Chapter 1248: Two Jacks
Ten minutes ago, at the Facility.
Cold light from the steel corridor flickered faintly in the blind spot of the surveillance cameras. Jack Atlas leaned against the hard bunk in the detention cell, his red-and-black jacket draped casually over his shoulders. He stared at the ceiling, his knuckles tapping impatiently against the metal edge of the bed.
"Tch... What the hell are those Security guys even investigating? Their efficiency is way too low," he muttered to himself, irritation sparking in his purple eyes.
Jack had always had a short temper. Being inexplicably slapped with the charge of intentional assault had left him stewing with frustration and nowhere to vent it.
Click.
A soft electronic lock sounded. The moment the red light turned green, the pressurized door slid open a crack on its own.
Jack sat up sharply.
"...What’s going on?"
The corridor was eerily silent—even the usual mechanical patrol sounds had vanished. He stood up, walked to the door, and gave it a tentative push. The door swung fully open, revealing an empty passageway.
"Hey! Anyone there?!"
No response. Emergency lights cast pale white strips across the floor, while the green glow of the distant emergency exit sign flickered like ghost fire.
Jack narrowed his eyes.
A trap? Or...
He stepped out of the cell. His boots rang clearly against the metal floor. The surveillance camera at the corner, which should have automatically tracked movement, remained dead silent as if its power had been cut.
"Hah..." He suddenly laughed, clenching his fists until they cracked. "Interesting. Since someone ’invited’ me to leave—"
His footsteps quickened. Relying on memory, he rushed toward the impound warehouse. All the security doors along the way were strangely unlocked, as if the entire facility had suddenly dropped every defense against him.
He reached the impound area—the Duel Runner storage bay.
The "Phoenix Whirlwind" sat quietly in the center. Its silver-white body gleamed with a blood-diamond luster under the overhead lights. Jack yanked off the dust cover and ran his fingers across the familiar control panel.
"Old buddy, looks like someone’s even more impatient than we are."
The engine roared to life at his touch, blue flames bursting from the turbine nozzles. As the Duel Runner shot out of the warehouse, the alarm system finally screamed belatedly—but all the barricade gates were half a beat too slow.
Boom—!
The silver meteor smashed through the final protective glass. Jack burst into the night amid a shower of crystal shards. In the rearview mirror, the entire Security building was shrouded in eerie silence, except for a single silhouette flashing past a window on the top floor.
Jack gritted his teeth and floored the accelerator.
"Don’t think you can scheme against me like this... you bastard!"
The Duel Runner streaked across the sea-crossing bridge in a dazzling light trail. Deep inside the Facility, on a deliberately shut-down surveillance terminal, a gloved white hand slowly pressed the master system’s reset button.
The burly figure revealed a smile like that of a hunter who had just seen his prey take the bait.
Got him.
Jack Atlas really was a simple-minded single-celled organism. So easy to lure into the trap.
...
Jack Atlas gripped the Duel Runner handles tightly, the engine’s roar thundering in his ears. Night wind howled past his face, and the city’s neon lights blurred into streaks at the edge of his vision. He had to get out of Security’s jurisdiction as quickly as possible and find evidence to clear his name.
However, just as he was about to enter the sea-crossing bridge, a blinding white light flashed in the rearview mirror.
—Another Duel Runner was approaching at terrifying speed.
Jack frowned and instinctively accelerated, but the other Duel Runner kept pace like a shadow, showing no sign of falling behind. What shocked him even more was its appearance... it was identical to his own "Phoenix Whirlwind"!
"How is that possible...?"
His "Phoenix Whirlwind" was one-of-a-kind—the only one in the world. Yet the Duel Runner in front of him matched perfectly in its streamlined body, turbine engine layout, and even the tail fin details. The only difference was its pure white paint job, which gleamed with a cold luster in the night.
Jack’s Duel Runner had been modified after WRGP, gaining some blue accents and the 5D’s team emblem. The new Phoenix Whirlwind opposite him was entirely pure white—the exact design from his time as Duel King in New Domino City, before he joined the 5D’s team.
Looking at this Duel Runner felt like staring at the ghost of his past self.
The two vehicles gradually pulled alongside each other. Jack whipped his head sideways to look at the driver’s seat.
—Then his pupils contracted sharply.
Sitting in the driver’s seat of the white "Phoenix Whirlwind" was a person who looked exactly like him.
Same golden short hair, same sharp purple eyes, even the arrogant curve of the lips was identical. The other person was also staring at him with a cold, appraising gaze, as if examining himself in a mirror.
"Who the hell are you?!" Jack shouted fiercely.
The other did not answer. He simply curled his lips into a strange smile.
The next second, the white Duel Runner suddenly accelerated and slammed sideways toward Jack’s vehicle!
"Tch!" Jack quickly adjusted course, narrowly avoiding the collision. Sparks flew as the two machines scraped against each other at high speed, the metallic screech piercing the night.
"Imposter...!" Jack growled through gritted teeth, rage igniting in his eyes. He twisted the throttle hard, the engine roaring even louder as he tried to shake off the pursuer.
But the white Duel Runner clung like a stubborn leech, refusing to let go. Even worse, the opponent’s driving skill was on par with his own—every corner, every acceleration seemed to anticipate his moves.
"Just who are you?!" Jack exploded.
"You already know the answer, don’t you?"
The other Jack sneered.
"I am the King—the Duel King, Jack Atlas!"
"Don’t make me laugh!" Jack roared. "What’s your goal in impersonating me and framing me, you bastard?!"
"Impersonating?"
The other Jack burst into laughter.
"The real King wouldn’t be stupid enough to get caught so easily by Security. So in that case, you must be the fake, right?"
"What did you say?!"
Jack was furious.
"Hmph, it looks like both your strength and your dignity have been lost along with the title of King." The other Jack sneered coldly. "Seriously, you’re making me go through all this extra trouble, sneaking into the Facility to pull those strings."
Jack was startled. "You were the one who let me out just now?"
"The current you has already lost the glory of a King!" the other Jack declared. "Having lost all that, you are the fake now—and I am the genuine article!"
With that, he raised his right arm high, pointing a finger to the sky in an outrageously arrogant declaration.
"There is only one King—and that is me, Jack Atlas!"
Jack was stunned.
Not because it felt like seeing the edgy black history of his own chuunibyou phase.
But because this imposter—his voice, his wording, his actions, and that unique chuunibyou aura—were exactly like him!
Even a skilled imitator couldn’t possibly copy him to this degree of perfection.
"If you’re not convinced, feel free to try me."
The other Jack sneered and activated the Phoenix Whirlwind’s Duel mode.
"Let’s see how many turns the current you can last against the true King."
...