Chapter 8: Black Gun

As the sun dipped below the horizon, a battered off-road vehicle tore out of the dense jungle.

The middle-aged man in the front passenger seat glanced at the shattered rearview mirror and said gravely, “Miss, I’ll stay behind to stall them. You two go on ahead.”

In the backseat sat two individuals. On the left, a young woman with golden hair tied neatly back, dressed in a sharp suit.

On the right, a noble-looking girl in a mocha-colored school uniform that hugged her ample chest.

Her black pleated skirt revealed long, slender legs, and her beautiful face was clouded with worry.

“We can’t shake them?”

Her name was Lu Xiaona, daughter of a high-ranking official from the independent city of Neo-Aonan.

That morning, their group had departed from the nearby Arkde Independent City, en route back to Neo-Aonan.

Since the route was considered relatively safe and the cities weren’t far apart, she hadn’t brought along many escorts.

But unexpectedly, they’d been ambushed by an unknown armed force mid-journey.

Worse yet, the attackers weren’t just well-armed—they had more than one Awakened-level ability user.

The moment the two sides clashed, Lu Xiaona’s team was pushed into a disadvantage.

She had immediately ordered the driver to floor it, hoping to escape. But the pursuers were relentless, hounding them like mad dogs.

“Their anti-materiel weapons are no joke,” the driver reported. “This car won’t hold out much longer.”

Lu Xiaona clenched her fists. “If I’d known, I would’ve brought the 349-A. With that thing’s armor, we might’ve made it back in one piece.”

“You’re the one who said it looked ugly,” the driver said with a wry smile.

The man in the front—Chen En—shook his head. “Anyway, don’t worry about me. A-Li, keep going along the main road. You’ll reach the security checkpoint soon. Atlanta, protect the young miss.”

Atlanta nodded. “Unless I’m dead, no one will lay a finger on her.”

Chen En—full name confirmed—nodded. “You’re Awakened. I trust you to keep her safe.”

The Awakened were those who had crossed the threshold into the superhuman.

With exceptional physical capabilities and honed reflexes, they were walking war machines—terrifying one-person armies, widely considered beyond the realm of ordinary humans.

Lu Xiaona looked uneasy. “Uncle Chen, can you really handle them on your own?”

“Relax. This is nothing.”

But even as he spoke, Chen En’s expression darkened.

In the distance, two black armored vehicles surged through the trees. Bullets followed. The windshield spiderwebbed under the barrage—it wouldn’t last much longer.

They were surrounded.

“The enemy knows us too well,” A-Li said grimly.

Muffled thuds echoed from the bulletproof glass. Lu Xiaona’s already pale face turned even whiter. Her delicate hands clutched her skirt tightly. “Who… who are these people?”

“At first, I thought they were just bandits,” Chen En said. “But now… they’re clearly organized.”

“Then who sent them?” Lu Xiaona asked.

“I can’t say yet. Their equipment is standard—hard to trace. And your identity is… sensitive. Until we know their goal, it’s too early to speculate.”

Suddenly, gunfire slammed into the rear door.

They were gaining.

Driver A-Li swerved hard, trying to break through from the side.

Chen En narrowed his eyes, fingers tightening on his weapon. As the car drifted, he flung the door open and leapt out.

Inside, Atlanta turned to Lu Xiaona and said softly, “Mr. Chen served in the Department of Special Affairs. He never reached the Photonic Edge, but he came close. Don’t worry.”

Lu Xiaona took a deep breath. “I hope so…”

Suddenly—

BOOM!

A deafening explosion roared outside. Blinding fire lit the sky. The shockwave slammed into the vehicle and sent it tumbling.

“Now… she should be in our grasp.”

On a nearby hill, a squad of armed men stood around a high-tech turret. Their leader lowered his binoculars and smiled.

His job was to operate the Black Cannon—an illegal anti-vehicle weapon—and intercept the Neo-Aonan heiress before she could reach any backup.

Mission accomplished.

Amid the haze of fire and smoke, a loud bang came from the overturned vehicle.

The door was blown clean off.

Atlanta emerged, dragging a coughing Lu Xiaona, who was covering her mouth. A-Li scrambled out from the other side.

Once clear of the burning wreckage, Atlanta stepped in front of Lu Xiaona, shielding her with her body.

“Stay close to me,” she whispered, eyes fixed on an armored vehicle parked ahead.

A squad of soldiers in standard-issue combat gear emerged, rifles aimed.

At their center stood a man in a leather jacket, casually flipping a short alloy blade. He carried no gun, yet exuded far more danger than the rest.

An Awakened.

Though he hadn’t moved, Atlanta knew. The pressure radiating off him made it clear—he was the strongest in the group.

“Pleasure to meet you, Miss Lu,” the man said, stopping his blade twirl and flashing a refined smile. But his gaze was invasive—almost lewd.

Lu Xiaona stifled her disgust and forced herself to speak calmly. “Who are you people?”

“Allow me to introduce myself. You can call me Mr. Z—or Mr. A, Mr. B, whatever. It’s just a codename. Pure convenience.”

He smiled. “As for who we are—mercenaries? Assassins? Does it matter? What you need to know is that for the foreseeable future, we’ll be taking care of your meals and accommodations. Until—”

Before he could finish—

FLASH!

A flashbang exploded right in front of him.

Blinding light swallowed his vision.

At that exact moment, two gunshots rang out.

One bullet flew straight toward Mr. Z. He sidestepped instinctively.

The second struck a nearby soldier in the forehead. Blood splattered as he crumpled.

Mr. Z had no time to think. He raised his blade just in time to parry the deadly strike that followed out of the light.

Clang!

Atlanta burst forward, one hand holding a pistol, the other a short sword—pinning him in place.

At the Awakened level, combatants possessed superhuman reflexes and dynamic vision, reacting within tenths of a second. What looked like a simple pull of the trigger could be seen, read, and dodged.

That’s how Mr. Z had avoided her first shot.

Now, facing the deadly calm of Atlanta, Mr. Z narrowed his eyes.

He hadn’t expected her to sneak in a flashbang at that distance.

If word got out, it would be a stain on his professional record.

The surrounding soldiers snapped out of their daze and raised their rifles.

Mr. Z barked, “This one’s mine. The rest of you—go after the target! I want her alive!”

******

This was the hardest Lu Xiaona had ever run in her life.

And the most terrifying.

One wrong step, and she’d be caught—no better than a fish on a chopping block.

Maybe she’d be used to threaten her father, the Vice-Governor of Neo-Aonan.

Or maybe she’d be sold on the black market as a “noble heiress,” reduced to someone’s plaything…

The horrifying thoughts tore at her mind. Gunfire echoed behind her, urging her onward.

Even as her throat burned, even as pain stabbed through her side, even as her lungs screamed and her legs cramped—

She ran.

But in the end, she was still just a pampered heiress.

Even if she was lucky enough to be a minor ability user, she was only Aberrant-level—barely a novice.

Against trained, heavily armed soldiers, she didn’t stand a chance.

If she survived this, she swore she’d never slack off again.
Never ignore her father’s warnings again…

Bang!

A gunshot rang out.

A bullet tore through her calf, and the searing pain knocked her off balance.

She crashed to the ground.

For the first time, she dared to look back.

The first thing she saw was A-Li—lying motionless in a pool of blood.

Then five soldiers in full combat gear approaching her.

Pain. Fear. Panic. Guilt. Grief.

All these emotions surged inside her, and tears streamed down her cheeks.

A-Li was dead.

Uncle Chen. Atlanta. Where were they?

Were they still fighting?

Or had they already fallen?

She didn’t want to be captured.

But right now—who could save her?

And then—

Bang!

Another gunshot.

The nearest soldier to Lu Xiaona clutched his chest, a bullet having punched straight through. He stared down at the wound in disbelief, then collapsed.

Lu Xiaona froze.

The remaining enemies spun around, weapons raised in alarm.

A thousand thoughts flashed through her mind.

Who fired that shot?

Uncle Chen?

Or…