[Mission Objective Updated]
[Break Through the Encirclement (Not Achieved)]
Thunder Miles surged upstream within the encirclement, and the Exile's convoy was scattered by the sudden attack.
John gripped the steering wheel tight.
The violent jolts made his arms ache, the impact from the cliff fall was harsher than expected, perhaps a bone was broken, but it wasn't particularly apparent under the influence of the drugs.
Alonna's forehead was also bruised.
She lay sideways in the back seat, bracing the car door with her feet to keep balance, a precision rifle mounted on the window frame.
[Weapon: Suresh-Eye of Zeus HUK]
[Module: Advanced Calibration, Firing Speed Optimization]
She kept pulling the trigger in the brief gaps between vehicles, electromagnetic bullets shot through the smoke like lightning.
Enemies around them kept falling off their vehicles.
John floored the gas pedal, continuing forward.
The opponent's vehicles had the advantage in speed, a few turned to chase them but were all shot into corpses by Alonna.
[Harass the Exile, Relieve Camp Pressure. (Optional)]
The enemies, gritting their teeth in anger, could only give up the chase.
John saw it in the rearview mirror, suddenly drifting and changing direction, harassing around the Exile, circling at shooting distance.
Alonna switched back to the sniper rifle, lifting the roof cover and standing up.
Boom!
The unique sound of the kinetic heavy weapon echoed across the wasteland.
Even sitting in the driver's seat, John could feel the slight ringing in his ears from the vibration of the steel hollow.
He maintained the speed, trying to drive smoothly.
Alonna's shooting became more precise, the firing rate increased, fearsome large-caliber armor-piercing rounds shot through the air.
The coordination between speed and sniping was excellent.
The Exile was caught in a world of pain.
Suddenly!
A long strange sound came from the horizon, the onboard systems continuously flashing red, radar detection spiked...
"Get down!"
John yelled, accelerating and changing direction.
Alonna ducked back into the car from the back seat, then a nearby explosion occurred, an infantry incendiary shell landed to the right front.
John reacted quickly enough not to get hit.
He was a bit stunned: "That's already four missiles, does the Exile have such firepower support?"
"It's Sarazi!"
"Who?"
"A camp traitor with a score to settle with us, this ambush is certainly..."
Before Alonna could finish her words, the car's rear armor was torn apart.
A massive alloy grappling hook shot into the flames, skewering through the entire car from a diagonal rear angle, luckily she was lying sideways, the sharp tip whistling past her face, destroying everything on the passenger seat.
The giant hook claw breached the car's body, extended after penetrating, grabbing the engine hood and flipping the whole car over, halted firmly by the taut cable.
John tightened his arms, only suffering a scrape.
He quickly unbuckled and dove to the side, the recoiling metal hook almost impaled his skull.
John clung to his gun, rolling out of the car.
His vision spinning, there seemed to be a vehicle that stopped, an Exile emerging from the billowing smoke.
[Name: Sarazi]
[Faction: Exile]
[Scan: Heavy Subdermal Armor, Electromagnetic Antibody, Pain Editor]
[Bounty: Kidnapping, Attacking Police, Organ Trafficking...]
The guy had slicked-back green hair, a stubbly beard, shirtless with numerous prosthetic bodies installed.
He cursed as he approached John, raising a grenade launcher to fire.
Bang bang bang~
Alonna had escaped the car at some point, firing wildly at him.
Sarazi staggered, spitting out a stream of vile curses.
The grenade launcher fired off-kilter, blasting a fresh pit into the ground, the surroundings instantly scorching with heat waves.
Knowing the War Mother's prowess, he ignored John, targeting Alonna as the primary threat.
The grenade heavy artillery unleashed a barrage.
Alonna took cover, waiting for an opportunity to shoot.
But Sarazi's tough skin was truly hard to take down, and his weapons were all high-impact ammo, even a graze would hurt, leveraging high tolerance to exchange attacks with Alonna evenly.
[Defeat Sarazi. (Not Achieved)]
[Hack into the vehicular war spear system. (Optional)]
John caught his breath.
His attention was drawn to Sarazi's car, then he crouched low, circling through the combat zone.
This heavily armored vehicle had been modified, with a massive mechanical structure in the back connecting to electronic anchor cables on the roof.
One cable was left!
John was glad he had made the right gamble.
He immediately raised his gun and shot the Exile on guard beside him, pulling open the driver's compartment and plugging a data cable into the onboard system.
[Sperm Whale Electronic War Spear System (Hacked)]
The Black Light invasion was swift, with streams of information returning as the electromagnetic weapon's targeting system was linked to his retina.
The view in front of John flickered twice, and then connected to the cameras; he had never used anything like this before and could only feel his way along, unable to comprehend the data streams and parameter indicators thrashing around him.
The lens refocused, zooming in on the distant battlefield.
Sarazi leaped up as Alonna reloaded, his modified legs moving with incredible speed.
He fired several shots, emptying his magazine.
Sarazi swung his arm, ejecting a crackling ion long knife, charging forward with flames licking at his face.
The gunfire turned into a melee combat.
Alonna had also been equipped with a melee module.
She raised her sniper rifle to deflect the slash, kicked for some space, and then single-handedly detached the weapon attachment. A scalding hot pressure release valve spewed white mist, and then she pulled the entire barrel off to use as a weapon.
"Alonna, I've got something big, you all need to scatter!"
John shouted in the team channel.
Sarazi was clearly enraged, his arm's injector activated, and his chest became flushed red.
Alonna's electromagnetic pistol shots felt like tickles to him.
Seeing the opponent closing in, she swung her gun with all her might, bending the entire alloy barrel, only managing to make him tilt his head slightly.
Sarazi turned back with a ferocious expression…
Only to find an empty space before him.
A unidirectional grenade beeped, ending its countdown, the explosion's shockwave and flames blew him away.
The industrial skin on Sarazi's chest was torn apart, his flesh and modified subdermal armor seared and burned into a charred mess, peeling off in chunks.
Whoosh—
A piercing sound came from a distance.
A gigantic metal war spear pinned him into the wreckage of a car, and the disturbed mechanical parts let out a brief burst.
Billows of thick smoke rose with a few sparks of electricity.
[Hold out until reinforcements arrive. (Not achieved)]
"Let's see how you like it..."
John unplugged the data cable and climbed out with his gun.
Alonna was in bad shape too, a directional mine had caused internal injuries, and a stream of blood flowed down from her right ear.
The two of them used the vehicle as a stronghold to stand their ground.
Scattered Exiles tried to attack them. When their breakthrough attempts failed, they gave up, and instead, the news of Sarazi's death spread...
Nando led his team to break through the encirclement.
The enemy began to retreat.
The effect of the combat stimulant was also nearing its end.
John was sure he had broken a rib, as searing pain and dizziness climbed up relentlessly like maggots, forcing him to lean against a cover for support while waiting for reinforcements.
He tremulously bit a cigarette but couldn't find a lighter.
Alonna propped herself up, grabbed a burning piece of wreckage, lit his face, and then tossed it away.
Phhh~
Nando arrived quickly.
Cleaning up the battlefield took a lot of time.
John received treatment from the camp doctor and stationed in the valley for a day and a night.
Until the truck was repaired and they formed a convoy to return to Eden City.
Alonna's scan results were not optimistic, with a concussion being considered a minor injury—subcutaneous protection needed refurbishment, a chip was broken, and the main combat sniper rifle was completely ruined.
The people from Damascus Camp frequently came to see John.
Nando particularly showed concern and care, pampering him with good food and drinks. When they returned to Eden City, another group came over to "see" him.
"Are you the guy who jumped off the cliff?"
"You might not be from the camp, but you earned an achievement, surviving from Alonna's driver's seat."
"You're really damn lucky."
…
John smiled silently, just waiting for Nando to come over and settle the payment.