00:38:46.

After Joseph hung up the phone, he looked into the distance. In the gray smoke, he could see dozens of dark roads moving rapidly like tentacles. Holographic advertisements placed around the roadside flickered haphazardly, turning the dust into a nightmarish and chaotic mess.

Several armored vehicles followed silently from behind, having been waiting for some time.

At this moment, he suddenly thought, if he really went along with the Americas leader's wishes and went with Adam and the others to carry out a raid inside 832, would these people really remove the strings that had been binding them for decades, just to dig out the disobedient puppet, kill it, and put it on the banquet?

He thought that if it were him decades ago, he would definitely feel a chill at this moment. It was too quiet all around—the movement of those behemoths was silent. They were probably forbidden creatures that had been released with special permission, but there were still people watching them, like obedient servants. He could feel the anger pressing against his back, coming from some unimaginably huge thing.

They loomed over the city, soon to be ruins, enormous and eerie, as if from the depths of hell. So greedy were they that they ate so much, expanding and swelling without restraint year after year, century after century, their dark, twisted bodies threatening to engulf the entire world, forever trapped in endless hunger.

Joseph thought that the higher-ups must be furious. Sometimes it was really funny. He was truly unchanging. He was really talented at being annoying. He hadn't changed at all over the years.

In front of him, three rows of black vans were parked, their armor specially reinforced. Two parallel roads ran alongside them, approaching them like an aircraft carrier, with countless tanks, artillery pieces, and special operations personnel standing atop them.

In the real-time satellite imagery from inside the car, Joseph could clearly see the vast expanse of smog constantly gathering around him, and the entire street was under lockdown in less than five minutes.

At an even greater distance, those people deployed even more logistical personnel, more weapons, armored vehicles, and EDS-level forbidden items, regardless of cost, all on high alert.

People still wandering the streets were driven home, forced—of course, they hadn't heard any rumors because the authorities had directly requisitioned the city's terminals. At this point, they no longer needed to worry about traffic growth or citizen complaints, and instead prioritized arresting him.

This is no longer a warning for disobeying orders.

Joseph thought, he knew, didn't he? Before deciding to rebel, before starting this war, he already knew what the outcome would be.

At this moment, all pretense vanished. There was no "spirit of freedom" or "all-out effort." The higher-ups discovered that the hounds had trampled the rules, and the true faces beneath were fully revealed: naked greed.

This is their game; everyone will die, that's the only ending. Those people are used to it because they want something, and ultimately, they have to get it.

He expressionlessly turned the engine to maximum and rammed forward.

This is not a drill; it is an encirclement operation that utilizes all available resources.

The car collided with the armored vehicle at an angle and fell directly onto the road below.

Joseph steadied the car, but at the same time, the road above receded again, revealing a bare space—something forbidden that could alter the terrain. Eoubs liked to use these odds and ends, and they worked quite well.

Below, the highway was almost completely cleared, and the bustling downtown area of ​​Los Angeles had become an enormous void. The remaining platform was also filled with armored vehicles and fully armed troops.

During the brief moment of descent, Joseph glanced outside a few times, then grabbed a specially made rocket launcher, stood up, opened the car window, and slung it over his shoulder.

He took out the matching screws from his pocket and welded a temporary handle—very quickly, in just a few seconds.

As he did all this, he could see the moving and connecting platforms further away, their figures in the dust and mist like dark pythons, the voids within them growing ever larger, spreading like an incurable infectious disease.

In a short time, the surrounding area was densely packed with cars, and there was no road in any way to pass further away; the entire space was sealed off and cut off.

He stepped on the gas and sped forward again, ignoring everything else.

The pace was insane; Joseph even fired several more shells at the armored vehicle formation ahead without pausing at all, with each shell's impact point precisely calculated.

The next second, the modified car crashed straight into the fire.

This thing was sent by the Sergiot people, directly across the ocean. The custom-made model is several times more luxurious than the one they drove to the Dolphin Hotel. It was purely prepared for murder.

Joseph charged forward with incredible speed and unwavering force, smashing aside the car blocking his path with minimal resistance.

The flames, now unobstructed, burst through the gaps, causing explosions high in the sky that tore apart the platform and countless faces, plunging everyone into hell.

Around them, the wind tore at the flames, and in the once bustling city of angels, a deep, abyss-like crack easily appeared inside. The facade of civilization had faded away, and it had now become a stage for hunting.

At that moment, Joseph suddenly remembered something from many years ago, when he was in the same situation, fantasizing about rebelling against something, killing something to show his stance.

He understood the logic perfectly: no matter what weapons or characteristics they possessed, or how much they longed to live, they could not escape Eoubs's cage.

It was just a meaningless thing and should have been killed long ago.

Some people may dislike those taboo items, but most people still love them, and it is because of the existence of those people that they meet.

The road ahead was completely blocked. He sat in the driver's seat and checked the extent of the damage to the equipment.

The propulsion engine is almost finished, but it's practically useless now, as there's no ground below to walk on, just an empty hole.

So much time has passed, and even though he has caused some considerable damage, those people haven't made any move. They've just kept shrinking the space, forcing him in, without even using a single deadly weapon.

This effect could only be achieved through strong and repeated orders from those in charge.

After all, it was a natural disaster. If we capture them alive, lock them in the control room, and brainwash them, we can still make good use of them.

In the silence, the gaunt old man opened the car door and got out.

Despite his advanced age, his body emitted an unsettling aura that made everyone present uneasy.

It felt like being relentlessly targeted by a monster.

"I haven't even arrived at the branch yet, and they're already making such a big show of welcoming me."

Joseph looked up, gazing at the focused faces, and drew his sword from his waist.

He said, "Since everyone wants to catch up with me, let's all stay and chat."

At that moment, everyone's heart stopped.