ch97

“Emergency…! Emergency!! There were corporate bastards hiding in the front cargo compartment—!”

“Nothing you said is right except for the emergency!!”

At the urgent shout, the gang members outside gathered, wondering what was going on.

Seeing that, I glared at the back of the annoying witness who was retreating, leaving behind a lingering echo like a biological warning light.

Now that I think about it, there were similar characters in games.

When the battle turns unfavorable, they quickly run away and come back with reinforcements, like a scout-type enemy.

The difference is… that guy has seen too intense of a scene, so he probably won’t be coming back. But leaving him alone would mean he’d be shouting all over town that we were coming, so I tried to follow him as closely as possible.

Crack!!

…?! Confirmation of the use of high-velocity armor-piercing bullets by hostile forces. I will reorganize the display. –

Steadfastly, and heavily.

Shattered armor fragments flew from Zero’s shoulder as he boldly carved a path through the corridor, filling it with his body.

A level of effective hits completely different from trivial scratches. If Zero hadn’t reacted sharply and twisted his upper body, he would have surely been pierced through one or two vital components by that airstrike.

So far, we had managed to advance rapidly without getting caught, but it seemed we had to confront the enemies who had started preparing from this point onward.

“Ah! Seriously…!”

Hesitation on the battlefield is as good as death, so with a bang! I threw myself into an empty room, almost breaking down the door, just as crazy sparks flew where we had been standing moments ago, and the steel plates supporting the floor buckled.

“I’ve cornered them…! Finish it quickly!!”

“…Wait, what? You want me to go right up to that intimidating Droid and shoot? Damn it, you go do it yourself!”

I could hear the enemies shouting at each other to chase us as we entered the room.

Thank goodness. They were too busy talking, and none of them had the guts to come in before Zero’s combat interval.

If they had barged in, prepared for a knife attack, they would have been like a rat caught in a trap.

“Run a self-diagnosis and report the damage status!”

Mainframe check, all systems operational (System All Green). Continuing combat. –

“Good…!”

Bang! Bang! Bang!!

As soon as I heard the brief damage report, I pressed my pistol against the corner of the doorframe, sticking only the barrel out, and pulled the trigger wildly. I fired until the magazine was completely empty to show that we were still in good shape.

I didn’t even hope for the luck of hitting them as they stumbled. The sound of their retreating footsteps faded away, so I had achieved what I wanted.

I thought that fighting in a narrow corridor was better than being surrounded in a wide space with many enemies, but in a fight with guns and knives, even a straight passage highlighted the advantage of numbers.

“…This is ambiguous.”

I’m sorry, but it seems that Zero has to bear more risk and take the brunt of the work…

Ping—.

“…?”

A strange noise echoed in the train, which had just quieted down from the loud gunfire.

A small metallic sound that would have been hard to catch if not for the heightened tension.

I flinched at the chilling clip sound I had heard before, and Zero responded like a ghost.

Asha, your head…!! –

Before he could finish his sentence, the blade that had been stored away due to the severe restriction of mobility in the narrow passage was ejected.

My frozen body couldn’t move a finger, but I was faithfully observing the visual information and the situation.

The tip of the extended sword danced.

To avoid causing a terrible outcome from excessive impact, it swayed delicately and smoothly. In 0.4 seconds, it deflected the trajectory of the grenade rolling in, and in 0.8 seconds, I confirmed it was a delayed fuse and closed the open door.

Beep——!!

In just 1 second, every window nearby shattered.

Fortunately, most of the flying glass fragments were carried away by the flow, so not much fell this way.

Even though most of the impact was blocked by Zero throwing himself in front, the compressed air that seeped through the gaps made my hair stand on end.

And the explosion that occurred so close by made my already ringing ears completely go on strike.

‘It’s not like it’s some kind of spiritual nourishment, but it always comes back to haunt me…!’

The gang wasn’t supplying equipment like the police, so these explosives must be items individuals carry themselves.

If it was a means of restraint to make sure we all looked like we were in the same boat, it would be better to use them openly rather than having someone die in a self-destruct.

But with this, even the cowardly bastards had used up their grenades, so it was clear they would definitely come in.

Then… I needed to devise a more stable countermeasure.

Hoping that the bullets miraculously missed both of us and we could face them head-on? Rejected.

Charging forward with Zero in the lead? That would be just like before.

Hoping the enemies would make a mistake while we held out? Not worth discussing.

The way for me, who was lacking in direct combat, to be of help was always to remain as calm as possible. It was only to strike at high probabilities and clever traps.

“Go! Quickly!!”

…I’ll finish it soon. –

I wasn’t even sure if I was speaking properly. There was no time to explain in detail, so I gestured toward the opposite room, trusting that this guy would understand.

This was the moment when the hazy smoke and the sandstorm pouring in from outside obscured our view.

There was no time to leisurely load extra bullets into the empty magazine.

I rummaged through my pockets and hastily swapped in a half-used magazine from the cargo compartment.

I whipped my unsteady legs to lift my body from the corner.

The ambush operation wouldn’t work if the anvil was already extended before the hammer came down.

“Damn it, they’re still moving…! I heard heavy footsteps!”

“I told you to throw it inside the room, didn’t I?! Stop being so ambiguous….”

“If you don’t want to die, get the hell out of here, you bastards!”

Hearing the buzzing sound in the corridor, I shot back at them to tell them to eat shit, and as I leaned my head against the door, I caught a glimpse of the pale silhouettes of the enemies through the aftermath of the explosion.

There was one… two… three?

Seriously, I had just smashed at least twenty of them in the cargo compartment, and now I was only blocked by three. It was absurd.

Still, it was nice to see them passing the lead back and forth, urging each other to go first.

I was ready to spray bullets down the corridor if necessary, but it seemed that wouldn’t be needed.

Having given up their positions and wasting time closing the gap, Zero had already caught up from behind.

Clang!

Ssssh….

“…Huh?”

Suddenly, the fools sensed a delayed sense of dread from the rough metallic sounds and the sound of sand grains falling behind them.

Well, it wasn’t even worth calling it a grand operation.

Since they had come in directly, the train entrance there must have been wide open, and the grenade they had kindly thrown had created an extra entrance that even a Droid could use, not just the windows but also the opposite room’s outer wall.

In the end, they had become so distracted by the chaos that they had let their guard down and missed the Droid that was openly flanking them.

As I cleared away the smoke that had been blown in through the broken window, Zero appeared, scanning the enemies that had revealed themselves in the open corridor, where there was no cover for shooting.

……. –

There was no need for lengthy words. They weren’t the type to listen to trivial last words.

Excluding the modifications to the joints, three new types of parts had been attached.

Close combat had been reinforced with a hidden blade, so of course, there was also armament installed for long-range combat.

The armor around the bicep area opened left and right, revealing the muzzle…

Daka daka daka daka—!!

“Whoa.”

Blood or… whatever, various fragments flew, and I ducked my head.

The ones caught in the storm of gunpowder couldn’t even scream and were torn apart in an instant.

The caliber of the rain of bullets was… the same as my Peace Maker, designed for large-caliber high-velocity rounds. What more explanation is needed? All my spare ammunition was loaded inside that thing’s belly. Use it sparingly, you bastard!

And… if it had only been compatible with an independent wrist joint, I would have chosen a model that fires from the palm, but that was a bit disappointing.

I was about to ask if everything was finished when I realized my hearing was still impaired, so I just stepped out into the corridor, carefully choosing where to step so as not to trample on the scattered debris.

Seeing me forcing my stiff body to move, Zero rushed over.

I wondered why he was in such a hurry, but then I realized.

“……Ah, filthy camper.”

Whether he had held his ground from the beginning or had sensed something while approaching and hidden, seeing the fourth man burst out from another room in the middle relieved me.