Apocalypse Architect: A Tower Defense LitRPG

Chapter 107 Street Racing

Jax scanned the area, expecting to see Hazel and Elena waiting, but the hall was empty.

“Damn it,” he muttered, scratching his head. “Did they actually ditch me? Who leaves their savior hanging like this? That’s cold.”

He was genuinely annoyed. Just as he was about to pull out his comms, a sleek red sedan screeched to a halt right in front of the clubhouse’s glass doors.

Raven, standing beside him, nudged his arm. “They’re here.”

“Huh?”

“Look. Your ride has arrived.”

Jax followed her gaze. The driver’s door opened, and Hazel stepped out. Despite the dark evening sky, she was sporting a pair of oversized aviator sunglasses.

Jax scoffed. “Sunglasses at night? Is she blind or just trying too hard?”

He gestured for Raven to follow, and they walked out to meet them.

The passenger door opened, and Elena stepped out. Her eyes immediately locked onto Raven. The look she gave the younger woman was icy enough to freeze water—pure, unfiltered hostility.

“Ahem,” Jax cleared his throat, stepping between them. “Elena, relax. She’s with us. That mess earlier? Total misunderstanding. Let her explain.”

Elena shot a glare at Jax that could peel paint. “You just wait. I don’t want to hear your excuses.”

“Unbelievable,” Jax sighed, throwing his hands up. “I play the hero, save the day, and this is the thanks I get? I’m being framed here.”

He turned to Hazel, ignoring Elena’s fuming. “Let’s move. Put the new girl in the back.”

“Why?” Elena snapped instantly. “No way! I want to sit in the back!”

She clearly assumed Jax would be sitting there too.

Jax rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. “Fine. Have it your way. I’ll take shotgun. You and Raven can share the back seat. Happy?”

“I—” Elena started to protest, realizing her tactical error, but Jax was already moving.

“Get in. We need to vanish before the heat comes down on us.”

He turned to Hazel. “I thought your people from the Sterling Syndicate were en route? We shouldn’t linger.”

“Mm. We’re leaving now, Jax,” Hazel replied, her voice crisp.

As the women piled into the car, Jax slid into the passenger seat. He glanced casually at the landscaping near the entrance. In the shadows of the decorative bushes, several figures were lurking, their eyes fixed on the vehicle.

“Awakeners Guild?” Jax murmured.

Raven, peering through the crack of the tinted rear window, whispered, “Yeah. That’s them. They haven’t made me yet, though. We’re lucky—a lot of guests are leaving the club right now, so we blend in. If we wait any longer, the crowd will thin out, and we’ll be sitting ducks.”

Jax nodded. He turned to Hazel. “East District, Sector 37.”

“Got it. I know the place.”

Hazel shifted gears, and her foot slammed onto the accelerator. The engine roared, and the sedan shot forward, merging aggressively into the traffic.

As they sped through the neon-lit streets, Hazel kept glancing at the rearview mirror. The atmosphere in the back seat was suffocating. Elena, naturally predisposed to dislike anyone associated with Jax’s “scumbag” moments, stared out the window with a sour expression.

Raven, however, seemed to relax as the clubhouse faded into the distance. The tension of being hunted eased, replaced by a mischievous glint in her eyes. She smiled sweetly and extended a hand toward Elena.

“Hi there, Big Sister. I’m Raven. Nice to meet you.”

Elena bristled like a cat stepping on water. She whipped her head around. “Excuse me? What did you just call me?”

“Big Sister,” Raven repeated, blinking innocently. “Why? Are you mad, Sister?”

Elena finally snapped. Her voice rose to a hysterical pitch. “Listen to me, you little—show some respect! I was holding back for Hazel’s sake, but you dare call me ‘Sister’? Are you implying I’m old?”

Jax groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. He opened his mouth to intervene, but Raven beat him to it, her tone dripping with saccharine poison.

“Well, facts are facts. I am quite a bit younger than you. Isn’t that right, Jax?”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Jax snapped, turning around in his seat. “You really love stirring the pot, don’t you? Enough! Both of you, shut up. Raven, one more word and I tuck and roll you out of this moving car.”

He shifted his gaze to Elena, his expression hardening. “And you. If you don’t want to trust me, fine. But I went through hell to get you out of there, and this is the attitude I get? Maybe I shouldn’t have bothered.”

He turned back around, crossing his arms and sinking into the seat, radiating cold anger.

Elena froze. She had never seen Jax actually angry at her. In her mind, he had always been the devoted admirer, the ‘lapdog’ who would tolerate anything for a smile. But the man sitting in front of her now was different. He was hard, decisive, and dangerous.

And to her shock, she felt a flutter in her chest.

Is this… is this actually what I wanted?

She stole a glance at him through the rearview mirror. His jaw was set, his eyes focused on the road, completely ignoring her.

“Ahem,” she coughed awkwardly. “Are… are you really mad?”

Jax didn’t answer. He knew the game. If he spoke now, he’d be softening, signaling that her behavior was acceptable. It wasn’t.

“I need you to grow up, Elena,” he said finally, his voice devoid of warmth. “The world isn’t what it used to be. Our lives have changed. You need to adapt. I’ll find something for you to do later, but for now, just sit there and be quiet.”

Before Elena could process the rebuke, Hazel suddenly slammed on the brakes.

Tires screeched. The inertia threw everyone forward against their seatbelts.

“Jesus!” Jax braced his hand against the dashboard. “Easy on the pedal!”

“Brace yourselves!” Hazel shouted, ripping the sunglasses off her face. Her eyes were laser-focused on the road ahead. “I’m about to drive.”

“What?” Jax looked up.

Ahead, the road was blocked. Three heavy Land Rovers were parked in a wedge formation, blocking both lanes. Jax glanced at the side mirror—two more vehicles had pulled out behind them, sealing the trap.

“The Sterling Syndicate?” Jax asked.

“My brother,” Hazel said through gritted teeth. “He’s here to drag me back. If I go with him now, I’ll never see the light of day again.”

The car began to vibrate violently. A thick, acrid smell of burning rubber flooded the cabin.

Jax’s eyes widened. “Damn, a burnout launch? Everyone, head back against the headrest! Now!”

Hazel spared him a quick, surprised glance. “You know what a burnout launch is, Jax?”

“I dabbled.”

“Hah! A fellow enthusiast. We’ll have to hit the track properly sometime.”

She flicked the high beams on.

Blinding white light pierced the darkness, dazzling the drivers of the oncoming Land Rovers. The enemy vehicles roared, closing the distance to box them in. Hazel’s sedan was a standard 2.0-liter family car—on paper, it stood no chance against the heavy off-roaders and the horsepower surrounding them.

But Hazel wasn’t relying on horsepower. She was relying on chaos.

SCREEECH!

The sedan’s front tires spun wildly against the asphalt, generating a massive cloud of white smoke that instantly swallowed the street. Visibility dropped to zero.

In that split second of confusion, Hazel released the handbrake.

The car didn’t go straight. She whipped the steering wheel, drifting the sedan violently to the right. The car shot out of the smoke like a bullet, mounting the curb and diving into a narrow side alley barely wide enough for the chassis.

The four pursuing vehicles slammed on their brakes, lost in the smoke. By the time they realized the prey had vanished, Hazel was already three blocks away, weaving through the labyrinthine streets of the East District.

They had lost the tail, but they couldn’t keep driving this car. It was marked.

“Over there,” Jax pointed toward a dilapidated scrapyard looming in the distance. “Ditch the car. We walk the rest of the way.”

Hazel didn’t hesitate. She drove the sedan straight through a rusted chain-link fence and parked it behind a mountain of crushed metal.

They scrambled out, climbed over the back railing, and doubled back toward Sector 37 on foot, sticking to the shadows.

Ten minutes later, the lights of the safehouse villa flickered on.

Elena collapsed onto the sofa, letting out a long breath. “Did we… did we actually make it?”

Jax locked the door and turned to them, a tired smile finally breaking his stoic mask. “Yeah. We made it. Welcome home.”

He looked at the group. “Get some sleep. We leave at first light. We’re heading back to The Sprawl.”

He had already briefed them on the walk over. Since The Sprawl lacked high-end housing, Hazel would take Raven to purchase a property there and set up a base. Elena, however, would be coming with him to Sector 33.