Chapter 49: Chapter 49: Leaving After the Cleanup
The truck’s window glass shattered into a spider web pattern.
Half of the driver’s head slumped to the side, the safety belt on the corpse went taut instantly, and brain matter mixed with blood splattered on the front windshield.
The street corner was in chaos.
Citizens of Eden City were very familiar with gunfire. The pedestrians almost simultaneously protected their heads and crouched down, bending over to move away from the intersection.
The surrounding cars also crashed into each other.
The expressions of the drivers behind were varied; people instinctively moved away from trouble. Someone in reverse bumped into another’s front hood, those turning corners scratched against oncoming cars...
The originally spacious road was completely blocked.
John held a silenced pistol, slowly walking past the front of the small truck.
The co-driver pushed the driver away.
He was just about to pull out the gun from his hand.
John, standing sideways, fired several shots, and the high-penetration bullets left a few clear holes in the glass.
The Ghoul’s blood splattered on the seat.
This guy was pulling the trigger even as he was dying. The bullet ricocheted beside the seat, causing no harm, but alerting the accomplice in the back seat.
John moved to the side.
He didn’t foolishly stand in front of the door but instead stayed close to the front wheel, quietly waiting for a few seconds.
Crash——
The Ghoul suddenly pulled the door open.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
John wasn’t standing in front and dodged the first round of shooting. He raised his arm, pulled away, and blew the inner shooter’s head.
Inside was a mess.
Screaming and cursing, along with gunfire, all sorts of stuff got knocked over.
John had just killed one person when a nearby rifle poked out of the car door, not yet aimed...
John reached out and grabbed, yanking it out.
The gunman lost his balance and tumbled out of the car.
John slid behind, choking his neck, turning him towards the truck—the last Ghoul was scared witless, emptying the submachine gun’s clip, but all the bullets hit his comrade’s belly.
John timed it right, reaching out his gun from behind the hostage’s neck.
Bang, bang-bang.
One shot to the body, two to the head.
The body fell.
[Eliminated Ghouls 5/5. (Completed)]
John dropped the corpse at his feet, bent down to wipe the blood near the tiger’s mouth, then walked into the truck, immediately hearing a scream.
"Ah, no, no, please."
"F*ck!"
John instinctively drew his gun.
He was a bit annoyed, the car search and killing were too smooth, trusting the mission prompt too much, not expecting anyone alive inside.
It was a girl with disheveled hair, only basic prosthetic body, in tattered clothes.
Her makeup was all smudged, terrifying bloodshot filled her eyes, and obvious bruises, she curled up in the corner shivering.
"Where are you from?"
"Silver Harbor... listen, a friend said, there’s a sample to try, I didn’t know... uh, got caught by them."
Her gaze was somewhat dazed.
John noticed the woman was shockingly thin, showing signs of emotional instability and drug withdrawal.
"You got tricked by your junkie friend, damn, get out."
He raised the gun, coldly dragged the woman out of the truck.
The sound of police sirens echoed from a block away.
The police in Eden City didn’t want to die for a meager salary, so they sent out info early, warning jerks to leave early before escalating into a tense gunfight.
A drone swept overhead with a buzz.
John immediately flipped up his hood, pulling the black sand-filter scarf over most of his face.
The police, seeing the fight over, would probably soon come to clean up the scene.
John didn’t want a conflict, nor did he want to waste his efforts.
He grabbed an empty bag from the backseat, stuffed scattered components, drug materials, and cash into it, then snatched up the weapons of the five Ghouls.
Buzz buzz——
[ECPD! Put down... weapons, hands visible, warning...]
Subtitles popped up before John’s eyes.
The translation plug-in Tinfoil provided began working, displaying prompt sentences.
He zipped up the bag, slung the strap over his neck, then walked through the alley behind him, across a street of curious residents.
[Temporary Task - Temptation (Completed)]
[Rewards: Unknown Illegal Chip, Contraband, Cash]
Eisenberg Alloy RCH came to a steady stop.
John climbed on, revved the engine, quickly leaving the scene, leaving the drone and the bumper-barred police car behind.
[Dan Street - Black Gold Gang Apartment]
John parked the motorcycle.
Calmly walking onto the street, he encountered a group of Black Gold Gang members in the overhead area.
This corner had fitness equipment, speakers, a full graffiti wall, and two rows of vending machines.
The Black Gold Gang had ways to manage the street:
They arranged regular patrols, maintained legal businesses, assigned tasks to the underlings, dealt with troublesome fools, and regularly collected a percentage of rent from shopkeepers.
John approached a burly man wearing a gold chain and trendy clothes.
[Name: Jilead]
He was a small boss for the public face of Habitable Rental Company, also responsible for apartment security business, occasionally passing messages for Mr. Vito to John, a small leader in the Black Gold Gang.
"Yo, John."
Jilead extended his prosthetic limb to bump shoulders, looking at John with a bit of respect in his eyes. "I was just looking for you... Sh*t, what’s this?"
"Take it."
John grabbed a full bag from his pocket and tossed it to him, speaking in a calm tone.
"I slaughtered a truckload of Ghouls."
"Well done."
"It happened on the street, loads of eyes, cops showed up too, I left a bit slowly, not sure if my trail’s dead or not. If I’m tracked, cover my back."
"No problem, buddy."
Jilead’s strong chest muscles, expression behind shades were quite reliable.
John parted from him, entered the elevator, watching the numbers rise on the electronic screen.
He needed to stay on Dan Street, so having good local gang relations was necessary.
Being on good terms with local snakes, he was willing to reciprocate.
Last time Black Light lost control, crashed a car in the basement, Mr. Vito helped sort it out, the matter wasn’t big, but still needed to find an opportunity to say thanks.
John particularly hated owing favors.
He planned to return to the apartment to stash his stuff, then head to the Bolago Club to find...
Ding.
In thought, the elevator door opened.
John’s mind was interrupted, discovering two people standing at his doorstep, both wearing Tiebang Logistics work jackets.
A man and a woman.
The man’s jacket was tight-fitting, high coverage of cybernetic modifications, even the eyeballs were embedded goggles, synthetic leather on fingers and cheeks had special heat dissipation patterns.
[Name: Armored·Behemoth]
[Scan: Blood Pump, Heavy Subdermal Armor, Polymer Alloy Armor, etc.]
[Bounty: Severe Injury, Assaulting Police, Illegal Modification, etc.]
He stood with hands overlapping on his stomach, like a professional bodyguard behind.
John focused his attention on the woman.
Leaning at the door, she smoked an e-cigarette, her face as delicate as an advanced sex doll, without any licentiousness.
She sported short black hair, smiling when she saw the bag in John’s hand.
"Wow, quite the haul, Mr. John, we’re here to investigate a missing transport drone incident, um... do you have plans tonight, might need to take up a little bit of your time."
The woman’s cybernetic eye was flashing.
[Detected scan, hacking in progress...]
John frowned, looking at her, the hacking progress bar ended immediately.
He stared at the woman’s face.
[Name: Oulos Grenada]
[Faction: Middleman]
[Scan: Messiah-Spy (Experimental), Atlanta Virtual Network Connection Pod, etc.]
John frowned and looked at her, and the hacking progress bar immediately ended.
"Who the hell are you?"