Chapter 127
“Why does Red Mountain want the prosthetic arm in the first place?”
The excuse that it was an expensive prosthetic arm and that his grandson - Man Hunter - cherished it, so he wanted to get it back, wasn’t believable in the slightest.
Think about it. That prosthetic arm is my spoil of war. It’s the symbol of my glorious victory.
In other words, for the opposing side, Man Hunter, it was a symbol of bitter defeat.
If it were me, I wouldn’t even want to look at it, so what was the reason for him going out of his way to get it back, and for the boss, Red Mountain, to personally come out and negotiate for it, no less?
Even if it was a broken Military-Grade Prosthetic Arm of considerable value, this only applied to technicians who wanted to dismantle and use the broken cyberware.
The Red Mafia wasn’t a tech-oriented gang, so a broken prosthetic arm would be of little use to them.
Of course, the technicians under them could use it, but… well.
Am I the only one who feels like there’s another reason?
For instance, a reason is like trying to retrieve “something” hidden in a secret space inside the broken prosthetic arm.
“…”
Naturally, the possibility Tony mentioned came to mind.
“Transmission to Box No. 5 complete; entry pass attached.”
Tony, a former net diver and competent hacker, saw that and, though unsure, said it might be related to a Data Bank.
Chiba Data Account Bank.
It was a bank that stored all kinds of Net Data, including City Dollars.
What differentiated it from other banks was that, like the once-famous Swiss banks, it never leaked Customer information.
Also, no matter what kind of data it was - no matter how horrific a crime it was associated with, or what value it held - as long as you paid properly, it would store it in the bank for hundreds or thousands of years.
Because of that, shady criminals or high-ranking individuals frequently used it, rather than common citizens like me.
Wasn’t it exactly the kind of bank a certain Mr. Man Hunter would patronize?
“There really might be something.”
When Tony first mentioned it, I had my doubts, but by now, I have a hunch.
There definitely was. There had to be something inside that Data Bank.
The problem was that there was no way to know if it was Man Hunter’s slush fund, or a secretly hidden gay anal sex video collection.
You could never know the contents of the data stored in the Chiba Bank until you opened it yourself.
You couldn’t tell if it was a dud or a data bomb until you accessed it.
‘It’d be a relief if it were SHIT. It might be poison.’
Given how thoroughly it was hidden, there was a possibility it wasn’t a simple slush fund, but much more dangerous data.
Red Mountain coming out personally to talk to me might have been meant as a threat: ‘We are watching you. Even if you found it, don’t even think about opening it.’
The 100,000 City Dollars might not have been just to buy the prosthetic arm, but an amount that also included hush money for the untouched Memory Drive inside it.
It might just be a Delusion, but given how meticulous and ruthless the Russian Red Mafia was, it wasn’t an impossible scenario.
The risk was too great.
“Maybe it’s better not to open it.”
There’s a saying that curiosity killed the cat.
Maybe now is the time to put aside greed and inquisitiveness and take the safe path.
It might be a hasty decision, but for now, let’s go home.
I was exhausted today. It seemed better to rest and think more about what to do.
Thinking that, I shoved the Memory Drive I was holding into my raincoat pocket.
Ripples formed in the water as I moved my feet. As the subsiding rain pattered down, ripples formed on the wet alleyway.
And, reflected on the water’s surface, above my head, a
Ninja
was there.
A broken Neon Sign flashed like lightning.
“…!”
I hurriedly looked up at the Complex exterior wall of the building, above the tangled mess of outdoor AC units, but there was nothing.
Just a moment ago, a shinobi in light armor, seemingly cloaked in pitch-black darkness, was crouching there…
Before I could even harbor a doubt, my brain tingled. My instincts sounded an alarm, and my body moved reflexively.
As I threw my body to dodge, a blue electric current sliced through the night Street and passed by.
The Ninja, blending with the darkness, didn’t seem flustered at all by the unexpectedly agile evasive Movement of his target, and proceeded to Throw a Needle Shuriken.
Thwip - !
The sharp, slender iron needle embedded itself near my shoulder.
“Gah -”
My body collapsed from the shock.
The Ninja approached me softly as I was neutralized.
And I aimed for that.
I suddenly moved my upper body, which had been falling against the wall, and threw a Punch in a Surprise Attack.
‘You didn’t expect this!’
The shuriken was bent and Sparking as it fell into the water.
“He said just wearing the clothes would produce an effect similar to an Armored Vehicle.”
I didn’t fail to dodge; I chose not to dodge.
This was because I trusted the protection of the Nanosuit, a gift from the Isiho Chairman that looked like a high-end suit on the Outside.
Now it was My Turn to Counterattack.
[Combat Mode Activation. Kinetic Drive Activation.]
Empowered by the assist system, my fist moved along the optimal path and seemed to land a Direct hit on the Ninja’s chest… but was blocked halfway.
It was because the Ninja’s hard hand sharply tapped the inside of my fist, deflecting the Force of the blow outward.
He didn’t stop there and immediately grabbed my forearm, trying To Pull me in.
At this point, I instinctively felt that something was wrong.
It was my secret Strike that exploited his psychological Blind Spot, but it was blocked far too easily. And that was even with the Kinetic Drive Activated!
Faced with the hopelessness of going up against an iron wall, I wanted to turn around and run away right then, but it was already too late.
The opponent who attacked me in the middle of the night was a Cold-blooded Ninja. There was no way he would let me go just because I ran or surrendered.
The Way to Survive wasn’t to retreat, but to advance.
I dashed forward faster than his rough hand, which was trying To Pull and twist my arm.
As I threw a Punch with my other hand, the Ninja blocked it again by sharply smacking it away with the back of his hand. When I tried to grab him in turn, he twisted his arm to evade.
In that state, as I bent my right elbow and swung it, he immediately extended his fingertips, Aiming for my exposed armpit.
I hurriedly tilted my body to dodge, but only after his sharp fingertips stabbed my armpit and a dull thud of impact absorption rang out did the thought cross my mind: ‘Ah, I’m wearing a suit.’
While I faltered and stepped back, the Ninja leaped as if flying and flicked his hands from his chest. A shuriken flew through the darkness and struck my chest.
Beep-beep - BOOOOM - - - !
It was a mistake to complacently assume it wouldn’t work this time either.
As soon as the Needle Shuriken attached to my clothes, it blinked ominously in red and caused a localized Explosion. I was caught in the Shockwave and sent flying far away.
Thanks to the Performance of the Nanosuit, which was as sturdy as an Armored Vehicle, I didn’t take any damage from the Explosion itself, but I couldn’t gather my senses due to my spinning vision and ear-splitting tinnitus.
“Please, come on…!”
The Mental Switch that had lately been quick to Activate was completely unresponsive today of all days. No matter how desperately I called for it, it showed no signs of turning on.
As I continued to be pushed back, beaten, and battered, only then did a
Click
sound ring out.
Finally!
Vzzzt -
In my Slowed Vision, the water droplets splashing and rippling on the Street were clearly visible.
I could see the Arc Plasma inside the Mechanical Device, branching out into the air, which the Ninja was trying to plunge into me as he mounted me.
It was a magnificent sight.
Except for the fact that if I stayed still like this, that miniature ball of lightning would fry my precious, deer-like nape, which the suit couldn’t cover.
As I backed away to avoid the crackling current, the Ninja slid forward and reached out to grab me.
It was an expression of his brimming confidence that he could easily subdue me in Close Combat.
But it’ll be different from before.
Smack -
Guided by the Kinetic Drive, I struck the Ninja’s hand away. Just as he had done to me, I grabbed his arm, twisted it, and pulled it back.
Using his resisting Force, I twisted the Ninja to the side, who was pressing into my Guard, and pulled him away, then tilted my head to dodge another shuriken shot from the darkness.
Immediately after, I blocked the Ninja’s impending fingertips with my arm before they could Pierce my Adam’s Apple. I lightly jumped to dodge a Kick sweeping in from the darkness aimed at my lower body, then firmly stepped on the Ninja’s foot.
A brief silence flowed, and a water droplet falling agonizingly slowly split the gap between us.
“- !”
This time, it was the Ninja’s turn to be flustered.
He must have felt as if every action he took was being transparently read.
In a World flowing in Slow Motion, seeing the opponent’s movements in advance and acting upon them held a tremendous advantage in a fight.
“Like this.”
A Kick hooked upwards from below, Shaking my foot free. The flexible and agile Movement was aimed just beneath my chin in the Blink of an eye.
However, since I knew it was coming, it wasn’t hard to dodge.
I dodged it just by turning my body slightly and moving to the side, and immediately ducked to avoid the other foot flying in with a whoosh from the left.
As it bent back like a boomerang and tried To Pull and snatch me, I narrowly dodged even that by falling forward.
I dodged three attacks in a short span of time.
I gritted my teeth and broke through the Ninja’s Martial Arts, applying it at a speed several times faster than mine, in Extraordinary trajectories that would be absolutely impossible for the joints and Body Structure of an unmodified, pure human.
And I delivered a blow.
My fist, carrying my entire body weight, exploited the opening created by the collaboration of the Military Combat Kinesthetic Assistance System and the Microchip.
I mercilessly and fiercely struck the Ninja’s defenseless solar plexus.
Thud - !
Once.
Thud - !
Twice.
Thud - !
And three times.
The ruthless three-hit combo of explosive punches delivered truly agonizing pain.
…To myself.
“Ah, fuck…”
I definitely punched a human body, but a stinging pain, like I had struck a brick, pierced the back of my hand.
Only then did I see the Ninja’s Mechanical Eye flashing eerily between the black folds of his clothes and the smooth Black Prosthetic Body.
I wasn’t the only one wearing armor impervious to physical attacks.
A cyborg Ninja, huh.
It was a painfully common Cyberpunk cliché. Goddammit.
Why didn’t I think of this?
From the very beginning, he wasn’t an opponent I could beat fighting bare-handed.
“I’m fucked.”
Click.
Right on cue, the Mental Switch stopped operating, as if to say it had done its job.
As I grimaced from the Headache and shook out my swollen hand, the Ninja who had been taking my hits was suddenly standing right next to me in the Blink of an eye.
Unlike before, this time I couldn’t see his Movement at all.
“I Surrender.”
I quickly raised both hands and shouted, but there was no way he would listen.
I blinked again, and the World tilted sideways as I collapsed. In my consciousness, I could see myself being dragged away, engulfed in dull pain.
And just like that, I was kidnapped by the Ninja.