NIP Chapter 681 Creating Disaster!
Chapter 681 Creating Disaster!
"FBI! Halt!" Lynn shouted, and shot off like an arrow.
He leaped across the barbed wire with astonishing agility. Gravel flew everywhere beneath his feet, and the setting sun cast long shadows of the two figures on the ground. Clement's strength was clearly remarkable; with each step he took, a deep crater was carved into the gravel.
“You can’t escape! Carson City is completely under lockdown!” Lynn pressed his earpiece while running. “Requesting backup! I’ve spotted fugitive Clement in the freight area of the transfer station. He’s moving towards the abandoned warehouse area to the north!”
"Help! Robbery!" Clement ran wildly, grabbing a metal trash can from the roadside and throwing it at Lynn without looking back.
Lynn nimbly rolled to the side, dodging the whirling trash can. The trash can crashed into the concrete utility pole with a deafening bang, instantly collapsing into a flat piece of metal.
"Stop! Or I'll shoot!" Lynn drew his sidearm and aimed at Clement's leg.
Clement whirled around, letting out a ferocious roar. His oversized hoodie ripped open instantly, the ear-piercing sound of bones grinding echoing through the silent freight yard. Lynn was shocked to see dozens of pale bone spurs protruding from Clement's back and arms, glistening blood dripping down the spurs onto the gravel.
"Shoot! You hypocritical cops!" Clement roared, his eyes now a deathly gray. "You didn't kill me in prison, and you won't get me now!"
He stomped his foot so hard that the ground cracked from the force of the impact. Clement charged toward Lynn like a human tank, the bone spurs on his arms gleaming coldly in the setting sun.
Lynn didn't fire. He knew that at such close range, bullets were unlikely to be fatal to this kind of bone-enhanced mutant, and might even provoke him. He holstered his gun, lowered his center of gravity, and just as Clement rushed in front of him, he slid sharply to the side.
"His-"
Clement's bone spur tore through Lynn's suit jacket, sending sparks flying. Taking advantage of the momentum, Lynn grabbed Clement by the back of his collar and yanked him back sharply.
Clement staggered, but quickly regained his balance and swung a horizontal punch. Lynn bent his arm to block the attack in front of his chest, but the overwhelming force still sent him back several steps, his arm feeling a sharp, tingling numbness.
"You're really strong." Lynn shook his numb arm, his eyes growing colder. "Is this the reward you got in the lab? Turning into a monster?"
“It’s better than being locked in a dark, sunless cage!” Clement lunged at him again.
This time, he changed his strategy, crossing his arms in front of him and using the bone spikes as a shield for defensive advance. Lynn pulled a stun grenade from his tactical pack and hooked his finger on the pin.
“Hey, look here!” Lynn shouted.
Clement instinctively looked up, and Lynn threw a stun grenade.
"Oh!"
A blinding white light and a deafening roar exploded in the narrow warehouse passageway. Clement let out a piercing scream, clutching his eyes in agony as he lost his balance.
Lynn didn't let the opportunity slip by. He rushed forward, leaped into the air, and slammed his right knee into Clement's jaw.
"Click".
A crisp sound of his jaw dislocating rang out, accompanied by a spurt of blood. Clement's massive body fell backward, crashing heavily onto a pile of discarded wooden pallets. Wood chips flew, and dust billowed up.
“It’s not over yet…” Clement struggled to stand up, but the bone spurs on his back grew again, becoming even sharper and denser, like a giant hedgehog.
Lynn unfastened a specially made electromagnetic lock from his waist, one designed specifically for high-level mutants. He charged at Clement again, using his agility to weave through the opponent's swirling bone spikes.
Clement swung his arm wildly, each bone spike whistling sharply as it sliced through the air. Even as Lynn dodged to the side, a deep gash appeared on his arm, exposing the bone, and blood instantly soaked his shirt cuff.
He gritted his teeth, enduring the excruciating pain, and seized the opportunity when Clement was attacking to pounce on his back.
"Ah! Get off!" Clement twisted his body frantically, trying to pierce Lynn with the bone spurs on his back.
Lynn gripped Clement's neck tightly with both hands, the electromagnetic lock precisely locking onto Clement's exposed cervical vertebrae.
"Zizzi-"
A high-voltage current passed through him instantly. Clement's body convulsed violently, and the protruding bone spurs began to slowly retract into his body. He let out a muffled groan, making one last attempt to stand but utterly exhausted, collapsing like a limp rag on the gravel ground.
Lynn, panting, straddled Clement, twisting the man's arms behind his back and slamming another pair of handcuffs on. He wiped the sweat and blood from his face and pressed the earpiece: "Target Clement has been subdued, located next to warehouse 14 in the cargo area. Confirmed to be alive, immediate medical intervention and secondary suppression are required."
"Roger that, Inspector Lynn. The medical team and support team will arrive in two minutes." Jason's voice came through the earpiece, carrying a clear sense of relief. "Are you injured?"
“It’s just a minor injury, nothing serious.” Lynn stood up from Clement and looked down at the once arrogant convict. “Clement, if you had surrendered the moment you saw me, maybe your jaw wouldn’t have dislocated.”
Clement lay on the ground, muttering something incoherently, the deathly gray in his eyes gradually fading, replaced by a deep despair.
The piercing sirens of police cars echoed from the distant train station as several black SUVs, flashing red and blue lights, sped from the edge of the wasteland. Lynn leaned against the wall of the abandoned warehouse, feeling the sharp pain from his wounds. He pulled the chocolate Gwen had given him from his pocket, tore open the wrapper, and popped it into his mouth.
The sweet taste melted in my mouth, but it couldn't dispel the pungent smell of blood and gunpowder in the air.
An SUV screeched to a halt in front of Lynn. The door opened, and several special agents in heavy bomb suits stepped out, carrying capture nets and more potent suppressant spray.
“Detective Lynn!” A dark-faced man at the head of the group walked up to Lynn and saluted. “I’m Harris, the leader of the Carson City Operations Team. I never expected you to handle this guy all by yourself.”
“Good luck.” Lynn pointed to Clement on the ground. “His bone enhancement has reached its limit. Watch his back. Also, he might have someone waiting for him in the warehouse area, or he might have been waiting for someone at the vending machine.”
Harris frowned and gestured for his men to lift Clement into the special transport vehicle: "We searched the station and haven't found any other suspects yet. But the chief has new information: Mora showed up at a gas station south of Carson City and caused a small explosion."
Lynn's muscles, which had been somewhat relaxed, tensed up again instantly: "Mora? That sonic mutant?" "Yes, her abilities are very troublesome. Two local police officers have already had their eardrums shattered." Harris looked at the wound on Lynn's arm. "Detective, you'd better take care of your wound first. Leave the rest to us."
“No, take me to the scene.” Lynn tore off a piece of his clothes and hastily bandaged his wound, his eyes becoming unusually determined. “Mora and Clement escaped together; they must have a much larger plan. If we let her launch an attack in the city, the casualties will be incalculable.”
"But your injury..."
“Enough with the nonsense, Harris.” Lynn opened the car door and got into the passenger seat, his gaze fixed on the now-dark wasteland ahead. “We only have this one week to end this farce.”
The off-road vehicle roared to life, kicking up clouds of yellow dust as it sped off south of Carson City.
Inside the car, Lynn watched the fleeting afterimages outside the window, his mind wandering back to the New York kitchen filled with the aroma of jam. He knew that before Gwen's much-anticipated concert began, he had to transform this scorching Nevada into that calm, arid wasteland that could lull one to sleep.
“Harris, tell me about Mora.” Lynn’s voice broke the silence in the car.
“That woman used to be an opera singer,” Harris said, quickly flipping through the information on his tablet as he drove. “She lost her career due to vocal cord deformities caused by a mutation, and eventually joined a mutant extremist group during a terrorist attack. Her sound waves can shatter glass and even cause severe dizziness and internal bleeding in people nearby.”
"Does she have any weaknesses?" Lynn stared at the dark road ahead.
“According to prison records, her abilities are extremely depleted, and she needs a long time to adjust her breathing after each high-frequency attack.” Harris hesitated for a moment. “But this is only the result of observation in prison conditions. No one can say for sure how much stronger she has become now.”
"Understood." Lynn closed his eyes, repeatedly outlining the tactical maneuvers to deal with the sonic attack in his mind. "When we get to the scene, have all officers put on high-decibel noise-canceling headphones. Those without headphones should immediately evacuate to a distance of 500 meters. I don't want to see anyone with a perforated eardrum again."
"Yes, Inspector." Harris gave the order via the vehicle radio.
Night fell over Nevada, and distant gas station flames soared into the sky, casting an eerie orange-red hue. Lynn gripped his sidearm tightly, feeling the half-eaten chocolate bar in his pocket, and took a deep breath.
The battle has only just begun.
The ruins of the gas station creaked in the wind, twisted metal supports and shattered glass scattered all over the ground. As soon as Lynn got out of the car, he felt an invisible pressure hit him, a sense of oppression created by the high-frequency vibration of the air, making his temples throb.
"Stay in the back!" Lynn gestured for Harris to stop.
He slowly walked towards the center of the fire. A slender figure stood on the roof of the collapsed convenience store. Mora wore a tattered black dress, her long hair dancing wildly in the heat, and the moonlight shone on her pale, almost transparent face, making her look particularly eerie.
"It's you hounds again," Mora said, her voice low but carrying a chilling, penetrating power.
“Mora, stop.” Lynn stopped about twenty meters away from her. “Clement has already been captured. You have no chance.”
“Chances of winning?” Mora let out a sharp laugh. “You think we escaped to beat you? No, Inspector Lynn, we just want the whole world to hear our voice.”
She took a deep breath, her chest heaving violently.
"Cover your ears!" Lynn yelled, lunging at the concrete railing beside him.
"what--!!!"
A visible ripple of air emanated from Mora, sweeping outwards like a tsunami. The remaining windowpanes shattered instantly, turning into a shower of shimmering powder. The gas station's precarious sign was torn apart by the sonic boom and slammed heavily onto the floor.
Lynn hid behind the railing, and even with special ear protection, he could still feel his insides churning. He saw that the windshield of a police car not far away had been shattered, leaving numerous cracks.
Mora stopped screaming and swayed slightly, clearly indicating that the attack had taken a heavy toll on her.
"Now!"
Lynn sprang up from behind the railing like a cheetah, darting through the ruins and using the collapsed shelves for cover.
Mora sensed Lynn's approach and opened her mouth again, but before she could make a sound, Lynn's tranquilizer dart struck the roof tile beneath her feet with pinpoint accuracy.
The tiles shattered, Mora lost his balance, and swayed.
Lynn seized the opportunity to close the distance and delivered a powerful side kick to Mora's wrist, sending the controller she was about to raise flying.
"You bastard!" Mora roared angrily. This time, instead of unleashing a wide-range sound wave, she compressed her voice into a beam and blasted it towards Lynn.
Lynn felt a tremendous force strike his chest, sending him flying backward and crashing into the crumbling wall of the convenience store. He felt a sweet taste in his throat and spat out a mouthful of blood, but his hand remained firmly gripping the controller that Mora had just dropped.
"This is your trump card, isn't it?" Lynn struggled to his feet, looking at the controller in his hand. "The prison's remote detonator? What are you planning to detonate?"
Mora's face turned as white as paper in an instant: "Give it back to me!"
"Don't even think about it." Lynn looked at her coldly. "What exactly did you and Clement bury in Nevada?"
“It’s too late…it’s already too late…” Mora collapsed to her knees on the roof, her eyes filled with fanaticism and despair. “The seeds in the prison…they’ve already been sown…”
Alarm bells rang in Lynn's mind. He pressed his earpiece, his voice urgent: "Chief Robert! Immediately seal off all water and power sources within a 50-kilometer radius of the state prison! This isn't a simple riot; they're planning a larger-scale disaster!"
"Lynn, what happened to you?" Robert's voice sounded extremely unstable amidst the crackling interference. (End of Chapter)