A powerful sports car roared out onto the street.
Eisenberg-Silver Rider 577
Its modifications focused on speed, retaining the silver-gray alloy shell and original handling feel, the roar of the engine made the windows tremble.
"This car’s not bad at all."
John turned off the midnight radio.
He turned around and said, "I don’t like hip hop, it’s so uncouth."
Mato in the passenger seat was terrified.
"W-who the hell are you? I’m with the Markados gang, if you mess with me you’re dead!"
"I’m here to ask about a girl."
John observed his expression through the rearview mirror. "Maya Weitz."
Mato’s eyes twitched slightly.
John sneered and continued, "Let’s not waste time, I know you shot her, but what about the details and the body?" Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn novel★fire.net
Mato was sweating heavily, yet still gritted his teeth. "Money, or something else, who sent you?"
"Oh, looks thing isn’t important enough to you."
Immediately Mato’s mouth formed an O-shape, his feet curled up on the seat, screaming in agony until it finally subsided at the second traffic light.
His red jacket was soaked. He stared at John in disbelief:
"Did you mess with my ride? Damn hacker skills, I’m a black diamond member of the Nocturne Bar, they won’t let you off easy!"
"You... Maya Weitz is dead, what more do you want? If it’s money or something else, I can give it to you."
"It’s not about money, buddy. Well, kind of, but you’re on my hit list, and I don’t know the consequences of an unfinished job."
"Is it your turn to ask questions? First tell me why you killed her, where’s the body?"
"An argument and an accident."
Mato pondered for a moment.
"I swear it was a misfire. I had just joined the gang and wasn’t used to the new prosthetic enhancements; raising an arm, she just collapsed."
John smirked, non-committal.
Mato seemed tense, afraid, but showed no remorse.
He even had to think for a while before recalling. "The body’s been taken care of, I once loved her deeply, buried at Shanglang Road Cemetery, plot 331."
[Got information about Maya Weitz. [Complete]]
John suddenly accelerated, skimming past the overpass exit.
Two cars tailing them also braked hard and swerved in pursuit.
"Ah, so they were following us, Mato, who do you think it might be?"
His expertise saved him, and immediately the mission info updated.
[Deal with the tail. [Optional]]
[Reach Harbor Company. [Incomplete]]
A new address popped into John’s mind.
Mato caught sight of the car behind them and shouted, "The Markados gang has their sights on you. Let me go, or else..."
"Or else it’ll be worse, buddy. From the moment you got in the car, we were both screwed."
John drifted calmly, continuously accelerating, making the pursuers uneasy.
The other party immediately chose to open fire.
Silver Rider’s side mirror shattered, the body also rang with metallic clangs.
Mato was still ranting.
John hacked the backend, rendering him unconscious, then pulled out a data cable and plugged into the car’s system.
[Eisenberg-Silver Rider 577 car system (Hacked)]
"Knew there was a tracking signal!"
Black Light scanned over, taking full control.
John deleted Mato’s access, destroyed the owner identification chip.
An electric arc flickered by the console.
John extracted the damaged chip and tossed it out the window, not wanting to be remotely braked during a chase.
The characteristic engine sound of a sports car roared.
Silver Rider sped down the slick black street.
The ever-changing neon lights seemed like paint coating its surface.
Bullets whizzed by, the alloy panels and level two bulletproof design turned them into sparks.
John accelerated amid the hail of bullets.
He downshifted and drifted, screeching around the hairpin turn, firing back as he passed under overlapping roads.
A string of bullets only hit the machine gunner’s arm.
Shooting with a speed difference was too challenging for him.
John regretfully gave up, single-handedly dropping the empty magazine, focusing on handling the curves.
Silver Rider’s low center of gravity came in handy.
The Markados driver didn’t have the chops, two cars failed to brake in time and flipped over after hitting the cement curb.
John had just reached under the overpass.
The crashing vehicles exploded mere meters in front of him, the fireball and sudden plume of dust nearly obscured his view completely.
A row of red-flashing barricades rose.
John gripped the steering wheel, forcing a recovery, the chassis scraped, the car spun several times before finally stabilizing.
City alerts were blaring.
Signs on the road displayed red warning messages, likely police barriers ahead as well.
John was grateful for the head start.
The performance of the sports car was virtually unscathed, continuing to race ahead.
John, while escaping pursuit, spotted several motorcycles, even an armored vehicle with a turret.
The Markados gang was indeed furious.
John muttered to himself, speeding away from the scene.
He crossed two blocks with an unconscious Mato, arrived at a six-story building with a blue sign.
[Eden City-Harbor Company]
As Silver Rider stopped at the entrance, several red dots appeared on the glass.
"Leave the car slowly, come out slowly."
Knowing the situation, John raised his hands and stepped out.
Several brawny men emerged from the shadows, all donning matching black shirts with embroidered logos, armed with SMGs and precision rifles.
There was a concealed K71 auto turret mounted on the rooftop.
This place was fortified like a bunker.
"Anyone know Maya Weitz? I have specific information about her."
"You know the cost of lying."
"You’re not the first to threaten me tonight." John smirked. "I saw the missing person post on the Eden City website. If the place to claim the reward isn’t here, consider me mistaken."
Two armed guards escorted John to the top floor via elevator, making him sit on a couch to wait quietly.
The company boss with slicked-back blonde hair showed up.
"I’m Eden Weitz, do you know my sister?"
He was burly, seemingly woken from sleep, his muscles and robust prosthetics stretching the expensive shirt to its limit.
"Uh, it’s bad news, sir."
John tried to soften the blow.
"It’s alright." His voice was deep and sonorous, eyes penetrating. "In two years, I’ve prepared for the worst."
"I’m very sorry, she’s dead. Have you ever heard the name Mato Markados?"
Eden scrutinized John.
John took out Mato’s confession recording.
Eden listened impassively, silent for a long while, then asked, "Did you do the kidnapping at Nocturne Bar tonight?"
"What’s your relationship with my sister?"
"How did you get the clues? I’ve searched Eden City for two years. Why did you find Mato so directly?"
"Apparently, I’m better at it than you are."
John remained calm, even if feigned, he couldn’t show weakness; any stray shot could kill him on the spot.
"Mato is downstairs, I brought him to you."
"The missing person’s notice mentioned a bounty."
John answered truthfully, sighing. "To be honest, I’m kind of regretting it now. Nocturne and the Markados gang both want me dead."
His ankle was metallic, with a half-body prosthetic alteration, tall enough to look down at John’s head.
"Well, come with me, you’ll get what you want."