Aerial Volley

Just as Luca was still pondering what those people hiding upstairs were planning to do, he suddenly noticed through his lenses that two figures on the third floor were pulling their arms back sharply, assuming the stance of baseball pitchers.

Although Luca could not see the objects in their hands through his thermal vision, he immediately deduced that the enemies were throwing grenades, and that the two grenades were aimed at himself and Dun Shan respectively.

In that critical moment, Luca shouted a decisive warning, signaling the others to take evasive action immediately.

However, he did not dodge himself; instead, he stepped back half a pace and roared.

"Baymax, hand!"

Luca then took two steps forward, rushed in front of Baymax, and leaped, planting one foot firmly onto Baymax's outstretched palm.

He gathered strength in his foot.

Electric arcs flickered incessantly across his red-and-white sneakers as he launched himself upward, his figure suddenly soaring six or seven meters into the air.

It was at that exact moment that the two grenades thrown by the enemies shattered through the windows, one to the left and one to the right.

The trajectory of one grenade placed it directly in front of Luca.

Suspended in mid-air, Luca did not hesitate.

Engaging his waist and leg muscles, he moved like an eagle spreading its wings.

He delivered a powerful volley kick.

"Bang!"

The moment Luca's instep made contact with the grenade, the projectile suddenly spun, accelerated, and changed direction.

It shot back rapidly, tracing the path back through the very window from which it had been thrown.

Immediately afterward, within Luca's line of sight, the grenade struck the ceiling of the third floor.

With a metallic "clink," it ricocheted off at a sharp angle and bounced back into the room.

"Ah! It's a grenade!"

"Watch out!!"

"Get down!"

Several panicked shouts erupted from inside the building.

But it was already too late.

The next moment, the rolling grenade hit the floor.

Then—

"BOOM—"

Two deafening roars overlapped.

The grenades inside and outside the building exploded simultaneously.

The massive shockwave from the explosion upstairs instantly shattered all the glass on the third floor, followed by a series of screams from within.

As for the grenade that exploded on the ground floor, Dun Shan and the others had received Luca's warning in time to find cover, so they suffered no injuries.

Even Luca, who was falling from the air, was far enough away that he only felt a faint wave of heat brush past his side.

In his thermal imaging view, watching the heat wave generated by his own kick, Luca felt his adrenaline surge sharply. His pupils glinted with excitement, and the corners of his mouth curled up involuntarily.

"Damn, that felt good!"

At that moment, a pair of large hands caught Luca steadily as he fell from the air.

Baymax's dark, round eyes reflected a look of profound confusion.

(●-●)

"Your behavior is highly likely to cause ankle sprains or strains. Although it seems to have effectively increased your neurotransmitter activity, I do not recommend you do this in the future."

Held by Baymax and feeling the sharp pain of the robot's armored hand against his back, Luca's excited gaze dimmed slightly, and he thought with a touch of annoyance:

Damn, I got too excited again. Every time it gets like this... I'm not some kind of war maniac!

Silently warning himself to be more cautious next time, Luca quickly flipped out of Baymax's arms and landed on the ground.

By then, the members of Inverted-A Squad, who had watched the entire scene unfold, all rushed out from their cover.

Shamira, who was the fastest, had completely forgotten about their mission objectives.

Before she even reached Luca, she shouted in an anxious tone:

"Young Master! That was far too dangerous! How could you!! Ahhh!!!"

Having rushed to Luca's side in a state of near-frantic urgency, Shamira wanted to scold him out of anger, but she couldn't bring herself to do it, and her frustration ultimately dissolved into a series of venting, wordless cries.

Now, Luca felt even more awkward and could only offer a soft, consoling reply.

"Sorry, it won't happen again."

As he spoke, Luca's eyes darted away.

In truth, both in his past life and his current one, Luca had always loathed degenerate gamblers.

Yet, looking back, every time he faced a crisis or needed to make a major decision, he liked to call it a spirit of struggle and adventure, but if he examined it closely, wasn't that just pure gambling?

The other three present, having witnessed the scene just now, reacted differently. While there was a flicker of surprise in Dun Shan's eyes, his face remained impassive.

Thresh seemed as if he wanted to say something, but after mumbling a few words, he simply turned his head away.

Only Green Bull, standing at the back, grinned widely and secretly gave Luca a thumbs-up.

This gesture, however, only made Luca feel even more awkward.

In the end, it was Dun Shan, the team leader, who broke the strange atmosphere by asking, "Young Master Luca, after that grenade just now, is the target on the third floor still alive?"

Hearing Dun Shan's question, Luca immediately put on a serious expression and reached up to press his [Recon Goggles].

But this time, after switching to the thermal imaging feed, the lenses were flooded with nothing but red light.

Even when Luca shifted his gaze to the third floor of the building, the red and orange hues were interspersed with patches of white glare.

Luca knew this was because the thermal imaging lens was overexposed due to the massive amount of infrared radiation in the air.

In such a situation, let alone confirming the results of the battle, keeping the thermal mode active was actually hindering his own vision.

It was just that...

"I've already got black-tech wallhacks, so why the hell do I still have to follow the laws of physics in a place like this?!"

Luca felt even more annoyed by his impulsive actions just now. He had no choice but to deactivate the thermal mode and shake his head helplessly at Dun Shan.

"I can't see the situation inside anymore."

Dun Shan didn't seem too surprised by this answer; he simply nodded calmly.

He was well aware of the drawbacks of thermal imaging, and he had only asked because Luca's "tech" had performed so impressively earlier, giving him a faint glimmer of hope.

"It seems we have no choice but to storm the building and check the results ourselves!"

"Wrench, Longbow! You two are responsible for perimeter security against any potential enemy reinforcements!"

"Copy that," they replied in unison.

In fact, this was a task the two had been keeping an eye on all along.

Dun Shan merely offered a reminder before continuing, "Wolf Spider, Green Bull! Follow me upstairs to confirm the target!"

After saying this, he turned to look at Thresh.

"How much ammo do you have left?"

"One last box of magazines," the bald, burly man muttered softly.

"Two hundred rounds? Thresh, return to the vehicle to resupply, and provide cover for Wrench. If any enemy reinforcements arrive, open fire immediately!"

"Understood, Captain." Thresh didn't waste any words; he clutched his light machine gun and jogged back toward the news van.

Finally, Dun Shan looked at Luca.

But before he could even speak, Luca quickly said, "I'm going with you. I'll have Baymax take the lead."

Dun Shan didn't refuse; he simply nodded and strode toward the building.