Chekandino had fun shooting at the poor animals. The projectiles passed through their fur, covered in purulent tumors. His companions pretended to have fun machine-gunning and throwing thermite grenades. The heat melted the animals like paper. The pack ran fearfully through the corridors of the abandoned structure. They jumped out of the windows. Those who couldn't run were riddled with bullets.

Suddenly, the booster heard the roar of an engine. He crept through the corridors. A group of people had arrived at the facility. Chekandino licked his lips when he saw Spin Bomb. The trio of cronies came up to him and looked at the new arrivals.

"My goodness! That's the Happy Prince over there. I follow him on the metaverse's social networks."

"That narcissistic bio-sculpted son of a bitch. We could kidnap him and ask for ten million Credibits."

"Little boss, Ata won't like that at all."

"If you help me, I'll let you stuff that bitch over there."

The trio noticed Spin Bomb's presence. They looked at each other and nodded in agreement. They pointed their weapons in the direction of the group coming from Chrome Hill. They unleashed their artillery on the unsuspecting visitors. Spin Bomb dragged Akachi behind a concrete pillar. Prince Happy jumped into an empty tank.

"Fire on them, boys."

⸎

The hydro buggy arrived at a huge iron gate tied with rusty chains. The walls surrounding the place had barbed wires at the top. Chunks of the wall had been smashed down with sledgehammers by locals who had stolen things from the site. A red sign read in large yellow letters:

AREA UNDER CONSTRUCTION

NO ENTRY WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION

PROPERTY OF THE STATE OF ILU NLA.

"Why did you bring us here, sweetie?"

"This place was supposed to be a sewage treatment plant. But the state decided that we didn't deserve it, and left it half-finished. The mutant hyenas have taken over the place. During the day, they hunt through the dump. However, the place where they live and sleep is here."

"Are you recording this?"

"Yes, Happy Prince."

Accelerating the car, Spin Bomb broke the chains and tore down the gates. He drove up to the empty reservoirs. Inside, there was stale water from some rain, dried leaves and dust. Rotting building materials could be seen everywhere. The paint on the walls of the facility had already peeled. Everything looked ruined.

After an explosion, high-pitched howls were heard inside the central building. Leaping through the glass, the pack ran towards Akachi and the others. On instinct, the young man grabbed his pistol and fired a shot into the air. The animals ran past them. They were completely ignored.

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A bead of sweat ran down Akachi's face. Spin Bomb slapped the boy on the back of the head.

"This lot of animals are running towards us and you shoot them up, wasting all the ammunition we don't have? Injured!"

"Sorry…"

Spin Bomb stuck his tongue out at Akachi. She was more concerned about what had caused the pack of hyenas to flee their habitat. She swore she heard an explosion inside the building. From the high-pitched sound that echoed after the initial explosion, it must have been thermite. He didn't have time to think about it.

The cameraman's head exploded in a huge bloodstain. The artisan only had time to drag Akachi by the collar of his jacket. They stood behind an old pillar. He looked over, Prince Happy had escaped too. He had thrown himself into one of the reservoirs.

"Happy Prince, we have to get back to the hydro."

"All that, sweetie."

"You're not getting away from me, baby!"

From inside the building, Chekandino grabbed a thermite grenade launcher with a caliber of forty millimeters, and fired several times at the buggy.

The car exploded and completely melted in a flash of red. Seeing this, Spin Bomb started pulling at his hair in despair.

Damn you! Okafor is going to lower our percentage to charge for the damage.

Akachi tried to look at his attackers. They had unloaded their ammunition magazines into the pillar. It was no longer safe to stay there. Inside the building, the criminals laughed at the trio's desperation.

"Akachi, I know you don't like using firearms. But these guys are from the neighboring slum, rivals from Chrome Hill. They're not going to shoot to scare us, they're going to shoot to kill. If one of them appears in front of you, shoot!"

Spin Bomb picked up his portable torch. It ignited with the click of a button.

"Wait, what are you going to do?"

"Make sure we get out of this alive. When the smoke screen goes up, put your finger on the trigger. Unload the ammunition on those bastards!"

The artisan picked up several blue swords and threw them in front of the window where the gunmen were. Thick gray smoke covered the vision of Chekandino and his men. They fired wildly.

Akachi took aim at the window and counterattacked. The enemies sneaked around the walls to protect themselves.

Spin Bomb took advantage of the distraction caused by his friend. He picked up a tube similar to toothpaste. He squeezed its sticky contents onto a green artificer's sword.

"What are you doing?"

"That's jackfruit mist. It's a natural glue extracted from the latex of the fruit. People in the slum use it to catch wild birds."

She lit the fuse of the bomb. When the curtain came down, she threw the thing out of the window. Chekandino had returned to his firing post. When he saw the bamboo tube approaching, he put his arm out in front of him in an impulsive gesture of self-protection. The bomb stuck in his arm. He tried to pull it out, but couldn't.

The firework sword exploded, taking both his arms with it. The criminal fell unconscious to the floor. His henchmen dragged his body down the corridors and stairs until they left the building. That would be bad for them. Ata's younger brother had lost his cybertechs through idiocy.

Ata's overprotection of his brother wouldn't allow him to understand that everything had been caused by Chekandino. Someone would be punished and it wouldn't be his spoiled brother.

After the dust had settled, Principe Feliz climbed out of the reservoir. He returned to Spin Bomb and Akachi. His countenance was spiteful.

"Damn you, you killed my cameraman."

"We're sorry, Prince Happy. That guy was Chekandino, Ata's brother. We're screwed, Akachi. When this gets back to the hill bosses, they'll offer us up as a sacrifice."

"Where did these guys come from, Spin Bomb?"

"They're from the Burned Circuit Complex. Ata is part of the Cupola, he's the arms dealer for the Fourth Estate militia. We'd better leave, and pray that he dies on the way back, otherwise there'll be a war between the Central Command and the militia."