Borderline Joke 6
"......Urk. Ptui!!"
I spat out what tasted like blood mixed in my mouth and massaged my shoulder, numb from the recoil. With all the immediate threats right in front of me wiped out, the trashed shop... and my body in pretty much the same state jumped into view.
Not that I'd taken any direct hits, but my lower abdomen burned strangely from all the rubbing. My upper body screamed with fatigue even from the minimized gun recoil. Damp bloodstains.
"Just you wait, you bastards... for real...!!"
No way the implants would fail due to compatibility or side effects. Once I had some spare credits, I'd pour them without hesitation into mods and upgrades, I vowed, straightening my disheveled clothes.
Now, what was left... two corpses.
Even scraping up the scattered guns from the lab had felt that way, but without a game-like inventory popping up with loot lists or a virtual pocket to stuff shit into, even collecting spoils was a pain in the ass. Not to mention the bullets might've wrecked anything useful.
Tsssk...!!
With this shitty strength, flipping bodies or stripping clothes was a chore, so I yanked the steak knife from the big guy's neck, ripped open his pocket, and sliced off his jacket.
......If a mere dining tool had this much cutting power.
How insanely dangerous were the weapons used by close-combat builds like samurais or juggernauts...?
God, I hoped I never had to feel it on my own skin.
Clink...
"What the fuck...?!"
While sifting through junk based on my cyberware analysis.
Something that looked like it would explode like a motherfucker rolled out from the ripped inner pocket onto the floor.
In this future world two hundred years ahead, a green fragmentation grenade that still sent chills down my spine popped out.
Their guns looked like jury-rigged construction equipment, but why the fuck did they have genuine Black Dragon Corp. explosives?
If I'd fucked up, we'd all be heading to the afterlife together, nice and cozy...!
For now, considering this body's stamina and durability... bluntly put, my arms would give out before I ran out of ammo, so I pocketed the grenade carefully for emergencies.
I made sure the two dead bodies weren't visible, firmly shut the shop door, and slipped outside.
I didn't want unnecessary attention, and since settling down at the shop, I hadn't wandered the outpost much... but I knew the location of the diner Gramps the mechanic frequented.
Crunch... crunch...
Keeping watch around me, I advanced cautiously.
Gunfire echoed endlessly from afar, but true to the outpost's shitshow of a situation, not a single ant stirred on the streets.
If anything was there, it'd be insect-type critters adapted to this wasteland... or.
"Fucking... heavy as shit... Huh?"
Bang---!!
"......Looks like you bit off more than you could chew, asshole."
......Lawless scum even worse than bugs.
I shot the black bastard staggering out, hauling off someone else's household goods in a sack like he was some dark Santa Claus.
Right when I was uneasy about ending lives with just a finger twitch, the idiot made it easy to spot friend from foe—perfect for me.
I approached the fallen guy, nudged his head with my boot. Confirmed his sticky lifeblood soaking into the sand, then hurried on.
If this kept up, even a kid who could just shoulder a gun and pull the trigger could take out enemies.
But... the target shop wasn't far from the gunfire's source.
Rattle!! Rattle---!!
Bang! Bang-bang...!!
The closer I got, the thicker the battlefield air made cold sweat prickle my skin.
Scared of death? Partly, yeah.
But also... even after spending countless days and nights in this world, countable on two hands.
Every night, come morning—or after dying—I half-expected to open my eyes to my familiar bedroom ceiling.
They say when you dream of being a butterfly, you forget you're human?
So... what was truly terrifying?
Overstepping my bounds. Or the opposite—not acting and fucking everything up.
The parallel world signal I'd briefly tapped into in the lab surgery room didn't come back easily.
In the end, all I could do was hope my actions led to something positive—a happy ending.
"You bitch...!! Got you......!!"
"%^&^&...!!"
"?!"
Guttural voices mixed with gunfire—I quickly pressed against the wall and hid.
Opposite the battlefield... no, one of the houses I'd just passed.
Almost got jumped from behind.
"What kinda shithole has a hidden floor?! Almost missed out on a beauty like this...!!"
"Get your hands off my mom, you... you pig...!!"
"Mary...! Mom's fine.... Okay? Stay put...?"
"Ugh......"
Heated conversation leaked from inside the house I'd approached carefully. Easy to judge the situation.
Just no clear outline on the enemy yet.
Fabric brushing skin, something dropping on the floor.
And....
"Mom...! Mom!!"
Slap...!!
Thud...!
"Fuckin' scatterbrain!"
"!! Don't touch the kid...!!"
The sound of a running child getting hit and collapsing.
......The bastard about to die was crossing the line?
I cleared the miscellaneous retinal info, sharpened my vision max, peeked inside with my loaded rifle barrel.
First, a burly ass busy yanking down pants.
Then eye contact with a cute freckled little girl on the verge of tears.
In case she drew attention wrong, I put a finger to my lips—shh—and winked.
"Whoa......"
Instantly, the tears vanished from her eyes, sparkling with wonder.
......A kid with spirit as tough as her cute looks.
More importantly... if there was just this dumbass enemy, I should've moved sooner.
Then the kid wouldn't have gotten hit, and her mom wouldn't have had to offer herself up....
"!!"
"......?"
Over the hunched brute's shoulder, eyes met with the red-haired woman undressing.
Her expression screamed urgency more than relief.
Her head turned left—my right.
Before I could process the signal, a black hand shot from the wall by the door, grabbed my rifle barrel, and yanked hard...!
"Shit...!!"
This gangbanger was trying to breed, and there was another fucker silently watching without a word?!
Overwhelmed by raw strength, I lost the rifle helplessly.
Confident in his advantage, the lawless prick stepped out, pistol aimed.
"Knew some vigilante shithead was still around......?"
......Thank fuck they made Anastasia a bit shorter.
And even more, thank fuck I was a Neo Haven shut-in gamer...!
Click!
Expecting a burly adult, his muzzle pointed at empty air.
Me? Any FPS gamer would've done the same instinctively.
If primary's gone, go secondary—drew my Peacemaker pistol.
That split-second call decided it.
Bang!!
The bullet punched through his jaw, out the head, into the ceiling.
No need for single taps; instant kill, body crumpled.
"Ugh......?"
Crash!
His buddy froze awkwardly, finally turning at the noisy fall.
......Sorry for scarring a growing kid's psyche, but priorities first...?
I squeezed the trigger steady.
Pistol rounds mercilessly hammered the burly pig's upper body.
No time to aim headshots.
Five seconds ago I almost died from letting my guard down; do it again and I ain't human.
"Hoo...... Haa!"
Dunno when I'd stopped, but I blew out the held breath.
"Thank you... thank you so much...!!"
"Sis!! Sis is like Daddy—a 'hawk with hidden claws,' right? Yeah?!"
The mom lifted the fallen girl into a hug, bowing repeatedly in thanks.
But she still didn't drop her guard... mothers are tough, huh.
And the little lady... steel mentality much?
"Sis" stung a bit, but no better term, so....
"......Smart little miss. But in times like these, you look after Mom first, got it...?"
"Ah?! Mom!! Sorryyy......!!"
With a wry smile, she patted her immature daughter's back.
But... hawk with hidden claws...?
Heard that recently—a lot.
Not many in Neo Haven using such archaic phrases.
"......"
My wandering gaze found a family photo amid the wrecked house.
A standard shot of young daughter and parents, but....
Dad's face was too familiar.
Scar across his face, rugged features.
Build that'd suit a tux perfectly.
Why was Schneider McQueen, running a bar in Emerald City, here...?