Chapter 28: Crushing The Bandana Gang, Troublesome Police
[Even if someone somehow managed to survive being crushed into a meatball, you seriously doubted they could withstand being impaled for five minutes straight.]
[Your tentacles could be adjusted by you to have the properties of either sharpness or bluntness. So, when you transformed the tips of your tentacles into razor-sharp points, you made damn sure that every inch of the giant ball of debris was pierced like a pin cushion.]
[Afterward, you commanded all six hundred of your tentacles to crush the debris again, molding it back into shape, and then you hurled the giant ball of wreckage into the air.]
[In just the blink of an eye, six hundred tentacles slashed through the airborne mass, turning it into fine particles, as if it had been fed through a meat grinder.]
[You repeated the process while the debris was still airborne until the particles were finer than sand.]
["It'd be a fucking miracle if anyone survived that. Unless they've got some bullshit avatar ability that gives them a second life, I seriously doubt they're still breathing."]
[As you were savoring the satisfaction of finally demolishing your enemies, you noticed four golden shards gleaming among the debris. No matter how much your tentacles slashed at them, they remained impervious to damage, untouched by your relentless assault.]
[Familiar with what these golden shards were, you muttered in surprise, "Four avatar crystals? If I remember correctly, the Bandana Gang only had one avatar crystal."]
["So, one of those damn avatar masters inside must've absorbed three avatar crystals. I bet it was that explosive bastard. No wonder that asshole managed to kill me despite my awakened avatar in the previous simulations."]
["It seems it was the right decision to retreat. If I had faced four avatar masters, with one of them having absorbed three avatar crystals, even if I somehow managed to win, I'd likely be gravely injured," you mused.]
[You let your tentacles touch the four avatar crystals and then stored them in your space storage.]
[Even though you were eager to absorb those avatar crystals, you knew better than to do it out in the open. You would wait until you were in a safe location.]
[Just as you were about to leave the scene, you heard a woman's voice yell, "Freeze! This is the police!"]
[Your gaze snapped to the source of the voice, and you saw a policewoman standing with her gun trained on you. Several other policemen were positioned behind her, their weapons also pointed in your direction, using police cars for cover.]
[What piqued your interest was that the pistol the policewoman was holding wasn't an ordinary firearm—it was an avatar, specifically a tool-category avatar.]
[The policewoman's voice was cold and authoritative as she spoke, "Linley, aka Phantom Reaper, you are under arrest. We've been investigating you for quite some time."]
[With a stern expression, she continued, "You are charged with leading the Sky High Gang and orchestrating multiple violent gang takeovers, resulting in numerous deaths. Furthermore, you're implicated in the illegal possession of avatar crystals, which by law, must be handed over to the authorities."]
[She paused, allowing her words to hang in the air before adding with finality, "You will surrender yourself and the avatar crystals immediately, or we will use force."]
[You couldn't help but sneer, a smirk forming on your lips as you replied, "You really think you can fool me with those trumped-up charges? I know exactly what you're after—it's the avatar crystals."]
["If these charges were real, then why did the police turn a blind eye to the nine reigning gangs in Maplewood City all this time? Why are you only coming after me now, right after I've fought the Bandana Gang?"]
[You saw through their ploy with ease. They had waited, hoping you'd be weakened and vulnerable after the battle, thinking this was the perfect time to strike.]
[You quickly assessed the situation, realizing that it was time to leave.]
[But before you could make your move, the policewoman seemed to anticipate your intentions. Without hesitation, she fired her gun, the avatar in her hand glowing with a faint, ominous light.]
[Reacting swiftly, you propelled yourself into the air using your tentacles, dodging the bullet with ease.]
[But as you ascended, you noticed something strange—the bullet wasn't just flying straight; it curved in mid-air, tracking your movements like a predator honing in on its prey.]
['A homing ability?' you thought, your mind racing. You knew you couldn't afford to take any chances.]
[Not willing to let the bullet reach you, you summoned one hundred of your purple-colored invisible tentacles, converging them on the incoming bullet. The sheer force and number of tentacles overwhelmed the bullet, shattering it into pieces before it could come close.]
[Although using a hundred tentacles to destroy a single bullet seemed excessive, you knew better than to underestimate your opponents. The battle between avatar masters was unpredictable, and you couldn't afford to be careless.]
[Noticing that you still planned to flee, the policewoman's voice rang out with determination, "I won't let a criminal like you escape under my watch!"]
[Without hesitation, she fired her gun again, releasing a barrage of bullets as if her gun had infinite ammo.]
[The bullets homed in on you, curving through the air with deadly precision.]
[Realizing the danger, you swiftly summoned one hundred of your invisible purple-colored tentacles, lashing out and destroying the barrage of bullets before they could reach you.]
[You had hoped to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, but it was clear that the policewoman's gun avatar was relentless, and she wouldn't stop until you were either captured or dead.]
['I didn't want to kill them, but it looks like I don't have a choice,' you thought, your expression hardening as you prepared to retaliate.]