Chapter 282
There was no need for words; lightly ignoring Kali Haywood’s shout, Iron Dog Invincible fired a Shockwave from its arm.
Guuung - ! It must have been an attack difficult to dodge no matter how agile one was, as she was swept up and sent flying like a fish caught in a net. Even if her true identity was Phantom Thief Zodiac, her outward appearance was exactly the Ms. Kali I knew.
Startled by the sight of her seemingly about to crash into and melt against the Protoplasmic Killing Wall, I momentarily closed my eyes, but it was a needless worry.
Perhaps thanks to the protection of the Prototype limited Artificial Intelligence, the translucent bulkheads slid open with a swoosh right before colliding with Ms. Kali.
After rolling across the Floor/Ground, Kali Haywood stood up with Movement/Agility reminiscent of a feline and glared at Iron Dog Invincible Maximus.
“Mr. Iron Dog Invincible, I also want to finish our unresolved fight from last time, but… unfortunately, I don’t have the time. I’ve prepared some friends to play with you instead, so have fun. It’s a surprise gift!”
The “Surprise gift” prepared by Phantom Thief Zodiac was the moment that question was answered.
Kugugugung -
The ceiling opened, and people poured down continuously from above. The vacant lot felt overwhelmed, flooded by the crowd falling like rain.
The problem was that these people who suddenly appeared were not ordinary individuals.
The shabby appearance of master craftsman factory workers, and the rippling hammer tattoos proudly engraved on their arms and napes, were notable.
The brutal tool-Weapon hybrids they each held in their hands, such as plasma cutters, modified nail guns, construction drones, and laser and welding torches, were formidable.
Come to think of it, overshadowed by the New-Mecha Komuninja represented by the High-ranking Ninja, and Dead Cell whose leader was the Chrome Monster Rodrick Smith, I had momentarily forgotten that there was one more terrorist group that had invaded the Mirror Castle.
The Luddite Gang of Machine destruction, those deeply connected to me as well, were there!
They showed off their radical presence, as if telling us not to forget about them either.
Their individual skills might not be much. There were no powerhouses comparable to the Communist Sect High-ranking Ninja or the Chrome Monster.
However, in this narrow labyrinth-like Space, the horde surging in like a tidal wave were a fatal pressure and danger in themselves.
It was truly the most terrible Surprise gift.
The Luddite Gang members didn’t seem to have come this far by making a deal with Phantom Thief Zodiac, as they looked dumbfounded and unable to grasp the situation after falling, but soon, upon seeing Matilda Sedouforne in her visibly expensive attire and the other bodyguards, they began to charge ferociously.
Whether they were Communists or not, both past and present, poor workers wanting to beat wealthy nobles to death upon seeing them was like a natural instinct!
As everyone was gradually pushed back by the Luddite Gang members running wild, swinging hammers and firing crude guns in unison, Kali Haywood tried to escape leisurely using that opening.
Booooom!
An explosion rang out. Startled, I looked over and saw it was from Iron Dog Invincible Maximus’s direction.
He had struck a person with his steel arm, turning the person instantly into a bloody pulp with a noise like a popping balloon! The terrorist who fell victim to him couldn’t even leave behind a proper corpse.
As if terrified by the tremendous power of that punch, the densely packed luddites all backed away.
Overwhelming strength naturally suppresses even a horde.
No matter how many there were, none of them could confidently stand and fight against Iron Dog Invincible Maximus. Who would dare oppose that massive steel arm!
Maximus walked confidently along the path the terrified Luddite Gang had opened up for him, as if walking on a red carpet, and chased after Kali Haywood.
“You useless things!”
Phantom Thief Kali Haywood crumpled her face in a deep frown and turned to flee, while Maximus chased after her, bounding with surprisingly wide strides.
I couldn’t just stand still.
Alexandra’s safety depended on that matter - whether we could catch Kali Haywood in time.
I couldn’t just leave it entirely to Iron Dog Invincible Maximus, a person of Sedouforne, and watch blankly!
We had to follow too, but the problem was the luddites.
They had let Iron Dog Invincible go, not daring to face him, but they persistently tore at us as if absolutely refusing to let the rest of us go.
I couldn’t see any opening to break through. Just holding our ground while dodging and blocking the pouring barrage of gunfire was overwhelming!
We needed something overwhelmingly comparable to Iron Dog Invincible’s strength, a method to sweep through and open a path.
Team Leader Hank spoke to me as if he had made a firm decision.
“You go! I’ll somehow make a path for one person to slip through!”
I was dumbfounded, as it was unexpected. Let’s say it couldn’t be helped that Team Leader Hank couldn’t chase her himself due to his physical disability.
But to think he would choose me as the alternative?
Even though I had made quite a few contributions today, to choose me over Eres Shore, whom he had known for much longer, wasn’t a decision the Team Leader Hank I knew would make.
Did he trust me that much now? I had only shown him my sickly side, so why on earth did he trust me?
I had made a brilliant deduction about Phantom Thief Zodiac’s identity, but wasn’t this a separate issue from that!
Paying no mind to my confusion, Team Leader Hank swapped the module of his High-Firepower Rifle.
The coil-wrapped barrel rose into a jagged linear trajectory like that of a railgun. With a crackle, blue current and Red Flame sparked.
Vwooom - As a green glow circulated around the rifle along with a charging sound, Team Leader Hank swapped the magazine and pulled the trigger.
A flash of light flared without warning. First, sparks and a Shockwave swept through, and second, a heavy roar - a sound that burst out one step later than the light and the projectile - crushed my ears.
Bbaaaaaaaang――――!
My ears rang.
In my pure white vision, I saw the bulkhead cleanly blown open as if hit by a missile from Team Leader Hank’s powerful shot, and the fragmented limbs of the terrorists scattering in the air.
A strong grip forcefully pulled my staggering body up.
It was Team Leader Hank. He opened the empty chamber of his Steel Leg on the opposite side from where the rifle had popped out and pulled out a long storage box from inside.
Then he spoke to me. I couldn’t hear his voice well, but somehow, reading his lips, I understood.
‘You’ll need this.’
As I grasped the pitch-black leather case in my hand, a heavy weight pressed down on my arm and shoulder.
Since it was the secret weapon Team Leader Hank pulled out at the final moment, it surely contained something incredible.
I couldn’t understand. After mercilessly slapping my cheek before, why was he trying to entrust everything to me now?
Even I couldn’t fully trust myself right now.
Could I even keep up with Kali Haywood with this exhausted body? Even if I caught up, I had even less confidence in fighting and winning.
I didn’t know what Eugene Schneider was thinking when he sent me here, but I wasn’t strong like that Iron Dog Invincible Maximus or Kali Haywood.
This was beyond my capabilities.
However, Team Leader Hank pushed my hesitant back, and shouted.
“- take the injection too!”
His voice sounded fragmented as my hearing returned. But the content alone was enough to make me look back in shock even as I ran.
“What, I guess even the great Detective didn’t figure that much out?”
That was the last of it.
Team Leader Hank’s fiercely grinning face, baring his teeth, could no longer be seen. It was because he had disappeared, swept away by the Luddite Gang members surging in like a raging tide.
I didn’t know what happened to him.
I could only believe that, being Team Leader Hank, he would survive even amidst the luddites' human wave tactics.
With a dazed mind, I just kept running blindly.
The syringe was the first supply, and the equipment in this storage box was the second supply.
And the unidentified Helper… J. J, damn it!
The J in Hank Jameson. It wasn’t even a trick; I let out a hollow laugh at the abbreviation that was far, far simpler than I had thought.
World. What had I thought about Team Leader Hank?
That his head was so full of “Escort Mission Success” that he was incredibly easy to read? What a stupid bastard I was.
Right before the first contact with the Helper, Team Leader Hank had separated himself, saying he needed to set up a disguise near the Stage.
At the landing pad, Team Leader Hank appeared with exquisite timing, walking past the aerial vehicles. And the first supply was inside the trunk of one of those aerial vehicles.
Why didn’t I know? Team Leader Hank was the Helper.
I was out of breath. I was moving my legs as hard as I could, but Iron Dog Invincible Maximus and Kali Haywood were far too fast.
Before I knew it, they had gone so far they weren’t even visible, and with the footsteps of a culprit like me, catching up was close to impossible.
Behind me, the maze’s protoplasmic walls that Kali Haywood had left open were closing again.
At this speed, it wouldn’t be strange if I got caught and crushed by the bulkheads while running.
“…”
I can’t do it. But I have to.
I have to surpass my ordinary self.
I pulled out the pentagonal prism-shaped syringe with three needles from my pocket.
After hesitating for a moment, I gritted my teeth and plunged the drug into my chest. Shoook - With a sound like air pressure releasing, the foreign solution was injected into my body through my muscles.
Thump!
For a moment, it felt as if my heart had stopped.