eyegla.s.ses said in a low voice, "Go."

　　Li Yiming gritted his teeth, held onto his trolley and gave a kick with his legs. He set flight into the darkness. The landscape became fuzzy as he picked up more and more speed. The wind whistled loudly by his ears.

　　"Wow, it really is a loss for the world that you didn't make it into Hollywood," Eyegla.s.ses said as he admired the spectacle of the flying man in his screen.

　　"Oh, will you shut up." Li Yiming's voice shook as he gritted his teeth.

　　"You have to slow down!" Eyegla.s.ses yelled.

　　In his nervousness, Li Yiming hesitated to slow down, and the extra speed he still had when he landed made him roll for about seven or eight meters until he collided against a stone pillar. He sat back up with his head still swirling.

　　"I'll give you nine out of ten for the imperfect landing," Eyegla.s.ses joked when he saw Li Yiming stand up again, a little shaken from his fall.

　　"Are you okay?" Liu Meng was a little worried.

　　"It's okay. I'm just never going to play Angry Birds ever again." Li Yiming shook the dizziness out of his head and removed his mask. He looked at the ground: a sea of blue light. These were all weight sensors, and the closest was barely two meters away from him.

　　"Are you sure that the load is correct?" Li Yiming took out the explosives from his bracelet. He did not have much time left, and one mistake could mean that he "flew" for nothing.

　　"It should be alright, in theory."

　　"In theory…" Li Yiming searched for the planned location, shot another arrow with a cable into the ground and set the explosives around it. He retreated three meters: this was the best he could do with all the sensors around.