ch6

A shattered scanner, coolant dripping onto the floor, limbs and armor gradually torn away.

These were the wounds Canned Goods sustained for not retreating from the front lines, for fighting the hounds, and for killing one of the trackers.

In human terms, it was an eye socket defect, excessive bleeding, and upper limb amputation. A critical patient who should be rushed to the emergency room, yet he insisted.

• Absolutely. Not possible. Rather, even now, with the remaining power, we should restore the elevator…. –

“Does this sound like a request?! Or do I have to use all the remaining power to cut off our escape route with my own hands for you to understand?!”

Weeeeee…!

Drrrrrrrrrrr—!!

“Son of a…!!”

As if trying to trigger a chain explosion. Using the turret, I pried off the burned tracker that was pouring concentrated fire on the Goliath’s flamethrower connection.

[ Remaining Power: 15% ]

• But……! –

“Where is ‘but’ now?!”

When the gunfire was raining down and rockets were exploding everywhere, even the trackers were busy hiding. But now, they must have sensed something strange about the weak defensive fire, calmly keeping the Goliath in check while destroying the remaining turrets.

Crack!! Crunch! Bang—!

Aside from the occasional mutterings, I wondered how they could be so well-coordinated without any separate communication…. Then I realized, they could communicate through a dedicated closed circuit using the Implants embedded in their brains.

Tears welled up in my eyes from frustration.

Because the trackers were too strong? Not at all.

These bastards were weaker than expected. Even in the game, the trackers that appeared early on were weaker, but there was a more fundamental difference. These weren’t proper, fully completed Modified Humans. Not yet.

The truly completed Enama Corporation trackers were crazy bastards who had sold even their emotions to the company.

Being faster and stronger was a given. They weren’t just mindlessly enhancing their physical abilities like these guys; they were supposed to be weapons designed to complete their given mission in any situation. But these guys only looked similar; important functions were missing. As proof, when their subordinates died, there wasn’t even an attempt to hack the system, which I had been worried about.

I… I’m too useless, that’s why the situation is so unfavorable.

Bang!! Bang! Thump!!

Boom!!

• Goliath’s 85mm rocket ammunition remaining: 6 rounds. Miss Anastasia…! The value of humans and machines is not equal…! Please make a cold-headed decision…!! –

“I know that much…! You’re a hundred times more precious than those bastards!!”

Emotions. Emotions are the problem. If the operation failed, it would be right to run away, but looking at the foolish, stubborn Android breaking down on the monitor, I couldn’t possibly prioritize my own safety.

………Wait. Wait a minute, there’s no hacking attempt and the enemies have emotions…?

I manipulated the camera to check the burned tracker. Unlike the other one, who was methodically clearing out the turrets from the outside, all his nerves seemed to be focused on the Goliath and Canned Goods. If that’s the case… could it be…!!

“Canned Goods! Hold onto that guy in front of you…!! I’m leaving the control room now!”

• …Good luck. Miss Anastasia. –

Thinking I had chosen to escape, he arbitrarily bid me farewell.

Sorry, but I never said I was going to the elevator.

Weeeeee…….

“Hmm…?”

The tracker, who had been watching the external turrets droop as their power was drained, looked bewildered. Since I was controlling them using Cyberware from outside the control room, detailed control was impossible… but it wasn’t necessary now.

Click…!

Continuously monitoring the situation outside, I drew the Peace Maker automatic pistol I had been issued from its holster and sprinted towards the lab’s main gate. With the camera screen in one eye and the hallway in the other, it was incredibly dizzying.

I’m not particularly proud… but anyway, most Korean men have military service experience. Even if I don’t know the detailed pistol grip, I can easily aim and fire warning shots…!

Bang! Bang-bang!! Bang-bang!!

“!! Contact! Lab main gate! Suspected Modified Human or intruder…!”

“Hmph! The great Enama’s trackers aren’t as impressive as I thought!!”

• !! Miss Anastasia?! –

Feet, knees, shoulders, head. It was meant to draw attention, but after forming a shot group almost at the level of a sharpshooter. I immediately and deliberately lowered the passage bulkhead slowly, counterattacking back into the lab.

[ Control Bulkhead Lowering Initiated ]

[ Remaining Power: 14% ]

“!! That little shit. That mousy bitch…!”

After all the fuss, an enemy who wasn’t a robot finally revealed himself. What kind of judgment would the tracker make after seeing me arrogantly fire a few pistol shots and start running away? Especially if the only path was slowly disappearing…?

Come on in. Mr. High-Class Modified Human who can even see and dodge exploding projectiles. Aren’t you ashamed of being flustered by a girl like me?

And so. Even the guy who had been pretending to be calm. Couldn’t resist my temptation in the end.

Bang—!!

The floor in front of the main gate exploded, and the tracker closed the distance almost as if flying. He might believe that he timed it perfectly and successfully entered the lab… but you’re now stuck playing with me inside, you idiot…!

Whirr……!

Sparks flew between the combat armor and the floor, and only one tracker who reacted slid inside. The camera… captured the image of Canned Goods, who must have used up all his ammunition in the meantime, climbing onto the Goliath and engaging in full-scale hand-to-hand combat with the remaining tracker.

Just hold on…!

[ Control Bulkhead Lowering Initiated ]

[ Remaining Power: 13%… 12%… 11%…. ]

“Ha! If you keep running away like that, do you think I’ll get frustrated and die alone!!”

“Haa… Haa…!”

I wanted to tell him to suck my dick, but as expected of a body with rock-bottom physical abilities, I was already panting and had no choice but to hold back. I continue to lower the wall so that he can barely pass through. Thanks to that, the tracker keeps rolling and sliding down the hallway, so the distance hasn’t closed, so it’s a success so far.

From the main gate to here. There are already four walls installed. Now it’s too late for him to go back and help his comrade. Although it didn’t seem like he had any intention of doing so…!

“! Shit…!”

Boom!!

[ Remaining Power: 8% ]

The last wall in the hallway in front of the control room fell at high speed, separating him and me.

If I could see the tracker’s damage and the wall’s health like in a game, it would have been much easier to calculate the remaining time… but it was difficult to expect such a thing in reality.

“Haa… Haa…! Hiss…!!”

Thud….

So that he could see me clearly if he broke through the wall. I leaned my exhausted body against the control room panel and slumped down.

The breath that was rising to my throat kept interfering with my concentration.

Both Canned Goods and my body. The only things that listen to my words immediately are the Implant and Cyberware after all.

“You &^)^& bitch!! %@^##…!!”

Wow…. Just how angry is he that I can hear him cursing through the bulkhead?

Bang!! Bang-bang-bang-bang—!!

Thump-thump!! Thump!!

“Hoo-ah…….”

With the last of the buckling bulkhead in my sight. I took a breath and closed my eyes solemnly.

The mind. Follows the body. That’s the conclusion I’ve finally reached, having been constantly swayed by my body since the moment I woke up in the test tube.

Only, until now, that meant helplessly curling up, screaming, tearing up, or freezing like an idiot. Now is the perfect opportunity to draw out the strengths of this body.

There’s a skill called Abyss Dive in Neo Haven.

It’s not exactly a dedicated skill that only players can use, and it appears quite often in the main story. It also suited Anastasia’s profile the most, so I used it in many ways.

If the hacking of a typical Network Hacker involves looking at a monitor and typing on a keyboard, or countless mental calculations with code displayed on the retina through an Implant. Abyss Dive, which requires the best brain and the best compatibility, is a head-to-head match where the hacker’s consciousness itself is converted into an electrical signal and infiltrated.

……Of course, in the game, that hacking process was replaced by a slightly complicated and annoying mini-game….

During the story, a top-tier hacker from Emerald City said that since consciousness leaves the body, the body is completely defenseless during Abyss Dive. What’s worse, if the connection is lost before consciousness returns, the hacker becomes a vegetable?

To be honest…… it’s terrifying as hell. Even though I don’t have to worry about becoming a vegetable because the connection won’t be lost thanks to my trait, the world ahead is an unknown world that I know nothing about.

There are no crazy people in the world who choose suicide because they don’t want to die. But… God, in some whim, gave humans courage so that they could overcome fear and move forward if what was at stake was the lives of others.

“…Consciousness transfer initiated. Executing Abyss Dive protocol…!!”

[ Signal Receiving…. ]

[ Remaining Power: 7% ]

And so, in the end. I threw myself into the deepest and darkest electronic sea in the world.