Jade's voice carried a hint of nervousness and a warning.
"What is it, Jade?"
Jackie Chan turned his head, following the direction of Jade's finger. The next second, he gasped, his eyes wide open.
"Oh! My goodness!"
Unbeknownst to them, from the shadows of the surrounding buildings, the dark alleys at the street corners, and even behind the bases of the streetlights—
Masses of Shadowkhan, dressed in black ninja outfits with glowing red eyes, had silently emerged like a tide!
They had already surrounded the three of them completely!
"See! It's them! I didn't lie to you, did I!"
Jackie Chan instantly pointed at the increasing number of Shadowkhan Ninjas around them, his tone urgent with a 'truth revealed' urgency, looking at Victor, trying to prove his innocence.
However, Victor's reaction was completely beyond his expectation.
The young man's eyes rolled, and his face instantly switched to an expression mixed with shock, anger, and betrayal.
He suddenly pointed at Jackie Chan, his voice abruptly rising, filled with dramatic accusation.
"You scoundrel! To think I trusted you so much! So you're with them! Quickly, give me back the talismans!"
"What?! I'm not!"
Jackie Chan was completely bewildered, his mind unable to process it immediately. He could only instinctively wave his hands frantically, his feet involuntarily retreating.
His panicked denial and continuous retreat, in the eyes of the menacing Shadowkhan surrounding them, looked even more like a guilty conscience and an attempt to cover up.
Swish—!
All the Shadowkhan Ninjas' glowing red eyes instantly locked onto Jackie Chan! The cold killing intent condensed as if solid!
"Unlucky, unlucky, unlucky!!"
Jackie Chan instantly reacted, cursing inwardly, knowing that he had been used as a pawn by that kid!
He grabbed Jade by his side, tucking her under his arm, and without bothering to explain, turned and ran! His movements were so agile that he didn't resemble an archaeologist at all.
"Hey! Gently, Uncle jackie! My stomach!"
Jade, being carried like a briefcase in mid-air, protested but didn't forget to curiously look back.
She saw the culprit—Victor—standing leisurely in place, a brilliant smile of successful scheming on his face, even casually waving in the direction they were fleeing.
Seeing Jade look back, Victor immediately gave a playful wink, stuck out his tongue, and made an exaggerated yet cute silly face.
"That bad guy! He framed Uncle jackie!"
Jade furiously waved her small fists in mid-air, but for some reason, looking at Victor's smug expression of a successful prank, she couldn't help but want to laugh.
"Jade! Hold on tight!"
Jackie Chan had no time to worry about what was behind him. He used all his might, sprinting through the steep streets of San Francisco.
Behind him was the relentless pursuit of the Shadowkhan, like a black tide.
Meanwhile, Victor lightly tossed the three troublesome talismans in his hand, turned, and strolled away in the opposite direction, disappearing around the street corner.
It was more than ten minutes later when Jackie Chan, having used the complex alleys and a pile of fortuitously placed cardboard boxes to shake off the Shadowkhan, found Victor again.
At this moment, Victor was leisurely leaning against a wall, holding a substantial-looking double-scoop chocolate ice cream.
He was licking it with utter satisfaction, his face beaming with pure and simple joy, as if he wasn't the one who had just framed someone and run off.
Jackie Chan pressed his back against the wall, cautiously peeking out half his head, observing Victor.
More precisely, Victor's bulging pants pocket, which contained three talismans.
"I need to find a way..." Jackie Chan rubbed his chin, his brows furrowed, muttering to himself, "To 'take' the talismans from his pocket..."
"Take?"
Jade, beside him, instantly caught the keyword, her eyes lighting up like electrified light bulbs, her small face filled with excitement.
"Oh! Are we stealing them? Uncle jackie! I'm good at this!"
Jackie Chan was choked by Jade's overly enthusiastic reaction. Looking at the little girl's eager, ready-to-go demeanor, his heart was instantly filled with guilt.
He squatted down, placing his hands on Jade's shoulders, his tone heavy and somewhat self-reproachful.
"No, Jade, stealing is wrong! We are... we are..."
He struggled for a long time, unable to find a righteous excuse for this action. Finally, his shoulders slumped, and he resignedly admitted:
"Alright, this is stealing. Oh my, I'm a bad role model."
Watching Uncle jackie's vexed expression, Jade, however, smiled slyly, like a cat that had successfully stolen a dried fish.
She opened her tightly clenched small fist, and sure enough, a talisman carved with a rabbit pattern lay in her palm.
"Hey, Uncle jackie, don't worry! I have a way to 'get' the talismans from his pocket!"
Jade's tone was full of confidence.
"Ah? The rabbit talisman?!"
Jackie Chan's eyes almost popped out, his voice rising by eight octaves before he quickly lowered it again.
"It... shouldn't it be in Section 13's safest vault? Jade! How did you get in?!"
"Uh... I just took the stairs? The security camera in the emergency exit seemed to be broken, lucky, right, Uncle jackie?"
Jade blinked her innocent big eyes.
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