Kiana and the Captain's Bizarre Adventure

Chapter 361 A New Overlord Has Emerged

The race began, and with the roar of motorcycles and even cars echoing around the outer ring road, the most intense and exciting part of the Fire Hell ride officially started.

Soon everyone entered the cavern, at which point the footage from the drone cameras following the convoy became delayed. Of course, this was already thanks to Otto's public disclosure of some of the technology; otherwise, perhaps no live footage would have been leaked at all.

It's easy to see from the live stream that the racers from various teams have begun a fierce competition for rankings, with a variety of weapons appearing in the process.

The audience was already used to it; after all, this was a competition to determine the dominant force. Whoever became the dominant force would be the nominal ruler of the outer ring, especially since the benefits of defining the transport routes for each convoy would be unparalleled.

Therefore, it is quite normal for some armed fights to occur. Of course, the competition also clearly stipulates that the lives of the participants cannot be threatened. So, although it does look dangerous, with sufficient protective measures, these chain-like weapons will at most send people to the hospital.

However, something seemed amiss this year. A man pulled out a rocket launcher and fired it at the location of the Son of Calydon's contestant.

Although it was just firing rockets at the ground, it still seriously compromised the safety of the race. Upon seeing this, the referees immediately disqualified the team.

However, the live broadcast outside was inevitably delayed, and by the time the referee's decision reached the inside of the cave, the competition area inside the cave was already in complete chaos.

The nature of the competition changed from the moment the first rocket was fired.

All participants, except for the members of the Sons of Calydon, brought out a large number of lethal weapons, and the drones had already had their footage secretly modified by Lucius's men.

Apart from the initial rocket launch, all subsequent live stream footage was edited by Lucius.

But as the situation escalated, the drone was shot down, the live broadcast was officially cut off, and the Son of Calydon's men were also knocked out of contact by these attacks and completely left the race track.

Fortunately, Zhe realized something was wrong and immediately returned to Wildfire Town to activate H·D·D. Through Ies, whom Caesar and the others had brought in beforehand, Zhe successfully contacted them and learned the true situation from Caesar.

"So, after entering the cavern, things started to get worse and worse, until finally, with that rocket hitting the peak, and even later, armed cave raiders appeared. After that, you were forced to separate under this series of attacks, right?"

“That’s right,” Caesar replied. “Fortunately, Zhe, you had the foresight to have Ies carry the carrots provided by the organizers, so you could contact us anytime you noticed something was wrong.”

"The situation is urgent now, so let's head towards the Burning Crystal Lake first. As for Lucy, Pai Pai, and Wright, I'll help find them along the way. As long as we all have the same destination, we'll have a chance to meet them eventually."

"What about Kiana?"

"Don't worry about Kiana, the Captain will find her. In fact, given the Captain's and Kiana's strength, it's even possible that they'll reach the Burning Crystal Lake first."

"really?"

"Don't worry, the captain's skills are no worse than mine. Moreover, he can also establish real-time communication between the inside and outside of the void like I can. Besides, judging from the information Kiana showed me last time, I have reason to believe that the other side had already guessed the current situation."

"I understand. Since you, Zhe, have given me your assurance, I will trust the captain this once."

After saying that, Caesar twisted the accelerator, placed Ies in his arms, and began to move forward according to Zhe's guidance.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the captain's voice came through Kiana's earpiece.

"Just as you thought, Zhe's side has already started taking action, and I believe Caesar and the others will be able to reunite soon."

"That's it, that's good."

Kiana gave the captain a brief reply. She was resting in a cave, while her motorcycle was parked quietly to the side.

Kiana downed the water in her hand in one gulp, took a step and got back on her motorcycle. With the roar of the motorcycle, Kiana once again rode through the hollow interior.

"Captain, could you please report Mr. Pompey's current location?"

"Pompey is still traveling on the designated route. At his current speed, he should reach the Burning Crystal Lake in about half an hour," the captain replied.

"After all, those people only launched their all-out attack after Pompey and Lucius were completely out of sight. Given the old man's driving skills, it's not surprising that he could achieve this speed."

"Speaking of which, it's really amazing how patient Lucius was. He waited until Pompey and he were both far away before giving his men the order to launch a general attack."

“There’s nothing we can do about it. I specifically hinted to the old man a few days ago,” Kiana said. “Although Lucius does have the old man’s deep trust, after the previous kidnapping of the residents of Wildfire Town and the slander of the son of Calydon, the old man had to face reality and focus more attention on Lucius.”

"However, it seems that the other party is really planning to tear off the mask and seize power through this Hellfire Ride. Kiana, if you want to save Pompey, you probably have about three hours. In three hours, Pompey will completely break out of the erosion symptoms and transform into a skeleton."

"Three hours is enough."

Kiana headed towards the Burning Crystal Lake along the road. The skeletons along the way were cut into pieces by an unknown force the moment Kiana passed by, turning into pure aether energy.

Kiana then glanced at the motorcycle beneath her, revealing a hint of disdain, before adjusting her position to find a more comfortable spot.

Ultimately, this motorcycle was acquired two years after Kiana joined the Triumphs with Siegfried. The entire motorcycle was modified based on Kiana's physique at the time, when she was twelve or thirteen years old. Later modifications, due to insufficient funds, were simply the addition of parts. No overall modifications were made to the motorcycle, making the seat somewhat small for Kiana to sit on now.

And now, looking back, that outstretched wing design seems completely unnecessary. I really don't know what the Imaginary Tree is based on for its simulation. Am I the kind of person who likes exaggerated designs? Especially the idea of ​​using it as a weapon—as a member of the Kaslana family, do I really need something like that?

Okay, according to the setting, Kiana really didn't know she was from the Kaslana family at the time, but it's still a bit much to design something that's more about form than substance.

Well, complaining won't help. Following the captain's directions, Kiana quickly arrived at the coordinates of the Burning Crystal Lake. Pompey had been waiting there for some time, and a hint of disappointment appeared in his eyes when he saw Kiana.

“I just heard from Lucius that you seemed to have encountered some trouble and got separated. I originally thought that Caesar would be the first one to arrive, but I didn’t expect it to be you.”

"Is the old man a little disappointed that I was the first one here?"

"I wouldn't say I'm disappointed, after all, you now represent the Son of Calydon. It's just that I'm a little disappointed at the thought of not having the chance to fight Caesar."

"Then the old man need not be disappointed."

"Oh?" Pompey raised an eyebrow at Kiana. "Little girl, I know your strength far surpasses mine now, and I know I'm no match for you. As people get older, they lose their fighting spirit in battles they can't win, so what reason could I possibly have to fight?"

“The flint,” Kiana said. “The flint isn’t on me. Only the team leader of each participating team can possess it, and each flint has a specific frequency to connect to the outside world, making it easier to determine which team threw it into the lake of fire. So even if I defeat the old man in Caesar’s place, I can’t rekindle the lake of fire. So why not wait until Caesar arrives?”

Upon hearing this, Lucius, who had initially given up hope, was instantly filled with hope, and the corners of his mouth began to turn up uncontrollably.

"What if Caesar doesn't arrive soon? You know, she's currently wandering aimlessly in the void, and the etheric crystals above the Burning Crystal Lake won't wait for anyone."

"If they really don't come, then just let you throw a spark. I think Caesar would agree, after all, more than becoming a hegemon, Caesar wants to protect the entire outer ring. What do you think of my suggestion, old man?"

"Okay, let's do it your way."

Pompey agreed with Kiana's statement, and when he saw that the two of them ignored him, Lucius's face instantly darkened.

However, on second thought, if Kiana didn't intervene, he would still have a chance. All he could do now was pray that time would pass quickly.

But Kiana didn't think so. After all, rather than having Caesar fight a skeleton, Kiana preferred that Pompeii fight Caesar as a human in a fair fight.

"Since the old man has agreed, let's take care of another matter before Caesar arrives."

"W-What is it?" Lucius had a bad feeling.

"If someone in the outer ring were to collude with an energy company in the city, planning to betray the interests of the outer ring and become the overlord of it, what would you do?"

"Naturally, we should arrest that person and expel him from the outer ring."

Pompey answered without hesitation, then realized Kiana was implying something and looked at Lucius, who was sweating profusely.

"Lucius, Kiana isn't talking about you, is she?"

Although it was a question, Pompey's tone was very certain.

He knew Lucius's character all too well: intelligent, despicable, and ambitious.

But Pompey believed that being despicable and ambitious was not bad. As long as one could use their intelligence to protect the outer ring, what did it matter if the means were a little despicable? As for ambition, needless to say, a man always needs some ambition to have enough drive to get things done.

The Triumphs had held the dominant position in the racing world for a long time and were well past their period of aggressive expansion. As time went on, Pompey's own energy was waning, and he had long been considering grooming a successor.

Kiana was someone he initially favored, but for various reasons, she withdrew from the Triumphs. Lucius came into his view after that, and he was indeed a good successor.

But now it seems that his performance in front of him is not genuine. Pompey still subconsciously hopes that the other party will not disappoint him. Unfortunately, Lucius ultimately disappointed him.

"me……"

Lucius trembled and couldn't speak, while Kiana recounted Lucius's various crimes and the evidence against him.

Every word is true, every sentence is piercing to the heart.

Finally, under the increasingly darkening pressure of Pompey's face, Lucius broke down. He loudly confessed to all the crimes and said that he had disliked Pompey for a long time.

They could have instantly amassed enormous wealth and made a fortune simply by cooperating with the city's energy companies, at the cost of ether energy completely replacing oil energy and the outer ring losing its autonomy.

In Lucius's view, this price was not a price at all, and it was much better than the current impoverished environment of the outer ring.

They didn't consider at all what kind of exploitation the outer ring would suffer if it lost its life-sustaining oil resources.