Chapter 44: Call for Help
BANG!
“Gah!”
At the critical moment, White raised his right arm to block the attack, but the sheer force sent him flying along with the car door, crashing hard onto the ground.
“Boss!!”
Seeing this, Vilet’s expression changed instantly as she sprinted toward White. The Kuroda bodyguard—whose life was barely being held together by a secondary heart and Berserk Cyberware—wasted no time.
His clock was ticking. Death was inevitable. All he could do now was buy as much time as possible, ensuring Arasaka wouldn’t abandon his family after he was gone.
Thud!
Debris exploded across the ground as his cybernetic legs overloaded, launching him straight at White. His custom combat cyberarm was already primed, glowing with a faint red light.
White gritted his teeth and activated Sandevistan again. He could only use it about four times a day; pushing past that would be dangerous.
But he still had one chance left.
Boom!
“Boss!”
“Captain!”
Vilet and the others went pale. Abandoning Kuroda in the car, they charged straight toward White.
Seeing this, a sharp glint flashed in Kuroda’s eyes. He knew perfectly well how dangerous the Trauma Team could be, so he needed another layer of insurance.
...
Ding!
In a wide, empty warehouse, Jhin slowly woke from standby mode. His eyes narrowed as he viewed the incoming message.
The sender was Kuroda. The content was extremely simple:
“Save me. I can give you a satisfying reward!”
Roland paused to consider whether it was worth it. The sender was clearly in danger—and was even a Trauma Team member.
The fact he still sent this message meant the attacker was strong. It wouldn’t be difficult for him to handle, but what would he gain?
A favor, the reward, and if Kuroda really came to Night City later as he implied, having someone inside Arasaka—friend or not—was always beneficial.
“Looks like overtime again...”
...
“What’s wrong?”
Kiwi looked at Roland curiously as he suddenly froze up.
“Nothing. Just thought of something. Let’s get back to work.”
“Alright... Oh! Look, that guy came out!”
Their mission today was simple—gather intel on certain people connected to Luvena Corporation. Roland mainly came because he didn’t want to stay cooped up in the office.
Sitting there all day dealing with endless tasks gave him a headache. Going out to relax was better, and with Lissandra helping with management, it wasn’t a problem.
Business had been slow recently. He was waiting for the Unification War to break out. When it did, he could profit off the conflict. He believed Arasaka wouldn’t turn down high-lethality weapons from PROJECT.
Militech wouldn’t reject his tech either. Past conflicts or not, profit would outweigh everything.
...
White narrowly dodged another attack, a drop of cold sweat sliding down his face. He glanced at his cybernetic arm, now warped even after absorbing the blow through the car door.
“Something’s wrong with this guy. No Berserk Cyberware on the market can handle this. Even mortal wounds aren’t stopping him. Unbelievable.”
Kuroda’s bodyguard slowly pulled his fist out of the ground and stared at White and the others.
“We can’t stay here. We might not fear the Trauma Team much, but running into them would be terrible for us! Rich, Tina—any ideas?!”
“Boss, I can’t hack into him at all right now!!”
Rich’s eyes flickered rapidly, but he still spoke in a panic. Tina shook her head, face tense.
White gritted his teeth. “Vilet, you’re with me. Golor, wait for your chance and finish him!”
“Roger!” X2
“Roar!”
The bodyguard had nearly lost all sanity, letting out a beast-like roar as he charged.
Vilet stepped forward, steadied herself, took a deep breath, twisted her waist, and threw a punch.
Thud! Bang!
“Ugh…”
Pain surged through her as she staggered back several steps. As the opponent moved in to follow up, White rushed forward, grabbed her shoulder, and used it as leverage to leap onto the enemy’s shoulders.
“Bug…!”
Swish—
A massive hand swept through the air. White activated Sandevistan and dropped down, drawing his pistol to fire at the enemy’s spine—but the bullet struck metal with a clang.
“Damn it!”
Bang!
The enemy reacted instantly, slamming a palm into the ground, leaving a deep crater.
Vilet lunged forward and locked her arm around the enemy’s neck, her face flushing red as she roared:
“Golor! Shoot the damn thing!”
Bang!
The gunshot echoed. A spray of red flashed into view, and White’s eyes shrank.
In that instant, the enemy grabbed Vilet’s arm, flipped her, and used her as a shield.
“Vilet!!”
Tina let out a pained scream and charged forward, but Rich grabbed her.
“Are you insane?! You’ll die!!”
“I don’t care!!!”
She broke free and rushed ahead. Blood streamed from Vilet’s lips as she thrust her hand into the creature’s wound, and White seized the opening to close in.
He fired directly at the enemy’s head.
Boom!
The massive body collapsed, and Vilet fell with it, her face drained of all color.
“Boss! Someone nearby called the police—a cyberpsycho report! The CTU is on the way!!”
Rich’s pupils shrank as he relayed the overheard message.
White’s face tightened. He gritted his teeth, activated Sandevistan again, and pushed his body for one extra second, shoving both Vilet and Kuroda into the vehicle.
“Go!!”
Despite sweating from the wound in his thigh, Kuroda sneered at them.
“You’re wasting your effort. Someone will find me.”
“Damn it, what kind of bird language is he speaking?! Treat him, then knock him out! Rich, is the signal blocked?!”
White cursed and continued scanning the surroundings.
“The signal’s jammed, but the Trauma Team’s already here. They haven’t found us yet!”
Author's Note
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