Chapter 62: High Speed Escape

The explosion's fiery wave and smoke obscured the trio's movements. Just when everyone thought the situation was resolved, a car suddenly burst out of the smoke, making an exaggerated turn, and then nearly completed a 180-degree spin in place after being hit by another car from behind! Leo shouted, "Get in the car! Keep firing!" The massive explosion concealed Leo and his team's escape route. If that had been the car they were using to escape, their chances of getting away would have been shattered. But Leo's getaway vehicle was a car that hadn't even entered the pathway yet— The open clinic faced the riverbank, with no actual road in sight. The space in front of the clinic was more like a bottleneck. The entrance was just wide enough for a single car to pass through, and the clearing beyond was somewhat spacious but was now filled with the vehicles Leo had summoned! The moment Leo saw the surgery records, he began calculating with the AI from the Marvel universe, and now only one route remained for them to escape! At the same time, the other vehicles that had barged in had pushed the 6th Street gang members to the side, even knocking a few unlucky ones off their feet! Their bullets were ineffective; if they recklessly used explosives, the cars could blow up, leaving no one alive! Their only hope was for James to stop these three! Even though the trio was just a meter away from their car! But in the face of Sandevistan, in the presence of James Norris, that one meter felt like a vast distance. Leo kept pulling the trigger, his left eye linked to the street cameras for precision, each of James's movements calculated meticulously. Sandevistan was fast, but this was predictive shooting—unfortunately, while the smart bullets were precise, they weren't lethal enough. V was the one who saw everything most clearly. She watched as Leo's smart bullets hit James one after another but failed to stop his monstrous advance. V's world had slowed to a crawl—James's shots had already cracked her subdermal armor, wedging between it and her flesh. Kerenzikov had reached its maximum output. But James's movements were still too fast, too fast for V's mind to keep up. Gritting her teeth, she instinctively swung her left arm, sending the Mantis Blade flying. The same clash didn't occur again. James twisted his body mid-air, his left knee suddenly extending a similar Mantis Blade— Thud! The Mantis Blade pierced V's abdomen, and it was clear that James intended to split V open in one stroke, but he miscalculated. V adjusted her left arm's Mantis Blade, stopping the upward slash, while her right hand wasn't idle either, blasting James's left eye with a shot. This shot interrupted Sandevistan's operation. James retracted his knee-mounted Mantis Blade, ready to deliver a final blow with the blade on his hand— But then, the quick-moving giant—Jackie—suddenly appeared, holding the Satara in his left hand while forcefully shoving V with his right! Bang! James was caught squarely by the opportunity and hit directly, the immense kinetic energy of the Satara smashed into his chest, shattering a large section of exposed armor! But it only shattered a section! Leo gritted his teeth—they still needed one more effective strike to create an opening for their escape— During the entire process, this guy had been taking hits from Leo's Yinglong bullets. James hadn't realized that his skin was accumulating an electric charge! As a prototype weapon, Yinglong's bullets stored static electricity on conductive surfaces with each hit, and when enough bullets struck in a short period, it could trigger a small-scale EMP! Finally, in that instant, quantity turned into quality. The Yinglong bullets hit James's damaged chest, and the accumulated electric charge from dozens of prototype bullets exploded, triggering a small EMP pulse! Thud! Electricity crackled, and James froze in place as the surrounding lights dimmed, leaving only the dim glow of the setting sun. The G240 revved up, charging through the only available exit— Bang! As the trio sped away, a Mackinaw pickup truck blocked the road, nearly crushing the 6th Street soldiers chasing them into pulp. For a battle of this magnitude, Nolan was completely out of his depth, but at this moment, he understood what had happened— Those three bastards got away! "Damn it! Patrol teams! The Valentino bastards are coming! A gray G240, stop them! Damn it, damn it, damn it! And that traitor! Find him... uh...?" Nolan's voice faltered— James stepped in front of him, his cyber-enhanced jaw moving slightly—but no sound came out. Instead, he transmitted a message directly to Nolan. "Cyberware, implants. Contract, requirements, better implants—" "Combat." A veteran from the 6th Street Gang stepped up, angrily reprimanding James: "What the hell do you mean, they gave you all the—" Thud! James waved his hand, and the 6th Street veteran was sliced in two by his Mantis Blade. Nolan swallowed hard. From his recent interactions with James, he had the distinct feeling that James was on the verge of a cyberpsychosis outbreak. It seemed this battle had pushed him one step closer to snapping. "Uh, of course, that's why we're here, for your implant upgrades, remember? Doctor, doctor?!" Somebody, please, get this cyber-maniac sedated!!! "Doctor?!" Nolan's voice was on the verge of breaking. "My hand... V... I..." "Jackie, hang on! We're almost at the clinic! Remember your gorilla arms, the ones meant for a champion? We'll get them installed right now! Leo, can you drive any faster?!" Jackie had lost an entire arm—considering the opponent was a cyber-monster, this was actually a good outcome. But the severed limb had caused a major artery to bleed, giving Jackie only three minutes to live! As Leo drove, he reached into his bag and tossed a coagulant to V. "Coagulant, keep his arm elevated, and start dressing it!" "I don't know how!" "Damn it, then shoot back, and I'll do the dressing!" Leo glanced at the box in the passenger seat; fortunately, it had a wrench inside, perfect for jamming the gas pedal. Remotely controlled vehicles have speed limitations, but flooring the gas pedal ensures the car reaches its maximum speed. V screamed in horror, "Are you crazy?!" "There's no traffic ahead—though there is behind us, so hurry and take them out!" Leo twisted in his seat, reaching into his tactical backpack for a roll of bandages and began the rudimentary treatment. The gushing blood quickly slowed to a trickle. The coagulant worked well, and in about five more seconds, the bleeding would stop, turning into a seepage—practically a medical miracle. But the blood lost wasn't coming back—it was still a major bleed, just giving them some extra time. "Padre? I've got some big intel, but you need to help us deal with the 6th Street Gang first! Over at the Bridge to Santo Domingo, they've gone crazy! Do you have any men nearby?!" "Leo..." Jackie looked weakly at Leo, "I'm so cold." "Cold is good, means you're rich—ever heard the phrase 'the wind is bristling at the top'?" "You're really good at joking." "You're not dying, Jackie, stay with me, stay awake, think of Mama Welles. You're the last man of the Welles family. Think of Misty, think of those champion gorilla arms, think about how we're about to make 6th Street beg for mercy—" The light in Jackie's eyes was fading fast. Leo gritted his teeth and pulled out another pneumatic injector from his bag. He was determined that Jackie wouldn't bleed out in the next few minutes, but that required him to stay conscious. During massive blood loss, staying conscious helps the brain manage the organs to supply energy to the brain. If he fell asleep or lost consciousness, things would deteriorate rapidly. A brain malfunction means death; but if the brain is fine, even two amputated arms could be saved. The injector was loaded with a neural stimulant, meant to enhance neural sensitivity, something a hacker would use to boost brain activity. This stuff would keep Jackie conscious—though it would also double his pain. "Damn it, Jackie, don't blame me—I'd rather not have to slap you awake—" Shhhht! The stimulant was injected in an instant, and Jackie's eyes lit up with life again, as he rasped, "Damn it, Leo!" "Now that's the spirit!" Leo laughed, patting Jackie's shoulder, "You asked for it! Stay awake—look, your Valentino brothers are here!" As they approached the Bridge to Santo Domingo, Leo spotted the Valentinos on the other side, fully armed and ready for a firefight. "This is Gustavo Orta, are you guys... Burgerking Big Shot Squad?" Leo was momentarily stunned by the comms, then shouted back, "We're the 6th Street's worst nightmare! Get out of the way! We've got a critical patient!" V was firing with full concentration when suddenly, a barrage of gunfire erupted behind her, bullets blowing up the lead 6th Street vehicle! The beat-up G240 zipped through the Valentino defensive line like lightning, speeding towards Vic's clinic. Megatower H4, located near the Bridge to Santo Domingo, had just witnessed the entire ordeal—the Martinez mother and son had just made it home. If they had left the clinic two minutes later, they would have likely been caught in this massive shootout. Seventeen-year-old David memorized the sight of those three speeding away— Behind the beat-up G240, a horde of 6th Street soldiers followed, yet the trio escaped unscathed. As the battlefield shifted, the two of them finally peeked out from the car. "Wow... that was awesome." Smack. Gloria knocked David on the head. "Mom..." "Stop learning these things."