IMAO Chapter 97

“Get in the car!” The woman anxiously looked up at the sky, watching the city erupt in sporadic explosions. She bit her lip and muttered, “I’ll drive you there. The place is where I work, not far from here… Let’s hope we’re lucky enough not to run into any mechas or warships, or we’re dead…”

Jiang Yuan followed her gaze, his eyes also filled with worry. Even with a hover car, they’d still have difficulty getting to the mecha without entering the northern district. Any stray bullet could kill them instantly.

“I’ll drive,” Jiang Yuan had barely finished speaking when an explosion went off nearby. Two mechas exchanged fire in the air, their stray shots creating deep craters in the ground.

The child next to the woman burst into tears from the explosion.

The woman hugged her child to comfort him. The hover car had an auto-navigation system that could avoid other vehicles in the air after setting the destination. But now they needed to dodge bombs, not just other vehicles. After just a few seconds of consideration, she made her decision – getting out to give up the driver’s seat.

The woman sat in the back with her crying child, leaving the front seats to Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong.

The two of them got into the car, and Jiang Yuan immediately started the engine, lifting the hover car into the air. He carefully maneuvered around the area where the two mechas were fighting.

After they finally got away from the mechas, Jiang Yuan let out a relieved breath and raised the hover car’s altitude for high-speed flight. He didn’t dare go too high. He didn’t want to attract attention from the surrounding warships and mechas.

Fortunately, although they were airborne, they were still quite far from the northern district. The mechas and warships in the air were too busy chasing their own targets to pay attention to their tiny hover car.

After giving directions to the two strange young men, Aina held her crying child. Since the war broke out, she’d been hiding with her child, then watched her husband get shot when he came to rescue them. Her mind was in chaos, and she had no time to think.

What was the deal with these black warships? Where did they come from?

Based on Aina’s information, Jiang Yuan quickly confirmed the location, which was an office building not far from here.

Keeping mechas in an office building?

…Thinking back to the jump ship he saw earlier, Jiang Yuan figured it wasn’t impossible. After all, the rich folks in North Mali were hard to understand.

This building belonged to Aina’s boss’s company. Her boss was a mecha fanatic. Although he did not pilot them himself, he collected different mechas from various countries. Two of these mechas were even displayed in the company lobby!

Jiang Yuan silently prayed the building hadn’t been destroyed by stray shots.

As they sped up, getting closer to their destination, the roar of engines grew louder. Jiang Yuan instinctively looked up.

Two mechas were fighting, rapidly approaching their position!

The mechas traded blows, sparks flying as they collided.

Inside the white mecha’s cockpit, Tonis was desperate to shake off his pursuer. He was a guard for North Rio’s wealthy merchant Akasto. When the war started, Akasto’s residence was bombed, but since the mechas were stored in the basement, they weren’t seriously damaged. After the first wave of bombing ended, he and the other guards piloted the mechas to protect and escort Mr. Akasto to safety.

But clearly, the rich boss’s luck had run out. Their guard team had just been scattered. Unlike what they’d expected, this ragtag army was well-trained, not just some hastily assembled mob. Despite using different mechas, their teamwork was perfect, showing an unspoken understanding between them. They acted more like a real army than their guard team did.

Now he just wanted to get out of this hellhole alive.

“Damn it, where did these guys come from?”

“Fuck!” Tonis cursed, glancing at the mecha on his tail. Checking his instruments, he saw he still had plenty of scatter shots left. If he fired them all, he should be able to shake off the guy behind him. Making his decision, Tonis gave the command immediately.

“Warning—”

Before the mecha could finish its warning, Tonis confirmed the command. He knew there were still people in the buildings below, and a 360-degree scatter shot would not only hit the black bulk following him but also indiscriminately blast the buildings and people below, but…

Not his problem!

The moment the command was given, fifty holes opened up across the mecha’s body, releasing a rain of scatter shots in all directions, filling the sky!

Ji Rong caught sight of the bombs suddenly shooting out from the white mecha’s body and his breath hitched. He shouted urgently, “Jiang Yuan—”

At the same time, he instinctively lunged toward the driver’s seat…

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

“Ah!”

“Ahhhhh—”

Aina clutched her child tightly, her eyes filled with despair. Stray shots were hitting the buildings around them, making them collapse one after another. There was no way to dodge! Even if they could avoid the falling buildings, there were still two mechas above them…

They were done for!

They were definitely going to die.

The roar of engines, explosions, and collapsing buildings all merged together.

There was nowhere left to escape. Although the hover car was fast, it couldn’t possibly outrun military mechas or the missiles around them. He knew Ji Rong had lunged over to shield him from the bombs. Idiot, how could a human body possibly block these bombs?

Jiang Yuan shouted urgently, “Let go!”

Ji Rong was saying something, but the massive explosions around them made it impossible to hear.

He couldn’t spare any attention right now!

…

The explosions kept coming, and they dodged several times… but the expected death didn’t arrive. Aina shakily lifted her head to see the surrounding buildings falling one after another. The hover car suddenly made a sharp turn, its body hugging the wall of a tilting, collapsing building!

Aina froze, staring in disbelief at the young man driving in the front seat, swallowing hard.

BOOM!

Just as the bomb fell, the man driving seemed to have predicted its exact landing spot, avoiding it completely!

Aina couldn’t believe it as she glanced at where the bomb had exploded. It was less than half a meter from them. A spark of hope rose in her heart.

BOOM!

Another explosion, followed by thick smoke.

Just as she was about to feel relieved, she spotted several dark objects flying straight at them…

There was no way to dodge this!

In a split second, the car scraped against the wall and spun around again. As the car flipped, she heard a voice shout, “Cover your heads!”

Her ears were ringing from the explosions, but Aina instinctively followed the command, clutching her head tightly!

The hover car crashed through a window into a collapsing building next door. Before Aina could process what was happening, she saw the young man controlling the car as it hummed to the ground, zigzagging through the collapsed building!

Bombs kept falling, creating huge craters in the collapsed building.

CRASH!

With a shattering of glass, a hover car burst out of the building, slamming onto the ground. As the entire car shook, the building behind them collapsed with a thunderous crash, making the ground tremble.

Aina even forgot to scream. Or more accurately, she already screamed too many times. She stared in disbelief at the young man in the driver’s seat. This definitely wasn’t the auto-navigation system. This young man was controlling it himself!

Those dense explosions just now… if they hadn’t driven through the building, using it to block some of the blasts… they… they would’ve been done for!

“Ji Rong, are you okay?” During that situation, Jiang Yuan had no time to listen to Ji Rong or do anything else. His mind was completely focused on dodging the bombs. Now that the two mechas had chased each other into the distance and the danger had temporarily passed, he asked the person beside him.

Ji Rong: “I…”

Ji Rong took a deep look at the aftermath of explosions around them, then at Jiang Yuan’s focused profile as he drove. His Adam’s apple bobbed. Sitting next to Jiang Yuan, he had witnessed his driving firsthand. In that situation, if he had been piloting a mecha, he would’ve been 100% confident in dodging everything.

But they were in a hover car… one tiny misjudgment back there, and they would all be dead!

He clearly witnessed Jiang Yuan’s countless direction changes while driving. Each change meant avoiding another bomb!

Which meant when they crashed into the collapsing building, Jiang Yuan had predicted where the bombs would land after the building fell!

This went beyond his understanding of the word ‘prediction’!

“Are you okay?” Jiang Yuan asked again when Ji Rong didn’t answer.

Ji Rong snapped back to reality at Jiang Yuan’s call, “I’m fine.”

“Don’t do that again…” Jiang Yuan said in a deep voice.

Ji Rong froze for a moment before realizing what he meant. He had lunged at Jiang Yuan, and Jiang Yuan told him to let go. At the time he thought they were done for and instinctively wanted to protect Jiang Yuan. If Jiang Yuan hadn’t stopped him, they really would be dead now.

Ji Rong awkwardly rubbed his nose, mumbling, “Ah… oh… ahem…”

Then he heard the person next to him continue, “Ji Rong… thank you. I’m happy, but don’t do that again. I don’t want you getting hurt because of me.”

Ji Rong turned to look at Jiang Yuan beside him. He saw Jiang Yuan focused on driving, the corners of his mouth slightly turned up in a smile and suddenly found himself unable to look away.

Jiang Yuan seemed a bit happy…

Because of him?

Ji Rong wondered secretly.

They successfully reached their destination.

Two mechas were placed in the building’s ground-floor lobby. Although the upper floors had collapsed, the mechas below remained completely intact, positioned on the left and right like guardian statues.

Both cockpits showed signs of being opened. It was obvious that others had tried to pilot these mechas. But there was a huge difference between game mechas and real ones. Without proper training, ordinary people could hardly pilot a mecha. Those who had tried earlier had obviously failed. The lobby was now empty; the building’s occupants must have left long ago.

Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong didn’t hesitate, immediately checking the mechas’ condition.

There was no damage, and it was clear Aina’s boss truly cherished these mechas. Although they were just for display in the lobby, they were fully charged and in excellent condition!

Whew.

Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong exchanged glances, both letting out sighs of relief. With two mechas, they could safely escort the others to the slum district.

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