BXBX NOVEL Chapter 24 – Rainy Day (3)
Chapter 24 – Rainy Day (3)
Let’s talk about the past for a moment.
It’s the story of when I had just entered Neon City.
Escaping from the garbage dump.
I had just started wandering with Catherine as a low-level mercenary.
There was a restaurant in the neighborhood run by Asians, so I went there to have a meal.
In my heart, I was expecting Korean food.
But contrary to my expectations, the restaurant was a cyberpunk-style fusion Japanese restaurant.
The food wasn’t bad compared to what I had expected.
I became a regular customer and visited the restaurant every day.
There was one female employee at the restaurant.
She was the owner’s daughter.
Until then, I didn’t think much of her.
Just thought of her as a strong woman.
We exchanged some light jokes whenever our eyes met.
That’s all it was.
If only I could remember that she was a character from the game I played, things might have been different.
She was kidnapped a few days later.
It was a common occurrence in the lower levels.
But I didn’t expect it.
There were no clues, and at that time, I lacked the abilities. Her rescue was delayed.
It wasn’t until quite some time had passed that I could finally rescue her.
She was a woman with a cheerful laugh who enjoyed joking with the mercenaries who visited the restaurant.
Maya had been modified with chrome throughout her body.
According to the story, she was forcibly used for illegal activities and experiments.
And after seeing Maya like that,
I remembered.
She was a character from a sub-quest in the game I played.
And that quest involved dealing with Chrome Psycho.
If I had rescued her immediately after she was kidnapped, the story might have been different.
Or if I had paid a little more attention to prevent her from being kidnapped, wouldn’t it have been okay?
I thought of various things.
But the bitter reality was already in front of me.
It was undoubtedly my negligence and forgetfulness that caused this situation.
‘You came to rescue me, right? I believed in you!’
‘…I’m sorry, I was too late.’
‘No, you’re not late at all.’
She was already broken.
‘After all, there’s only you. I’ve seen many mercenaries, but something was different about you. I believed you would come to save me. But why did that woman come with you again? Why? Why are you sticking with her? Is it okay for me to be with you now? I’ve become stronger now. Look! It’s not working. My father told me that men should take good care of women. If you want to be together forever, it’s okay even if you only have your neck left, right? Isn’t it? Now I’ll save you. Just stay still.’
And she ended up imprisoned, as far as I know.
It was a long time to live in this world.
As I dodged the rushing blades, I thought so.
* * *
One thing to make clear.
I am by no means weak.
It was simply the limit of my position.
I am meant to support the team or provide long-range fire support.
It’s impossible for me to firmly hold a position on the front lines like the others.
So it was a natural fact that I couldn’t fight one-on-one on equal terms with a woman like Maya, armed with cyberware all over her body.
A curved blade aimed at my throat.
I barely managed to step back.
I almost got split into head/body.
Indeed, she’s tough.
The blades started from Maya’s wrists.
Small and long blades moved back and forth, adjusting their length fluidly.
For her, it might be a playful movement, but for me, it was a taste of death.
There was no room for a counterattack, let alone gathering mana.
But she must have realized the time limit for playing like this.
Because the NCPD response would be quick in the Central Plaza as it was the mid-level.
So, as time passed, her movements became sharper and more aggressive.
At least that’s how I felt.
Although it seemed like I hadn’t faced her for long.
I already had many wounds on my body.
My torn coat fluttered around.
I thought if that coat didn’t have bulletproofing, I would have died and collapsed by now.
Any more bleeding than this could be dangerous.
I opened my mouth with the intention of buying time.
“…How on earth did you escape from prison?”
Honestly, I was curious.
Pelicanus, being a high-security prison for major criminals, would have been thorough in its security measures.
Maya’s red eyes blinked.
Sometimes, it seemed like she was having seizures, and the blades rotating from her wrists felt unnatural.
“I don’t know either?”
Her appearance seemed to reflect the chaotic and complex mental state of Chrome Psychos.
Nevertheless, she continued her response to my question.
“Does it matter who helped me escape? It does. They provided equipment, and even told me your location. It matters. I’m grateful.”
…I didn’t expect this.
She says someone told her my location.
I couldn’t be sure if her words were true, but they didn’t sound like lies.
Lying was a basic skill for citizens of Neon City, but considering Maya’s unstable mental state, it didn’t seem likely that she would go that far to deceive.
Perhaps Maya herself felt something was off.
For a brief moment, she continued to twitch, occasionally muttering to herself, showing symptoms of Chrome Psycho disorder.
I gained a little time.
During this time, I needed to find some way out.
“…Eve, is there no good solution?”
[Unless there is complete proximity to the target’s cyberware signaling system, hacking is impossible, I explain.]
“So, stalling for time seems to be the best option after all.”
[However, conducting data mining based on the target’s movements. Synchronizing with the visual interface data … Completed.]
As Eve finished speaking, Maya rushed at me again.
But one thing had changed.
Graphics resembling Maya appeared in my visual interface.
A translucent figure.
It showed the anticipated path of her movements and attacks, making it much easier to dodge her attacks than before.
While avoiding her attacks, I spoke.
“Seriously, I promise. If I make it out of here alive, I’ll definitely broadcast it.”
[Since it’s not the credits I earned, I quietly ask if it matters.]
I’m not sure about that.
“What are you talking about!!”
Maya shouted, seeing me talking to myself.
I still didn’t have an opportunity to attack.
To incapacitate Maya in combat, I needed powerful magic, but I was still busy dodging her attacks.
Shooting her with the pistol I had wouldn’t even leave a scratch on her exterior.
I needed to find something around me.
How much time was left?
My brain raced.
Then, one method popped into my head.
“Why… do you keep… dodging?!”
To survive.
Seeing me continuously evade her attacks by the skin of my teeth, Maya’s movements grew increasingly erratic.
Over-emotionality.
A typical symptom of Chrome Psychos.
I cast a simple spell.
Her increased movements made it much easier to cast.
A brilliant flash erupted from my fingertips, illuminating the street.
A specially crafted flash spell.
If only it could buy enough time, but unfortunately, Maya’s ocular cyberware seemed to recover incredibly fast.
But that’s okay.
Even a split second would do. My goal was to momentarily halt her movements.
‘I believe in you, Drake!’
At the same time, I clenched my fist tightly.
The loose cuff of my coat showed muscles filling it up.
Instantly inflated muscles.
It was a new cyberware implant that Drake said that could lift even orcs.
Although I wished to knock her out with a punch to the face, Maya, who was blinded by the flash, instinctively guarded her vital spots.
That was fine.
My target wasn’t her vital points to begin with.
My swung fist struck Maya’s abdomen directly.
A punch.
The first since leaving the garbage dump and the lower levels.
Suddenly, I heard a cracking sound coming from my wrist.
Maya’s body flew far away from the impact.
In that direction…
There was a cyberware specialty store from which I had just bought something and came out.
As Maya’s body flew, the automatic door shattered.
The sound of numerous turrets’ gunfire immediately followed the shattering of the door.
I had confirmed it when I entered the store.
Instead of armed guards, several turrets were guarding the store.
Since the door had been broken, it would have activated automatically, even without an employee pressing the button.
The thunderous gunfire of the turrets echoed through the street.
It sounded like at least 7.62 caliber bullets.
This meant that even with Maya’s reinforced exterior, she couldn’t completely block them.
Eventually, the noise ceased after a brief moment.
“Did that get rid of her?”
[…No, I deny.]
Eve’s words were accurate.
Stepping on broken glass fragments, Maya walked out.
Despite visible cracks and wounds all over her exterior,
she appeared much more intact than I expected.
“It’s been a while since I last saw you. You’re so wild, aren’t you?”
It was a compliment of content I had never heard before in this world.
Unknowingly, I nodded my head.
…No, focus.
The woman in front of me was someone who wanted to grab my neck and kill everyone around me.
I prepared for a second round.
With Eve’s help, it was easy to anticipate her movements, and I had inflicted some damage.
I felt I could somehow get out of this situation.
But before the battle could continue, a very faint sound emanated from the building’s gaps.
It was the sound of something flying.
[Information. NCPD tactical drones are incoming, I inform.]
That meant the Chrome Forces would arrive shortly.
Maya seemed to have heard the sound too as she glanced over her injured body.
Could she have regained consciousness after being hit by the turret?
There was no trace of her previous instability.
“…Anyway, today ends here. I’m wounded, and you wouldn’t want to see me in this state too, would you?”
With that, she lightly leaped.
Her landing spot was atop a tall lamppost.
“Next time, I’ll definitely come back.”
Without waiting for my reply, she disappeared into the building’s gaps.
Watching her disappearing figure, I took out a nano ampule from my pocket, meant for first aid, and injected it into the worst wound.
Unintentionally, I let out a sigh of relief.
“Haah…”
Then I thought.
Should I chase after her?
No.
Considering her physical abilities, it was almost impossible to follow her.
Then should I let her go like this?
Also, no.
Letting her go like this could endanger the people around me as well.
“Eve.”
[I’m standing by.]
“Can you track her location?”
[I have already stored the target’s biosignal. Tracking is possible, I confirm.]
“Good.”
Then there’s no need to postpone it.
[Confirmed. I will begin tracking.]
“No, wait. First, let’s stop by home.”
[Do you have any other items to collect? I inquire.]
“Not really.”
Since I had already prepared all the necessary items before leaving.
The reason for returning home was…
I picked up the bag I had set aside for a moment.
Fortunately, its contents were intact.
I had been careful to protect the bag from any harm, even while covered in blood.
Honestly, that’s why I thought I took a few more hits from her blade.
“I went out because of this, I couldn’t let it get damaged.”
[…]
First, I’ll put the data module neatly at home and then start tracking.
Anyway, I can walk home quickly.
My goal was to finish the job before Catherine returned home.
* * *
Andrea came over to the house.
“Hey! Catherine said she went out for a moment? It’s good timing, so I came to hang out. I’m on vacation too.”
“…Can’t you just go back?”
“I don’t want to. …Hey, why are you injured? What happened?”
My plans to go alone had gone awry.