ch98

‘Just how long has he been there…!’

The back of my head is throbbing.

I’m not sure which contributed more: slamming my head against the cabin wall as I was thrown off balance by the air pressure, or the fact that I was ambushed at the very moment I relaxed.

Lure the enemy into pushing forward, or stall for time until they can’t resist advancing.

It’s a combat manual you have to follow unconditionally if there’s no safe way to enter the enemy’s effective range.

This life-or-death battle is no joke, so trying to gain the upper hand by any means necessary is definitely commendable, but as someone who chose the former… I couldn’t help but resent the bastard who chose the latter.

No, from the start, they’re the ones who’ll be screwed if corporate support arrives, so why are they hiding so leisurely…!

“Son of a…!”

I’m the one who wants to curse them out.

I made eye contact with the guy who burst out into the hallway, muttering.

He must have seen Zero’s brutal barrage of bullets from behind, so I expected him to immediately turn around and prepare to face the approaching Droid, but the man didn’t turn his head away from me.

Whether it was stubbornness in not taking his eyes off the enemy in front of him, or the judgment that thinking about a woman who looked much weaker than a killing machine was better for his mental health, I couldn’t tell.

Ignoring the murderous gaze stabbing into me from behind, his intention to deal with me first was clear.

This guy was definitely good at bullying the weak.

“You came running at me like that… I’ll take it you want to die?!”

Tap!!

I squeeze out every last bit of strength, even the energy I used to eat canned food, and stomp my foot.

But the direction I throw myself in with such effort is the opposite of the man, towards the angle where the scattered corpses are.

If it looked like all I was doing was running away after saying all that with such gusto, then I’m sorry to say, but you’re not very good at watching fights.

The choice of a guy whose best-case scenario is dying together is my life.

Meanwhile, my victory condition was either Zero, who would soon arrive across the hallway, blowing this bastard’s head off, or me putting a new breathing hole in his fat layer first, so keeping my distance was the right thing to do.

“You bitch…!”

I aim my pistol at the charging man.

Shooting while moving makes the crosshairs shake like an earthquake, so precise mobile shooting needs more practice. Maybe it was a slightly premature decision…?

Bang—!

“You damn bitch!!”

Sweat and blood droplets are scattered in the air.

Roughly. I aimed and fired at the man’s swaying head, but unfortunately, it hit his shoulder. So that’s why characters in movies and cinematics get shot in the shoulder… I learned something.

Pulling on his throbbing shoulder and arm, I aim for his broad torso this time and fire. A red spot spreads on his side. His charging posture has crumbled a lot, so one more shot should be enough…

“Keuk?!”

A thud! and a corresponding impact run down my back.

Did I already hit the ground? Judging by the blood splattering on the floor, maybe. But this is a bit different from the cool picture I had in my head… This is troublesome.

Instinctively, I bend my knees to prepare for the impending mount situation.

I don’t even need to land the finishing blow myself. All I have to do is kick the man who has already reached me towards Zero, who is also following, and the situation will be over. Yeah, like this, kick… kick?

Squish!

The boots already buried in my skin are far from a kick, no matter how hard I try to stretch out.

I thought I’d be able to do this much since leg strength is generally much stronger than arm strength, but the weight of the man flying in with all his weight… was much heavier than expected.

“Hey, you son of a…”

You fat bastard! How can a lackey hiding in the wasteland be so heavy?! Why don’t you go on a diet since there’s not enough to eat…!

I try my best to use my arms and legs to avoid being crushed, but our bodies inevitably collide.

At the same time, a cool yet heavy sensation is felt near my abdomen.

I thought I could grit my teeth and endure a punch, but this was different.

I pull my chin down and look below, and I see a nail gun with some pretty flashy modifications.

A barrel stretched out to increase the range, a handle surrounded by spiky decorations, and a scope wrapped in duct tape on top.

And… instead of nails, a magazine full of terrifyingly large bullets.

Regardless of the gun, which had changed beyond recognition, information about the ammunition, which maintained its original appearance at the time of shipment, was displayed on my retina.

[ M999-Parabellum High-Density High-Explosive Armor-Piercing Bullet. Black Dragon Corp. ]

Damn it. Of all people, this guy was an armor-piercing shooter? My luck is just awful.

…Thanks a lot, Cyberware, for giving me time to prepare myself.

Crack!! Thwack—!

“Hiss…!!”

I closed my mouth to avoid biting my tongue.

I realized that the battle was over, my concentration wavered, and the perceived time, which had slowed down due to that, returned to normal. I didn’t see which was faster, the blade that pierced the man’s chest or the armor-piercing bullet fired at point-blank range.

As I watched Zero grab the man’s head and throw it into the next cabin, I clutched my burning stomach and considered all sorts of possibilities.

People’s lifespans are long these days… but does that really apply to me, who doesn’t have a single Implant?

How long will it take for support troops to get here? There’s equipment to disinfect and remove bullets in the medical room, but there’s no one to operate?

And I left my bag by the bed, so I don’t even have a hemostat on hand? That’s just great.

……. –

Zero’s shadow, silently looking down, felt like the shadow of death itself.

The guy who usually makes a fuss about flattening anyone who even bumps their shoes against the doorframe is so quiet without a word, it seemed to highlight the seriousness even more.

…In the end, people make mistakes and fail someday. It’s just that the one time for me was too fatal.

‘This sucks…’

It’s quite unfair if I’m being resentful, and it’s incredibly sad if I’m being sad.

But on the other hand, I also felt that it was less regrettable to end my journey without even getting close to Neo Haven than to slip up at the point of success.

Yeah. Adventure and romance are good, but I’d rather just… rest now than suffer even more hardships.

You should go back to your cabin and apply a cold compress or a transdermal patch. –

To ice myself and rest in peace… Huh?

“…Wait a minute, what?”

I wiggle the fingers pressing on my stomach.

It’s terribly painful and burning, so I naturally thought the bullet had pierced through, but there was no wet or dripping sensation at all.

I immediately remove my hand, pull up my jacket, and check my soft bare skin.

There’s definitely an ugly bruise… but it’s not even a gunshot wound, let alone a penetrating wound. Could it be that the bullet bounced off and only the kinetic energy was transferred? Why??

Once at Zero’s cracked composite armor, once at the modified nail gun that had exploded messily as if the bullet and impact had backfired.

Finally, I look down at my jacket and the pants clinging to my body, Heilong’s ‘special’ Prototype Hyper Combat Suit.

“…This is supposed to be tougher than composite alloy armor?”

Of course. Otherwise, I wouldn’t dare leave Asha-nim’s side in this combat situation. –

“It’s not like I was deliberately getting shot, so I didn’t know…!”

I knew the material was unusual from the day I put it on, but I’d argue that it was impossible for me, whose engineering knowledge is only slightly better than average, to infer its actual performance based on that information.

Actually, more than that, it’s a real stroke of luck that I didn’t say the will-like thing I was reciting in my head out loud. I’m so embarrassed that I want to faint right now, even though it’s a memory that will remain my secret! Ah— damn it!!

Are you alright? Your complexion is excessively… –

“!! Shut up, you little punk!”

I cover the bright scanner lens with my palm and get up.

Dust, blood that’s trying to congeal, sand, and other things fall from my clothes.

First, I quickly undo and lower the sleeves that I had rolled up because they were getting in the way of my activities, covering my exposed arms again. It’s a bit unpleasant because the place has started to fill with hot air, but safety comes first.

The guys we just killed are presumed to be the defense force guarding the vehicle. I’ve confirmed a Hovercraft parked right in front of us while detouring outside the train. –

“Ahem… So they got off here and seized the train in both directions?”

As I pick up the pistol that rolled away when I fell and check its condition, there’s good news.

Not only had we reached our destination, but we had also taken care of the obstacles that were attached to it along the way.

…It was a bit of a rough ride to describe it lightly as taking care of it along the way, but anyway.

Shuffle! Shuffle… Shuffle….

I stride across the hallway and out of the train.

It was my expression of wanting to walk on my own, but my legs kept slipping on the slope and my shoes kept sinking, so I ended up having to obediently board my personal robot’s designated seat.

I can see sand getting into the gaps in the armor and machinery… It won’t break down, but it makes me uncomfortable just watching.

The distance to the stopped Hovercraft is only about fifty steps.

What’s more, the door was kindly open, probably because they were loading the stolen goods. Well, I’ve been through so much trouble, so that’s why I arrived so easily, but I was dragged around by bad conditions without a chance to use my strengths, so I feel a bit…

“Sigh.”

I sigh and take a seat in the cockpit.

I grope around the internal instrument panel frame and grab onto a place with good electrical conductivity to interfere with the flow.

Even though they’re full of seemingly lacking criminals, there might be an outstanding engineer mixed in, so I attached an electronic bomb to the driving and engine systems as secretly as possible, similar to the existing data.

Ah, I’m not going to detonate it right away.

Didn’t we just experience how desperately a cornered rat runs? Sometimes, opening a way to escape can be a better strategy.

Other than that… This might not be enough, so should I also tinker with the door lock and hovering a bit?

…You look very tired, so I recommend you go back to your cabin as soon as the work is done. Haven’t you been overly generous already? –

“…Huh?”

Generous? Ah, Zero must have judged that sweeping away the robber bastards while advancing was a secondary act of generosity.

I certainly received thank yous from passengers in some of the seating compartments along the way, so I can see how you might look at it that way.

Even though he doesn’t know how important a good vehicle was in this criminal plan. Maybe I was acting with a sense of duty, even if it was a little bit…?

“Still, I should go check on those two since I came all the way here.”

Honestly, even though I said it myself, I assumed that there would be no problem since there’s a veteran former mercenary.

Even though there were some Implants or weapon-wielding nuisances mixed in, the difference was stark compared to those who made a living out of turning corporations inside out.

…But why was Rosalyn alone and in danger when I arrived at that cabin?

And where the hell was Asif?!