Makoto's entire body tensed up.
Their target had arrived.
But surrounding the truck was a group of motorcyclists. Together, they looked like a band of rockers. However, their bikes had clearly been modified to some degree.
Karen naturally sensed the presence of these individuals.
He also sensed Makoto's reaction.
The pedestrians remained oblivious.
Although the presence of these bikers was quite peculiar, they didn't pay it much mind.
That was, of course, until one of the bikers detached a part of his bike and reassembled it into a gun.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out. Chaos erupted.
The bullet flew through the air, aimed toward the truck driver.
The truck driver's eyes widened, sensing the incoming danger.
The bullet lodged into the side mirror of the truck.
Time seemed to slow down.
Smash!
A biker's body was slammed against the side of the truck.
Karen pinned the biker against the vehicle.
A hijacking.
In Samara, such things were normal.
With the government 'destroyed' from years of occupation, crime had skyrocketed.
Smack!
The biker was chopped on the neck, knocking him unconscious.
All of this happened within one second.
Chaos erupted on the streets.
The civilians, realizing what was happening, immediately ran for safety.
The truck driver also panicked, slamming his foot on the pedal to speed away.
The bikers chased right after.
Karen and Makoto stood in the middle of the chaos.
The redhead approached the black-haired boy, whispering, "I've checked—there are no CCTV cameras on this street, and it seems the civilians are too busy running—" He didn't get to finish his words before Karen had already leaped away.
———————————————————————————————————————
A city of neon.
That one phrase was enough to describe this part of the metropolis.
Tall buildings reached toward the sky, each branded with glowing corporate logos.
Some structures were connected by bridges and floating platforms, creating a unique spectacle.
On the streets, the crowds never thinned. Civilians of all walks of life mingled with heroes, office workers, live-streamers, and even mercenaries and villains hiding among them.
Every street offered something: food, entertainment, even pleasure.
It was a sight to behold for first-time visitors.
The highway system of Cybercity was considered one of the best in the world—an interconnected web of roads linking different parts of the Uppercity.
And right now, a chase was unfolding on those very streets.
A transport truck raced down the highway at high speed. The road was packed with countless vehicles, so many that from above they looked like glowing ants crawling across the ground.
"Papa! Look! Someone's running alongside our car!" Inside one of the cars, an innocent voice called out.
The man driving glanced casually to the side—and saw Karen running beside his vehicle.
The father blinked, then looked back at the road ahead.
A boy.
A white-haired boy running right beside him.
A boy with a speed Aspect?
Interesting, but not unusual—everyone had an Aspect. Some even used theirs illegally in public. That was normal.
The problem, however—
"Holy flying heaven of creation! It's Whiterraform!" both father and daughter shouted as they turned to look.
At that moment, Karen's figure blurred as he dashed forward at incredible speed.
He raced across the long highway, passing countless vehicles. Now, his hair color and appearance had returned to normal, with a dark face mask covering the lower half of his face.
Running up to one of the bikers, Karen shot out his fist.
The biker, sensing danger, threw a punch of his own.
Bang!
Their fists collided, generating a powerful shockwave that shoved nearby cars toward the shoulder.
Karen's kick shot forward.
Bang!
Smash!
It was a simple kick, yet strong enough to obliterate the bike into pieces.
Time seemed to slow.
Pieces of the bike flew through the air.
Vehicles swerved in panic at the sight of the fight.
The other bikers turned to stare at the white-haired boy.
And Karen, astonishingly, was keeping up with them—without any vehicle at all.
If anyone discovered he was achieving this without using his Aspect, they would be shocked.
Karen's arm shot out, grabbing the biker and hurling him into a nearby moving garbage truck. The biker's body landed squarely in the pile of trash it carried.
Bang!
Another biker was thrown to the ground after a punch from Karen.
The last biker panicked.
He immediately gripped a handle on his bike and pulled. The front half of the motorcycle began to transform—metal rods bending, the tire shifting to the rear, and rows of barrels snapping into place.
The front half had become a mounted machine gun, now balancing on a single tire as it sped down the road.
By now, the entire street had descended into chaos. Seeing the battle raging in the middle of the road, people scrambled to save themselves.
A screeching sound echoed as the truck swerved hard to avoid a collision with another car.
"Backup! Backup! Send some backup!!" the truck driver shouted into the communication device on his belt.
Before he could continue, he heard banging from the roof of the truck.
Several bikers had already landed on top. Their bikes continued moving autonomously on the ground below.
The truck driver panicked, blood draining from his face as realization set in.
On the roof, one of the bikers raised an axe.
It glinted under the neon lights of the surrounding buildings.
The axe swept down—
Swoosh!
A figure landed on top of the truck.
"What the—" the leader of the group didn't finish before Makoto's palm struck his chest.
Under his clothes, he wore thin armor made of high-grade material, capable of withstanding a punch from an A-grade Aspect.
Yet the moment Makoto's palm made contact, cracks spiderwebbed across the armor. A powerful burst of air shot from Makoto's hand an instant later.
The burst was strong enough to shatter the already-cracked armor and send the leader flying.
The other two watched in shock.
Their leader was considered quite strong—possessing a B-grade Aspect was rare enough.
But they had just seen him taken down with a single palm strike.
The sight was like a slap to the face, waking them from their—
Makoto gave them no chance. With a simple sweep of his arm, another powerful burst of air shot from his palm.
The two bikers were sent flying instantly.
Makoto pulled a small stick from his pocket—short enough to fit in an adult's palm, but thick enough to grip. With a push, a mechanism released, and the stick elongated into a staff.
The hooded boy raised the staff high, then drove its end through the roof of the container. Multiple spikes shot out from the tip, gripping the container tightly.
Makoto lifted his free hand and released a powerful blast of air upward.
The blast was so strong that the pressure forced the truck downward, as if weighted by several additional vehicles, slowing it abruptly.
The truck driver pushed the pedal harder, trying to accelerate.
Makoto increased the output of his air blast.
This time, the force was so great that the truck ground to a complete halt.
Karen stretched one arm to the side while tightening his grip on the staff with the other.
The truck driver was still flooring the pedal.
The truck began to skid sideways across the pavement.
"Stop there, villa—" A hero arrived, only to be met by the truck slamming into him.
A powerful air blast shot from Makoto's outstretched arm.
The force was so intense that the truck was hurled sideways, crashing into a nearby bookstore.
Makoto landed elegantly on the ground, his Aspect slowing his descent.
The redhead looked up, watching as the truck was slowly pushed away. At that moment, the corner of his eye twitched in annoyance.
"Oh dear lord, you've got to be kidding me."