“Are they really chasing us?”

The driver said something unbelievably stupid.

Despair deepened in my chest.

“Of course they are!”

“I mean—maybe it’s just some road rivalry thing?”

Even with the accelerator floored, the Ferrari was steadily closing in, and he was still talking nonsense.

I suppressed the urge to grab his shoulders and shake him. That wouldn’t improve the situation at all.

Besides.

He’d figure it out soon enough.

VROOOOOM!

Ami must be in the sky.

My thoughts raced.

Then suddenly, a fundamental question struck me. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

What exactly are the seniors planning to do if they catch me?

Did Ska or Yehyeon fail to properly explain the Elder situation?

But Yun wouldn’t be unaware.

Or do they just want to see that I’m alive?

Maybe they just want to grab me and vent their anger over what I did.

If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be simpler to let them catch me, show my face only to them, then go back to work?

I hadn’t reacted rationally earlier because I’d witnessed such a shocking sight from my shooter.

But thinking about it now—I have too much to do.

I can’t just let myself get caught and sit around.

Bang!

“What the hell?!”

Ah.

Lost in thought, I heard a massive impact on the roof.

The car shuddered violently. The driver screamed. I clenched my teeth.

Ami.

“Did she throw a grenade?!”

“No.”

She landed on the roof.

“Then what—?!”

There’s no outrunning the fastest senior Black Badger.

But she’s the light and salt of the Badgers.

Watching the road blur past, I clung to a faint hope.

Maybe she’ll just greet me and let me go—

CRASH!

The car roof was pierced.

A blade like a skate runner punched into view.

“AAAAH!”

The driver shrieked.

I tilted my head back.

Ami!

Scrrrrk—scrrrrk—scrrrrk.

I couldn’t let my voice out, so I screamed internally.

I didn’t think you’d go this far!

The light and salt of my life...

Should I have left her a clearer message before coming?

What do I do?

The skate blade on her boot slowly sliced through the roof.

I couldn’t just throw her off.

If it had been Yun, I could’ve knocked him aside without hesitation and escaped.

But Ami?

No way.

Screeeech!

The driver slammed the brakes.

My body flew forward. I grabbed the glove compartment just in time to avoid smashing into the dashboard. If my wrists weren’t sturdier than most, one would’ve shattered.

“Aaah!”

At the same time, Ami’s blade caught, and she was flung forward.

“Gah!”

Screeeech!

Behind us, the Ferrari braked.

THUD!

But it didn’t simply stop.

It veered off the asphalt, tore across a dirt path, spun in a flawless arc, and came to a halt facing us.

It even caught Ami in its open back seat.

“That bastard’s good.”

The driver let out a hollow laugh.

Honk. Honk.

Kairos sounded the horn like a greeting.

The driver was skilled to choose to stop like that.

But an F1 champion was on another level.

Through the windshield, I saw Kairos lift one corner of his mouth before letting it fall.

Ha...

I ran my fingers over the machete, weighing my options.

I hadn’t expected to be caught this fast.

But I wasn’t surprised.

Should I just surrender and pay my dues?

I’m not entirely sure what I’d have to do to make them give up and let me die socially.

“We lost this fast, so maybe that’s the best—”

“Lost?”

The driver caught my mutter.

“Who said we lost?”

Huh?

VROOOOOM!

He floored it again.

He yanked the wheel and swerved into the opposite lane.

HOOONK!

An oncoming sedan blared its horn.

This bastard saw the car coming and accelerated on purpose.

So Kairos couldn’t follow immediately.

A move only someone unconcerned with civilians would dare.

The driver dodged the oncoming vehicle at a ridiculous angle, made a wide arc, drove against traffic, then swung around behind the Ferrari.

“Haha!”

He shouted.

“That’s the difference experience makes!”

Screeeeeee!

The Ferrari pivoted instantly.

Its tires screamed, and high beams flooded the rearview mirror again.

Lights blazing like a beast’s eyes.

Vrooom, vrooom!

The two motorcycles closed in.

They flanked our rear wheels.

In the side mirror, I saw them clearly.

Black helmets—but I’d seen the seniors on patrol enough times to recognize them just from how they rode.

Ricardo and Jonathan.

“What are these bikes?”

The driver muttered while cutting a sharp corner.

“Definitely not cops.”

“Go to the bridge.”

The Ferrari surged again.

I watched it rapidly close in.

“Jump into the water!”

“Are you insane?! You want to die?!”

“Then take a narrow road!”

If there’s space to overtake like this, it’ll end quickly.

And now Ricardo and Jonathan were drawing guns.

Riding tight alongside us at full speed while smoothly drawing their weapons with one hand.

Pure terror.

What exactly are you planning to use those for?!

If they shoot the tires at this speed, the car will spin unpredictably and flip.

They wouldn’t endanger civilians like # Nоvеlight # that.

Right?

...They’re not shooting at me, are they?

Or the driver—

Bang!

Jonathan fired, shattering the side mirror.

Bang!

Ricardo blew off the opposite mirror.

Jonathan’s muzzle shifted toward the fuel cap.

Ricardo aimed at the passenger window.

You’ve got to be kidding me.

As I stared in disbelief, the driver slammed the brakes again.

Screeeech!

The motorcycles braked too.

But a small gap formed.

The driver seized that instant.

He whipped the wheel hard right and left the main road.

The car tore across a grassy field.

“They won’t follow—too precious about that ride!”

The driver babbled.

“The undercarriage’ll get shredded!”

For an off-road vehicle, his choice wasn’t wrong.

If the opponent hadn’t been Jack Black, it might’ve worked.

But the Ferrari accelerated even harder.

VROOOOOM!

It tore across the unpaved ground like a madman and overtook us effortlessly.

It drifted ahead again.

But this time it didn’t stop directly in front of us.

No tire screech on asphalt.

Instead—

It kicked up a colossal cloud of dirt.

A dense sand fog swallowing our vision.

“What’s this supposed to—?!”

The driver shouted.

Visibility dropped to zero.

The car accelerated blindly.

Vroooooom!

Is this really safe?!

Vroooooom!

We couldn’t see ahead.

Kairos wasn’t directly pursuing.

Meaning they’d set something else up—

The dust glittered.

Something mixed into the sand.

“Brake!”

I grabbed the driver’s shoulder.

“Hit the brakes!!”

Too late.

Pop-pop-pop-pop!

The tires rolled over small, sharp, shape-shifting devices scattered across the ground.

A strange compressed-air bursting sound filled my ears.

Then the car began dancing wildly.

The driver cursed.

I slumped back, almost impressed by how systematic the seniors’ pursuit had been.

Should’ve surrendered earlier.

This must’ve been Yehyeon’s arrangement.

Yun cast the bait.

Ami and Yehyeon closed in.

Ricardo and Jonathan flanked.

Kairos sealed it.

There was never an escape.

Well.

If I’d asked Lee Seunghyun or Igor for help, maybe I could’ve gotten away.

If I’d drawn my sword seriously, I might’ve managed alone.

But I’d already made up my mind.

Lee Seunghyun and Igor are busy enough as it is.

An earbud was already in one ear.

But I hadn’t contacted them.

Because there was something more urgent than requesting escape support—

[Commander.]

The car spun and finally stopped without flipping.

Igor’s voice came through.

[I have something to report.]

Hiss...

The car fell still.

Beep—beep—beep!

The motorcycles stopped beside us, alarms blaring from their phones.

Beep—beep—beep!

[Hilde. Reporting.]

As I straightened in the passenger seat to respond to Igor, Lee Seunghyun’s voice cut in.

[This was just decided.]

Silence settled heavily.

I didn’t move.

Neither did the seniors surrounding the disabled car.

I sat there, expressionless, listening to their report.

The news was delivered in clean, precise language.

Even after they finished, I said nothing for a long time.

The driver, who’d slammed his head against the wheel, finally lifted it.

“What the hell...”

Only then did I move.

I opened the passenger door and stepped out.

They’d formed a circle around the vehicle.

Some looked at their phones.

Others stared at me from a slight distance.

Yehyeon stood at the front.

Jonathan and Ricardo were still astride their bikes.

Behind us, Kairos and Ami sat in the Ferrari.

None of them moved.

They were all staring at me.

They must’ve heard.

The news that froze even those who’d been grinding their teeth while chasing me.

I didn’t show my face.

Balaclava still on.

Night-vision goggles still down.

Gloves and boots untouched.

And yet I could feel that they recognized me.

That they had given up trying to hold me here.

A few minutes earlier—

Hesh Lyle’s father passed away.

The exemplary soldier I’d met years ago was shot dead by a burglar who broke into his home.

Luke Lyle, the rookie Badger sleeping in the same building, disappeared.

No signs of struggle.

As if he’d deserted to hunt down his father’s killer.

And—

Just minutes ago, a new Supreme Commander of the Black Badgers had been appointed.

A government decision.

“Motorcycle.”

My voice was low.

“May I borrow one?”

The silence tightened.

Yehyeon looked at me with a complicated expression, then lowered his gaze sorrowfully.

Jonathan started to speak, but Ricardo raised a hand to stop him.

I couldn’t see Ami or Kairos clearly.

Ricardo removed his helmet.

He dismounted and walked the bike over to me.

Without a word.

I took the handlebars.

“Thank you.”

Hesh’s father died because of me.

The new Supreme Commander Colton forced into position will bind the seniors with orders.

Bind them.

If we’re lucky.

Hopefully he doesn’t send them to their deaths.

“Wear the helmet.”

Ricardo said.

For the first time since hearing the news, I let out a short, hollow laugh.

Without turning, I raised a hand and refused.

“Thank you for lending me the ride.”

“Fifth.”

Yehyeon suddenly spoke urgently.

“It’s the fifth. You understand.”

So the Core losing resources is Core 5.

I nodded faintly.

But I didn’t have the mood to show the gratitude or composure he probably wanted.

I have to go.

When I left Lin’s flat—

“Be careful.”

I wanted to say it brightly.

But I couldn’t.

The voice that came out of my mouth sounded cold, even to me.

VROOOOOM!

No time to talk.

No time to apologize.

Without looking back, I sped off on the motorcycle toward Lin’s flat.