“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.｣
As Number 26 said, Adhai was lying on the ground in an uncomfortable position after being hit by the enemy’s net. I used my nails to cut the nets.
｢Great Young One｣｢Thank you｣
[ZZZ ZZZ ZZ (Any injuries?)]
｢Mine｣ ｢Injury｣ ｢Minor｣｢Okay｣
On Adhai’s blue scales, there were thin wounds in the shape of a net all over, and since Adhai didn’t have recovery-related traits, it would take some time for it to fully recover.
‘… I should give the grenadier to Adhai.’
If it devours the grenadier, Adhai might feel a bit better. After confirming their condition, I checked on William. He looked at us with a subtle expression, unsure whether to be happy or not.
‘Either he dies from the enemy or lives as my slave, there’s only one choice.’
In any case, Adhai was slightly injured, but there were no fatal injuries. I called Number 26.
[ZZZZ ZZZZZZ Z ZZZ ZZ(If you go over there, there’s another prey.)]
｢Another prey?｣
[ZZZZZ ZZZZZ ZZZZZ Z (One is alive, and one is dead)]
｢I should just eat the dead one, right?｣
Having been with me for a long time, it quickly understood. I petted it to convey the meaning, and then chased after the fleeing enemy.
The end of the hunt is approaching.
***
“Haak, haak, haak…”
Hope held onto his broken shoulder as he ran. In a different mission, the container covers that would have provided a sense of security seemed different today.
“Huh?!”
Feeling someone looking down at him, Hope turned his head in alarm. Despite frantically looking around like a madman, there was nothing on top of the container.
Then, a sound of wind came from behind. The sound resembled the rotation of a fan, but it also seemed like the flapping of a giant animal.
Hastily turning around, the spot was empty.
“….”
Trembling, Hope released the weapon he had on his back and grasped it in his hand. It was a Gauss rifle he had purchased for his own safety to protect himself.
‘I need to change the ammo!’
Even if hit by a grenade, that monster wouldn’t die. Hope thought that without armor-piercing rounds, there was no way to win.
“Kk, you bastard!”
Because his right shoulder was broken, he had to change the ammunition with his left arm only. Hope, who barely loaded armor-piercing rounds, held the Gauss rifle with his left arm.
Hope thought.
The numerous obstacles here were unfavorable to him. This guy could fly. He might be watching him from a high place.
‘I need to get out of the harbor zone!’
The car Jeanette set up at the Harbor’s boundary. Escaping with that car was the best option.
Having set his goal, Hope ran away again. He heard the ominous flapping sound in his ears again, but he ignored it.
In a normal situation, he should report to Si-hyun Yujin right away, but Hope was not in his right mind at the moment.
Though he had experienced various battlefields, he had never seen a monster that pulled out the neck of a living comrade and threw it as a weapon. The people who could have helped him recover mentally by having a comrade were all dead.
‘Is this the right way?’
He kept running, but there was no sign of the fence at the border. Only similar-looking containers were visible.
Due to pain and fear, Hope found it difficult to confirm if he was on the right path.
‘No! It will be right! It will definitely be…Huh?’
Encouraging himself like that, something other than a container finally caught his eye for the first time.
It was not a container, but Jeanette, whose entire head was covered in blood, leaning against a container.
Her once proud goat horns were completely broken, and her white hair, originally red, was now dyed a deep red with blood.
“Jeanette?”
“Ugh, ugh… Hope?”
Hope hurriedly ran over and hugged her, who was leaning against the container. Up close, her injuries were more severe than he thought. A significant portion of her scalp was damaged, revealing white bones.
“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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