Chapter 48: Hold Fast and Await Reinforcements?

"Activate, Destroyer Mode!"

Following Luca's command, the [Dominator] pistol in his hand rapidly unfolded.

Cyan particles continuously gathered, and a massive energy sphere shrank rapidly amidst a humming sound.

However, before this high-energy particle sphere could actually be fired, a large number of gang members brandishing firearms rushed out from within the building with ferocious expressions.

Dunshan's expression instantly shifted. He raised his muzzle and shouted loudly.

"Covering fire!"

"Dadadada—"

The intense sounds of gunfire echoed continuously all around, and golden bullet casings rained down onto the ground.

However, these subordinates of Kingpin were, after all, merely reckless and violent gangsters. How could they possibly compare to true, battle-hardened veterans like Dunshan and his men?

The situation could be said to have instantly devolved into a one-sided massacre.

A succession of miserable screams rose and fell in waves; four or five gangsters collapsed backward in an instant, before they even had time to raise their gun muzzles.

Yet Luca was the first to notice that a good number of the gang members inside the building had aimed their weapons squarely at Baymax, who was busy pushing the cart.

Looking at the fully charged energy sphere in his hand, Luca immediately roared.

"Baymax! Get back!"

"Got it!" (●—●)

As Baymax dashed away from the spot, countless bullets from the gangsters struck the Mercedes-Benz windshield, bursting it into web-like cracks.

Even so, the Mercedes managed to break free. Stepping hard on the accelerator, it charged rapidly into the building.

Meanwhile, the [Dominator] in Luca's hand had already instantly discharged a beam of green light.

"Hum—"

The cyan-blue high-energy particle beam slammed instantly into the ground behind the rear of the car.

Earlier, out of concern for Baymax's safety, coupled with the fact that the Mercedes had its accelerator floored from a standstill, its starting speed was extremely fast.

This caused Luca's shot to narrowly miss the vehicle body itself.

Even so.

At the exact point where the particle beam collided with the ground, the cyan and white lights instantly surged, transforming in the blink of an eye into a massive, sizzling energy sphere.

The Mercedes-Benz, which had only moved forward by half a meter, had nearly a third of its body engulfed within this gigantic sphere of light.

In just that fleeting fraction of a second.

The vehicle's body armor, possessing VR7-level defensive capabilities, was instantly melted, decomposed, and vaporized away by a section.

The entire rear half of the car chassis, along with the majority of the wheels, looked as though it had been bitten off by an invisible giant mouth, leaving behind only a neat row of neat cuts radiating a scorching red glow.

Perhaps due to being decomposed with such extreme swiftness, the vehicle's body did not detonate amidst this devastation.

Propelled solely by its previous momentum, it rushed forward relentlessly, plunging headfirst straight into the building ahead.

After crashing through several gang members in succession, with a loud 'bang', it shattered a distant wall and finally came to a complete halt, silent.

Witnessing this scene, Luca nodded with satisfaction and retrieved the [Dominator].

Well, the reason Luca could put away his gun with such composure was twofold.

Aside from the fact that Baymax had already rapidly arrived by his side, using its bulky body to shield him from any stray bullets that might pose a threat,

it was also because, despite the fierce exchange of fire having just begun shortly ago, the enemies who had previously rushed out from the building had already been basically dealt with by Dunshan and the others.

Especially Thresh, the bald, muscular brute standing right beside Luca.

Upon abandoning the continued shooting at the bulletproof Mercedes, he had directly pivoted his muzzle and began firing indiscriminately toward the direction of the warehouse building.

The rapidly spitting tongues of fire acted like the Reaper's scythe, turning everything in their path into a honeycomb.

Moreover, while this fellow fired frantically, he kept bursting into wild, maniacal laughter.

"Die! Die! Scum! Hahahaha~~~ Taste grandpa's hot big gun!"

Yet, even in such a seemingly frenzied state, Thresh's machine gun remained remarkably precise and stable. He was even able to switch to controlled bursts in the gaps between sweeping fire, swiftly changing ammunition magazines during the lulls to ensure prolonged firepower sustainability.

It was not until another belt box of 200 rounds was completely emptied, accompanied by the persistent 'click' of an empty chamber,

that Thresh seemed to regain his sanity. His expression stiffened abruptly, and looking at the somewhat glowing red barrel of his gun, he awkwardly scratched his large bald head.

"Uhm, Young Master Luca, I don't actually do this very often..."

Hiding behind Baymax, the corners of Luca's twitching slightly, for a moment he had no idea what to say.

In truth, what Luca did not know was that Thresh was indeed not in his 'usual state' right now.

Today was only because the battle took place within the city and against mere gangsters that he was merely using an M249 light machine gun.

Had it been Thresh operating in overseas combat zones as usual, serving as the squad's heavy gunner, he would typically employ an electrically driven tactical backpack ammo box XM556 minigun—commonly known as a handheld Gatling gun—for suppressing fire.

In that scenario, Thresh's laughter would be louder and his expression far more frenzied, differing quite a bit from his state today.

Returning to the matter at hand.

As all the enemies before them fell, the roaring gunfire finally subsided.

The ground was littered with ejected bullet casings, a heavy smell of gunpowder assaulted Luca's nostrils, the fading echoes of gunfire still lingered in his ears, and before his eyes lay a sea of gang members' corpses riddled with bullet holes.

However, among these deceased individuals, Kingpin, Luca's true target for today, was clearly not to be found.

"Longbow, Wrench! Did anyone escape from the building just now?" Dunshan quickly inquired of his other two teammates via the comms channel.

"No." Longbow's calm voice was the first to reply.

Wrench's response was slightly delayed, coming only after a few brief gasps for air.

"I've been keeping my eyes glued to the screen this whole time, and I haven't seen anyone."

However, noticing Wrench's unusual demeanor, Dunshan immediately pressed further.

"Wrench, report your situation."

"A car that should belong to Kingpin's men just passed by my position, and I've already taken it out. But I suggest you guys speed up; there's a strong possibility that reinforcements are heading for the target."

Wrench replied in a brisk tone.

Hearing this, Dunshan didn't dwell on Wrench's elimination of the carload of gangsters, but as the latter analyzed,

Kingpin was, after all, the overlord of Hell's Kitchen, and since they were assaulting his stronghold, reinforcements could arrive at any moment.

If they didn't want to be counter-encircled here by those reinforcements, they had to pick up the pace now.

Without hesitation, Dunshan's gaze immediately shifted to Luca on the other side.

Yet, there was no need for a reminder; Luca had already pressed his fingers against the temple of his [Tracking Glasses] to activate his thermal imaging mode.

'1, 2, 3, 4...'

Sweeping his gaze rapidly, Kingpin was indeed still being protected by his last remaining subordinates inside a windowless room on the third floor. Judging by the thickness of the protective walls around that room, it had likely been specially reinforced.

'Preparing to hold out and wait for reinforcements? No!'

"Watch out for grenades!!!"