Hidden Assassin 253

Flowers danced in the air, flanked by dazzling skyscrapers. A red sports car roared through the streets of New York City, quickly overtaking two cars ahead. It abruptly swerved into the adjacent lane, narrowly missing a black sedan. If you were outside, you could probably hear the violent roar of the two vehicles as they crossed paths. With a turn of the steering wheel, the sports car, traveling at over 150 kilometers per hour, suddenly veered off the road.

Ahead, a car accelerated, heading straight towards the sideways sports car.

The headlights were blinding, instantly reaching a point of unbearable brightness.

“Ah!”

雅涵 (Ya Han) involuntarily cried out. Just as the two cars were about to collide, she quickly turned her head. Out of the corner of her eye, the headlights were right before her.

Swish!

With a hair’s breadth, the sports car shot through the nearby side road. The car that was racing past slammed on its brakes, and a chaotic scene unfolded behind them. 雅涵 (Ya Han), regaining her composure, took deep breaths, leaning back against the seat. Her eyes followed the countless lights streaming away behind her.

This was not the first time she had experienced such a hair-raising scene since they escaped from that blocked street.

It all began at the four-way intersection with green lights all around. Since then, she had witnessed one chase scene after another, the kind you only see in movies. Sure, watching as an audience member is exciting, but when you’re the star of the show, it’s downright terrifying. In New York City, the speed limit for cars is generally 55 to 65 mph. This is because there are usually too many cars, and congestion is common. Even though the heavy snowfall reduced traffic flow, it made the roads extremely slippery. As the sports car hurtled past at three to four times the speed limit, the sensation wasn’t exciting, but rather life-threatening.

Countless vehicles were quickly left behind, one by one, like a blur. Her body swayed left and right. The sports car was weaving through the traffic at breakneck speed. Every time it overtook another car, it felt like a near-death experience. It felt like any slight error in judgement, any loss of control, could result in the sports car colliding with something in the adjacent lane. At this speed, even a minor collision could send the car flying.

Especially in such icy and snowy weather, the tires’ grip was greatly reduced. Every time the sports car navigated a 90-degree or even sharper bend, with a turn of the steering wheel, the car would skid sideways for tens of meters. It was the kind of extreme drifting she had only seen in movies. With every such turn, the immense centrifugal force flung her body violently to one side. Each time, it felt like the sports car was about to lose control. Yet, every time, the car managed to successfully navigate into the next road. Although she had told herself not to be afraid, she still turned white as a sheet and couldn’t help but scream every time she narrowly avoided a head-on collision with an oncoming vehicle.

This kind of thing, no matter how many times you experience it, you never get used to it… she thought to herself. She couldn’t help but glance at the man beside her. He had a thinning head of blond hair, thin lips, and a hooked nose – a face she was completely unfamiliar with and could not describe as charming. However, with her preconceived notions, his eyes conveyed an extremely sharp and reliable feel. He wasn’t looking at her, but was intently focused on the road ahead, gripping the steering wheel. His right hand frequently slammed down, shifting gears at dizzying speeds. It was like a well-designed computer program, precise and composed. This sight helped to calm her nerves.

Occasionally, the voices of those bad guys came through the walkie-talkie on the dashboard.

“You can’t escape. 简素言 (Jian Suyan)! This is New York! Not 江海 (Jiang Hai).”

Perhaps due to the stress of the situation, the first thing yelled out over the walkie-talkie was a rather unskillful threat. They were passing over the Manhattan Bridge at the time, and with a bit of breathing room, they responded with a sarcastic laugh.

“New York? You mean New York is your territory? 庄 (Zhuang), Castro just died. Face reality!”

“No matter what happens to Castro, right now you’re just fighting a lone battle. No one will come to help you!”

“You dedicated more than half of your entire US branch’s fighting force to stop me. That just shows how capable you are… So who’s in a better position? The US government is watching you. The FBI and the National Security Agency are watching you. 智慧天国 (Wisdom Heaven) doesn’t like you. When it comes to killing your boss, the efficiency of 造物奇迹 (Creation Miracle), from top to bottom, is astonishing. Now there’s 炎黄觉醒 (Yan Huang Jue Xing)… Ha, alliance! Why did the Japanese Pei Luo Jia assassinate James in 江海 (Jiang Hai)? Did killing him really frame 炎黄觉醒 (Yan Huang Jue Xing)? You’re still thinking about licking 御守沧 (Youshu Cang)’s ass… You!

Ah!”

“So we’ll see who comes out on top.”

When it came to this topic, 庄 (Zhuang)’s tone became extremely gloomy. In fact, 造物奇迹 (Creation Miracle) was based in America. Even if James’s trip to 江海 (Jiang Hai) put him on the opposite side of 炎黄觉醒 (Yan Huang Jue Xing) that time, this assassination tactic was too childish. The Japanese Pei Luo Jia’s motive was to drag the US branch into the water. Castro, 庄 (Zhuang) and the others all understood this, but since they already had an intention to cooperate, they deliberately overlooked these petty tactics and went with the flow. It’s one thing to know it in your heart, but it’s another thing to say it out loud. Now that the walkie-talkie was directly connected to the entire communication network, so all the assassins could hear it, his mood was naturally going to get worse.

The situation on both sides was tense, so these conversations were actually separated by long stretches of silence. 庄 (Zhuang) spoke calmly and gloomily, while the other side was somewhat sarcastic. After the conversation ended, the man opened the window, threw out the walkie-talkie, and then quickly turned the steering wheel.

The car’s tail whipped towards the front!

In that instant, the man pulled out his pistol and fired as the car swung sideways. On the road, the entire sports car spun twice like a top before regaining its original direction. 雅涵 (Ya Han), dizzy and still screaming, looked back. One of the pursuing cars exploded into a massive fireball, instantly falling behind.

From beginning to end, this life-threatening chase had been going on for over forty minutes in New York City. Occasionally, they could see police cars rushing past, only to be left behind. The assassins’ cars were chasing them from front and rear, some even leaning out of their cars and firing with machine guns. The bullets hammered against the bulletproof car, making a terrifying noise. This was definitely the most chaotic night in New York… she thought to herself.

They sped across the Manhattan Bridge into Brooklyn, then took a large group of pursuers into Queens. Countless streetlights, brilliant buildings flashed by, quickly left behind. Soon, the sports car was back in Manhattan. Amidst the wind and snow, 雅涵 (Ya Han) looked back, and through the buildings blurred by snowflakes, she spotted something.

“That… that… that… that is…”

Overwhelmed by her discovery, she wanted to warn the man but feared distracting him. She started to speak, but then trailed off, her words caught in her throat. She leaned back against the seat and looked for a while, before a voice came from beside her. “That’s not filming the news.”

“Uh…”

Turning her head, the man beside her forcefully pulled the steering wheel with his right hand. The sports car accelerated again. Without looking back, he said, “This is their territory. That helicopter that’s been following us is also theirs. Otherwise, how could these guys pinpoint our location so easily?”

“Then… what are we going to do?”

Realizing her presence wouldn’t be of any help, she cautiously asked. The assassins’ vehicles had been pursuing them relentlessly, front and rear, and now she knew there was a helicopter risking its life in the wind and snow, following them. If it weren’t for the traffic lights on the streets constantly changing for inexplicable reasons, they probably wouldn’t have been able to escape several ambushes. Now, how could a sports car outrun a helicopter…

A brief answer came from beside her: “We keep running.”

…

…

Minutes later, they arrived at the Washington Bridge.

Spanning the Hudson River, one of the main arteries in and out of New York, the Washington Bridge had a strict rule of allowing entry but not exit. It was nearing midnight. The orange and green lights illuminated the majestic suspension bridge. Despite the snow, vehicles were coming and going, but on this side of the bridge, there were more than a dozen police cars lined up on both sides of the road. Sirens wailed, the officers prepared for battle.

The sports car came racing towards them. It slowed down slightly in the heavy traffic, but still continued to overtake other cars. Behind them, the helicopter continued to follow closely. As the sports car approached, the police cars began to move.

Two hundred meters, one hundred meters, fifty meters. The distance was closing quickly. 雅涵 (Ya Han) held her breath, waiting for the two sides to clash, but the sports car drove straight past the entrance to the bridge. As they looked back, more than a dozen police cars quickly moved towards the center, blocking the entrance to the bridge.

The sports car drove onto the bridge. As far as the eye could see, the majestic night view of New York was obscured by a thick curtain of snow. Although she wasn’t familiar with New York, her stepmother had taken her to see the bridge when they went shopping. Once they left the Washington Bridge, they would be out of New York City. Past that, it was New Jersey.

In the sky, the helicopter still followed the sports car relentlessly, flying across the wide river in the wind and snow. It was the only one left.

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