Bang!
Brad fell to the ground from the air and sat down, unable to get up again. Despite the repeated bumps, even with the protection of the lurker, he was still dizzy from the impact, sitting on the ground with the world spinning before his eyes.
After a while, he finally regained consciousness. Then he saw himself in a spacious compartment, surrounded by pipes entwined with various types of wires, like a giant dragon leading to the unknown depths. The occasional rumbling from the pipes proved that the equipment here was in use.
Although he didn't know where he was, Brad realized that he should be in the energy or power compartment. If the series of bumps were intentional by Reno, then his arrival here should be part of his plan. But why did he bring him here?
In just a second, Brad found the answer— not far from him, a bulky pipe, the lurker robot was firmly attached to it, motionless.
"Magnetic field," Brad blurted out. No wonder Reno brought him here; he intended to deal with the lurker.
If that was the case...
Brad thought for a moment and shouted loudly, "Reno, come out!"
"Reno, come out!"
"Reno, come out!"
"Reno, come out!"
The echoes reverberated in the spacious compartment, but no one responded.
"Reno!" Brad lay on the ground, shouting, "I know you're here! Come out!"
Clang!
With a crisp sound, a compartment door behind Brad slowly opened. Steady footsteps sounded behind him, one after another, like iron hammers pounding in his heart.
He struggled to turn his head and saw a pair of military boots standing behind him. Looking up along the boots, a familiar yet unfamiliar young face appeared before him.
It was Reno.
Behind him was Clarice, who hadn't left after all.
"Nate Brad?" Reno uttered the cold words.
The mustache smirked, "Looks like I'm not your first captive."
"But you'll be the last." Reno squatted down, his face close to the mustache's, "I think you know what I want to ask, right?"
"Of course," Brad replied disdainfully, "It's simple why you were captured. Just come back with me."
Reno shook his head, "You know that's not what I want to hear."
"But that's all you'll get," the mustache smirked, "Want to know what I'll do to you? Beat me up? Or kill me?"
Reno looked at him with pity, "Of course, I won't kill you, Brad, but not because I'm afraid. Under the circumstances of being secretly arrested without violating any criminal laws, I have no reason to be afraid. The reason I won't kill you is that I don't want to become a crazed murderer. It has nothing to do with courage but everything to do with conscience. So, in other words, if there's something that requires courage but doesn't test the moral bottom line in my heart... I'll do it."
As he spoke, he stood up, took out an old-fashioned pistol, and aimed it at Brad's leg.
Bang!
Brad's thigh was pierced.
"Ah!" Brad screamed in agony.
Blood gushed out of the hole in his leg, staining his whole body red. The intense pain made him convulse all over.
"You bastard!" He screamed hysterically.
The bloody scene made Clarice cover her face.
Reno squatted down again.
He reached into the hole in Brad's leg and kept stirring. The pain doubled, and Brad almost passed out. He cried out, "No, no!"
"If you want to stop the pain, you shouldn't say no, you should say yes," Reno said leisurely.
Brad shuddered all over, but his bones were hard. He laughed, "How do you plan to stop my pain? Lick my balls?"
Reno answered him with swift action.
He pulled out his gun again.
Another shot, this time aimed at Brad's groin.
"Too bad, you don't have balls for me to lick now," Reno said slowly.
He dragged Brad to the side, "You've been shot twice, and blood is flowing continuously. If you don't get treatment within twenty minutes, theoretically, you'll die from excessive bleeding. Even the medical bay won't be able to save you by then."
Dragging Brad to a nearby compartment door, Reno continued, "So now, there's an interesting question. If I put you near the lifeboat, give you a chance to crawl into it, but you can't because of serious injuries, would you count as me killing you?"
Brad looked up and saw that this was indeed the medical bay, with a row of lifeboats not far away.
Reno sat down casually and watched Brad.
Brad gritted his teeth and started crawling towards the lifeboat.
His legs were broken, unable to stand, so he could only crawl with his two arms, leaving long blood lines behind him, a shocking sight.
Finally, he crawled to the side of the lifeboat, he struggled to sit up straight, reaching out with his hand to grab the lifeboat, using the strength of his arms to lift himself up.
Little by little, he was about to crawl into the cabin.
Bang!
Another gunshot.
Brad screamed and fell back to the ground.
Turning his head, he saw that his other leg was also broken.
"Johnny Reno! You scumbag, son of a bitch!" Brad yelled hysterically.
"I never said I wouldn't shoot again, did I?" Reno walked over coldly, "I just wanted to see how much you cherish life. Turns out, you really want to live. A person full of hope for life isn't qualified to be a tough guy."
The muzzle aimed at Brad's head. "You can continue to bet that I won't kill you. In the end, whether you win or lose, it's your life."
Looking at Reno's cold gaze, Brad trembled.
He finally relented, "Okay, I'll talk. It's a secret mission. The Secret Police Headquarters has been ordered to capture every survivor of the Abrodyne."
"Every mission of yours is a secret mission," Reno retorted. "Who gave the orders? The federal government? Or the Supreme Council?"
"Neither. It's the New Energy Development Committee," Brad replied.
"The New Energy Development Committee? What's that?" Reno questioned.
"It's a part of the 382 committees under the Supreme Council. Behind them is the Federal Academy of Sciences," Brad answered.
"The Federal Academy of Sciences?" Reno's expression darkened. He was familiar with the name; it was the research sanctuary of the New Federation.
"Yes," Brad replied weakly. "The New Energy Development Committee is an institution set up by the Federal Academy of Sciences in the Supreme Council. On the surface, they are responsible for the research and operation management of new energy, but in reality, they are responsible for a superpower development plan."
"A superpower development plan?" Reno's gaze narrowed.
"Yes, they call it... the Dawn Plan," Brad replied, looking at Reno.
Reno took a deep breath.
Old Mike was right; nothing was isolated, and there were deep connections behind everything.
"But what does this have to do with you, Reno?" Clarice finally couldn't help but ask.
Brad didn't answer, just looked at Reno. "My four subordinates reported to me about your escape, and they mentioned some interesting things. Like a stick hitting oneself, and a flowerpot falling from the sky. By the way, how did you open that door?"
He burst into laughter.
Clarice listened in astonishment, looking at Reno.
Reno remained silent for a while. Finally, in a hoarse voice, he said, "How did they know? Or is all of this related to them? Where are they?"
Brad shook his head, "I don't know how they knew, or where they are. Asking me won't help. If you want more accurate answers, you have to go find those mad scientists. If you're willing to put down your weapons, I guarantee you'll see them soon. Of course, no one guarantees what will happen after that."
Clarice finally realized something, looking at Reno she asked, "If I heard correctly, he's saying that you have superpowers, and that's why they captured you?"
Before Reno could answer, a whistling sound came from behind.
A figure rushed towards Reno, punching him and sending him flying.
It was Lurker No. 1.
After being isolated by Reno using the door, he broke through the door all the way and finally arrived.
"Finally here." Seeing this scene, Brad burst into laughter. The reason he was willing to tell the truth was to buy time.
Reno's body hit the wall and fell, the intense impact almost breaking his body apart. Being attacked by a nearly one-ton robot was no joke. He lay on the ground motionless, apparently unconscious.
Lurker No. 1 strode over, lifting Reno with one hand, its electronic eyes flashing red, emitting a hoarse electronic voice, "Scanning confirmed, target Johnny Reno, capture successful..."
Reno's head suddenly lifted, looking at the lurker. "Capture successful? What's the robot's definition of capture success? Loss of mobility? Then, does this count as loss of mobility?"
As he spoke, Lurker No. 1 was suddenly struck as if by a heavy hammer, flying up and crashing into the opposite wall with a bang.
Reno fell back to the ground, looking at the lurker, lightning flashing in his eyes. "Does this count?"
His hand gestured, and Lurker No. 1 flew up again, slamming into the other wall with even greater force.
Then Reno's right hand reached out remotely, and it seemed like Lurker No. 1 was being gripped by something, its steel body deforming, emitting creaking sounds, its electronic eyes bursting amidst the compression, all the electronic wires breaking, emitting a large number of electric sparks.
"Oh my god!" Watching this bizarre scene, Clarice screamed, covering her mouth.
Even Brad was dumbfounded.
While he knew Reno might have some kind of special ability, as far as he knew, most special abilities were weak, but he had never thought of this.
The lurker continued to be squeezed, gradually being compressed into a round iron ball, and Reno let go only at this moment.
It was as if all his strength had been exhausted at this moment, and Reno sat down on the ground.
He looked at Clarice and said slowly, "Now do you know the answer?"