Chapter 58

Xu Mo immediately sank to the river bottom as soon as he fell into the water. He grabbed the aquatic plants and swam away. He had mastered the technique of static breathing, which allowed him to hold his breath for a long time. This time, he managed to stay underwater for over ten minutes, swimming more than a mile before surfacing for air.

The helicopter landed right after, hovering above the river. The man on the helicopter fired several shots at the river surface, causing waves to ripple. The strong wind from the helicopter's propellers also created ripples on the river.

Xu Mo kept sinking to the river bottom, grabbed the aquatic plants, and swam away. He could feel the bullets whizzing past him as he surfaced for a quick breath and then dived back into the water. He swam for a while, then stopped to catch his breath when he felt it was difficult to breathe.

The two men in the helicopter, both middle-aged, were not the ones Xu Mo had seen before. They waited anxiously for Xu Mo to resurface. The man in the pilot's seat couldn't help but ask, "Did we kill him?"

The man with the gun at the door was uncertain, "If he were dead, his body would have floated to the surface. Since we don't see his body, he's obviously still alive."

The pilot couldn't believe it, "What kind of person can hold their breath for so long? Maybe he's tangled in the aquatic plants?"

The man at the door replied, "That's possible. Fly higher and turn on all the lights to illuminate the river surface, so he doesn't swim to another place."

The helicopter ascended, and the lights illuminated a large area of the river. The helicopter patrolled the river, and as soon as Xu Mo surfaced, the man with the gun saw him and fired a burst of bullets.

Xu Mo was terrified. As soon as he surfaced to take a breath, he dived back into the water, feeling the bullets narrowly missing him. He grabbed the aquatic plants and swam forward again.

The two men were surprised to see Xu Mo appear a mile away, unharmed. The pilot exclaimed, "Damn, is he even human?"

The man with the gun was equally shocked but shouted, "Stop talking nonsense, fly ahead and intercept him. We can't let him escape."

They calculated the distance and decided to intercept him a mile ahead. Xu Mo, who was underwater, had already anticipated this. Faced with a life-or-death situation, his mind became even calmer. He guessed they might intercept him and stopped swimming after a while, only surfacing when he was about to run out of breath.

The two men in the helicopter were very alert. Although they didn't intercept him, they still saw his silhouette the moment he surfaced and fired another burst of bullets.

Xu Mo narrowly avoided the bullets and dived back into the water. He thought, "These two are relentless. They won't stop until they catch me. This river leads to Huai City. If I swim to the city, they won't dare to chase me with a helicopter and assault rifles in broad daylight, even if there are police."

He then swam along the East River toward Huai City. The two men in the helicopter pursued him relentlessly. They guessed his plan but couldn't do anything about it. They became increasingly anxious as they couldn't catch him.

Static breathing was a remarkable technique that controlled the body's energy consumption, making every bit of heat produced more efficiently used. Compared to normal people, the same amount of energy could sustain him for a longer time.

A normal person could last four to five hours after a meal, but with Xu Mo's current ability, a meal could sustain him for three to four days. This was because he had only recently mastered static breathing and hadn't fully optimized its use.

Snakes are cold-blooded animals and can survive for a month after a meal, but they do so instinctively. Compared to the controlled static breathing, they were far inferior.

If Xu Mo ever reached the pinnacle of static breathing control, he could survive for a month without eating or drinking, and even hibernate like a cold-blooded animal for several months.

However, after swimming for a while, despite not feeling hungry, he felt tired. He wasn't in a hurry, knowing the two men couldn't catch him. When he was tired, he rested at the river bottom. When he felt suffocated, he surfaced for a breath and then dived back in, continuing his journey when he was rested.

The two men in the helicopter were frustrated, unable to catch him. They cursed and shouted at the river from the helicopter, but Xu Mo, underwater, couldn't hear them.

After about two hours, Xu Mo dived and surfaced several times, finally emerging from the valley. It was already past midnight, around three in the morning, with only a few hours until dawn.

The two men in the helicopter received several calls from their accomplices, urging them to catch Xu Mo, making them even more anxious. Finally, they had no choice but to call back and explain the situation, requesting reinforcements.

Xu Mo continued swimming in the river, and the two men in the helicopter pursued him. After another two hours, the sky in the east began to turn light, and it was almost dawn.

Fortunately, although there was a road next to the East River, it led to the mountains and was a dead end. The road was remote, and few vehicles passed by unless someone was visiting the mountains. Thus, during this time, the helicopter chasing Xu Mo didn't encounter any vehicles. However, once it was light, around eight or nine in the morning, it would be a different story.

The two men in the helicopter were anxious when a truck suddenly approached along the riverbank. They were delighted to see the truck.

Before the truck arrived, they heard continuous barking from it. The truck stopped by the river, and two men in white protective suits jumped out, waving to the helicopter. They then opened the truck's rear door.

Inside the truck were over a dozen large, aggressive dogs, each over a meter tall, with long, spiky fur on their heads and necks, looking extremely fierce. Their eyes were red, filled with aggression, and they barked wildly, ready to attack. Clearly, these dogs had been injected with a drug to make them go mad.

As soon as the two men opened the door, the dogs pounced out of the truck, jumped into the river, and began searching for Xu Mo.

Xu Mo, still underwater, was unaware of the changes.

The dogs swam on the river surface, searching for Xu Mo. Fortunately, the East River was deep, and the dogs couldn't smell Xu Mo at the bottom or see through the water. It was difficult for them to find him.

After swimming for about ten minutes, Xu Mo needed to surface for air. As soon as he did, the mad dogs spotted him and swam toward him, barking wildly.

Hearing the dogs, Xu Mo was shocked. Without thinking, he quickly dived back into the water. The man in the helicopter saw him and fired a burst of bullets, but it was too late.

Although Xu Mo's time above water was brief, the dogs had already locked onto him. The dogs weren't there to fight him; the river was too deep for them to reach the bottom. Their purpose was to help the man with the gun in the helicopter locate Xu Mo. Once a dog locked onto Xu Mo, the man would fire into the water, aiming to kill him and ensure the secret remained hidden. The lives of the dogs were insignificant.

Xu Mo, though unsure of the purpose of the dogs, knew the men wouldn't do anything unnecessary. Hearing the dogs, he swam to the deepest part of the river, grabbed the aquatic plants, and continued forward along the riverbed.

One of the dogs barked at the river bottom, and the man with the gun immediately fired at that spot, killing the dog and splattering blood on the river surface.

However, this method of localization was not scientific. By the time the dog barked, Xu Mo had already moved away, narrowly avoiding the bullets.

The river bottom was filled with aquatic plants, and Xu Mo, swimming deep, accidentally got his leg entangled. If it were a normal person, they would panic and struggle, making the entanglement worse and possibly drowning. But Xu Mo, with his long breath-holding ability, remained calm, untangled himself, and continued forward.

There were many large carp in the East River, some over half a meter long, swimming under the aquatic plants. Xu Mo, swimming with his eyes closed, accidentally bumped into them.

These large carp, living in deep water with few predators, were quite stupid. They didn't panic when they bumped into Xu Mo, thinking he was one of them.

Xu Mo caught a few large carp, killed them underwater, and tied them with aquatic plants using a dagger. After swimming a distance, he released them.

The dead fish floated to the surface, and the mad dogs, unable to distinguish between humans and fish, swam toward them, barking wildly.

The man in the helicopter, far away, couldn't see the details on the river surface. Hearing the dogs, he fired a burst of bullets, killing most of the dogs with their barks of agony.

With the death of the dogs, their plan to locate Xu Mo was foiled.