010: Midnight Street Race
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A powerful sports car roared down the street.
Ethanberg Silver Knight 577
Its modifications focused on speed, while retaining the silver-gray alloy shell and the vehicle’s original handling. The engine’s thunder made the windows tremble.
“This car’s pretty impressive.”
John switched off the midnight radio station.
Turning around, he said, “I don’t like hip-hop. The quality is terrible.”
The passenger, Mato, was scared out of his wits.
“Who... who the hell are you? I’m with the Mardos Gang. If you touch me, you’re dead!”
“I’m looking for a girl.”
John watched his expression through the rearview mirror. “Maya Waits.”
The corner of Mato’s eye twitched faintly.
John smiled contemptuously and continued, “Let’s save time. I know you shot her, but I want the details—and the location of her body.”
“What do you want?”
Mato was drenched in sweat, yet still gritted his teeth and held out. “Money? Something else? Who sent you?”
John let out a long sigh.
“Ah. Looks like this isn’t important enough to you.”
Mato’s mouth immediately fell open in an O. Both his legs curled up onto the seat as he screamed in unbearable agony. It went on until they had passed two traffic lights.
His red jacket was soaked through. He stared at John in disbelief.
“You tampered with my heavy cannon? Hacking, damn you! I’m a black-card member of the Nocturne Bar. They won’t let you get away with this!”
“Want to go again?”
“You... Maya Waits is already dead. What are you still investigating her for? If you want money or something else, I can give it to you.”
“This isn’t about money, buddy. Well, it is partly about money, but you’re on my mission list, and I have no idea what happens if I leave it unfinished.”
“Who sent you?”
“Is it your turn to ask questions? Tell me first. Why did you kill her, and where is the body?”
“An argument. An accident.”
Mato pondered for a moment.
“I swear it really was accidental discharge. I had just joined the gang and wasn’t used to my newly modified cybernetics. I merely raised my arm, and she went down.”
John curled his lip, offering no opinion.
Mato looked nervous and terrified, but not remorseful in the slightest.
It took him a long while to remember. “The body was taken care of. I loved her once, you know. She’s buried in Shang Langdao Cemetery, Plot 331.”
【Information on Maya Waits acquired. [Complete]】
“Thanks, buddy.”
John suddenly accelerated, shooting past the overpass junction.
The two cars tailing them slammed on their brakes, swung around the corner, and came charging after them.
“Just as I thought. We’re being followed. Mato, who do you think it might be?”
His skill saved his life, and the mission information updated immediately afterward.
【Get rid of the tail. [Optional]】
【Reach Haven Company. [Incomplete]】
A new address appeared in John’s mind.
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The moment Mato caught sight of the vehicles behind them, he shouted, “The Mardos Gang has already set its sights on you! Let me go, or else—”
“Or else you’ll die even more horribly, buddy. From the moment you got into this car, the two of us were already in too deep.”
John calmly drifted through the turn and continued accelerating, gradually putting the vehicles behind them under increasing pressure.
The other side opened fire without hesitation.
Bang!
The Silver Knight’s rearview mirror shattered, and bullets rang against the bodywork.
Mato was still yelling at the top of his lungs.
John manipulated the system directly and knocked him unconscious with pain. Then he pulled out a data cable and plugged it into the car’s onboard system.
【Ethanberg Silver Knight 577 onboard system [Hacked]】
“I knew there was a tracking signal!”
A black light swept across the interface, taking complete control.
John deleted Mato’s access privileges and burned out the owner-recognition chip.
Crackle.
A strand of electricity flashed beside the central console.
John pulled out the ruined chip and tossed it out the window. He had no intention of being remotely braked while fleeing an armed pursuit.
The distinctive growl of a sports-car engine rose again.
The Silver Knight sped along the black, gleaming street.
The ever-changing neon lights looked like lacquer painted across its body.
Bullets skimmed past them. The alloy plating and Level Two ballistic protection turned them into showers of sparks.
John accelerated through the hail of gunfire.
He shifted gears and drifted, tires shrieking around the hairpin bend. As the two vehicles passed one another on separate levels, he drew his pistol and returned fire.
The burst of bullets struck only the machine gunner’s arm.
Shooting with that kind of speed differential was too difficult for him.
“Tch!”
John gave up regretfully, dropped the empty magazine with one hand, and focused his attention on negotiating the turn.
The Silver Knight’s low center of gravity gave it the advantage.
The Mardos drivers lacked the necessary skill. Neither car slowed in time; both smashed into the concrete barrier, flipped over, and went skidding away.
John had just reached the area beneath the overpass.
The wrecked vehicles exploded barely thirty feet ahead of him. Fire and suddenly billowing smoke nearly swallowed his entire field of vision.
A row of red-flashing barricade posts rose from the road.
John gripped the steering wheel and fought to regain control. The undercarriage scraped against the pavement, and the car spun several times before finally stabilizing.
Municipal alarms had already begun to blare.
Billboards along the road lit up with red warning messages. No doubt the police would be waiting at checkpoints ahead as well.
John was grateful he had gotten away quickly.
Brrrmmm—
The sports car had suffered almost no damage and continued racing forward.
While escaping the pursuit, John spotted several motorcycles, even an armored vehicle fitted with a turret.
The Mardos Gang was truly furious.
John could only curse inwardly and accelerate away from the scene.
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With the unconscious Mato in tow, John crossed two blocks and arrived in front of a six-story building crowned with a glowing blue sign.
【Eden City—Haven Company】
The moment the Silver Knight stopped outside, several red laser dots appeared across the windshield.
“Step away from the car and come out slowly.”
John sensibly raised both hands and stepped out.
Several burly men emerged from the surrounding shadows. They all wore identical black shirts bearing embroidered logos, and each held a submachine gun or a precision rifle.
A concealed K71 automatic machine gun was mounted on the upper floor.
The place was armed like a fortress.
John called out loudly, “Who here knows Maya Waits? I have concrete information about her.”
“Do you know what happens to people who lie?”
“You’re not the first person to threaten me tonight.” John curled his lip. “I saw the missing-person notice on the Eden City website. If this isn’t where the reward is paid, then I’ll be on my way.”
Two armed guards escorted John into the elevator and took him to the top floor, where they had him sit on a sofa and wait in silence.
Ten minutes later, the company’s owner appeared, his blond hair slicked straight back.
“I’m Eden Waits. You know my sister?”
He was a massive man who seemed to have just awakened from sleep. His muscles and powerful cybernetics stretched the fabric of his expensive shirt to its limits.
“Um... I’m afraid I have bad news, sir.”
John tried to soften the blow as much as possible.
“It’s all right.”
His voice was deep and resonant, his gaze sharp. “I’ve spent two years preparing myself for the worst.”
“I’m sorry. She’s dead. Have you ever heard the name Mato Mardos?”
Eden studied John carefully.
John played the recording of Mato’s confession.
Eden listened without changing expression. After a long silence, he asked, “Were you responsible for the kidnapping at the Nocturne Bar tonight?”
“Yes.”
“What was your relationship with my sister?”
“None.”
“Then how did you obtain the lead? I searched all over Eden City for two years. How did you find Mato so precisely?”
“Obviously, my methods are better than yours.”
John remained perfectly calm. Even if he was only pretending, he could not afford to show fear. Any weapon going off by mistake would kill him on the spot.
“Mato is downstairs. I brought him to you.”
“What do you want?”
“The missing-person notice said there would be a reward.”
John answered honestly, then sighed. “To be frank, I’m already starting to regret this. The Nocturne and the Mardos Gang both want me dead.”
Eden Waits rose to his feet.
His ankles were made of metal, and half his body had been replaced with cybernetic modifications. He was tall enough to look down over John’s head.
“Come with me. You’ll get what you want.”
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