De Silva cursed inwardly, "Damn it," and immediately turned invisible to escape. No. 2 scooped up Ares and ran towards the parking lot. Beyondbear let go of Uwa and hurried after them, leaving only three people at the scene.
"These two girls look identical. Which one is Daechir?" one police officer asked. "I hear they're sisters. It's really hard to tell them apart."
"Aren't we going after the ones who just ran away?"
"No need. They're not important. Let them go." Alice said to Daechir beside her, "Please, don't kill anyone else. I'll go back with you."
"That depends entirely on them." De Silva had returned to the third floor, hiding by a window and looking out. He wracked his brain, trying to figure out how to get Alice and the others out of this. If only he had brought the "Guardian"(his robot), he thought with some regret.
As his mind raced, No. 2 came crashing through in a car. She drove recklessly, breaking through the encirclement and stopping right beside Daechir's group of three. Ares yelled, "Get in the car!"
"So they really are all together!" a police officer shouted.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bullets rained down on the car's body.
"Alice, they're the ones who attacked me first. I haven't even fought back," Daechir said.
"Thanks, but how are we going to escape? There are so many cars following us!" Beyondbear knelt before Ares, muttering, "Buddha, please show yourself now."
Whoosh! A bullet pierced the car and hit him in the leg. He let out a strange cry of pain and immediately fell silent. At the same time, he thought, "Buddha must be angry." He clutched his wound, grimacing in pain.
Ares hid in the toilet and warned those outside, "Don't you dare come in! I'm taking a dump, and it stinks!" Uwa pulled out her gun and fired back, but it had little effect.
After driving for more than ten kilometers, No. 2 suddenly shouted, "Oh no, the car's out of gas!" Just as she said it, the car slowly came to a stop. Ares came out of the toilet and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Looks like I have no choice but to act. Everyone, get out of the car. I'll deal with the people behind us," Daechir said. Things having come to this, Alice had no better idea, so she said nothing.
The car had stopped at a crossroads flanked by woods. Everyone got out and ran into the forest on the left. Daechir stood alone on the roof of the car and said to the people behind them, "I'll kill anyone who dares to take another step forward."
"Don't get too arrogant, you maniac! Drop your weapon and surrender!" a police officer said.
To buy more time, Daechir said with a smile, "And what if I don't?"
"Then don't blame us for being..." Before he could finish, Daechir shouted, "Wait!"
"What? Are you planning to surrender?"
"I'm going to perform a magic trick for you all. Let's see if you can find me." After speaking, she slowly took off her jacket. Just as everyone thought she was about to take off a second piece of clothing, the jacket was thrown into the air. In a blur, all they saw was a jacket left on the car roof. In reality, Daechir had jumped off the car at an incredible speed. The people below stared at each other in confusion. By the time they realized what had happened, she was long gone.
Daechir caught up with Alice and the others. Beyondbear, with his injured leg, was the slowest. He kept looking back, and when he saw her, he cried out in pleasant surprise, "It's great that you're okay!"
Daechir was not moved by his concern; instead, she was disgusted. She snapped, "Stay away from me, you big oaf."
Alice turned her head and asked, "How is it? Did you lose them?"
"They'll probably catch up. Let's go, quickly," Daechir replied.
Ares was being carried by No. 2, with the little dog following closely behind him. The mountain path was rugged and overgrown with weeds, severely slowing their pace. Uwa was at the front, clearing the way. Suddenly, two paths appeared before them. She stopped and asked, "Which way?" Daechir pointed to the left, and the group continued in that direction.
A short while later, the sound of dogs barking rose from behind them. "Oh no, they're catching up," Alice warned.
Everyone quickened their pace, but the sounds from behind grew closer. "Aargh!" A pained cry escaped from Beyondbear's lips, and he collapsed. Uwa and Alice quickly turned back to check, only to see that Beyondbear had been shot twice in the back. Blood was streaming from the wounds. Being large and at the very back, he had become a shield for everyone else.
Daechir also came over, pulled Alice and said, "Don't worry about him. Let's go."
"No, we can't leave him behind," Alice refused.
"But the pursuers are about to catch up."
"Then you figure out a way to stop them."
Ares got down from No. 2's arms. Seeing him, Beyondbear whispered, "Buddha, please save me."
"Don't be afraid, Beyondbear. Everyone dies. You're a big guy; you'll definitely go to heaven." Uwa tried to carry Beyondbear on her back, but he was too heavy, like a small mountain.
Alice was also at a loss. She looked at No. 2 and asked, "Do you have any ideas?"
"I am only responsible for my master. Other people's business is not my concern," No. 2 replied.
Alice thought to herself, "These robots are all so cold and ruthless. It's terrifying."
Daechir engaged the pursuers behind them, and the sound of gunfire rose and fell.
Ares saw that they couldn't go on like this and said to No. 2, "See if you can carry Beyondbear." No. 2 was reluctant but tried anyway. Being a robot, carrying the 200-kilogram Beyondbear was quite easy for her.
Alice was overjoyed and said to Ares, "Thank you!"
Ares had rarely spoken to Alice along the way. Looking at this beautiful girl who was several generations older than him, he didn't know what to say and managed to squeeze out a few words, "You're welcome."
The gunfire behind them had temporarily ceased. Ares was small with short legs, making it very difficult for him to walk on the mountain path. Seeing this, Alice proactively picked him up. Ares had never been held by a human woman before, and his face immediately turned bright red.
"Why are you blushing?" Alice asked with a smile.
Ares was astonished. "I'm wearing a mask, how could you know?"
"I could tell from your movements."
"I only blush when I have a cold. It must be the mountain wind here."
Alice found teasing the child to be fun and asked again, "It's so hot today, where would the wind come from?"
As the two of them talked, the group arrived at a small stream. The water was so clear you could see the pebbles, small rocks, and waterweeds at the bottom. Alice put Ares down, stopped, and said to everyone, "Let's rest here for a bit." No. 2 immediately dropped Beyondbear, and Uwa went to check his injuries.
Daechir took a box from her clothes. Inside were five spiders. She placed the box on the ground, and the spiders immediately crawled out in all directions. After doing all this, she walked over to Alice. "You should rest too. We still have a long way to go."
"Where are we?" Alice asked.
"I don't know either, but we're heading in the right direction."
"Why did the pursuers behind us suddenly disappear?"
"You don't need to know that."
"Did you kill them?"