The three-way standoff held.

  The air in the passage was thick, like congealed blood.

  Greg’s brutality, Rennie’s calculations, and Booker’s madness—three distinct auras intertwined, forming a powder keg that could detonate at any moment.

  Everyone’s attention was locked on one another.

  No one spared another glance at the "trophy" lying on the ground with a shattered sternum and bloody foam in his breath.

  In their eyes, Kane was already a piece of meat on the chopping block; the only question was who would eventually serve him up.

  Lying on the ground, Kane kept his eyelids heavy, appearing to have slipped into a semi-conscious state due to his severe injuries.

  But at that moment, the eyes hidden in the shadow of his hood ignited with an unprecedented light.

  The timing was perfect.

  Now!

  Vrrr—!

  There was no warning.

  The air around Kane’s body distorted for a fraction of a second.

  One second, he was a heavily wounded man at their mercy.

  The next, his figure vanished from the spot!

  [ Earth Flash ]!

  "What?!"

  Rennie’s professional smile froze for the first time.

  The red light in Booker’s flickering mechanical eye contracted violently!

  As Kane’s target, Greg’s beast-like instincts allowed him to sense the danger instantly!

  He spun around, his pot-sized fist already fully wound up, prepared to smash whatever was behind him!

  But he was fast.

  Kane was faster!

  A dark shadow, like a specter crawling out of hell, abruptly appeared behind him.

  The tactical dagger he had dropped on the ground had returned to Kane’s hand at some unknown point.

  A cold glint flashed across the blade.

  Puchi!

  The dagger was driven ruthlessly into the exact point where Greg’s prosthetic framework met his flesh—the most densely packed junction of his lower back, and his weakest point of defense!

  A thrust, then a twist!

  "Ugh... AAAARGH—!!!"

  Greg let out a pained roar that sounded barely human!

  It wasn't just pain.

  The connection between his biological nerves and the reinforced skeletal prosthetics he was so proud of had been forcibly severed!

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  Zzzzt—

  A series of electric sparks exploded from his joint connections!

  Greg’s mountain-like body stiffened. Every movement ground to a halt.

  He remained in his punching stance, frozen like a statue that had been hit with a pause button.

  Paralysis!

  This sudden turn of events caused a one-second blank in the minds of both Rennie and Booker.

  One second.

  For Kane, that was enough!

  Having landed the blow, he didn't linger. He slammed his toe against the ground!

  [ Aerial Step ]!

  His body vaulted into the air, pulling away from everyone at an incredible angle in an instant.

  Mid-air, he swept his hand across his waist, and The Cyclone slid into his palm.

  The green energy circuits on the gun—resembling veins—were pushed to their limit in an instant, glowing with a blinding light!

  The muzzle was aimed directly at the stationary, unprotected target below—Greg!

  "Damn it!" Rennie finally reacted, drawing the energy pistol from his waist.

  "Fuck! It went sideways!" Booker shrieked, his hand already reaching for the detonator in his coat.

  But they were both a step too late.

  In mid-air, Kane pulled the trigger.

  Simultaneously, the power of [ Aero Blade ] poured frantically into the chamber!

  This wasn't just a bullet.

  This was a death storm—a trinity of high-pressure cyclones, explosive energy, and cutting wind blades!

  BOOM—!!!

  There was no gunshot.

  Only the muffled, heavy sound of an atmospheric implosion!

  The "air-burst shell" fused with the wind blade struck Greg’s massive frame with pinpoint accuracy!

  A split second later.

  Greg’s body acted like a gas tank detonated from the inside!

  The violent shockwave, mixed with countless fragments of metallic bone and shredded flesh sliced apart by the wind blades, formed a death tornado with a radius of over ten meters, sweeping outward in every direction!

  Caught in the direct line of fire, Rennie and Booker didn't even have time to react before the terrifying blast slammed into them full force!

  BOOM—!!!

  The entire metal passage shuddered violently under the weight of the horrific strike!

  Walls were torn asunder, the ceiling collapsed, and dust and fire instantly swallowed everything!

  Using the recoil of the explosion, Kane performed a mid-air roll and landed steadily.

  Without even glancing back at the carnage at the center of the blast, he turned and bolted!

  Each step landed precisely on the safe path etched in his memory. His form was as swift as a ghost!

  The plan had been executed perfectly!

  ...

  "ROAR—!!!"

  At the base's East Gate, Crag’s roars were still world-shaking.

  Like an untiring bull, he repeatedly slammed his body and massive shield into the heavily deformed alloy gates.

  Dense tongues of fire tore gash after gash into his form, yet they couldn't slow him down by a fraction.

  Suddenly.

  A hand rested on his shoulder.

  "Let's go."

  Crag spun around and saw the face hidden beneath the hood.

  Without a single word of nonsense, his massive body immediately turned, following Kane as they charged toward the shadows of the base.

  Right then.

  Inside the base, the shrill scream of alarms finally tore through the night sky!

  "Lockdown! Seal all exits!"

  "Target is escaping! Repeat, target is escaping!"

  "Capture him! Alive!"

  Rennie’s voice, thick with suppressed rage, exploded across all communication channels.

  Several high-intensity searchlights instantly flared up from various points of the base, scanning the ground like the eyes of gods.

  Dozens of drones emblazoned with the Kunlun Corp logo swarmed out of the hangars, forming a dragnet in the sky!

  Under the glare of the searchlights, Kane and Crag’s figures had nowhere to hide!

  "Kid, we're surrounded!" Crag’s voice carried a hint of death-defying ruthlessness.

  "Don't move."

  Kane’s voice was terrifyingly calm.

  He grabbed Crag’s thick arm, and with a single thought:

  [ Shadow Veil ]!

  Activate!

  A second later.

  Under the lock-on of every searchlight and drone.

  Those two figures—one large, one small—were wiped away as if by an eraser, vanishing into thin air within the shadows cast by the rock walls!

  Scent.

  Heat.

  Sound.

  Everything evaporated completely within a single second!

  ...

  At the center of the explosion.

  Rennie crawled out from a pile of twisted metal ruins, looking wretched. His crisp silver-gray combat suit was now tattered, and a bloody gash from a metal shard marred his face.

  He looked at the remains of Greg—of which only a single calf survived the blast—and for the first time, an uncontrollable rage burned in those gray eyes!

  On the other side, Booker was in even worse shape. Half his body was buried in the rubble, and his mechanical prosthetic eye had shorted out from the impact, fizzing with electric sparks.

  "Cough... Fuck! That lunatic!" Booker spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm, cursing as he struggled free.

  Ignoring him, Rennie grabbed his communicator and roared into it.

  "Silver Wolf Squad! Blockade every exit of the Silicon Desert!"

  "I want that rat to have no chance of even crawling into a crack in the ground!"

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