Bai Wei calmly met his gaze, a hint of sarcasm in her tone. "Four hundred years, and the interstellar hunters still only know how to engage in opportunistic plundering."
Reynold scoffed, "Doctor Bai, you're joking. I'm not here to reminisce. Hand over your research results, and I might consider leaving you with a whole corpse."
"My research is for all humanity; you have no right to it," Bai Wei replied firmly, showing no sign of backing down.
"Then don't blame me for being rude!" Reynold said as he drew an energy gun from his waist and aimed it at Bai Wei.
Su Qing immediately stepped in front of Bai Wei and shouted, "What do you think you're doing? This is Earth; do you dare to act recklessly here?"
Reynold glanced at Su Qing with disdain and sneered, "Little girl, I advise you not to meddle in others' affairs, or else..."
"Or else what?" Bai Wei pulled Su Qing behind her, her gaze sharp as she stared at Reynold. "Do you think I'm still the defenseless scientist I was four hundred years ago?" With that, she pressed a button on the remote control in her hand.
Boom—
The ground around the base suddenly cracked open, and metal walls rose up, enclosing Bai Wei and Su Qing in a sturdy defensive structure.
Seeing this, Reynold's expression changed slightly; he hadn't expected Bai Wei to be so prepared.
"It seems you anticipated my arrival," Reynold said, putting aside his contempt and beginning to seriously assess his opponent.
"How could I not prepare for someone like you?" Bai Wei replied as she manipulated the metal walls to shift shape, forming a massive metal hand that reached out toward Reynold.
Reynold was already prepared, swiftly dodging the attack from the metallic hand while raising his gun to shoot.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The energy bullets struck the metal wall, producing a deafening explosion, yet they could not budge the wall even slightly.
Taking advantage of the moment, Bai Wei led Su Qing to escape through another exit of the base.
"Trying to run? Not so easy!" Seeing this, Reynold immediately gave chase.
Outside the base lay the desolate Gobi Desert, with fierce winds howling and sand swirling in the air.
Bai Wei and Su Qing sped across the Gobi Desert in a modified off-road vehicle, with Reynold hot on their heels.
"Grandma, what do we do now?" Su Qing anxiously asked while operating the vehicle's weapon system.
"Don't worry, I've set the route. We're going to meet up with it," Bai Wei said, pointing ahead with a glimmer of hope in her eyes.
Following Bai Wei's point direction, Su Qing saw a massive metallic object appearing on the distant horizon, reflecting dazzling light under the sun.
It was... a spaceship!
Reynold also spotted the ship and suddenly understood everything.
"It turns out you had planned this all along, wanting to escape from Earth." A glimmer of admiration flashed in Reynold's eyes, but he quickly returned to his cold demeanor. "However, do you really think you can escape from my grasp?"
Reynold intensified his firepower, and the off-road vehicle's protective shield trembled violently, on the verge of shattering.
"Hold on tight!" Bai Wei shouted, abruptly turning the steering wheel.
The off-road vehicle made a sharp turn and charged toward a dune nearby.
Seeing this, Reynold assumed Bai Wei was desperate and followed her up the dune.
Boom!
The off-road vehicle surged to the top of the dune and then soared into the air, leaping over to the other side.
However, Reynold's aircraft crashed into the dune at high speed, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Bai Wei and Su Qing successfully shook off Reynold and drove the off-road vehicle toward the spaceship at full speed.
====================
Bai Wei slammed on the accelerator, and the modified engine roared like a beast as the off-road vehicle shot forward like an arrow. Her gaze was determined, her hands firmly gripping the steering wheel as she skillfully navigated through the rugged Gobi Desert, kicking up a storm of sand.
"Hold on tight!" Bai Wei shouted, sharply turning the steering wheel as the off-road vehicle skidded sideways over a massive rock, nearly tipping over.
Su Qing clutched the handrail inside the vehicle tightly, nervously staring ahead. She could feel the speed increasing, her heart racing in response.
Reynold piloted his aircraft closely behind, continuously firing energy projectiles in an attempt to force Bai Wei's off-road vehicle to stop. The energy blasts exploded around the vehicle, creating blinding flashes of light and deafening explosions that echoed across the Gobi Desert.
Bai Wei glanced at the radar and noticed Reynold's aircraft closing in. Without hesitation, she pressed a red button on the control panel. Suddenly, two blue flames erupted from the rear of the off-road vehicle, doubling its speed and leaving Reynold's aircraft far behind.
"Damn it!" Reynold cursed in frustration, increasing the power of his aircraft's engine in an attempt to catch up with Bai Wei.
Bai Wei sped across the Gobi Desert, using the terrain to her advantage by constantly changing routes to evade Reynold's attacks. She would sometimes surge up a dune and other times dive into a canyon, her thrilling maneuvers eliciting gasps from Su Qing.
Reynold relentlessly pursued her, maneuvering his aircraft in the air while searching for an opportunity to attack Bai Wei. He realized that although her off-road vehicle was fast, it lacked agility. Thus, he changed his strategy, opting not to attack head-on but instead using his aircraft's advantages to harass Bai Wei from the sides and above.
Equipped with various high-tech weapons, Reynold occasionally launched small missiles and swept laser beams toward her, trying to force Bai Wei to stop.
Bai Wei remained calm in response to Reynold's attacks. She operated the weapon systems on her off-road vehicle, firing smoke grenades and flares to buy herself some time to escape. The vehicle left a winding trail across the Gobi Desert, resembling a nimble snake evading Reynold's pursuit.
As she passed through a rocky area, Bai Wei suddenly slammed on the brakes. Reynold was caught off guard; his aircraft nearly collided with a rock ahead. He had to make an emergency turn and ascend to a higher altitude.
"Now's my chance!" A glint flashed in Bai Wei's eyes as she sharply turned the steering wheel, driving the off-road vehicle into the pile of rocks.
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