Chereads / Voltage Rising / Chapter 41 - Lightning (1)

Chapter 41 - Lightning (1)

Holding onto the edge of the car, Jin struggled to climb inside while keeping the wheel steady with one hand.

'Let me get in already. I'm catching you, you goddamn merc bastard,' he fumed, steadily pulling himself into the car.

He threw the merc's lifeless body out of the car and finally took his place in the driver's seat, resuming the chase towards the numbered merc.

Seeing the car of the numbered merc, Jin already knew this was going to be difficult. The vehicle was almost like a fortress of wheels, its armor unpenetrable for the weapons in Jin's possession.

'Such a good car, I'm definitely taking it.' He thought, gripping the steering wheel tightly as he closed the distance.

The moving fortress resembling a car shot its anchor at the vehicle Silas was driving, the jammer still active and cutting off their communication.

'I need to get that jammer down. We can't continue at this speed,' Jin thought, his mind racing for a solution.

"Jin, this is number 23. I did a bit of a background check on him. He's heavily modded with implants and will probably try to board the carrier. You should do the same. You'll know what to do."

Instructed Thirteen from the control room, his eyes darting from one holographic screen to another.

Even Anna, implanted with mods to boost her intelligence, memory, and other abilities enhancing her hacking and information-gathering skills, couldn't match Thirteen's performance.

Unbeknownst to them, he was a Cypher, just like Jin.

Stomping on the accelerator, Jin pushed the merc's car to its maximum speed. While the vehicle wasn't armored, its speed outpaced the fortress on wheels that the Numbered Merc used.

Pressing a button on the holographic screen inside the car, Jin readied the hook of his new vehicle.

'I need to break that jammer. I think I could fry it,' Jin thought, focusing on destroying the jammer before the Merc could board the carrier.

Closing in on the fortress-like car, Jin fired the hook, which latched onto the back of the armored vehicle. The connection jolted him forward, making the steering wheel vibrate in his hands.

'Gotcha.' Jin smiled, maintaining the speed toward the carrier while channeling a controlled amount of electricity around his body.

'I'm going to fry you, bastard.'

Electricity crackled around him as he directed it through the steel line from the anchor. The merc's car jerked, swerving left and right under the electrical assault. 

Though it regained control momentarily, the hook connecting the fortress to the carrier also conducted the electricity, causing the carrier to shudder and its engine to roar in protest.

'Dammit,' Jin thought, realizing the unintended consequence. He needed to disrupt the jammer without damaging the carrier further. 

Gritting his teeth, he adjusted the flow of electricity, aiming for precision.

Thanks to that, the strain on the carrier lessened, and he managed to disrupt the jammer.

"Silas, can you hear me?" Jin asked hurriedly as he readied himself to board.

"I can. Nice job taking down the jammer, but the carrier won't last much longer," Silas answered, worry filling his voice.

The three vehicles began to slow down, their speed not even close to what they were previously as they sped through the tenth district. Jin's electricity had damaged the engines too much.

"We still have around five minutes left. The bastard is going to board you, and so am I," Jin said. They couldn't do anything else; this was their only option.

"Okay, Anna finally sent me new coordinates. There are other mercs on us. We just need to get away with the carrier. Just take out the guy," Silas instructed while Jin was already enveloping his hand in lightning claws.

The frontal window was already missing, but Jin didn't want to escape there. He ripped out the rooftop of the mercs' car that he stole.

With the rooftop gone, Jin quickly climbed to the top of his vehicle

"Why the hell do I always have to jump from car to car...?"

 Jin cursed his situation, but he tensed his calf muscles and activated one of his abilities, Voltage Surge.

The world seemed to slow down as Voltage Surge enhanced his physical abilities, making Jin's mind so fast that he could think at almost triple the speed. 

With clarity, he saw the exact path laid out before him.

Every step was calculated as he left the driving seat and jumped to the front of the car. Using every bit of momentum he could build, he leaped at the carrier, catching the edge and pulling himself up with ease.

"God damn it, I'm starting to overuse my lightning," 

Jin muttered, feeling his vision falter slightly as he climbed to the top of the carrier.

"Jin, be careful! The merc is no longer in the car!" 

Thirteen shouted, barely able to observe the situation from the screens due to their speed.

"What?!" Jin asked in panic as he finally pulled himself up, only to see a person standing with their back straight, looking down at him with a wide smile on their face.

A tall, imposing figure dressed in a black suit with a white shirt underneath and a black necktie.

His straight black hair contrasted with his red eyes, which gazed at him with ridicule and malice while aiming a revolver at him.

It was the same design of revolver that Thirteen owned.

The merc continued to look down on him with his crimson eyes, unfazed by the roaring wind.

Slowly rising, Jin stared at the merc without uttering a word, not to him, Silas, or Thirteen.

"What a strange ability you have, kiddo..." mused the man before him, a knowing, wide smile spreading across his face.

Jin remained silent, his hostile eyes fixed on the man.

He stood straight, the wind roaring in both their ears.

"I could swear I knew another Cypher with that same ability." The numbered merc's grin widened.

His eyes brimmed with ridicule, and his smile was almost haunting to Jin.

'I remember you bastard, I'm taking you out!' Thought Jin to himself in anger.

Jin no longer had any ranged weapons, having lost them while jumping from vehicle to vehicle.

The only weapon in his arsenal was his previously stolen blade.

Slowly drawing it from its sheath.

Just then, the mercenary known as number 23 smiled once again while raising his gun at Jin.

"Well, then kiddo… show me what you got!"