On the desolate road, which was usually rarely traveled, it was extraordinarily lively today.
Boom!
A bomb dropped to the ground, causing a tremendous roar and kicking up dust everywhere.
Boom!
A rugged-looking off-road vehicle suddenly burst out of the swirling dust, speeding forward rapidly.
"Damn it! How did the people from Rhine Lab find out so quickly?"
Inside the car, Saria's expression darkened as she looked through the front mirror at the several vehicles sticking tightly to them like plasters. Rhine Lab's reaction was far quicker than she had anticipated. They had barely left the lab when Rhine Lab's personnel arrived and immediately launched an attack without saying a word.
"Miss A2, how much longer do we need?" Saria asked A2, who was driving the off-road vehicle in front of her.
"Half an hour." A2 answered Saria's question plainly, completely unconcerned about the vehicles closely following behind them.
"What about Silence? She hasn't been discovered too, has she?" Mayer asked worriedly.
"She's fine." Saria shook her head. "The people at Rhine Lab shouldn't know about Silence going to Rhodes Island. They probably think Silence is with us. Moreover, Rhodes Island is prepared to receive Silence and Ifrit. With the protection of Rhodes Island Operators, Silence will certainly be safe. It must have been the sudden mention of bringing you two along to Umbrella that aroused suspicion among those people. Damn it, I was careless!"
"Coo coo." Ptilopsis tightly hugged Saria's arm, making a pigeon-like sound. The car was moving too fast, and Ptilopsis was slightly scared.
"Don't worry." Saria patted Ptilopsis's shoulder, gently soothing her mood.
Saria was quite surprised that Ptilopsis, who usually maintained a blank expression and spoke like a system, would show such an emotion. But the most important thing now was to shake off the people behind them.
Boom!
Another wave of bombs hurtled toward the off-road vehicle.
Fortunately, this was no ordinary off-road vehicle; its heavy frame quickly steadied the tremors caused by the bombs' aftershocks.
"Miss A2, are there any weapons on the car? We must counterattack," Saria said in a low voice. Being bombed like this had sparked her temper.
"D32 Metal?!" Mayer exclaimed in surprise. As a researcher, and one skilled in machinery at that, Mayer immediately recognized that the metal box was made of precious D32 Metal—and entirely so!
Just how rich was Umbrella?! To use a material as precious as D32 Steel just to make a box! Even Rhine Lab wasn't this extravagant!
Saria also saw that the box was made of D32 Steel, but knowing Umbrella's immense wealth, she wasn't too surprised. She took the box, pressed a button on its surface, and with a flash of blue lines, the box opened, revealing high-tech weapons brimming with sci-fi aesthetics.
"They actually made them," Saria muttered, looking at the high-tech weapons in the box. She then picked up a sci-fi rifle and tossed it to Mayer, who had been staring intently at the weapons.
"You know how to use a gun, right? Come and help."
"OK!"
Mayer fumbled with the high-tech weapon with great interest. Although it looked very sci-fi, the way to use it wasn't much different from Laterano guns, just more convenient. However, Mayer couldn't find where to remove the magazine.
Could Umbrella's technology have reached the point of converting free energy in the air into energy bullets? Mayer speculated boldly. As a researcher, making bold assumptions was necessary. Although this idea seemed impractical, given Saria's brief descriptions of Umbrella, Mayer was willing to believe in their technology.
A2's next words completely confirmed Mayer's suspicion.
"These are all equipped with energy conversion devices. However, they are trial products and haven't reached the theoretical infinite state yet, but one is enough."
Good grief, "It's actually true! This is an invention capable of subverting the entire world!"
Mayer looked at the sci-fi weapon in her hand with a fanatical expression, feeling that following Saria to Umbrella instead of Rhodes Island was absolutely the right choice.
"Mayer, stop talking and hurry up! They're coming," Saria shouted. She held a silver-white cannon barrel and aimed it at the vehicles behind them through the window.
Visible blue energy gathered at the muzzle, and then with a bang, an energy shell was fired.
Immediately after, the people in the car heard a deafening sound and saw a rising mushroom cloud through the rearview mirror.
---------------------------------
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! If the story has you hooked and you can't wait to see what happens next, you can unlock 30 chapters in advance over on my Patreon: patreon.com/TLHimejima1
Every bit of support means the world to me so if you're loving the ride, don't forget to drop a Power Stone and let me know.