Parting of Ways! (Part 1)

The High-vibration particle cutting dagger was incredibly sharp, easily slicing through the interrogation room door. Without a second thought, Zheng Zha kicked it. The immense force left a dented footprint on the steel door, sending the two people outside flying along with the door. At the same time, Zheng Zha retrieved a submachine gun and a bulletproof vest from his storage ring.

This bulletproof vest was quite a high-tech product. Though it didn't look very large, it was incredibly elastic. No matter how bulky the wearer was, the vest could expand to fit their body perfectly.

Zheng Zha quickly put on the vest, strapping Loli to his back as well. He held the dagger in his right hand and the submachine gun in his left, then fled outwards with all his might without a second thought.

On the other side of the interrogation room, chaos had erupted. Everyone stared, dumbfounded, at Zheng Zha producing items out of thin air. While a dagger could perhaps be hidden, what about the submachine gun and the bulletproof vest? The National Security Bureau wasn't to be trifled with; how could they have missed these items?

As Zheng Zha ran, he examined the dagger closely. He happened to see a glint of light on the pommel. Feeling around, he found a grain-of-rice-sized object. He casually tossed it onto the ground, his heart filled with hatred for Chu Xuan.

Just as he entered the corridor, hurried footsteps echoed from the other end. Without thinking, he raised his submachine gun and fired down the corridor, then sprinted madly towards the stairs leading to the third floor.

This submachine gun was of the same technological level as the bulletproof vest, possessing immense power and an incredibly high rate of fire. With a rapid series of pa-pa sounds, the wall ahead was riddled with countless pockmarks. Judging by its power and firing speed, it seemed like several submachine guns were firing simultaneously, forcing the footsteps behind to halt.

Zheng Zha moved with incredible speed, the air around him seeming to thicken. He reached the stairwell in a few strides and leaped down. Loli behind him shrieked, but the little girl was sensible and quickly bit her lip shut.

It was just a staircase. Zheng Zha's nerve reaction speed was astonishing; he landed steadily, then pushed off again, running further down. Behind him, a barrage of gunfire erupted, turning the spot where he had just landed into a mess.

More people were appearing on the second floor. Zheng Zha didn't slow down at all, leaping down the stairs one flight after another, his speed far surpassing his pursuers. In just a few minutes, he had rushed out of the Public Security Bureau's main entrance from the third floor. The moment he emerged, a sharp pa sound whizzed past his left leg, leaving a deep bloody gash on his thigh.

"Sniper rifle?"

The sense of danger reached its peak. Zheng Zha channeled all his strength, pushing his internal force to its limit. He became like a shadow, rushing out of the Public Security Bureau's main gate, bullet impacts constantly appearing around him, yet none struck his body.

Zheng Zha didn't dare to linger. He zigzagged wildly towards the main road, continuing forward along this path towards his company! His office there was his only hope!

Inside the Public Security Bureau, pandemonium had broken out. Countless police officers and National Security Bureau personnel rushed towards the police car garage. On the third floor, several people were yelling into their communicators. One of them, in the midst of his shouting, saw a faint glimmer of light flash across the floor. If not for the dimness in the corner of the corridor, he would never have noticed it.

The man hurried over and picked up the grain-of-rice-sized object from the ground. Several others gathered around in surprise. He said, "Quick, call the technical department! Colonel Chu Xuan actually removed the locator message device! There must be a message he left behind..."

Zheng Zha had no idea what was happening back at the Public Security Bureau. After he had sprinted a kilometer down the main road, the gunfire behind him ceased. However, he still didn't dare to relax, continuing to weave forward for several hundred more meters. Only when a car approached from behind did he suddenly block its path.

"Are you f***ing trying to die..." The driver was a blond youth, with a beautifully dressed woman beside him.

Zheng Zha said nothing more. He raised his submachine gun and fired a burst towards the roadside, then pointed the submachine gun at the youth and said, "Get out!"

The youth was surprisingly straightforward. Grabbing the woman, he jumped out of the car without a word. Zheng Zha hastily slid into the driver's seat. Just as he managed to hold Loli in front of him, the pa-pa sound of bullets impacting the car echoed from behind. With a shattering sound, a bullet pierced the car, smashing both the front and rear windshields.

Zheng Zha slammed on the accelerator, punching out the front windshield with his fist. Behind him, police sirens wailed. As the car gradually picked up speed, Zheng Zha finally had a chance to glance back. He almost had a heart attack at what he saw: at least a dozen police cars were desperately chasing him, and many people were firing handguns at him.

The blond youth and the beauty were stunned into silence. Only after the dozen or so police cars had passed did the young woman exclaim loudly, "Oh my god, a shootout! It's a shootout! So cool..."

The blond youth was about to chime in with his own exclamation when a gust of wind suddenly swept over them. They quickly looked up and saw three helicopters flying ahead along the road. The two were once again plunged into a state of stunned silence.

Zheng Zha's mind was highly focused, with no thoughts other than the road ahead. The car's speed increased, overtaking the occasional vehicles on the road. However, the police cars behind were also chasing frantically, giving him no chance to breathe. As he drove, the number of police cars behind him grew, and even more outrageously, Zheng Zha saw three helicopters tailing him from the sky.

"Damn it, is Chu Xuan really that important? To have so many people..."

Zheng Zha muttered to himself with a wry smile. Before he could finish, a sharp pa sound rang out, and his left hand suddenly stung. A bullet from a helicopter at an angle had pierced his left hand. For a moment, he couldn't even grip the steering wheel, and the car nearly crashed into the guardrail beside the road.

Zheng Zha gritted his teeth fiercely and clamped his left hand onto the steering wheel. Even though the metacarpals in his left hand were shattered, he could still control the direction. With his other hand, he held Loli tightly in his embrace, and his foot remained firmly on the accelerator.

The helicopters fired a few more shots, but at such high speeds, they couldn't hit their target. Moreover, they dared not shoot directly at the car's tires; at such speeds, if the car flipped, the occupants would surely die!

The car was getting closer and closer to the company building, so close that just one more turn would reveal the company's skyscraper. Before Zheng Zha could feel any excitement, a flash of white light appeared before him. The road was blocked by dozens of police cars, their searchlights illuminating the night with a blinding glare.

"Li'er..." Zheng Zha suddenly said softly.

"En?" Loli had been burying her head in Zheng Zha's chest, unable to see much. She let out a muffled hum.

"Li'er... we won't die, absolutely not! Whether in reality or in a Horror Movie... we will survive!"

"Ah!!!"

Zheng Zha lowered his head and frantically stomped on the accelerator, pushing the car's speed to its limit. Regardless of the police officers firing at the car body, it continued forward without stopping. With a deafening crash, the car smashed through three police cars and finally sped away. However, its speed finally began to decrease. The snipers in the helicopters immediately pulled their triggers. With a pa gunshot, the car's tire was finally hit. It swerved erratically for several kilometers before crashing headlong into the guardrail by the roadside.

Zheng Zha also slammed into the steering wheel, completely shattering it. His head was scraped by the sharp edges, causing a large gash that bled profusely. One or two seconds after the crash, his head cleared from the shock. Without a second thought, he grabbed the dagger and slashed at the car door.

The door was easily cut in two by the dagger. He then kicked it hard, sending the door flying over ten meters away. As the door flew past, a volley of gunfire erupted.

He didn't think twice. He slung Loli onto his back again, grabbed the submachine gun, and charged out. After firing a few bursts, he began to sprint madly towards the company. He could now see the company with his own eyes, only about a thousand meters away.

Meanwhile, at the Public Security Bureau, everyone was gathered around a group of researchers, watching them tap away on laptops. Suddenly, one researcher exclaimed, "Cracked it! The password is indeed Colonel Chu Xuan's personal password!"

Everyone crowded around. On the screen, Chu Xuan was speaking, while simultaneously, a printer connected to the laptop began printing design blueprints. No one paid attention to the blueprints; they were all staring, dumbfounded, at Chu Xuan on the screen. Only when the entire document had finished did they exchange eerie glances.

The researchers rushed to the printer, excitedly flipping through the design blueprints. One by one, they wore expressions of utter disbelief.

"It's, it's all real! Hahahaha, this is a stable hydrogen fusion reactor, hahahaha, damn it, a stable hydrogen fusion reactor..."

"Yes, it's all real! This is a Gauss long-range cannon! Sniff, Old Wang spent his whole life trying to complete this..."

"This is the ingredient list for a high-efficiency battery, hahaha, such a thing really exists, Old Li, you died too soon, sob..."

The people around watched the researchers laugh and cry, their own expressions growing increasingly strange. One of them shouted, "Damn it, hurry up and contact the front! Recall all pursuit personnel! No one is allowed to fire another shot... Yes, and also, come up with a good excuse to send the four elders back, right, and also..."

Zheng Zha had just run a hundred meters out of the car and climbed over a guardrail when a pa sound rang out from his left thigh. His entire thigh was instantly soaked in blood. He rolled to the ground, and then another bullet drilled into his right leg. Both legs lost their mobility almost simultaneously.

(Can't die... Can't die! I absolutely cannot die!)

Zheng Zha screamed wildly, pushing his internal force to its limit. That feeling of unlocking something returned, and the pain in both his thighs instantly vanished. Then, using his hands and legs, he crawled forward like a quadruped, his speed far exceeding that of a normal person running. Moreover, after unlocking his gene lock, his intuition for danger had increased severalfold. Each time, he dodged to the side just before the gunshots, his incredible speed and bizarre crawling posture shocking the snipers in the helicopters.

The company building was getting closer and closer, but the road ahead was a straight shot. Because the company's main gate was tightly shut, he would have to break through it to enter. This would require him to stop in front of the gate for one to two seconds, enough time for the snipers to shoot him in the head multiple times. He couldn't be sure if the snipers truly only wanted to capture him alive; such a risk couldn't be taken.

"Ah!!!"

Zheng Zha's eyes turned crimson. Due to the time constraint, he couldn't afford to worry about anything else. His right hand, gripping the dagger, trembled violently. His current forward speed was so fast he seemed to have turned into a black shadow. Just as he approached the company's main gate, he leaped up four meters high and swung the dagger with all his might at the gate. Instantly, the gate was cut through. At the same time, Zheng Zha felt a violent jolt.

The personnel in the helicopters were no longer just shocked; they felt fear. If you suddenly saw someone leap four meters into the air, no matter how strong your psychological fortitude, you would be shocked, even terrified. And they watched, wide-eyed, as Zheng Zha rolled into the company's interior. Only one of them fired a shot at Zheng Zha's back.

The moment Zheng Zha landed, he rolled and sprang up. Without a second thought, he ran towards the emergency stairwell. With his stamina, he wasn't afraid of such a short flight of stairs, and his speed didn't slow down at all.

"We succeeded, Li'er, we succeeded... We'll definitely survive, neither of us will... Li'er?"

As Zheng Zha ran, he suddenly noticed something was wrong with Loli behind him. He pulled her from his back, and his hand met a wetness. He stopped abruptly, only to discover that Loli's waist was covered in blood. It was an area the bulletproof vest hadn't covered. The bullet had entered her back and exited her stomach. As he held her, the bullet rolled out from between them and fell to the ground.