Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Bogers Gang
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It was a movement close to pure instinct.
Not following the normal flow of thought, but a reaction speed as if my eyes had directly screamed to my nerves, 'Fuck, move!'
'Crazy crazy crazy crazy crazy...'
With an 8-ton truck whose steering had failed barreling toward the grocery store, the mere fact that my feet hadn't frozen in place was already damn impressive.
This could probably play as a mad movie at my funeral.
Setting aside the minor issue that my funeral might be tomorrow.
"Hm? What's that weird noise... Gah!!"
Gripping the two men's napes tightly, I hurled myself into the grocery store.
In Michael's case, since he was heavier, I might've used a bit too much force,
but for him, avoiding getting crushed by the truck was way more important than his neck being choked.
Deeper inside.
Inside.
Even deeper.
I threw myself as far as possible, to a distance where the truck couldn't push through.
"...What the hell is going on?"
"Shut up and keep your head down!"
I pressed down hard on Michael and Liberra's heads.
Don't you know cover? Cover? Hide in the bush? Well, maybe you don't.
And so, after that brief silence.
KABOOM!!!
The entire building shook.
Mass equals destructive power.
With such a heavy truck slamming into the building without stopping, even just the rising dust created a thick haze of smoke.
At the same time.
Countless debris fragments whistled past overhead.
'......Ah.'
No.
I muttered without realizing it.
The whole world slowed to a crawl, like slow motion.
To the point where it seemed frozen for an instant.
'That glass wall.'
I'd spent the whole first day scrubbing off the unidentified stains stuck to the outside.
Took me days to clean it all. Haha.
Memories with the glass wall shattered along with it.
'And the display shelves.'
When I first came to the grocery store, the shelves were covered in thick dust and filth.
I wiped off the dust, organized the goods.
When it finally looked like a proper grocery store, I felt an indescribable emotion.
All those goods came crashing down in a mess.
Very slowly.
'And finally, the electronic clock.'
I nearly threw myself toward it without thinking.
Tick-tock, tick-tock.
The clock that had guided me warmly like a lighthouse beacon was steadily losing its glow.
My efforts.
My time.
My grocery store.
"Farewell...."
I'll clean you up again for sure, so just close your eyes for now. RIP.
Not sure if it was just my imagination,
but a single teardrop slowly trailed down my moistened cheek.
"...What the hell is going on."
"A truck came and crashed into it."
"......Pardon?"
Michael stared at me in confusion, unable to grasp the situation even after my answer.
Me too.
I'm extremely flustered.
Cars are made to drive on roads.
It's not like we're in the Pacific War with some Japanese kamikaze pilot.
I really hadn't expected a massive truck to perform a body slam on the building.
But that only lasted a moment.
I heard footsteps as people climbed out of the truck, which had parked oh-so-violently.
"Hey, wasn't that kid at the entrance just now the brat the boss warned us about?"
"Huh? Was it? I didn't see."
"Fuck, I told you not to do drugs and drive."
Casual, swaggering tones.
The words "boss" and "brat."
This wasn't just drunk driving,
and they all seemed to be members of the Bogers Gang.
One of them raised his voice.
"Hey!! Quit screwing around and come out! If you do now, we'll kill you nice and clean!"
"This is the place, right? Where the guys went dark."
"Yeah. Signal cut off right from here for sure."
I eavesdropped on the gang members' conversation with one ear while looking at Michael and Liberra.
We couldn't hide behind the counter forever.
"Listen up. Don't raise your heads until I say it's okay. And don't even think about jumping in to help. Michael. You hearing me?"
"...Y-Yes."
I considered telling them to sneak out,
but figured that might make it more dangerous, so I told them to stay put.
But Liberra had no intention of listening, grabbing my sleeve and opening her mouth.
"...Then let me help you."
"Tch, a kid talking back...."
"?"
I get the feeling to help,
but staying put is how you help me here.
[Dyu.]
"You stay put too."
[......Dyu? Dyu??]
"I'll call if I need you."
It was because in the already half-destroyed grocery store, if the 20mm turret started firing, the whole building might really collapse.
And for some reason,
it didn't feel like a dangerous situation.
'About ten guys. Weapons: three rifles, the rest pistols.'
Is this recklessness on my part?
My heart was eerily calm.
Only endless rage burned.
I answered myself.
Probably not.
"...What a pain. Hey! Check the back there."
In the meantime, the gang members seemed ready to search the grocery store interior.
Thud, thud. Footsteps approaching this way.
As the gun barrel appeared over the counter, I lunged out fearlessly.
Once more, the world moved in slow motion.
The gang member's shocked expression at the sudden target.
And the utterly wrecked interior of the grocery store.
'Fuck.'
Twitch—a vein bulges on my forehead.
A low curse rose with the heat.
And at the same time.
On one hand, a cold thought seeped in: was my temper always this hot-headed?
'...The treatment I received.'
That was the only reason that came to mind immediately.
But so what?
That wasn't important right now.
"This—fucking—bast—"
It felt like a solid 10 seconds had passed subjectively.
But the gang member blocking the counter was still slowly dragging out his words.
His finger tensed on the trigger.
'Can't dodge bullets, huh?'
Judgment made, I moved.
I reached out and snatched the pistol from the guy's hand.
Fingers breaking in the opposite direction.
In that slow world.
I aimed at the joints of the gang members in the back and pulled the trigger.
BANG! Bang!
First targets: the ones with assault rifles.
I could've gone for heads, but focused on disabling enemies.
The world flowing slow didn't improve my marksmanship.
Even aiming carefully.
Out of 18 rounds—17 in the mag plus one chambered—only 6 hit targets.
Still, 33% accuracy qualifies me for honorary XCOM membership.
Three members screaming and collapsing.
All the assault rifle wielders.
"Argh!"
"...Shit! What the hell's going on?!"
I smashed the jaw of the guy who'd kindly handed over his pistol, knocking him out.
Then vaulted the counter.
And charged forward.
Surveying the panicking members, I lashed out with kicks.
Seemed light, but the member's waist bent in a V from the abdominal kick.
"Guhk...!"
I dodged before his drool could hit me.
And simultaneously felt a chilling sensation.
Another guy reaching for a dropped assault rifle on the floor.
I hurled the now-empty pistol, nailing his cheekbone.
"What kind of moves...!"
The pistol wasn't that heavy, but enough to halt him momentarily.
I followed with a punch, the unpleasant sensation transmitting fully through my skin.
Broken teeth embedding in my knuckles,
the jaw shattering.
Each time reality hit too hard and I flinched, the holed and smashed grocery store scenery kept entering my eyes.
By now, they wouldn't hold back on shooting either.
I acrobatically dodged pistol muzzles on a razor's edge, disabling the gang members one by one.
"Guhk, guhheuk...."
"Grk."
Leaving the writhing members behind.
I brushed the teeth from my knuckles.
Situation cleanly terminated.
'...Or so I wish.'
For their second raid, they'd brought ten guys in a truck.
I didn't think it'd end here.
Ignoring the first warning had led to truly惨 consequences.
Looking at the grocery store turned complete ruin, a depressive feeling welled up. Fuck.
"Wh-What happened...."
"Hotdog Man!! Are you okay?!"
The homeless folks on the street gasped in horror at the grocery store's horrific state.
I waved it off casually and headed back to the counter where Michael and Liberra were.
There, Michael was grunting while holding onto Liberra's legs.
"...What're you doing."
"...This young lady kept trying to go out, so I was stopping her."
Checking Michael's face, his nose was bleeding profusely, like he'd been kicked several times.
I frowned down at the kid.
"I said I'm fine without your help."
"Still...."
Before Liberra could continue, I roughly ruffled her hair.
Tch, I said it's fine.
What can a kid even do.
While stroking Liberra's hair like that, I looked at Michael.
"These are the Bogers Gang guys, right?"
"The Bogers Gang, yes."
"Whatever."
That's not the point.
"Just to check, do you know where those bastards hole up?"
"I do, but why...."
I nodded once,
then pointed my thumb at the truck parked inside the grocery store.
"Get in."
"...Where are you going?"
Why ask that.
"Their base got raided? Time to raid theirs back."
That's RTS genre canon.
Gang or whatever bullshit.
I can't let this slide.
I settled into the truck's driver's seat.
Originally modded for ramming, the truck's wheels rolled fine even after smashing the grocery store.
Michael sat in the passenger seat with an anxious look.
"Sh-Shouldn't I drive?"
"Nah, I've played Euro Truck Simulator."
"...Pardon?"
Even holder of a Class 2 ordinary license, man's permit.
What? Men need Class 1? Not important.
Anyway.
Before boarding, I'd sweated bullets leaving Liberra behind, who insisted on coming too.
Half-worried about leaving her alone in the half-ruined store, but with Nova there, it'd be fine.
I headed to the Bogers Gang's base with Michael, my human navigation.
Michael spoke in an uneasy voice.
"But really, is this okay? Shouldn't we bring others?"
No one to bring even if I wanted.
Other homeless? Lucky if they don't get in the way.
And this rage—I had to settle it personally, or it'd burn forever.
Michael gulped and stared at me, eyes widening.
"W-Wait. Hotdog Man. You're bleeding from your thigh!"
"Huh?"
I glanced down at my thigh while driving.
My worn slacks were soaked red.
When did this get pierced.
Pain was less than expected. No sense of reality.
Tearing the holey slacks slightly, something clunked to the floor.
"...Looks like a 9mm round."
Shocked momentarily by the bullet appearing from inside my pants—not from a pocket.
Feeling something off, I scrubbed the bloodstained skin vigorously.
"Then the wound'll tear... Huh?"
No wound visible on my thigh.
Michael stared at me dumbly at this impossible reality.
"...Are you really augmented? Or from some corp?"
Dunno.
Could be the treatment Christine gave me, or falling into the game itself.
"Whatever. That's the place, right."
"...Y-Yes. That building by the roadside."
Looked like a collapsed ruin, but Michael said the Bogers Gang had fortified it as a base.
Okay, target confirmed.
"You gonna come in with me, not bail?"
"...Yes. I'll go too. Can't send Hotdog Man alone."
Loyalty's good, but sounded a bit creepy somehow.
No way this guy....
"...It's not like that."
Michael caught my glare and waved his hands frantically.
Whatever.
"Buckle up first."
"Huh? Weren't we sneaking in from here?"
Can't do that.
To honor the smashed grocery store.
Building revenge demands a building.
As I calmly shifted gears, Michael's pupils trembled anxiously.
"N-No, right?"
"Hold on tight."
"I'll just get off here—"
I floored the accelerator.