Thud!
Kyle carried someone on his back as he sprinted at full speed, weaving between parked military vehicles and charging toward the barbed-wire perimeter at the edge of the base.
"Get after him! Don't let him escape!"
Behind him, over twenty German Soldiers pursued him relentlessly with guns in hand, their bullets striking the vehicles he used as cover.
Kyle had already been tall and powerfully built after collecting physique-type Ability Cards. On top of that, the girl was petite, so carrying her was like wearing a doll-sized backpack and barely affected his movements.
Having just dodged a wave of bullets, Kyle crouched behind an off-road vehicle. At that moment, the girl on his back let out a soft groan and unexpectedly woke from her unconscious state.
"W-What is going on?" The girl sensed that something was wrong the moment she opened her eyes. She was clearly tied up with ropes again, but this time, she was bound to a muscular man, clinging to his back like an octopus.
"You're awake." Kyle answered through hot, ragged breaths. Under the sustained strain of battle, his entire body was sweating heavily. His Combat Suit had long since been soaked through, allowing them both to feel each other's body heat.
"What are we doing right now?" Recognizing Kyle, the girl's ears turned bright red as she asked timidly.
"Running for our lives." As Kyle spoke, he felt a sharp pain and reached for his left shoulder. Warm, sticky liquid seeped through his Combat Suit, staining his entire palm red.
"You're hurt!" the girl said in shock.
"Just a minor wound," Kyle replied quietly.
He must have been hit when he had burst out from behind the vehicle earlier. His body had been too tense and exhilarated at the time for him to notice.
"What do we do now?" The girl's trembling voice carried a sob as she could only reach out and press down on Kyle's injured left shoulder to stop the blood from flowing out.
"Don't worry. With my body, it's not enough to—"
Before Kyle could finish, he suddenly threw himself toward an open patch behind them. The next instant, a grenade blasted the spot where they had been standing black, taking half the rear end of the off-road vehicle with it.
"Looks like they're furious enough to destroy the base's military vehicles and supplies just to kill us."
Kyle thought calmly. His injury had not slowed him down. With several more nimble, precise bursts and leaps, he used military vehicles as cover to evade wave after wave of gunfire and continued forcing his way out.
"What should we do?" The girl's face had gone pale. Only now did she fully realize how dangerous their situation was.
"Relax. I said I'd get you out, and I never planned to break that promise." Kyle looked back, estimating his distance from Warehouse Number Two. Several bullets whizzed over his head, striking the nearby vehicles and sending sparks flying.
Kyle suddenly laughed. "We should be far enough from the center of the base by now."
"You're still laughing at a time like this?"
The girl bit her lip in grievance. Her slender hands remained firmly pressed against Kyle's left shoulder wound, but blood still kept seeping through her fingers.
"Have you ever seen fireworks?" Kyle asked out of nowhere.
"Huh?" The girl's face was full of confusion as she watched Kyle rummage through his pocket with his right hand and pull out something resembling a remote control.
"This is—the grand fireworks blooming amid war." After saying that, Kyle pressed the button on the remote in his hand.
At the same time, outside Warehouse Number Two of the German military base.
A large number of German Soldiers had gathered there. Corpses of soldiers and hornets, Smoke Bombs, guns, helmets, and other debris lay scattered everywhere, leaving the ground in complete chaos.
Many soldiers who had narrowly escaped disaster sat on the ground in despair. They had dared to charge even heavily armed American troops, yet they were helpless against these venomous hornets that had appeared from nowhere.
Flamethrowers would have worked, but the combat zone was an ammunition warehouse, so they could not use them. They could only rely on Smoke Bombs to drive the hornets away, but those hornets would rather die than leave without stinging someone first, trading their lives for theirs.
"Officer Leo's body has been found in the warehouse basement."
"No sign of the intruder has been found."
Quite a few soldiers emerging from Warehouse Number Two reported in. Several officers merely looked at one another. The base had inexplicably suffered an invasion and devastating damage before they could even react.
"Damn it! Increase the manpower and conduct a full carpet search of the entire base!" the second-in-command roared.
At that moment, a soldier rushed out of Warehouse Number Two in panic and screamed, "Run! Run!"
"What is it this time?!" several officers demanded in unison.
"Someone planted a timed bomb insi—" The soldier got only that far, and then...
There was no then.
The timed bomb linked to the remote would activate immediately under remote control. Kyle had planted it the moment he infiltrated the warehouse. It was not especially powerful, but its blast radius was enough to cover an entire building.
And that building was an ammunition warehouse storing massive quantities of munitions and supplies.
Boom!
First came a deafening explosion. Then followed a chain of overlapping detonations, each blast driving the destructive force higher and higher.
From Kyle's position at the edge of the massive base, it looked as though blinding flames instantly engulfed the entire central area, while dust and shockwaves swept outward at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Kyle dove beneath a vehicle with the girl on his back before the blast reached them. The roaring shockwave made even his eardrums ache, and flying rocks shattered the vehicle's windows.
When the dust settled, Kyle crawled out from beneath the wrecked vehicle. Looking back with the girl, he saw that the entire central area of the base had been leveled. Flames blazed fiercely within the ruins, turning the night sky crimson.
The grand fireworks blooming in wartime truly lived up to their name.
The twenty-odd pursuing German Soldiers stared blankly back at the scene, their faces full of disbelief. Some dropped to their knees on the spot and wailed in grief.
"Let's go while we have the chance." Kyle gasped heavily. He took a few steps forward with the girl on his back, then suddenly staggered and nearly collapsed to the ground.
His strength was steadily draining away. His bodily functions were declining, and his consciousness and vision were gradually blurring.
"What's wrong?" the girl asked anxiously. In her eyes, given how much blood Kyle had lost after being shot, it was already unbelievable that he had held on this long.
"I'm fine." Kyle bit the tip of his tongue. The pain jolted his nerves, and he forced himself to slowly move toward the barbed wire ten meters away.
"Damn it, they're over there!"
"Avenge our brothers! We can't let him go!"
Behind them in the distance, the surviving German Soldiers shouted curses and resumed their pursuit of Kyle and the girl.
"They'll catch us if this keeps up! Untie the rope and put me down. I'll hold them off," the girl said resolutely.
"Cut the nonsense. With that tiny body of yours, you couldn't delay them for even half a second." Kyle gave a bitter smile, though he was weighing his choices.
If it came down to life and death, he could only abandon the girl and use the forced teleportation of Stealth to escape.
But was this truly a life-or-death dead end?
Kyle sighed. His condition was still deteriorating. If he did not receive treatment soon, his life could be in danger.
"Then..." Kyle had just begun to speak when a large group of familiar figures suddenly appeared ahead, making his eyes widen. "This is...!"
"Avoid the first two and fire at those behind them! Kill them all!" the Black leader of the group ordered coldly.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
A barrage of gunfire erupted, but the bullets all passed far from Kyle's body and struck the pursuing German Soldiers behind him.
Faced with an overwhelming numerical disadvantage, the twenty-odd German Soldiers were quickly wiped out on the spot.
"You finally made it, Fury." Kyle smiled in relief. The moment he saw Fury, he knew the danger to their lives had been completely resolved.
"Leave the rest of the mission to us." Fury, leading the troops, stepped forward to support Kyle. A row of white teeth showed on his dark face.
Before you continue