Chapter 202: A Bitter Fight
Bang! Bang! Bang!
As several shots rang out, a steel-forged arm smashed through the car window in an instant, grabbing the driver in the seat and hauling him out with brutal force.
Crack!
Ignoring the terror in the driver’s eyes, Jackie slammed a punch straight into his neck. His spine twisted grotesquely—an injury no one survives.
The others in the car reacted immediately, kicking open the doors and rushing out. The leader at the front lashed out with a kick toward Jackie’s abdomen, but Jackie raised both arms and blocked it.
Even so, the sheer force sent him skidding back several steps. Still, it gave Jackie the space he needed—he rolled to the side and slipped out of range.
Seeing this, Rebecca’s lips curled into a faint grin. She grabbed two weapons and opened fire without hesitation.
Tat-tat-tat!
Bullets spewed forward like flaming serpents. The Militech captain’s pupils shrank as he snatched a nearby subordinate and yanked him in front as a human shield.
The sound of flesh being torn through rang out. The grabbed soldier’s eyes went wide in disbelief as he stared at his captain.
The captain ignored that look completely. With a furious roar, he charged forward, still holding the corpse in front of him.
Just as he was about to reach Rebecca, Lucy cracked his ICE defenses. Electromagnetic paralysis triggered instantly. His expression froze, and his entire body locked up in place.
“Fuck you!”
Jackie burst forward. A sharp crack echoed as the captain screamed—Jackie’s kick shattered his kneecap.
The overwhelming pain snapped him out of the paralysis-induced daze. Sweat pouring down his face, he drew the pistol strapped to his thigh.
Bang!
Pilar’s precise shot blew his wrist apart. Pilar even smugly blew on the barrel afterward.
The next second, several armed men behind them reacted, and Pilar took a round to the shoulder.
“Shit!”
Realizing things were spiraling, Jackie lunged in, locking an arm around the captain’s neck and jamming his pistol up under the man’s chin.
A shot from this angle would blow the top of his skull clean off.
The sudden reversal put the remaining soldiers in a bind. They hesitated, exchanging uncertain looks.
“Drop your weapons!”
Jackie tightened his grip and barked the order. No one moved. No one wanted to gamble their life on someone else’s mercy.
“Hey. If you don’t want to die, tell them to put the guns down.”
“Hah… pointless. You’re not getting out of this.”
The captain sneered, giving no orders at all. He wasn’t panicking—if he died, Jackie lost his leverage.
Bang!
“Aaagh!”
Another gunshot rang out, followed by a howl of pain. The captain sucked in a sharp breath.
Jackie had fired straight into his other knee. If he survived, both legs would need full cyberware replacement—not patchwork repairs.
“Didn’t you hear me?! Drop the weapons!”
The captain finally understood. Jackie might not kill him—but the suffering was guaranteed.
From the rear position, Wilson watched everything through binoculars, his eyes slowly narrowing.
“Deputy Captain, what should we do?”
Yes—Wilson was the deputy captain of this unit.
“This is troublesome… Open fire.”
“Huh?”
“I said fire. Didn’t you hear me?”
Wilson stared coldly at the man in front of him. The soldier shuddered, nodded quickly, and raised the Nekomata sniper rifle.
Meanwhile, the soldiers who had received the captain’s earlier order exchanged looks and slowly lowered their weapons.
Jackie had just let out a breath of relief when searing pain suddenly tore through his body.
He looked down instinctively.
“Ghk—!”
The captain coughed up a mouthful of blood, disbelief flashing across his face before twisting into rage.
“Wil…son!!”
Without hesitation, Jackie shoved the man away and rolled aside.
Sure enough, another shot rang out—but the target wasn’t Jackie. The bullet punched straight through the captain’s skull.
Jackie watched the hatred in the man’s eyes vanish in an instant. A chill crept up his spine.
He was badly hurt. The round hadn’t stayed in his body—it was a clean-through wound.
“Guess now’s not the time to save money… This one’s gonna hurt the wallet bad. Mom—watch over me.”
Gritting his teeth, Jackie pulled out a syringe and stabbed it into himself.
Just as the sniper was about to finish Jackie off, Wilson raised a hand and stopped him.
“Wait. Let his teammates come save him.”
Wilson smiled faintly as he spoke.
“Jackie, how are you holding up?!”
“I used a healing injector. Don’t rush it yet!”
Jackie took a deep breath. Feeling the medication kick in, he finally relaxed a little.
Hearing that, the others calmed down and quickly drove behind a massive boulder for cover. The battlefield fell into a tense stalemate.
Watching everything unfold through robotic feeds in the shadows, Roland frowned.
Still, he didn’t order the robots to intervene. He wanted to see what Jackie and the others would do next.
Meanwhile, the armed soldiers began creeping toward Jackie’s position, clearly trying to capture him.
Jackie leaned against the vehicle, exposing only a small part of his back. From the sniper’s angle, it was impossible to tell what he was doing.
As the footsteps drew closer, a sharp glint appeared in Jackie’s eyes.
This was his chance.
“When they get close, cover me. Distract that sniper in the distance.”
“No problem. I already know where that bastard’s hiding.”
Rebecca answered immediately. After several exchanges of fire, she’d more or less pinpointed his position.
Pilar handed her a sniper rifle.
“Here—let your big brother help you take that idiot out.”
“Tch. Like I needed you to tell me.”
Rebecca clicked her tongue, already replaying the sniper’s location in her head.
“Rebecca, hold on. I’m locking onto his exact position. Once I crack their network defenses, your shot’ll be a sure thing.”
Lucy quickly patted Rebecca’s shoulder as she spoke.
“Still haven’t located their squad’s netrunner?”
Wilson frowned, turning to the technician behind him who was furiously tapping at controls.
“Their netrunner isn’t freelance. I’m certain they’re ex-corporate—very skilled. I need time!”
“Move faster!”
Wilson snapped impatiently, his foot bouncing. If this mission succeeded, he’d climb higher. If it failed… he’d be the one taking the fall.
For him, this was a gamble with everything on the line.
Author's Note
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