at the next turn

In front of everyone, Hudson leaped gracefully, as transparent fluids seeped from his advanced mechanical body.

He jumped over Dave's car and landed heavily on the thin hood, which bent slightly under his metallic feet, leaving behind some light dents.

There, Hudson stood firmly on the car, staring directly through the crystalline glass while everyone exchanged glances. Jeremiah was on the verge of collapsing under the crushing weight of tension.

Hudson cast a sharp glance with his lens-like eyes, scanning Dave, Amy, Jeremiah, Alex, and the others. No one could be blamed for their feelings at that moment; their blood had frozen in their veins, and silence dominated the crowded street. Yet Dave remained firm on the gas pedal, refusing to move his foot.

Hudson prepared to strike; he extended his right hand and grabbed a part of his shirt at his right chest, ready to land a punch on David and put an end to this ongoing farce.

Suddenly, Jeremiah screamed, lunging toward the back seats to embrace Slim tightly, who responded in kind. As for David, he never lifted his hands off the steering wheel, as if the thought of abandoning it had never crossed his mind—and never would.

Hudson clenched his fist and then hurled it toward David's center with a devastating punch.

The wind slammed against Hudson's greasy face, but it wasn't enough to make him miss his target. He delivered a powerful punch with his iron knuckles, splitting the air to the right and left as the windshield shattered into hundreds of tiny fragments.

David's head twisted sharply as he dodged at the last moment, causing Hudson's fierce punch to miss and crash into the solid headrest instead. Hudson's hand revealed his human-like skin, interwoven with multiple electronic components that supported him, leaving David in stunned silence. He had survived by sheer luck, unable to smile or react—all his focus locked onto the road ahead.

David drove with near-perfect skill, maneuvering the car sideways in a sudden swerve that sent the tires screeching so loudly it nearly tore through the ears. All these maneuvers were attempts to shake Hudson off—but to no avail. The only ones suffering were those seated at the edges, like Alex and Jeremiah, while Hudson, standing atop the hood, clung to the car with all his might.

The speed surged, adrenaline rushing through their veins as David steered onto the highway connecting Manhattan to Brooklyn, exceeding the speed limit to reach 156 kilometers per hour. So far, there was no sign of the police.

Salim, with clear tension, muttered in a low voice after his long silence, trying to urge David to slow down. But Amy, with feigned confidence, insisted that David had a plan to get rid of Hudson and that everyone should avoid distracting him. She wasn't sure of what she was saying, but David's sly smile left everyone bewildered. No one knew if that smile reflected tension, fear, or perhaps something else beyond explanation.

Hudson, battered by the opposing wind, was staring at David with blazing eyes. To him, David had become his new enemy since the sunset of the old era. Hudson realized that David would try to stop the car abruptly again to throw him off, but he seemed prepared for what was coming.

Hudson immediately braced himself to thwart whatever David was planning.

He thrust his left hand into the windshield from a different point than the one he had previously shattered, precisely in front of Jeremiah. Jeremiah shielded himself from the dense and heavy glass shards, while Hudson gripped the shattered glass firmly. He slowly raised his right hand, his twisted fist preparing for a powerful strike.

David, with intense focus, drove the car as if his entire life depended on this moment. He whispered to himself calmly that he must not make a mistake, as a single wrong move could destroy the car completely. The roads were lined with crash barriers on both the right and left sides, increasing the risk of any error.

In this critical moment, Hudson disrupted David's focus with a punch aimed directly at him. His fist was precisely calculated, targeting David while he was preoccupied with the road.

But Amy reacted swiftly. She pulled out her sharp dagger with modern black-reddish blades and hurled it at Hudson at maximum speed.

The dagger pierced Hudson's neck, slicing through his throat and reaching the electronic circuits and wires inside. It lodged itself there. His body leaned slightly backward, nearly falling, but he remained gripping the windshield tightly. With a distorted and fragmented voice, due to the damage to his vocal systems, Hudson spoke in a tone filled with dread and defiance:

"This is the end... We will all die here... now."

David, in direct confrontation with Hudson, fought with all his strength, gripping the steering wheel tightly.

At the moment David's eyes caught the end of the road, his pulse quickened, and his pupils dilated.

Adrenaline surged through his veins as he realized that a sharply curved downward slope was rapidly approaching, appearing like a trap waiting to challenge any car daring to take it at such insane speed.

Time froze for a moment, and David shouted over the roaring engine: "This is our chance!"

The car neared the edge, and David's foot hovered just above the brakes, barely touching them with his fingertips. As the vehicle reached the heart of the curve—where survival chances were nearly nonexistent—he slammed the brakes with all his might.

The screeching sound of the tires pierced through the silence of the night with a sharp intensity.

David executed a precisely calculated side-drift maneuver, keeping the car aligned with the iron railing without touching it. The vehicle swayed on the edge of the circular abyss, leaving behind a thick cloud of smoke. The passengers clung on with all their strength, while fear danced and played in their eyes.

Hudson, gripping the hood and shattered windshield, felt the centrifugal force intensify terrifyingly, as if a black hole were pulling him toward the edges. He struggled desperately to hold onto the windshield, but his hand failed him. The glass shattered beneath his grip, and his hold slipped, sending him flying through the air like a ragdoll tossed by the wind.

He crashed into the road barrier with a resounding impact, shattering it into scattered debris. His mechanical and human limbs tore apart, almost fully revealing what made Hudson the ultimate cyborg from the Berry facility.

Hudson thought his suffering had ended—until the car slightly veered off its path. The tires skidded on the cold, damp asphalt, causing the rear of the vehicle to slam into the barrier and Hudson's body simultaneously.

His form was crushed between steel and concrete in a scene that lasted no more than two seconds. Pieces of the car and Hudson scattered together in those fleeting moments.

He soared over the barrier, leaving behind a trail of destruction. Hudson plummeted from the bridge to the street below, where life seemed to pause for a moment, and the breaths of those witnessing the scene froze in their chests.