278: I heard you're very valuable.

Chapter 278: I Heard You're Worth a Lot. The rain fell harder and harder, as if someone in heaven were pouring it down from a basin.

Chen Mo lowered the brim of his hat and slid down the drainpipe in the alley to the ground.

When he landed, the mechanical joint of his left arm let out a tooth-aching "crack," causing him so much pain he nearly knelt in the mud.

"The adrenaline is wearing off."

Ruan Qiushui's voice buzzed in his head. "Your blood pressure is as low as a dead man's right now. If you don't stop the bleeding, you'll go into shock before the Special Investigation Bureau even catches you."

"Shut up."

Chen Mo gritted his teeth and pulled a tube of green injection from his bag. Without looking for a vein, he stabbed it directly into his neck.

It was high-purity stimulant, black market goods—strong effect, strong side effects.

The moment the liquid was pushed in, Chen Mo felt as if burning charcoal was flowing through his veins to his entire body.

His pupils suddenly constricted.

His originally blurred vision became sharp again, and he could even clearly see the details of raindrops hitting the ground.

"Let's go."

He tightened his backpack straps, turned around, and ducked into the sewer maintenance hatch.

The ground was crawling with those police dogs; taking the main road right now would be suicide.

The underground drainage system stank to high heaven.

Rotting rats, household garbage, and unknown chemical waste were mixed together, the smell hitting him straight in the head.

Chen Mo waded through knee-deep sewage, navigating the maze-like pipes.

He knew the way here.

Three years ago, when he was suspended, he had lived in this hellhole for a full half-month to catch a serial killer hiding in the sewers.

Forty minutes later.

Chen Mo pushed open a manhole cover located in a suburban waste processing plant.

Fresh air rushed in. Although it carried the scent of rust, it smelled much better than below.

The waste plant was quiet.

Only a massive hydraulic baler was still working tirelessly, making loud "clank, clank" noises.

Behind a mountain of scrapped cars parked a modified heavy-duty garbage truck.

The body was welded with steel plates, bulletproof mesh was installed over the windows, and a hideous skull was painted on the front.

This was an illegal transport to the Sin City.

Only this kind of vehicle could make the round trip on the "Death Highway," where even the police dared not go.

Chen Mo walked over and knocked on the cab door.

Knock, knock, knock.

The window lowered a crack.

A smoking cigar poked out, followed by a large, grease-stained face.

It was a fat man; half his head was metal, and an electronic eye flashed with red light.

"We're closed."

The fat man blew a smoke ring, his voice sounding like a broken gong. "Word is tight tonight. The Special Investigation Bureau's mad dogs are biting all over the streets. Not taking jobs."

"To the Sin City."

Chen Mo didn't waste words. He directly pulled a stack of dripping bills from his bag and stuffed them through the window crack.

The fat man glanced at the money, his electronic eye whirring.

"Not enough."

"This is hazard pay."

The fat man gave a chuckle, revealing a gold tooth that reflected under the headlights. "The broadcast just said that the bounty on that wanted criminal named Chen Mo is ten times this amount."

After speaking, his red electronic eye stared fixedly at Chen Mo's face.

Even though Chen Mo's face was covered in blood, this outfit and that scrapped mechanical arm were too distinctive.

Chen Mo didn't move.

He was listening.

The fat man's heartbeat was heavy, 80 beats per minute, very steady.

But when the bounty was mentioned, that rhythm faltered for a moment.

It wasn't greed.

It was fear.

This guy was afraid.

"I don't like haggling."

Chen Mo pulled out a handgun and slammed it onto the window frame along with the stack of money. "Either take the money and drive, or I twist your head off and kick it like a ball. Your choice."

The fat man stared at the dark muzzle of the gun, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"Get in."

Click.

The door lock opened.

Chen Mo pulled the door open and sat in the passenger seat.

The interior was filled with the smell of low-grade tobacco and engine oil. The foam on the seats was exposed, hard and uncomfortable.

"Fasten your seatbelt; it's going to be a bumpy ride."

The fat man didn't say anything more and floored the accelerator.

Roar!

The garbage truck, like an angry rhinoceros, smashed through the waste plant gates and charged into the vast rainy night.

Once outside the suburbs, the road conditions became extremely poor.

The asphalt road turned into a potholed concrete road, and the streetlights on both sides became fewer and fewer until they disappeared completely.

Ahead was the "No Man's Land."

The buffer zone between the Federal Government and the Sin City.

There was no law here, no signal, only highway robbers and mutated beasts.

The truck drove for half an hour.

The fat man hadn't spoken, only stealing glances at Chen Mo through the rearview mirror from time to time.

His hands kept rubbing the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white.

Thump, thump, thump.

The fat man's heart rate was getting faster and faster.

It soared from 80 to 120.

And it was accompanied by a strange noise, as if... he was waiting for some countdown.

Chen Mo closed his eyes, leaning against the seat back as if dozing.

But his right hand quietly reached for the Butterfly Knife on the outside of his thigh.

"Buddy."

The fat man suddenly spoke, his voice trembling slightly. "There's a service area up ahead. I need to add some water; the radiator is boiling over."

Chen Mo opened his eyes.

There was indeed a bit of light ahead.

It was a dilapidated gas station standing lonely in the wilderness.

But three black SUVs were parked around the gas station.

Their lights were all off.

If Chen Mo's prosthetic eye didn't have night vision, he wouldn't have noticed them at all.

"Is this the 'adding water' you were talking about?"

Chen Mo turned his head and looked at the fat man.

Cold sweat ran down the fat man's sideburns.

"Don't... don't blame me."

The fat man slammed on the brakes and grabbed his head with both hands. "They took my wife and kids! I had no choice! I really had no choice!"

Screech—

The heavy garbage truck dragged two long skid marks on the wet road and stopped sideways in the middle of the road.

Almost simultaneously.

The headlights of those three SUVs instantly lit up, six beams of intense light shining directly into the cab, blinding anyone inside.

Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!

A dense hail of bullets poured down like a rainstorm, hitting the garbage truck's bulletproof glass and splashing a field of sparks.

Although the glass was bulletproof, under this kind of suppressive fire, spiderweb-like cracks quickly appeared.

"Get out! Get out now!"

The fat man screamed, pushed the door open, and rolled out, crawling and scrambling toward the ditch by the side of the road. "I did everything you said! Don't kill me! Don't kill me!"

Bang!

A crisp gunshot rang out.

The running fat man seemed to be pushed by an invisible giant hand, falling forward as a flower of blood exploded from the back of his head.

He stopped moving.

"These people don't need witnesses."

Ruan Qiushui sighed. "Chen Mo, it seems your current net worth is indeed quite high."

Chen Mo curled up under the seat, avoiding the trajectory of the bullets.

He heard it.

There were at least twelve people outside.

Their heartbeats were disorganized, but they were all fast, filled with excitement and killing intent.

They weren't properly trained agents.

They were bounty hunters.

In other words, "Vultures."

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