The Out Law convoy had fallen into complete despair, their escape routes sealed from every direction. With no way out, Lewis moved into the final phase of the plan, charging forward in his berserk bear form and crushing the pickup trucks that served as the enemy's key strategic points one by one.
The sight of the massive brown bear tearing into the bodies of those vehicles with its enormous claws, twisting solid metal into warped scrap right before the Out Law's eyes, was beyond horrifying. The shriek of tearing steel mixed with a series of smaller explosions, echoing relentlessly across the area. Thick black engine oil and fuel spilled across the ground, pooling into dark, glistening patches. The fluids spread like blood from a body being brutally dissected, shattering what little composure the remaining fighters had left until they could barely bring themselves to raise their weapons.
"Can I go in now?"
Alicia's voice came through the comms, laced with clear impatience after being left waiting on the sidelines.
"Easy there, beautiful... for this mission, you just wait and close it out. If anyone's still alive, you can use your ability to pry whatever secrets they're hiding. That'll be more than enough."
Gareth replied with a quiet chuckle, his eyes fixed on the chaos unfolding across the monitor.
The situation ahead grew worse by the second. The Out Law members under Sophie's control opened fire on their own without hesitation, but their dulled awareness threw off their aim, allowing those who managed to regain their senses to return fire and pick them off one by one.
At the same time, 23 surged forward, unleashing overwhelming force upon what remained of the enemy. He crashed into their defensive line like a moving fortress, utterly unstoppable. The clash lasted only moments. Faced with the terror of Lewis's berserk bear form and the grim reaper that was 23, the surviving Out Law members dropped their weapons and raised their hands in surrender, fully aware that continuing to fight would lead to nothing but certain death.
"Alright, Alicia... your turn."
Gareth gave the final command, signaling her to move in and deal with the remaining survivors.
Two hours before the clash, inside the alliance's underground base, Kelly frowned at the monitor, her expression tense as she picked up on something unusual. After analyzing the data, she identified it as a large-scale Out Law supply convoy.
"Do you think the P-Type will move to intercept? That looks like a major shipment."
Drago remarked, arms crossed as he studied the heat map.
"Of course... there's no way they'll pass up a target like that."
Connor replied, his tone confident in the instincts of the government's hunting unit.
"So what's our move? Do we get involved, or stay out of it?"
Drago asked, pressing for a clear decision on their next step.
"No need... this works out perfectly. Let them tear each other apart."
Connor said calmly, but in that very moment, Kelly cut in, her face filled with alarm.
"Connor... I dug deeper and found something."
She spoke rapidly, her fingers flying across the keyboard.
"About a month ago, there was a report that something had been stolen from the military museum. The government tried to bury the story, so I didn't pay much attention to it at first... but now I know exactly what went missing."
She hit the final command and turned the large screen toward the others in the room, revealing the contents of the classified report.
"Shit..."
Drago cursed under his breath the moment he saw the details displayed.
"But on the flip side, if we can get our hands on it, it'll be a massive advantage for infiltrating the dome."
Connor said evenly, already thinking it through.
"And let me guess... it's in that convoy right now. They're transporting it to Biotope 6."
"But why are they only moving it now?"
Kelly asked, frowning in confusion.
"It's relic tech from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, but it's been permanently banned. The thing can disrupt communication and data networks on a massive scale."
Drago explained why the weapon had been buried and forgotten over time.
"More importantly, they'd have to make sure it still works, or modify it before putting it up for sale on the black market."
Drago turned his gaze to their leader.
"So what's the call? Do we move in and take it?"
"Hmm... yeah. We take it. But stay sharp. The P-Type aren't what they used to be."
With Connor's decision made, the alliance began moving at once, setting their plan into motion to interfere with the escalating battlefield between the government forces and the Out Law ahead.
"Hold on, everyone! Something's heading straight for you!"
Gareth's voice crackled rapidly over the comms just as Alicia was about to step in and join the assault team.
"What is it? Enemy?"
23 asked sharply, his eyes sweeping through the dust-filled haze.
"I don't know... but it's fast!"
Gareth replied, alarm creeping into his voice as he watched a red blip streak across his monitor.
"How fast?"
23 pressed, tension rising in his voice.
"Freaking fast!"
Gareth shouted back.
"I've got a visual! It's about three miles out from your position!"
Lloyd's voice cut in from his long-range sniper perch. He narrowed his eyes, tracking the high-speed object through a specialized scope, only catching fragments of it.
"What the hell is it, Lloyd?"
Gareth asked, unease creeping into his voice.
"It looks like... a motorcycle."
Lloyd replied, sounding like he could barely believe what he was seeing.
"A motorcycle?! What kind of bike moves that fast?!"
Gareth shot back, his voice rising.
"It's a Rocket Bike... a jet-powered motorcycle, like the ones from early aviation tech!"
Lloyd shouted the warning just as the distant roar of a jet engine began to carry on the wind, signaling that this high-speed harbinger of death would reach the P-Type unit in moments. At the same time, a strange vibration began to intensify from one of the trucks, growing strong enough to be seen with the naked eye.
"I'm detecting some kind of energy... it's coming from the truck!"
Gareth shouted over the comms, but before he could finish, a faint electromagnetic pulse burst outward, expanding in an instant to cover a radius of over a mile.
Zzzzzzt!
A wave of interference rang out in everyone's ears before the P-Type unit's communication systems abruptly went dead. Gareth's monitor turned pitch black, completely unresponsive. But the most critical loss was Lloyd. Positioned at long range, the 3D imaging system in his smart visor that allowed him to see through the dust vanished instantly, leaving him with nothing but an ordinary, obscured view swallowed by the thick haze. His vision was effectively blinded. He could no longer see his teammates, even at a distance of three-quarters of a mile.
The situation turned in an instant. The P-Type unit had been cut off from communication and stripped of their eyes from the rear, all while the roar of the Rocket Bike tore toward them at jet-like speed.
Amid the chaos, with the P-Type unit completely cut off from both communication and visibility, the roar of the Rocket Bike's jet engine drew closer, growing loud enough that its shadowy form began to emerge faintly through the dust.
Crack!
A tungsten round fired from the Railgun mounted on the deadly motorcycle tore through the air, aimed straight at the armored vehicle parked along the edge of the convoy. Alicia, still disoriented by the interference, stood as the only target within point-blank range. But in that split second before death could claim her, a figure burst from the shadows at blinding speed. He grabbed her and pulled her away, the two of them tumbling violently across the dry ground.
Boom!
A thunderous explosion followed instantly as the expensive armored vehicle was pierced clean through by the tungsten round, triggering a chain detonation. Flames erupted skyward in a blaze of orange and red, swallowing the surrounding light.
On the other hand, behind the P-Type unit, who had already gone on high alert, Drago stepped forward slowly from the dust. His defiant posture immediately drew 23's attention, snapping his gaze toward him.
"You again... 29!"
23 roared, his voice thick with hostility.
"Yeah, it's me. But maybe you should worry about the one right in front of you first."
Drago shot back, tilting his head toward the line of trucks.
At the front of the convoy, the deadly Rocket Bike came to a complete stop, its jet engine gradually winding down. The man who stepped off it wore a mask marked with distinct scratches, unmistakable even at a glance. Zenos had returned. But this time, he didn't reach for a Railgun or any heavy weapon. Instead, he held nothing more than a compact stun gun.
Snap!
A burst of electricity cracked through the air. Zenos didn't target the obvious threats like 23 or Lewis, nor did he go for Drago. His aim was Sophie. The high-voltage charge struck her with precision, her body seizing up before collapsing to the ground in an instant. The moment her concentration broke, the Out Law members she had been controlling all dropped unconscious at once, like puppets with their strings cut.
Lewis, still in his berserk bear form, let out a thunderous roar as he lunged forward with overwhelming force. But Zenos remained eerily calm. He tossed aside the stun gun and, in one fluid motion, brought up a heavy harpoon launcher.
Thud!
The steel harpoon shot through the air and drove straight into the beast's chest. The sheer impact hurled Lewis backward, slamming him hard against the reinforced side of a truck. The tip of the harpoon punched through both flesh and metal before locking in place, pinning him there without any chance of escape.
As Lewis struggled, trying to tear himself free with his claws, Zenos calmly switched weapons. He raised a grenade launcher, loaded a single round, and fired point-blank into the immobilized beast without even sparing a glance for the outcome.
Boom!
The confined blast sent a brutal shockwave tearing through Lewis's internal organs. His enhanced body kept him alive, but the force was more than enough to knock him unconscious. His massive bear form slowly began to recede, returning to its original state.
In a matter of moments, both of P-Type's primary frontliners, Sophie and Lewis, had been neutralized by the mind and precision of the scarred-mask hunter.
23 and Drago had no choice but to set aside their pride and engage the enemy head-on, though not without reluctance. Yet Zenos, nothing more than an ordinary human, managed to hold his ground against two combat-type enhanced humans with astonishing skill. Every punch thrown at him was cleanly blocked or deflected, and he countered with steel-spiked gauntlets that slammed into their bodies, drawing blood.
"Interesting..."
Zenos muttered when he saw the wounds on his opponents heal almost instantly.
Crack!
A shot tore through the air and struck Zenos square in the mask, snapping his head to the side. It didn't penetrate, but it carved a deeper scar across the metal surface. Lloyd had chosen to close the distance, risking his life to get past the dust and gain a clearer line of sight.
Zenos immediately turned toward the direction of the shot. He grabbed a cylindrical object from his waist, pulled the pin, and hurled it with full force.
Fwoooosh!
A smoke grenade burst outward, rapidly blanketing the area in a dense gray cloud. Visibility vanished in an instant. Lloyd, who had just fought his way closer, was plunged back into blindness once again, surrounded by a battlefield choked with the stench of smoke and ash.
"You're going to be okay."
The familiar low voice pulled Alicia back to her senses as she lay motionless on the trembling ground. Her eyes slowly fluttered open through the swirling dust and smoke, only to find that the battlefield before her had shifted in a way that made her heart sink. Sophie lay unconscious and unmoving. Lewis, the towering giant, had collapsed against a truck in a battered, pitiful state. And most unbelievable of all, 23 and Drago were now fighting side by side, launching a relentless assault against the scarred-mask man from Out Law.
"Wh... what happened?"
Her voice came out hoarse as she tried to push herself up, but her strength hadn't fully returned.
"No time to explain. We need to get you somewhere safe first."
The man supporting her cut in, his tone firm.
"And remember this... don't even think about planting that parasite on me. If you do, I'll kill you myself."
"Heh... looks like you really did grow up, just like I said."
Alicia gave a faint, crooked smile, her gaze passing through his upgraded mask to the face beneath. Edward. The boy she had once hunted was now the one saving her life in the middle of chaos. He held her gaze for a brief moment before carefully guiding her away, leading the injured P-Type operative through the thick smoke and out of the raging clash, toward a line of rocky outcrops that could serve as temporary cover.