In an abandoned factory not far from the city, the place had once been a food processing plant but was shut down after the owner was caught exploiting workers, keeping them confined, and refusing to pay fair wages. The owner had tried to sell the factory to pay off his debts, but no one wanted to take it over.
The factory owner eventually hung himself to escape his problems. The machinery was sold off at a low price to pay off some of the owed wages, and the factory closed without a new owner. The owner's wife and children had no interest in redeveloping the facility. Being far from the city made it costly and unfeasible to continue operating. Thus, the factory had been left abandoned for ten years.
Because it had been a food factory and used forced labor, there were warehouses and rooms resembling cells, making it a suitable place for holding people captive.
Ejin's room door opened for the first time in days since he had been drugged with a sedative. His eyes were puffy from crying, the once bright garnet eyes of a young man now dull like a spoiled orange. His body, though not physically abused, had become gaunt to a disturbing degree. He lacked the strength to move, though he had managed to eat the protein bars dropped into his cell.
The man who opened the door was massive, standing two meters tall with a body full of muscles like a discharged soldier. His sharp eyes and thick brows made him seem permanently angry. His intimidating presence was offset by his ridiculous bowl haircut, which, at a glance, looked more like an actual coconut shell than a hairstyle.
Ejin could barely see the man clearly as two other men entered the room to bind his arms and legs, ensuring he couldn't move. The same man in the white coat entered to attach stress monitoring devices, reporting the results to his superior.
"The stress level of the product meets the client's requirements, sir."
"Finally, the product is ready for delivery. I was getting worried about what we'd do if the product's stress didn't meet the order specs. Inform the client we're sending it now," the bowl-headed man ordered one of his subordinates while Ejin looked up at him, realizing this was likely the leader of the group.
"Where are you taking me?" Ejin asked, his voice hoarse and weak, but the bowl-headed man ignored him. Ejin struggled with all his strength, but he couldn't break free from the metal restraints holding him. The cold stares of the men around him bore down on him as if watching a small animal struggling uselessly in a cage, a creature that's fate was already sealed no matter how hard it fought.
"At least tell me what's going to happen to me. I have the right to know," Ejin pleaded. During his time in the dark room, he had imagined countless possibilities, but after hearing the bowl-headed man's words, his instincts told him he had been wrong all along.
The bowl-headed man remained indifferent, while another man put a gag over Ejin's mouth, preventing him from making any more noise. They lifted him onto a trolley and wheeled him out of the room. Outside the factory, dozens of the boss's men were waiting, along with a green-haired man leaning against a post, arms crossed, watching Ejin and the bowl-headed man.
Ejin glanced around, his legs weighed down by heavy restraints. Even if he could move, there was no way he could escape from these people. While waiting as if for his own execution, the bowl-headed man received a call.
"What? Do you think I'm stupid? How could a package just explode on its own? If you can't figure out what caused it, you'll be fish food at the bottom of the bay, you brainless idiots. Useless trash can't even handle a simple task." The bowl-headed man's voice was filled with fury, causing everyone around him to shiver in fear. Even Ejin felt himself suffocating under the pressure, terrified that the man's anger might turn on him if he even breathed too heavily.
"Idiots. A package caught fire, and not only did they fail to put it out, but they also lost important gang documents in the blaze. Now, how am I supposed to report to the higher-ups?"
"Agaret, don't forget your promise to me," a green-haired man wearing a grasshopper mask said calmly amid the fearful silence of the subordinates. The bowl-headed man, whose real name was Agaret Marr, looked at him with a scowl.
"You think I'd break my promise, Avid?"
"I want to see Joker today. You promised I could go with you to deliver the special product."
"I remember, alright? Do you think Agaret Marr is the type to go back on his word?"
'Yes,' Avid thought but kept his silence. Agaret Marr was a well-known member of the Onizuka Tiger gang, notorious in the New World's underworld. He was hard to work with due to his deceitful nature. If it weren't beneficial to Avid, he wouldn't bother dealing with Agaret at all.
'Joker? Who is that? A clown?' Ejin couldn't understand what the two men were talking about. As the young man pondered, a six-wheeled truck backed into the factory yard, positioning itself in front of Ejin. One of the men opened the rear door, revealing an empty truck bed.
"Load him up," Agaret ordered. Despite Ejin's desperate struggles, he was helpless against the two strong men carrying him. He felt that once he entered the truck, he would never come out again.
Ten minutes later, the truck was on the highway, moving away from the abandoned factory. In the New World, intercity travel typically required a train, but for shorter distances, trucks were cheaper and more efficient. Therefore, highways had been constructed for these purposes.
However, the highways connecting cities in the New World were mostly made of dirt or low-quality concrete. The six-wheeled truck passed through a five-hundred-meter tunnel dimly lit by only a few lights, providing minimal visibility.
Once out of the tunnel, the truck began crossing an overpass as high as a two-story building. On the bridge stood a man dressed in black, wearing a crow-shaped helmet, his coat flapping in the wind. His amethyst eyes focused on the moving truck below.
At the front of the truck, sitting in the driver's seat, was the bowl-headed man. It was almost certain now—this was the truck that held Ejin.
'I have to rescue Ejin first. As for Agaret Marr, I can deal with him later,' Asic thought, his sense of duty as a police officer outweighing his personal desires. His plan was to extract Ejin quietly. As much as it pained him to lose the lead on Regis' case through Agaret, he had to prioritize saving the boy.
The man in black leaped off the overpass, landing on the truck's container with a loud bang that shook the entire vehicle. He kept his body low to avoid the wind resistance that could throw him off. Asic crawled to the rear of the truck, examining the lock mechanism. Fortunately, there wasn't any extra security on the latch.
He placed his feet on the step, grabbed the latch, and pulled it open, swinging the door wide. But what he found inside wasn't the vibrant young boy he had hoped to see. Instead, it was the green-haired man in the grasshopper mask, his hands casually in his pockets.
"Yo," the masked man greeted, lifting his foot to kick Asic squarely. The force of the kick sent Asic flying off the truck, which was moving at seventy kilometers per hour. Asic barely had time to react; the kick was fast, with power beyond any normal human's strength.
[Report, Master: The force of the enemy's kick is measured at 800 units, potentially reaching up to 1,200 units. Please exercise caution,] OC analyzed the attack based on the damage Asic sustained. Luckily, Asic wore an impact-reducing vest; otherwise, his ribs would have shattered.
The truck pulled over to the side of the road. Avid stepped out, his heavy footsteps echoing against the concrete, more like the clanking of metal than the sound of a living being. Avid looked at Asic with his sharp amber eyes through the mask, clearly irritated.
'Because of this guy, I missed my chance to meet Joker,' Avid thought, visibly upset. He had worked for Agaret for months, finally earning enough trust to meet Joker, only to be used as bait now.
The two men in the truck's cab also stepped out, armed to the teeth. Asic looked at the man he thought was Agaret Marr but quickly realized that, despite having the same face and hairstyle, the muscle structure didn't match the photo.
[Master, evidence of facial surgery detected. Muscle structure inconsistent with Agaret Marr. There is a 99.8% probability this is an imposter,] OC informed Asic after scanning the fake Agaret. Due to the distance from the overpass and the dim conditions inside the truck, Asic and OC had been unable to confirm whether the man was genuine.
'It's a trap,' Asic thought. He had considered the worst-case scenario: false information. Ejin wasn't in this truck. The fact that Avid was here meant Agaret had deliberately set a trap to ensnare him.
"Where's the kid?" Asic asked, his voice altered by a synthesizer.
"On another truck," Avid replied coldly. Asic's face grew grim. If Ejin was in another vehicle, he had no way to track him now. He'd have to start the investigation all over again, and Agaret would be even more cautious from now on.
"Can you tell me where?"
"You think I'd tell you?"
"Then I guess I'll—" Asic began gathering power, preparing to retreat. Fighting these men was pointless; his priority was to find Ejin. He couldn't waste any more time, not knowing where Ejin was being taken. But Avid had no intention of letting Asic escape.
"You think I'll just let you run?" The fake Agaret aimed his gun at Asic and pulled the trigger. The bullet sped toward Asic, who pulled out his L-shaped tonfa.
Made from Cadanium, the tonfa deflected the bullet with ease, like swatting a baseball. The three men were stunned at how effortlessly Asic had reacted to the bullet. With his left hand, he drew his revolver and fired six rounds, hitting the fake Agaret and the truck driver squarely in their masks.
The rubber bullets had enough force to cause a concussion, knocking both the fake Agaret and the driver unconscious instantly. Asic also shot at Avid, but the man didn't flinch or even react. Either Asic's shots had missed, or Avid had dodged.
Asic didn't want to waste any more time and quickly ran down the roadside, seeking cover. His mission was to find and rescue Ejin, not capture these criminals.
"Damn it. I thought you were just a dirty rat toying with me, but you turned out to be a real pain in the ass," Avid muttered, his voice cold and tinged with irritation. He drew two short swords from his waist, green-yellow Asra energy bursting around him like an aura. His legs, modified with implants, bent slightly before he launched himself after Asic.
[Master, high-speed object approaching from behind at 160 kilometers per hour,] OC reported.
Asic stopped immediately and turned around, just in time to see Avid closing in, his short swords moving so fast they left afterimages. Asic raised his tonfa, the clash of metal ringing out.
"Giving up running?" Avid taunted.
"Running wouldn't work anyway. But if I were 20% faster, I'd love to play tag with you. How about giving me a 15% head start?"
"I refuse," Avid growled, channeling energy into his swords. His arms moved so quickly it was hard to see, but Asic's amethyst eyes could read every movement. He dodged and countered, striking back with his tonfa, sidestepping, and landing a kick.
Wham!
Avid's kick struck Asic with 1,600 units of force. Asic crossed his tonfas to block, but the impact left his arms numb. He was thrown back several meters but managed to regain his balance in time. He drew his revolver and fired.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three shots rang out, but Avid dodged them effortlessly, his eyes seemingly capable of reading the bullet paths as well. He closed in on Asic, his leg poised to strike.
Avid was certain his kick would hit Asic in the neck, but instead, Asic vanished. No, he hadn't vanished—he had repositioned himself. Purple lightning gathered around his tonfa, and Asic struck Avid's abdomen hard, electricity coursing through his body.
Avid gritted his teeth against the pain.
'Lightning-element Asra power?' Avid realized as the lower half of his body began to go numb. His legs, made of implants, relied on electrical circuits, which were now malfunctioning due to the lightning.
For anyone relying on implants, an enemy with lightning abilities was their worst nightmare.
Avid jumped back five meters, his green-yellow Asra power erupting like a volcano. He separated half of his life force, manifesting a giant green-yellow grasshopper behind him. On its chest was a symbol of a heart and the letter "A,"
"Awaken, my Ego!" Aura surged into his legs, tearing through his cheap jeans, revealing the true form of his mechanical legs, filled with green circuits and springs like a grasshopper's. His amber eyes glinted sharply, and his short swords pointed downward. The killer intent radiating from him flooded the highway.
Soaring Hopper.