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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Zaped
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Cassandra floored the gas pedal, but Virginia wouldn’t let go.
Instead, she balled up her fist and began pounding on the truck.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
It was insane.
Despite wearing protective gloves, she was pounding on the armored plating with her bare hands.
Crack!
She managed to tear a piece of the armor off and turned her revolver on the bulletproof glass.
“Last warning. Stop the car!”
Her voice was low and menacing.
I raised my middle finger in response. Her violet eyes seemed to whirl.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
This crazy woman was pounding the bulletproof glass with her bare fists.
Even more shocking, the glass was starting to give.
Camilla and I braced ourselves against the glass.
Thankfully, it was sturdy and securely fastened.
Desperate, she pulled out her revolver.
Bang! The bulletproof glass shook violently.
Bang! Another shot created a spiderweb of cracks.
Bang! A bullet lodged in the glass.
She was so close I could see the cylinder of her revolver.
It must have been modified to hold an extra round.
Camilla and I aimed our guns at her.
Of course, our puny guns couldn’t penetrate the bulletproof glass, but it was a show of defiance.
“Shoot!” I taunted.
I pointed at my forehead and heart. “If you fire all your shots, you’ll be out of bullets. And if you break that glass, you’ll get hurt too.”
Virginia, her eyes lifeless, tapped her revolver on the glass.
She was aiming for Cassandra’s head.
Clearly, she didn’t care if she died as long as she took Cassandra with her.
“Stop the car! You can’t escape!”
With one hand aimed at us, she drew her other fist back, ready to shatter the glass.
If the glass broke, we had to act fast.
But with her speed and the power of that revolver, she could easily shoot Cassandra.
“You,” she said, her violet eyes fixed on me. “You’re that guy from Lambert, aren’t you? V.”
“You’ve got the wrong guy.”
“I’ve changed my mind.”
This woman was impossible.
Her revolver was now pointed at me.
“You’re five times more dangerous than Cassandra. Dead or alive, you’re coming with me.”
I aimed my gun at her violet eye.
It was a sure shot.
“Fire.”
She still aimed at me while simultaneously drawing her fist back to shatter the glass.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “I’m faster.”
Camilla whispered, “Don’t die, you two.”
Cassandra muttered, “Just… don’t die.”
Virginia’s fist was inches from the glass.
Suddenly, she stood up and aimed her gun away from us. She was trembling, but she didn’t fire.
“What the hell? Some kind of trick?”
It was a classic tactic.
Point guns at each other, then shout, “Look behind you!”
“Something’s on the overpass,” Cassandra said.
Thud! A grenade launcher fired.
Bang! Something landed on our truck and rolled into the trunk.
Hiss!
“A smoke grenade?”
A distorted voice shouted through a megaphone, “Magical! Smoking!”
The voice sounded familiar, but distorted.
Bang! Bang! Smoke grenades exploded all over the road, creating a colorful haze.
“Magical! Tear gas!”
Virginia pressed something on the truck.
The vehicle shuddered slightly. Then, she disappeared.
“Cough! Cough! Cassandra! Drive!”
Tear gas filled the car.
Camilla coughed and clung to me.
“Close your eyes. Don’t rub them. It’ll sting.”
“You, cough! You, okay! Cough, are you okay?”
“Cassandra’s fine.”
She seemed perfectly calm.
Not only was she driving, but she was also accelerating.
“Stop! Or I’ll use a magical grenade!”
Cassandra ignored her and drove onto the overpass.
She was even checking her phone, showing us a news broadcast.
A motorcycle was parked on the overpass.
A woman, dressed in a revealing black leather suit, was holding two grenade launchers.
She couldn’t hold them properly, so she rested them on the railing.
But her aim was surprisingly good.
“Cover your heads! You might get hurt!” the news anchor exclaimed excitedly.
The woman was wearing a strange mask, but her voice was familiar.
“That’s the pink princess mask! Elza’s favorite!” the anchor exclaimed.
The news showed the chaos on the road.
People were scrambling for the spilled jewels, coughing from the tear gas, and even trying to disarm each other.
Police motorcycles raced towards the overpass, but it was too late.
The woman fired the grenade launchers.
The grenades exploded, creating a diversion.
“Magical girl, out!”
The woman tossed the grenade launchers and jumped on a police motorcycle.
She sped away, leaving behind a trail of smoke.
“Drive!” Cassandra urged.
The truck roared off the overpass.
Cars and motorcycles followed, but the helicopter ignored them.
They were more interested in the enraged Virginia.
The sun was setting.
The police were nowhere to be seen.
We had left the city far behind.
My phone rang.
“Caesar, are you alone?” it was Letitia.
I signaled to Camilla and Cassandra to be quiet.
“Hello,” I answered.
“I’m sorry for bothering you. Can we video chat?”
Camilla gestured for me to put it on speaker.
I shook my head.
She grabbed my thigh and twisted.
I tried to stop her, but she grabbed my crotch.
I had no choice but to put it on speaker.
“No, I’m on the road right now, so it’s difficult.”
“Are you with anyone?”
“Yes, with a few people.”
“If you get a picture, can you look at it alone? I tried on a new outfit and wanted to show you.”
Camilla sighed, and Cassandra glared at me in the rearview mirror.
“Sure.”
The call ended, and a photo arrived.
She was wearing a pretty sky-blue dress, but her pose was…suggestive.
“She’s going to suck your phone dry,” Camilla grumbled.
“It’s not that big of a deal.”
I showed her the picture.
Camilla didn’t take my phone, but she frowned at the suggestive pose.
“What is she trying to do? Show off her butt?” she scoffed. “And why does she keep clinging to you like that? It’s annoying.”
“Don’t mind her. She’s just a client.”
Camilla huffed and slumped back in her seat.
Another message arrived.
“I have another picture. Do you want to see it? It’s a different outfit. Maybe you should look at this one alone.”
Another picture arrived.
It was a simple skirt and blouse. Nothing too revealing.
But something seemed off.
In this picture, she was also standing in front of a full-length mirror.
But this time, I noticed something on the sofa behind her.
A leather jacket was casually draped over the back.
It looked familiar.
It reminded me of the jacket worn by that strange man on the overpass.
I glanced at Camilla and Cassandra, who were both looking out the window.
I held down on the screen to save the image.
Filename: HostageSituationDe-escalationCooperation.jpg
What was this?
I checked the previous picture.
Filename: UrgentRetrievalRequestUSBMemory.jpg
She wanted me to cooperate and help her retrieve something?
Use a USB to communicate?
I finally understood.
Letitia thought I was being held hostage by Cassandra.
She was trying to send a message, telling me not to worry, that she would come and rescue me.
But Letitia was a military police officer.
Her actions on the overpass had hindered the police, not helped them.
If it weren’t for her, our escape might have been much more difficult.
Why was she sabotaging the police?
Or was she trying to use this situation to gain information?
Maybe she was trying to track the military’s movements through me.
I was wary, but I decided to keep in touch with her.
“I’ll contact you later. I’m fine. Don’t worry.”
The message went through, then the call ended.
“Done?” Camilla asked.
“Yeah.”
“What was it?”
“Nothing important.”
A sense of unease settled over me.
Then, I felt the familiar pang of hunger.
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