Chapter 438 - 270: Raphael’s Intentions

[Task Objective Updated][Escape from the Morton Building. (Not Achieved)]

Hundreds of armed security personnel, enough to blockade every main exit in no time; worse, emergency units, ECPD, and Rongju Security Department are all converging here...

John sprinted through the corridors of the Morton Building.

Sora’s reprimand echoed in his mind.

[Couldn’t you record it yourself? Those few minutes wasted directly reduced the escape rate by 42%!]

"No way! He must record and send it himself!"

John insisted on his opinion.

A self-confession from the criminal, including the email address, is part of the evidence. The video brought by the mercenaries wouldn’t even pass the PR department.

The target, employer, and middleman all have their own agendas.

If you want to get away safely, don’t overstep boundaries. You can hear and see things, but as long as you don’t leave evidence, others can turn a blind eye and let you go.

These principles are complex, and a rogue AI cannot understand them.

"What do you think Raphael wants the recording for?"

[To avenge the mercenaries!?]

"...You should be buried with the data board."

John was amused by Sora’s response.

He kicked open the laundry room panel, jumped in, and controlled his descent by pressing against the wall.

Two meters away.

There are two squads of soldiers climbing up in the building hallway.

John rolled out from a heap of stained bed sheets, and just as he left the laundry room, someone rudely barged in and started inspecting the dryer room and drying area.

He leaned against the wall and observed through the camera.

Sora suddenly came to realization.

[Ah, I got it! Raphael wants to establish authority; she doesn’t care about the mercenaries’ lives. The point is, the employer can’t trick her like a fool! Future business would be hard otherwise.]

"Mm-hm."

John wanted to chuckle as a compliment, but with the security personnel approaching, he just let out a faint hum.

Bam!

John raised a crowbar and dealt with a soldier.

"Only part of the answer was correct."

While talking to Sora, he threw the body into the giant washing machine.

He took the gear and magazines from the soldier’s body.

[Weapon: Kanmer-H01 [Smart Rifle]]

[Module: Silencer Component, Speed Barrel, Basic Armor-Piercing]

Standard equipment from the security company.

"Heh, a product of cutting costs and increasing efficiency."

John remarked while fitting the silencer.

No matter how shabby, it’s got to be used with pinched nose.

John infiltrated lightly, carrying no rifle or heavy weapon, only two compact ones.

Mid to long-range standoff requires a rifle to break through.

The good news is, John is not entirely alone.

His prosthetic eye flashed data streams; his vision split as he let Sora take over the surveillance system to calculate an optimal escape route.

The Morton Building has a dedicated control room.

Soldiers’ bio-signals disappearing would be noticed, prompting more reinforcements to squeeze this way.

[They’ve discovered it, rushing over here. The B2-D6 area in the basement is blocked, oh no, two guys just arrived at the corner ahead and are about to confront you, 4, 3, 2...]

John activated Sianweistan, slid sideways into the tunnel, his captured smart rifle roaring at full speed.

The smart magazine emitted an acidic mist.

Two soldiers instantly killed.

John crossed over the yet-to-fall bodies, pushed open the safety door, and sprinted to the upper floors.

The route was calculated by Sora.

The number of security personnel was too many.

If John wanted to survive, he had to make the enemies run and then slip through the gaps in their encirclement!

Sora had lots of tricks up his sleeve.

Devices short-circuiting, elevators out of service, fire alarms blaring everywhere.

Through the surveillance system, he could see the security chief swearing profusely; Sora even thoughtfully added an anime voice changer, leaving others bewildered.

[Hahaha! You should see his expression!]

Sora laughed incessantly in John’s mind.

Rat-tat-tat—

John wasn’t as relaxed as that.

Bullets of orange and cobalt blue whizzed past.

He tightened his body, leaned against a pillar to reload, the cement shelter being battered and smoking, an empty magazine casually discarded at his feet.

"Garbage security company, the wear on issued firearms is damn high, definitely secondhand from the black market."

John tilted the magazine, glancing at the contents.

"Damn it! The bullets aren’t even original; the head of procurement should be pinned in the sewers!"

The gunfire beside him ceased.

The closed-circuit camera in the corner captured it clearly.

John sidestepped to shoot, bursting open a head that hadn’t retreated back into the shelter in time, then pulled Sianweistan close-range, and two Mantis Blades pierced two unfortunate souls on either side.

The rifle fell to the ground.

John didn’t even bother picking it up.

Secondhand firearms, no modified modules, no upgraded attachments, coupled with substandard bullets, could only tussle with second-rate security and alleyway gangs.

Beyond this door, facing the regular soldiers from Rongju Company, wouldn’t even dent their bulletproof vests!

While John dealt with small troubles before him, Sora wasn’t idle either.

It locked down the basement’s safety doors.

Those security personnel were being pulled in every direction, running wildly within the building.

Rumble—

Sora successfully hacked into the building’s patrol drones, causing another explosion at the rooftop helipad.

Then the equipment room short-circuited.

The cooling system overloaded, darkness surged upwards, engulfing the whole building, and guests on the lower floors screamed in unison!

The people living in Chengxin Square are all wealthy.

ECPD seemed to have their lifeline stepped on, forcibly breaching the blockade to rescue more people.

They can’t change who died; the important thing is to save more lives to speak for the police, or else the annual review and municipal funding would be affected!