Seeing enemies on all sides, Owen dashed into the building. He knew this must be the territory of the gang to which the Black man he had just run over belonged, but he had no other option—he could only take it one step at a time.
As for whether Makarov's pursuing men and the local gang would clash, that wasn't something he had the luxury to worry about. In fact, a conflict between them would actually be a blessing. Unfortunately, by the time he reached the second floor, he still hadn't heard a single gunshot.
As he passed by a room, he spotted a backpack hanging on a drying rack. Owen grabbed it and shoved the plutonium case inside, slinging the pack over his shoulders, freeing up his hands and making his movements more fluid.
Just as he reached the fourth floor, several Black gang members rushed toward him. It was clear they had been alerted by the people downstairs and had come up in a hurry. Upon spotting Owen, they charged.
Owen didn't have time to tangle with them—he could already imagine the pursuers from below gaining on him. The man at the front barreled toward Owen with brute force, intending to take him down.
As they collided, Owen suddenly twisted his body, causing the man to lunge into empty air. Without losing momentum, Owen continued sprinting. Just as he was about to collide with the second attacker, he stepped on the wall and launched himself over the man's head.
Landing smoothly, Owen dashed forward again. Ahead was a corner, and from around it he could hear the sound of running footsteps. Just as he reached the turn, Owen leapt and grabbed an iron pipe on the wall, using the momentum to swing his body around the corner.
On the other side, a gang member had just arrived when Owen appeared out of nowhere, crashing into him with a flying knee and knocking him out cold. Owen landed and kept running. Up ahead was a stairwell—finally, a stroke of luck. There was no way he could keep running upward forever; it was a dead end. Changing direction and heading down was the right move.
But just as he reached the stairs, the sound of footsteps came from below. Owen's heart sank—someone was coming up that way too.
With enemies behind and below, and their footsteps growing louder, Owen made a decision. He sprinted a few steps, aiming for the nearby room.
The door was shut tight, as if locked, but above it was a window. Owen jumped, grabbed an overhead pipe, and swung himself through the glass, crashing into the room.
Inside, an elderly couple was startled awake, staring at Owen as he bolted past. A second later, there was a loud crash at the door as the lock burst open and a group of gang members stormed in.
Owen ran for the balcony and jumped out. Just as he was midair, he twisted and grabbed onto some exposed rebar on the balcony's exterior. He slid down to the lower floor's balcony and vanished from view.
The pursuers saw him escape, but when they looked down at the height from the upper floors, none dared follow. With curses, they turned back toward the stairs.
On the floor below, Owen had just exited the room—only to run into another group of gang members charging up. Once again, he had no choice but to flee.
He raced through the hallway, gang members hot on his heels. Owen pushed his speed to the limit. Up ahead, one gang member saw him coming and hid in the shadows, gripping a baseball bat and waiting for the perfect moment.
As Owen sprinted down the corridor, he noticed a shadow on the floor shift slightly—someone was hiding there. He slowed slightly, just enough for the nearest pursuer to almost grab him.
As he passed the shadow, Owen ducked and skidded sideways along the ground, narrowly avoiding the ambush. The man behind him wasn't so lucky—he ran straight into the swing of the baseball bat and collapsed with a face full of bruises and a mouthful of stars.
Dodging the trap, Owen kept running. Behind him, the line of pursuers had been thinned, but not enough. The Black gang members were fast, incredibly fast. Even though Owen was already at top speed, he couldn't shake them. And with the unfamiliar terrain, they were closing in fast.
Turning a corner, Owen found himself at a dead end. The only exit was blocked by a wall of bricks. The only other feature was a bare window, and outside it, a single rope, likely for construction.
Owen had no choice but to go for it. He leapt and grabbed the rope. Luckily, it held firm. He swung to the side just in time to avoid the leading pursuer, who had intended to grab him. With nothing to hold onto, that man plunged from the third floor and hit the ground with a sickening thud.
Owen swung over to a nearby balcony, let go, and landed. Beside him was the exterior air conditioning unit. He climbed up using the housing and quickly reached the rooftop.
As he looked around, the rooftop door suddenly burst open—Avril and Zheng Anshun charged out. Owen gave them a parting view of his back, sprinted forward, and jumped straight off the building.
Earlier during the chase, Owen had already torn off his damaged mask. Avril caught a glimpse of his face in that moment and instantly recognized him.
It was that CTU agent!
The sight of him reignited Avril's fury. Without hesitation, she leapt after him. Zheng Anshun followed closely behind.
At the edge of the rooftop, Owen launched himself through the air and landed on the nearby rooftop of another building. He rolled on landing to absorb the impact, then got up and kept running.
This was the slums, after all—full of unauthorized buildings. The gaps between rooftops were small, and many roofs had extra structures built on top.
Owen vaulted over a fence with one hand, landed, then jumped again, catching a steel pipe. Like a monkey, he skillfully swung to the end and leapt again.
Every motion was smooth and precise, as if he had practiced it a thousand times. No one would believe this was his first time doing it. But it wasn't really. Owen was a fan of extreme sports. The environment might be different, but parkour was all the same.
Avril and Zheng Anshun followed closely. If Owen moved like this due to training, they relied purely on exceptional physical ability.
Owen leapt across two rooftops, and they stayed right behind him. At this point, he had lost almost everyone—except those two.
After vaulting onto another rooftop, Owen glanced back at them. The two were right on his tail. But this time, Owen didn't run. Instead, he turned and kicked at the airborne Avril.
Caught off guard, Avril had no chance to react. She was still midair when Owen's kick sent her flying off the rooftop. She fell, body flailing between buildings.
Owen didn't even check the outcome. He turned and bolted. Zheng Anshun let out a heart-wrenching roar, abandoning the chase to save Avril.
"Don't worry about me, I'm fine—get the plutonium back…"
Just as Zheng Anshun reached the edge of the roof, he heard Avril's voice. She hadn't fallen to her death—she had managed to grab onto the crisscrossing wires strung between buildings, saving her life.
Seeing that Avril was safe for now, Zheng Anshun resumed the pursuit. But now, he no longer cared about capturing Owen alive or recovering the plutonium—he only wanted to kill Owen.
Ahead, Owen had reached the last rooftop. Beyond this point were all small two-story brick houses—typical Istanbul dwellings.
Owen picked up a short stick, jumped, and hooked it over a wire, using it like a zip line to slide down.
Zheng Anshun did the same, chasing relentlessly.
Owen landed, rolled, and kept running. Though it was just Zheng Anshun now, Owen knew he could probably take him. But just in case, he didn't want to risk getting bogged down until the others arrived.
Zheng Anshun landed, rolled, and sprinted after him.
One fleeing, one chasing—they leapt and danced across the rooftops.
I have to lose him, Owen thought. Just ahead, on a second-floor rooftop, was a vent window that looked like a wooden shutter held open by a small stick.
Owen sprinted and leapt through the vent easily. As he passed through, he struck the supporting stick with his baton.
Behind him, Zheng Anshun didn't hesitate and followed—but the wooden panel had already swung shut. He slammed into it headfirst and then plummeted to the ground.
(End of Chapter)
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