"Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat—"
The Razor crew drove the scorpion-like armored vehicle in close pursuit of the tactical motorcycle, while the machine gun turret constantly roared, and the bullets formed a long whip of steel wildly lashing through the air.
Although the enemy had excellent driving skills and could always dodge the strafing, a motorcycle was still a motorcycle, and with such violent drifting, the body and tires would soon have problems.
Just as the armored vehicle continued its pursuit, something unexpected happened.
"Screech—" The tactical motorcycle suddenly jerked its front wheel, the friction between the tires and the ground emitted a sharp screech like a crow, dragging a sharp black mark as the body completed a 180-degree turn.
The motorcycle, under inertia, continued to slide in the original direction, its engine roared to the extreme, the tires in reverse motion kicked up a cloud of dust, forcefully stopping the inertia, and then it shot towards the armored vehicle.
What is it trying to do?! The Razor crew was puzzled.
The other side not only didn't flee but charged back at them?
The armored vehicle's machine gun turret continued to aim at the motorcycle, but as the two sides charged towards each other, the relative speed was so fast that the bullets were left far behind, the dust kicked up from the bullet pits rising and falling like dirt fences.
The distance between them kept closing, and in the blink of an eye, the motorcycle was upon the armored vehicle.
At this moment, Alote, with his keen dynamic vision, caught sight of something unusual.
The motorcycle rider reached out, taking a red, egg-shaped metal from the researcher in the front seat...
Grenade!
As they brushed past each other, the motorcycle rider flung the grenade towards the open window on the armored vehicle's side.
Alote reacted swiftly, lunging forward to grab and turn the steering wheel.
"Screech—" The armored vehicle veered sharply, almost tipping over due to the high speed.
The tilted vehicle body blocked the grenade from entering the cabin.
"Boom!" A deafening explosion erupted.
The blast from the grenade became the final straw, tipping the already tilted vehicle completely over, rolling and crashing on the ground.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!..." The armored vehicle rolled seventy or eighty meters, scattering parts everywhere, its four wheels upturned with smoke billowing from the engine, utterly incapacitated.
"Cough, cough... cough... hiss..." Inside, the air was thick with smoke, heavy coughing echoed constantly as the Razor warriors struggled to crawl out through the broken windows.
It had to be said, the Razor Rapid Response Team was indeed one of Hegemony Company's elite forces, the soldiers inside were all hard as nails, suffering head injuries without uttering a single groan of pain.
One Razor warrior, after crawling out, staggered towards the rear door, trying to pry it open: "Team leader... are you alright..."
"Bang!" The twisted door was forcefully smashed open, and Alote crawled out from the back seat.
Among so many people, his injuries were the lightest, with just a minor cut, making him appear somewhat out of place compared to the severely injured others.
Alote walked out of the dust, gazing at the distant tactical motorcycle, the sun reflected in his eyes like a burning flame.
He took out a communicator from his pocket and said coldly, "This is Razor Rapid Response Team Hellfire Battalion, 53rd Squadron, 12th Combat Unit, Team Leader Alote reporting to the Windrise Plains Emergency Command Center."
"Our team was tasked with handling crisis code WF2076194571, our rescue target appears to have defected, aiding the kidnappers in launching a deliberate assault on us."
"According to Article 41, Clause 3 of the Hegemony Company Emergency Handling Regulations, I request the cessation of the rescue operation and a change of mission target to indiscriminate clearance, also requesting surrounding security forces for joint encirclement."
Not long after Alote finished speaking, the operator on the other end answered, "Team Leader Alote, this is Crisis Management Specialist Jos, your request has been authorized. The Windrise Plains security forces will be under your direct command. Happy hunting."
...
After shaking off the armored vehicle, Su Mo and Nuobai didn't encounter the pursuers again for the whole day.
However, due to the appearance of the pursuit forces, Nuobai's sense of crisis heightened significantly, she didn't dare to rest even at night.
She stopped at a concealed place to refuel the motorcycle with spare gas, picked up her phone, and typed:
[Ten minutes for you to rest]
The night was bitterly cold, they dared not light a fire to avoid revealing their position, not even daring to turn on the headlights.
There was only one warm coat, and as a Blood Code Carrier, Nuobai didn't find the cold too troubling, so she gave the coat to Su Mo to prevent his body from losing temperature and affecting his actions.
Su Mo hadn't drunk water all day, and with the dry wilderness climate, his thirst was unbearable; he gulped down half a bottle, then bundled up in the coat and began munching on a compressed biscuit.
Meanwhile, he was also calculating their next move.
The first step of the plan was to lure the pursuit forces with blood.
The second step, to halt the company's rescue.
Both steps were successful.
Then, the third step—to resist the rescue, intensify the conflict, and draw out the full-scale encirclement by the Windrise Plains company forces.
Although Su Mo didn't witness it firsthand, he was confident that the third step should have succeeded.
Unless the commander of that pursuit force had a masochistic tendency, enjoying getting beaten.
Otherwise, after enduring that daylight bombing, they would undoubtedly cease the rescue according to the Hegemony Company Emergency Handling Regulations and begin the encirclement of him and Nuobai.
After all, a mere researcher isn't someone that the company necessarily needs to keep alive.
Whether or not he could be brought back alive wasn't important.
As long as they weren't taken alive by someone else.
Ensuring no leakage, rescue or silencing didn't make much difference.
If all went as expected, now the company forces of Windrise Plains should be mobilized, unfolding a siege along their northern escape route.
After tonight, the northern escape route would surely be tightly guarded, making it nearly impossible for Nuobai and him to escape.
So, it's time to proceed to the fourth step of the plan...
This is also the riskiest step.
"Cough... cough, cough... hiss..." Just as Su Mo was deep in thought, he suddenly heard Nuobai's suppressed coughing.
The once energetic Nuobai was now curled up beside the motorcycle, her right hand tightly clutching the fabric over her chest, breathing rapidly, as if enduring some immense pain.
Her body trembled continuously, her coughing grew more severe, and beneath the mask, crimson liquid seeped out—it was all the blood she had coughed up.
Su Mo walked over, considerately took off his coat, and draped it over Nuobai.
Nuobai immediately tossed the coat back, coughing as she typed:
[Not cold, I'm hot]
"Oh..." Su Mo asked, "Are you okay?"
Nuobai wiped the blood dripping onto her collarbone from her mask with her sleeve, without responding.
Instinctively, Su Mo wanted to remove Nuobai's mask to let her breathe easier.
However, before he could touch it, a warning glance came his way.
Su Mo quickly pulled back his hand, lightly coughing to change the subject: "Let me check on you."
He took a flashlight from the motorcycle's rear box, covering them both with the coat to prevent light leakage, before shining it on her eyes, occasionally moving and examining them.
Despite appearing quite professional in his examination, Su Mo knew nothing about medical knowledge.
A moment later, Su Mo shook his head with a sigh: "This is 'Blood Code Dissociation Syndrome,' it's already in the late stages, you don't have long to live."