John raised his gun and fired.
The warehouse instantly turned into chaos.
Compared to traditional kinetic firearms, the bullets from the tech rifle emitted a unique electromagnetic hum as they pierced through the air.
Elegant and cool, yet still deadly.
This Zebra GUB felt incredibly comfortable, with moderate recoil and the electromagnetic magazine firing rapidly, emptying almost in the blink of an eye.
The column John aimed at was shattered, and a blond kid clutching his leg fell to the ground howling, becoming the first unlucky one to be singled out.
John had never used the Zebra GUB, but his modified prosthetic hand was effective.
[Prosthetic Limb: Kingston-Radium Point Grip I3]
He had a black pad in his palm that could detect the weapon chip and automatically download the gun's reload program. If not deliberately suppressed, both hands would start reloading like muscle memory...
The empty magazine fell onto the metal tier.
The gunfire inside the factory abruptly stopped.
The interval between reloads seemed to stir up a nest of cockroaches, with several young men crawling out from behind piles of debris, scrambling inside.
John did not rush to poke his head out to shoot.
The escape was just a façade.
One kid was still aiming a gun, searching for him.
It must be said, kids who have received elite education have quite the imaginations, but unfortunately—
They've been pampered for way too long, never crushed by absolute power, not yet realizing the world's cruelty.
Truly adorably naive.
The camera in the corner locked onto the target.
Yet those kids were completely unaware.
John had a clear view inside the factory; his prosthetic eye synchronized the scan data, displaying outlines composed of data behind obstacles, even capturing the minute movements of raising a gun.
John quietly moved to the other side.
Here he could perfectly avoid the opponent's line of fire.
He suddenly stood up, firing several bullets that severed the gunman's mechanical arm, and another wave of ghostly wailing filled the factory.
"Jesse got hit."
"Bend down, hide quickly!"
"F*ck, fa... my hand, ah~ I can't feel it anymore, it hurts like hell."
"He's behind the column!"
"Sh*t, I can't hit him!"
...
These Shark Coins were scared out of their wits.
They blindly fired, pulling the trigger in John's general direction, all the bullets were blocked by obstacles, not even scratching a hair.
John calmly left his original position, setting up the rifle on a pile of debris.
This was his longest aim yet.
John's prosthetic eye flashed once more.
The electronic sight refocused, spotting a person sneaking along the factory's edge.
He was ready to abandon his companions and escape alone, almost touching the doorknob.
But the next second.
His knee was suddenly hit, the crisp sound of bones breaking and his hysterical cries drowned out other noises inside the factory.
The young men shivered, covering their mouths, no longer talking loudly.
The guy with the broken leg bit his lip, lying on the ground.
He desperately crawled outward, then a terrifying scene unfolded...
The gunfire didn't stop.
Bullets streaked past obstacles, repeatedly hitting until he completely lost the ability to move.
He howled, crying in pain, praying to his companions, until he fainted from blood loss and shock, and no one dared respond.
Boom, boom, boom.
John held the Zebra GUB, turning the gun's direction, continuing to shoot steadily.
Each bullet penetrated the weak spots of cover, hitting the car thieves accurately. The most terrifying part was, everyone's wounds were non-lethal, but after being hit, they'd switch targets.
The young men's spirits were about to collapse.
"Damnit, ah, he can see us."
"His bullets can pierce walls!"
"Damn it, come out, you damn ba..."
Bam!
Before the swearing guy finished, he was shot through the rib.
He clutched his bleeding shoulder, convulsing on the ground, the steel plate behind him with a blackened edge around a bullet hole.
Gunfire echoed from the shadow dozens of meters away.
A bullet landed precisely on the floor, only a few centimeters from the cursor's head, the splashing electromagnetic even scorching his cheek.
Compared to pain, fear is even more lethal.
The remaining few thieves went completely mad!
They couldn't hold back any longer. They screamed, raised their guns, and rushed out, only to be shot down like toy blocks.
The gunfire finally ceased.
John switched the camera repeatedly to check, then stood up calmly as if he had just picked up takeout from a street vendor.
Task prompts appeared.
[Talk to the car thieves. (Optional)]
[Find Piotr Mercado. (Not Achieved)]
In the desolate and dilapidated factory district, there were cries of pain everywhere. The pale sunlight pierced through the dust and shone on the graffiti-covered concrete walls.
John descended the metal stairs.
He first found the nearby thieves, gathered them in the middle of the floor, then circled to the back to drag the unlucky one who had run the farthest.
A long trail of blood appeared on the ground.
This horrifying scene reminded people of the infamous Ghouls on the streets. The young men who were crying moments ago all shut their mouths.
"Birds of a feather really do flock together."
John could tell at a glance that they were all rich kids — their implants were the exquisite and beautiful celebrity models seen in public ads in Eden City, expensive but impractical.
They were weak and barely conscious.
John had to bend down, slow his speech, and speak as loudly as possible:
"Now, who, can tell me, the hell, where my car, is?"
The foul-mouthed guy weakly raised his hand, pointing to the end of the tire tracks, and he actually attempted to negotiate with John. "Your car system was hacked, I have the key to unlock it remotely, just spare my life..."
John gave a meaningful smile.
The thief panicked immediately, adding, "I'm Piotr Mercado, my family is very wealthy, don't kill me, I beg you!"
John's expression turned interesting instantly.
Just as Piotr thought he was saved, the other party turned and left.
John found the car deep in the factory first, and immediately took out a data cable to hack into the car system.
Black Light crushed Eisenberg's firewall, cleared the plug-ins, and repaired the backdoor left by the thieves.
[New vehicle added.]
Black Light added it to the management devices.
John could now remotely monitor the vehicle's status via the virtual net chip, just like with the Black Spider, receiving alerts at the slightest sign of trouble.
There would no longer be any more situations of being stolen without a reaction.
Unless they could deal with Black Light.
John glanced around, seeing a range of styles in cars, with varying prices.
"I told you a supercar can't fit six people."
After checking each one, he found quite a few stolen items, all of which he loaded into his car.
The happiest discovery was a large number of vials in the backseat of a pickup truck.
The gas valve injectors were all marked with the Gaia Cells logo, something he'd recently experienced, with performance and price far above the street's generic alternatives.
The Silver Rider 577 switched to roaming mode and automatically drove back to the apartment, the roar of the engine echoing throughout the factory, announcing John's regained control and further diminishing the thieves' value.
Piotr's face turned pale.
The tie clip suddenly called.
[John, are you done?]
"I've got six unfortunates on my hands. They can still barely breathe, but without stopping the bleeding, it's hard to say."
[Whew, as long as you're okay. The Black Gold Gang is headed your way. Bring Piotr to the old bridge tunnel in the West District. I'll have people ready to receive the goods.]
Urgent screeching brakes sounded outside the factory.
"They seem to have arrived."
John switched his view and saw a group of people coming aggressively from outside.
[F*ck, you better run. I'll negotiate with the Black Gold Gang. Call me once you're completely safe.]
The tie clip hung up the call in an anxious tone.
John furrowed his brows. Just as he was about to leave, new content popped up before him.
[Task Objectives Updated]
[Deliver Piotr Mercado to the delivery point. (Not Achieved)]
[Negotiate with the Black Gold Gang. (Optional)]
Was the task actually suggesting he stay?
In his hesitation, John lost his chance to escape.
Footsteps surrounded him densely from all directions.
A group of armed Black men barged in with guns, pointing their dark muzzles at him, spewing all sorts of unpleasant swear words.
The leader shouted for him to surrender.