7:18am.

In a cyber-lab inside the cell tower base.

While Talia and her crewmates immediately went in pursuit, Ghostwire didn't relax, not yet. Having been outwitted twice by Parasite and the Zmer gang already, he didn't want to make a similar mistake again.

He wanted to confirm that what he saw was not another decoy leading to a dead-end, he wanted to confirm that the buses was their real target.

2 minutes of the invisible drones continuing in pursuit was all Ghostwire needed to confirm the facts. '5 double-decked buses… 4 military-grade trucks… there are soldiers inside, or thugs?… the slaves are inside the buses…'

Ghostwire confirmed the presence of the slaves and he heaved a sigh of relief. Without hesitation, he relayed the news to his crewmates who were chasing in pursuit.

…

7:19am.

Outside the borders of Community G, in the wasteland beyond the Wastes, a convoy of 4 Karaki CT-3X bikes and a single military-grade truck were in hot pursuit of enemies that were far ahead of them.

Karaki CT-3X were not just any bikes, these were super bikes, beasts with a staggering 350 horsepower.

These beasts could run up to speeds of 450 to 500km/hour!

Maybe a mundane human didn't have the guts to truly push this bike to its limits and fly, but a desperate Ascended? Definitely.

Leading the line-up of super bikes, a desperate Talia did not hesitate to push the Karaki CT-3X to its absolute limits, and she began flying!

VROOM…!

Dust was stirred in the wake of the bike as it flew through the wasteland like a ghost, rapidly driving eastward.

Behind her, Leon was apprehensive at first but when he remembered exactly what was at stake, he also let loose and double-downed with determination, going at full throttle.

4 super bikes flew through the wasteland at dangerous speeds!

With the drones already mapping the road ahead of them, giving them a detailed map of the terrain, outlining bumps and where secret pits where, they were not scared of an accident at all.

They simply dragged the accelerator to the maximum, left it there, and bent left and right, dodging potholes, bumps, and pits as they pursued relentlessly.

At this moment, Leon truly regretted not crafting glasses or a helmet.

With the full force of the wind blasting at his face at full velocity, plus the dust, he could barely see what was in front of him. But from the beginning, he never relied on seeing the road in the first place.

Instead, he completely relied on the virtual map that was being projected and updated real-time by the drones to navigate the wasteland.

His companions did the same thing.

Within a few minutes, they left the military-grade truck behind as it struggled to keep up with their speed.

…

7:20am.

The cell tower base.

The pursuit continued. Ghostwire already confirmed that the slaves were being transported through the double-decked buses, but he still didn't want to rest, not after being fooled twice by the Zmer gang and Parasite.

This was why instead of deciding to rest with his drones already keeping up with the buses and pursuing them while staying invisible, he decided to backtrack with one of the drones and leave only one in pursuit.

Ghostwire's train of thought was simple. 'The buses came from somewhere'.

'They're leaving with the slaves, meaning they most likely met up with Parasite in a specific location to complete the slave trade, and that location is most likely the hidden base or warehouse of the Zmer gang'.

'The dust is erasing them but if I make the drone fly closer to the ground, I'll be able to pick up the trail left by the buses!'

Ghostwire did just that and within just a few seconds, he picked up the tire marks that were left by the heavy double-decked buses.

And then, with one drone continuing the pursuit, he used the other drone to track the tire marks back to their origin.

2 minutes later, he found where the trial ended.

Ghostwire was confused at first since the area was completely barren. There was no fenced compound filled with hundreds of thugs like in the other warehouse, there was no oversized caravan, nothing.

But he didn't give up immediately.

He made the invisible drone hover even lower, and that was when he noticed an irregularity. A specific part of the ground close to where the buses started their return journey was slightly uneven compared to its surrounding.

Maybe it was just a bump, maybe it was a natural uneven surface of the ground but Ghostwire didn't mind.

To him at this moment, every clue was important.

Without hesitation, he investigated.

And then, he noticed another irregularity. It was a mild observation but the color of that specific part of the ground that uneven was also slightly lighter than the surrounding ground.

One irregularity could be explained off as a coincidence, but two?

Ghostwire's brain geared into overdrive as thoughts flowed through his head. 'This is a secret entrance?'

'Wait, is the secret base of the Zmer gang an underground bunker?'

'If so, then that explains it, and this means Parasite is even more careful and smarter than we ever gave him credit for'.

Ghostwire didn't control the drone to fly even lower to investigate since he didn't want it to be detected.

But in his mind, he already concluded. 'This is the entrance to the lair of the Zmer gang, and it's an underground bunker!'

Thankfully, the direction where Talia and the others started their pursuit from was not parallel to the location of the entrance of the underground bunker, meaning Parasite would not realize that they already found his dealer.

…

7:25am.

Buses are inherently slower than trucks and bikes due to multiple reasons.

After less than 10 minutes since they started driving in pursuit, due to pushing the Karaki CT-3Xs to their limits, they finally caught up!

VROOM!

The dust still obscured their vision, but they could hear the loud sound of the heavy-duty engines sounding from a distance not too far ahead of them.

The sound of the heavy-duty engines most likely belonging to the double-decked buses masked the sound of the Karaki CT-3Xs, meaning that the enemies were yet to detect their presence.

Rex, Kain, and the other rebels on the truck were still far behind them though, meaning if they wanted to attack now they would have to do it without them.

Talia slowed down slightly as her gray-green eyes gleamed. '…4 enemy trucks… let's say there's 5 enemies on each truck, that's still 20 soldiers!... that's assuming there's no additional soldiers on the buses…'

'…20 vs 4… we have no idea if they have Ascended…' her eyes narrowed. '…it's risky but it's not suicide, we have to do it'.

Talia beckoned for her crewmates to drive closer to her and then she relayed the idea of a plan that she conceived on the spot.

They understood the plan immediately, and then they spread out. Leon and Daren drove towards the right while Talia and Brick drove towards the left.

On the left, Talia drove at the front while Brick followed her from behind. On the right, Daren drove at the front while Leon followed him from behind.

Then they hit full throttle and accelerated again!

The tires of the super bikes circled and grinded against the ground in a deliberate manner, causing more dust to erupt from the dry ground, obscuring the silhouette of the bikes even more.

They accelerated forward, and then they finally saw the 5 double-decked buses. The 4 military trucks escorted the buses on both sides, 2 on each side.

As for them, they didn't see the Karaki CT-3Xs until it was too late.

Whoosh!

A shadow drove in between the buses, one on each side at the exact same time. The shadow was quickly followed by another shadow on both sides.

They drove past the first bus, the second, and on the third, they drove in between both the third bus and the first military truck escorting the buses.

Immediately, inside the military truck stirred as the alarmed soldiers reacted, but their reaction was a little too late.

Within the span of a single second, on both sides of the buses, the super bikes at the front slowed down to match the front military truck's speed, while the super bikes at the back slowed down to match the back truck's speed.

Then the shadowy silhouettes obscured by dust on top the bikes squirmed, coming alive!

The silhouettes held pistols.

With the pistols, they aimed inside the military trucks whose inhabitants were yet to react, and then they pulled the trigger starting with the driver.

Bam… bam… bam…

Blood and thick synthetic oil blossomed inside the 4 trucks at the same time!

Unlike his subordinates, A.I Representative Ben detected the danger on time and ducked, but most of his soldiers didn't react on time.

All 4 drivers ate a bullet to the head, and 8 other soldiers died on the spot!

Blood and synthetic oil sprayed everywhere, dirtying Ben's pristine sky blue suit and white leather shoes.

The shooting didn't stop after that. It continued, consistent as bullet after bullet was unleashed inside the trucks.

And then, with the drivers dead, the trucks veered off-track.

One of the armored trucks directly somersaulted!

'A chance!' Leon thought as he squinted his black eyes in the swirling dust and aimed his pistol at the somersaulting truck's fuel tank.

With his enhanced perception as an Ascended, his aim was true.

BANG!

One well-timed shot did it and the truck exploded.

KABOOM!

The slaves inside the buses finally realized what was happening as immediately, they began screaming in panic as they buried their heads inside the bus in fear.

The three other trucks didn't somersault though, nor did they stop as one of the surviving soldiers in each truck pushed the drivers down and took the driving seat.

They re-oriented the military trucks back on track to face the bikes and the buses, and then, they retaliated!

Tutututututu…!

The battle on the road erupted!

At the same time as they retaliated, an infuriated Ben sent a distress signal to Parasite.

…

Parasite already received the news about the uprising that was happening in the community but he didn't care about it.

He would deal with them later.

He didn't want anything to ruin his good mood after completing the biggest money deal of his life.

In the underground bunker, he already started a mid-day grand banquet as the thugs celebrated the successful slave trade while not giving a damn about their colleagues who were being massacred in the community.

Of course, most of them didn't hear the updated news from this morning yet so they didn't know what was happening.

It was during the process as Parasite was having a blast, downing bottle after bottle of beer with half-naked women entertaining him when his smartphone suddenly beeped.

BEEP!

He looked at it and his eyes constricted.

It was an SOS signal from Mr. Representative Ben!

"F*ckers!" Parasite cursed as he quickly jumped up to his feet.

Without hesitation, he convened with his strongest subordinates, mobilizing an attack force on the spot.

Less than a minute later, 2 military-grade trucks and 5 Karaki CT-3X super bikes emerged from underground and erupted in pursuit!

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