Chapter 109

  Right before the dunner opened fire on him, a couple of possible sarios ran through Jake’s mind. He could run across the roof and jump toward the helicopter. It was only a few yards away and slightly higher than the roof, so he was certain he would be able to make the jump without much trouble.

  Would he be able to g to the helicopter, though? The best option was to jump toward the open door and grab hold of the mae gun or the edges of the door to prevent himself from falling. But he would o run across the roof in a straight line, while the dunner would be shooting at him. He wouldn’t be able to avoid getting hit. And if he tried to dodge the bullets, he wouldn’t be able to build up enough momentum to make the jump.

  While his mutated body was extremely durable and resilient to damage, the heavy-caliber mae gun looked powerful enough to do a number on his body. A few hits might not be enough to kill him, but it would definitely slow him down. Also, getting hit while airborne could disrupt his momentum, possibly preventing him from reag the helicopter altogether.

  So running and jumping directly toward the door where the duood was too risky.

  Another option was to try to jump toward the nose of the helicopter. His cws were powerful enough to pierce through the metal shell of the chopper. His enharength and agility should allow him to g to the helicopter. The pilot would undoubtedly attempt to dislodge him from the craft, but it wouldn’t be an easy task. The pilot wouldn’t be too reckless about it for fear of losing trol of the chopper and potentially causing a crash. The step would be to either break the windshield or make his way to the open door.

  Although the sed option carried risks, it seemed more likely to succeed.

  All these predis and calcutions fshed through his mind in a millised, thanks to his upgraded Enhanced Intelligence.

  However, in the end, Jake decided not to take any a against the Demons, even though he was fident that if he attempted the sed option, he would likely succeed. Although his ces of b their helicopter were favorable, he decided not to attempt it. Since he’d previously made a decision to avoid unnecessary frontations with humans, it was best to adhere to that choice.

  Having decided to flee rather than fight the two Demons in the bck helicopter, he spun around just as the dunner opened fire on him. He immediately leaped to the side just before the heavy-caliber rounds stitched a line of holes through the rooftop where he’d been standing a fra of a sed before. He dashed across the roof at his top speed.

  Running away from those he sarey felt wrong. He redator now, so he shouldn’t run away unless being severely wounded or fag serious dahat called for a tactical retreat. Which wasn’t the case at that moment. He was fident he could elimihe two humans ihe helicopter without much difficulty.

  His inhuman mind worked notably differently from a human’s, making his predatory instincts scream at him to show the audacious humans that they should be the ones fleeing, not him. The urge to stop fleeing and fight back was s he even slowed down for a moment, his instincts of a predator battling with on sense for trol over his as.

  As soon as he slowed down, he felt a punch to his back as one of the heavy-caliber rounds hit him. The impact was so powerful it made him stumble. He immediately felt anger rise within him. As a mutant, he hardly ever experienced emotions. However, at that moment, the realization that he was f himself to flee from his prey instead of fronting it stirred feelings of anger within him. It took him by surprise. He had never felt this way before.

  Even though he couldn’t see the bullet wound on his back, he could se was quite rge. The material his body was made of was quite robust, preventing the round from passing through pletely. However, the hole it’d punched in his back was rge enough to cause mana to seep out. He currently had plenty of mana stored within him, but losing that preagical energy was never a good thing. It only fueled the anger he felt.

  That was when his inner beast stirred from its slumber. It immediately began whispering and urging him to stop running and fight the two foolish humans who had dared to attack him. It was urging him to assert his dominand show the humans who was the ultimate predator there. This realization sobered Jake to some extent. He once again remembered his principle of avoiding flicts with humans unless absolutely necessary. He refused to let his inner beast dictate to him what to do. He had to preserve what little humanity was left within him.

  So instead of turning around and fronting the two audacious Demons ihe helicopter, he resumed sprinting across the rooftop. Upon reag its edge, he leaped over the gap to anh-rise building. Once he nded, he gnced over his shoulder. The dunner couldn’t take proper aim because Jake was now too far away. The Demon stopped shooting, and the chopper pivoted toward Jake befiving chase.

  Persistent, ain’tcha? he thought.

  He tio run. After jumping to another rooftop, he gnced back again. The helicopter was still in pursuit, closing in rapidly. It was incredibly fast, indig that giving it the slip wouldn’t be easy. So instead of fleeing, he decided to seek refuge inside one of the buildings. Sprinting across the rooftop, he leaped to the high-rise. He didn’t o look back to know the helicopter was almost on top of him—the thudding of its rotor bdes and the downwash they caused were unmistakable signs.

  Jake ehe staircase a down one flight of steps, stopping oop half-nding. There was o desd any further. He waited, listening to the sound of rotor bdes ing from outside, w whether the helicopter would touch down on the roof or not. If the two Demons were foolish enough to follow him into the building, it would be a grave mistake on their part.

  For a moment, he listened. Judging from the sounds outside, the chopper was h above the rooftop. Then, the hum of the eensified slightly before starting to fade out. The helicopter was moving away. The Demons had decided not to chase him anymore. It was a good decision, for sure. It might have saved their lives because Jake wasn’t sure for how long he could have kept his inner beast restrained.

  He waited until the sound was barely audible befetting back up on the roof. He gnced around, looking for the helicopter. He spotted it heading northeast, quickly moving away from his position. Jake watched as it became a mere speck against the gray sky. A moment ter, it disappeared pletely.