Vroom—
The engine roared deafeningly.
Tires screeched against the ground, throwing up thick white smoke.
The smell of burnt rubber mixed with lingering gunpowder smoke churned in the van, filling everyone's noses and mouths.
The moment the gear stick was shoved into place...
A large, armored mechanical hand shot out from inside the van, grabbing Shield Mountain's arm.
Along with Thresh, who had just emptied his magazine, the two were forcibly dragged into the van.
Next instant.
BOOM—
The suppressed engine of the plain-looking news van finally broke free, letting out a beastly roar.
The entire vehicle shot out like an arrow from a bow, the engine's roar exploding in the dead of night.
The chassis skimmed the ground, and the airwave kicked up dust, leaving it far behind.
Shamila and Green Bull, clinging tightly to the handrails inside, flanked the rear opening, ignoring the risk of being thrown out.
They raised their guns one-handed and pulled the triggers frantically, spraying bullets at the vehicles close behind.
It wasn't just Luca's team attacking.
The gang thugs chasing in vehicles behind were also firing back.
However, the shooting skills of these ragtag thugs while speeding were clearly less lethal than their foul-mouthed curses.
From the three closest pickup trucks, seven or eight people fired simultaneously.
Yet, fewer than a handful of bullets actually hit the news van.
Even so, to prevent teammates from being hit by stray bullets, Shield Mountain, who had fallen inside and hadn't gotten up yet, roared at Wrench driving in front.
"Wrench, Shields 1 and 2!"
Hearing this, Wrench, focused on driving, switched to holding the steering wheel with one hand and double-tapped a button on the dashboard with the other.
The next moment, at the rear of the cabin, two black metal plates extended simultaneously from the roof and floor, shielding most of the rear opening.
Only a few observation windows and firing ports with good visibility remained.
Just as the two shields locked into place, two clang clang sounds of bullets hitting metal rang out from outside.
This made even the battle-hardened Thresh break into a cold sweat.
He was the person closest to the opening. If the shields had risen half a beat slower, those two bullets would likely have hit him.
But at the same moment the enemy's bullets hit...
The tire of one of the three closest pickups behind them suddenly blew out.
The speeding vehicle swerved sideways, crashing into the pickup running parallel to it and knocking both off the main road.
Under the immense impact, the unprotected thugs standing on the two pickups were flung out instantly.
Judging by their tumbling postures upon landing, they were clearly done for.
However, as these two vehicles crashed out of the chase, more pursuers immediately filled the gap from behind.
"Haha~ Wolf Spider, did you hit that? Nice shot!"
Knowing he hadn't shot the tire, Green Bull laughed and praised Shamila.
But Shamila shook her head quickly.
No need for her to speak; the voice in the headset gave the answer.
"It was me." Longbow's icy voice seemed to cool down the heated chase.
"That was the last shot. You're out of range. I'm extracting!"
"Copy. Stay safe during extraction," Shield Mountain said, having just gotten up.
Having spoken unusually many words, Longbow immediately cut off voice comms after hearing Shield Mountain's confirmation. He dismantled his rifle, Nikon tripod, director's chair, and other items one by one, packing them neatly into his "cello case."
Actually, if Longbow had been equipped with a heavy anti-materiel sniper rifle like a Barrett or KSVK instead of preparing for concealed urban night sniping, he could have done much more.
Of course, blowing out the tire of a speeding vehicle from 500 meters away and causing two pickups to flip was enough to prove his skill.
Watching the fires still burning in the distance, Longbow's expression remained unchanged.
Warriors must break through the siege with glory, while I walk alone in the dark night!
...
Well, leaving the solitary retreating Longbow aside, back to the news van.
Although Longbow's last shot took out two enemy vehicles, more pursuit cars surged forward like a tide.
Shield Mountain, having finished reloading, patted Green Bull on the shoulder to take over his firing port, shouting orders to be heard over the continuous gunfire.
"Green Bull, prep explosives! Thresh! Forget magazines! Use the ammo belt!"
"Wrench, watch the intersections ahead. This is Hell's Kitchen; someone could intercept us from the front at any time!"
After roaring, Shield Mountain fired another three-round burst.
However, perhaps because several vehicles had been blown up and flipped earlier, the pursuers behind had learned their lesson. They were swerving erratically.
While this slowed their pursuit, it also significantly reduced the hit rate for Shield Mountain and the others.
At this moment, Wrench, who was driving, noticed a convoy of jeeps speeding towards them from a distance in his vision. He roared immediately.
"Turning! Hold on tight!"
After shouting, Wrench didn't have time to check if his teammates heard clearly.
He floored the gas until reaching the intersection, then tapped the brakes repeatedly.
Simultaneously, he cranked the steering wheel hard.
The news van carved a huge arc at the intersection, successfully turning.
The vehicle tilted to nearly 45 degrees, the right wheels completely airborne, with only the two left tires grinding violently against the ground.
Then, with a clang, the left side of the van hit a streetlamp post, which knocked it back upright.
With a thud, all four wheels landed, and Wrench floored the gas to continue forward.
The people inside were tossed around violently by the lift and drop.
Fortunately, thanks to Wrench's timely warning, the worst-case scenario of accidental discharge didn't happen.
Inside the cabin, Baymax, who had been holding onto the machine gun turret without letting go, noticed everyone stumbling and about to fall.
It immediately reached out to support Luca and Green Bull, who was closest, admonishing gently.
"Be careful. You could easily bruise yourselves like this~" (●—●)
While speaking, Baymax extended its deflated palm and sprayed some antiseptic spray on Green Bull, who had somehow gotten a few scrapes.
However, while the news van was slightly chaotic but returned to steady driving...
The pursuit cars behind weren't so lucky.