Scasday Town to the north is a small forest, and it's already evening; the street lights on the highway through the forest have begun to light up.
"Chief, this is Mona."
The dark SUV raced swiftly along the winding road, and Mona, suppressing the anxiousness in her heart, was using Luo An's phone to update Augustus on the situation:
"Conrad, the perpetrator, stole a Cadillac belonging to a member's wife and is currently fleeing on the highway; we request the SWAT team to intercept him."
"The SWAT team will arrive in ten minutes."
Augustus, sitting calmly in a riot vehicle, responded over the phone:
"However, I have already notified the New York Police Department, and they have dispatched the closest patrolling officers to intercept him; you all need to be careful."
"Understood, Chief."
Mona hung up the phone, slipped Luo An's Nokia into her pocket, and nervously continued typing on her laptop keyboard:
"What should we do next? I just checked Ms. Yoland's husband's background, the Yale Member; he's a staunch Republican and pro-gun advocate in the New York Region, often stating publicly that he carries a gun everywhere he goes, including in his car."
"Only in America..."
Luo An, somewhat helplessly, knew they were too close to give up now, he tilted his head and instructed Mona:
"Put on the bulletproof vest and be extra cautious if we encounter the enemy."
"OK."
Mona nodded, clearly prioritizing her own safety.
The SUV raced down the road, and after several turns, Luo An saw the red dot on his computer screen growing ever closer when suddenly, intense gunfire erupted from outside.
Bang, bang, bang—
Luo An instantly floored the accelerator, the SUV climbed over the hill ahead, and immediately came upon a smashed New York Police Department police car, collided into the sides of the road.
Furthermore, two patrol officers were providing emergency aid to another officer who had been shot and was lying on the ground.
Luo An slammed on the brakes, and Mona quickly rolled down the window and asked:
"What happened?"
"A Cadillac forcefully breached our temporary checkpoint."
One of the officers, still shaken, said: "The suspect opened fire on us with a rifle while breaking through."
"Did you get a good look at the suspect?"
"A middle-aged Caucasian male!"
"OK, thank you for the information!"
Mona raised her hand and tossed an emergency medical kit from under the co-passenger seat to the two policemen, as Luo An stepped on the accelerator and sped away.
"Thanks to the Yale Member's help, Conrad now has a rifle."
Seeing Mona touching the bulletproof vest on her chest, Luo An frowned:
"Hide in the back seat."
"OK."
At this critical moment, Mona didn't resist; she picked up her laptop and moved from the co-passenger seat to the back seat.
Seeing Mona seated in the back seat with her seatbelt fastened, Luo An's eyes sharpened:
"Time to race!"
Under the night sky, the forest road was brightly lit on both sides; not far ahead was the dazzlingly lit New York City, where the nightlife was just beginning.
A powerful engine roared from far to near, and then a dark SUV sped across the road like a flash of black lightning; Luo An, with a cold demeanor, sat in the driver's seat, hands controlling the steering wheel, performing speed overtakes that were ten times crazier than before.
As the black SUV in the rear-view mirror drew closer, Conrad, his left hand in excruciating pain, felt his heart pounding; he had never encountered such driving on the winding forest road before.
Catching a glimpse of the rifle on the passenger seat, Conrad felt a chill in his heart. He jerked the steering wheel and slammed the brakes, leaving two deep tire marks on the ground.
Facing the SUV from the passenger seat, Conrad's face contorted in an instant, and sitting inside the car, he grabbed the rifle and pulled the trigger at the car chasing him:
"Die, all of you!"
Bang bang bang bang—
"Luo An! They're shooting from the other side!"
As the gunshots rang out, Mona screamed in terror, and Luo An, with a solemn expression, swerved the steering wheel to dodge. The SUV slithered like a swift serpent on the forest road, winding its way rapidly, and getting closer and closer to the Cadillac.
Under Conrad's incredibly shocked gaze, the SUV, with a few bullet holes on its window but its driver unharmed, heavily collided with the right side of the Cadillac.
Boom—
"Are you crazy, Luo An?"
Mona cursed loudly from the back seat.
"Bend down and don't move!"
In the moment when the opposite side was hit chaotically, Luo An, enduring physical discomfort, took a shock grenade from his waist and threw it into the back seat of the Cadillac.
A shock grenade, a non-lethal weapon, primarily uses loud noise and intense light to disorient the enemy.
Boom!
A massive noise erupted inside the Cadillac, and the windows of both cars shattered instantly, scattering glass all over the ground.
Luo An, crouching on the side of the SUV with a Glock 18, pulled Mona out of the car to his back, and looking up, seeing no one in the driver's seat of the Cadillac, he realized the enemy had already jumped out of the car unharmed by the core of the shock grenade. Without a word, Luo An picked up another shock grenade and threw it over.
Boom!
The shock grenade exploded on the other side of the Cadillac, and Luo An, tilting his head, still felt it wasn't safe enough, so he threw all four remaining shock grenades in his pocket over there.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The series of explosions calmed Luo An significantly. He stood up, holding the Glock 18, and rushed towards the side of the Cadillac, finding Conrad already flipped over by the blast of the shock grenade, completely motionless.
Carefully kicking the rifle away, Luo An took out handcuffs and cuffed Conrad's hands and feet, finally breathing a sigh of relief.
He began to search the body... no, to check for any hidden weapons on the opponent.
Covered in dirt, Mona carefully approached the side of the Cadillac with her pistol, seeing the enemy handcuffed and Luo An unharmed, she finally relaxed, but remembering the crash, she couldn't help but get angry and fiercely hit Luo An's arm with her pistol.
"You're really crazy! Luo An!"
"I told you before, trust my driving skills."
Luo An waved his hand, putting a yellow notebook he had found into his pocket. In his previous life, driving a certain van on winding mountain roads, he never lost a race; if it hadn't been for a mission at the time, he would have competed internationally.
"This isn't about driving skills, it's about safety!"
Just as Mona was about to lecture Luo An properly, Luo An's nose twitched and he suddenly covered her mouth.
"???"
Luo An, with a grave expression, pulled out the Glock 18 and pointed at the trunk of the Cadillac, and Mona immediately understood, also drawing out her pistol to aim at the trunk.
The two stood on either side of the trunk, and Luo An signaled with his fingers to count down from three; Mona nodded, ready.
Boom—
The countdown ended, Luo An violently opened the trunk, and Mona immediately raised her pistol aimed inside.
What appeared before them was a girl, barely clinging to life.