Vrrrrrrrrrrr—!
The roar of five motorcycle engines resonated together, echoing throughout the long corridor.
Their silhouettes sliced through the flickering lights, like phantom afterimages tearing through the wind in the darkness.
Their wheels swept across puddles on the ground, splashing water everywhere, reflecting the figure of a young man wearing a makeshift mask that hid his entire face.
The Mecha vehicles lined up into a long formation, like a motorcycle spear shooting forward.
Leading the charge was a sport motorcycle, primarily black, combined with vivid red lines running along its body and fairings.
Most striking was the front, with its narrow LED headlights, sharp like blades, and a deep-set windscreen intake, like a snarling mouth.
About Jawed's escape plan? Simple—charge straight ahead to the main gate and break right through the enemy blockade.
Well, what other choice was there? That's what they did in movies anyway.
Besides, riding through here was basically like racing inside a parking garage, the kind of track he used to run all the time, back when he competed in underground races.
Back then, blasting through like this felt exhilarating. Now, though, it's just riding.
What was so exciting about that?
"U-um.... Mr. Canned meat, we're approaching a corner in the corridor. It's really close!"
In stark contrast to the sharp, aggressive appearance of the bike he was riding, a pure and timid voice rang out from the vehicle's instrument cluster. There, beside the instruments, was a brightly lit electronic display.
On the screen was the image of a little 2D girl. It was the chibi version of the maiden!
So that was how Mecha humans communicated with their rider when transformed into a vehicle.
The chibi girl anxiously pointed at a holographic map on the screen.
This seemed to be a special ability of Mecha humans, allowing them to simulate a stretch of terrain within a certain range.
"Ok, I got it. Everyone, maintain formation and follow my words from here on!" Jawed signaled to the Mecha bikes behind him.
Unlike ordinary vehicles, Mecha humans could run without relying on a rider. That said, it seemed they weren't allowed to race without riders.
Jawed's gaze locked onto the end of the corridor, where the straight path bent sharply left at a brutal right angle, impossibly narrow.
His pupils locked onto the edge of the turn, without the slightest tremor. His right hand precisely adjusted the throttle.
Faced with that suffocatingly tight corner, to him, it was no different from any other turn on the racetrack.
"Right now!" Jawed shouted. He counter-steered, throwing his body hard to the left. His left foot dropped a gear, his right foot dug into the peg to hold balance.
The motorcycle leaned aggressively. Under the pull of centrifugal force, the rear swung out, nearly sweeping into the wall behind, yet only grazed past it with elegance.
The tires bit down, etching a perfect arc across the road without the slightest error. Meanwhile, the Mecha bikes behind, though struggling to keep up, clearly traced clumsier lines through the turn.
"...."
Mid-corner, time seemed to slow for Jawed. He let out a faint sigh of boredom inside.
Nothing had changed. Even this reckless turn still felt dull and tedious, just like in his previous life.
Nothing new, predictable, and meaningless…
"W—Wow" Suddenly, the girl's voice rang out, brimming with excitement. "The road feels almost vertical! It's like we've left the ground and are riding on air!"
Hearing her words, Jawed looked back. For a brief moment, he froze, his eyes widening.
Indeed, at this angle, it truly felt as though they were riding upright.
As if they had left the established road behind, rolling onto a new path altogether, one that should have been unreachable under the laws of physics.
And yet, at this moment, that limit was no longer the ground itself.
At any angle, the wheels could roll, anywhere could become a road. There were no limits!
It felt so free.
This feeling.... it was strange, yet nostalgic.
Since when had he ignored this feeling?
Since when had he forgotten this freedom?
***
Jawed and the Mecha group kept charging forward, tearing through corridor after corridor. At last, they burst into the largest area of the factory.
Ahead lay the road leading to the exit.
The instant they shot out from the corridor entrance, dozens of black-clad men were already forming a tight encirclement.
"Those are the escaped specimens that have been reported! Disable them immediately! Don't let them get out!"
They raised their guns and pulled the triggers, unleashing a barrage of laser rounds toward him.
"Tsk. I knew the way out wouldn't be smooth. Straight through, everyone!" Jawed clicked his tongue, shouted.
He lowered his body, surged forward into the ever-thickening rain of fire.
"Can you hold on?" Even knowing that in vehicle form, a Mecha human's body was as hard as steel, Jawed couldn't suppress his worry.
"Mm, I don't feel anything. It's like being shot with air. But my energy level is dropping really fast!" The girl pointed anxiously at a gauge whose needle was racing toward the E range.
Jawed frowned slightly. It seemed those rounds didn't cause physical damage, but instead drained the Mecha human's energy, the vehicle's fuel.
Fuck! This was bad. If this kept up, they would stall out soon!
Suddenly—Zzzzt!
"Arr!" Amid the dense firepower, one last shot still grazed Jawed's shoulder, drawing a pained grunt from him. Blood seeped from his scorched wound.
It didn't feel air-like at all!
"Ah! S-Sorry, I couldn't shield you properly. Does it hurt badly?" the girl cried in alarm. But when seeing his expression clearly, she froze.
On Jawed's face now wasn't a grimace of pain, but an excited, intoxicated look, as if he were exhilarated.
He felt the pain pierce to the bone, vivid and real, as though death's scythe had just brushed his neck.
His breathing quickened. For a brief instant, all his senses were stretched to their absolute limit.
An overwhelming thrill welled up in his chest, a feeling he had long missed.
"Y-You're okay?"
The man didn't respond. Or rather, he couldn't hear anything anymore, the howl of the engine.
Right now, all he could see was the road ahead, and his goal.
If that path was blocked, then—he'd force his way through!
In that instant, Jawed's eyes blazed, like a ferocious wolf under the bright moon.
He stomped down on the shifter, jumping to top gear. The tachometer needle dipped, then snapped back up.
The engine roared with an ear-splitting bang, the speed needle exploding upward. The machine reared up like a beast awakening. The speed violently burst!
"Get back! Move aside, hurry!"
Witnessing the terrifying monster charging toward them, the guy blocking the way went pale.
The men in black hurriedly scattered aside, leaving a wide opening.
The spear-like formation arrogantly pierced through the enemy blockade, heading straight for the escape route.
...
"Haaa...."
As they rode on, he gradually regained his composure. The aftereffects of that earlier rush still made his heart pound.
The feeling of skimming past the line between life and death, sending dopamine surging through his brain.
He didn't know how long it had been since he last felt this emotion. Perhaps, since long ago, back when he had first begun racing.
That feeling, maybe was what had drawn him to racing in the first place.
What had once made him love the track.....
"We're here!" The girl's voice pulled Jawed out of his thoughts.
Before him stood the exit of the factory. They had really made it to the way out.
It was just that, the door had already slammed shut. The inside of it was fitted with all kinds of advanced technology, looking like the hatch of a spacecraft.
Jawed's gaze darkened.
What stood before him now was something even artillery might not be able to break. Unless they were moving at supersonic speed, crashing into it would only leave them wrecked.
"Damn it!" Jawed cursed.
They had come this far. Did they really have to give up here?
Was this truly how it end?
That thought crashed into his mind, dragging him slowly down into despair.
Suddenly, at the very moment when everything seemed to have ended,
CLANG—!
A clear sound rang out, like a wake-up call.
The door that had been tightly shut, suddenly swung open. Light from outside poured in, bathing the rider in brilliance.
That light seemed to sweep away the suffocating darkness of despair, casting upon them the warm sunlight of hope.
"T-The exit! We can get out of here!" one of the Mecha humans cried, his voice bursting with emotion.
Not just him.
Jawed, the girl, the other Mecha humans, every one of them had their eyes blaze with light.
Without another word, they all twisted the throttle, accelerating.
Jawed shifted to top gear, leaned his body forward.
VRRRRRRRR—!
They surged straight at the light, charging toward hope.
They made it out!
....