Chapter 258

“Huh…!!”

‘Uh… Is it really angry?! It really seems like it’s pissed off!’

Bang!

With a sound resembling a bursting balloon, the man hurriedly pulled his legs back from the path of the swung tail whip.

While he barely managed to keep himself from gasping for air, it was possible to execute such evasive maneuvers only because he never took his eyes off the surrounding situation. Or… he may have reacted too sensitively to a threat that wasn’t even a proper attack.

With a brain that was barely circulating oxygen, he continued to make what he deemed a rational judgment and leaped into an empty space.

The atmosphere had completely changed.

An invisible, transparent, bloodthirsty net, sticky and fierce, seemed to settle on his skin like a predator aiming for its prey. The air clung to him, making it feel like his limbs could not move freely.

…No, isn’t this just because he was overexerting his body beyond its limits?

Perhaps he was paying the price for not shouting out, “Angel-like Anastasia…! Damn it, I’ll explain everything in the distant future, so please just let it slide today!!” as he stuck to the ground.

Kikig—!!

“Shit!?”

As soon as he saw sparks flying from the shadowy corner of the alley, he quickly got bitten by the foot.

The moment his incisors and claws made contact, the silhouette of the Houndroid and its red gaze instilled a terror as if death had materialized.

What had just been a scene where it was hanging onto the edge of his pants now seemed mortally threatening.

He wished he could smack his past self, who had laughed and dismissed the special robots that appeared in the game as not being that scary.

The droid forces were no longer even pretending to pursue him. They formed groups, blocking one side of the path while narrowing the encirclement, warning him to retreat far away or bear the consequences if he approached carelessly.

“…I guess I have to go a different way. Hmm.”

Turning his head awkwardly from the wavering darkness and fixing his gaze ahead.

He hastened his steps toward the nearest entrance of the famous Neo Haven, an old subway that he had originally intended as an escape route.

Even a three-year-old child could tell he was being lured in.

The escape routes were disgustingly limited, and the sky that should be visible through the buildings was covered by swarms of drones, resembling some kind of mechanical plague, suggesting he might soon be crushed by the collapsing metallic ceiling.

Causing trouble around him wasn’t the kind of amateur drama that should go any further.

It was evident that someone was beckoning him in, saying he needed a good scare… Not recognizing it would be foolish.

However, he really had no choice but to follow! Everything was blocked…!

Crash!!

“I’m sorry! I’m not sure what I did wrong, but I think I seriously messed up!”

Look, didn’t pieces of cracked concrete bounce up from armor-piercing rounds fired from behind just now?

The drone’s buzzing vibrations echoed through the air, as he was already dealing with the dynamics of an attacking squadron, and now they were adding this kind of seasoning.

Back when he was jokingly rushing in, he definitely felt Anastasia’s shadow or interest, but now it seemed like attacks were coming from behind like he was being treated as an annoying captive; any hesitation brought piercing strikes.

Just a few buildings away was a space where citizens finishing their daytime work would typically be bustling about, but here was a grim sight reminiscent of an Exatech automated weapons factory, exuding humanity’s decline.

He couldn’t help but feel admiration for the social skills that hid a power beyond that of a mere hacker.

However, compared to the introduction of her formal boss battle quest line, which began with a maddening declaration of “I will erase your existence from this world,” this was still somewhat cute.

At least there weren’t any bizarre special type droids, self-destructing drones, or killing traps set with overclocked turrets in sight.

‘Could this really be a trial version or something…?’

Still, amidst all his pessimistic thoughts, there remained a sliver of hope.

It seemed that the mechanical soldiers wanted to drag him toward Anastasia, who was waiting for him somewhere… Coincidentally, the manhole leading to the underground was getting closer.

He thought that if he could just move ahead for a moment longer, he would be all right.

Of course, even if he safely reached the designated location, he would have to pop the lid open, jump inside without getting hurt, and then run through the internal corridors—a schedule akin to that of a first-rate stuntman awaited him.

But that in itself became a sort of fuel and spice that helped him stay alert.

Even the almost desperate complaints had a purpose, as they were meaningful efforts that he could endure.

It felt like he had fatefully encountered a sub-heroine holding important keys in a place like this, nurturing a belief that everything would turn out fine.

…Well, if the person involved were to find out, they would probably be furious at the idea of treating him and the world like some NPCs, trying to correct such dangerously reckless thinking. But it didn’t seem likely that both of them would have the chance for such a profound conversation this time.

“Ugh! Wait, just a second… I’m really feeling cramp in my legs from all this running….”

– ……. –

It wasn’t as if they would kindly treat him as an injured person now.

As the man suddenly lost his center of gravity and stumbled, kneeling down in pain, Zero Unit 1 quietly performed a quick scan from a distance.

[ No signs of muscle contraction in visible calves or shins through the damaged fabric.

However, unexplained bleeding not caused by trauma detected near the abdominal area. ]

It took less than a second to determine that it was a transparent excuse.

However, since they couldn’t hinder him from entering the prepared location, they had been observing him carefully… and as soon as he leaped to the side road propelled by the ground, they nodded slightly to add a bit of urgency.

Buzzzzzzzz——……!!

“!? Hey, you crazy!!”

Isn’t there a famous joke about it?

If you see a giant bee in front of you, you might think it’s a wasp… but in reality, it’s just a regular bee, and if you mistake a flying object as a drone because it makes a buzzing noise, it turns out to be a real native wasp—the kind of internet story that pops up.

Then how would it feel if attack drones with bodies longer than an average man’s forearm dived toward him from above, like swarming bees?

He didn’t know if those wings were actually spinning at such a speed, but at least he was crouched down, exposed among flying mixers.

Despite not firing a single shot from the equipped live ammo, the inadequate light made the plastic whirlpool seem like a black vortex as it whirled around, emitting a dizzying noise that threatened to slice through his hood and sides.

It’s fine…! Probably. It doesn’t really hurt. It’s just a threat trying to scare him.

He kept repeating that to himself as he charged through the storm of drones.

In his sight, amidst what looked like thick dust that seemed to be untouched, a clear underground entrance lid was visible, unlike other manholes that looked as if they wouldn’t budge.

It was incredibly irritating and, even more so, frightening, but he lacked the restraint. He thought he could just go ahead and hide underground.

Just as he thought this, he heard…

“Huh…?”

Suddenly, the drones that had been swirling around like a natural disaster abruptly shot upward vertically and scattered without warning.

For them to have retreated dramatically and unexpectedly, it seemed strange to attribute the sudden withdrawal to battery depletion.

They hadn’t wasted firepower except for warning shots, therefore it wasn’t due to ammunition shortage, and even if they were tired of tormenting him, there shouldn’t be any reason for them to withdraw troops right now—so why?

The answer was revealed sooner than expected.

The manhole lid, which had been the only exit point until now, was smashed into pieces by a “special droid” that emerged from below, scattering debris everywhere; surely it was to avoid getting unnecessarily shot down.

Booom—!

Bang! Ka-boom…….

As the trapped air circulated, a thunderous sound echoed, and despite the noise, sharply shattered fragments of the manhole danced in the air before getting stuck somewhere nearby.

“…………Damn.”

A mechanical spider with numerous joints, each one representing at least three degrees of freedom, and even more noticeable were the countless vibrating blades it was equipped with, slowly crawled out from below the ground.

Seemingly not wanting to give false hope, it didn’t even pretend to glance around.

The slasher, elegantly appearing while keeping its scanners fixed on the man awkwardly crawling on the ground, momentarily crossed its two front legs to check the blade state.

Wuwuuw……!

As the two vibrating blades drew near, the air resonated, warping the atmosphere to a visible degree—such a sight was absurdly unreal.

In the game, slashers were classically malicious, glass cannon-type enemies.

They typically ambushed from corners, attacked from above, or executed grabbing moves with instant death judgments. They were often a significant source of frustration in obtaining valuable treasures or in farming difficulties in Exatech zones.

The standard strategy against them was to blow away their heads, including the processing center, from a distance or remove the lower power unit masked by their legs in one shot.

Even in a tight indoor setting, the basic approach involved detecting ahead and penetrating cover with piercing rounds.

Why? Because once they latched on, while a character would fire one or two rounds at their legs, they would pound the meat to a pulp a dozen times at least, creating cube steak for themselves, which made it not worthwhile to take them down.

…However, meeting one without any ranged weapons or even a close-range weapon like a rusty pipe, which commonly appears in adventure games, was quite strange.

He had thoroughly canceled the somewhat clever escape plan that had only faint outlines left as he pondered over how he had stumbled into this situation, imagining his actions if he were a decent citizen of Neo Haven right now.

Considering what he could say to reach the compassionate Anastasia the Angel’s ears.

Everyone should feel free to express their opinions without hesitation.

…Please.