Chapter 63
Anyone could probably guess what the bomb was.
EMP, Electromagnetic Pulse.
An EMP Bomb, operating on the principle of artificially generating a Powerful electromagnetic wave to burn out the circuits of all nearby electronic products.
Since it turned all electronic devices into junk, the power of an EMP in a Mechanized Cyberpunk World was truly immense.
Even a small electromagnetic emission could easily cripple a person equipped with cyberware and Implants,
and a pulse above a certain scale could completely black out a district, building, or entire zone.
For this reason, EMP-type Weapons were heavily monitored and managed by the Dusk City administration and DCPD.
Unless one received certification through a strict Process from the City police or a Military corporation, they were impossible to obtain, and even if obtained, they had to be used only in an Authorized Zone in a pre-approved manner.
However, there were gang terrorists who had replicated this EMP Technology through astonishing obsession, madness, and countless illegal acts.
The Luddite gang.
To the Machine Destroyers, how attractive must an Electromagnetic Pulse Weapon have seemed, one that turned all machines into Scrap Metal the moment it detonated?
Developed after all sorts of Trial and Error, that bomb was the Luddites' Trademark, an item called the Black Box that was known as their Special Move in the game and had caused players endless headaches.
Although its power was insignificant compared to Military-grade Anti-electronic Explosives, it was nevertheless enough to paralyze the nearby streets and take down Ravers and people with cyberware.
It wasn't widely known, but it was a weapon Powerful enough to have made the current Luddite gang what it was.
The reaction of those hit by such a Black Box was bound to be dramatic.
The Ronin all looked extremely panicked. It was inevitable.
Among the Assassins working in the shadows of Dusk, there was no one who hadn't replaced a part of their body with Combat cyberware.
Whether due to injury or to strengthen their combat power, for whatever reason, most of the people here had installed cyberware and Implants,
and they had been able to act leisurely even while the Luddite gang was running amok because they believed in the Trump Card they possessed.
But it wasn't working.
Their Electronic Circuits had burned out, rendering them completely useless.
At this very moment, everyone here had become mere pure, weak humans unable to borrow the power of machines.
There were very rarely those who had applied EMP Shielding to their cyberware, but they were only an extreme minority.
As Ronin whose Combat Ability was their asset, they invested a lot of money in Implants,
but not to the level of coating all their body's circuits with Electromagnetic Wave Blocking Nanomaterial.
Ronin were people who focused on momentary pleasure because they crossed the Boundary Between Life and Death every day, and there was almost no one who would spend that much money on cyberware Defense.
Out of nearly twenty Ronin, there were three or four at most.
And they Alone could not bring about a Meaningful change in the tide of battle.
Because the Luddite gang's Reinforcements had arrived.
Five additional gang members entered, pulling out various weapons from cases applied with Insulation Shielding Technology.
Each one was a high-risk High-tech Weapon that could take a person's life just by grazing them.
Mechanical Devices emitting ominous startup sounds, operating normally without being affected by the EMP Effect.
"You Lunatic bastards. This is the Red Dragon's Territory. To openly commit such a Crazy act. Aren't you afraid of him?"
Bang!
They shot the head of the Ronin who had raised his voice in fright,
"You... Crazy... bastards. Destroying machines, my ass... You guys use them the best—"
Slash.
They cleanly sliced through the body of the Ronin, who was spitting out resentment while grotesquely twisted due to his paralyzed Artificial Muscles, with an electric katana.
As the blood vaporized into smoke on the red-hot blade, the Luddite gang member who stepped to the front muttered briefly.
"To remove the cancer cells eating away at the World, we can use a part of them as much as we want."
It was a logic that made no sense even at a glance, but there was no one left to refute it.
They pushed their way in with the momentum to kill everyone inside the bar. Just as everyone was hesitating and backing away.
A Figure walked out from the darkness and smoke.
When the Luddite gang members shone their Handlights on the dwarfish shadow, he frowned and shouted.
"It's me, me. You bastards."
Ned Ludd, bleeding from all over his body due to various injuries, yet letting out a madness-filled laugh.
He was walking over, dragging two half-dead people by the hair in both hands.
"Who are they?"
"Uh, the kids who were acting up, trying to make some money by catching me."
They were the Ronin who had held the upper hand against Ned Ludd with a Monowire and Grenade Launcher cyberware, but they had been Taken down in an instant when he ambushed them while the EMP detonated and all Electronic Equipment was paralyzed.
If Ned Ludd had also been bare-bodied, they wouldn't have been defeated so helplessly... but unfortunately, he wasn't.
There was no way a gang Boss wouldn't have prepared countermeasures for the Technology his own Organization created.
Whether all of Ned Ludd's Personal Implants had undergone EMP Shielding Treatment,
he was proving in real-time that there was no problem to Activate them by continuously sending currents into the heads of the captured Ronin.
"Tsk, tsk, look at you, stepping up to earn some pocket change only to end up flopping around like freshly caught fish. How pitiful. What's so great about that little bit of money."
A sighing voice as he watched them roll their eyes back and have seizures, scratching the floor with broken nails every time he applied an Electric Shock.
Considering that The Person in Question who had put the Ronin in such a state was Ned Ludd himself, it was truly a devilish act.
"Are there any more friends who want to Step up? If there are, come out quickly. Don't be a Nuisance. Are there really none? You all must have heard my name. Catching and handing me over is a literal jackpot.
You can also play the role of a prince saving a Princess in crisis while you're at it... Come to think of it, where did this Princess go?"
As soon as he spat that out, someone dashed out from the smoke as if it had been planned.
Alexandra Amadeus Schneider with disheveled blonde hair.
She was terrified, but nevertheless, she didn't stop and grabbed a chair with one broken leg, swinging it with eyes full of hostility.
Whoosh—
The sound of it tearing through the air was quite fierce. It was enough to smash the Floor Tile into powder in the empty spot where Ned Ludd had backed away and dodged by a Hair's Breadth.
As expected of a Young Lady from a Noble Chaebol Family, her Modified Body seemed to have steadily received even EMP Shielding Coating.
"Die—!"
That momentary output was a Step above even Ned Ludd, one of the Three Leaders of the Luddites.
Had she exerted a Superhuman Ability in a Crisis Situation? Both the speed and destructive power were beyond what was expected.
To the point where one would wonder if this wasn't excessively fast and strong, no matter how much she was a Noble Young Lady.
She hadn't received bizarre and High-Lethality Modifications like the Ronin, but it was a level sufficient to kill a person purely with Physical Ability Alone.
CRACK.
The Red Plastic Chair swung with all her might glanced off Ned Ludd's body.
If it had landed properly, it could have smashed at least one part of him, but because it only grazed him, it ended at just knocking him down.
On top of that, the chair even broke.
However, Alexandra did not stop.
"Aaaaaah!"
Letting out a shriek, she dropped the chair and rushed in with bare fists.
Thud!
Her too-honestly swung fist narrowly grazed his head and punched a hole in the floor. Ned Ludd did not Miss that opening.
He extended his fingers downward and blasted a high-voltage current. Blue Electricity scorched the Young Lady's abdomen, giving off a burning smell.
However, whether it was because she had received such High-Level Body Modification, or if it was purely the result of her will.
She was still moving even while being Electrocuted.
This time, instead of a fist, she thrust her Laser Sensor-Emitting Finger accurately toward Ned Ludd.
It was a clearly slower speed than before, but the Aiming was accurate. A Laser Gun aimed right at the center of his fierce and cunning rat-like face.
Just as she gritted her teeth and was about To Fire, someone pulled her hair.
Flash—!
The Red Laser drew a burning Heat Ray across one side of Ned Ludd's head, then pierced through the wall and disappeared.
Her body had been shaken at the last moment, failing to Pierce properly and ending up just grazing him.
With a memorable burn engraved on him, Ned Ludd lay on the floor and cackled.
"Wow, I really almost died. Right?"
"—."
Alexandra could not Answer.
Because she was being choked and restrained by as many as three Luddite gang members. They were the ones who had interfered with her at the last moment.
Furthermore, Ned Ludd's Electrode Finger was still stuck to her abdomen, sending currents flowing through her.
"That one was a bit scary. I Admit. Did you finally come to your senses? Your eyes are completely full of the venom to kill a person."
"..."
"You should have done that earlier. If you had, your bodyguards wouldn't have died. I probably would have just tested the waters and backed off too. Thinking the losses would be too great."
"..."
Words spoken while tapping her faded blonde hair in the darkness.
When Alexandra still couldn't Answer and only groaned while being choked, Ned Ludd pushed away his subordinate gang member and spoke.
"Hey, let's hear the kid's voice. I'm curious what kind of change of heart she had. Let go of her neck. I'm Fine now."
At those words, the gang member let go, and the Young Lady of the Schneider Family gasped roughly for breath.
"Done breathing? Then Tell me now. How did you get the mind to Attack me?"
"...You, our bodyguards, and if only I had a weapon—if only I had my sword."
"I didn't have a weapon either. Anyone watching would think only you guys fought a disadvantageous fight. I suffered like Hell too.
So, Tell me. Wasn't I really scary? You were trembling just a moment ago. How did you overcome that fear? Just Tell me that. Then I'll kill you comfortably."
"Go fuck, yourself."
"I'm originally very interested in this kind of thing. Human Will, courage, Infinite Potential... That something unique to humans that machines can't Possess.
Even if we've become people trying to kill each other, I should respect what deserves respect. Your Display just now was very impressive."
At the sight of him chattering like he was giving a speech in an elevated mood about things she hadn't even asked, Alexandra spat and said.
"Seeing even the Mercenaries die, I just thought there shouldn't be anyone else dying because of me.
To do that, I had to Step up, and I had to kill you. Although it's a fact I realized too late."
"Yeah. A bit late. Should I see it as a belated manifestation of a Noble Sense of Duty... Anyway, it was Interesting. I'll let you go comfortably."
Saying so, Ned Ludd held out one hand, and a gang member handed him a red-hot electric katana.
He grabbed the hair of the powerlessly captured Alexandra, and it was just as he was about to bring the blade down on her neck.
Halt.
Ned Ludd stopped his hand.
He turned his head and gestured to his subordinate gang Members. Then, the Handlight beams illuminated The Deep darkness on one side.
"..."
A strange silence lingered.
Within the slowly fading smoke and shadows.
There was a man there.
He opened his mouth.
"Customer, Criminal Acts including Murder are prohibited in our bar. It seems you didn't read the rules properly."
At those words shouted Calmly, the Leader of the Luddites chuckled.
"Yeah, I somehow thought you wouldn't run away."
His name was Aaron Nakamura.
He was the Temporary Field Manager of Bar Dragon's Lair.