IBACT Chapter 20

Devaluation (8)

“Run, run, run!”

“Damn, if only I could shoot, they wouldn’t even be worth a fistfight!”

The client’s instructions were to handle the job as quietly and cleanly as possible.

The enemy’s armament wasn’t particularly impressive. Even though they were corporate security guards with better guns and protective gear than street gangs, their training and fighting stance were utterly amateurish.

Doris’s mercenary group had fought against much stronger enemies before.

The body acceleration device wasn’t an implant you could commonly see on the streets, and it guaranteed overwhelming superiority against enemies with mediocre defenses.

“Is the escape route secured?”

[Yes. Fortunately, they’re amateurs.]

Unlike Doris and Ravina, who were running for their lives, Luna’s voice was relatively calm.

“Just by the sound, it seems like they’re using General Tech!”

The gunfire erupting behind Doris didn’t sound very friendly.

[They have unnecessarily good weapons… but no matter how you look at it, none of them have combat implants.]

“That’s fortunate… but!”

Unless it was a weapon prepared for a special few, they couldn’t turn the tide with just firearms.

Corporate fixers and security guards weren’t symbols of fear just because of the weapons in their hands.

Mental stabilizers that allow them to pull the trigger at the exact moment, aim assist devices that minutely move their hands to the optimal trajectory to hit targets, evasion devices that allow them to react to and dodge incoming bullets.

It was the corporate super soldiers loaded with such combat implants that were frightening, not inexperienced guards just wielding corporate guns.

“We’re blocked?”

[This isn’t our first rodeo. Jump over.]

“Damn, I’m so frustrated I should get a hopping implant too!”

“We’re jumping over? I’ll go first, Doris!”

Heat burst from Ravina’s calves.

“I’m jealous…”

It was a leg strength enhancement implant. It was something that didn’t have many side effects while being very helpful for escape and positioning.

Following Ravina, who ran without looking back, Doris activated her body acceleration device.

“Hup!”

Time stops. Like the whole world is moving slowly, the bullets flying from behind feel infinitely weak.

However, the enhancement implant included in the body acceleration device wasn’t exactly a light one either.

Though it had much greater side effects than the leg strength enhancement implant, its explosive power that could be shown in short moments wasn’t inferior.

Even with an overwhelmingly enhanced body, pushing through the air in this slowed time wasn’t easy.

But Doris calmly took her running start. Even in the small motion of bending and extending her legs, tremendous force was exerted.

“Haah!”

Though it was quite a high wall, Doris jumped over it following Ravina.

“Kugh, heu, whew…”

She had already used the body acceleration device several times. Her breathing was rough.

“Seems like we don’t have far to go…”

Her body was screaming that it was at its limit.

Implants were certainly amazing abilities, but in the end, it was humans who used them.

Even she, who had modified most of her body, couldn’t keep fighting like this. To begin with, the body acceleration device wasn’t developed with continuous use in mind.

“Kugh, whew… how much further do we need to go?”

[We’re almost there. One jump forward, one jump to the right. Then jump down and join up with the car, and we’re done.]

“That’s a relief at least!”

“Watch out behind!”

At the sound of gunfire from the front, Doris quickly ducked her head.

Ravina’s gun spat fire. Though they thought it would be hard to follow, apparently some guards had managed to keep up with them somehow.

“Did you kill them?”

“Just the legs!”

Though it might not have been something to worry about in such an urgent situation, for mercenaries, reputation was important, second only to their lives.

It was obvious that if they couldn’t get Hansan’s help, or at least tacit approval, after causing such a big incident, life in Stella City would become difficult.

“Forward, right… okay. We’re here!”

[Confirmed. I’ll take off the nerve gear. Let’s escape right away.]

Doris and Ravina, who roughly jumped into the van with its door open, immediately urged Luna.

“We’re all in; start driving. Quickly!”

The van instantly picked up speed. Pedestrians walking in the alleys frowned at its rough movement, but after spitting out a curse, no one paid any more attention.

Anyone could guess that the people inside were criminals, but this was everyday life in this city.

If a corporation was involved, a response team would deploy on their own without anyone reporting it, and if not, calling the police would just result in them sluggishly showing up and pretending to work.

In that indifference, Doris’s group in the van could escape while catching their rough breath.

“Huff, heck, hueu… I’m dying. Whew… let’s eat something delicious when we get home.”

Breaths were mixed between Doris’s words.

Even for someone who trained diligently like her, using the body acceleration device several times was too much forced marching.

Her overworked muscles seemed to be screaming for mercy. She thought it would be reasonably tough but hadn’t expected it to be this dangerous.

“No… don’t eat.”

A slumped Ravina stopped her.

“Why?”

“I’m going to collapse and sleep as soon as I get home. Don’t eat delicious things without me…”

“I’m so hungry I won’t be able to sleep. Don’t we have chocolate bars or something in the car?”

“Check the fridge in the back seat. By the way, did you get the item?”

“Of course I did.”

A small mechanical device came out from Doris’s possession.

“This is it, right?”

“You brought it well. Whatever those corporate bastards were doing in there, at least we can solve our curiosity.”

From an objective viewpoint, the possibility that whatever was in there was related to the incident wasn’t high.

But it was something they went to such lengths to hide. At minimum, they should be able to find some scandals about the related corporations.

“For now, let’s think about it when we get home. Too tired today…”

“Did you fasten your seatbelt?”

“Huh?”

Luna’s voice had dropped coldly. After briefly looking at her waist, Doris was grateful for the fact that she had habitually fastened her seatbelt.

“What the heck!!!!!”

With a massive impact, the car was shaken all around.

“Anti-tank weapon? They’re firing that kind of thing on the city streets? Just what kind of bastards…”

If they had taken a direct hit, even they couldn’t guarantee survival.

“Is it the corporation? Would they go this far?”

No matter how arrogant Stella City’s corporations were, they had to maintain at least minimum standards.

It was natural. Corporations of a certain size at least had to take responsibility according to the laws they created.

While there were people who outsourced to shift responsibility and changed company names, using such weapons freely on the streets was the privilege of mercenaries.

It was the nuisance caused by people who might die tomorrow, with the mindset that it was okay to die today.

“Are they really corporate people?”

“Can’t even see their label. We need to move somehow…”

“Doris. From here on, it seems like you’ll have to do it?”

“Ugh… I’m tired!”

But Doris also didn’t want to trust Luna’s driving skills in a life-or-death situation. Unfastening her seatbelt and roughly jumping in, Doris grabbed the steering wheel and turned it sharply.

“They’re coming from behind. Should I return fire first?”

Ravina grabbed her gun. Though the van’s rear was blocked, they didn’t know when the pursuers might increase their speed.

“No. Opening the window might make us fall. From now on we’re going to drive pretty fast!”

Fortunately, there were no more threatening weapons like anti-tank guns coming in.

It was common sense. While one shot might be possible, to continuously fire such weapons during pursuit would require vehicles loaded with multiple weapons.

Even one shot was threatening enough, and considering the number of vehicles following them, there was no reason to let their guard down.

“Where should we break for?”

“Those guys don’t look too clean either. If we can escape just once somehow, they probably won’t be able to pursue further…”

“That one time is the problem.”

“Hmm?”

Luna closed her mouth. After briefly closing her eyes and receiving a signal, she brought hopeful news.

“There are people saying they’ll secure an escape route for us. What do you want to do?”

Her brain-embedded computer could receive messages without the help of external devices.

“Are they trustworthy?”

“They’re not corporate guys. For them to have sent it… the radio waves are too messy.”

“Damn, nothing good has ever come from trusting anyone in Stella City…”

Doris bit her lip. Even in this situation, the pursuing vehicles weren’t slowing down.

“Can’t we just run away?”

Ravina shouted, but Doris shook her head.

“Seems like quite a good car. Even if we escape pretty fast, it’ll be hard to create distance. Unless we get to the main road…”

Moving to Stella City’s busy main road was no different from throwing themselves into countless variables.

Considering her driving skills, it wasn’t necessarily an unrealistic escape route. No matter how rough the pursuers were, they couldn’t move while crushing the vehicles of innocent citizens moving through the city.

But chaos is fair. Even the best racer couldn’t secure a safe escape route in such a dangerous situation.

It was just their hope that Stella City’s vehicles would move according to common sense. It was no different from pushing themselves into a dangerous gambling table where rolling a one meant death.

“…Let’s try trusting them for now. Where do we need to go?”

“Keep going straight, then turn into the left alley!”

Taking a deep breath, Doris followed Luna’s guidance.

The tires scraped the road with a rough sound. Some of the pursuing vehicles disappeared, unable to keep up with Doris.

They probably didn’t think she would turn at such high speed in such a narrow road. But there were still quite a few cars pursuing them.

“Just what’s inside that thing, for them to swarm like a pack of dogs?”

“Even if we charged straight into Hansan’s factory, it probably wouldn’t be this bad. Whatever’s inside seems like we’ve caught something big.”

“How far do we need to go?”

“We’re almost at the meeting point. They’re saying to go to the center?”

“Cen…ter? Damn, you should have said that earlier!”

Doris’s eye implants were clearly showing obstacles even in the dark night.

They were caltrops. Usually they mix in noticeable yellow so drivers can see them, but the objects before her eyes were made in crude black.

“Hold tight!”

The car shook all around. Doris, who barely broke through where the caltrops weren’t laid, realized the front was blocked and rapidly reduced speed.

“Kuuuuuugh!”

With a huge sound, the vehicle plowed into a pile of waste materials.

“Is everyone okay?”

“Feel like dying, but for now.”

Perhaps because it was a relatively “soft” pile of waste materials, the people inside were safe. Though the car’s bumper was severely dented, they weren’t in a situation to worry about such things now.

“Get out! Prepare for combat!”

Doris’s mercenary group, each grabbing their guns, hurriedly escaped the car.

“Those guys…”

The pursuers seemed to have not seen the caltrops and were thoroughly destroyed.

Soon, a massive explosion rang out. As mines hidden underground detonated, huge vehicles exploded one after another in chain reactions.

“Doesn’t seem very clean.”

Doris shook her head, but the situation wasn’t relaxed enough to question the client’s circumstances.

“So, just who called us? Shall we see their faces at least?”

They hadn’t fallen in an empty place.

The guests who had invited the mercenary group were slowly revealing themselves, armed with cheap guns.