BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM - Chapter 867: Hunting for Shade (24)
With a sense of urgency, June darted through the town hall, his footsteps echoing through the empty hallways.
He detected the lingering smell of his target in the air and tracked it.
Outside of the town hall, a deafening commotion erupted, cutting through the stillness of the air.
June realized the Band of Giants had forsaken the veil of shadows and subtlety, choosing instead to fight the gang members in a blatant clash.
<This will at least give us time to capture the mother fucker. >
His incredible speed allowed him to navigate the building with ease.
Yet, time was of the essence.
As time went on, the probability of Shade escaping increased.
June was determined to prevent that from happening. He looked in a bunch of rooms, moving fast, but wasted time and found nothing.
The clone picked up the scent trail he had been searching for once more, after having briefly lost it.
Up ahead, by an exit, was the person he was following until he lost sight of him.
<Found you, little rat. >
This had to be Shade, or at least the person they believed to be Shade.
The figure was mere steps away from a waiting flying car, its engines humming in
anticipation of departure.
Positioned around the vehicle were ten guards, each one committed to protecting their leader at all costs, and they stood there, ready and watchful.
June wasted no time and reverted to being a human with no hesitation. He picked up his pace and ran faster than before.
The guards hadn’t noticed him yet, their focus on their task of ensuring a safe escape for Shade.
The clone didn’t waste time. He sprinted towards the group with unmatched velocity, his feet barely touching the ground as he closed the distance.
As he reached the guards, chaos erupted. The sudden appearance of June, out of nowhere, caught the guards off guard, but they recovered, drawing their weapons to confront the threat.
June dodged the first few attempts to subdue him. His hands moved fast, killing one guard and using the stolen weapon to fend off another.
“FUCK! KILL THIS GUY!” Shade said. In the meantime, he jumped in the car, while June killed four more guards.
“GO! GO! GO!”
The clone looked at the car ascending into the sky. He couldn’t allow it.
He shapeshifted. If before there was a human in front of the guards, now there was a gigantic black wyvern.
The guards trembled before June squashed them under the mighty weight of his feet.
He also used his long scaly tail against a group of approaching guards, and all that remained of them was a bloody pulp on a wall.
“A WYVERN!” There was fear in Shade’s voice this time.
Right at that precise moment, June clamped down on the flying car using his powerful jaws.
His hold tightened, his immense strength causing the car’s engine to sputter and die amidst a shower of sparks and a billow of smoke.
With a powerful heave, June hurled the now useless vehicle towards the town hall’s wall, turning it into a twisted wreck against the aged stone.
Shade found himself cornered as June reverted to his human form, towering with an air of inevitability.
Shade’s brain crystal power was revealed: the ability to create illusions, intricately designed but limited in quantity.
<Ah… That’s why. > June’s realization clicked. The uniformity was Shade’s fail-safe, meticulously planned for situations exactly like this.
The use of masks and uniforms was not just to preserve the anonymity of his clandestine group or to detect infiltrators.
It was a strategic choice designed to safeguard his own survival in critical situations by merging into a multitude of duplicates.
From the wreckage of the flying car, a bewildering scene unfolded: twenty Shades burst forth, scattering in a desperate bid for freedom.
<This guy is not prideful, he is not strong. He is a coward who used his illusions to wreak havoc in the world. >
“So, this is the depth of your courage,” June said, contempt painting his face.
Transforming back into a feline form, June’s heightened senses of smell cut through the charade.
A single scent directed him. Within moments, the clone pinpointed the true Shade among his doppelgangers.
June had the advantage. The real Shade couldn’t hide his smell. The clone charged ahead, muscles ready to catch.
He transformed back into a human and smoothly grabbed Shade’s shoulder. The unexpected touch stopped the man in his tracks.
“AAAAH you motherfucker!”
Shade couldn’t break free. The guy in front of him was way too strong. The grip on his shoulder was like a vice, making escape impossible.
Shade’s freaking out and cussing became background noise while June stayed focused on his
captive.
Shade suddenly realized he was screwed, his body tensing up as he tried to figure out what to
do.
June had had it and slammed Shade to the ground.
“UGH!”
He writhed and twisted, desperate to break free from the iron grip, but it was futile; the strength that June possessed was overwhelming.
“Do you even know who I am? I am Shade, and I work for the Blackguards!”
Shade said, venom dripping from every word, his face contorting in anger and defiance.
June gave Shade a dirty look, not impressed by the threats or name-dropping. June didn’t care
at all when the Blackguards were mentioned. If anything, it just made him more determined
to see this through.
“They won’t let you get away with this,” he said.
But before they could say anything else, there was another explosion, letting everyone know
Erik was finished.
June’s expression remained unchanged, a visage of icy determination. He held Shade’s shoulder tighter so that the criminal mastermind couldn’t escape.
“Blackguards or not, you die tonight,” June said, his voice steady and resolute.
But Shade wasn’t finished yet. All around the building, countless of his men and women were fighting. They saw him being held down and lost their minds. There was still hope for Shade to make a run for it.
