06.
White phosphorus rounds.
As the name suggests, this weapon uses white phosphorus to set targets on fire.
It is also used as a substitute for smoke bombs and poison gas, and is a vicious and unstoppable weapon once lit.
Due to its low ignition point, simply dousing it with water will not extinguish its cursed flame; you'll need to either cut off the oxygen completely or scrape the area where it sticks.
Or jump in a big tank of water.
That is, of course, assuming that you don't inhale the toxic fumes from the white phosphorus shot.
If you do, it's hopeless.
If you inhaled the gas, you'd be better off killing yourself with a handgun, as you'd be dying a slow death with a burning respiratory system.
Naturally, because of its viciousness, most products using white phosphorus were banned from civilian sale.
"Holy shit!"
So you can imagine my surprise when I was suddenly faced with a white phosphorus bullets.
The sticky slime clings to my shield and burns brightly, making it impossible to see.
In the blistering heat, I try to disengage the shield retainer holding my arm, but the suspect is quicker to fire a shot.
Took-!
"Crack...!"
Sparks flew in front of my eyes for a moment, and then the remnants of the white phosphorus bullets flew everywhere.
The strong impact of the blow against the shield instantly knocked me off-center, sending me reeling backwards.
I wasn't prepared for the impact, and my left arm, which was pinned to the shield, and even my shoulder tingled.
"Aaaaah!"
"What?"
I quickly drew my pistol, ready to shoot the unseen suspect, obscured by the flames, but before I could pull the trigger, I heard a scream from beyond the shield.
"Suspect up ahead."
Bang-!
"Kak..."
At the same time, Eva's voice whispering in my ear and a short burst of gunfire made me feel urgent.
The shield was already covered in white phosphorus and had long since lost its original function.
The flames engulfing the shield were getting stronger and stronger, so I unclipped it and threw it forward.
Boom!
"What the?!"
"Oh."
The shield flew forward wildly, hitting the suspect in the face, and a stupid sound came out of his mouth and mine at the same time.
The suspect was using a small jackknife to scrape the burning slime off of his body, presumably in an attempt to clean up the white phosphorus that had splashed onto him.
Unfortunately, the front of the shield I had thrown was covered with an area of white phosphorus that didn't even compare to the one on his body.
"Ahhhhhhh...!!!!"
"!"
It only took a moment for his body to be engulfed in flames.
Covered in white phosphorous, the suspect struggled to survive.
The sight of him rolling on the ground, trying to extinguish the flames, and brushing off the lumps of white linen with his hands was pathetic.
"Grrrr..."
The suspect's final rampage lasted just five seconds.
Unable to withstand the burning pain throughout his body, he died of shock.
As I stood there, speechless at the sight of his body burning even more intensely than it had before, I heard the calm voices of my teammates behind me.
"Suspect down. Front clear."
"Left aisle clear. Team leader, are you okay?"
"...I'm fine. I'll have to give up the shield."
I almost looked like the suspect lying on the floor, roasting to a golden brown.
This is why I am a 'Natural' without implants.
If I had implants, I might be able to do something crazy like brush off white phosphorus with my bare hands, but not me.
If I had any unprotected areas, I would have already crossed the netherworld.
As I scratch the back of my neck, feeling unnecessarily creeped out, Max tosses me a folding submachine gun.
"I brought your sidearm. You can use it."
"Thanks, Max."
I thanked him, unfolded the submachine gun's buttstock for portability, and checked the chamber.
"No point man changes. Move behind me and watch for flanking ambushes."
"Aye, sir."
He activated the targeting indicator on the gun rail, took another breath, and started forward.
There's no time to freeze in shock from a life-threatening ambush.
Any delay in the operation would increase the chances of the suspects grabbing the Alpine Group's belongings and fleeing.
"Watch the left and right corners. Max, left, me, right, Eva, check ahead."
"Copy that."
So, I clasp my trembling hands together and feign calm.
If I'm shaky, they're shaky.
"On three, two, one, go."
So don't hesitate.
Be bold, be confident in my orders, and act.
"Police, drop your weapons and surrender!"
"Fuck you, asshole-"
Tut-tut-tut!
The suspect's face explodes as he points the muzzle of his pistol at me.
"Kaaaagh!!!"
To be precise, the skin peeled off his face along with the mask he was wearing.
A metal skeleton, covered in red blood, was visible through the suspect's face-covered fingers.
I wonder if he has skeletal enhancement implants.
No need to kill him.
I aimed for his limbs and pulled the trigger once more.
Tut-tat-tat-!
"Aaahhh!!! Ha, I surrender, I surrender, I surrender, don't shoot me!"
Even with limbs replaced with implants, it was difficult to withstand the submachine gun's concentrated fire.
The suspect threw the gun to the ground and dropped to his knees.
"Robert, tie him up."
"On it."
Robert, who had followed from the middle of the line, took over the surrendered suspect and checked in with the others.
"Suspect on the left is dead. Clear."
"All clear up ahead. Clear."
"Okay, keep moving forward."
As I waited for Max and Eva to rejoin the ranks, I took a moment to check the submachine gun's holographic display.
Fifteen rounds of ammo left.
Sixteen if you counted the rounds in the chamber.
"Reloading. Everyone, check your ammo and swap magazines if necessary."
"Roger that."
With a magazine count that was ambiguous to say enough, I didn't hesitate to swap magazines.
Forty-six rounds in the new 45-round magazine, plus the one in the medicine cabinet.
Max tapped me on the shoulder from behind, signaling that he is ready, and I stepped forward again, muzzle pointed forward.
[This is Alpha-1, Bravo, report team status].
"This is Bravo-1, currently searching the center of the first floor. Three suspects down, one incapacitated."
[Confirmed, Bravo-1, we're on our way].
"Confirmed."
Just then, the Alpha team, who had just finished clearing out the work deck, finished the sweep just in time.
Bang-!
BANG!
Soon, a one-sided massacre erupted inside the warehouse.
The Alpha team had the high ground, and they shot every armed suspect in sight.
This made our Bravo team's job much easier.
If there were any suspects hiding in the blind spots, the Alpha team would identify them and give us their location, which sped up our movement.
"Stay away! You want to see a hole in this guy's head?!"
"Shit...!"
Well, there were a few who used the warehouse staff as shields along the way.
Bang-!
"Suspect killed."
"Aaah...! Blood, blood...!"
Their heads exploded from the gunfire that unexpectedly popped out from behind my back.
Doesn't Eva know the concept of non-lethal subjugation?
I couldn't help but cluck my tongue as I watched Eva aim for the suspects' heads, even firing a confirmation shot at the downed suspect.
The added bonus was that the hostages panicked in shock as they were covered in suspect blood splattered everywhere from her wild shooting.
I'm going to have to write a lot of reports when this is over.
"Eva, confirmation killing is strictly illegal. If possible, poke the suspect in the eye with the muzzle of your gun to confirm he's incapacitated."
"Yes, sir."
I told her to refrain from using confirmation kills for now, and continued sweeping the area.
About 15 minutes into the operation, she heard someone shouting over the wall of shipping containers.
"I got it! Carmen, get this damn security off!"
"You really found it...?"
"Stop admiring it and open it, you useless bitch!"
One male and one female.
They might be the leaders of the suspects.
"This is Bravo-1, Alpha Team, can you confirm if you have any suspects in area D-5?"
[This is Alpha-2, unable to confirm, debris from the crashed work deck obstructing view].
"Shit. Can you confirm a shortcut to D-5? We believe we have two suspects."
[Transmitting data to your goggles].
Alpha Team's comms come back, and I immediately check the data on my tactical goggles.
Soon, a translucent, virtual blue line appeared on the ground in front of us, pointing in the direction we needed to go.
"We're moving faster now. Keep up."
"Got it."
I felt Max tap me on the shoulder, and with quick steps, we began to move through the complex maze of containers.
Along the way, I replaced my submachine gun magazine, which was almost empty of ammunition.
It was the last magazine.
"Last magazine. If I run out of ammo, I'll fall back."
"Understood."
After dropping to the rear, I can pull out my pistol and use it.
That is, of course, if I'm still unsuccessful in subduing the suspect after expending all my submachine gun ammo.
"Watch the right corner. Coming right in."
"Ready."
I follow the instructions in my tactical goggles, and before I know it, I'm in the area where the suspects are opening the container doors.
He glanced back to check on his teammates, then tilted his upper body and pointed his rifle at the offending D-5.
"...Fuck."
"Shit...! You're already...!"
"I told you it's too late to regret, didn't I?"
As we locked eyes with our guns pointed at each other, the suspect and I simultaneously expressed our panic.
The female suspect, leaning against the wide-open container door, was a bonus.
In her hand was a snow-white implant carrier, clearly marked with the Alpine Group logo.
I looked at it and laughed hysterically.
"Well, fuck this."
"What?"
"They're fucked."
"Aha."
Max shook his head for a moment at my out-of-place laughter in the face of a suspect, but then he understood my meaning and nodded.
"Hey, asshole, just move from there, or I'll smash this implant right out of you!"
Still unable to grasp the situation, the male suspect, who had turned the gun pointed at me and aimed at the implant carrier, scrambled away.
Poor asshole.
He should have taken the whole container and run.
Their fate was sealed from the moment the Alpine Group's security was breached.
[Uh... this is Charlie-1. Multiple armed VTOLs approaching the site. Alpine Group's armed security team].
"...?"
The laid-back female suspect's body stiffened as the VTOL that had flown in from out of nowhere with Charlie's radio call landed on the roof of the warehouse.
As if instinctively sensing that something was wrong, she quickly pulled a smoke bomb from her waistband.
Of course, Max and I didn't wait for her to pull the pin.
BANG-!
"There."
"Damn it...!"
As the female suspect dropped the smoke bomb to the ground after being hit in the wrist, the male suspect fired his rifle indignantly.
"Fuck you, you salty motherfucker!"
Tut-tat-tat-!
Ping-!
A shrill cry rang out as the bullet ricocheted off the container's outer wall.
The thick roof of the warehouse collapsed with a thud as Max and I quickly spun around and took cover behind the container.
Koooowwww-!
"What again-"
The suspect, who was nervously turning the muzzle of his gun upward, didn't finish his sentence.
Brrrt!
The 20mm Gatling cannons of the black reapers from the sky simultaneously opened fire.
With the sound of a chainsaw running, an unimaginable vibration shook the diaphragm through the floor.
The short, staccato bursts of fire die down, and the Reapers of the Alpine Group land on D-5 in a cloud of dust and smoke.
KOOOOM-!
"...Ugh."
Slowly peeking my head over the container, I see the mangled remains of the suspect.
And standing in front of him are a group of hulking men.
Black exoskeleton suits, small jetpacks strapped to their backs, 20mm Gatling cannons in their arms, slowly slowing to a crawl, cooling off.
"They're finally here..."
The nightmares of Nova City, more powerful than the full-fledged police force.
Eternal enemies of criminals, overwhelming predators.
The Grim Reaper, reaper of the Alpine Group, descended to slaughter those foolish enough to touch their things.