Chapter 124: A Stalemate
The Poison King broke free of the lights and was about to disappear into the darkness ahead when beams of blinding light suddenly flared to life behind him.
The low hum of electric motors followed from several directions.
He glanced back instinctively, and his expression changed.
All thirteen CUEVs had entered the wasteland. Some were chasing him from behind, others were spreading out to either side, while several more were taking wider routes, trying to cut him off before he could get any farther.
Weren't those vehicles and drones supposed to be for dealing with the refugees?
The Poison King quickly realized what had happened.
Jack had played him again.
The headlights were closing in fast. Gritting his teeth, the Poison King stopped running straight across the open ground. No matter how fast he was, he couldn't outrun a CUEV on foot. If he kept running across flat terrain, they would catch him in no time.
His eyes swept ahead and quickly settled on an area to the right littered with loose rocks and cracks.
He changed direction and sprinted toward it.
The CUEVs at the front immediately followed.
Their wheels rolled over scattered rocks, sending the vehicles bouncing violently. Cracks crisscrossed the ground ahead, some wide enough to trap a wheel. The drivers couldn't maintain their speed and were forced to ease off the accelerators and steer around the larger obstacles.
The Poison King used the opportunity to open a small gap.
He didn't look back or slow down. After rounding a jutting rock, he charged toward a narrow opening between two low mounds and slipped through sideways.
The CUEVs behind him couldn't follow through the same gap and had to split up and go around either side. The beams that had been fixed on the Poison King swung away, plunging the area back into darkness.
He immediately changed direction, trying to use those few seconds to shake off his pursuers.
But he hadn't gone far when two headlights appeared ahead and to his left.
Two more CUEVs had already circled around and were closing in from different directions. Their beams drew closer together, quickly sealing off most of the path ahead.
The Poison King didn't stop.
Instead, he charged straight for the gap between them.
The distance vanished rapidly. Just as one of the CUEVs was about to block his path, the Poison King cut sharply to the side and shot past its front end by inches.
The driver slammed on the brakes. The other CUEV swerved to avoid colliding with it. Their headlights crossed over the wasteland, and the Poison King used those few seconds to vanish into the darkness again.
But before he could even catch his breath, the drone overhead adjusted its course, its camera still locked firmly onto him.
Farther away, several CUEVs immediately changed direction and headed toward the next place he was likely to pass.
The Poison King was forced to change course again.
He ran alongside a deep crack for a while before suddenly planting a foot on the loose stones at its edge and leaping across. The pursuing CUEVs couldn't follow directly and had to slow down and go around.
But the moment he crossed another field of loose rocks, headlights appeared from behind a mound ahead, forcing him to veer away once more.
Beams of light swept back and forth across the wasteland.
Every time the Poison King was about to be surrounded, he managed to slip away by using cracks, rocks, or narrow gaps between the mounds. Several times, the CUEVs came so close behind him that he could feel the vibrations of their tires grinding over the rocky ground.
But whenever he suddenly doubled back or headed somewhere the vehicles couldn't cross directly, the nearest CUEVs were forced to slow down.
They never quite caught him.
But he couldn't open up any real distance either.
On open ground, the CUEVs quickly closed in. In rough terrain, his agility let him escape temporarily, but the drone remained high overhead, keeping him in sight.
He couldn't disappear into the darkness or find a blind spot where he could finally lose his pursuers.
The thirteen CUEVs gradually changed tactics. Instead of all following every turn he made, several stayed behind him and maintained steady pressure while the others moved ahead on either side, repeatedly narrowing the space he had to maneuver.
Whenever the Poison King tried to break out in one direction, new headlights would appear ahead.
But he soon figured out the CUEVs' weakness as well.
Instead of staying in rough terrain, he deliberately moved back and forth between open ground and rocky areas. Whenever the vehicles behind him accelerated, he would suddenly head for a crack or mound. When the other CUEVs moved ahead to block those areas, he would immediately double back onto the open wasteland and slip through whichever gap hadn't completely closed yet.
The chase continued over a long distance.
The Poison King's breathing grew heavier, his chest rising and falling rapidly. Every sudden change in direction drained more of his strength, but he didn't dare slow down. The slightest drop in speed would bring the CUEVs right back on top of him.
And despite their advantage in both speed and numbers, the thirteen CUEVs still couldn't force him into a true dead end.
The chase dragged on across the wasteland. Several times, the Poison King nearly found himself trapped by vehicles coming from the front, only to slip through at the last possible moment. He repeatedly used the terrain to shake off the nearest CUEVs, but the drone kept tracking him, allowing the vehicles to catch up again.
The Poison King couldn't escape.
The CUEVs couldn't catch him.
For the moment, they were locked in a stalemate.
Jack quickly realized that the CUEVs alone probably wouldn't be enough to catch the Poison King.
He turned to Megan and Henry.
"Let's go. We're joining the chase."
The three hurried over to the Tesla. Megan got behind the wheel, Jack took the passenger seat, and Henry climbed into the back with his gun.
The moment the doors closed, the Tesla shot forward.
Megan kept her eyes on the terrain ahead, constantly adjusting course over the uneven wasteland. Before long, she had passed several of the CUEVs farther behind.
Headlights crisscrossed the wasteland in the distance. The Poison King occasionally appeared inside one of the beams before disappearing again behind rocks and mounds.
Rather than following directly behind him, Megan took a flatter route toward the front, trying to work with the CUEVs to narrow his escape routes.
Henry lowered the window and raised his gun. He watched for a while but didn't pull the trigger.
Several CUEVs were still moving around the Poison King, while the Tesla bounced constantly over the uneven ground.
A shot from here would be difficult to land, and there was a real chance of hitting someone else.
The Poison King soon noticed the faster vehicle approaching from behind, and his expression darkened again.
The Tesla was closing the distance far faster than he had expected.
He immediately veered right, trying to reach another area filled with cracks. Two CUEVs moved in ahead of him, forcing him into a tighter turn.
He had no choice but to run around the side of a mound.
Then his step suddenly faltered.
A sharp cramp twisted through his abdomen without warning.
The Poison King lost half a beat.
A CUEV immediately closed in from the side.
He threw himself aside and rolled away from its front end. The wheels swept past him, throwing up a cloud of sand and dust that nearly swallowed him completely.
The Poison King pushed himself up awkwardly.
Before he could regain his footing, another cramp tore through his abdomen.
Something was wrong.
The water hadn't been the problem.
It was the drink he'd had afterward.
The Poison King's face went pale.
He clenched his teeth, pushed through the pain, and started running again.
But the Tesla was already getting closer.
At first, the Poison King was only a fraction slower whenever he changed direction. Then his steps gradually lost their earlier stability, and several times he nearly stepped straight into cracks in the ground.
"The drug's kicking in," Megan said.
She immediately accelerated, staying on his new course.
The CUEVs tightened the encirclement.
The Poison King dodged a vehicle approaching from the right, only for two beams of light to sweep across his path from ahead. He was forced left, straight into the Tesla's line of pursuit.
Megan adjusted slightly and kept the Tesla behind and to his side.
Henry extended the barrel of his gun out the window, his eyes fixed on the running figure.
The vehicle still rocked from time to time, but he didn't rush the shot.
Megan quickly realized what Henry needed.
She gradually reduced her speed and avoided the larger rocks and cracks, choosing a flatter path while coordinating with the other CUEVs to force the Poison King toward the open ground ahead.
There were no mounds to hide behind and no deep cracks to stop the vehicles.
Once he entered that area, he would no longer be able to use the terrain to make the CUEVs slow down.
The Poison King tried to turn back.
Another violent cramp ripped through his abdomen.
His body bent involuntarily, and his speed dropped.
A CUEV immediately closed in from the side.
The Poison King forced himself forward again and slipped through a gap between two vehicles before they could close it.
But the moment he escaped the encirclement, the Tesla finished its turn ahead of him and blocked his path.
Megan slammed on the brakes.
The tires carved a long trail through the dirt as the Tesla slid sideways to a stop in front of him.
The Poison King immediately changed direction and ran around the rear of the car, but those few seconds were enough for the pursuing CUEVs to catch up again.
Headlights converged on him from every direction.
The Poison King gasped for air as sweat poured down his forehead. Waves of pain in his abdomen kept stealing his attention, and his steps were growing heavier by the second.
He charged to the right again, trying to slip between two beams of light.
Megan hit the accelerator.
The Tesla followed across the flat ground and quickly matched his direction.
Henry braced his shoulder against the door and steadied his gun. Megan caught the movement in the rearview mirror and adjusted her speed, doing what she could to keep the vehicle steady.
The Poison King seemed to sense the danger and suddenly cut left.
Henry didn't fire.
The Poison King veered right again, trying to put one of the CUEVs between himself and Henry's line of fire.
Megan slowed, avoided the CUEV ahead, then moved back into position behind and to the side of the Poison King, giving Henry a clear view again.
Another cramp hit.
The Poison King's step faltered.
Henry pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The gunshot exploded beside the window.
The Poison King's body jerked. His shoulder pitched forward, and he nearly went down. He stumbled several steps but gritted his teeth and kept running.
Henry kept the gun raised and adjusted his aim.
Megan held the Tesla steady, maintaining their position behind and to the side of the Poison King.
He tried to change direction again, but the pain in his abdomen and shoulder had slowed him considerably.
A second gunshot tore through the night.
The bullet struck the Poison King in the back.
His stride collapsed. He pitched forward and hit the ground, rolling several times before finally coming to a stop.
The surrounding CUEVs immediately slowed and closed in from different directions.
Every headlight converged on the fallen figure, flooding the surrounding wasteland with light.
Megan hit the brakes and stopped the Tesla some distance away.
Henry kept his weapon trained on the Poison King.
The Poison King lay facedown on the ground. His fingers twitched as though he was still trying to push himself up.
Blood quickly seeped from his wounds and spread slowly through the sand beneath him.
He struggled several times.
Eventually, his strength gave out.
Henry waited a little longer. Only after the Poison King had completely stopped moving did he slowly relax his finger on the trigger.
Cass lowered the drone and circled the body once.
On the feed, the Poison King remained facedown and motionless while the pool of blood beneath him continued to spread.
Megan put on her protective mask and gloves before stepping out of the Tesla. Henry followed, never taking his gun off the Poison King.
They didn't approach him immediately.
Megan first circled around to inspect the area. Only after confirming that there was nothing suspicious on the ground or on the outside of his clothing did she slowly move closer.
She crouched beside him and, through her protective gloves, checked his breathing and pulse before examining the gunshot wound in his back.
A moment later, Megan stood and shook her head at Jack.
The Poison King was dead.
Only then did the others begin to relax.
Jack opened the car door and looked across the sand at the Poison King's body.
The man whose name had once struck fear into countless survivors had died right there in the wasteland.