Free Web NovelChapter 115: [115] Highway Robbery, The Iron Convoy
They rode out into the grey, smog-choked wasteland.
The transition from the neon-lit alleys of the Margin to the absolute desolation of the Deficit Zone was instant. There were no paved roads out here. There were no buildings. There was only an endless expanse of cracked, dry earth and thick clouds of toxic grey dust that choked the air.
Three sleek, aerodynamic hover bikes tore across the flat wasteland.
They were ’Void-Runner’ Grav-Bikes, painted pitch-black. The glowing blue thrusters at their rear hummed quietly, pushing them forward at terrifying speeds. They hovered just two feet above the cracked earth, gliding over the rough terrain like mechanical predators hunting in the dark.
Arthur Sterling rode in the center. His dark, tailored charcoal suit flapped wildly in the harsh wind. He did not wear a helmet. He just squinted his pitch-black eyes against the stinging dust. He looked completely out of place in the apocalyptic desert, yet entirely in control.
To his left, Cassia rode with practiced ease. Her stunning, backless crimson evening gown was not exactly standard tactical gear for a wasteland raid, but she made it work. Her bare legs gripped the sides of the black bike tightly. Her heavy sniper rifle was slung securely across her back. She looked like she was having the time of her life.
To Arthur’s right, Vane looked miserable.
The scarred frontiersman was too big for the sleek hover bike. He was hunched over the handlebars, his massive shoulders bunched up uncomfortably inside the stiff, navy-blue tuxedo. The heavy broadsword strapped to his back kept throwing his center of gravity off.
"I look like a fvcking idiot!" Vane’s rough voice crackled over the secure comms link in Arthur’s ear. "This suit is cutting off my circulation. If I swing my sword, I am going to rip the pants!"
"That is the price of high fashion, farm boy," Cassia’s voice chimed in. She sounded highly amused. "Try not to flex too hard. You are our meat shield today. I need you looking presentable when you take the bullets."
"Both of you, clear the chatter," Arthur ordered calmly. He adjusted his grip on the handlebars. "Keep your eyes on the horizon. We are on the clock."
They flew further into the dead zone. The smog grew thicker, making it hard to see more than a mile ahead. But they did not need to see the target to know it was there. They could feel it.
The cracked earth beneath their hover bikes began to violently vibrate.
It started as a low, rhythmic thudding. Then it turned into a deafening, continuous roar that shook the marrow in their bones.
"There!" Cassia yelled over the comms. She pointed a slender finger forward.
Through the thick curtain of grey smog, a massive, glowing shape materialized in the distance.
It was the Iron Convoy.
Arthur’s eyes narrowed. The shipping manifest had not done it justice. It did not look like a train. It looked like a colossal, metal centipede tearing across the desert floor. It was over a mile long, composed of dozens of heavily armored cargo cars linked together by thick, glowing joints of plasma energy.
It was moving at Mach 2. The sheer kinetic friction of its passage kicked up a massive wall of dust that trailed behind it like a storm cloud.
"It’s huge!" Vane grunted. "Arthur, that thing is a moving fortress!"
"It is a massive pile of moving cash," Arthur corrected smoothly. "And we are going to make a withdrawal. System. Give me a tactical scan."
[Ding!]
[Scanning Target: The Iron Convoy.]
[Target Speed: Mach 2.1.]
[Defensive Measures Detected: 40 Automated Plasma Turrets. 12 Escort Skiffs. High-Density Kinetic Energy Shields.]
"They have company," Arthur called out. "Escort skiffs detaching from the sides. Automated turrets are waking up. Stick to the plan."
As the three grav-bikes closed the distance, the Iron Convoy reacted. The side panels of the massive cargo cars slid open. A dozen rusted, welded-together escort skiffs dropped out, their thrusters flaring as they formed a defensive perimeter around the train.
At the same time, the top of the train bristled with movement. Heavy, automated plasma turrets swiveled, their red targeting lasers piercing through the dust and locking onto the three incoming bikes.
"They have a lock on us!" Vane yelled.
"Cassia," Arthur ordered. "Take the left flank. Keep the turrets blind."
"With pleasure," Cassia laughed.
She didn’t slow her bike down. She hit a button on her handlebars, locking the throttle. Then, in a display of absurd, lethal balance, she let go of the handles and stood up on the footpegs of the speeding grav-bike. The wind whipped her crimson dress around her as she unslung the heavy sniper rifle from her back.
She raised the scope to her eye. She didn’t hesitate. She didn’t aim for the center mass of the train. She aimed for the tiny, glowing optic sensors of the turrets.
"PEW! PEW! PEW!"
Her sniper rifle barked in rapid succession. Hyper-condensed plasma bolts shot across the desert.
"BOOM! BOOM!"
Two automated turrets on the roof of the train violently exploded in showers of sparks and burning metal. Cassia dropped back down onto her seat, grabbed the handlebars, swerved to avoid a returning volley of fire, and popped right back up to take another shot.
"Vane! Right flank!" Arthur commanded. "Clear the skiffs!"
"HAAAA!" Vane roared.
The frontiersman didn’t bother standing up. He just twisted the throttle of his bike to the absolute maximum. He shot forward, completely ignoring the plasma fire raining down around him. He drove his bike directly toward the closest escort skiff.
The cybernetic thugs on the skiff raised their rifles, firing wildly at the charging man in the tuxedo.
Vane didn’t dodge. He reached over his shoulder and drew his massive, chipped broadsword with one hand. As his bike pulled up alongside the enemy skiff, he swung the heavy steel blade like a baseball bat.
"CRUNCH!"
The flat side of the broadsword slammed into the side of the skiff. The sheer, protagonist-fueled kinetic force of the blow shattered the skiff’s repulsor engine. The small ship spun violently out of control, crashing into the desert dirt and exploding in a ball of cheap fuel.
Vane didn’t stop. He banked hard, aiming for the next skiff.
"Fvcking corporate rules!" Vane yelled, remembering Arthur’s strict ’no lethal force’ policy. He couldn’t cut them in half. He just had to smash their rides.
Arthur stayed in the center. He kept his bike locked directly behind the massive engine car of the Iron Convoy.
Plasma fire zipped past his ears. The air was scorching hot. The smell of ozone and burning metal filled his nose. He didn’t swerve. He didn’t draw a weapon. He just stared at the reinforced glass of the train’s main cockpit, rapidly closing the distance.
He was entirely nerfed right now. He had no reality-bending magic. He had no Absolute Order. He was just a man on a fast bike.
But he was a man with a bank account.
"Cassia! Vane!" Arthur yelled over the rushing wind and the deafening explosions. "Keep the turrets blind! Keep the heat on the flanks! I’m boarding the engine car!"
"You are going to jump?!" Vane yelled back, smashing another skiff into the dirt. "Arthur, you don’t have your stats! You’ll bounce off the energy shields and break your fvcking neck!"
"I have the receipts," Arthur smirked.
He gripped the handlebars tightly. He was fifty yards from the back of the engine car. Forty yards. Thirty.
He needed to time this perfectly. He pulled up his system interface. He looked at his current balance. He had just enough points for a tiny window of power. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
[Current System Points: 15,000.]
"System," Arthur commanded in his mind. His dark eyes locked onto the glowing blue energy shields wrapping around the train. "Load up the multiplier burst. Give me the ten seconds."
[Ding!]
[Processing request...]
[Warning: Cosmic Debt balance is still critical. Multiplier usage is strictly limited.]
[Host is authorized for a two-second burst of 2x Multiplier. Use with caution.]
"Two seconds is all I need," Arthur muttered.
He hit the throttle, pushing the grav-bike to its absolute limit. The engine screamed as he shot forward, completely exposed to the remaining turrets.
"Now!" Arthur roared.
[2x Multiplier Activated!]
[Duration: 2 Seconds.]
