Chapter 7 Fierce battle
"Thud!"
The figure in black slid off the wall, crashing to the ground at an awkward angle. His right hand pressed tightly against his chest, as if his entire ribcage had been shattered, the agony unbearable.
Eric's cybernetic eye blinked rapidly, pausing for barely a second on the man in black before noticing a faint red glow emanating from his lower legs, forearms, and entire upper body.
The man was wearing electronic steel plating armor!
In the dead of night, a figure clad in armor, equipped with thermal devices, his face concealed, relentlessly hunting a freshman—one need only think for a moment to know this individual could not be a good person.
No time for words!
Eric's mechanical leg pivoted, the entire body twisting, and his right leg swept across like a cannonball, aiming straight for the black-clad man's head.
What Eric hadn't anticipated was the man's swift reaction. With a sudden roll, he narrowly dodged the kick, then, in one fluid motion, sprang to his feet. The watch on his right wrist shot out a blinding beam of light.
Eric raised his mechanical arm, immediately shielding his cybernetic eye.
Seizing the opportunity, the man sprang up and kicked Faye, who stood frozen in shock. She was flung into the air and crashed hard to the ground, losing consciousness instantly.
The man reached for Liam, still determined to abduct him.
"Eric, Eric, help me!" Liam screamed desperately, quickly darting behind Eric for protection.
Liam was not particularly short, standing at around 1.79 meters, but his frame was notably slender. Otherwise, Eric would not have referred to him as "a stick."
Physically, Liam appeared too fragile, and in a fight, he would undoubtedly be useless. Lacking strength, he could barely hold his own against an average person, let alone battle an assailant.
Yet, despite his lack of strength, Liam's body was surprisingly agile, and his reflexes quick—a natural gift he had possessed since childhood. Perhaps he was not suited for studying biology after all, but rather better suited for some form of athletic pursuit.
Liam darted behind Eric, his mind racing as he shouted, "The alarm, where's the alarm?!"
"The hallway!" Eric responded, then swiftly turned and threw a punch at the man in black. The material used in his waist's mechanical axis and neck was the same—exceptionally flexible, so despite appearing cumbersome, his movements were surprisingly nimble when engaging in combat.
As the punch came crashing forward, the man in black did not attempt to dodge, but instead pushed both hands forward to meet the strike head-on.
The two opponents closed the distance, and at the elbows of the man in black, a faint orange flame erupted, swiftly melting his sleeve cuffs. His armored forearms propelled his arms forward with force.
"Boom!"
The punch landed, but despite the man's effort to push forward with his arms, his strength was still no match for Eric's mechanical limb, and he was sent staggering back two steps.
"Electronic kinetic energy—so this is kinetic energy?!" Eric stepped forward, his body pressing into the movement, and his left fist descended in a sharp arc. "Let me show you what kinetic energy truly means!"
The elbow joint of Eric's mechanical left arm briefly erupted in orange flame as well, but the speed of his punch accelerated noticeably.
Speed is power!
The man in black was sent flying by the punch, the sound of his arm's armor cracking echoing through the air as his body slid about two meters, crashing diagonally toward the ground.
Before hitting the ground, several white inflatable orbs suddenly popped out from his chest, back, and the back of his neck, resembling the airbags of an automobile.
Upon landing, he rolled several times before coming to a halt.
Eric stepped forward, while Liam, undeterred, continued toward the hallway to activate the alarm.
On the ground, the man in black lay motionless.
"Get up!" Eric called as he approached.
Suddenly, a burst of intense light appeared, and Eric raised his arm to shield his eyes. This was a special blue light designed to target mechanical eyes, causing temporary blindness if struck.
Seizing the opportunity, the man in black sprang to his feet, drawing three glass vials, each about the length of a finger, from the tactical pouch at his waist. He hurled them at Eric's feet.
The sharp sound of shattering glass filled the air, and the liquid inside instantly spread across the ground at Eric's feet.
Eric lowered his arm, about to withdraw his leg, when he suddenly realized his feet were stuck.
Industrial-grade, fast-setting adhesive gel capable of sticking to steel plates!
Eric yanked his right leg with all his strength, causing the floor within a four- to five-meter radius to tremble, but his leg still wouldn't budge.
The man in black drew a handgun with his left hand and aimed it directly at the doorway.
Liam, who was about to rush through the door, kept an eye on the situation behind him. Seeing the man's arm raise, he immediately ducked, covering his head and veering sharply to the left.
"Boom!"
The man in black squeezed the trigger, and the handgun unleashed a beam of light, shattering the wall on the left side of the entrance.
Dust billowed into the air as debris scattered in all directions.
Taking advantage of his momentum, Liam awkwardly scrambled behind a storage box, his eyes widening in horror at the fist-sized hole in the wall, his face draining of color.
On the left side of the court, Eric, gathering strength, abruptly lifted his right leg. With a thunderous crash, his foot wrenched a section of the floor, at least two meters long, cleanly from its foundation.
The man in black reached behind, his left hand grasping the second firearm holstered at his waist.
This movement caused Eric to pause for a moment, but his reflexes quickly kicked in as he lunged for the nearby basketball hoop. Yet, it was too late.
The man in black, gun in hand, aimed straight for Eric's chest and fired.
"Zzzzzt!"
The electric crackle of the shot echoed across the court as a blue, spiderweb-like electric current spread out visibly in all directions.
Eric, whose movements had been steady moments before, suddenly froze, his body stiffening as his cybernetic eyes flickered erratically.
Sparks danced across the electronic components of his body, particularly around the Kinetic Core Module in his chest, where a wisp of white smoke rose.
"An electromagnetic pulse cannon… all his equipment… it's all designed… to target robots…" Eric's body spasmed, and with a final, violent convulsion, he collapsed onto his back.
The body crashed to the ground without any cushioning, the floor cracking beneath the impact.
The man in black panted as he stepped forward, his single foot pressing down on Eric's chest. Reaching down, he seized the Kinetic Core Module and sneered, "Meddling trash, you deserve to die! Deep Blue Parallel 9, is it? I'll take it and install it on a dog!"
With a particle beam pistol, the man in black shattered Eric's Kinetic Core Module, then crudely extracted the power core from the device.
Eric's body twitched once more as sparks crackled from the exposed entry point of the Kinetic Core Module.
The man in black, now holding Eric's core, strode toward Liam. Meanwhile, Faye, who had regained consciousness, gritted her teeth against the pain and attempted to rise, determined to run outside and call for help—for her one remaining friend.
As the man in black walked, he slowly raised his arm, the barrel of his gun aimed directly at Faye. He was not even sparing the child!
Liam, hidden behind the storage box, stared in disbelief at the man in black, then quickly glanced at Faye.
She was pushing herself up with her small arms, preparing to stand.
The sight instantly reminded Liam of his deceased sister...
Liam was no martyr, and in the face of danger, his first instinct was to preserve his own life.
But in that fleeting moment, seeing the silhouette of Faye, so reminiscent of his sister, he didn't hesitate. He surged to his feet and dashed forward.
"Boom!"
A second later, the sound of the particle beam pistol firing rang through the room.