Inside the car, the tension was thicker than the smoke curling up from the wrecked highway behind them.
The engine purred as Tasia drove, her hands gripping the wheel tightly, her eyes laser-focused on the road ahead.
Shuren leaned forward from the backseat.
"Tasia," she said, her voice steady, "are the others closing in on Zheng Yan?"
Without taking her eyes off the road, Tasia shook her head.
"I'm not sure. I broke away from them earlier before I picked you up. They should be close… but I can't say for certain."
"…Alright," Shuren replied, her tone a bit resigned.
She lifted her wrist and tapped her watch with a quick flick. A thin blue screen flickered to life, ringing once Sévon picked up.
His voice crackled through, rough and filled with static.
"Yo, what's up, Shuren?"
Shuren didn't waste any time.
"Have you managed to close in on Zheng Yan yet?"
In the background, there was a loud rumble screeching tires, wind howling, and someone shouting something faintly.
"Yeah," Sévon replied, breathing heavily. "We're right on his tail. But he's about a kilometer ahead. If he makes it to the trade site before we catch up… it's gonna get messy."
Shuren let out a frustrated breath. "Tch. I figured."
Assad felt a pang in his chest as he listened in on the call.
A whole backup squad was already after Zheng Yan? All that… me almost dying twice for nothing?
He slumped back in his seat, feeling utterly defeated.
"Listen," Sévon pressed on, "if we don't shut this down before they hit the trade site, we're looking at a full-blown warzone down here. I doubt the higher-ups are keen on that kind of chaos."
Shuren clenched his jaw.
"Fine. Hold your position and keep them occupied. We'll be there soon."
"Understood. Just make it quick."
The call ended abruptly.
"A kilometer… at their speed, that's less than forty seconds."
"We'll make it," Shuren replied confidently.
Mya glanced at Assad, whose expression remained hollow, with cracks at the edges.
"You… okay?" she whispered.
Assad forced a smile.
"I'm fine. Really."
Shuren didn't turn around, but she heard him.
And for the first time since they met, she felt something unusual.
Pity.
Tasia shifted gears, the vehicle lunging forward like a beast stirring from slumber.
"Hold on. I'm hitting the gas."
The car roared to life.
In the distance, a faint black silhouette of a truck began to take shape, just an outline for now.
The engine of Sévon's bike growled beneath him, the wind whipping against his face as the night highway blurred into streaks of silver and black.
His eyes were fixed on the distant shape of the transport truck, a mere speck for now, but closing in fast.
Behind him, three more bikes raced down the road like wolves on the hunt. Taura, Lokei, and a girl with red-and-pink hair. Sévon raised his left arm, fingers slicing through the air.
One signal.
Close in.
Taura immediately hunched down, leaning forward to pick up speed. Lokei gripped the handlebars tighter, a wicked grin spreading across his face.
The girl smirked, spinning her chrome blade once before sliding it back into the holster at her hip.
They surged forward, forming a tight, precise, deadly diamond formation behind Sévon.
Up ahead, the two black escort cars trailing the truck noticed the sudden acceleration from the bikes. One guard leaned out the window, his expression contorting in alarm.
"Target approaching!"
The message blared through the convoy's comms in an instant. The message shot through the convoy's comms in an instant. Inside the lead car, Kinzau clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Annoying pests," he grumbled, his voice thick with disdain. "They just keep coming."
Zheng Yan glanced over without lifting his gaze from the tablet resting on his knee.
"What's the problem now, Kinzau?"
Kinzau kept his eyes glued to the mirrors. "We've got four bikes closing in. It's the Sweepers."
Zheng Yan's fingers froze for a moment. "Oh? Those guys again."
His tone was calm, almost disinterested.
"Take them out."
Kinzau nodded slightly. "Yes, sir."
He pressed a small red switch on the dashboard, sending a signal on Zheng Yan's authorization frequency.
Ping.
In just a few seconds, the escort cars in front and behind blinked their hazard lights twice.
A silent signal.
Approved. Engage. Eliminate.
The guards in each vehicle readied their weapons. Shotguns were racked, machine pistols clicked into place, and one even pulled out a mid-range anti-bike harpoon launcher.
Kinzau leaned back in his seat, his eyes icy.
"KILL 'EM ALL."
The night erupted with gunfire. Bullets zipped past Sévon's bike like deadly shooting stars, ricocheting off the asphalt and lighting up his face in brief, violent flashes.
He gritted his teeth and swerved sharply, tires screeching as the rounds whizzed by him.
"Everyone, fall back!" he shouted, his voice barely cutting through the roar of engines.
Taura, Lokei, and the girl fell in line behind him without a second thought, forming a tight evasive formation.
Sévon took a deep breath, closing his eyes for just a moment. A green aura burst around him, swirling and twisting like a living wind. He felt the air hum beneath his hands, ready to respond.
He thrust his index finger forward, raising four fingers in a gesture.
"U~indokiru (Wind Kill)…!" he murmured.
The invisible attack surged outward like a cyclone of pure force. Bullets caught in mid-flight hit it and scattered harmlessly into the night.
Yet, even as the deadly rain bent away, more came faster, sharper, and relentless.
"Esme!" Sévon shouted over the howling wind and chaos.
"I KNOW, I KNOW!" she yelled back, her hair a wild mix of red and pink streaming behind her in the night breeze.
With a burst of energy, she darted in front of Sévon's bike with uncanny precision. Bullets zipped past her. One in particular, a tracer glowing faintly, hurtled straight for her face. She didn't even flinch.
Raising her hand, she traced a perfect infinity symbol in the air. A vibrant red and pink aura flared from her fingertip, twisting and weaving around the symbol until it solidified into a massive, glowing projectile.
The bullet expanded as if it had a life of its own, cracking open like a mechanical shell to reveal dozens of smaller holes an array of deadly chambers ready to unleash chaos.
"FYAAA!" Esme screamed.
The bullet erupted in a storm of blazing rounds, ripping through the two escort cars trailing the truck. The gunners barely had time to react.
"What… the actual—?!" one of them yelled just before the first volley tore through the car, sending shards of glass and metal flying across the asphalt.
In an instant, both vehicles were engulfed in flames and spinning wreckage. The gunners' screams were drowned out by the roar of the explosion, leaving only silence and the echoes of the bikes racing past.
Sévon shot a glance at Esme, nodding in approval. "That's it. Keep going. Don't stop. We're not done yet."
She flashed a smirk, her blood-red and pink aura still radiating off her like a comet's tail. "Try to keep up, sucka."
The convoy was in disarray when Zheng Yan's voice suddenly burst through the radio:
"Is that… really happening?!"