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At the leader's command, the gang members flanking both exits of the narrow alley began their assault.
It seemed overkill—40 gang members, armed to the teeth with dozens of guns, versus a single adult and a teenager.
The odds were laughably in favor of the attackers. With such overwhelming force, even the most elite merc squads from the Afterlife bar would struggle.
But the cramped alley, only wide enough for two people to walk side-by-side, limited their approach, offering a slim chance for Lin Mo and Hiroshi.
Hiroshi's face tightened, the enhanced auditory implant in his ear picking up the sound of approaching footsteps. The slow, deliberate steps of hunters closing in on cornered prey, ready to pull the trigger on their weapons, merciless in their pursuit.
"Lin-kun, pass me that sniper rifle—now!" Hiroshi demanded, desperation creeping into his voice.
Lin Mo hesitated for a second. He was busy rummaging through his utility pouch, but seeing Hiroshi's urgency, he quickly pulled out the Nekomata—a high-powered tech sniper rifle—and handed it over.
Hiroshi's hands moved swiftly, adjusting the settings on the rifle.
"Damn it... there's no time!" he cursed.
Both ends of the alley were swarming with gang members now, slowly advancing with guns raised, ready to rain fire the moment Lin Mo and Hiroshi exposed themselves. Hiroshi knew that even if he shot a few, the others would riddle them with bullets before he could retreat.
Their best hope was the Nekomata—its electromagnetic rounds could pierce walls and cover, letting them fire back without needing to expose themselves. The rifle's potential to devastate opponents was unmatched.
But there was a problem: the Nekomata was temperamental. It needed careful calibration before firing, or it risked underperforming or, worse, backfiring.
With no time to properly configure the weapon, their situation seemed hopeless.
Just as Hiroshi was losing hope, he heard a distinct click.
He looked over to see Lin Mo casually pulling the pin on a white, unassuming grenade.
Before Hiroshi could fully process what was happening, Lin Mo tossed two flashbangs into the alley.
"Flashbang! Get back!" one of the gang members shouted.
Bang! Bang!
The alley lit up with blinding light. The gang members screamed, clutching at their eyes and ears as the flashbangs detonated, temporarily incapacitating them.
Lin Mo, dusting off his hands, turned to Hiroshi with a curious look. "So, you actually know how to use that sniper rifle?"
"More or less," Hiroshi replied, still dazed by Lin Mo's sudden intervention.
Lin Mo nodded, satisfied. "Then it's yours. Take good care of it."
He spoke as if handing over a simple trinket, showing no concern for the rifle's value. Before Hiroshi could respond, Lin Mo was back to rifling through his pouch, pulling out two crimson grenades.
Hiroshi's eyes widened in recognition. "Laser-cutting grenades!?"
These military-grade grenades, once thrown, would float mid-air, projecting a lethal array of cutting lasers in a radius of three to four meters. Anything caught in that range would be shredded.
"This stuff isn't cheap," Lin Mo remarked casually. "But if it works, it's worth it."
Without hesitation, he hurled the grenades into the alley.
Hiroshi watched in disbelief. Lin Mo's casual deployment of such high-tier military hardware made him question everything.
Is Lin-kun some kind of high-tech Doraemon? Hiroshi thought incredulously.
When they first met, Hiroshi had assumed the pouch Lin Mo carried only had a few essentials. But now? Lin Mo had pulled out more advanced weaponry and gear than most well-funded edge-runner teams.
Weapons, tactical grenades, combat stims—Lin Mo was prepared for war.
And to think… this was supposedly his first completed contract.
Meanwhile, the gang members, disoriented from the flashbangs, had no idea what hit them. The alley erupted in chaos as the laser grenades activated, slicing through anything and anyone in their radius.
Within seconds, the narrow passage was littered with bodies, the walls marked by deep laser cuts and scorched from various explosives.
"Where the hell's our sniper?!" one of the gang lieutenants shouted amidst the chaos.
"Forget it! Ataiya must've been taken out by those bastards earlier," their leader snarled, frustration mounting. He knew they had lost their edge. "We were supposed to pin down the two targets, but now we're dealing with these lunatics!"
"Just give the order to storm the alley! Who cares if we kill them?" another thug yelled.
The leader grit his teeth, staring down the ruined alley. His men were in disarray. The two inside had taken out several of his best soldiers, and now his only sniper was down.
"Everyone, suppressing fire! If they try anything else, light them up!"
At that command, the gang members opened fire on the alley, filling it with a hailstorm of bullets. The relentless barrage continued for over a minute, punctuated by the deafening sound of metal and concrete being shredded.
Lin Mo and Hiroshi stayed low behind their makeshift barricade. Lin Mo, calm and collected, placed his katana across his knees as he waited for the storm to pass.
The gunfire finally died down, leaving only the sound of spent shells hitting the ground.
"Listen up in there! One more move, and we'll blow you to pieces!" one of the gang members barked, his voice full of bravado.
"Seems like they still want us alive," Lin Mo said quietly, as if discussing the weather.
"They've likely got orders to capture us," Hiroshi replied, still gripping the Nekomata.
He glanced at the sniper rifle. With their current situation, the rifle could turn the tide. But with only four rounds and no extra magazines, every shot had to count.
"You still planning to fight back?" Lin Mo asked, his tone indifferent.
"Better than waiting to die!" Hiroshi snapped.
Lin Mo chuckled softly. "We're not going to die here. Save your ammo."
Hiroshi hesitated, staring into Lin Mo's eyes. They were calm, almost serene, but with an underlying coldness—an unsettling certainty.
"Trust me," Lin Mo said, his voice steady. "They're all dead already. There's no need to waste bullets."