Chapter 86
The Patrols under the Patrol Officer looked incredibly busy.
When going through a Suppression Procedure that involved 'Cleaning' a narrow space like this, the Patrol Officer—the Force of the DCPD—would take the Lead to deal with the suspects, and then the police Officers would go through the procedure of identifying and placing the Suspects who had fallen into an Incapacitated State under Arrest.
The space was narrow, the volume they had to handle was large, but the manpower was Insufficient.
Excluding the Patrol Officer, the number of Regular Patrols did not exceed ten. At most, there were about five or six.
I had heard that despite the massive size of the Organization, the DCPD was suffering from a lack of manpower to cover the numerous crimes occurring in Dusk City, and it seemed that wasn't wrong.
They placed their terminals against the skin of the fallen individuals one by one to read their identities.
If there was even the slightest Suspicious Aspect, they fastened Electronic Handcuffs on them and dragged them Outside.
Trying to Process dozens of people in this manner was bound to be exhausting.
The Patrol Officer, for his or her part, would be frantic trying to handle nearly a hundred drug addicts at once with Force, even if they were just minions.
With a hundred people, the sheer mass was enormous even if they just pressed down. There was no room to pay Attention to anything else.
Of course, even so, no problems would arise at this moment.
Even if fatigue and stress piled up, the City police would handle this job. In the end, they had no other choice.
The game derelicts of the game center were merely throwing their bodies Recklessly, blocked by the Patrol Officer's Overbearing Military police Martial Arts and Exoskeleton Suit, unable to inflict any damage, and they couldn't even reach the Patrols in the back.
It looked like the whole situation would be sorted out within five minutes, with them bursting with blood and flying around like autumn leaves in the wind.
The only variable was the one person moving secretly amidst this chaotic situation.
I was only looking at that Suspicious man.
At first, I thought he was a somewhat peculiar addict.
With just a frayed hood pulled over his head and legs so skinny that only bones were visible, he looked like a game derelict to anyone.
But the gaze that briefly flickered past was unusual. Coldly sunken eyes carefully looked around before fixing on the front.
There was no way a human whose brain was pickled in electronic drugs could show such a Cold Demeanor.
That guy hadn't played VR. I hadn't either.
Or even if he did play, he only experienced it a tiny bit, just enough that it wouldn't affect his Physical Body in Reality.
There was a clear purpose to that Secret Movement.
And whatever that purpose was... it definitely seemed like it would be bad for the City police.
What should I do about this.
Even when one looked toward the Patrol Officer or the Patrols, it seemed no one had noticed the Suspicious Sign.
That was only natural, of course.
I was able to spot the assailant lowering his posture and advancing secretly because I was Calmly assessing the situation while kneeling on the Outskirts where fewer people were gathered,
and the Regular police Officers, busy classifying and placing the VR zombies under Arrest based on their identities without knowing when or how they might cause a Sudden Action, had their Attention entirely diverted and couldn't possibly notice the approaching presence.
The only one I could pin my hopes on was the Patrol Officer, who would Possess Sharp Senses and a shortened Cognitive Response Process due to High-Level Body Modification,
but it seemed even such a Patrol Officer couldn't beat up Game Derelicts and simultaneously detect a Suspicious Sign.
I pondered for a moment before slowly standing up from my spot.
I had intended to stay quietly in my place if possible, but this made me so anxious that I had to carefully follow behind him.
It might be a pointless action, but I kept getting an Ominous Premonition, making it hard to just stay still.
Even more so because it seemed I was the only one who noticed that Suspicious Activity.
It would be a relief if my intuition were wrong, but if it were right, a Major Incident could occur.
If by chance a Patrol died at the hands of that assailant, everyone here would be fucked.
Because the DCPD reacted extremely sensitively to the deaths of their affiliated police.
If things went wrong, we could be framed as accomplices and executed just for being there.
Even if not for Humanitarian Reasons like preventing people from dying, I had to stop such a situation from happening for the sake of my own safety.
If I felt like something was going wrong, I should at least shout and give a WARNING.
If I made a motion showing that I tried to help like that, I could at least lessen the worry of being killed by the City police's Excessive Force even if an accident occurred.
Creep, creep...
As I slowly followed, I got a sense of what the Suspicious man was Aiming for.
“The Patrols.”
True, the Patrol Officer would be too much to handle.
Even if he launched a Surprise Attack while they were distracted by something else, breaking through their Superior Reflexes and the Exoskeleton Suit's Macro Defense System would be as hard as plucking a star from the sky.
Because it was the representative symbol of the DCPD's Force, a living Bio-Weapon.
So it seemed he was targeting the Patrols instead.
He was attempting to Break Through the formation of the police Officers, whose Modification Level and Combat Ability were lower and reactions slower compared to the Patrol Officers, to make an escape.
Or perhaps he was trying to take one of them as a hostage and attempt a Negotiation.
The question was why he would go that far.
It made sense if the reason the City police swarmed in and launched an Attack on the game center was because of that Assailant in the first place.
I didn't know what crime he had committed, but since he would be a dead man if he were caught without resistance, he was probably trying to struggle even in this manner.
Probably a serious criminal, a wanted person... something like that. It seemed he had been hiding in the game center until the DCPD figured out his location and chased him down.
Thinking about it made me disgusted. I was hiding in a game center.
With countless Game Derelicts scattered around like zombies, and it being a place the City police couldn't easily touch, it was indeed perfect for Stealth.
If I had been in a similar situation, I would have hidden in a game center too.
But if he was going to do that, he should have hidden better.
Getting his location discovered and drawing the DCPD in on the exact day I was gaming caused such a massive Nuisance.
Not only was my blown-away Rank Score an issue, but I was also wasting my precious day off anxiously dealing with a Sudden Crisis Situation. The losses were immense.
I had to cause some Interference just out of spite.
It was when I was continuing to tail him, having that thought.
Bzzzzzt—
In an instant, a Red Light reflected in my eyes.
From the body of the assailant looking at the police with a lowered posture, a blazing red current was slowly seeping out through his Artificial Skin between his chest and stomach.
The obvious precursor to the Activation of a High-Risk Bio-Weapon.
"...!"
My mind went blank.
I thought he would be an Extraordinary guy, fitting for a criminal chased by the DCPD, but... this lunatic?
This openly?
It seemed I had underestimated him too much.
Him attempting an escape or taking a hostage, my ass.
The guy had already given up on running away and intended to take Companions with him.
In a Desperate Struggle, he planned to kill everything in sight... police, game addicts, game center employees alike.
So, to put it simply and easily.
He was trying to commit an act of Terrorism.
How long has it even been since I met the Luddite gang? And now this again!
────!
This time, I wasn't the only one who noticed.
Even if it wasn't glaringly obvious, there was no way anyone in the surroundings wouldn't notice when he was emitting a clearly threatening red mechanical light.
A few people noticed and scrambled back to the side in shock, while the dull ones just stood in place.
And the police Officers standing at the end of the path the Assailant was looking at... tilted their heads and looked this way, as if sensing something abnormal had occurred.
The problem was, just looking wasn't enough. It wouldn't be enough even if they threw their bodies out of the way right now.
It wasn't the time to weigh the pros and cons. I had to do something immediately.
I opened my mouth and shouted.
"Get Down!───!"
Perhaps because my voice had been hoarse since yesterday, a cracking noise burst out.
Of course, it didn't matter, as long as it could be heard properly. And it seemed my shout did reach people's ears.
Several people reflexively bent their waists and lowered their bodies.
Except for the VR Zombies who had lost their minds and were rushing at the Patrol Officer, most of the rest listened to my words.
The problem was the DCPD Patrols.
About half of them heard the shout and lowered their bodies By Spinal Reflex,
but the other half kept their heads held high and looked this way as if trying To Grasp the situation—or they lowered their bodies but took an Awkward Stance without properly getting down.
At this rate, it would truly be a Major Incident.
I forgot about my Mindset of staying quiet without standing out, and my Resolve to only shout a WARNING.
In my slow-motion vision, I threw my body.
The Crimson Light spewing from the Assailant's chest grew darker, right at the moment it was about to reach its peak!
I rammed headfirst into his back. I intended to knock him down just like that to stop him from firing.
However,
"...!"
Even though I pushed with all my weight, his flinching and moving slightly forward was all that happened.
He looked so skinny that I thought he wouldn't have any strength, but how was his Core Strength this strong?
It felt like I had struck steel instead of a person. Would it feel like this if I collided with a Terminator or a Combat Robot?
Thanks to that, his Aiming must have been shaken as he couldn't Fire immediately, but unlike me, whose head felt like it was splitting open, he didn't seem to have Taken much of a shock and immediately looked back toward the police.
He was going To Fire just like that. The Blood-red Beam, constructed solely for the single purpose of Murder, was about to be fired.
The police Officers in their indigo police uniforms were horrified as they caught the momentary flash of light in their eyes.
The Cold Mechanical Lens of the Patrol Officer's helmet was turning this way while pushing away the VR Zombies.
There was no one else to stop it but me.
I couldn't just Watch from behind like this.
"Guaaaah...!"
I gritted my teeth, lifted one foot, and kicked the back of his knee.
No matter how solid a human is, no matter what kind of Mechanical Modification they have received, the lower body that bears their weight, especially the Joint Area, is bound to be weak.
When pressure was applied to the back of the knee, the joint would bend, and they would have no choice but to fall and kneel.
If they were human, it was a biologically inevitable structure.
Stagger—
His body swayed at the sudden impact from behind, whether the Assailant also belonged to the human category.
The way he tried to regain his balance without completely falling over in the midst of that was like a monster, but it was already too late.
I grabbed the off-balance guy's shoulder and arm with both hands and twisted them. That wasn't enough, so I even shoved my leg between his crotch and yanked hard.
As I let out a bizarre scream and exerted Force, the Assailant's Stance completely collapsed. At the same time, Blazing Red Light and heat spewed from his twisted chest.
Vwoooooooom────.
The ionized atoms accelerated and were shot out as a Particle Laser.
The Red Energy Beam shot out with a swoosh, brightly dyeing the surroundings, and cut cleanly through one wall and the lined-up VR devices, Sparking flames.
Rumble.
The collapsed wall poured down, and the devices short-circuited and caused an Explosion, bursting with sparks and electric currents.
Everyone was startled by the overwhelming sight and looked this way, at me and the trajectory of the Ion Cannon that had missed because of my hands.
There was no need to argue.
If I hadn't stopped it, if that Heat Ray had been fired exactly as originally aimed, everyone in its Linear Path would have died.
Not only the Game Derelicts who were hesitating, but even the Patrols who hadn't properly gotten down, were saved.
I saved them all. I stopped the Terrorism.
"...!"
The gazes of the Patrols were especially impressive.
Their eyes were wide open, filled with surprise and admiration.
And... danger.
WARNING, worry, anxiety, bewilderment.
Pupils filled with urgent emotions looked at me. A Chilling Red Light reflected from the lenses of others, Shooting back like mirrors.
I realized my mistake. This wasn't the time to be rejoicing.
I had to Step back.
With that thought, I pulled my body back. But it was already too late.
The Assailant, having failed his Decisive Blow, was looking back with a heavily distorted face.
A glint full of malice shot out from his eyes.
On top of that, I was pressed tightly against him, preventing him from breaking his Stance.
Grab—!
An extended hand gripped my shoulder. He pressed down on me in that state.
It felt like iron rods were planted in his skeleton-thin arm; I couldn't escape at all.
He reached out his other hand toward me as I struggled. A chilling Hole of Death was revealed between his shabby collar. The thing was gripped in his hand.
It was a cheap disposable Plastic Pistol commonly found in the back alley.
Its power and accuracy were on the lower side, but it was useful for a Surprise Attack. Because it was small enough to hide in one's clothes, if fired from close range, the target had no choice but to be hit.
Because it was fired from this close, not just I, but no one could dodge it.
Click.
The Assailant aimed at my chest and pulled the trigger without a hint of hesitation.
The muzzle spat Fire coldly.
Bang───!