48th District at noon, a broad avenue hosting a cluster of administrative buildings.
Vroom!
Within a thoroughfare adorned by a fountain resembling an enigmatic colossal creature, a myriad of vehicles careen in haphazard trajectories.
Despite the dissolution of the notorious Cigar Bang gang, which once held sway over the locality, the district’s vibrancy endured unfazed.
The central district brimming with immense wealth and logistical abundance. Merely subsisting on the remnants proves sufficient to maintain the smooth operation of numerous districts.
The heightened vitality of Vulcan’s subterranean realm perhaps owes itself to the brilliance of the light above.
In spite of grappling with myriad inexplicable predicaments, the basis for citizens’ continued faith in the municipal administration was also a topic of discourse.
Except for instances akin to Councilor Reisen’s self-degradation, this unyielding power structure is unlikely to undergo facile transformation.
Vroooooom!
The clamor of a revving engine.
The muffled noise of a steering wheel being briskly maneuvered and the blaring horn resounding from all quarters assault the eardrums.
Two distinct vehicles streak through the bustling avenues, engaged in a high-speed pursuit down the center of the street.
“Damn it…”
Lennok, his gaze locked onto the lead vehicle, furrowed his brow deeply.
“This is harder than I thought.”
[Central lane should be excluded from the options and lane infringement is recommended. Considering traffic congestion, it seems like the opponent is trying to drag in cars from the side of the road to shake off the pursuit.]
“I know.”
Lennok’s response to Davi, who sat beside him with attentive ears, was delivered with a touch of irritation.
“When will the auto-driving pattern be completed?”
[It’s been approximately 560 seconds since you got into the four-wheel-drive car. It’s not enough time to secure sufficient data. Even considering the computational capacity of powerful AI, it will take a little more time to learn the pattern.]
Lennok required no further explanation.
He sealed his lips and depressed the accelerator.
Given that Lennok hadn’t yet fully grasped adept control, should the opponent relinquish resistance and plunge into a pursuit, his only option would be to grapple through.
Chasing the fugitive while mitigating harm to civilians interspersed within the throng?
This demanded arduous effort, a feat even for a freelance driver of considerable skill, much less Lennok.
“…I shouldn’t have approached with my face exposed. I didn’t think they’d recognize me right away.”
[Aren’t you a famous freelancer around here? You made a clumsy mistake.]
Undoubtedly foolish, yet Lennok possessed a rationale to validate it.
His collaboration with Dyke and engagements with agents.
Consecutive hefty contracts had propelled Lennok’s reputation, exponentially heightening the count of local criminals who could put a face to his name.
The adversary, eluding without contest upon glimpsing Lennok’s visage.
Conceivably aware of his adept wizardry, they were steering intentionally into dense crowds, optimizing civilian entanglement.
Even for Lennok, accurately deploying magic to prevent a car meters away from detonating while managing the wheel was far from assured.
‘If it’s a pre-planned escape, it’s quite plausible. Even if it’s a coincidence, this is a matter of talent.’
Lennok’s gaze turned icy.
Deeming it feasible to devise an alibi for a visit to the autonomous region, Lennok had singled out a thorny predicament.
‘I need to catch him and hear the reason directly.’
As Lennok became absorbed in contemplation, the pursuit delved deeper into chaos.
The fugitive artfully disrupted trajectory left and right, impeding vehicular flow and baffling lanes to thwart pursuers.
Vroooom!
Crash! Screeeech!
“Kyaaaak!!”
“What are you doing?!”
Gradually, befuddled vehicles encroached upon the sidewalk, smashing streetlights, rupturing hydrants, and propelling water skyward.
Lennok swept the spraying water off the windshield via the wipers and sharply turned the steering wheel.
Negotiating a curved route, the vehicle skidded, narrowly avoiding impact with the wall.
Lennok pressed down on the accelerator, progressively getting a handle on the situation.
The support magic for driving, painstakingly developed through continuous study.
Magic originally tailored for motorcycles had successfully transposed onto automobiles, evident in practice.
Kieeek!!
“If the data collection is still ongoing, we might have to consider other options.”
[What do you mean?]
“Manipulating the nearby traffic lights to determine the direction the guy is turning the wheel. Can you do it?”
Lennok held reservations about the potential of the partner he had engineered, much like Davi.
Despite its formidable computational prowess derived from Palmer’s AI module, it had recently come into existence and was still in the throes of learning various aspects.
Discerning the achievable from the unattainable would necessitate Lennok’s guidance and practical education for Davi.
A brief hush ensued.
Davi provided its response.
[Possible.]
Fizzzzzzk!!
In an instant, lightning surged from Davi’s form, succeeded by a fleeting quiver as the resultant electromagnetic wave propagated across the street.
Beep! Beep!
Traffic signal lights, which had been alternating between green and red, abruptly shifted chaotically, swiftly wresting control of the road’s dynamics.
Regardless of the opposing driver’s expertise, forcing passage through the stationary cars became implausible.
Exploitable were solely the interstitial gaps momentarily manifesting in the mobile thoroughfare.
Masterminding the entire expanse was improbable, yet manipulation of the pursuing vehicle’s trajectory stood within reach.
“Davi, grab the wheel.”
[The data collection is still….]
“It doesn’t matter which direction, just make sure the car doesn’t hit anything. That’s possible, right?”
Minus a pause for response, Lennok reached for his waist.
In his grip lay a diminutive firearm, resembling a finger’s dimensions.
Upon discharging the encapsulated shrink mana, the firearm metamorphosed into a colossal sniper rifle in Lennok’s hand.
Click!
With the bullet loaded and swiftly chambered, Lennok gripped the rifle and leaned out the window.
Simultaneously verifying Davi’s remote steering manipulation, Lennok extended the rifle beyond the window frame, positioned his face against the scope, and aimed.
“Ugh.”
Thanks to mana-induced weight reduction, holding the rifle posed no challenge. However, the posture of protruding the barrel from the window strained Lennok.
A single-shot solution was imperative.
Guided by this resolve, Lennok swiftly layered mana augmentation upon the rifle.
[Aiming Correction]
[Trajectory Guidance]
[Penetration Control]
[Concentrated Fire]
Despite limited prior experience, the rifle exuded an inherent distinction from a revolver.
Compounded auxiliary magic, which might have felt taxing with a single revolver shot, manifested a far more manageable burden here.
Yet, Lennok suppressed his urge to explore the perimeters of his support magy, aiming promptly.
Precision, not potency, was the requisition.
For this purpose, curbing the bullet’s force was deemed acceptable.
He squeezed the trigger.
Taaang!!
The quivering car’s barrel alignment, poised just before the discharge, was magically stabilized through a peculiar maneuver, securing the optimum firing angle.
Instantaneously, the bullet’s trajectory subtly curved, refracting precisely toward Lennok’s focal point.
Ultimately, it punctured the rear tire of the fleeing vehicle.
Peooong!!
Nearly grazing the axle, the outcome of maximal penetration.
The tire blowout was no ordinary instance; the driver likely sensed the sensation of driving on a tri-legged vehicle.
At the juncture Lennok validated his hit, he retook the steering wheel and sustained the pursuit.
Closing in on a vehicle deprived of a tire posed minimal challenge.
[Gravity Chain]
A violet chain materialized out of thin air and ensnared the car’s frame, tilting it. Bereft of resistance, the car lost equilibrium, its wheels spinning mid-air.
“!!!!”
The driver’s distress seeped through to Lennok, but it concluded there.
“Sigh….”
Lennok brought the car to a halt and vacated the driver’s seat, delving into his pocket.
Davi, previously seated in the passenger seat, leaped onto Lennok’s shoulder.
As his gaze met its, the fox-shaped Davi transformed into a lightning-like orb.
Given that Aris was already acquainted with Davi’s appearance, it was essential for it to adopt a suitable guise while navigating public spaces, concealing half of its genuine form.
Lennok approached the overturned vehicle and rapped on the window.
“Roll down the window.”
No response ensued.
Lennok withdrew his revolver from his pocket and discharged a shot into the air.
Bang!!
At the sound of the gunshot, onlookers who had been observing swiftly scattered.
This exterior precinct of the sprawling city, a region where such incidents transpired daily.
It would be some time before the police or any security units arrived. Inhabitants acclimated to these kinds of confrontations inhabited this area.
The window, cracked yet unshattered by the lone shot, appeared to be fortified with bulletproof glass.
However, it wouldn’t withstand sustained onslaught.
Unless they emerged voluntarily, Lennok would compel their appearance.
As he poised to squeeze the trigger once more, the window commenced a gradual descent, unveiling the inverted visage of a man.
“Pl-please, spare me… I give up.”
The man’s countenance was deeply crimsoned, his features contorted by extensive bruising, likely from blood engorgement.
A mere glance indicated his disconnection from mana.
Abstaining from a response, Lennok procured a dietary supplement from his pocket and ingested it.
Allegedly containing ingredients beneficial for fatigue alleviation through blood vessel dilation, Lennok perceived no discernible alteration.
“I should try a new product once I finish this one.”
Alternatives were available via auction sites, imported from distant cities rather than indigenous to Vulcan. Lennok contemplated sampling these next.
The man dangled before him, regarding Lennok with astonishment as he spontaneously produced a nutritional supplement for consumption.
“So the rumor about the wizard from District 49 being obsessed with his health was true after all…”
“There’s a strange rumor like that going around?”
Incorporating various pills into his regimen during recent undertakings had evidently spawned curious eyewitness accounts.
As it wasn’t grounded in falsehood, Lennok could scarcely counteract it.
The man, his expression taut, swallowed audibly, gingerly opening the car door to maneuver out from beneath.
“I’ll hand over the item. If I got caught this quickly, there’s nothing more I can do.”
“You’re quick to judge. Hand it over.”
Quivering hands surrendered a small item swathed in paper to Lennok.
Lennok extended the item toward Davi, who hovered adjacent to his shoulder, and inquired, “What do you think?”
[Analysis complete in 2 seconds… I detect specialized electromagnetic waves that stimulate the user’s nerves. It is likely a low-quality electronic drug.]
“Confirmed.”
The electronic narcotic, en route for disposal, had vanished.
Lennok’s mission, a designated request, centered on the recovery of this narcotic.
Though the client remained anonymous, probability leaned toward an organization engaged in lucrative distribution of such substances.
The task didn’t overly challenge Lennok’s ethical thresholds and furnished a commendable reward, ideal for gauging his reputation’s impact.
While the client had greenlit narcotic disposal during contract acceptance, the supplementary sum for their return warranted reconsideration.
“So, you’re going to spare me?”
“Now that I’ve found what I needed, there’s no need to kill you…”
Bang!
Before Lennok could conclude his statement, a gunshot resounded, and the man crumpled to the ground, crimson spattering.
The abnormally swift bullet velocity permitted Lennok only to raise his shield.
“Alright, that’s far enough.”
A wiry figure, sporting sunglasses and a horse-like face, perched atop a streetlamp, waved.
Clutched in his hand was a pistol flaunting an abnormally elongated barrel.
“I thought you had gotten away, but then you messed up at the end. What a shame, Mr. Knight. You should have driven your taxi properly and reached your destination.”
(To be Continued)
OR
$45/monthAll advance chap + 6 chap/week
