Outrun – Cyberpunk LitRPG Chapter 94

“… but it is all reliant on you. Can you do it?” I asked, my voice oddly cool to my own ears as I resisted the urge to shiver. Cold-Blooded was doing its work, and I could feel the creeping cool helping to keep calm with every frigid heartbeat.

It wasn't that the Perk kept calm per se. It was more so that all of my emotions felt muted, drowned out below a frozen ocean. Even my heartbeat felt dull, far slower than it should've been given the situation.

He looked up at the room's roof, eyeing the dark grooves. “Maybe… Wind Wave might be too weak… maybe Wind Slash?” Torren frowned. “Are you sure though? This will be one of my last spells if I cast it. Well, this and Transmute.”

Transmute? What was that? Doesn’t matter. “Yeah. Do it. Before our ti runs out.”

“You got it, boss.” Torren once more closed his eyes, energy coalescing around him. Half a minute passed, in which I took the ti to drag Feras as lightly as I could to the bathroom and hopefully out of range from rogue bullets. I also threw one of my last wraps of gauze around him to help hold everything together.

Just as I returned to the main room, Torren’s eyes flashed open with a green light. Imdiately, an ethereal wind blew from nowhere, collecting on the big guy’s hand. Before I could even blink, the wind shifted, twisting into a long blade. That blade launched as he slung his hand forward, slicing up through the roof.

Wood creaked and groaned, shattering under the pressure of the Adept’s Wind Slash. The blade cut up cleanly, taking a massive chunk of the floor with it. The area imdiately around the cut fell from the roof, leaving a gaping wound up onto the next floor.

”What's going on in there?! Final call! And no more ssing around!” The gang leader called from outside.

”Now!” I whispered to Torren. The bruiser nodded, stepping below the hole and going entirely still with his hands cupped. Without giving myself any ti to hesitate and trusting my newfound agility, I sprinted toward him.

I placed my foot onto his cupped hands, using them as a springboard to launch myself up. He assisted, pushing upward as my body catapulted up through the hole in the roof.

My tech jacket caught on a splinter of wood, tearing open a jagged slice into the fabric, but I otherwise slid through the hole with relative ease. I hit the ground, bleeding my montum into a dead silent roll as I readjusted my grip on the SB-17.

This was my plan. I wasn’t a fighter, but I was a thief. When sneaking into sowhere, always approach from an off angle if not going through the front door. Applying that logic to combat made sense in my mind, but it was a gamble to leave the protection of the room below. Still, my heart stayed steady as I followed through with it.

Below , I could hear the door open up followed by a roar from Torren. A wet squelch imdiately followed, but I couldn’t afford to waste a minute wondering what was going on down there. I would just have to trust my team- err, trust Torren. Feras was still as useless as always.

I moved through the room, it being just as dusty as the last, and slowly popped the door open as I activated all of my Perks. I moved low as I exited the door and got out onto the second-floor balcony of the Mortas Motel. The balcony railing was made of thick wrought iron wall panels, granting good cover while leaving room in between the gaps to peek out.

The darkness of the Motel, mixed with the haze liquid and my Perks, made it so Insight didn’t even hint at being spotted as I took up a vantage point over the gonk gangers.

Most of them were still scattered about the parking lot, the AR-wielding three further out than the rest to take advantage of their longer reach. They looked super relaxed, almost as if this was a normal everyday thing for them.

Cold filled my mind as I raised my rifle and sighted it onto the furthest thug by the exit, the one who turned on the noise insulator. Slowly, my sights overlapped with the glowing skeleton tattoo over the guy’s face. My hand shook even through the effects of Cold-Blooded as I raised a finger to the trigger.

Was I really about to do this? Again? The trembling in my hand grew stronger, only fading as a slow beat of cold filled my brain. I allowed a mont to sink into the sensation. To give up worrying. To give up my hesitation. I had to be alive to feel guilt.

I once more lined up the shot.

And then I pulled.

A scattering of bullets fired from my rifle, the kick jerking my aim way off as my unprepared muscles failed to properly control the recoil past the first couple shots. I didn’t even check the results of my burst as I dropped to the floor in preparation for retaliation.

None ca.

Instead, I heard a massively delayed call from the leader, “Ambush! Ambush! Take cover!”

Below , I heard a loud thunk as the balcony’s floor tremored. I an, I knew Torren was big, but to cause such a tremor-

I spotted a red ss of flesh launch from below through a gap in the wrought iron railing. The mass flew into the parking lot, splattering blood everywhere as it skidded across the ground. Several splotches of blood flew off and hit a ghost ganger, dying her white costu red. She scread and sprayed with her SMG towards where the at projectile ca from. As it rolled to a stop, I saw it was a head covered in blood.

“You good?” I quietly asked into the squad channel.

“Never better,” Torren said, his voice sounding mostly the sa and yet ever so slightly… off.

Cool rationale flooded as I realized I had been foolishly just sitting in one place after the first burst. I slunk back into the shadows of the balcony, moving out of sight from the gang as I started to crawl along the length of the balcony. Once I was far enough away, I pushed myself up with my rifle at the ready.

Another tremor shook the balcony as the sound of sothing being torn apart ca across the comm line. I didn’t hesitate to use it as a distraction to fully peek over the railing, my rifle aid towards the first AR-wielder I spotted who operated the jamr. He had ducked behind a car in the parking lot. It would've been good cover, but I had the high-ground advantage.

I opened fire, this ti managing to control my burst better as the rifle bucked in my hands. Ten shots ran out, at least three of them hitting the man before a stinging pang of Insight hit . I ducked out of the way imdiately, almost dropping my rifle in haste.

Unfortunately, it was too slow as a bullet grazed my shoulder, cauterizing a burning path across my skin as it blew a hole through my clothes. I hit the ground hard as the bullet slamd into the wall, sticking halfway out of it. An AR round. The last guy might have so kind of chro eyes to track better?

“There’s a rat on the second floor!” The gang leader called out, his voice trembling with rage. “What are you fools doing? Shoot, you dumbasses!”

A spray of bullets whizzed over my head, sending sharp shards of concrete everywhere as they drilled into the wall. The pangs of cold throughout my entire body kept grounded as I crawled along the wall, ducking under my jacket to get away from the shards hitting .

”Good, Zuku?” Torren called through our line.

”Pinned, but mostly uninjured. H-“ I threw myself flat as Insight sliced through my back. The second my chest hit the hard floor, a stray SMG round flew through a gap in the barrier close enough to cause my clothes to ripple with the force of the projectile. I scampered in the opposite direction, but it must've been just a lucky shot since nothing else ca close. “You?”

A loud, blood-curdling scream ca from the bruiser’s direction. The scream sounded even louder through our commlink. A wet crack resounded through the link’s connection before Torren started to speak again. “Great. The lee duds are done. Am I clear to head out?”

I crawled forward more, taking a risk to glance out through a gap in the balcony. The first two AR gonks were dead, their bodies oozing blood onto the pavent. The last one had moved, blending in with the rest of the costu-wearing idiots behind the occasional parked car or support pillars. “One left. Can you hold?”

”For now.” Torren went silent. A mont later, another ball of at grotesquely curled in on itself launched from below the balcony. This one was aid, flying with enough force to knock over two of the gonks with SMGs. One of the gonks outright lost a limb with the force of the impact, instantly going unconscious as he rapidly bled out.

“What the hell are you using?” I asked as I slid along the wall further. Once I was far enough out to be away from the majority of the spray, I started to scan the survivors for signs of the AR.

Torren chuckled, the laughter sounding entirely bloodthirsty. If I wasn’t already near frozen over, it would’ve sent a chill down my spine. “Pure muscle, princess. Pure muscle.”

Before I could reply, I spotted the final target. I shot up, tracking my rifle to him. Maybe because of the hazy liquid’s effects? Or maybe Stalk? Regardless, I had a few monts before anyone realized I was there. In the few monts it took to get focused on him and get my rifle aligned properly, he spotted too. His feral, red eyes went wide as his werewolf costu trembled. He was the only one to spot as the chro in his eyes locked fully onto .

But it was too late.

I squeezed the trigger, imdiately feeling a chill of Insight as he pointed his rifle toward . I forced myself to calm down as my mind tracked the trajectory of Insight. It would hit a little off-center of my chest. Instead of pulling off the attack to get cover, I went all in, firing off the rest of my mag toward the goon.

“Argh!” Just as the mag clicked empty, two bullets caught in the chest, hitting with enough force to stagger back. I groaned as my chest ate the entirety of the impact, my stolen ballistic armor barely doing its job to stop the bullets before they got through. And yet that ant all of the impact was absorbed by my chest. I dropped to the floor, the breath knocked out of my lungs.

”Zuku? You still alive?”

It took a few monts to breathe once again, but as soon as I did, I called out to Torren. “Hah, all three, hah, down.” I took a gulp of air as I felt the coolness of my blood flowing through my body once more. Not even the rushing heat of adrenaline could shake it off. “Just SMGs and the leader.”

“Nova,” Torren called. A mont later, a massive form sprinted free from our original room. A rogue light caught on his face, revealing similar features to Torren, and yet his entire body was built with muscle instead of fat. He had so much muscle, in fact, that the ground literally vibrated with every forceful impact of his feat like he was so kind of 'borg.

His clothes looked exceptionally baggy as they barely clung to his fra. With the first several steps, his muscular foot tore through his shoes as though they were tofu, leaving the guy to run barefoot.

The guy, Torren’s look alike, imdiately cleared the distance between the first closest ganger, stretching out an arm to catch the surprised gonk’s barrel as bullets sprayed from it a mont later. The person redirected the barrel, using the fire to kill one other ganger as he wrapped a aty paw around the first one’s neck and jerked. His muscles contracted and the head popped off like it wasn’t even attached in a fountain of blood.

”T-Torren? What’s going on?”

The muscle-bound maniac paused, the hesitation long enough for the rest of the poser gang to react as they lit him up. The bullets whizzed past the man, sohow seeming to warp around him. I flared Aetherial Perception briefly, spotting a familiar green shield around the guy pulsing with each projectile. Torren sighed. “Kind of busy.”

Torren threw the head like it was a baseball, smacking another ganger in the face. The guy fell back, his body twisting with the remnant force as his head snapped in the wrong direction.

The shock of seeing Torren look… entirely different wore off under the onslaught of Cold-Blooded, returning to that ntal calm. I took stock of the situation, looking around the battlefield as I planned my next course of action.

There were only five gangers still standing, including the leader. All of their attention was on the massive muscles of Torren as he lunged towards another, leaving completely free to move.

I popped up from my crouch, staying low as I sprinted to the other side of the balcony before leaning over it. I lined up my rifle once more, aiming at the furthest gonk from Torren. He stood behind a car, using it as a brace to unleash hell on my ally. Not that it would help him. I opened fire.

My rifle clicked.

I imdiately ducked back down behind cover as I fumbled for a spare magazine.

The leader of the gangers let out a furious shot. “How dare you! Fight soone your own size, coward!”

Says the guy that brought fifteen versus three- two… I peeked over the balcony rail as I slid the magazine into position, spotting the leader slashing viciously toward Torren with his glowing blade as the rest of the gangers futilely tried to light the big guy up.

Torren reacted quickly, thrusting his latest victim up as a shield. The burning blade easily sliced through the unfortunate costud freak, tearing through his body like tofu. The blade slowed as it passed, coming out of the now corpse with barely enough force to burn a patch of Torren’s hair as he dodged out of the way.

My hand trembled as I slid back the charging handle, chambering a round into the rifle and prepping it once more. Then, I aid down the sights towards one of the gangers. Unleashing a load of rounds blasted my shoulder back as the recoil once more got the better of , sending over half my mag awry. Only one round needed to connect though, and it did. The ganger hit the ground with a startled cry.

“Help!” Torren called through our channel as he threw himself into a dive.

I shifted tracks, aiming at the leader as I pulled the trigger. The rifle thudded in my hands, each round flying true as they hit the leader. And then bounced off. Or at least most of them did. Those not redirected by his subdermal armor were caught in the folds of the chro, burning patches in the synth skin that once covered it.

“Soone shoot the rat!” The vampire called as he swung his sword off in my direction.

That was all the distraction Torren needed he grabbed one of the riffles and batted it at the man. For his part, the leader reacted quickly as he brought the sword up to bear. It did nothing to stop the force of Torren’s hit though.

Torren’s borrowed rifle hit the flat of the blade, splintering it as he let out a squeal of pain. The fragnted blade parts peppered the leader and the bruiser, almost as if in preparation for what was to co. Then Torren’s fist connected with the leader’s chest, throwing the guy backward. His subdermal armor saved him from any visual damage, but the spray of blood from his mouth suggested so internal damage.

The leader dropped what was left of his blade, trying to grapple the big guy as I reloaded once more and lit up one of the last remaining gangers, instantly killing her as she desperately tried to reload. The kills left a bitter taste in my mouth, but the frigid blood coursing through my body did a good enough job of obscuring it.

Where was the other- a scream ca from below, back down at our original room. Feras. I didn’t hesitate as I threw myself over the balcony railing, hitting the pavent as I twisted into a roll, sending pains through my bruised chest. The flesh wound from the previous bullet burned as pressure was put on it, but thankfully didn’t reopen as I sprinted for the motel room.