Chapter 98

“How long have you been there…!”

My back felt numb.

I wasn’t sure if it was more from being pushed back by the wind pressure and hitting my head against the wall of the cabin, or from the moment I relaxed and got ambushed in a baffling situation.

To induce your opponent to push in or to buy time until they can’t resist rushing in.

It’s a basic combat manual that must be followed if there’s no way to safely enter within the enemy’s effective range.

When it comes to a fight where your life is on the line, it’s certainly praiseworthy to try to seize the advantageous position by any means necessary, but from the perspective of someone who chose the former… I couldn’t help but find the latter’s approach quite irritating.

No, what are they even doing, hiding so leisurely when they know they’re destined to fail as soon as the company support arrives…!

“Shit…!!”

It’s more me who wants to curse them out.

I caught the eye of a person who abruptly burst out into the hallway.

Surely, they must have seen Zero’s vicious barrage from behind, so I thought they’d be ready to turn around and take on the droid any moment now, yet the man didn’t take his eyes off me.

Whether it was stubbornness about not taking his gaze away from the enemy in front of him, or if he thought it would be better for his mental health to focus on a woman who looked significantly weaker than a killing machine, I couldn’t tell.

Ignoring the dangerous glare from behind, I clearly felt his intent to first do something about me.

What a friend he was, definitely strong against the weak.

“Since you came charging in like this… does that mean you want to die?!”

Thud!!

I squeezed out every ounce of strength I had to stomp my foot, even as I was trying to open a can.

But despite all that effort, the direction in which I launched myself was exactly the opposite of the man—toward a pile of fallen corpses.

If what I said energetically was just running away, then I’m afraid you might not have a keen eye for a fight.

No matter how things rolled out, the only option for a guy like him was to die alongside me.

Meanwhile, my victory condition was that Zero would arrive in time to take this kid’s head, or I would produce a new breathing hole for the lower layers first, so it was absolutely right to put some distance between us.

“This bitch…!”

I aimed my gun at the rushing man.

As I moved and tried to shoot, my aim wavered as if an earthquake had struck, so I realized I needed to practice some more for precision shooting while on the move. Maybe it was a bit of a hasty decision…?

Bang—!

“You bitch!!”

Sweat and blood sprayed through the air.

I aimed for the swaying man’s head, but unfortunately, I ended up hitting his shoulder. So that’s why in movies or cinematics characters get shot in the shoulder… I learned something.

I yanked his trembling shoulder and arm, then this time aimed for his broad torso and fired. A red spot appeared on his side. The way he came crashing down looked quite unsteady, so just one more shot would be enough…

“Cough?!”

Thump! A sound hit my back, along with a corresponding shock.

Had he already hit the ground? Seeing the blood that had soaked the floor, maybe. But this was making the stunning picture I had imagined in my head a bit skewed… this was troublesome.

Instinctively, I bent my knees to prepare for an impending mount situation.

I didn’t even have to land the finishing blow myself. With the man almost at Zero’s arrival, even just pushing him back with a kick would end the situation. Yes, just kicking like this… kick?

Kwoooosh!

Even with all my strength, I couldn’t kick a man whose weight landed on me.

I had thought that with the average strength exceeding sheer might, I could manage at least this much, but the man charging at me carried way more weight than I anticipated.

“Hey, what the hell…”

You pig! How is a thug hiding in the wasteland so heavy?! Shouldn’t you be on a diet with that sort of food scarcity…!

I managed to avoid being pinned down with all my limbs, but my body still collided.

At the same moment, a chilling and heavy sensation was felt near my abdomen.

I thought I could withstand a punch with gritted teeth, but this felt different.

Pulling my chin down to look, I saw a rather flashy modification of a nail gun.

Was it stretched out to increase the range? The barrel was elongated, the grip was decorated with jagged spikes, and there was a scope wrapped in duct tape.

And… instead of nails, there was a magazine filled with large, unnervingly shaped rounds.

Separate from the strangely altered gun, information on the ammunition, which maintained its original state from the time of release, flashed in my retina.

[M999-Parabellum High-density High-explosive Armor-piercing Rounds. Black Dragon Corp.]

What the hell. Of all things, he’s one of those marksmen using armor-piercing rounds? What terrible luck.

…Thank you, cyberware, for giving me time to prepare mentally.

*Crunch!! BANG—!*

“Ugh…!!”

I closed my mouth to prevent accidentally biting my tongue.

Realizing the battle was over disrupted my concentration, and the slow feeling in time returned to normal. I couldn’t tell which was faster—a blade that pierced the man’s chest or the armor-piercing round fired from Zero.

Watching Zero grab the man’s head and throw it into the adjacent cabin while clutching my churning belly, I mulled over all possible scenarios.

Life seems to be tough these days… but does that really apply to me, who has no implants?

How long until backup forces arrive? There are facilities here to disinfect and extract bullets, but there’s no one to operate them!

Besides, I left my bag next to the bed, so I don’t even have any coagulating agents on hand? Just fantastic.

– ……. –

The shadow of Zero, quietly looking down, felt like a looming shadow of death.

The usual person who made a fuss just by kicking the doorframe was silent, and it all seemed to accentuate the seriousness of the situation.

…Ultimately, humans will make mistakes and failures at some point. It’s just that for me, that single time was far too fatal.

“This is awful…”

I felt quite wronged, and if I were to be sad, I was extremely sad.

But on the flip side, I felt that not even reaching near Neo Haven and ending my journey was less disappointing than slipping up just as success was within grasp.

Yeah. Adventures and romance are great, but instead of rolling around harshly and suffering, it’s better to just…

– You should return to your cabin and apply ice packs or transdermal patches once this is over. –

Having an ice pack and resting comfortably… huh?

“…Wait, what?”

I wiggled the fingers pressing on my belly.

It hurt like hell and burned so I naturally thought a bullet had penetrated, but there was no dampness or dripping sensation whatsoever.

Quickly, I removed my hands, lifted my jacket, and checked my soft bare skin.

There was definitely an ugly bruise, but… it wasn’t a penetrating wound, let alone a gunshot. Could it be that the bullet ricocheted, and only the kinetic energy transferred? Why??

Once at Zero’s composite armor, and again at the altered nail gun that burst apart from the bullet and impact.

Finally, I cast my gaze down at the pants, which clung to my jacket and body, and at the ‘special’ prototype hyper combat suit from Heyron.

“…Is this really tougher than composite alloy armor?”

– Of course. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have had the audacity to leave your side in this combat scenario, would I? –

“I didn’t know I was walking around with bullet wounds…”

I did know the material was unusual from the moment I put it on, but I would argue that it was unrealistic for someone with only slightly above-average engineering knowledge to deduce the actual performance from that information.

In fact, more than that, I felt extraordinarily fortunate that I didn’t vocalize what sounded like my will to die internally. It was a memory that would remain my secret, but I felt so embarrassed I wanted to faint right then! Ah— damn!!

– Are you alright? Your complexion looks excessively… –

“!! Shut up, you idiot!”

I covered the scanning lens with my palm and stood up.

Dust, clotted blood, sand, and more tumbled down from my clothes.

First, I quickly unrolled my sleeves, which I had rolled up because they were a nuisance, and covered my exposed arms again. Even though it felt a bit unpleasant in this hot, undulating environment, safety came first.

– The ones you just killed are presumed to be the defensive forces guarding the vehicle. I confirmed a hovercraft stationed directly ahead while bypassing the exterior of the train. –

“Cough… So, does that mean we got off here and took over the train in both directions?”

As I was picking up the gun that had rolled away when I fell and checking its condition, I received good news.

Not only had we reached our destination, but we must have taken care of the obstacle that was alongside it.

…Though it might be an understatement to describe the little bumps and turns we faced, nevertheless.

Step! Step… step…

I stepped out powerfully across the hallway and out of the train.

It was my way of expressing my intent to walk on my own, but my legs kept slipping along the incline and my shoes sank into the ground, so eventually, I had no choice but to board the designated seat of the robot.

I could see sand pouring into the gaps between the armor and machinery… it might not break, but it felt quite uncomfortable for me to watch.

The distance to the hovercraft that stood tall was hardly fifty paces.

It even seemed to have the items we confiscated inside, as the door was generously left open. That’s probably because we struggled so much until now, and arriving this easily was not a helpful feeling, especially since I was dragged along without being able to utilize my strengths.

“Ugh.”

I let out a sigh and took a seat in the cockpit.

I fumbled the internal instrument panel frame, grabbing a spot that appeared to have decent electrical conductivity to interfere with the flow.

Even if it’s filled with criminals, there might be an exceptional engineer among them, so I discreetly attached an electronic bomb crafted similarly to the existing data to the driving and engine systems.

Ah, I won’t blow it up right away.

Didn’t I just experience how a rat cornered knows no limits? Sometimes, creating an escape route could turn out to be a better strategy.

As for the rest… it might not be enough, so perhaps I’ll fiddle a bit with the door lock and hovering system.

– …You look very fatigued; I recommend returning to your cabin as soon as your work is done. Haven’t you already shown more than enough goodwill? –

“…Huh?”

Goodwill? Ah, does Zero consider picking off thugs to advance as a secondary act of goodwill?

Indeed, I received a few words of thanks from some passengers in the seating compartments as we broke through, so from that perspective, one could see it that way.

I have no idea how significant a role a superior vehicle played in this crime plan, but I might’ve acted out of a sense of obligation without realizing it…?

“Still, since I’ve come this far, I should check on those two.”

Honestly speaking, I believed that with an experienced former mercenary around, there wouldn’t be any major issues.

Even though there were a few annoying implants and armed individuals in the mix, there was a stark difference compared to those who make a living turning companies upside down.

…But why is it that when I arrive at that cabin, Rosaline is in danger all alone?

Where on earth did Asyef go?!