Chapter 87
Bang───!
A powerful impact struck my chest.
Like a scene from a movie, my body was pushed back as if I had received an electric shock.
My vision turned stark white from the pain. Clutching the area where I was shot, I gasped for air.
‘How, like this─.’
My staggering steps came to an abrupt halt. My vision, which had turned red, returned to normal.
I weakly lowered the hand covering my chest. Blood did not... seep onto my palm.
I only caught the crushed metal pistol bullet that had stopped halfway, failing to pierce its target.
‘─Is it really this effective?’
Even if it's a disposable plastic firearm, it's still a weapon with enough power to kill a person.
And it blocked it this easily?
I looked down at the clothes I was wearing, my face full of admiration.
The very black classic suit that the game center employee had praised, saying, ‘Nice clothes. They suit you well.’
Just yesterday, I didn't even own a suit.
That was why I had gone all the way to Gintoki Tower in my everyday clothes, only to be scolded by the Jenkinson chief secretary.
For me to suddenly have such a stylish, perfectly fitting tailored suit meant... there was only one explanation.
I received it as a gift from someone. Logically speaking, there was no way I would have bought such an expensive suit with my own money.
And the person who gave it to me was, naturally, the chairman of headquarters, Karin Isiho.
The reward for the food I had worked so hard to make yesterday was the right to ask the chairman for a single wish, as long as it didn't cross the line.
At first, I was going to ask for money, of course. There was nothing money couldn't do in Dusk City.
I was always strapped for cash. If I could just get a cash reward from the Chairman this one time, my situation would improve significantly.
Or even if not that, a middle-level residency right, or a premium net site membership....
It would have been fine to wish for something that could raise the rank and class assigned to a person in this cyberpunk world.
However, at the moment of decision, the words that came out of my mouth were entirely different.
‘I want a self-defense method to protect my body.’
Memories of the past days flashed through my mind.
Last Saturday, man hunter Alexgey, who I got into a fight with during work, was a formidable opponent.
If it hadn't been for the microchip, if he hadn't let his guard down, I would have absolutely been done for.
Also, if Sey and Dragon President hadn't helped, my wrists would have been cut off by his subordinates.
Just the day before yesterday, last Sunday, I encountered the robber with the hyper-vibration knife on my way to work.
If the Self-proclaimed Sherlock Holmes hadn't shown up in time to help, I might have been stripped of everything I had.
Likewise, Ned Ludd, who terrorized the bar on Sunday, was a problem. As for him... there's nothing more to say.
The fact that I survived, that I was able to defeat Ned Ludd, was pure luck. It was a miracle born from countless overlapping coincidences.
Even if Dusk City was inherently a city overflowing with illegality, violence, gangs, and drugs, that was its nature.
Even if my workplace was an outskirt bar straddling the boundary of light and shadow, it still functioned.
This was too much. How many near-death experiences had I gone through in just the past few days?
Money, residency rights, and memberships are meaningless if you die.
If you get shot, stabbed, or if your heart and brain stop for whatever reason, you can never be revived.
My very existence, everything I had built up, would disappear from this world.
I hadn't even figured out the reason why I was suddenly dropped into Dusk City, into this Cyberpunk World.
The fear of death and the desire for life swirled in my mind.
Now was not the time to choose a reward for myself with the thought: ‘I've worked hard enough.’
It was time to invest in the future.
Not having money is inconvenient and difficult. But it's not enough to kill you. The same goes for residency rights and memberships.
However, when it came to the matter of my own safety, if I didn't reinforce it, I might actually die next time.
There was no knowing when incidents similar to those on Saturday and Sunday would happen again.
That was why I closed my eyes tightly and said it, that I wanted a means to protect my body.
The chairman's reaction was plain.
‘Is that so? It would be troublesome for me too if you died. Come to think of it, the Chief Secretary mentioned something: That you didn't seem to have a suit to wear.’
Then, snapping her fingers, she spoke to the exclusive samurai who appeared from the darkness.
‘Give that guy one of the unworn toys from my closet. Yeah, it's one with military technology applied. So he doesn't go somewhere, get shot, and die an early death.’
That was how I obtained this black stripe suit.
On the outside, it was a typical classic suit consisting of a dress shirt, vest, jacket, pants, and tie.
But in reality, all those components were made into a single piece of clothing, carbon fiber crafted with state-of-the-art nanotech.
Just by registering my body information, it transformed into a shape that fit my body perfectly like a tailored suit. It was as if it had been made for me from the very beginning.
As long as I wore this, I didn't have to worry about laundry; temperature control was simple, and above all, it was safe.
As for how safe it was... according to the Chairman, ‘If you just prepare a separate helmet to protect your head, wearing only the clothes will give you an effect similar to being inside an armored vehicle.’
Naturally, it had top-grade bulletproof processing.
, a level capable of blocking not only a plastic pistol but also a heavy machine gun armor-piercing bullet.
The fact that I could bravely step forward to stop the assailant was largely thanks to these clothes. It was a massive stroke of luck that I wore them all the way to the game center just in case.
Because of them, I was confident that even if bullets or blades came flying, I could save my life as long as they didn't hit my head.
And seeing its actual performance, it is evident.
‘Do you like it? Those Italian bastards sure know how to make clothes. Wear it well. With your salary, even if you saved every penny you earned, it would take over 15 years to buy something like this. Not that you'd even have the right to bid on it in the first place.’
Yes, I love it...!
I felt like bowing down in gratitude to Chairman Karin Isiho, who would be working far away on the top floor of Gintoki Tower.
And I also felt like thoroughly praising my past self for overcoming the temptation of money and making the right wish.
To think I'd reap the benefits the very next day. It was an absolutely excellent choice. As expected, my safety is the best thing.
I believed there was no way Isiho's Iron Blood Chairman would give me a defective product, but the clothes felt so light and thin that I still had some lingering anxiety.
That anxiety completely vanished with what just happened.
Coated with nano-sized titanium dioxide particles, it ignored or absorbed most impacts,
and if it anticipated pressure above a certain level, the suit would autonomously overlap its parts to increase its durability and energy absorption rate, meaning I'd rarely get hurt, just as she said.
Clatter─
The bullet failed to leave even a scratch on the suit jacket and fell powerlessly onto my palm.
Nanotech is the best!
I had definitely been shot, but I was completely fine. It would be a lie to say it didn't hurt at all, but right now, my chest just feels a little numb.
The reason my vision turned white and I gasped for air when I was first hit was....
Simply because it was my first time getting shot in my life, I was really scared. Honestly, it's normal to be terrified.
I also had the goal of deceiving the Assailant in front of me.
“...?”
The bastard, who had been letting out a crazed laugh at my fantastic acting, tilted his head when I, who looked like I was about to collapse at any moment, somehow stood firm and remained on my feet.
The way he raised the muzzle he had lowered the moment he sensed something was wrong proved he was indeed no ordinary person.
A disposable plastic gun. That meant the magazine could be used once. Generally, the magazine capacity of a cheap pistol is around ten rounds.
Since he had already fired one round, it meant he could fire nine more rounds into my chest just like this.
Even if it wasn't my chest, he could easily aim for other areas, and if his aiming shifted toward my head, I'd be in trouble. I wasn't exactly wearing a helmet.
Grab.
I reached out my arm and grabbed the top of the pistol the Assailant was aiming. As expected, his grip strength was so strong that it wouldn't slip out just by applying force.
Bang───!
Startled by my sudden action, the Assailant pulled the trigger again, and a bullet was fired. My hand and arm shook from the recoil.
However, this time too, my body only jolted once, and the bullet fell away, leaving only a stinging impact on my abdomen.
I pressed the button on my cyberwatch without giving him time to pull the trigger again.
I activated my favorite feature of these clothes through the interface linkage.
A notification sound rang from my wrist.
[Combat Mode Activation. Kinetic Drive Activation. Do you approve?]
I pressed the button again. It was an expression of approval.
At the same time, my body moved.
It felt like I was moving, yet they were strangely precise and agile movements without any wasted effort.
Would it be accurate to say it was similar to receiving system assistance in a game?
In the blink of an eye, I had twisted the hand holding the pistol away and was striking the assailant's body with my other elbow.
Due to the impact concentrated on a single point, his arm muscles could no longer exert force, and he let go of the pistol.
It was such a clean disarmament technique that it was hard to believe I had done it myself.
At the same time, without stopping there, I struck the bewildered Assailant's face with the grip of the snatched pistol and swiftly spun around to back away.
This was the result of the cutting-edge military combat kinesthetic assistance system applied to the suit.
The carbon fiber, tightly matched to my body, automatically assisted my movements.
Of course, this alone didn't turn me into a martial arts master.
It was merely a prototype, and since it was just a suit designed to double for combat use rather than exoskeleton armor, it only went as far as refining my movements as cleanly as possible.
Movements that I couldn't originally perform were impossible even with the Kinetic Drive.
It was strictly a feeling of drawing out the absolute best that my current body could do.
However, that alone had a tremendous effect.
My movements, despite knowing jack shit about martial arts, transformed to the point where I looked like an amateur, even if not at the level of a pro or a professional soldier.
This was the result.
“You son of a─.”
The face of the Assailant, who had turned his head, was distorted.
It was somewhat too artificial to simply be a scowl.
The part I had struck with the grip was caved in. The exposed side of the peeled skin was filled with metal, a sight like looking at a Terminator.
At that point, I felt like I knew the Assailant's identity.
And why the DCPD was chasing this man.
It made sense why I felt like I was striking steel even though I had clearly collided with a person, and why I had wondered how such strength could come from a skinny body.
Since he had truly replaced most of his body with machines, it was only natural to feel that way. At that level, his cybernetics modification ratio had to be well over 70 percent.
“Di, e───!”
And that cyborg terrorist, that machine fetishist with a body of absurd durability and physical strength, was lunging at me with a look full of venom.
His hand rotated like a drill, looking as if it would dig into my flesh at any moment, and his eyes, emitting a macabre red glow, glared straight at me, radiating murderous intent.
Going up against that was a stupid thing to do. I had no intention of a head-on confrontation.
Even though the Kinetic Drive assisted my movements, my physical limitations remained the same.
Due to the battle with Ned Ludd and yesterday's hard labor, my body hadn't fully recovered.
On top of that, my specs in physical strength and speed were clearly inferior to begin with.
It might be possible to land a hit by taking advantage of his carelessness, but fighting him head-on and winning was impossible.
It would be a different story if I had Chainsaw Ferdinand like during the Man Hunter incident, or Katana Kokuyōtō like during the Ned Ludd incident. Right now, I am bare-handed too.
Nevertheless, I did not back down.
Honestly, I was a bit intimidated by his momentum, but I still stayed still.
Because....
CRACK, CRUNCH─!
It was about time for him to arrive.
A pitch-black forearm encased in an exoskeleton shot out from the side and snatched the Assailant's neck. He pushed him straight ahead and slammed him into the wall.
The wall, which had already collapsed once due to the energy beam, shattered until it was practically reduced to dust.
The figure who appeared at that exquisite moment was the DCPD patrol officer.
He had finally cleared away all the VR Zombies blocking his path and reached this point.
“Keu, keuheo-eo-eok.”
[Shut your trap.]
He grabbed the crazy cyborg, who was making gasping sounds, by the hair and swung him around, beating him refreshingly as if a beating was the best medicine.
Thud, crash, crackle, bang, bang.
As he was beaten to a pulp, the real face beneath the artificial skin slowly revealed itself.
It was a mechanical chrome face attached over his melted natural face, blood-red electronic eyeballs, and fiber optic hair.
That sight of him getting excitedly beaten by the Patrol Officer, with such a brutal appearance that seemed straight out of a nightmare, was somehow familiar.
I'm getting a sense of déjà vu.