BANG!
The first thing Wang Xi felt was the hovercar's body shudder.
Immediately after, the entire hovercar malfunctioned, suddenly losing power and plummeting to the ground with a deafening roar.
BOOM!!
Wang Xi stumbled, his body lurching violently.
His expression changed slightly.
It seemed the attacker had planned this; a single shot had crippled the hovercar's power system.
The hovercar was now nothing but a heap of scrap metal!
Wang Xi remained calm and collected. Without a moment's hesitation, he pressed the dial button on his phone and reported the incident to the Security Bureau!
He didn't have time to explain the situation. He just yelled for help, tapped "Send Location," then unbuckled his seatbelt, dove into the passenger seat, opened the door, and rolled out the other side.
PEW PEW PEW!
The very next second after he left the driver's seat, three or four red laser beams followed, striking the hovercar with precision.
With a series of clangs, several ping-pong-ball-sized holes appeared in the composite metal door, their edges charred and glowing red. Even the leather driver's seat was pierced, sending scraps flying.
Wang Xi's eyelids twitched at the sight.
If one of those hit a person, it would leave you cold—and send your heart flying!
He crouched behind the vehicle, peering through the window into the abandoned factory. He saw a figure squatting on the rusted, corrugated iron roof of a factory building.
This was the attacker.
The man was wrapped in strips of cloth, wearing a tattered black cloak full of holes. His head and face were concealed by a hood and a mask, revealing only a pair of vertical, red pupils filled with malice.
He held a strange pistol shaped like a Mauser C96, but where the magazine should be, there was a battery icon indicating a full green charge.
The breeze caught his cloak and cloth wrappings, making them writhe like claws under the setting sun.
「Black Mamba · Park Hong (Crimson/Three Stars)」
In Wang Xi's line of sight, the corresponding tag slowly materialized above the black-cloaked man's head.
What made his pupils constrict was the fact that the man's tag was encircled by Bronze Patterns.
An Elite unit?
A Crimson Three Stars threat level?!
An assassin with the title "Black Mamba"...
'Oh, for fuck's sake!'
'What can I even say? Lin Zhifeng, I am going to personally bash your damn head in!'
Right now, Wang Xi wanted nothing more than to bash that fat deputy director's head in.
He recognized the name "Black Mamba."
While waiting for Chu Nai this morning, he'd been scrolling through his phone and happened to see a wanted poster released by the Security Bureau. This guy had been on it.
A member of the underground organization "Ghost Grid."
A high-risk wanted criminal who had committed countless murders!
There was no way he could outrun him now. The hovercar was down, and two legs were no match for a laser.
There was only one way to survive.
He had to stall for time and wait for the Security Bureau to rescue him!
Accepting his situation, Wang Xi immediately equipped the 「Cupid's Protective Suit」. It didn't matter if it could actually block a laser—he put it on anyway. At least it offered some psychological comfort.
'Maybe getting hit won't hurt as much,' he thought.
Just then, the cloaked man on the factory roof raised his gun again, aimed at the hovercar, and pulled the trigger.
PEW PEW PEW!!
A series of red laser beams erupted, and wisps of smoke curled from the muzzle.
Several more searing holes appeared in the car door. One even pierced through the chassis, grazing Wang Xi's arm.
A cold sweat broke out on Wang Xi's brow.
He didn't dare linger. Gritting his teeth, he dashed to the side.
The bulky, Yellow figure flashed past, moving with incredible speed, and vanished behind a pile of scrap in the blink of an eye.
PEW PEW PEW PEW!!
The red lasers followed close behind, nipping at Wang Xi's heels.
Once Wang Xi had hidden himself within the mountain-like heap of scrap, the cloaked man on the roof narrowed his eyes, a cruel, mocking glint in them.
It was as if he were a cat that had taken an interest in playing with its mouse.
SWOOSH—
He moved like a phantom, his cloak billowing with black smoke as he leaped from the four- or five-meter-high roof. He landed lightly on his feet and gave chase.
"Huff... huff..."
Wang Xi ran for his life, weaving left and right between the scrap heaps. He could feel his heart pounding, and his breathing was heavy inside the sealed helmet of his protective suit.
Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of something in his peripheral vision.
About a dozen meters away to his left, a figure emerged atop a scrap heap. The cloaked man was raising his gun, its dark muzzle aimed right at him.
'Dodge!!'
The thought flashed through Wang Xi's mind.
His body, empowered by 「Elite Soldiers」, possessed incredible explosive strength. He threw himself to the side.
PEW—
A red beam singed Wang Xi's pant leg.
"Tsk, slippery little bastard."
The cloaked man lowered his Laser Pistol and chuckled hoarsely, looking at the empty pathway between the scrap heaps.
He dissolved into a phantom wisp of black smoke and vanished on the spot.
Behind a crushed, scrapped car, Wang Xi crouched, panting heavily. His face was twisted in pain, and he was drenched in sweat.
On his left leg, the Yellow protective suit had been burned through, leaving a gaping hole. His casual pants underneath hadn't been spared either, revealing a laser burn on his calf.
The wound was the length of a finger, its edges charred black, with beads of blood oozing from the center.
The searing pain made him gasp.
'That guy is too fast, I can't outrun him... And now with my leg injured, I don't stand a chance.'
Wang Xi took deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down.
'My advantage is my physical conditioning, close combat, and the information gap. I have to find a way to close the distance... That might be the only way to create a chance of survival!'
In the dead silence of the abandoned factory, a phantom of black smoke leaped across the scrap heaps.
Suddenly, the figure stopped.
"Black Mamba" Park Hong whipped his head to the side. In mid-air, two drones flashing red and blue lights were flying toward them.
They were accompanied by the beeping of alarms.
"Security Bureau recon drones?"
Park Hong frowned.
"Who called the cops...?"
The drones' mounted cameras turned and focused on him, clearly capturing the scene.
A stern, electronic voice rang out:
"Suspicious target identified: High-risk wanted person 'Black Mamba' Park Hong—"
PEW PEW!!
Park Hong's eyes turned icy. He raised his hand and fired two shots, blasting the drones out of the sky.
Sparking and smoking, the drones fell like birds with broken wings, crashing onto a scrap heap and easily blending into their surroundings.
"Finish the hunt in two minutes."
Park Hong nonchalantly closed his eyes and listened intently.
THUMP-THUMP, THUMP-THUMP...
A frantic heartbeat, like a war drum, was slowly moving in a certain direction.
In the darkness, it was as if a bright red line was trembling.
"Got you, little mouse."
Park Hong opened his eyes and sneered.
His figure blurred, trailing phantom black smoke, and in a few leaps, he landed atop a scrap heap.
But just as he steadied himself, before he could even look down, a bright yellow crowbar swung out from beneath his feet!
BAM!!
The crowbar viciously struck Park Hong's left leg!
"Hngh!" The cloaked man's expression twisted in an instant.
The intense pain from his leg made his killing intent boil over.
The mouse actually dared to bite back!
But just as Park Hong pulled out a dagger, the crowbar cunningly hooked again, its curved end catching his ankle and yanking downward.
CRASH!
Park Hong stumbled, completely losing his balance.
He tried to pull his leg back, but the force from the crowbar was shockingly strong. To his astonishment, it dragged him right off the scrap heap.
He tumbled down, and before he even hit the ground, a bulky yellow figure pounced on him, landing a punch square in his face.
BAM!
Park Hong's cheekbone contorted, and his mask fell off, revealing a gaunt, scarred face. His jaw was a gleaming, menacing, all-metal cybernetic, and now blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
"You..."
He opened his mouth to speak, but another heavy fist smashed down.
BAM! BAM! BAM!!
Without giving him a chance to talk, Wang Xi let loose with both hands, unleashing a torrential storm of punches on the man's face.
Specks of blood spattered onto his glass faceplate, but the calm eyes beneath it never once blinked.
He knew he had to seize this opportunity and beat this man to death!
Fail to kill a snake, and it will bite you back!
"Get off!!"
Park Hong roared.
A cloud of black smoke suddenly erupted from his body, blasting Wang Xi, who was in the dominant position, away.
"You damned little mutt!!"
Park Hong sprang up like a demon, dagger in hand, and lunged at Wang Xi, leaving trails of black smoke in his wake.
The sudden burst of black smoke had caught Wang Xi off guard. Now, all he could do was grit his teeth, grab his crowbar, and fight back with everything he had.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!!
Park Hong's dagger was as fast as lightning, a constant blur of motion.
But every stab and slash was precisely blocked by the crowbar, sending sparks flying with a continuous clang.
His pupils contracted.
Although frontal assault wasn't his specialty, he had killed many powerful experts, including several Professional Warriors!
How could this lowly Cleaner from Cupid Housekeeping possibly be blocking his attacks?!
CLANG! CLANG! CLA—
SCHLICK!
In the space of a few seconds, they had exchanged more than a dozen blows.
Park Hong's dagger finally broke through his opponent's defense, slashing through the protective suit and leaving a long, bloody gash on his chest. At the same time, however, his own arm took a heavy blow from the crowbar.
Both of them stumbled back several steps.
Park Hong's right arm hung limp as he lifted his crimson, vertical pupils.
He looked at the figure clutching his chest, bent over, suit torn and bloodstained, but still standing with the crowbar in hand...
For the first time in a long while, he found himself cursing his client.
The intel was completely wrong!
He had been careless!
And time was running out...
His mission was to retrieve a specific material card and silence the target. He thought it would be an easy job, but this kid was far tougher than expected, and he had wasted a lot of time.
The Security Bureau's recon drones had already spotted him, which meant officers would be here soon. If he didn't leave now, it would be too late.
"Impressive."
Park Hong praised him hoarsely as a black light flashed between his fingers.
A plain, unadorned revolver appeared in his hand.
"It's not often a target forces me to use my trump card. You're one of the few."
With that, he raised the gun and aimed at Wang Xi.
"But this is where it ends."
At that moment, Wang Xi's pupils trembled.
The instant the revolver was aimed at him, he was overcome with a sense of certain death. The hair on his body stood on end, and his heart seemed to stop.
That revolver was far more dangerous than the Laser Pistol!
BANG—
The cloaked man pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Flames erupted from the muzzle.
Almost instinctively, Wang Xi swung the crowbar. His body, enhanced by 「Elite Soldiers」, put all its might into a Swordsmanship Parry.
He felt as if time had slowed down.
A jet-black bullet, spinning at high speed, flew toward his forehead. At the last possible moment, the crowbar parried it—
PING!!
Sparks flew.
A flash of surprise crossed Park Hong's face, but it was quickly replaced by a sneer.
In Wang Xi's vision, the black bullet he had just parried away traced a blurry arc in mid-air and was now flying back at him!
It was a Sure Hit bullet!
THUNK—
Wang Xi felt a sharp pain in his back!