Boom!
Although the Mecha used by the European Tunnel Company wasnât equipped with military weapons, its core was up to military standards!
To prevent the situation from escalating, the European Tunnel Company sent a mechanized unit to Foxstone, which included a military Mechaâ
Even though local officials in Foxstone strictly limited the unitâs firepower, allowing only police-grade non-lethal weapons into the city, these strict measures were consistently enforced within the European Union.
That means, even if the Mecha was stripped of its rocket launcher and machine gun, nothing could penetrate the armor plating of the Mecha.
If a real riot occurred, the Mecha could crush a large group of rioters with just a leap!
But at this moment, Avinâs mind went blank: he knew the power of the flying steel accident, but he had never been in a frontline factory, and even with observations and training, he couldnât witness the accident scene. The flying steel accident a few days ago only made him detest such safety incidents.
But now itâs different, the steel bars shooting out of the furnace flew like missiles on the conveyor belt, slammed into the forge, and refracted out of the production line. The erupting flames and debris were as dazzling as the sun...
Thinking about it, Britain hasnât seen bright sunlight for a long time.
The bright sunlight instantly smashed through the Mecha upon impact!
Boom!
The security surrounding the Mecha couldnât react in timeâwho would have thought such a simple task could blow up a Mecha?!
In a stable society where even knives and tools must be registered piece by piece, and tanks are deployed at the worker dormitory doors, who would have thought a tank would be blown up?!
Avinâs mind was frozen, but not the workers. Carl indeed didnât expect Elliotâs operational methods to be effective, but they had all experienced the cyber psychosis incident, building some resistance to such events. More importantly, they were the instigators this time:
When the flying steel is caused by a cyber psychopath, they fear; but when they themselves control machines to create destruction, they think:
We truly are badass!
The black smoke within the factory became the workersâ best cover. Avin, who had never operated in such conditions, was choked to the point that his prosthetics were constantly issuing warnings, with red alert frames occupying most of his visionâ
Whatâs worse is the overload of the factoryâs electrical system! Though not causing a damaging EMP, it severely disrupted communications inside and outside!
So amidst the black smoke, the workers charged out of the smoke amid the chaos, while Avin struggled onward in the smoke:
The workers knew the flying steel was a one-off event, with the rest being furnace malfunctions accumulating energy, but he didnât know!
Despair began to grip Avinâs mind, as fear for the future suddenly broke through his defenses...
He started to panic!
...
Boom!
The explosion sound transmitted through the air, reaching the enhanced listening devices inside the vehicle. Silver Fox raised an eyebrow:
"Factory explosion..."
"Itâs now!" Elliotâs voice trembled, "Now! Charge!"
The gas pedals of three minivans were instantly floored, their violently aggressive operation seemingly audible through the clutchâs collision sound!
Elliot was pinned to the seat as he watched the vehicle exit the industrial zone, overtaking heavy trucks on the road, seeing towering buildings vanish before his eyes, replaced by vast dead spaces and ocean vistasâ
This was a familiar sight for him: every day commuting to and from work, what he saw while riding the tram.
Sometimes itâs sunrise, sometimes sunset, sometimes rain, sometimes wind...
Even the window was familiar: Elliot suddenly noticed the striking coincidence of them driving alongside a tram that just started.
This tram was the one he rode every day; it was also the one he took while dejectedly returning home in the morning.
But soon, the tram began to decelerate, starting to stop at the station...
The minivan didnât slow down!
Whoosh!
Traffic moved like orderly schools of fish following tides and ocean currents, driving according to the European Unionâs unified automatic driving standards and speed limits on the roads. The minivans were the unstable elements within this stable current!
They were frantically overtaking vehicles! Overtaking the tram, overtaking large trucks, overtaking small trucks...
Overtaking all orderly vehicles!
"Beep beepâ"
"How the hell are you driving!"
The other driversâ curses dissipated into the air along with wind and engine sounds, unable to catch up, as Elliot finally adapted to the ferocious speedâ
He was speeding!
"Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh ohâWeâre speeding!!!"
Elliot suddenly yelled, surprising Alina behind the wheel. She quickly laughed:
"Elliot! Youâre such a weirdo!"
"Why am I weird!"
"Weâre risking our lives! And you seem to enjoy it!"
"Yes!" Elliot nodded frantically with a flushed face, "I enjoy it! I...Iâve never sat in a car! Never driven!"
Elliot seemed unsatisfied after speaking, his lung intake component expanded violently against the wind, expanding his lungs to the maximum, stretching the materials filling the lung gaps to their limit!
The tearing pain from his lungs felt sharp, but the fierce air inflow and oxygen intake made his mind exceptionally clear and exhilarated:
"28 years! Iâve lived 28 damn years! Never once without sitting in damn, boring public transit!"
"Haha!" Alina laughed louder, retreating the seat back with one hand, "But you still havenât driven!"
"Youâre right...What are you doing!"
"You should drive!"
Alina pulled Elliot overâdespite the woman not having overly fortified her body, absent of extensive prosthetic enhancements, and even if Elliot felt he was a super fat person, he was still easily pulled over!
Amidst high-speed maneuvers, Elliotâs hands were pulled by Alina onto the steering wheel, his mind heated up again:
This time, he wasnât just speeding, he was driving, and...
And he was almost merging with Alina!
Amidst the wild wind, the noise from the factory riot grew increasingly clear, but Alinaâs voice was right by his ear: "Howâs it feel?!"
"Great! Amazing!!!!"
Elliot shouted back, his head soon "chilled" by Lille...
They were getting very close...
The factory gate was opening!
He saw the guy shielding him, Carl waving a hammer in his hand!
In the sky, countless drones belonging to the European Union were rushing in, coming to quell the riotâ
Drones captured this scene:
The slowly opening gate seemed to mark a divide; on one side were three minivans speeding against traffic and on the other was the black smoke-belching factory.
Behind the gate, the rioting workers waved tools, steel, or any industrial parts that might become their weapons, rushing towards the security wielding electric shock guns and water bullet machine guns.
Some fell from electric shocks, others were knocked out or injured by the water bullet rapid fire guns strong enough to shatter bricks, but they still persisted forward, opening a path under countless gun barrels.
This path wasnât long, but from high above it was very clear, clearly leading outside, to the first person out of the gate, hammer-wielding Carl.
One of his shoulders drooped powerlessly, his head was covered in blood, his face smudged black by smoke.
The securityâs formation had been scattered by the overwhelming and sudden charge, but after all, they were security. Over time, the standing workers would be gradually worn down from behind, even if Carl had penetrated the lines, he would eventually be pinned down...
This was a dead-end, so what if you rushed out of the factory gate? How would you traverse this old path youâve walked orderly for decades?
Not a single vehicle was usable.
Yet he was smiling: a dislocated shoulder didnât affect him raising and swinging the hammer with the other hand, the soot-blackened face didnât dull the brightness in his eyes or dim the shine of his teeth.
He smiled because those three upstream minivans were too conspicuous; in this orderly traffic, they were too conspicuous!
Seeing Carlâs honest smile, Elliot felt unexpectedly encouraged, gripping the steering wheel tighter, and Elliot even voluntarily stepped on the gas pedal!
"Smoke bomb!!! Cover them!"
"Roger, boss!"