Chapter 1917: Kidnapping P̶e̶n̶e̶l̶o̶p̶e̶ : Part-2

VRROOOMMMMMM!!!!

The slick black car tore through the unpaved road as numerous vehicles followed close behind, their engines roaring through the darkness while gunfire echoed violently between the surrounding old buildings.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

"Fuck!" Lily gritted her teeth as she pressed the gas pedal harder, trying to squeeze more speed from the car. The uneven road made it difficult to maintain control, each pothole sending a violent jolt through the vehicle as the suspension groaned beneath the strain.

Bang!

Bang!

And even worse, the people following her were firing bullets at them... or more precisely, at the car.

It seemed they had received strict orders not to harm them, because despite the relentless gunfire, the shots were deliberately aimed around the vehicle rather than directly at them.

"I didn’t think they could catch up this fast," Lily muttered as she shifted gears and tightened her grip around the steering wheel.

She suddenly jerked the wheel to the right. The car skidded across the loose dirt, its tyres struggling for traction as the suspension bounced violently over the uneven surface.

Bullets tore into the ground behind them, throwing dirt and gravel into the air as several rounds came dangerously close to the rear tyres.

The car surged forward, and she guided it toward the dark tunnel ahead. The moment they entered, the sound of the engines and gunfire changed, becoming a deafening roar as the tunnel walls amplified every noise.

Lily drove deeper into the tunnel, her eyes constantly flicking between the road ahead and the rearview mirror. Her fingers tightened around the steering wheel as she desperately tried to think of a way out.

"With this many cars chasing us, there’s no way I can lose them... What am I supposed to do?" she muttered.

Her eyes shifted toward Penelope, who remained completely unmoving beside her.

Lily swallowed.

She knew she had to reach the checkpoint because it was the only reliable way out of this sector. However, these people had already found her, which meant there was a good chance the checkpoint had been compromised as well.

Going there now would be practically suicide.

Her fingers began tapping against the steering wheel as she forced herself to think despite the pressure building inside her chest.

"Think, Lily... think. There has to be another way out of this."

She glanced at the rearview mirror again.

The headlights of the pursuing vehicles were rapidly approaching through the darkness.

"Come on... There has to be something."

Meanwhile, Allen searched through the slums. Cars raced through the narrow, unpaved paths as his forces immediately sealed off the entire sector under his jurisdiction.

Vehicles spread throughout the surrounding roads while armed men moved from house to house, checking every possible hiding place in the middle of the night.

Allen sat inside one of the cars as the driver pushed through the rough roads, constantly changing routes while they searched for any possible path Aether’s mother could have taken.

Allen’s expression remained thoughtful, but frustration slowly crept into his eyes. No matter how many possibilities he considered, none of them made sense.

Even if that man had somehow found Aether’s mother, Allen knew his family would already be dead by now.

That man would never drag something like this out for so long.

He would have simply eliminated them.

So who could possibly have taken her?

Just then, his communicator came to life.

"Sir, we found them. They were spotted entering the 9th Tunnel in the east district!"

Allen’s eyes widened slightly.

"The 9th Tunnel?" he repeated before his expression hardened. "Copy that. Send everyone there immediately. Cut off every exit."

He immediately relayed the order to the other teams.

One by one, the vehicles changed direction and accelerated toward the tunnel. Allen’s gaze turned cold as he pulled his handgun from its holster and checked it before keeping it ready in his hand.

Meanwhile, on the last car following the convoy, a cloaked figure stood motionless on top of the vehicle as it raced through the darkness.

The cloak fluttered violently in the rushing air, but the figure remained perfectly balanced despite the speed. Deep beneath the hood, two ice-blue eyes glowed dangerously as they watched the vehicles ahead.

Meanwhile, Lily continued driving through the tunnel as the pursuing vehicles followed directly behind her at full speed.

The tunnel walls flashed past her windows, illuminated by the headlights as the sound of engines reverberated around them. Every few seconds, another bullet struck the road or slammed into the surrounding walls, sending sparks and fragments of concrete scattering through the darkness.

Lily clenched her fist around the steering wheel, her toes curling slightly inside her shoes as fear began creeping into her thoughts.

Had she made a mistake?

She wondered if she should have waited for Aether and spoken to him first.

Maybe there was still a chance he would have listened.

But then another thought surfaced, one that frightened her even more.

Would he have believed her?

After all, she herself still couldn’t believe that she had regressed.

So what about him? He might have looked at her strangely and even told her parents to have her examined, thinking that she had somehow gone insane.

But whatever it was... she had already come this far.

She had taken Penelope. She had even let an old woman bleed to death.

There was nothing she could do to change any of that now.

It was done!

She had to take this forward whether she liked it or not.

More importantly, she didn’t even know whether she would regress again.

Hell, she didn’t even know how she had regressed in the first place or what conditions had to be fulfilled for it to happen.

So there was only one choice left.

Do or die.

Just as she drove out of the tunnel, the car emerged onto an old bridge stretching across the darkness.

The bridge was wide enough for several vehicles to drive side by side, and the moment Lily’s pursuers realised they had more room to manoeuvre, they immediately accelerated.

Two cars surged forward from either side.

Thud!

The vehicles slammed into the rear sides of Lily’s car almost simultaneously, forcing it to jerk violently between them.

Lily struggled to maintain control as the two cars repeatedly rammed her from either side, their metal frames grinding against hers while sparks flew from the points of impact.

"Shit!!"

Lily clenched the steering wheel with both hands, her expression filled with dread. She glanced into the rearview mirror and saw the other vehicles closing in behind her.

They were completely surrounding her.

Lily’s eyes trembled as tears began gathering in them.

She was terrified.

After all, she was still only a thirteen-year-old girl.

Even though she had seen the worst parts of the world, her parents had always kept her safe from most of the dangers outside.

She had never been trapped inside a moving car while surrounded by people who were trying to kill her.

Of course she was afraid!

Her breathing became heavier as another impact shook the car.

Then, right at that moment, she remembered someone’s painful and broken expression.

It was the expression of someone who believed he had failed to protect someone precious to him.

Those words still echoed somewhere behind her eyes.

"I... I’m sorry, dear..."

His voice had been cracked and trembling.

"I’m truly sorry... I... I couldn’t... I..."

Every word had been filled with pain and loss, as though he despised himself for everything that had happened.

She could still see him crying in her memories.

Those tears had fallen onto her face.

Back then, she had wanted to tell him that none of it was his fault.

He had protected her.

He had tried to protect her little brother.

He had done everything he could.

But she had been unable to...

"Lily..."

He had spoken gently before kissing her forehead with love and tenderness.

"You accepted the monster inside... Thank you, Lily... Noah."

"This stranger swears... neither of you will ever be forgotten."

At those words, Lily snapped out of her memories.

Her eyes shot open, and the fear that had clouded them was replaced by a deadly resolve.

She clenched her teeth.

"Fuck it all!"

She pressed the clutch, shifted the gear, and slammed on the brakes.

The tyres immediately screeched violently against the old bridge.

SKREEEEEECH!!

The sudden deceleration caught the two cars beside her off guard. Their momentum carried them forward as they attempted to overtake her.

Lily reacted instantly.

She kicked the door open.

The door swung violently outward, catching the car rushing alongside her.

THUD!

The impact tore the door away from its hinges and sent the other vehicle veering violently toward the bridge railing.

The driver desperately tried to regain control, but the car slammed into the old metal rails.

BOOM!!

The vehicle erupted into flames.

The people inside the car screamed as fire engulfed the front section, illuminating the bridge with a sudden burst of orange light.

The people inside the car on Lily’s left were momentarily taken aback.

That was all the opening she needed.

Lily slammed her car into the side of the remaining vehicle, using the momentum to push it away from her.

At the same time, she shifted gears and reached beneath her cloak, pulling out a knife.

She rolled down Penelope’s window and raised the blade toward the other car’s driver.

Her eyes hardened.

The other car suddenly lost control as the driver desperately fought with the steering wheel, trying to straighten the vehicle before it slammed into the bridge railing.

The tyres screeched against the rough surface, and the entire car swerved violently from side to side.

Just then, a knife flew through the air and struck directly into his temple.

Chuckkk...

The driver’s body immediately went limp, his hands slipping away from the steering wheel. The car swerved uncontrollably across the bridge as the people inside screamed in panic, desperately grabbing onto whatever they could.

A moment later, the vehicle overturned and rolled across the ground, its metal frame scraping violently against the bridge as sparks scattered through the darkness.

Lily didn’t even look back.

She immediately shifted the gear to the highest setting and slammed the gas pedal down to full throttle.

The engine roared furiously as the car surged forward just as the other vehicle passed above her car.

The speedometer climbed rapidly.

The other car rolled across the bridge behind her; Lily’s car shot past it. A second later, the wreckage erupted into a massive explosion, flames bursting through the shattered windows as burning debris scattered across the road.

The heat briefly illuminated Lily’s face through the rearview mirror.

Yet she didn’t flinch.

Lily drove with a serious, cold expression, without the slightest hint of hesitation anymore. Her hands remained firmly locked around the steering wheel despite the trembling in her fingers, and her eyes stayed fixed on the road ahead.

It was either do or die.

And she did not want to die anymore.

More importantly, she did not want to forget anyone, especially him.

She had already lost him once.

She refused to let herself lose him again.

Just as she continued driving, something ahead suddenly caught her attention.

Her eyes widened.

The broken end of the bridge was directly ahead.

"Fuck!"

She shouted in horror as her foot instinctively pressed against the brake for a fraction of a second.

Her eyes immediately darted toward the rearview mirror.

The pursuing cars had already filled the entire bridge behind her. Headlights stretched across the darkness, completely blocking the route she had come from.

There was nowhere to turn, nowhere to hide, and no room to slow down.

"Fuck! Fuck! FUCK!!"

Lily kept cursing as panic and frustration surged through her. She looked toward the broken bridge again and realised the distance between the two sides was far greater than she had initially thought.

She didn’t have another choice.

If she stopped now, they would capture her.

If she turned around, she would be surrounded.

Her only remaining path was straight ahead.

Her heart began hammering against her chest. Her face turned red as adrenaline rushed through her body, and her breathing became increasingly heavy. Her hands trembled around the steering wheel, but she refused to release it.

For one brief moment, her instincts screamed at her to stop.

And yet...

Lily pressed the gas pedal down to full throttle.

There was no hesitation anymore.

The engine roared as the car accelerated toward the broken edge. The speedometer climbed higher and higher, reaching a speed she had never dared to drive at before.

The entire vehicle began shaking violently beneath her.

Lily gritted her teeth as fear and fury collided inside her chest. Her vision blurred slightly from the tears gathering in her eyes, but she refused to slow down.

Instead, she screamed with everything she had.

"ARRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

The car reached the edge.

And then it flew.

For a brief moment, the wheels left the bridge completely, and the entire vehicle became weightless.

The cars behind Lily slammed on their brakes almost simultaneously. Tires screeched against the bridge as the drivers stared in disbelief at the black car sailing through the air.

Nobody spoke.

Lily felt as though the entire world had suddenly stopped.

The violent shaking of the car disappeared. The roar of the engine seemed distant, and even the wind outside felt strangely quiet.

For a second, everything became weightless.

Only her heartbeat remained.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Her eyes remained wide as she stared through the windshield at the opposite side of the broken bridge.

It seemed impossibly far away.

The car continued travelling through the air, slowly losing its momentum.

Lily’s fingers tightened around the steering wheel.

"Come on..."

Her voice barely escaped her throat.

The opposite edge grew closer.

Closer.

Then...

Thud!!

The car slammed into the ground with tremendous force.

The front suspension compressed violently, and the entire vehicle bounced upward before crashing back down onto all four tyres. Dust and gravel exploded around the car as the tyres struggled to regain traction.

Lily’s body was thrown forward against the seatbelt, her hair falling messily around her face.

For several seconds, she simply stared ahead.

Then she started laughing.

"Hah... Hahaha... HHAHAHAAH!"

Her laughter sounded almost breathless.

The fear and furiousness coursing through her body had transformed into an overwhelming sense of ecstasy.

Her heart was still pounding violently, but for the first time in what felt like forever, she felt truly alive.

She had actually done it.

Without wasting another second, Lily shifted the gear and pressed the gas pedal again.

The engine roared as the car accelerated away from the broken bridge.

She glanced into the rearview mirror and saw the stunned vehicles still gathered on the opposite side.

A grin slowly appeared on her face.

"So long, loser!!"

Lily flipped her middle finger toward them before turning her attention back to the road and driving forward at full speed.

Meanwhile, the people on the other side had already informed Allen about her escape.

Scrrchhh!

Allen and his team arrived at the location, their vehicles coming to a sharp halt at the bottom of the bridge’s downward slope. Dust drifted around the cars as the doors opened and armed men quickly spread throughout the area.

They had already locked down everything.

There were armed men positioned along the roads, covering the surrounding paths and watching every possible route the fleeing vehicle could take.

"Everyone, get ready," Allen ordered in a cold tone as he stepped out of the vehicle and firmly gripped his handgun.

The members of his team immediately raised their weapons, aiming toward the incoming car descending from the bridge.

Allen scanned the road carefully.

He didn’t know who was inside that vehicle, but he knew one thing.

Whoever had managed to escape through that broken bridge was desperate enough to risk death rather than surrender.

"Do not shoot without my permission, got it?" Allen said coldly to his subordinates.

"Yes, sir."

Allen tightened his grip around his handgun.

He didn’t want them to fire at the culprit.

He needed to know who had done this and, more importantly, why they had gone to such lengths to take Aether’s mother.

The distant sound of an engine gradually grew louder.

Everyone raised their weapons.

The black car appeared at the top of the slope and began descending toward them.

Closer.

And closer.

Allen watched carefully as the vehicle approached.

Yet instead of charging through the blockade, the car seemed to slow down.

Allen stepped forward slightly.

"You have nowhere left to run! Get out of the car and put your hands behind your back!"

"Do it now if you don’t want to die!" Allen shouted.

The vehicle continued slowly rolling forward for another few meters before finally coming to a halt on it’s own.

There was no response.

Not even the sound of the door opening.

Allen’s eyes narrowed.

Something felt wrong.

He clenched his fist and signalled his team to advance cautiously.

Then...

TANG!

Something suddenly fell from the sky and landed directly in front of Allen’s group.

The impact struck the ground hard enough to make several people instinctively step backward.

Dust rose around the object.

Everyone froze.

Before anyone could react, a cold and authoritative voice echoed through the area.

"Hello, Allen. You’ve been busy."

Allen’s eyes widened.

The colour immediately drained from his face.

He knew that voice.

He slowly lifted his gaze toward the figure standing before him, his expression changing from confusion to genuine horror.

For perhaps the first time that night, Allen completely forgot about the fleeing car.

"P-President?"