A/N: A bit late but here you go. Enjoy :)
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Kill one enemy, gain 10% movement speed and 10% hand speed![Bloodlust] activated.
As Lin Mo decapitated the Tyger Claw leader, there was no pause. He immediately shoved Kitagawa Hiro forward, pushing them both behind the wreckage of a rusted-out car. Blood sprayed from the headless corpse, raining down in thick droplets.
The Tyger Claw leader, who moments ago had been spewing vile threats, was dead before he knew what hit him. His body collapsed, the pistol slipping from his lifeless fingers. His crew stood dumbfounded, the gravity of what had just happened taking a second too long to sink in.
Then chaos erupted.
Bullets flew, the gangers screaming in rage as they unloaded into the cover, their weapons pounding the side of the wrecked car that Lin Mo and Kitagawa hid behind.
Lin Mo's actions had hit them like a hammer to the skull, leaving them disoriented and burning with fury. The gunfire was relentless, but their blind rage made them reckless—every shot missed, spraying the car instead of the two hiding behind it.
"These idiots," Lin Mo muttered, unfazed. He could feel their lack of discipline from the way the rounds were being sprayed. They had no idea how to control their fire, wasting bullets in a mindless haze of anger.
The Tyger Claws' barrage quickly ran dry, the gangers forced to reload. Sensing their moment, Lin Mo acted.
Peeking out from behind the wreck, Lin Mo leveled his Kang Tao Dian SMG and fired. The smart-link system in his hand connected with the gun's auto-aim, and guided bullets sought out the Claws. The shots curved, like venomous serpents finding their prey. Three Tyger Claws dropped, each one with a fresh hole between their eyes as the bullets found their targets.
"Smart weapon! The kid's got a smart weapon!" one of the Claws yelled in a panic.
The surviving gangers immediately dove for cover, grabbing helmets from their bikes and hiding behind debris. They knew the power of smart weapons—though powerful, they weren't magic. Once you understood how they worked, you could protect yourself. Helmets would absorb the damage from a shot that had lost power curving around corners, and cover was essential.
Lin Mo watched them scramble. Smart weapons were great at locking onto targets, but the kinetic force weakened after multiple turns. He knew they wouldn't be able to hide forever. If they stayed pinned down, they were just delaying the inevitable.
Kitagawa, still catching his breath, pressed his back against the wreck, his heart pounding. His mind replayed the last few seconds over and over—the moment Lin Mo had decapitated the leader, the sudden chaos that followed. He hadn't even seen Lin Mo move; it was all a blur.
Gunfire rang out again. Kitagawa snapped his attention to the battlefield just in time to see Lin Mo take down another two Claws. The rounds hit their helmets, knocking them flat, but they survived—barely.
"Shit... how's this kid so damn fast?" one of the Claws growled from behind cover.
"That's gotta be a Kerenzikov or maybe even Sandevistan! Kid's running serious chrome!"
A brief lull in the shooting followed, as both sides hesitated to expose themselves further. Neither side wanted to be the first to pop out of cover and get their head blown off.
Clink.
A grenade sailed through the air, launched from the Tyger Claws' cover. Lin Mo's reflexes kicked in before it even hit the ground. He fired a single round, hitting the grenade mid-air. The explosion rocked the lot, but it was far enough away to leave them unscathed.
Lin Mo glanced at the cloud of debris before returning his focus to his gun, loading another magazine into his A-22 B. He could feel the adrenaline surging through him. His cool demeanor remained, but his eyes gleamed with anticipation.
"What's the plan now?" Kitagawa asked, glancing at Lin Mo. The arrogance he had earlier was gone, replaced by genuine respect. Lin Mo wasn't just some kid. He was a full-blown edge-runner—calm, precise, and deadly.
"Their weapons are Arasaka Nokogiri rifles and Shigure submachine guns," Lin Mo explained calmly, nodding toward the gangers' cover. "Fast rate of fire, but low damage. You've got subdermal armor, right?"
Kitagawa's heart sank. "Yeah, but I'm not exactly bulletproof."
"I need you to be bait," Lin Mo said coldly. "Draw their fire. Give me an opening."
Kitagawa blinked. "You want me to—"
"Move now, before they call for backup," Lin Mo interrupted, eyes locked on the enemy's cover. "If they pull out bigger guns or tech weapons, we're screwed. You've got five seconds to make your move."
Kitagawa clenched his fists, his mind racing. The thought of stepping into the line of fire made his gut twist, but then he thought of his sister. If he wanted to save her, he'd have to put his life on the line.
"Five seconds. That's all you get," Kitagawa growled.
Without another word, Kitagawa shot up from behind cover, his D5 Copperhead in hand, spraying the Tyger Claws with suppressing fire. Bullets tore through the air as Kitagawa charged forward, his metal arm absorbing the recoil as he forced the Claws back behind cover.
"Come on, you fucking gutter trash!" Kitagawa roared, using his free arm to shield his head from stray rounds.
Lin Mo moved with practiced precision. While the Tyger Claws were distracted by Kitagawa's charge, Lin Mo darted from cover, keeping his profile low as he sprinted from wreck to wreck. His reflexes, enhanced by his Kerenzikov implant, allowed him to move faster than the Claws could track.
The few bullets that came his way were wide off-target, flying harmlessly past. Lin Mo knew his body was pushed to its absolute limits—between the muscle stimulant, Bloodlust, and his cybernetic enhancements, he felt nearly untouchable. His speed had broken through human boundaries, moving at a blur across the lot.
As he closed in on their position, the Tyger Claws finally noticed him. One of them cursed and redirected their fire toward Lin Mo. The rounds whizzed past, but Lin Mo could feel the heat of the bullets, each one a fraction of a second away from ending him. Death was breathing down his neck, but Lin Mo stayed focused, his muscles coiled like a spring.
Two seconds later, he vaulted over the final barrier, dropping into a roll. He came up with his Dian SMG aimed and already firing. His smart rounds curved through the air, seeking out the remaining gangers.
They barely had time to react. Lin Mo's bullets tore through the unarmored sections of their bodies, hitting vital spots with unerring accuracy. One by one, the remaining Tyger Claws dropped, their blood soaking the ground beneath them.
The fight ended as quickly as it had begun. Lin Mo stood among the bodies, breathing heavily. His heart raced with the adrenaline, his vision still sharp, and his senses on high alert. The Dian clicked empty, and he quickly loaded another mag, ready for more.
Kitagawa stumbled from his cover, leaning against a rusted barrel, clutching at his wounds. Several bullets had hit him, but the subdermal armor had saved him from anything fatal. Still, he was bleeding badly.
"You good?" Lin Mo asked, stepping over the dead as he approached Kitagawa.
Kitagawa coughed, nodding through the pain. "Yeah... just... took a few hits. I'll live."
Without a word, Lin Mo pulled a Type-3 Nano Stimulant Injector from his pack and jabbed it into Kitagawa's chest. The nanites immediately went to work, knitting together torn tissue and staunching the bleeding.
"Where the hell did you get this?" Kitagawa asked, his voice tinged with disbelief as he felt his strength returning.
Lin Mo just shrugged. "I'm just hoping this job pays enough to cover the cost."
Kitagawa grinned, accepting Lin Mo's hand as he helped him to his feet. The firelight from the wreckage painted their faces in shades of red and orange, casting long shadows around them.
Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from the alley. More Tyger Claws were closing in, drawn by the sound of gunfire.
"Think you're up for another round?" Lin Mo asked, his voice calm, but there was a knowing smirk on his face.
Kitagawa flexed his cyberarm, feeling the surge of strength from the stim. "Hell, with that stuff in me, I could sprint a marathon."
Lin Mo unsheathed his Black Unicorn, the blade glinting in the firelight. No sense in wasting more ammo. He was ready to finish this the old-fashioned way.
The new group of Tyger Claws rounded the corner, coming to an abrupt halt when they saw the scene before them—flaming debris, dead gangers strewn across the lot, and two figures standing in the middle of it all, armed and ready.
The Tyger Claws hesitated, their minds struggling to process what had just happened.
For them, it was already too late.