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"Remember the drill: Three-Point Formation. I'm the front-line aggro, Ekko handles the flanking cover, and Powder provides the back-line DPS. Let's move!"
Chen didn't wait for a reply. He kicked his hover-sword into gear and slammed the activation on his newly "equipped" Turbo Chemtank. A toxic yellow-green mist hissed from his feet, and suddenly, Chen felt like he'd been injected with pure adrenaline. His movement speed spiked, blurring the edges of his vision as he rocketed toward the five Shimmer Warriors.
As he reached the center of the pack, the Chemtank released its Supercharge shockwave. The ground beneath the armored giants seemed to turn into a viscous swamp, their heavy boots dragging as a 50% slow turned their movements into a slideshow.
Chen didn't have a Taunt skill, so he did it the old-fashioned way. He hammered his streetlamp into the nearest warrior's chest—Grasp of the Undying proccing with a green pulse—and screamed at the top of his lungs, "Hey! Ugly! Over here!"
The five mutants roared, their glowing violet eyes locking onto him. Mission accomplished: aggro secured.
"Now, Powder! The glass!" Chen shouted, kiting back just out of reach of their massive fists.
Powder took a sharp, steadying breath. She raised her pistol, her eyes turning that focused, dangerous shade of violet. She emptied an entire clip with mechanical precision, every round sparking against the head-plate of the lead warrior. The glass shattered, and a thick plume of purple Shimmer mist hissed out.
Instantly, the warrior's posture slumped. The supernatural strength draining away along with the vapor.
"The glass faceplates!" Chen commanded. "Break those, and they lose their juice!"
He didn't have much time to celebrate. The slow effect wore off, and the warriors surged forward. Chen spun his streetlamp in a blurring overhead arc.
"COUNTER STRIKE!"
Massive, armored fists slammed into his guard, but the HUD flared with a cascade of "MISS" notifications. Jax's E-skill was the ultimate middle finger to basic attacks.
While Chen held the line, Ekko blurred past on his board. He performed a perfect Phase Dive, using the board's momentum to swing his metal rod like a sledgehammer. Clang! Clang! Clang! Three heavy hits shattered a second faceplate.
"Pull back!" Chen yelled as the stun from his Counter Strike popped, locking all five warriors in place for one precious second.
This was the "Guerrilla Kiting" Chen had drilled into them. No standing still, no fair fights. As the warriors woke up from the stun, the trio was already twenty meters away on their boards.
But the Shimmer Warriors weren't just dumb muscle. One particularly massive brute leaped with terrifying speed, pouncing toward Chen's board. Chen raised his lamp to block, but the impact was like being hit by a freight train. His hands went numb, and his board wobbled dangerously.
-210
"Damn," Chen wheezed, stabilizing the hover-sword. "That would have been half my health before. Thank the Rift for the Chemtank buffs and the turtle shell." He now had over 1,000 HP, but he knew four more hits like that would send him to a grey screen.
"The civilians are clear," Ekko shouted, glancing toward the exit. "Let's move!"
They dived into a narrow maintenance tunnel, the boards humming at top speed as they caught up to the tail end of the refugees. For a second, it looked like they'd pulled off the perfect heist.
Then, the world shook. A massive iron security gate slammed down from the ceiling with the force of a guillotine.
"AHHH!"
Screams cut through the air. Several people at the back of the line weren't fast enough. The gate didn't just stop them; it severed them. The sight of blood and steel splashing against the tunnel walls burned into Chen's memory—a brutal reminder that this wasn't a game with a "Teen" rating.
The few survivors left on their side of the gate pounded frantically against the cold iron. Heavy, metallic thuds echoed from behind them. The Shimmer Warriors had caught up.
"Ekko, we can't help them," Chen said, his voice hard. "The gate is down. We have to go through the main entrance."
Ekko stared at the trapped people, his eyes dazed. "But... we're right here... we can't just..."
Chen grabbed Ekko's shoulder and shoved him toward the opposite direction. "Ekko! Look at me! We die here, or we live to fight Silco another day. There is no third option. Move!"
Ekko's jaw tightened, his knuckles white as he gripped his rod. "Let's go," he choked out.
As they flew toward the main gate, Ekko's voice was thick with a grief he'd been carrying since the night Benso died. "I didn't act when Benso died. I didn't act when Vander died. I told myself it was because I couldn't win. I've lived in the shadow of that regret every day... and now, it's happening again."
Chen patted his shoulder. He finally understood why Ekko had been so hesitant in the early days of the Firelights. He wasn't a coward; he was a boy cursed with a strategist's foresight in a world that demanded martyrs.
"You saved dozens today, Ekko. You can only save more if you're alive to lead them."
They burst out toward the factory's main entrance, expecting a clear run to the Sump. Chen pulled out his binoculars and felt his stomach drop.
The gate wasn't empty. A wall of Silco's elite enforcers stood there, weapons drawn. In the center stood a woman with a missing arm and a look of pure malice.
"Sevika," Chen whispered. "And Silco's right behind her."
The screams from the tunnel had stopped. The Shimmer Warriors had finished their "clean-up" and were now stepping out into the courtyard behind them.
Chen looked at the blockade in front and the monsters behind.
"Wolves in front, tigers at the rear," Chen muttered, his grip tightening on his lamp. "This is a bad spot for a teamfight."
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