Taylor caught a glimpse of Rian's furrowed brow in the rearview mirror and immediately asked with concern,
"Sweetheart, is everything okay?"
Aubrey turned from the passenger seat, her eyes filled with worry.
Rian glanced at both women and replied,
"It's nothing. I just remembered something I forgot to do."
"Pull over here. You two should head back without me."
He maintained a calm demeanor, not wanting to alarm them.
"Do you want us to come with you?" Taylor offered.
"No need. I'm going somewhere crowded. If you two come along, we'll all be surrounded."
Rian chuckled, knowing that a pop star and a movie icon appearing together would cause quite a stir.
"Alright then," they agreed, understanding the implications of their fame.
After they drove off, Rian turned his attention to the black Chevrolet Suburban parked about twenty meters behind him. It hadn't followed Taylor's Range Rover, confirming that he was the target.
He began walking along the sidewalk, noting that the Suburban slowly trailed him.
"Team Leader, I'm being followed," he reported to Benjamin over the phone.
"Damn it, Rian! Give me your location; I'll dispatch support immediately!"
Rian provided his whereabouts and continued strolling casually, awaiting backup.
He had no intention of confronting his pursuers just yet. Despite his recent upgrades making it easy to eliminate them, he wanted to identify who had sent them.
Soon, a police cruiser approached. The Suburban, upon spotting it, accelerated away. As it passed Rian, he activated a tracking card.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION:
Tracking Card activated successfully.
A holographic map of Los Angeles appeared in Rian's vision, displaying a stationary green dot and a moving red dot—the latter representing his target.
The tracking card had a 50-kilometer range and lasted 24 hours.
Rian returned to the station, reported the incident, and then headed to his apartment at Rose Apartments instead of going back to Taylor's estate.
Observing the red dot, he saw it had stopped inside a building and hadn't moved since.
He retrieved the Desert Eagle he'd acquired and upgraded it.
SYSTEM UPGRADE:
— Recoil reduced by 70%— Muzzle flash reduced by 70%— Fully automatic mode enabled
The Desert Eagle's large caliber made it powerful but unwieldy. With these enhancements, it now handled like a suppressed small-caliber pistol, especially given Rian's enhanced strength and constitution.
A sly smile formed on Rian's lips.
"Whoever you are, you've made a grave mistake targeting me."
He summoned his clone, White Wolf, to the apartment while he went to a nearby Starbucks, ensuring surveillance cameras captured his presence for an alibi.
White Wolf exited through the window, reached a parking lot a kilometer away, and commandeered a white Chevrolet Cruze.
With his Level 4 Mastery in driving, Rian felt an intimate connection with the vehicle, sensing even the slightest imperfections.
He drove to within 500 meters of the red dot's location, parked, and approached the building stealthily.
The three-story red-brick structure had windows covered with paper, obscuring the interior.
"System, activate a scanning card."
SYSTEM SCAN:
— Scanning radius: 50 meters
The walls became transparent to Rian, revealing the building's interior.
To avoid drawing attention, he also used a jamming card.
SYSTEM JAMMING:
— Jamming radius: 500 meters— All sound, light, and signals within range suppressed
Inside, over thirty armed individuals were scattered throughout. Five men sat in a room, smoking and conversing.
On the rooftop, a room housed a massive safe filled with stacks of money, gold, jewels, and heavy weaponry.
Rian's eyes gleamed with determination.