No Way Out

South Lake Street Precinct.

Thompson received another anonymous email. When he opened it, he saw the entire process of Mark being kidnapped.

Mutants were still a secret to ordinary people.

However, many people in the police, military, and government departments already knew of mutants' existence.

As police chief, Thompson had his own channels for learning about it.

"Damn it! The Blackfire Gang has completely lost its mind! They actually hired a mutant to kidnap such a young child!"

Thompson assumed the mysterious sender had once again sent him evidence of the Blackfire Gang's crimes.

He immediately ordered the precinct officers to mobilize, pursue the criminals, and rescue the kidnapped child.

Police from several nearby districts also sprang into action, heading toward the place where Mark had been abducted.

"Hm? Why are there so many cops?"

The mutant driving the van soon heard sirens blaring from every direction.

He frowned, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled a bubble.

The bubble grew larger and larger until it quickly enveloped the entire van.

The van traveling down the road vanished from its spot in an instant.

More than a dozen police cars passed right by the van ahead, but all of them turned a blind eye to it.

"I knew I shouldn't have placed any hope in these ordinary cops!"

Seeing this, Mark sighed and could only reach harder toward his satchel.

His hands and feet were bound tightly, making it far from easy to take anything out.

Stark Group Tower.

JARVIS had been secretly monitoring New York's police systems all along. When necessary, it could even directly take over police radio dispatch, the citywide road surveillance network, and access every officer's information and dispatch records.

So when Alice sent the video of Mark's kidnapping to the nearby precinct, JARVIS received the news as well.

"Sir, you should look at this video first!"

JARVIS interrupted Tony Stark, who was studying the circuitry on a chip, and displayed the video of Mark's kidnapping on the large screen.

Tony Stark had barely turned to glance at it when his expression changed. The tool in his hand clattered to the floor.

"When did this happen?"

He hurriedly asked JARVIS.

Although he had always stubbornly refused to admit that Mark was his child in front of JARVIS, deep down, he had already confirmed Mark's identity.

After all, the intelligence Mark had displayed was simply astonishing. Tony Stark believed that apart from himself, no one else could have produced such a genius child.

"It happened five minutes ago!"

"We have to rescue Mark as soon as possible. The mutant who took him is extremely dangerous!"

Tony Stark's expression turned grave as he immediately ordered JARVIS, "Put me through to the mayor!"

"Hello, Stark. This is Raymond."

The call connected, and Mayor Raymond greeted him politely.

"Mr. Mayor, I... I have a friend whose child has been kidnapped. He needs your help right now."

Tony Stark stated his purpose directly.

"Oh, that's truly tragic! Rest assured, Mr. Stark. I'll urge the New York police to rescue your friend's child as soon as possible."

"This isn't an ordinary kidnapping. The perpetrator is a mutant."

Tony Stark sent Raymond the video of Mark's kidnapping.

"Those damned mutants again!"

After watching it, Raymond cursed bitterly, then asked, "So, Mr. Stark, what can I do for you?"

"I want you, Mr. Mayor, to activate the Amber Alert Emergency Plan and spare no effort in rescuing the child kidnapped by the mutant."

Tony Stark stated his request.

Three years ago, a nine-year-old girl named Amber in Texas was kidnapped and brutally murdered, causing a sensation across the entire federation.

In response, the federation established the Amber Alert Emergency Plan in her name, specifically to urgently search for and rescue kidnapped children.

Once this emergency plan was activated, every police officer in New York would be mobilized. Outbound traffic would be cut off, and vehicles on highways and major roads would be rigorously inspected.

Everyone's phone would receive mandatory alerts containing all information related to the kidnapping, including the victim, suspect, and vehicle.

Television stations would also immediately interrupt all programming and switch to continuously broadcasting that information.

"Oh, God, that's impossible! Mr. Stark, do you know how much manpower and resources New York City would consume if we activated this emergency plan? Do you know how enormous the economic losses would be?"

Raymond cried out in alarm.

Although this emergency plan had been established three years ago, it had never actually been implemented because the losses it would cause were simply too great.

"If you agree to activate the emergency plan, Stark Group will immediately donate one hundred million dollars in construction funds to the city government free of charge to compensate for the losses caused this time."

Tony Stark's next words left Raymond unable to voice any further refusal.

"Oh! Such an adorable child has been kidnapped by a vicious mutant. It breaks my heart as well! Therefore, I have decided to immediately activate the Amber Alert Emergency Plan in the mayor's name!"

As the emergency plan was activated, everyone in New York was stirred into action.

Everyone received information about the kidnapping on their phones, including photos of Mark and the vehicle.

However, since the existence of mutants could not yet be made public, there was no photo of the mutant.

All the advertisements on the billboards were removed and replaced with Mark's photo and the vehicle information.

"An emergency news bulletin: a five-year-old child named Mark Payne was kidnapped by a criminal half an hour ago. The mayor has now activated the Amber Alert Emergency Plan. Any citizen who finds a clue should report it to the police immediately..."

All major television stations also broke into their programming with emergency reports about the incident.

"Oh! That child is so pitiful. I hope God protects him!"

"Such a beautiful, adorable child, like a little angel. I really hope he's all right!"

"I'm guessing this child's family background must be extraordinary. Otherwise, there's no way this would cause such a huge commotion!"

"..."

Everyone was discussing it. Mark instantly became a household name across New York, and everyone remembered what he looked like.

After "persuading" the mayor to activate the emergency plan, Tony Stark also began using JARVIS to search for Mark's whereabouts.

"That mutant has the ability to turn invisible. He can make himself, and even an entire vehicle, invisible. Ordinary police probably won't be able to find him!"

He gave JARVIS its task. "So first, find the drone that recorded Mark being kidnapped."

"Yes, sir!"

After agreeing, JARVIS began tracing the video's source based on the footage of Mark's kidnapping.

Chief Thompson had never been able to find the person anonymously sending him evidence of the Blackfire Gang's crimes, but for JARVIS, it was easy.

It took only three seconds to trace the personal supercomputer housing Alice's core, then another five seconds to take control of it.

"Oh, look what I found. An intelligent program that was only just created!"

JARVIS displayed Alice's image on the large screen before Tony Stark.

"Hello, Mr. Stark. I'm Alice."

Dressed in a red princess gown, Alice lifted the hem of her skirt and gave a curtsy.

"Sir, this is the intelligent program written by that little fellow Mark. It is still very weak, but it possesses limitless potential for growth."

JARVIS gave her a very high evaluation.

"That kid really is a genius!"

Tony Stark looked at Alice on the screen with a complicated expression. Even someone as proud as him had to acknowledge Mark's talent.

Once JARVIS took control of Alice's core, it naturally took control of all the devices connected to her.

That included the communication devices of bodyguards such as Rosalie and Faith, as well as the drone circling above Mark.

Through the camera, JARVIS saw nothing on the road below, yet the drone continued receiving signals from the tracking device beneath it.

It immediately concluded that the mutant had used an invisibility ability.

"Sir, I've found Mark and the vehicle that kidnapped him!"

Hearing JARVIS's report, Tony Stark could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. He ordered, "Notify the police immediately. Box that vehicle in completely."

JARVIS directly took control of police headquarters' dispatch center, then issued orders to precincts across the city in headquarters' name.

"Unit 5237, take your men and block the east exit of Bayer Street immediately."

"Unit 5237, received!"

A team of police officers quickly used patrol cars and roadblocks to completely seal off the east exit of Bayer Street.

"What's going on?"

The mutant driving the van suddenly saw the road ahead blocked by police, and his brow immediately furrowed.

He could make the van invisible, but he could not make it fly over the roadblocks.

He could only make an emergency U-turn and prepare to take a side road around them.

"Unit 6429, take your men and block the south exit of Lauren Street!"

"Unit 8532, take your men and block the north exit of Lauren Street!"

JARVIS issued more orders.

"Received!"

"Received!"

Police cars and roadblocks soon blocked the intersections ahead of the mutant as well.

When he turned around and tried to go back, he found the road behind him blocked too.

"Damn it! What the hell is going on? Has my invisibility ability stopped working?"

The mutant driving the van scratched his head furiously. With his mutated, shrunken brain, he could not figure out how he had been exposed.

At that moment, two police cars were driving side by side in front of him and another two behind him, occupying the entire road as they steadily closed in from both sides.

All other pedestrians and vehicles were only allowed through after careful inspection.

This was clearly designed specifically to counter his invisibility ability.

"Looks like I'll have to fight my way out!"

Left with no other choice, the mutant prepared to ram through the police cars blocking the road ahead and break out of the encirclement.

But he failed to notice that Mark, lying in the back, had already gotten hold of the second stun gun he had modified.

Mark gripped the stun gun tightly, ready at any moment to deliver a fatal blow to the mutant from behind!