Chapter 72: The Abduction of John Carlyle

Max and the Spider's crew quickly arrived at the site where the spacecraft had crashed. As soon as the vehicle came to a halt, they grabbed their weapons and equipment, rushing out in a flurry.

On the other side, Kruger made his demand. “I have a condition. Once I settle this, you must rehire me!”

“That’s acceptable. Also, the King has sent two agents you value highly to assist you.”

“Of course, the operation is confidential. They’ll appear wherever you are.”

Just then, the roar of the spaceship’s engines echoed across the wreckage. Kruger recognized the craft as his squad’s own and called out to Dract in Elysium, “Send me the data!”

Without another word, he strode toward the descending ship.

Inside the vessel, John Carlyle remained composed despite the approaching thugs. He calmly spoke to the security robot.

“Robot, there are two cars outside, several people. I want them dead.”

No sooner had he spoken than one of the robots strode out of the ship and, without turning its head, tossed a grenade under the Spider’s crew’s car.

Fortunately, the vehicle absorbed the blast, leaving everyone unharmed, though the explosion left them dazed.

As the robot emerged from behind the car, Max seized the old AK47 his ancestors had left him and pulled the trigger.

Luck was not on his side—his first bullet jammed. Max ducked back behind the car.

He yanked the jammed round free and prepared to rush out again, but Alice, quick as lightning, pulled him back just in time as a hail of bullets rattled against their hiding place.

Soon, one of the Spider’s men opened fire, drawing the robot’s attention. The machine turned its weapon and riddled the shooter with bullets.

Seeing his chance, Max stood and fired at the robot.

The explosive round tore the robot apart, scattering its fragments across the dust.

Spider, watching from his hideout, shouted excitedly, “Go, go! Drag that bastard out of there!”

Alice grabbed a plasma laser cutter and dashed to the ship’s side. With a few quick adjustments, she sliced the entire hatch clean off in a single blast.

John Carlyle sat inside, stunned and terrified.

“Don’t even think about moving!” Max snarled, leveling his gun at Carlyle.

At that moment, a second robot emerged from the ship. Everyone tensed. Alice dropped the plasma cutter, drew an electromagnetic rifle from her back, and aimed at the robot’s head.

With a sharp crack, a hole appeared in the robot’s skull just as it raised its submachine gun. Everyone stared in awe at Alice and the futuristic weapon she wielded.

“Damn, she’s cool!” Spider’s men exclaimed from behind the car.

“Stop gawking and get to work!” Alice snapped, holstering her weapon.

The Spider’s hacker, tattooed across his forehead, rushed to Carlyle, plugging a data cable into Carlyle’s head and connecting the other end to the microcomputer at the back of Max’s skull.

Pinned to the seat, Carlyle forced himself to act tough, threatening the intruders. “Do you realize what you’re doing?”

“Shut up. One more word and I’ll blow your brains out,” Alice growled, pressing her electromagnetic pistol to Carlyle’s forehead.

“Alright, the files are transferring!”

Meanwhile, Kruger’s ship hurtled toward the crash site.

“One kilometer to target!” the pilot announced.

“How much longer?” Alice asked, gripping her weapon.

“Almost done—halfway there!”

Alice’s sharp eyes caught sight of a military ship rapidly approaching in the distance.

“There’s no time. Get everyone in the car, buy us some time!” Without hesitation, she hoisted Carlyle up, Max following close behind.

“Boss, the robbers are escaping with the target!” the pilot said.

“Fire the explosive rounds!” Kruger ordered without a hint of hesitation.

“But the target is still in the car!” the pilot protested.

“Fire! That’s an order!” Kruger shouted back.

“Fine, you’re the boss,” the pilot replied, opening the missile bay beneath the ship.

As the ship’s missile launcher unfolded, Max’s eyes widened. “Fuck, they’re trying to blow us up!”

The hacker, busy transferring files, shouted happily, “Done! Transfer complete!”

But the next moment, seeing a jumble of garbled text on the screen, he exclaimed in panic, “Wait, wait! Damn, all this data is encrypted!”

Before he could confront Carlyle, a missile crashed down beside the car. The blast hurled the vehicle into the air, flipping it several times.

Inside, the occupants were tossed about. Unluckily, a piece of shrapnel struck Carlyle’s neck.

When the car finally came to a stop, blood poured from Carlyle’s neck as he clutched the wound. The hacker, cursing in frustration, grabbed his weapon and crawled out of the overturned vehicle alone.

Immediately, several explosive charges attached themselves to him. The agony was intense; he raised his weapon and fired at the open hatch of the ship.

The three inside, startled by the ricocheting bullets, cursed loudly. Kruger pressed the detonation button without hesitation, and in an instant, the hacker was blown to pieces, his remains scattering in every direction.

Kruger and his two men, undisturbed, high-fived each other with excitement at the carnage.

But just as they finished, a missile streaked toward the ship.

The pilot tried to dodge, but the launch point was far too close.

The missile struck, blowing out one of the ship’s engines. The craft spun out of control, crashing to the ground in a cloud of dust.

“Fuck!” Kruger muttered, shaking his head as he staggered out, blood streaming down his face.

Alice and Max crawled out of their wrecked car. Alice smiled faintly, spotting Wang Jing atop a distant building.

Max stared at the crashed ship, mouth agape. “Who did that?”

“Never mind. The most important thing now is to get you back and decrypt the data in your head,” Alice said, dragging Max into another SUV.

On the rooftop, Wang Jing slung his rocket launcher over his shoulder, leapt down, and sped away in the Bumblebee, leaving Kruger and his two men clutching their heads, lost and bewildered.

Meanwhile, Dract in the heart of Elysium roared in fury at Kruger, “Bring me the data from that man’s brain immediately, or forget ever becoming a citizen of Elysium!”

“I will. I’ll personally twist his head off!” Kruger wiped the blood from his face, his gaze dark and vicious as he watched Max and the others disappear into the distance.