Chapter 55
“Ugh! This insane...”
The cyborg pinned under my foot didn’t die. Its lower body was completely destroyed, and its upper body was halfway smashed, but it still resisted me.
“You’re going down with me!”
“Tin can! No!”
What it pulled out was a detonator. It closed its eyes tightly and pressed the switch on the device.
But nothing happened.
“What...what’s going on?”
With a bewildered expression, he pressed the switch again. He repeated it several times, but the bomb didn’t detonate.
I pulled out the partially broken bomb from the torn abdomen of the cyborg.
‘As I thought.’
The reason I came to deal with the cyborg directly, without sniping, was because of this bomb.
Among cyborg soldiers or mercenaries, there are occasionally those who carry bombs. There are two reasons for this: one is to inflict damage on the enemy even after death, and the other is for the thrill.
The former is when players pragmatically plant bombs for practical purposes, knowing that they’ll die and want to cause harm to the opponent as a parting gift. On the other hand, the latter is for the thrill of seeking extreme pleasure.
‘As the replaced parts with machines increase, the sense of being alive diminishes.’
The homeland of cyborgs, StarUnion, is a society that suppresses individual desires and emotions unlike MegaCorp. Therefore, there are quite a few cyborgs who betray StarUnion to pursue extreme pleasures.
‘The majority go to Space Dogs, but there are also some in MegaCorp.’
Space Dogs have daily battles for life, and they don’t strictly prohibit satisfying twisted desires, making it a popular choice for insane cyborgs. So, cyborgs belonging to Space Dogs often don’t implant bombs in their bodies for the sake of seeking thrills.
‘Especially cyborgs from Space Dogs, who are passionate about life, wouldn’t implant bombs into their bodies.’
Even if they can forcibly implant it in someone else’s body for fun, they cherish their own bodies.
On the other hand, MegaCorp is better than StarUnion, but the methods for relieving desires are limited. Therefore, there have been occasional cases of cyborgs like the one in front of me implanting bombs into their bodies for the thrill.
‘In the game, cyborg suicide bombers affiliated with MegaCorp had such a setting.’
Normally, I would have treated it as just a setting and moved on.
But I had already fought against a Hulk mutant with a bomb connected to its heart on the research ship.
It wasn’t just a story confined to settings; the existence of lunatics who walk around with bombs implanted in their bodies could be real, so naturally, I had to be cautious.
If, by chance, I kill the cyborg with a sniper and the bomb explodes, Number 26 and Adhai could be fatally injured.
‘In that case, it’s better to play safely.’
“Damn it! Why isn’t it exploding?”
And my concern wasn’t in vain. The cyborg screamed when it saw the bomb in my hand. I stepped on the chest of the noisy one while holding its head tightly with my combat hand.
When I exerted force in my hand, the cyborg groaned like a scream.
“Grrrrrrrr!”
I thought about killing the one who tormented Number 26 slowly, but there were still enemies. I pulled the head up with the combat arm and exerted force upwards, tearing it off.
“Aghh!”
“Tin can!”
When I pulled out the cyborg’s head, a mechanized spine came out with it. The cyborg, whose breath was cut off, was gnawing on its tongue, and black oil mixed with blood flowed from the partially broken spine.
“Darn it!”
The grenadier, who had been blankly watching me kill my comrades, finally snapped out of it and turned the muzzle of his multipurpose grenade launcher towards me.
There’s no way in hell I’m going to let the enemy hit me with grenades when I have kids next to me. I threw the cyborg head I had in my hand at him.
Even though his skull was coated with steel, it was like a blunt weapon in itself. I threw it with Amorph’s powerful strength, so there was no way he could avoid it.
“Kkwaak!”
The cyborg’s head struck his shoulder. He screamed and dropped his weapon.
“You son of a...!”
With a broken shoulder, he spat out curses full of anger and ran away.
Instead of tracking him, I checked the condition of Number 26 and Adhai. Number 26 didn’t seem to have any serious trauma.
[ZZZZZ ZZZ ZZ (Are you okay?)]
「Yes. Check on the little one, not me.」
“A-are you okay?”
“Qu-quickly, re-report to Miss...”
Upon hearing her stuttering words, Hope recalled what he needed to do. He quickly took out his communication device.
“Hey! You can’t die too! Snap out of it!”
“Hah... to see you as the last person in my life, damn my life....”
With a disappointed voice, Jeanette mumbled. Despite the situation, Hope was about to respond to her usual reaction.
“Are you crazy even in a situation like this?”
“Kk, damn it, if you were...!”
Before she could finish her sentence, something black descended from above the container and grabbed her head. A shadow-like hand pulled Jeanette upwards.
Following that, along with the sound of grinding flesh, blood splattered from the container. Jeanette’s trembling legs relaxed, and her pants were soaked with blood.
“Hi, hiiik!”
Hope, without even thinking about counterattacking with the Gauss rifle he held, ran away. His accumulated training, expertise as a specialist in chemical weapons, and numerous experiences in killing had no meaning in this abnormal situation. All he could do was run away like a child.
In this desperate situation, perhaps the heavens bestowed a miracle upon him. The boundary of the harbor zone came into view before his eyes.
He discarded the Gauss rifle he had been holding to run away as fast as possible.
“Huff, huff, huff....”
While running, his broken shoulder shook violently, but overwhelming fear dominated his mind, so he couldn’t feel the pain.
Running with all his might like a track and field athlete, he quickly got into the car. Fortunately, Jeanette had already inserted the key into the car. Who could have known that the operation would turn out like this?
He started the car. As the engine of the mid-sized sedan roared to life, he firmly pressed the accelerator pedal.
Jeanette’s car rushed forward like a launched missile. The stacks of containers in the harbor zone visible in the rearview mirror quickly shrank.
Hope sighed with relief. Finally, he had escaped from the hellish harbor zone.
“Now, let’s contact....”
He should have contacted her earlier when his comrades were dying. Even though it was late, he picked up the communication device to inform Si-hyun Yujin of the situation.
With his left hand holding the steering wheel, he reluctantly used his right hand to input the message. Perhaps due to the broken shoulder, his hand and arm didn’t move well.
Barely managing to send a message to the designated number, Hope glanced once again through the rearview mirror to confirm if anyone was chasing him.
“Huh?”
Beyond the mirror, a small object near the Harbor’s boundary caught his eye. A small light flashed from the object, and soon the car shook violently. The car with a flat tire lost control and moved uncontrollably.
“Uh, uh!”
Hope urgently grabbed the steering wheel with both hands, but it was already too late. A utility pole was waiting in front of the mid-sized sedan.
A loud crash echoed, and Hope flew forward through the car’s windshield like a missile, describing a trajectory in the air. Then, the utility pole that collided with the car fell onto the car.
Sparks flew from the camera mounted on the utility pole, and flames erupted from the damaged car body.
“Uh, uh, uh....”
Desperate to escape from this place somehow, Hope’s body refused to cooperate. From behind him, the sound of glass being stepped on could be heard.
It was “it.”
The monster had followed him.
The one who had followed Hope threw a long object in front of him. It was a sniper coil gun that Hope’s comrade, Dwayne, used.
“True mercy is not seeking revenge even if you can.”
A voice of a woman, unfamiliar to him, came from behind Hope, who was lying on the ground. The voice sounded peaceful, as if devoid of any highs and lows. But it was undoubtedly the sound emitted by the monster that slaughtered his comrades.
“I am not merciful.”
“It” grabbed him ruthlessly.
“I, I, nooooo....”
‘Don’t do this! Spare me! Spare me, please! I was wrong!’
Hope pleaded, but only the sound of the wind escaping his broken jaw echoed from his mouth.
Ignoring his plea, the monster grabbed his leg and walked towards the harbor zone.
Behind Hope, who was being dragged to hell, only a burning car remained.
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