Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Crime City (2)
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Bang-!
The gunshot exploded right in front of my face, and I squeezed my eyes shut tight.
"......?"
But no matter how long I waited, the pain I'd braced for and the life-flashing-before-my-eyes montage never came.
All that lingered was the acrid stench of gunpowder tickling my nose.
I cautiously opened my eyes again, and in my blurry vision, I caught sight of someone's back.
"....!"
A gun gripped in their hand—or hers?—thrust high toward the sky.
The spent casing clattered to the ground, bouncing a couple times with a ting, ting, before rolling away.
"Who the hell are you?!"
The soldier, robbed of his chance to do his job out of nowhere, looked utterly flustered.
He grunted, struggling to wrench the rifle free from her grasp, but it wouldn't budge an inch.
In the brief standoff that followed, the mysterious figure who'd appeared from nowhere turned to glance my way.
Her face was hidden beneath a pulled-low cap and a mask.
Our eyes met through the only visible part: those golden irises.
A strange sense of déjà vu hit me—like I'd seen those eyes before—and I racked my brain trying to place them.
"Hup!"
Suddenly, the soldier let go of the rifle without a second thought.
Then he whipped out a dagger from his belt and lunged it toward her back without hesitation. I jolted in shock, yelling a warning.
"W-Watch out—"
But before the words could leave my mouth, a fist slammed home.
Crack! The punch landed flush on the soldier's face. A sickening crunch followed, like bones shattering.
The body flew back several meters, as if hit by a truck.
It smashed into a wall across the street, crumbling it in a heap of rubble.
"........"
Incredible power.
The silhouette before me had the build of an ordinary woman. How could such slender limbs unleash that kind of force?
I stared in shock as she casually shook out her wrist after sending an adult man flying with one punch.
But my awe was short-lived—the commotion drew eyes from all around.
"Ambush!"
Nearby soldiers noticed the disturbance and shouted.
Guns swung frantically toward us.
But she was a step faster.
She was already driving a fist into another foe's face up close.
Thud-!
"Guhk!"
A clean hit to the gut. She smoothly snatched the rifle from the soldier's limp hands.
She spun it expertly, shouldered it, and fired in one fluid motion.
Bang-!
Three shots, but they blended into one from sheer speed.
"Gahk!"
Her aim was just as impeccable. Every round in that rapid burst pierced straight through the brow.
Bang, bang, bang-bang, bang!
Overwhelmingly swift and precise marksmanship. The soldiers were helpless against it. The moment anyone poked their head out, a shot faster than thought nailed them between the eyes.
"Keurgh...!"
I watched the whole scene unfold in a daze.
Her movements were too fast for the naked eye to track fully, but one thing was crystal clear.
She's a pro.
It wasn't just raw strength or implant output. Every motion was concise, refined. Lightning reflexes, battle sense on another level. Even a novice could tell she was in a league of her own on this battlefield.
The enemies realized it too. After a few more sloppy counter-shots dropped their comrades, they gave up responding altogether, hunkering behind cover. All that echoed from afar were frantic voices.
"Damn it... Where'd this monster come from?!"
"What are you doing? Call for backup!!"
A brief lull settled in.
The gunfire fell silent for a moment.
As she scanned the surroundings and plucked a fresh magazine from a nearby corpse,
Thud—a heavy footfall boomed across the field, too massive for any human.
"It's here! Kill that bitch quick!!"
The newcomer was a giant, easily three meters tall.
Bang-! The moment their eyes met, she fired.
The bullet struck his forehead dead-on, but it ricocheted with a metallic clang, like hitting steel plate.
A glimpse of gleaming chrome armor beneath the torn skin.
I swallowed hard without thinking.
That's... a damn Gunnut...!
A reinforced human covered head to toe in special bulletproof armor plating under the skin and cyberware.
A cyborg on a whole other level from the soldiers she'd dropped—a real monster.
How?! These don't show up in the lower districts...!
But before I could shout a warning, it was already charging her.
"Raaargh!!!!"
Bang- bang! Shots landed one after another, but no damage registered.
As expected, the Gunnut was practically invincible to physical attacks. Its subcutaneous armor shrugged off even heavy weaponry.
The only counter was stalling long enough for a remote hack on its cyberware software.
But this brute gave no such opening, closing in tight and unleashing a barrage of punches.
"Hah-!"
BOOM!!!!!!
One fist cratered the asphalt like it was a cookie.
She barely dodged, swinging the rifle like a baseball bat to crack the Gunnut's skull—but the stock shattered instead.
Snap-! The moment the buttstock split in two, she was caught in its grasp.
A pot-lid hand clamped around her throat, squeezing viciously.
"Hrngh...!"
Dangerous. A Gunnut's strength wasn't just its defense. The muscle power to move that alloy frame's immense weight outstripped a heavy truck's engine—and it was crushing her with it now.
This is bad.
That thought crossed my mind right up until the giant's face—swollen veins bulging from effort—split cleanly in an X.
Splat-!
Blades shot vertically from both her arms, slicing through armor tougher than steel in a blur.
The headless body staggered, then crashed down with a earth-shaking thud.
I stared in shock once more.
A Gunnut's head wasn't some weak spot, yet she'd bisected it flawlessly.
The matte black blades gleamed not a drop of blood—sharpened to perfection.
That distinctive hue sparked a name in my mind.
Could those be Nano Blades?
Top-tier implant alloy for close combat.
Not just the price—eighty times its weight in gold—but its rarity from cutting-edge labs meant it never hit the market. Even black market whispers were scarce.
In this city, only a select few wielded gear like that.
Elite mercenaries or agents handling the most perilous ops.
A chill ran up my arms unbidden.
"......."
While my mind reeled, the scene wrapped up swiftly.
With even the Gunnut down, the remaining soldiers lost all will to fight.
Weapons clattered to the ground one by one. She retracted the blades into her arms, scanned around, and picked up a stray pistol.
"W-Wait. We surrender."
The soldiers belatedly cried out, but she pulled the trigger wordlessly.
Bang, bang, bang—a few more shots, and the last stragglers dropped.
Now, only bodies littered the scene.
Gang members, corporate security tac-team—not a soul left breathing.
In a lower-district skirmish, who'd believe one person wrought this carnage?
A battlefield evoking awe.
Just then, its architect turned to me.
"......"
Step, step.
She approached through the bloodbath, and I shrank back instinctively.
She stopped within arm's reach. I squeezed my eyes shut.
"I've been looking for you."
But her voice held no hostility, so I finally faced her properly.
Those golden eyes peeking from cap and mask felt so familiar.
I've definitely seen them before.
I desperately searched my memory. The answer came quick—I hadn't been in this city long, and I'd met few people.
And those sparkling golden eyes stuck out most.
The junkyard yesterday... no way—
But as I hesitated without certainty, she spoke first.
"Glad you're safe, benefactor."
"Ah...."
My guess was right. It was that person slumped in the alley back then.
Realization hit, tension drained, and I slumped to the ground.
"Are you alright?"
I forced out a hoarse reply.
"Y-Yeah... thanks to you...."
I was still dumbfounded.
I had no clue what was even happening.
One random stroke of bad luck dragged me to death's door, only for a casual good deed to boomerang back and save my skin. Life's unpredictable, truly baffling.
"Haa...."
I let out a sigh, utterly spent—
When a wasp-like buzz approached from somewhere.
Vrrrrmm—
Bang! She shot it down before I could react.
"Scavenger drone. This much commotion means they've already caught the scent."
Lower district corpse-pickers. They swarm incident sites to strip valuable parts—even if the owner's still clinging to life.
Don't underestimate 'scavenger'—they're ruthless enough to rip implants from the living. Combat aside, dealing with them exhausts you. Best avoid eye contact.
"Let's move before it gets noisy."
I nodded. No desire to linger here another second, regardless.
As I tried to stand following her gesture—
"Ack....!"
My legs buckled, dumping me back down.
Overwhelmed nerves left them numb and trembling, unresponsive.
As I fretted helplessly, hands gripped my thighs and shoulders.
"Excuse me for a moment."
"Huh? W-Wait?!"
My body lifted suddenly. When I came to, she was carrying me.
In that pose they call the princess carry.
".....!"
Realizing my state, my face burned. Not some kid—an old man like me, dangled in a stranger woman's arms? A lifetime first for humiliation.
"Um, excuse me...."
"Is something uncomfortable?"
I started protesting to be put down, then it hit me.
How this looked to others.
The unfamiliar girl's face I saw in the mirror every morning lately.
That pitiful child's fragile form—even I startled at it sometimes. Being carried like this? Not so weird.
But...
No matter the shell, my core was still a grown man.
So I couldn't ignore it—the skin-on-skin contact in this embrace...
Ughhh...
Her skin was surprisingly soft, warm.
Impossible to imagine the killer cyberware nested inside.
The plush sensation all over made me hide my flushing face.
"......"
Felt like a guilty conscience.
But explaining now was awkward... and the fallout terrifying.
So through the dozens of corpses her hands had wrought, I stayed quiet, meekly cradled in her arms.