Chapter 22: High-Risk Wanted Criminal

Bang!

Wang Xi first felt the vehicle shudder.

Immediately after, the hovercar malfunctioned, abruptly losing power and sinking before crashing to the ground with a deafening thud.

Bang!!

Wang Xi staggered, his body swaying violently. His expression shifted. The assailant seemed to have planned this well, disabling the hovercar’s power system with a single shot. The vehicle was now nothing more than a pile of scrap metal.

Staying calm and composed, Wang Xi didn't hesitate; he pressed the dial button on his phone to report the incident to the Public Security Bureau. Before he could explain the situation, he shouted for help, hit the "send location" button, unbuckled his seatbelt, slid over to the passenger side, opened the door, and rolled out the other side.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Almost the second he left the driver's seat, three or four red laser beams followed, striking the hovercar with lethal precision. With several clanging sounds, ping-pong ball-sized holes appeared in the composite metal door, their edges scorched and glowing red. The leather driver's seat was also pierced, sending debris flying.

Wang Xi’s eyelids twitched. If those had hit him, he would have been turned into a human sieve!

Crouched behind the car, he peered through the windows into the abandoned factory. Perched on the rusty, uneven corrugated iron roof was a figure—the attacker.

The assailant was wrapped in strips of cloth and wore a tattered black cloak full of holes. His head and face were obscured by a hood and a face mask, leaving only a pair of malicious, red, slit-like pupils visible. He held a peculiar pistol shaped like a Mauser, but the magazine was marked with a battery icon, currently glowing green at full capacity. A light breeze whipped his cloak and cloth strips, making them look like claws grasping at the setting red sun.

[Black Mamba · Park Hong (Scarlet/Three-Star)]

Within Wang Xi's field of vision, the corresponding tag slowly emerged above the man in the black cloak. What made his pupils constrict was that the tag was surrounded by a ring of bronze patterns.

An elite unit? A Scarlet three-star threat level?! An assassin with the title "Black Mamba"...

Damn!

"What can I say? Lin Zhifeng, I’m going to kill you!"

Wang Xi now wished he could smash the head of that fat deputy manager. He recognized this "Black Mamba." While waiting for Chu Nai that morning, he had idly scrolled through his phone and seen the wanted posters released by the Public Security Bureau; this guy was definitely among them. He was a member of the underground organization "Ghost Grid"—a high-risk wanted criminal who had committed countless murders.

Running away was out of the question; the hovercar was dead, and no human legs could outrun lasers. There was only one way to survive: stall for time and wait for the Public Security Bureau’s rescue.

Recognizing the reality of the situation, Wang Xi immediately equipped his "Cupid Protective Suit." Whether or not it could block lasers didn't matter; putting it on was at least a psychological comfort. Maybe getting hit wouldn't hurt as much.

At that moment, the cloaked man on the roof raised his gun again and pulled the trigger at the hovercar.

Beep! Beep! Beep!!

A rapid sequence of red lasers erupted, leaving a trail of blue smoke at the muzzle. More holes appeared on the car door, glowing like soldering irons. One shot even pierced through the chassis, grazing Wang Xi's arm.

Wang Xi broke into a cold sweat. He dared not linger and gritted his teeth as he bolted to the side.

His yellow, bulky figure flashed past, moving with surprising speed, and he ducked behind a pile of scrap metal in the blink of an eye.

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!!

Red lasers followed, striking exactly where his footsteps had been. As Wang Xi hid within the mountain-like scrap heap, the cloaked man on the roof narrowed his eyes, revealing a cruel and playful expression, as if he were a cat toying with a mouse.

Whoosh—

He moved like a phantom, his cloak billowing amidst wisps of black smoke. He leapt from the five-meter-high roof, landed gracefully, and gave chase.

"Huff..."

Wang Xi ran for his life, weaving through the piles of scrap. His heart hammered, and his breathing sounded heavy inside the sealed mask of his protective suit. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye—

He saw a figure emerge atop a scrap pile just over ten meters to his left. The cloaked man raised his gun, the hollow muzzle aimed directly at him.

Dodge!!

Wang Xi panicked, a thought flashing through his mind. With the physical enhancement of the "Elite Soldier" trait, his explosive power was immense, and he lunged to the side.

Beep—

A red beam grazed the leg of his trousers.

"Tsk, slippery little brat."

The cloaked man lowered his laser pistol, looking at the empty corridor of scrap, and chuckled hoarsely. He dissolved into a wisp of phantom black smoke and vanished from the spot.

Behind a crushed and deformed abandoned car, Wang Xi crouched, panting heavily. His face was contorted in pain, and he was drenched in sweat. On his left leg, the yellow protective suit had been scorched through, and his casual pants beneath hadn't fared any better, exposing a laser burn on his calf. The wound was finger-length, charred at the edges, with beads of blood seeping from the center.

The searing pain made him gasp.

'That guy is too fast; I can't outrun him... and with my leg injured, I have even less of a chance.'

Wang Xi took deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down.

'My advantage is my physical fitness, my close-quarters combat, and the information gap. I have to find a way to close the distance... perhaps that’s the only way to earn a sliver of survival!'

In the dead silence of the abandoned factory, a phantom of black smoke leaped across the scrap piles. Suddenly, the figure stopped.

"Black Mamba" Park Hong turned his head sharply to the side. In mid-air, two drones flashing red and blue lights were flying toward them, accompanied by a beeping siren.

"Recon drones from the Public Security Bureau?" Park Hong frowned. "Who reported this..."

The drone’s camera rotated to focus on him, clearly capturing the scene. A stern electronic voice rang out:

"Suspicious target detected: High-risk wanted individual 'Black Mamba' Park Hong—"

Beep! Beep!!

Park Hong's eyes turned cold; he raised his hand and fired two shots, knocking the drones down. The drones, trailing sparks and smoke, plummeted like birds with broken wings, crashing into the scrap heap and blending into the environment.

"Two minutes to complete the hunt."

Park Hong closed his eyes, listening intently.

Thump-thump, thump-thump...

The rapid heartbeat was like a drum, slowly moving in a certain direction. In the darkness, it felt as if bright red lines were trembling.

"Caught you, little mouse."

Park Hong opened his eyes and sneered. He moved, trailing phantom black smoke, and leaped onto a scrap pile in a few swift motions. But just as he stood steady, before he could even lean over to look down, a bright yellow crowbar swung at his feet!

Bang!!

The crowbar slammed hard into Park Hong's left leg!

"Urgh!" The cloaked man's expression twisted instantly. The sharp pain in his leg sent his bloodlust boiling. A mouse, actually daring to bite back!

But just as Park Hong pulled out a dagger, the crowbar hooked cunningly, the curved end latching onto his ankle and yanking downward.

Clatter!

Park Hong stumbled, losing his balance. He tried to retract his leg, but the force behind the crowbar was surprisingly massive. To his utter shock, he was dragged clean off the scrap pile.

As he tumbled and slid, before he could even land, a bulky yellow figure crashed into him, driving a fist into his face.

Bang!

Park Hong’s cheek buckled, his mask falling off to reveal a gaunt face covered in scars. His jaw was a full metal prosthetic, grim and gleaming, now leaking blood from the corner of his mouth.

"You..."

He opened his mouth to speak, but another heavy fist slammed down.

Bang! Bang! Bang!!

Wang Xi didn't hesitate, throwing a storm of heavy, relentless punches at the guy’s face. Blood splattered onto his glass visor, but the cool eyes beneath did not blink once. He knew he had to seize this opportunity and beat this guy to death!

If you don't kill the snake, it will come back to bite you!

"Get off me!!"

Park Hong roared. A burst of black smoke suddenly erupted from his body, blasting the mounting Wang Xi away.

"You damn little bastard!!"

Park Hong leaped up like a vengeful spirit, wielding his short dagger, and lunged at Wang Xi through a trail of black smoke afterimages. The sudden emergence of the black smoke caught Wang Xi off guard, but he gritted his teeth and raised his crowbar for a desperate counterattack.

Clang! Cling! Clang!!

Park Hong's dagger was fast as lightning, leaving constant afterimages. Yet, every strike and thrust was precisely blocked by the crowbar, sending sparks flying and ringing through the air.

His pupils constricted. Although he wasn't best at direct head-to-head combat, many powerhouses had died by his hands, including professional warriors! How could this little cleaner from Cupid House possibly withstand his onslaught?!

Clang! Cling!—

Squelch!

In a few seconds, the two sides exchanged over a dozen blows. Park Hong's dagger finally broke through the defense, slicing through the protective suit and leaving a long, bloody gash on Wang Xi’s chest. At the same time, his arm took a heavy blow from the crowbar.

Both retreated several steps. Park Hong held his drooping right arm, lifting his scarlet slit-pupils. Watching the figure—who was clutching his chest, hunched over, his protective suit torn and bloodstained, yet still standing with a crowbar in hand—he cursed the client in a rare display of frustration.

The intel was completely wrong! He had been careless!

Time was running out...

The mission was to retrieve a designated material card and silence the target. He had expected it to be an easy job, but this brat was more tenacious than imagined, wasting too much time. The Public Security Bureau's recon drones had already spotted him; police officers would arrive soon. If he didn't leave now, it would be too late.

"Impressive," Park Hong praised hoarsely, a flash of black light appearing between his fingers. A plain, unadorned revolver appeared in his hand.

"It's rare for a target to force me to use my trump card; you count as one."

With that, he aimed at Wang Xi.

"But this is the end."

At that moment, Wang Xi’s pupils trembled. The instant he was targeted by the revolver, a sense of impending death washed over him; his hair 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. A flash of light erupted from the muzzle.

Wang Xi swung his crowbar almost instinctively, his body amplified by the "Elite Soldier" trait, performing a parrying sword technique with all his might. He felt as if time had slowed down. A jet-black bullet, spinning at high speed toward his brow, was parried by the crowbar at the last possible second—

Clang!!

Sparks flew. Park Hong flashed a look of surprise, but it was quickly replaced by mockery.

In Wang Xi's line of sight, the black bullet that had been parried away traced a blurred path in mid-air and—actually curved back!

It was a homing shot!

Squelch—

Wang Xi felt a sharp pain in his back!