Chapter 3: Explosion

While David was quietly reading the history of the world that was depicted in the book, he felt a sudden palpitation. He then turned to look at the translucent shadow that was beside him. He reckoned that the palpitation was transmitted to him by the translucent shadow.

He somehow knew that the translucent shadow was trying to warn him about some extreme danger. 

He had experienced a similar feeling in his previous life, particularly at the moment when he had seen the large truck getting out of control. He was overwhelmed with desperation, helplessness, and the fear that his life was about to be ruthlessly taken away. At this moment, David was getting goosebumps all over his body.

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Abbott, who was flying as fast as he could in his personal aircraft, had already accelerated it to the maximum speed. A personal aircraft like his that could cover short distances in the universe could not fly extremely fast in the atmosphere.

However, at this moment, he could clearly see Pelan City that was below him, just with the help of the scanning device of his personal aircraft. He didn't have to use the map at all.

"Hurry and find the location with the densest population in Pelan City!" Abbott ordered eagerly. 

The assistive smart device on the personal aircraft quickly identified an outdoor location with the largest relative number of people through the scan results.

The personal aircraft slightly adjusted its direction according to its location. When Abbott saw the scene of nearly a hundred people gathering next to the building on the ground, a triumphant smile graced his face. 

On the other end of Skynet, the main officer, Major Bispham, was looking at the information sent by the defensive drones, his eyes gleaming with joy.

According to the message sent by the defensive drones, Skynet actually managed to uncover Abbott's identity after some analysis, especially since the arrogant Abbott did not try to disguise himself. 

Major Bispham was looking at the information about Abbott and a stack of wanted notices, some of which offered rewards that he wanted. 

As long as he captured or killed Abbott, he would be given credit for his huge accomplishment. He would most likely rise up the ranks that most officers couldn't and become a Lieutenant Colonel. In addition, he would obtain the massive wealth brought about by the bounty. 

Of course, he would only be acquiring a portion of the reward from the bounty, but it was enough to make him extremely excited.

"Execute the annihilation!" Major Bispham exclaimed in a low voice after regaining his composure. 

The four defensive drones that received the order simultaneously activated their small rapid-fire cannons while chasing the personal aircraft.

"Major, there are plenty of civilians below us!" the staff member who was monitoring the situation yelled as Major Bispham turned to read the information about Abbott again. 

The staff was rather perplexed and vexed as well. Although he could see the city and the crowd of civilians that was becoming more and more eye-catching, he had no authority to cancel Major Bispham's orders. He could only tell Major Bispham to cancel the order. 

Just as Major Bispham was about to look up, the small rapid-fire cannons of the four drones began launching attacks at Abbott's personal aircraft. 

Abbott's personal aircraft was merely a civilian aircraft, which did not have any weapons or defensive functions. Being attacked by four defensive drones would definitely be fatal.

Abbott never expected that the drones would attack him regardless of the vast number of civilians. 

Major Bispham who had given those orders, felt the same as Abbott.

"Stop the attacks, stop the attacks immediately!" he commanded at the top of his lungs. 

However, it was too late to give orders now. Had he not been distracted by the intelligence that he was receiving and got preoccupied with fantasizing about the credit he would receive, the tragedy could have been avoided.

Of course, if Abbott hadn't swooped down and instead tried to dodge by taking advantage of the speed of the personal aircraft like before, he might have been able to persist and hold out a little longer.

However, it was too late now. While Abbott was filled with frustration, his personal aircraft was hit by several cannonballs.

Being a mercenary and wanted criminal who lived an enjoyable life, he had good combat skills. Nevertheless, in this situation, he couldn't even retaliate against the attacks and was instead shot down.

The wings and the horizontal stabilizer of the personal aircraft were shattered, and several holes appeared above the fuselage, two of which were in the pilot's seat where Abbott was.

Abbott was 20 meters above ground, and he was severely injured. His right leg was severed but that was only considered a minor injury. In particular, his abdomen had been pierced through, creating a gaping hole that was fatal.

If Abbott had a conscience and was humane enough, he totally could have tried to control the personal aircraft with his impeccable aviation skills, so as to reduce the damage done to the crowd on the ground. 

However, right before his death, he performed a crazy act by aiming his personal aircraft at the most populated spot before charging towards them with all his might. During his last moments, there was a cruel and ruthless smile on his face. 

At the same time, on the other hand, Major Bispham watched in horror in Skynet as the personal aircraft crashed into the crowd, after which a fire broke out and flames engulfed the area. 

"It's over!" Major Bispham exclaimed as he fell onto the chair behind him. That was the only thought he had in his mind. 

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The sense of extreme danger that came from the translucent shadow gave David the creeps, and he almost instinctively looked in the direction of the glass wall at the entrance. Although he did not find anything, he followed his ominous hunch and looked for a place to hide.

He did not scream, because he had no idea if the sense of danger was real or not. The only thing he could do was to immediately look for a place that was relatively safer.

Soon, he saw a washroom that was not far from him. The door of the washroom was made of metal as if it were staying in line with the special sturdy vibe of the place.

David took two quick steps, pushed open the door of the washroom, and walked in.

As soon as he entered the washroom and closed the metal door, the sounds of a violent crash and an even more violent explosion could be heard outside the bookstore. In the next second, he saw the metal door in front of him being flattened by the massive impact. He was sent flying horizontally out of the washroom together with the door.

David's body was pressed against the metal door as it flew out. He instinctively clasped his head with his hands to minimize the damage done to it.

He did not want to die again before understanding the world that he had just transmigrated to. 

His strong and toned muscles had come in handy at this moment. His body was pushed flat against the metal door, and his strong muscles protected him as he collided with the partition in the washroom.

Although two of the wooden partitions of the washroom were broken in a row, Davids' body surprisingly didn't suffer much damage. Well, at least he only felt some abrasions on the skin of his back. There were no signs of injury to his hands, feet, or head.

The flames from the explosion were also blocked by the metal door in front of him. The worst repercussion was just a minor burn on his hand, which he did not protect when it was pressed against the metal door.

Having made preparations, he managed to stop breathing in time during the impact of the flames. Hence, the organs of his body were not burnt. However, quite a bit of hair on his scalp and body was reduced to ashes.

At this moment, David could no longer be bothered about that. Regardless of how hot the metal door was, he didn't dare let go of it. He could still hear the sound of gravel being hit against metal. 

Fortunately, he was in the washroom. Due to the previous collision, several of the water pipes were broken, and the bathroom was filled with mist. As a result, the burning sensation in the air was reduced, and the temperature of the metal door quickly dropped.

David's last-minute decision turned out to be right. Apart from the metal door and a part of the wall that was blasted through by the shock wave, the rest of the bathroom remained mostly intact.

The personal aircraft was a short-range cosmic vehicle that was powered by Kryptonite, which was an incredibly stable power source with massive energy. 

Due to the fact that such a collision could not trigger an explosion of Kryptonite crystals at all, the aftermath of the collision was merely an explosion from the small amount of spare energy in the personal aircraft. 

Fortunately, that was the case. Otherwise, with the ample energy contained in the newly-replaced Kryptonite of Abbott's personal aircraft, the lives within a thousand-meter radius of the explosion would have been lost. 

David waited for a while for the sense of danger to vanish completely before shaking his head in a daze. He then pushed the metal door that was being pressed against his body away. 

At this moment, he discovered that the strength of the body he was in was far beyond what he had imagined. The metal door was at least 50 kilograms, but he didn't find it heavy at all. 

However, he didn't have much time to study his own body. The translucent shadow was already voluntarily leaving his body and flying outwards.