Chapter 99: Felonia
The vehicle tracks left behind on the vast desert by Luo and her gang were like creases on a piece of white paper—they were as conspicuous as could be. Han Xiao followed the tracks without stopping.
His position was continuously shown on the radar coordinates in order for him remain on course in the boundless desert. He was now heading toward the outer edge of the Somar Desert. It was indicated on the weather calendar data that a sandstorm had just occurred in this place.
The plain and unchanging sight of the desert was making Han Xiao feel mentally tired. After half an hour of pursuit, a roving jeep suddenly appeared in the distance.
I am finally catching up! Han Xiao’s psyche was rejuvenated instantly.
Just as Han Xiao spotted the jeep, the members of the Rose Militant on the jeep also caught sight of Han Xiao.
“It’s Thorns!” Su Li cried out.
Luo’s face tensed up before she anxiously surveyed the surrounding and realized that the pursuing force consisted of only a single vehicle. She was immediately incensed.
How dare you pursue us alone? Do you really think we are this easy to defeat‽
“Make a u-turn…”
Hooommm…
Thorns was firing at its maximum firepower—grenades and missiles were chasing and bombing after Luo’s vehicle.
Luo was intimidated. “Cough. Cough. Let’s run until he finishes his ammunition!”
She was slightly embarrassed.
The two vehicles were in a high-speed pursuit as they drove past sand dune after sand dune, scorched sand marking the course of their chase.
…
Raggedly-dressed pilgrims were seen gruelingly trekking through the desert. The leader of the group, an elderly pilgrim, was panting intensively, and his clothes were drenched in his sweat. He unloaded a water bottle from the packhorse and gulped one sip with his trembling hand, but somehow, he could not relieve his exhaustion and thirst.
The elderly pilgrim turned around and glanced at the group—everyone else was in low spirits. He then thought back to the times when he was younger. There had once been tens of thousands of compatriots who escaped from the same conquered country and embarked on this journey together. However, after years of hardships, there were only two dozen people left. Some people had died on the journey, and some had given up half way through. This small group of people were the last pilgrims.
At times, the elderly pilgrim could not help but become skeptical about the existence of Felonia. However, if he gave up, it would render his years of perseverance meaningless.
An engine sound was heard from a distance—Han Xiao and Rose Militant’s cars appeared in their view, and mounds of sands thrown into the air by the vehicles.
The pilgrims were not at all shocked as such a scene was commonplace on this desert. As soon as they confirmed that the violent vehicles were not moving toward them, they released their worry. They stood at their position and waited for the two vehicles to leave.
At this point in time, a small-scale missile flew in the sky and landed on then sand.
Suddenly, something unexpected happened!
The ground vibrated abruptly, and sand fell downwards at the position where the missile exploded. As more sand fell downward, a pitch-black hole appeared in front of everyone. The hole expanded continuously, like a gigantic mouth being opened!
The appearance of the running sand implied that there was a huge, empty space beneath this desert!
…
_____________________
You discovered a hidden location [Felonia – 08]. You received 1,000 Exploration EXP.
Bounty Hunter (Rose Militant)] Hidden requirement completed.
——————————————————————
Eh? Han Xiao was so surprised that he almost overturned his car.
What the hell?
I completed the mission by accident. Am I that lucky‽
But how can I use my luck on this kind place? This is such a waste!
The sand hole was still expanding. Han Xiao reasoned that the sandstorm that had happened a few days ago must have changed the structure of the sand layers in this area. Following which, his explosions triggered a chain reaction that resulted in this opening.
Although he was very curious about what Felonia was exactly, his hunt for Rose Militant was more important at this juncture.
After he left the coordinates of this place on his radar, he continued to chase after Rose Militant.
The two vehicles soon drove into the distance.
The elderly pilgrim’s hands were trembling relentlessly. With a look of exhilaration, he called out to his peers who were stunned behind him.
“This… this must be Felonia. We have to go there quickly!”
The pilgrims were enlivened. They rushed toward the hole in the ground anxiously.
“Felonia’s treasures… Felonia’s treasures…” the elderly pilgrim could not stop mumbling to himself. Tears trailed down his cheeks as he believed that he was finally getting rewarded for all those years of determination and perseverance.
…
After a few kilometers of pursuit, Thorns eventually ran out of ammunition, an inevitability no matter how strong its firepower was. Yet, Han Xiao sighed in relief. He was glad that this straining pursuit battle was finally coming to an end.
This bunch of sissies should stop any minute now. If they don’t even stop running and strike back, they must be really cowardly.
“This guy finally finished his rounds!”
Su Li was the first person who spotted Thorns’ abnormal situation. She was the creator of Thorns.
Luo was immediately relieved. She then said ruthlessly, “Turn around!”
The two vehicles were four hundred meters apart. Han Xiao already stopped his vehicle. When he saw the jeep turn around decisively, he gave a sly smiled and started point firing with his sniper rifle.
A distance of four hundred meters allowed him eight to ten shots.
It took him four spindle bullets to shatter the bullet-proof window. The fifth shot flew directly at the driver.
Luo, sitting on the front passenger seat, suddenly raised her hand and shielded the driver. The bullet, as if it had hit an invincible wall, generated a wave of reflective white light before it was squashed into a metal cake by the deflecting force and was left levitating in the air.
An Esper with forcefield type ability. Han Xiao narrowed his eyes as he felt that the situation had become more difficult to handle.
Espers had all kinds of abilities, but some of them would awaken with similar or even the same abilities. Forcefield was a major type of ability for Espers. Other common types included molecular control, strengthened body, and transfiguration.
The forcefield-related abilities included remote manipulation of objects, invincible walls, and invincible strikes. It was the natural counter to gun-fighting abilities.
As he finished his thought, Han Xiao quickly stuffed Hayme bullets into his gun and fired again. Luo deflected the bullet again with her forcefield. However, as the bullet was being compressed, it released a light green poisonous gas. Everyone in the vehicle was instantly poisoned. They started feeling dizzy, their chests tightened, and their HP dropped continually.
From the battle data, Han Xiao knew that Luo was the same level as him—level 30—so she had not mastered the skill to manipulate gases.
Han Xiao then fired a high-explosive bullet, which ignited the interior of the jeep. However, the fire was quickly put out by fire extinguishers. The vehicle was chiefly used for evacuation, so it was equipped with fire extinguishers to prevent fires from breaking out.
Han Xiao had no choice but to discard his initial plan to force his enemy to abandon their vehicle. Yet, he showed no signs of being discouraged. He fired two Hayme bullets again, and now, the jeep was engulfed by concentrated green poisonous gas as if the vehicle was consumed by a plague.
After these few rounds of fire, the distance from the enemy was only hundred meters.
Han Xiao put aside his sniper rifle and stomped hard on the accelerator. He was fearlessly trying to collide with the jeep head-on!
Su Li expression changed, and she anxiously instructed the driver, “Quickly dodge. The armored exterior on Thorns is extremely thick. We cannot best it.”
The driver quickly turned the steering wheel upon hearing the instruction and wanted to brush past Thorns. Upon seeing this, Han Xiao turned his vehicle in the same direction, but he was too slow; he only brushed past the rear of the jeep. He wanted to ruin the enemy’s jeep by smashing into it. If he had succeeded, he could then have used Thorns to hit the enemy and run. However, Rose Militant reacted too quickly and dodged the attack.
Luo just realized that even when Thorns ran out of ammunition, it was not a vehicle to be reckoned with easily. She had no choice but to suppress the anger in her heart. “Never mind. Let’s not be badgered by him.”
The jeep turned around and drove for tens of meters before Luo realized that Thorns did not chase them. As she believed, for a moment, that Han Xiao had given up, she heaved a sigh of relief. She then gnashed his teeth in anger.
I will let you go for now. Your time will come once our backup is here!
Just as she finished this thought, an invisible wave travelled from Thorns in a circular motion. Their jeep suddenly lost all its power, and the vehicle skidded a few dozen meters due to the remaining momentum before ground to a halt, paralyzed. The people in the vehicle were all thrown out of their seats.
In the backseat of Thorns, Han Xiao had started his EMP Disruptor, meaning that Thorns had also lost its power.
Han Xiao sighed. That was the last resort to prevent the enemy from running away, which he did not intend to use, but he realized that Luo did not have the guts to stay and battle it out. Thus, he had been forced to resort to such a mutually-destructive method. Even if he attempted to fix Thorns, it would take him more than ten minutes.
Next, it would be human versus human!
“EMP Wave! The car is wrecked!” Luo was dumbfounded. After being repeatedly plotted against, she could no longer contain her rage. She walked out of jeep and started the forcefield under her feet, which allowed her to move a few meters with a single step. She charged toward Han Xiao rapidly like an incoming missile, and the forcefield around her was rather erratic.
“Are you so eager to die‽”
Before Luo even reached Han Xiao, her ravings thundered in Han Xiao’s ears.
