Since his debut, John has experienced many dangerous vehicle chases.

With five years of logistics escort experience and countless high-risk on-the-spot dealings, his driving skills are what he's most confident about.

The Alloy RCH drifted on the high-rise bridge, making a turn that scared a trailing sports car into braking on the spot.

John revved the engine, lifted the wheels, and drove over the opponent's low hood, flying over the guardrail and briefly airborne, aiming for the top of the armored car.

His heart nearly stopped as he watched the auction house's sign below zoom in swiftly and get closer.

Bang!

The motorcycle slammed hard onto the roof, the shock absorbers hadn't fully engaged, and it uncontrollably moved towards the front side.

The landing spot was very small and not very stable.

John was mentally prepared and immediately let go of the handlebars, allowing the bike to slide off the platform onto the street, while he stayed on the armored car through a series of deceleration rolls.

The Alloy RCH wouldn't break after just two falls.

Unless Black Light or some destructive uninstallation occurs, as long as it's within the public network range, it won't be lost.

Things have come to this point.

There's no way to let Knight and his accomplices get away.

John landed on the top of the driver's seat, and the armored car suddenly shook; he was almost thrown off, with half his body already suspended, finally grabbing the cabin's connection point to avoid falling.

Swish!

A high-density alloy Mantis Blade pierced through the roof, poking out ten centimeters past the component gaps, very close to John's head.

He exerted force on his arms, lifted himself onto the roof, and just as he retracted his legs hanging outside the window, gunshots rang out from inside the driver's seat.

The bullets didn't penetrate the bulletproof glass, even rebounding back to hit the bald man driving.

"Ah, damn it!"

"Stop yelling, get him off us!"

"I'm trying! F*ck, f*ck! He's holding tight, goddamn it, stop shooting, I already told you!"

The bald man was so angry he turned red, the pain from his wound continuously stimulating his nerves; just as he prepared to brake for a showdown, he heard the approaching police sirens.

Drones whizzed across the road.

The monitors near the traffic lights all turned into warnings, and the car radio switched to a mechanical voice.

[...Received a progressive crime report, this is ECPD, please stop illegal activities immediately, slow down and pull over, or we will take enforcement actions, warning...]

"Damn it, the cops are really diligent today!"

The bald man punched the speaker, extinguishing the broadcast amid the crackling sound of electrical arcs.

"Don't slow down, avoid the cops, head towards the industrial district, to the docks or out of town, whatever... I'll take care of him!"

Knight got up from the passenger seat, opened a one-way valve, and unlocked the door leading from the driver's seat to the back.

The cargo hold was filled with velvet bags and numbered metal boxes.

All auction house goods.

Knight wasn't foolish enough to shoot upwards inside a bulletproof compartment.

He moved forward, unlocked the back door, kicked it open, and tossed several grenades onto the road.

The cars following from a distance, hesitant to get close, were blown over.

Thick smoke laced with fire rose on the road, vehicle wreckage collided with cars unable to slow down, forming a barrier amidst an orange-red and gray-black whirlwind.

Knight raised his kinetic shotgun, aiming at the roof.

He was confident he'd pull the trigger as soon as the intruder showed a leg...

Suddenly, his vision blurred.

Instinctively, he fired but hit a shadow.

Even with the forced cooling, John's Sianweistan could still be overclocked for one forced use, needing a special inhibitor afterward to counteract the physical side effects.

He clung to the edge and slipped into the compartment, avoiding the gunfire, caught Knight by surprise, and pushed him onto the road.

John seized the moment to enter, toppling a stack of metal boxes.

As soon as he stood up, his vision went black.

Knight, having flown out of the compartment, immediately grabbed onto the hinged door, circling back to the original position on the high-speed road.

The shotgun fell outside.

Returning to the compartment, Knight saw John on the ground and immediately swung a long metal box down.

The swing was powerful, causing the box edge to burst open, revealing stored documents and items.

Knight's following attack became weak due to the weapon's damage, getting kicked away by John.

John staggered to his feet, just as the vehicle turned, shaking both into stopping their attacks and focusing on maintaining their balance.

In the dim compartment.

Knight's two red eyeballs glowed like round bulbs, his face's soft metal terrifyingly distorted, emitting a light snapping sound when he twisted his neck.

He swung his arms, adjusting his stance.

John advanced to take the initiative, probing with several punches, realizing immediately — this guy also had an Alloy Skeleton. His central nervous system connected to the leg bones, making his movements more coordinated and smooth than John's.

"Damn..."

Realizing the danger, John pulled back again, intense pain emanating from his internal organs and head.

The narrow compartment.

The moving vehicle.

This was more dangerous than an electrified boxing ring.

"Scum!"

Knight gnashed his teeth, his temples throbbing in rage, even bleeding from the metal edges due to facial muscle tension.

He was the leader of the Rift Party in the Palmer Region, crazily modifying himself, drinking inhibitors like water, just breaking out to expand influence by absorbing surrounding gangs...

"Running into scum like you, damn it!"

Knight patted his neck, a few Chips surged under his skin— he had modified his data slot to read multiple Fighting Chips.

Slot connection sounds echoed.

Knight's body convulsed, the remaining skin visibly reddened, and one eyeball exploded, oozing gray-green buffer fluid.

He's gone mad.

John had just recognized the cyberpsychosis in front of him when his opponent charged with a roar.

This time, there was not even a chance to resist.

John felt like he was facing a high-temperature machine; no matter how much strength he accumulated, he couldn't land a hit, and the enemy moved fast, using a seamless and mechanical mixed killing technique.

I'm afraid rationality is the only advantage John has left.

He stayed focused, endured the attacks, maneuvered in the cramped cabin, and seized the opportunity to deliver a powerful punch to Knight, hitting the area that causes a fatal concussion, but it only temporarily blinded Knight.

The cabin was still too narrow.

Forced into a corner, John grabbed his weapon and fired within the bulletproof space.

Bullets ricocheted continuously.

This had little effect on a wild beast out of control and instead posed an additional stray bullet threat to John.

Firearms could not disable Knight.

John tried to maneuver again.

Knight, reckless, hugged tightly, using wrestling techniques, lifted John up, charged forward, and pinned him down at the junction of the driver's seat and cabin.

Swish—

A high-density alloy mantis blade slashed toward him.

John was nearly decapitated.

The bald driver, gripping the steering wheel and seeing them struggling beside him, immediately drew a weapon to attack but was slightly out of reach due to the angle of his turn.

John exerted his arms to the limit.

Igdrasir struggled to create a space between him and Knight.

John curled up his legs and kicked the burly man in front of him away.

Knight staggered a couple of steps and charged again.

John drained the last bit of cooling from Sianweistan and, in a flash of electric light, broke the bald man's arm.

"Ah—"

The bald man, sitting in the driver's seat, screamed as his arm was suddenly snapped.

John aimed the mantis blade backward, plunging it into Knight's chest, quickly stood up, and kicked sideways hard.

The high-density blade slashed downward, severing Knight's spinal connection and internal organs, slicing through the side, and rendering this cyber psycho completely dead.

John's Sianweistan was forcibly cooled twice, and he bore the side effects as he dragged his heavy body.

He crossed the junction, twisted the bald man's neck with his hand, then opened the driver's seat door and tossed the corpse out, taking over the steering wheel.

"Hah, ah—"

John let out a hysterical scream as the repressed emotions from fighting on the edge of death were finally released.

Police sirens echoed around.

This was already near the area boundary, and coupled with the lack of police force during gang wars, those red and blue flashing lights and aircraft maintained a delicate distance.

John controlled the steering wheel and immediately made a call.

[Contact: Barry Kit [Voice Call]]

"I have the armored truck, everyone on the list is dead."

[...Phew, damn well done!]

The call also carried an undercurrent of celebration.

[This is the best news I've heard recently, you're like a blazing supernova, keep being a mercenary, your future is limitless.]

"Save the bragging for later, I'm driving this damn armored truck on the run, surrounded by all these f*cking ECPD lights... It's blinding me."

[Exit the main road via the fork, detour along the coast, and stop at the warehouse where we first met in the harbor area. Leave it there as long as you like, and handle it once you've calmed down.]

"And the cops?"

[Who do you think picked up the car behind you? The motorcycle's in good shape, just some paint damage. I'll have someone send it to Dan Street. Later.]

Barry hung up the phone.

A police drone flew over, hovered in front of the armored truck, wobbled left and right, then quickly flew away, and all the police sirens began to deliberately maintain a distance.

John turned as instructed.

The road gradually narrowed, the surrounding buildings became denser, and then suddenly opened up after passing through an intersection.

Sea breezes blew across the embankment along the water's surface.

The sirens faded away along the main road, disappearing in a direction that was similar but completely wrong.

...

Night fell.

Darkness was obstructed by dazzling neon lights.

[Eden City - East District Underground Shopping Street]

Inside the underground clinic.

John lay naked on the operating table, having already used a special inhibitor before coming.

The TV interrupted with news.

An aerial view showed civilian vehicles being destroyed, and the next frame showed a corpse in the driver's seat of the armored truck with an arm and abnormal head twist.

[...The criminal is still at large. It's now confirmed to be an internal conflict within the Rift Party, marking the twentieth gang war incident this week. Discussion continues about the enforcement range of SAT and ECPD...]

"Are you cooperating with the cops?"

Ryan, seated on a metal stool, was repairing John's ear, with equipment like micro-operating mechanical arms and ear canal endoscopes in front.

He clipped aside some disinfectant cotton.

Another metal tray was filled with blood and fragments.

"Barry Kit."

Bullets had been extracted from John's body, and the grazed areas were coated with isolation gel.

The equipment was performing subcutaneous armor repairs, using professional supplements to weave or replace.

The doctor put away the mechanical arm, removed his gloves, and rubbed his eyes.

"Barry who? Never heard of him, but I advise you to keep your eyes open; police are too close to politics."

"It's just a job, I know what I'm doing."

"Can't hear me with that blasted ear, huh? Your brain, oh, your brain is a mess too, do whatever, you're screwed anyway, makes no difference who you fool around with."

The doctor didn't say much more.

He seemed very disdainful of the police.

[Mission Objective Updated]

[Handle the armored truck and goods. (Not Achieved)]

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