The intense energy glow gradually lit up inside the barrel, and then a thick stream of particles rushed across the street, sweeping towards the speeding truck.
In a mont of urgency, N twisted the steering wheel with one hand and then stepped on Ximu's foot with the other, pressing down on the accelerator hard to instantly change the vehicle's direction, dodging most of the particle stream's shots, with only the side taking the brunt of the assault at a narrow angle.
The high-temperature heat stream lted one side of the vehicle, and the molten part fell off, revealing the interior. The passengers had to firmly grasp the fixtures inside to avoid being thrown out as the vehicle shook violently.
After driving off the road, the truck faced a barrage from ard personnel wielding firearms, and the vehicle began to show various bullet holes. After shakily crashing through benches, fountains, debris, and trash cans, it finally avoided the streets patrolled by dark chas and entered a nearby alley.
"Prepare to jump out! Dead end ahead," N's loud voice ca from the truck, followed by the mbers inside springing into action.
Valke and Guluo, who were already on the roof, jumped out first, followed by mbers on the first layer flipping out through the lted side. It wasn't as convenient, however, for those on the second layer and in the cab.
Xie Lian pulled out his portable plasma short-blade and quickly cut an opening in the vehicle wall, then kicked it out, leading several people from the second layer to jump. Last was the cockpit, where N locked the steering wheel in place and then smashed the tough windshield with his elbow, carrying Ximu as he jumped out.
The last remaining, a black-haired girl nad Tilan, glanced at the battered front window, then opened the side door of the cab and jumped down gracefully. Soon after, the vehicle continued forward, crashing into the dead-end wall with a loud bang, shaking loose various objects before finally coming to a stop.
Just as everyone was considering whether to go back to the truck and retrieve the remaining items, a series of footsteps ca from behind.
"They went in there, catch them," the voices were likely from people belonging to Black Hamr Heavy Industries.
Under ti pressure, the group had to follow N, turning around the blind corner of the alley to look for a way out on the other side.
Faced with a three-ter-high wall, the students from Edith Academy were capable Transcendents with both talent and abilities, and they easily climbed over. But the pursuers behind them, carrying guns with only Sequence 1 and Sequence 2 abilities, needed tools to get over, which cost them valuable ti. By the ti they reached the other side of the alley, the group had already gone far.
Having left the area under Black Hamr's control, the people followed the local residents' escape routes and, unwittingly, arrived near the bar they visited the previous day, conveniently located on the north side of the city, between Black Hamr and Iron Burn areas.
Due to the chaos, the bar was closed for the day, and many of the original staff were looking for ways to leave.
"Hey, this way." Just when everyone was pondering how to leave the city, a familiar shout ca, and then Ruby saw the short man hiding at the corner of the street, waving to them.
"Follow ." Seeing the group follow him, he led them through twists and turns to a single-story building, then opened the basent behind the house and ushered everyone in.
The basent was small, its interior even exposed compressed earth and stones, which showed that this basent was dug out later and did not exist before.
Pulling aside a hidden compartnt in one of the walls, Red Hat led a few people onwards, through the pitch-black passage, continuously descending until so light appeared ahead, and the group erged.
The air here was very damp, with a slightly unpleasant odor, and from ti to ti, the sound of dripping water could be heard, probably a part of the city's original underground waterways.
A large hole was carved into the wall on one side, hollowed out to form a room, which was already occupied by so people at the mont.
"Boss, what's this?" The three people inside, seeing Red Hat bringing a group of strangers, were quite curious.
"Our partners, hehe." He chuckled, then turned around to introduce them to the group.
"Welco to my secret base. This is my underground kingdom. Don't worry, neither Black Hamr nor Iron Burn will find this place."
"This really is an unexpected turn of events," Guluo comnted on the unpredictability of life.
"They bombed our truck, I have to get even for this," Kinsenke lanted his carefully purchased and DIY electromagnetic gun that was still on the truck.
"Huh, so this is Mr. Red Hat's base, it seems rather rudintary," Ruby looked around, noting that the place indeed had nothing worth bragging about. Not only was the air underground foul, but the firearms hanging on the wall were rough and crude, as if they were hastily made and assembled.
"Although modest, my dreams are not limited to this; I am the man who aims to end the two major gang syndicates and beco the King of Lebyon." Standing atop a crate and finally gaining a height advantage, Red Hat announced loudly. Despite the sowhat comical scene, the determination in his voice was unmistakable, earning the absolute admiration from his few underlings behind him.
"Boss is the strongest!"
"We are the ones to end the chaos!" A smattering of cheers arose.
This man, indeed, had a certain inspirational quality, the girl thought silently to herself.
There are such people in the world, call them arrogant or egotistical if you will, but they always possess an inexplicable confidence. Even with nothing to their na and no past achievents, they proclaim that they will surely succeed in the future. This baseless confidence also has a deceptive power, because deep in their subconscious, people tend to believe that those who are overly confident must truly have the capability or talent, and thus end up trusting them.
Settling temporarily in this underground base, everyone hesitated to venture out, as above ground, a fierce battle was raging. Ard forces and chas from both sides were colliding; stepping out would only make one a target for both factions.
"How did the fight suddenly break out?" After finding a place to sit, Yalian looked puzzled, feeling that everything in the city was normal just yesterday. Although there was so enmity between the two sides, it was not to the point of erupting so swiftly.
"That is naturally due to my brilliant strategy." Red Hat declared, sitting atop his high box with one foot on a stool, looking rather pleased with himself.
"Last night, I had soone blow up a fuel depot of 'Fen Tie Energy;' now they have no choice but to take action."
"This? Why suddenly take such an action?"
"Of course, because the ti was ripe. Did you think I was just talking big, or that I'm alone?" Red Hat pinched the wrinkled brim of his cap.
"No, no, no. I have quite a few people behind . What you see today, this small base, is just the tip of the iceberg."
"I have my people in 'Fen Tie Energy,' and in 'Black Hamr Heavy Industries,' even in the bars, I have my informants. There is nothing happening in the city that I don't know about." He continued his self-promotion.
"In fact, I've been waiting for the right opportunity until your arrival yesterday, providing the final piece of the puzzle, so I imdiately took action."
"But we haven't agreed to work with you yet." Yalian looked up at the man sitting on high.
"No, you will agree." With that, he jumped down.
"What's the downside of working with ? If I win, you'll gain a vast wealth from both groups, enough to live the most luxurious life for a decade, and if you're a bit frugal, you'll be set for life. Why refuse such cooperation? I've never seen anyone who doesn't want to make money."
"As for the risks, I'll take them all. The investigations I've done beforehand, all the preparations, and so on, you just need to wait a few days and follow to reap the rewards. Why not participate?"
"I can't think of any reason for you to refuse."
"But..." Yalian always felt sothing was off but couldn't quite put his finger on it.
"But you haven't told us the whole truth." Tilan stepped forward, shaking her head as she questioned.
"You talk of harvesting at the end, but what does that entail? What kind of enemy will we face—the chas? Moreover, the promises you're making all co from the enemy; you yourself haven't spent a di. Even if it fails, you're probably prepared to escape easily, while we will be left to bear the consequences as your scapegoats."
"As grandiose as your declarations are, you've got everything carefully planned out. One could say you're trying to catch a wolf with empty hands, even finding your sacrificial lambs for a potential failure."
Young and powerful, with several striking young won in their midst, their group attracted far more attention than 'Red Hat' did. If given the choice, both 'Black Hamr Heavy Industries' and 'Fen Tie Energy' would surely prioritize capturing them.
"So, Mister Red Hat, your argunt is not enough to convince us."
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