Translator: AnubisTL
"Why? Is the view better up here?"
"No, it just looks cooler."
As Wang Jili spoke, he quickened his pace, striding toward the window at the back of the floor. "Alright, now's not the time for this. I definitely need to break my habit of standing by floor-to-ceiling windows."
"But we need to move faster now."
"Getting hit by that thing wouldn't be pleasant."
If Jin Yishan had brought that thing, Wang Jili needed to retreat immediately. He knew it well—its full name was the x-18 Water-Soluble Plasma Cannon.
An x-series weapon.
Developed by the federation, this weapon possessed immense destructive power. Currently, it appeared to be charged to about 10%. According to federation specifications, when fully charged to 100%, it could effortlessly obliterate one-tenth of a residential city the size of Ash City with a single blast.
The federation had developed numerous weapon series, one of which was the x-series—weapons marked with an 'x' at the beginning of their designation. This series comprised weapons under absolute control.
In other words, the weapons in this series far surpassed conventional firearms in power, and the federation strictly controlled them, determined to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Chaotic Faction.
Of course, seeing this weapon in Jin Yishan's possession, he knew the federation was once again full of shit.
The galactic federation's procurement price for Planetary Federation Governments was 18 million star coins for an x-18 Water-Soluble Plasma Cannon, including three dedicated energy cartridges. Additional cartridges required separate purchase.
A single dedicated energy cartridge cost 3 million star coins.
At 10% charge, a cartridge could power ten shots.
At 100% charge, it could only power one shot.
Once depleted, the cartridges were discarded—single-use only.
Naturally, these were the official procurement prices from the Galactic Federation Weapons Research Institute for Planetary Federation Governments. On the black market, where Jin Yishan had acquired it, the price would easily be ten times higher.
For certain individuals, simply placing an order with the Galactic Federation Weapons Research Institute and reselling the weapon could yield tens of millions, even hundreds of millions, of star coins in profit—a level of profiteering that defied description.
Soon, he reached the window at the back of the floor and, without hesitation, leaped onto the magnetic levitation car waiting there.
Almost immediately after he left, the office building where he had stood erupted in a blue flash, sending debris flying through the air.
Hu Biao, now safely in the magnetic levitation car, gazed out the window at the nearly ruined streets, muttering in a daze, "I just wanted to make some money. How did things escalate to this point?"
Initially, his goal had been simple: earn enough to improve his family's life, pay for his mother's medical treatment, and somehow, step by step, he had ended up in this chaotic situation.
Looking at the scene before him, he could easily believe war had broken out.
He could even imagine how history would record it:
"Yes, the spark that ignited this war was when a man named Hu Biao, disguised as a waiter, boarded that yacht filled with the children of the elite."
"This feels like I'm letting down my predecessors," he thought.
Wang Jili glanced back at the street, now reduced to rubble, a hint of helplessness in his eyes. Their primary mission was to rescue Hu Biao's mother, which meant they couldn't use heavy firearms.
Otherwise, the outcome wouldn't be rescuing Hu Biao's mother—it would be sending her straight to the afterlife.
But the problem was that their opponents were overwhelming them with heavy firepower. Without similar weapons, it would be nearly impossible to hold their ground.
Did the federation really grant Jin Yishan such broad authority? Wang Jili wondered. To use weapons like this so recklessly in a residential city... Doesn't he fear the federation's reckoning later?
Fortunately, Wang Jili had anticipated this and had a countermeasure ready. The situation wasn't too dire yet.
By now, the high-rise buildings lining the street had been completely reduced to ruins, and the entire road was buried under debris. Jin Yishan's convoy, having lost the effect of the "no entry ahead" item, began to slowly levitate into the air, regrouping to make a swift escape.
Magnetic levitation cars could travel at low altitudes.
They could also operate on the ground, where they moved faster and more efficiently.
Of course, this general rule didn't apply to high-end magnetic levitation cars. Their aerial speed far surpassed that of ground-bound models.
Just as the magnetic levitation vehicle convoy had arranged itself into formation in mid-air, a hail of bullets and rockets erupted from all directions once again.
These were civilian vehicles, lacking any energy shields. The smugglers couldn't possibly have brought their own cars across the border; the star coin cost would have been astronomical.
The vehicles had been stolen from Ash City, where civilian cars rarely bothered with expensive energy shields. After all, not every city was as fortunate as Ash City, where daily gunfights were the norm.
The battlefield descended into chaos.
Amidst the chaos, the magnetic levitation armored vehicle carrying the medical bed suddenly swerved around without hesitation and sped off into the distance. Hey, it's getting away!
Wang Jili watched this unfold, nodding with satisfaction and a smile. As his orders were relayed, the barrage of bullets and rockets targeting the remaining vehicles intensified, preventing the convoy from immediately pursuing the armored vehicle.
After delaying them for thirty seconds, the gunfire abruptly ceased.
The streets fell silent once more, leaving only a convoy of battered vehicles suspended in the air, swaying slightly as they hung.
"Damn it!" Jin Yishan cursed, glaring at his bald head as he leaned out of a car's sunroof. He aimed the muzzle of his x-18 Water-Soluble Plasma Cannon at the distant magnetic levitation car, now nearly out of sight, his eyes flashing with malice and brutality.
Energy charge: 100%.
BOOM!
A blinding blue light erupted from the cannon's muzzle, followed by a deep blue beam that shot straight toward the magnetic levitation car!
Furious, he ducked back into the car and roared at the driver, "Chase down that armored vehicle with the old woman! If she's gone, this whole operation was for nothing!"
As a precaution, the Albatross's third-in-command had been stationed in the armored vehicle.
Now, that armored vehicle had simply fled.
It didn't take a genius to realize his third-in-command had betrayed him. These people were clearly working with his former subordinate, though he couldn't yet identify which faction they belonged to.
He couldn't fathom what they hoped to gain by this. Did they really think kidnapping the old woman would force the Federation to pay them ransom?
What a joke!
Without hesitation, the convoy immediately reversed course, slamming their accelerators to the floor as they pursued the magnetic levitation armored vehicle that had already vanished over the horizon. Fortunately, he had planted a tracking device on that vehicle, ensuring they wouldn't lose it.
It was only thanks to that item that so many civilian magnetic levitation cars could still function after such a brutal bombardment. Otherwise, it would have been a miracle for them to remain operational.
"Old Six, get my Star Plasma Cannon to the outskirts of Ash City!" Jin Yishan roared into his wrist communicator, his face contorted with fury. "Damn it! I can't take this humiliation. If we can't catch them, we'll wipe out the whole gang first. When it comes to firepower, which smuggling scum has ever outmatched us?"
Meanwhile, the moment they succeeded, Wang Jili's magnetic levitation car surged forward with maximum power, rapidly accelerating away from the street.
But Hu Biao, who had been constantly looking back, suddenly shouted in alarm, "Senior, that plasma cannon is firing directly at us!"
"Hmm."
Wang Jili sat in the passenger seat, gazing with awe at the 360-degree holographic projection of the vehicle displayed on the dashboard. He clicked his tongue and said, "There it is. Congratulations, you're witnessing the x-18 Water-Soluble Plasma Cannon at 100% charge."
"You know, very few people in the entire galactic federation have ever seen this."
"You should feel honored."
"Fortunately, this vehicle is my personal transport, smuggled here specifically for this purpose. It lacks other capabilities, but its speed is unmatched."
"Hold on tight."
As he spoke, Wang Jili flipped open a small panel on the dashboard and pressed a button marked with a large "D."
In the next instant—
The vehicle seemed to freeze mid-air, a violent jolt throwing them forward. Before they could collide with anything, the vehicle erupted into supersonic speed, hurtling away at an unimaginable velocity!
Whoosh!
The deafening sonic boom reverberated across the city!
The scenery outside blurred into a low-resolution blur, as if the image quality had instantly dropped from ultra-high definition to standard definition. They could even feel their hearts pounding faster in their chests.
In less than a second, the deep blue light bullet was left far behind.
Hu Biao then witnessed a truly awe-inspiring sight. The light bullet crashed into a skyscraper, and a deep blue shockwave, like a nuclear blast, engulfed nearly one-tenth of Ash City!
A deafening explosion erupted!
When the echoes faded, the once neon-lit streets, teeming with prosperity, had been reduced to rubble in an instant. Skyscrapers collapsed onto the streets like Lego bricks crushed underfoot.
With a single shot, one-tenth of Ash City was gone.
One could only imagine the devastation such a projectile would inflict on a human target.
"I..." Hu Biao's jaw slowly dropped as he stared at the scene before him, muttering in stunned disbelief, "Suddenly, I don't think I deserve to be wanted by the federation. I only kidnapped a bunch of young masters from wealthy families."
"I think the price the federation is paying for me might be a bit too high, don't you?"
"Is this how the federation captures wanted criminals?"
(End of the Chapter)
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