NOVEL NEXT Chapter 18: Chapter 18
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Chapter 18: Cat and Mouse (Part 1)
"Damn, these cops are really annoying." The enforcers were nearly upon her. Vi jumped up, grabbed a streetlamp, swung around it, and kicked two of them away. Upon landing, she was quickly surrounded by more enforcers. Although Vi was a natural at fighting, she hadn't yet grown strong enough to handle a whole group of enforcers. Luckily, they weren't trying to kill her; their orders were to capture her alive. This attack had been too severe, and taking down a small-time thug wouldn't suffice as an explanation for their superiors.
"Grah!" With a surge of unknown strength, Vi shoved her way through three or four enforcers. From a distance, a police car was speeding straight towards her. She didn't slow down either and leapt sideways, crashing through the windshield and rolling across the car. Despite being flung through the air, she managed to adjust herself and land safely. In contrast, the police car lost control, crashing into several enforcers. This created an opportunity for Vi to widen the gap between them. The sky was beginning to lighten, a warm reddish dawn emerging on the horizon. Behind her was the lingering cold, pale moonlight. If she could cross that line ahead, she'd be in the sunlight again, ready to start a new life.
Run, run! Vi ran with all her might, the cold morning wind making her fingers and toes numb, though her head felt hot. Something red seemed to trickle down her cheek, dripping onto the ground. She realized she was injured. The crash earlier had hit her hard, but she felt no pain. It was the same even now. However, she was losing strength, her body felt weightless, and her head was spinning. Ahead, the dawn revealed a tall figure, both beautiful and dashing, yet that enforcer's uniform was blindingly bright. Caitlyn had finally convinced her mother to let her join the pursuit. After all, if she hadn't been negligent, Jinx wouldn't have caused such chaos. As an enforcer, she needed to act and correct her mistake.
"Stop!" Caitlyn aimed her gun at Vi. But Vi, ignoring her, charged forward. "Ahhhhh!" Vi's fierce momentum was for naught. On the broad road, there was no cover. With Caitlyn's shooting skills, she could easily take Vi's life or cripple her. Caitlyn raised her gun, hesitated slightly, then attached a device to the barrel and pulled the trigger. The gun released a net that expanded in the air, landing directly on Vi. She stumbled and rolled on the ground, the net binding her tightly. "Damn…" Vi struggled with all her might to tear the net, but whatever it was made of, it was incredibly tough. Vi tugged at it for quite a while but couldn't even snap a single thread.
"The suspect has been apprehended," Caitlyn breathed a sigh of relief, took out her walkie-talkie, and notified the other enforcers. She then pulled out handcuffs and slowly approached Vi. "Stop struggling, it's useless. This net is made of specially crafted steel wires; don't be fooled by its thinness..."
"Ting!" Before Caitlyn could finish her sentence, one of the steel wires snapped. It turned out Vi wasn't unable to break free; she was merely feigning weakness to avoid Caitlyn firing again, waiting for her to come closer!
Caitlyn wasn't able to react in time before Vi broke free from the wire net and charged at her. Caitlyn, having experienced Vi's punches before, instinctively covered her face with her arms. However, after waiting for a while, she didn't feel any punches landing. Looking over, she saw Vi lifting a nearby manhole cover and jumping down.
What to do now? Caitlyn picked up her gun, hesitating. Her colleagues would arrive soon, but... Caitlyn thought for a moment and decided to follow her down the manhole. Generally, enforcers don't pursue suspects into the sewers—an unspoken rule. Yet, this time, this particularly determined officer was chasing her down, which meant bad luck for Vi.
Although they typically used the sewers to enter and leave the upper city, Piltover's sewer system was incredibly complex, and they only knew a few familiar routes. Compounding matters, Vi had spent many years in jail and had forgotten most of the paths. Now, all she could do was run forward blindly. Fortunately, the sewers were dimly lit, making it difficult for Caitlyn to see or shoot at her.
"Vi's still not back…" Justin stood at the door, worriedly looking into the distance. With the day having broken, he had hurriedly found a doctor for Jinx upon arriving in the undercity, placing her in the bathtub to rest. He had held her while they both slept for a while. On waking up, Vi still hadn't returned—could she have been caught by the enforcers?
Indeed, with the commotion they caused last night, it was remarkable that Vi single-handedly managed to stall the enraged enforcers for as long as she did. Justin furrowed his brow, feeling a pang of guilt. He was so worried about Jinx last night; he ought to have gone halfway to support Vi. Crudely speaking, if he were forced to choose between Jinx and Vi, he would surely choose the former… Justin paced back and forth in front of the door, contemplating whether to venture to the upper city for news, fearing Jinx might wake up and find him gone.
In truth, Jinx was already awake. This girl was like a cat, sneaking up behind Justin silently and then jumping on him, wrapping herself around him like an octopus. "You're awake," Justin said, holding her hand, a warmth spreading in his heart. Jinx rubbed her head affectionately against his neck, as if trying to imprint her scent on him, adorably.
"Want me to braid your hair?" "No." "So, what do you want?" "I want to keep holding you."