Chapter 621: Race Through the Trap

Suspect the enemy has camouflage or invisibility abilities…

All teams, be alert – the enemy might be hidden right among us…

……

At the same time, as Lu Xin’s vehicle seamlessly merged with the others and sped ahead, a commander from Flame Company aboard a helicopter immediately spotted something amiss. At first they thought a vehicle had simply gotten separated, but from above it was crystal clear – no vehicle had ever dashed down the cargo passage or taken any alternate route.

He bellowed sharply, ordering extra vigilance. After quickly tallying the vehicles in a designated area and noticing an extra one, his suspicion solidified and he made his decision immediately:

“All tracking vehicles, stop immediately and run a system check!”

……

Following his order, the armed convoy chasing Lu Xin below, though confused, promptly decelerated.

What had been a uniform procession suddenly saw one vehicle surge ahead. Although identical in appearance to their own, its defiance of orders was enough to betray its true allegiance.

At that moment, a fierce dog bark erupted.

Vehicles that had just received orders quickly converged toward the lead car, as if competing on the highway. In an instant, they encircled Lu Xin’s car, making it impossible to tell friend from foe as they provided cover while racing along the cargo passage.

“Why aren’t you following orders?”

In the helicopter, the commander was both shocked and furious. Amid his anger he analyzed swiftly, “Could it be he can disrupt people’s wills?”

The chaos left everyone in the helicopter at a loss on how to proceed.

Surely they couldn’t just launch a missile and wipe out their own forces below, could they?

In his rage, he quickly assessed the situation and ordered, “Disconnect the suspension bridge ahead – block his path!”

“Everyone, proceed to the far side of the bridge. Stop him at all costs!”

……

“Huh?”

With the convoy shielding him, Lu Xin sped ahead while staying alert to another ruthless strike from above. Although he wasn’t trying to engage the helicopter directly, the distance had exceeded the range of those parasitic devices. Yet, unexpectedly, after tracking him for a while, the helicopter pulled back as if abandoning the chase.

Just as doubts crept in, he spotted the road ahead – and his heart sank.

He saw a massive steel bridge spanning the river rapidly approaching, its bridge plates slowly retracting back toward the far bank like a collapsing cliff.

“Flame Company is that formidable? They’ve built a steel bridge that can be severed at will?”

Lu Xin was visibly taken aback by the scene.

He also noticed an endless line of vehicles on the opposite side, all weaponry pointed squarely at him.

Rows of dark, clustered barrels and lines of grenade launchers.

And in the center, that once continuous bridge now lay completely severed, spanning a fifty-meter gap…

Lu Xin took a deep breath and glanced at the black playing card under the windshield.

……

……

Ahead, a massive, mechanical grip was slowly pulling the bridge in.

On the opposite side, a military formation armed with heavy weapons was poised to unleash a barrage on Lu Xin’s vehicle at any moment.

Meanwhile, two helicopters in the sky lowered their altitudes, with several suspended mini-missiles ready for launch.

“They’ve wasted so many resources just trying to catch me…”

Faced with this scene, Lu Xin couldn’t help but sigh – a mix of admiration and helplessness in his tone.

“They’d spend a fortune to block me, but can’t even spare a discount on the toll…”

……

As he mulled it over, the black playing card under the windshield suddenly shot into the air, as if gripped by an invisible hand. It soared swiftly, its razor-sharp edge slicing through the air with a piercing whistle.

The next moment, the Steel Monster barreled up to the edge of the broken bridge, on the verge of plunging into the river.

Simultaneously, the commander across the bridge raised his hand; the helicopter pilot had already pressed the red button. The vehicles behind slammed on the brakes, clustering together to avoid being caught in the blast.

Then, as if a trembling shockwave rippled from the Steel Monster, it emanated violently in all directions.

The shockwave spread rapidly, engulfing not only the vicinity but also the armed forces across the bridge.

In the following moment, a faint dark-red glow appeared in the area.

It was as if the world momentarily shifted hues before snapping back into place.

In that split second, a vehicle emblazoned with the Flame Company logo and the word ‘Executive’ suddenly appeared at the bridgehead.

Inside, the occupants exchanged bewildered glances, still unsure why they had ended up there.

Across the bridge, the Steel Monster materialized amid a cluster of armed vehicles.

Carrying its momentum, it surged forward the instant it appeared.

Its massive, solid frame immediately crushed surrounding vehicles, denting doors and toppling cars. People nearby shrieked in terror as firearms and bullets scattered chaotically.

“Sister, take the wheel…”

In the blink of an eye, using the power of the black playing card, Lu Xin appeared at the bridgehead and barked orders. At the same time, he snatched the Memory Hourglass from under the windshield and glared at it, “Looks like among all of you, you’re the most disobedient.”

“Is it because you’ve never taken a beating?”

……

The hourglass trembled violently in Lu Xin’s grip.

Nearby, the 12-Layer Puzzle Cube, the Jack of Spades, and the Skinless Dog all shot mocking glances its way.

“Next time, step up or I’ll flush you down the toilet…”

Lu Xin said as he held the hourglass tightly, shaking it vigorously.

The sound of sand shifting filled the air…

A crisp clatter echoed as the sand struck the glass walls.

The harder he shook it, the louder the sound grew – as if a whisper turned into a booming roar. The noise reverberated around, leaving the convoy drivers and helicopter pilots suddenly dazed.

Questions raced through their minds: Why had we come here?

What were we actually doing here?

Why were we holding guns, and why were those around us panicking?

Countless doubts filled their thoughts, making them forget their purpose amid the confusion.

Seizing the opportunity, vehicles slipped away quietly from the chaos and raced ahead.

……

……

“These parasitic devices are really something else…”

Lu Xin tossed the hourglass aside, barely noticing the sand inside had diminished considerably.

Seeing Flame Company’s interception intensify as more forces were deployed, Lu Xin couldn’t help but…

…feel a tinge of excitement.

“Oh man, how long will they keep blocking me?”

Lu Xin complained with a broad smile.

“Brother, you’ve changed…”

His sister looked dejected, almost hurt.

Lu Xin, a bit sheepish, asked, “Changed? How so?”

She replied, “You used to let me have all the fun; now you hand over all the good stuff to others…”

……

Lu Xin, slightly at a loss for words, turned to his father in the backseat and said, “Don’t you think this is outrageous?”

“Heh…”

His father merely chuckled coldly, staying silent on the matter.

……

……

The Steel Monster barreled through several checkpoints and, as night fell over the straight highway, slowly disappeared from view.

At the same time, the Flame Traffic Enforcement Team was inundated with urgent reports about a wildly modified off-road vehicle storming the internal network, along with its bizarre effects:

“It has been confirmed – the intruder is an Ability User of unknown origin.”

“The mental detection device carried by the C-Level Enforcement Team detected traces of mental radiation as he passed.”

“We can confirm he at least possesses the abilities to disrupt wills, camouflage himself, swap positions within a certain range, and emit strange sounds that temporarily impair focus.”

“Alert level raised to B. Report to the Company and request deployment of Level 2…”

“No—Level 1 Response Team.”

“Report to Headquarters: treat this intruder as at least a Cursed Three-Stage Ability User…”

“……”

The head of the Internal Traffic Network Security Brigade wasn’t one to fuss over appearances. After watching the wild scenes on surveillance footage – including the Steel Monster stubbornly advancing amidst relentless fire – he analyzed quickly and made his decision.

His authority only allowed him to request support from the Flame Level 2 Response Team.

But years inside the system had taught him to be cautious. This was no time for underestimation.

He amplified the severity of the situation several times over and called in the Level 1 Response Team.

“Wuwuwu…”

Meanwhile, as orders and reports crisscrossed within Flame Company, Lu Xin didn’t waste any time.

He sped relentlessly along the road leading directly to Flame.

He continued at breakneck speed along the long highway, enjoying the rare quiet as he pushed forward.

He encountered a few minor obstacles along the way, but with these parasitic devices now proactively assisting, nothing could really slow him down. Unless Flame Company blew up the road itself, no one could stop him.

With every passing mile, there were fewer blockers behind him.

He dashed for a full hour without encountering any further obstructions.

Even the vehicles that had sporadically appeared earlier had nearly vanished.

Only two helicopters could be seen in the distance, trailing at a safe distance.

Their decision not to block him – what did that mean?

Was it that they were allowing him to pass?

Lu Xin didn’t believe it; instead, he focused and accelerated even further.

Soon, he reached a point just a few dozen kilometers away from Flame City as marked on the map.

Looking ahead, beneath the distant Red Moon, a vast expanse of dazzling lights emerged, and the highway straightened, aligning with several other main roads that led to that brilliant glow. That had to be Flame City.

At that moment, Lu Xin sensed something unusual.

“Huh?”

His sister lifted her head, curiously peering out of the window.

In the backseat, his father suddenly raised his head; the black shadow on his face deepened, with the blood in his eyes intensifying.

“This is going to be interesting…”

……

Lu Xin’s senses, though not as sharp as theirs, detected an indescribable mental pressure gathering in the dark crimson gloom ahead – as if a monster lurked in the shadows, silently waiting for him.

Flame Company had clearly set a trap – they were waiting for him…

“Is this the ultimate power of Flame Company?”

Lu Xin mused, “I can feel that pressure from so far away…”

With that thought, he accelerated even more.

The Steel Monster continued its solitary, silent drive along the highway under the Red Moon, its twin headlights slicing through the darkness.

After nearly half an hour, Lu Xin saw a gigantic checkpoint ahead – a towering steel structure that split the road in two. Above the steel forest, a massive net hung motionlessly.

“A spiderweb?”

Lu Xin, a bit startled, slowed down and switched on his high beams.

His headlights swept across the enormous net, leaving him momentarily awestruck.

Even his sister, inside the car, let out a soft “Huh,” clearly excited.

Lu Xin beheld the true nature of the net.

It stretched an astounding seventy-eight meters high, hanging from a steel tower-like checkpoint – unmistakably a spiderweb.

But this net was woven from one person after another.

One by one, people defied logic as they extended their limbs, grasping hands or feet, forming identical patterns in a unified web…

And these people were alive, blinking under the glare of the high beams.

At the center of the web stood a red-haired woman, lazily gazing at him.

“Creak…”

Lu Xin’s car abruptly halted as he leaned out to admire this rare spectacle.

How could a living web be woven by people?

Was it achieved through Spider-Type abilities?

Level 2? Or even Level 3?

“So incredible…”

His sister, her face pressed against the windshield, whispered excitedly, “I like this…”

Her tone hinted at the thrill of discovering a new way to have fun.

“This doesn’t seem very proper…”

Lu Xin couldn’t help but call out, “Don’t try to imitate that.”

His sister ignored him.

After taking it all in, Lu Xin composed himself and firmly gripped the steering wheel, uncertain whether to charge forward or hold back.

Just then, the red-haired woman on the web noticed the Steel Monster coming to a halt. With languid grace, she stuffed a lollipop into her mouth, her cheek puffing up instantly. Then she slowly descended from the net, landing elegantly. Her golden hair swung as she stood up, chest out, clicking in her high heels as she approached.

The night breeze lifted her golden hair, revealing a black eye patch over her left eye.

“Click… click…”

She steadily moved closer, and the air around her seemed to thicken.

Lu Xin’s hand rested on the gearshift, his eyes narrowing as he watched this eerie woman through the windshield.

As she drew nearer, his body tensed, ready to lunge forward at any moment.

Suddenly, the one-eyed blonde woman mysteriously appeared at Lu Xin’s car window.

“Hm?”

Lu Xin’s instincts flared and he prepared to react.

But then, lowering her voice abruptly, the woman blurted, “Heaven King, Tiger’s Roar?”