How To Live as a Cyberpunk Solver

92. Powder

Liberation Front Soldier B.

It’s not a real soldier, and it’s unknown if it’s the real initials, but it was clear that it was a key figure in an anti-corporate terrorist organization. Regardless of life or death, a bounty of 1 million credits was put on it, so if you could catch it, you should catch it.

“I am not afraid. have no idea.”

Leonard also pulled the ball of his revolver ‘Air Force’. It’s a double action anyway, so you can think of the meaning of pulling the ball, but the effect of mental pressure was considerable. It was not an unfounded threat, as the trigger pressure was lowered so that a slight force or an unexpected impact could fire the bullet. But it didn’t work for B. In the first place, if he was sane, he would not have committed corporate terrorism, so he was an author who went crazy early on.

“I am not here alone. My friends are taking over this area.”

“Is the bravado childish?”

“Would you believe me if I killed your men?”

Leonard didn’t have any subordinates, but he had a kid who looked like his subordinates. Leonard opened the communication with the brain chip and spoke exaggeratedly.

“I don’t know how many people there are, but it won’t be easy to kill him, right?”

“I do not know. Aren’t you a 15-year-old kid without an implant?”

It looks like you did more research than you thought. But it didn’t matter. The purpose is to warn Max of any possible danger. I don’t even know if the threat is real.

“Well, it’s a deal, so I’ll listen to it first.”

Still, it worked. When Leonard took a step back, a nasty smile appeared on B’s face.

“I’ll give you the 100,000 credits I promised you last time.”

“Your gang you just caught are worth 300,000 credits?”

“It means taking the damage and giving 100,000 credits. For us, we lose 400,000 credits.”

“…What kind of logic is that shape?”

Perhaps it was because he was a thinker, sophistry was natural. Just then, Max’s communication came through Leonard’s brain chip.

– Wow! I think that’s true! People come this way!

Max did not have a brain chip, so he could not communicate without voice. I can’t show weakness out loud in this situation, so I had to decide as soon as possible.

“If you give me 100,000 credits, I’ll do this for today.”

“today?”

“You didn’t just want to get that and shave your hands, did you?”

The Liberation Front member who took the dwarf hostage shook his gun. Leonard also held out his revolver a bit more without missing a reaction. They were implant cyborgs that could easily withstand a few bullets, except for a vital part like the head. Leonard, who had weapons other than guns, had an advantage.

B took the time pretending to be worried. But not long enough to be rude.

“Then do it. We’ll go out first, so could you wait a moment?”

“Who is that friend?”

Leonard pointed his chin at the dwarf. B transmits 100,000 credits and signals to release the hostage.

“If you are not a servant of a company, I will not kill you carelessly.”

“The level of lies is really…”

Leonard opened the account at the sound of the alarm. Six digits were going up fast. It felt like I was being paid overdue.

B sent the only surviving shotgun member outside. Leonard pursued her with the gun but did not shoot. Not worrying about Max’s sniping made me feel uneasy. B said last.

“I’m sure you’ll keep your promise, but I’ll put a safety catch on just in case.”

“What device?”

“You’re going to save your subordinates while you’re chasing us.”

thud-!

Leonard’s gaze returned to the window. The roof of a three-story villa exploded 300 meters away. It was Max’s sniping point.

“This is why criminals!”

Leonard pulled the trigger at B. However, after restarting the thermo-optical module, B jumped over the window frame with a blurry silhouette. I could chase him if I wanted to, but I couldn’t take two steps because I was worried about Max.

“Max! Are you alive?!”

– Oh, not yet! But I think I’ll die soon! Mom!

Leonard stepped out of the house and looked around. The dwarf lay on the floor with the back of his head broken. Brain fragments glistened through the blood. Also, I couldn’t believe the words of the criminal.

In addition, the Liberation Front member whom Leonard killed also had his head exploded. There was no time to retrieve the memory chip, so it seemed that he had just hit the shotgun. Leonard gritted his teeth and shouted at Max.

“How many!”

-Two, two! I shot one…

It looks like it couldn’t be broken. The loud gunfire disrupted communications.

“Are there two of you?”

The type and interval of gunshots were at least four or five. Max covered his ears and screamed.

– There’s a cyborg who’s crazy! I have several guns in my implant arm, don’t come over here!

“Oh, I think I know who it is.”

It must be a super-heavy cyborg that accompanies B. That is, the threats were only half true and half false.

“I am going now! Hold on a little! If you can escape to a safe place, evade immediately!”

Leonard ran towards Max’s three-story villa. With Leonard’s lightweight body and hacking ability, 3 to 40 seconds were enough to jump over all the obstacles in the street.

However, Max’s situation was worse than expected. Let alone 30 seconds, right now was a crisis. I was barely holding on, hiding behind the wall of the rooftop control room, clutching my gun bag.

The difference in firepower was overwhelming, so I didn’t have the courage to respond. That one had full-body implants, so it couldn’t budge from a few bullets, but Max was a biohuman who would bleed even with the weakest of bullets. The gunshots quickly drew closer, as if the other side knew that too.

“Despiteably real…”

It’s not something a sniper would say, but if you’re at a disadvantage, it feels shameful. In other words, it was a strategy and a tactic if it was advantageous.

Kwagwawang-!

A second explosion went off.

The first was a composition-type bomb of a terrorist organization to break the roof door-it could have been destroyed by shooting it with a gun, but were you worried about booby traps?- but not this time. A member of the Liberation Front was blown off the roof by the recoilless shockwave. There were no screams. He died of shock before he fell, so he probably won’t feel any pain.

“Max! Here you are?”

“Eh?”

Reinforcements also arrived for Leonard and his party. Unlike the other side, it was not a planned reinforcement. However, it was a reinforcement force many times stronger than the other side. A large metal object pushed through the roof door that had been left open by the first explosion. Max stared at the scene and opened his mouth.

“Ahhh… what kind of monster is that?”

I didn’t ask because I didn’t know. To put it bluntly, it was an investigative question. Instead of having a head, it was a giant robot, a war machine, with an enlarged body and two legs like an elephant.

The ambushed Liberation Front member fired a war machine as if in a seizure. A total of four machine guns sprayed terrifying bullets, including the left and right shoulders. However, it was a war machine armor that could easily withstand anti-tank firearms. The 9mm, 10mm, and 5.56mm bullets ricocheted like beans heated in a frying pan.

War Machine removed the empty recoilless rifle and spun the minigun. The faces of the members of the Liberation Front, who boasted overwhelming firepower just a moment ago, turned white.

“Rain, damn it…”

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Just as the bullets had landed, there was a tick-tick-tick-sound. It was a pitiful sight. Even the ultra-heavy implant body was childish compared to the War Machines, which were only built for war. However, the weapons of war did not take care of the circumstances. The minigun’s triple barrel spun at full speed, pouring down full metal jackets. Deed Deed Dede Deuk-!

Looking back after a few days, it was an overkill. It’s because it’s been disassembled because it couldn’t be rags. But right now, the joy of living was greater. Max jumped up to greet unexpected reinforcements.

“Miss Layla!”

Layla, a strange gunsmith with a private collection of War Machines, opened the hatch and showed her face. The oil-soaked hair and overalls were strangely sexy and beautiful.

“Wow! cool! If you had something like this, you should be proud of it!”

Max looked at War Machine from front to back, admiring it. The gunsmith froze, afraid that little Max might be hurt by the mechanism.

“Max, it’s dangerous. A little bit off. Is it really dangerous?”

“Is this Leila’s? how much is it? Can I ride too?”

Leonard, who arrived out of breath exactly 37 seconds later, laughed out loud at the sight. The gunsmith who destroyed the terrorists is stuck, Maxney. Isn’t Max the strongest? That kind of nonsense was better than saying that Max was safe and relaxed.

@

I missed a big catch, but overall it wasn’t bad.

In addition to the 100,000 credits extracted through negotiations, a total of 5 members of the Liberation Front were killed. Even a simple calculation was 600,000 credits.

“I don’t know if you will accept this…”

If the purpose of the public wanted is information and publicity, it was difficult to be recognized for its value. The head disappeared and the body turned to powder. The gunsmith changed his clothes and spoke cautiously.

“I hate to be condescending with this, but isn’t half of it mine?”

The gunsmith’s argument was also valid. Anyway, it was the gunsmith who caught the two members of the Liberation Front, and thanks to that, Max was able to escape.

“We were the ones who set up the plan and executed it. A spoonful at the end, isn’t half of it too much?”

Of course, the industry wasn’t easy enough to accept that it made sense. The fixer and the gunsmith raised their voices and fought. However, Max, the strongest of the two, had other thoughts because he had no profit.

“What is the reason for sacrificing two of their crew to save one?”

“yes?”

“I’m not a person who doesn’t mind making sacrifices, but aren’t they pretty picky about efficiency?”

Leonard stopped the exhausting argument and took a moment to reflect. It was certainly not an effective move.

If you wanted to kill Leonard, you just had to wait a bit. Since he knew Max’s location, he could have easily succeeded in revenge and prevented information leakage by delaying just a little, just a little bit, neutralizing the sniper and attacking Leonard. However, B showed up and tried to negotiate with 100,000 credits. The purpose was so clear that there was no doubt about it.

“Was that shotgun important?”

It crossed my mind that I might have missed a total of 2 million credits.

“What if I chase you now? Do you know where it is?”

“The two of us?”

“You have Layla’s War Machine!”

It seems that he is completely obsessed with the powerful firepower of the War Machine. But the gunsmith was in trouble.

“It’s a machine that hasn’t been maintained in a long time. I was lucky this time, but I don’t think I’ll be able to get to the industrial complex safely.”

“You didn’t do maintenance?”

“It costs a lot of credit.”

Having said that, I had nothing to say. Leonard also opposed all-out war.

“What is fixer rule number six?”

“…safety first?”

“First of all, let’s take care of what we have in our hands. Five liberation fronts aren’t cheap. I don’t think I’ll pay for it, but…”

It also bothered me that the meat was ground into powder so that the price of meat would not be paid.