Night completely covered the mountains.
The abandoned observation tower had fallen silent once again.
Wind poured through the broken windows, producing a low howl.
Crow had already left.
When Scope locked onto the observation tower again, there was no one inside.
The communication channel remained silent.
No urging.
No orders.
Because Scope was the one responsible for tracking him.
If even he had not fired a second shot, it could only mean that the target was truly troublesome.
Along the mountain road, Crow continued forward.
His footsteps remained steady.
He had not truly rested for two days, yet there was hardly any sign of fatigue.
Because he had long since grown accustomed to this kind of life.
Many years ago, when he had first followed an information broker and begun learning from him, there had been one time when he kept moving for seven consecutive days.
He had been much younger back then.
His physical strength was far inferior to what it was now.
On the third day, he finally could not hold back his question.
"Why don't we stop?"
The old man did not look back.
He simply continued walking.
"Because someone wants to kill me."
Crow froze for a moment.
"Who?"
The old man answered.
"I don't know."
"Maybe they exist."
"Maybe they don't."
"But if I stop…"
"They might appear."
From that day onward, Crow never asked a question like that again.
Because he had understood.
The greatest enemy of an information broker had never been any particular person.
It was exposure.
Once others knew where you were,
knew what you would do,
knew where you intended to go next,
death would slowly draw closer.
Therefore—
Never let anyone know.
Not even yourself.
Dawn arrived.
A faint light appeared along the horizon.
Crow entered deeper into the mountains.
There were no roads here anymore.
Only large stretches of exposed rock and tangled forests.
Ordinary vehicles could not enter.
Even drone searches were affected.
Meanwhile, several kilometers away, Scope lowered his head and looked at the map.
The map was covered with red markers.
Every single one represented a location Crow had passed through.
Yet the more Scope analyzed them, the deeper the frown on his face became.
The routes were simply too chaotic.
Sometimes north.
Sometimes east.
Sometimes even looping back toward areas he had already passed.
There was no discernible destination.
It did not look like an escape.
Nor did it look like he was heading toward a base.
It looked more like he was simply living.
One of the analysts beside him could not help asking,
"Where is he actually trying to go?"
Scope remained silent for a moment.
Then he slowly answered,
"Nowhere."
The air fell silent.
The analyst did not understand.
Scope continued staring at the map.
"If a person has no destination…"
"No one can predict him."
Everyone fell silent.
Because there was truth in those words.
Crow was exactly that kind of person.
He had no organization.
No base.
No subordinates.
Viper was dead.
Cobra was over.
Now, Crow had truly become a man alone.
A man with nothing tying him down.
Such a target was often the hardest to track.
At noon, the weather began to turn cloudy.
Large masses of dark clouds gradually gathered.
The mountain wind grew stronger.
Crow arrived at the edge of a canyon.
He stopped.
For the first time in two days, he truly observed his surroundings.
A bottomless ravine lay beneath his feet.
Another mountain range stretched across from him.
He stood there.
Quietly looking for a long time.
Yet Viper's figure once again surfaced in his mind.
The man who always liked to smile.
The man who carefully calculated every step.
One of the very few people who could understand him.
Many people thought Crow helped Viper because of profit.
But that was not entirely true.
Profit was only one part of it.
More importantly, Viper was one of the few people who made sense to him.
Everything had a reason.
Every action had a purpose.
Every choice had a price.
People like that were rare.
That was why Crow had been willing to stay.
And now—
That person was dead.
The wind swept through the canyon.
Crow slowly closed his eyes.
A few seconds later, he opened them again.
There was still no expression on his face.
In the distance, on a certain mountain ridge, Scope spotted the target through his scope once again.
Distance: 3,200 meters.
The angle was terrible.
The wind speed was erratic.
It was far from ideal shooting conditions.
Yet this was the first time they had spotted the target today.
Scope slowly adjusted his breathing.
At the center of the scope,
Crow stood at the edge of the canyon.
Completely motionless.
Like a statue.
This state lasted for more than ten seconds.
Then—
Crow suddenly left.
He entered the forest once again.
The opportunity to fire disappeared.
The observer beside Scope could not help muttering a curse.
Scope remained silent.
He simply packed away his sniper rifle and continued relocating.
Time passed little by little.
In the afternoon,
a torrential rain descended.
Heavy rain hammered the mountain forests.
Visibility rapidly deteriorated.
Under normal circumstances, weather like this was already unsuitable for tracking.
Yet Scope still refused to give up.
Because he knew—
This was the last opportunity.
Once the target entered the deeper mountains, finding him again would become extremely difficult.
But things developed even worse than expected.
At dusk,
Crow suddenly disappeared.
He had not entered the forest.
He had not entered a building.
He had simply vanished.
The drone lost the target.
Thermal imaging lost the target.
Every observation point lost the target.
It was as if he had evaporated from the world.
The communication channel instantly became chaotic.
"No sighting on the east side."
"Nothing on the north side."
"Drone reports no abnormalities."
"Thermal search unsuccessful."
Reports continued to come in.
But the result was always the same.
Nothing.
There was nothing.
Scope stood in the torrential rain, staring at the map.
For a long time, he said nothing.
Only after a long while did he finally raise his head.
He looked toward the dark mountains in the distance.
There was nothing to be seen.
Only rain.
Endless rain.
At that moment,
he suddenly understood Crow's teacher.
If a person turned hiding himself into instinct,
then searching for that person
was itself a mistake.
Because from the very beginning,
the other person had been living for the sole purpose of not being found.
Night fell.
The search was finally terminated.
All drones began returning.
The various observation points withdrew one after another.
The communication channel once again fell silent.
Finally, headquarters sent one last question.
"Continue the pursuit?"
Rain continued to fall.
Scope remained silent for a long time.
Then he slowly lowered his sniper rifle.
"The target is lost."
The channel fell silent.
A few seconds later, the question came again.
"Confirm the target is lost?"
Scope looked toward the dark mountains.
He slowly nodded.
"Confirmed."
"Tracking terminated."
The communication ended.
The rain continued to fall.
And somewhere deep within an unknown mountain forest,
Crow slowly stopped walking.
He looked back toward the direction he had come from.
The wound on his cheek had already scabbed over,
leaving behind only a faint mark.
This was the only thing Scope had left behind.
Crow quietly stared at it for several seconds.
Then he turned around.
And continued walking deeper into the darkness.
No one knew where he was going.
No one knew whether he would ever appear again.
The forest gradually swallowed his silhouette.
The sound of rain grew louder.
In the end,
every trace of Crow
completely disappeared into the night.