The Legendary Junkmaster

Chapter 161: Misdirection

Before the Hunters realised the danger they were in, Jason used the Freedom to gain a burst of speed and grabbed the head of the nearest one. With a swift movement and the power of the mechanical limbs, he snapped the Hunter's neck! The others let out a gasp of shock, but Jason was prepared for them. 

He extended his arms to face different Hunters and bolts flew from wrist-mounted small Vipers he had installed there. At this range, it was impossible for him to miss as the projectiles pierced the hearts of the remaining two Hunters. Just like that, he had dispatched the men outside before they could raise the alarm. 

'These mini Vipers work quite well...' Jason hummed as he twisted his wrist to look at them. 'The new materials have prevented any loss of power from the original and the reload is faster as well.' He was more than happy with the results as he glanced towards the bar door. There was plenty of noise coming from inside, which told him there were quite a lot of people inside. 

'I have to be quick. I need to shock them but give them time to register who's responsible...' Jason frowned as he took a deep breath. The door was slightly ajar, which prevented him from seeing the layout inside. But he was confident that he could raise hell in a few short moments.

He swung a kick at the door, but his eyes went wide as his foot connected with it. The Freedom was stronger than he initially thought as the door flew off of its hinges and landed on a group seated at a table inside. The whole room went silent as they stared at the scene in shock. However, they became more gobsmacked as Jason stepped inside. A stunned silence took over as the Hunters tried to place the figure. That was until one of them finally managed to say something!

"Black Arrow!" A voice yelled from somewhere near the back, which was Jason's signal to act!

Jason rapidly pointed his wrist-mounted Vipers at random people and began to fire. Switching targets after every shot! The bar went into an uproar as the Hunters tried to process what was going on. 

"Fuck! Why would Black Arrow come here! Don't they know who they're messing with!" One of the Hunters shouted as they flipped a table and ducked behind it. 

Screams rang out as bolts found their marks while chaos ensued. Everyone was desperate to find cover before one of the sinister projectiles could find them. The sudden attack had left them so shocked that nobody thought to use their Power. They were too preoccupied with trying to save their lives as quickly as possible!

'That should be enough...' Jason grinned as he quickly turned and bolted out the door. It was only several seconds later that the Hunters realised that the shooting had stopped. What followed was a burst of outrage as they swiftly attempted to go after him. Some of them had become calm enough to think about the money for the bounty and resorted to tripping other people up.

In the time that the Hunters took to register what had happened and fight over who would get out of the bar first, Jason had run across the road and jumped onto the opposite building's wall! The spikes on his feet and hands dug into the old crumbling bricks easily, as he quickly scaled the building. 

"Where did he go!" One of the Hunters shouted from below as they looked up and down the road.

Loud complaints could be heard as the bar gradually emptied and they began to separate in a bid to find him. Ironically, nobody thought to look up as Jason clambered over the edge of the flat roof. With practiced movements, he unsheathed the Arbalest from his back and set up its tripod. Taking great to aim for the loudest of those who were still down below.

The materials he had used for this version of the Arbalest greatly reduced the sound to a minimum. Making it difficult to hear it firing, even at this range. In his own opinion, this was the greatest modification he had made to his equipment, excluding the Freedom. He squeezed the trigger slowly and let the first shot fly, piercing the man's collarbone near his throat in the process.

Jason nodded as he registered the speed of the projectile. It was far faster than the previous version, meaning he would have also gained a greater range before the bolts began to fall off. The force of the shot knocked the man to the ground, even as the bolt went clean through his body. A look of shock was clear on his face before he let out a scream, startling the others around him.

"He's on the roof!" A woman yelled right before she dove back inside the bar. 

However, others were not as lucky as her. The Freedom's power allowed Jason to switch up the crank of the Arbalest for a lever. The strength of his mechanical Exoskeleton far outweighed what the crank could do, so he was able to reset the fur string faster than ever. A rain of bolts swiftly descended on the Hunters as they dashed for safety, cursing all the while.

The few among them with a stronger spine attempted to use their abilities to fight back. Green lasers, yellow fog and spikes made of bone all converged towards his location. Naturally, he was not inclined to wait around for their counterattack. He had already begun to flee the moment he realised that there were some among them that he could not scare off.

'That should be more than enough for tonight... They know who's responsible and they've lost a few of their numbers.' Jason grinned as he folded away the tripod and swung the Arbalest back into its sheath mid-run. 'They'll be out for blood and won't be able to think clearly. As long as they suspect someone, nothing will stop them.'

Curses rose from the street he left behind as the corner of the roof crumbled under the joint offensive that struck his previous location. 'Let's see what this can really do...' Jason let out a smug smile as he neared the opposite end of the rooftop. The road on this side was quite wide. Too wide, in fact, for a normal human to cover even half of the distance to the next building.

Jason tapped a button on his legs through his cargo pants, causing a whirring noise to come from them as more power was redirected from the miniature engines. A broad smile appeared on his face as he prepared himself for the jump.

Whoosh! Air whipped at his coat, causing it to fan out behind him as his body shot forward across the gap. Some of the Hunters who had left before he began his second surprise attack looked up from below at the noise. Only to gape at what they saw. To some of them, he appeared to be a demon. But others thought they finally knew what the Black Arrow's Power was. 

At that moment, many mistakenly took note that he was physically enhanced. Possibly only in his legs. Little did they know that their own mistake would help to provide Jason with a stronger alibi. The scene only lasted a few seconds before Jason's feet made contact with the opposite roof. Not wanting to slow down, he immediately continued his sprint and jumped from building to building to gain some distance.

"Seems like that went well..." Syssie chirped as her avatar sped along beside him. "It doesn't seem like they have anyone who can keep up. It should be safe to return to the shop."

"Let's go the long way though. I don't want anyone spotting us by chance. It would ruin everything." Jason hummed in response as he led the Hunters towards the heart of Highrise before circling back around once he was sure he had lost them in the densely packed streets.

He quickly checked to make sure that the Hunter from earlier was still watching the shop door. Much to his delight, this particular Hunter appeared to be determined, as he had not given up. Jason was sure that the Hunter would regret all of his wasted nights watching him once he heard the news about what had happened.

One last jump brought him to the roof of a building not far from his own. He silently dropped down into the alley that ran behind it as a pleased smile appeared on his face. 'Let's see what you do now...'

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