Chapter 125
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Chapter 125: Frenzied Escape
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” Kyles swore repeatedly, too panicked to keep count, as he whirled around and sprinted toward the door.
But something even more absurd had happened.
The Level Four security door had automatically closed and locked, and his employee card wouldn’t unlock the electronic lock.
“You do not have authorization to perform this action.”
“You do not have authorization to perform this action.”
The electronic lock flashed the message again and again.
Just five minutes earlier, the card had worked perfectly.
“Aike! Can you hear me? Answer me, you motherfucker!”
After several failed attempts, Kyles slammed his fist against the door panel in frustration. But aside from his hand throbbing painfully from the impact, his efforts were utterly useless against the door. He knew this door, cast from steel, was at least ten centimeters thick—even with a wrench and a sledgehammer, he wouldn’t be able to make a dent, let alone break through it.
Forced to retreat back into the machine room, Kyles shouted at the ceiling camera, “Aike, you idiot! Can you see me? Open the goddamn door!”
But all his efforts were in vain. He realized MI6 was in deep trouble.
At the same time, Tyler was driving home. It was past 7 p.m., and the evening rush hour had subsided. Traffic was light, and he drove with ease, adjusting the radio with one hand while the other rested on the steering wheel.
He genuinely enjoyed this part of his commute. Leaving the bustling city center after a long day of work gave him a sense of relief, as if shedding a heavy burden. Even though tomorrow would bring more of the same, he allowed himself to savor this brief moment of peace.
This was especially true when crossing the twin-towered bridge.
The sun had just fully set, leaving only a sliver of twilight on the horizon. When this crimson light reflected on the Thames River, it painted the winding waterway in layered hues. The layered hues were made of dark red in the distance, and a brilliant gold closer to the bridge. Compared to the city’s monotonous neon lights, this natural spectacle was incomparably more vibrant.
As usual, he pressed the window button, eager to drive across the bridge with the evening breeze and fading sunlight streaming in.
But the window wouldn’t open. This malfunction irritated Tyler slightly.
Especially since the car was brand new.
The next moment, Tyler’s attention was completely drawn to the bizarre scene unfolding ahead. The ground seemed to writhe, and the beams from his headlights distorted into irregular patterns.
A deafening chorus of horns blared from the vehicles ahead, their brake lights flashing as they swerved to the sides. In the ensuing chaos, several cars collided.
Tyler suddenly realized it wasn’t his imagination. The ground wasn’t twisting; it was slowly rising!
This was a characteristic feature of the twin-towered bridge. Whenever a large ship needed to pass through the Thames River, massive iron chains would raise the two leaves of the bridge deck, clearing the waterway. Since its construction, the bridge had risen almost weekly at predictable times, closing the road across.
But it shouldn’t be rising today!
Tyler glanced in the rearview mirror, his heart sinking. Red and blue police lights flashed wildly, and the barrier gates were slowly descending.
He slammed on the brakes.
The tires shrieked, the car shuddered violently, and his speed dropped somewhat, but it didn’t immediately drop to zero. The vehicle continued hurtling forward.
He then jerked the steering wheel sharply, aiming to crash the car against the bridge’s guardrail to bring it to a stop.
But the steering wheel was frozen solid as if it were welded in place, and Tyler couldn’t budge it even with all his strength. What was eebn more unbelievable that, his seatbelt was locked in place at the same moment, tightening around him like a net and pinning him to his seat—a function that normally only activates during a collision.
Just like that, Tyler’s car surged forward, breaking free from the stunned crowd and hurtling toward the main deck of the twin-towered bridge.
“Look! What’s that guy doing?” someone shouted, spotting the bizarre sight.
“He must be high. If he doesn’t stop, he’s going to drive right off the edge.”
“Wait, can someone explain why this damn bridge is suddenly rising? I almost got rear-ended!”
“We should call the police right away!”
“Hold on, let me post this on community forum first.”
The onlookers’ chatter obviously didn’t reach Tyler, nor could they possibly imagine the true horror he was facing.
Inside Tyler’s car, all the warning lights on the dashboard lit up, and a red-and-black eye materialized on the central display screen.
The instant Tyler saw the eye, everything clicked into place!
The navigation system spoke in an emotionless, synthesized voice.
“If you want to live, tell me everything you know. Did you already know about demons before you entered Paradise?”
By now, The car’s front end had already tilted upward as it began climbing the ramp. The raised bridge deck loomed like a towering wall, a stark declaration of impending death.
The brakes had completely failed. No matter how hard he stomped on the pedal, the car’s speed only increased.
Clearly, the vehicle’s electronic control system had been completely hijacked. Although the brakes were a physical mechanism, the electric motor’s output was still managed by software. In a traditional gasoline car, pressing the brake pedal would immediately cut off the fuel supply. Electric cars were different. As long as the motor ran at full speed, even locked brakes couldn’t fully stop the wheels. Moreover, the intense friction from the brake pads would cause the rotors to overheat, making them crimson glow, leading to significant thermal fade until they lost all the stopping power.
The steering wheel was the same. While physically connected to the steering mechanism, but for ease of operation, modern vehicles are mostly equipped with electric power steering. Under normal circumstances, a driver could easily turn the wheel with a single finger. But if the system applied force in the opposite direction, its power would be overwhelming, leaving the driver utterly helpless and in despair.
Tyler never imagined that demons could wield such complete control!
In response to environmental policies, his company’s executives primarily used electric vehicles. As a manager, Tyler was no exception. Little did he know that this high-performance new car would become his enemy’s weapon.
“You have less than thirty seconds left. Speak now if you want to.” The electronic voice sounded again.
Tyler struggled to bend down, pulled a concealed dagger from the sole of his shoe, and slashed through his seatbelt.
“Twenty seconds.”
He then tried to open the glove compartment, but it was locked shut.
“Fifteen seconds.”
Tyler opened the dashboard compartment, grabbed a screwdriver, and reversing its grip, he smashed the handle against the corner of the window with all his might.
Just then, the window suddenly slid down, leaving his full-force strike hitting nothing but the air. And the momentum sent his wrist slamming against the window frame, which lead to the screwdriver flying out. The half-lowered window immediately rolled back up, sealing itself tight.
“Ten seconds.”
Tyler exhaled slowly.
He stopped struggling, straightened his tie, and settled back into his seat.
“Tell them,” he said, “that I made my contribution to national security. Britain will never forget what happened today.”
At that moment, the car plunged off the edge of the bridge.
For an instant, he felt as if he were flying.
The eye on the central console screen vanished.
In his final moment, Tyler gazed at the Thames River, to where the last of the sunset’s afterglow faded. The Dark crimson ripples receded into the distance from him, while shimmering golden glimmers drew closer, as if the river itself were embracing him rather than him falling into it.
With a deafening splash, all color dissolved into pitch blackness.
