As Kai sprinted past the bend at the end of the corridor, he found himself in a massive warehouse filled with various mechanical devices. It looked a lot like a canned food production facility. In the distance, Oliver and Jackie had already taken cover behind a steel workbench. Upon seeing Kai, they frantically waved him over.
Oliver gripped his Nova tightly, while Jackie, beside him, held Oliver's Copperhead. Both of them had their weapons trained on the corner Kai had just come from, waiting for the Maelstrom ganger to poke their head out for a deadly ambush. But even though they were ready, neither Oliver nor Jackie knew what Kai had just encountered.
"That bastard has subdermal armor—my Lexington is useless against her!"
Even before reaching them, Kai shouted out an explanation for why he hadn't been able to take down the enemy chasing him. Upon hearing this, Jackie responded in his usual blunt manner.
"I told you to get a better gun."
"I'm regretting it now!"
This was a classic case of ignoring advice and paying the price for it. The Copperhead had greater stopping power than the Lexington, but in some situations, a handgun was irreplaceable. Precision alone couldn't make up for the difference in firepower, and Kai was learning that lesson the hard way.
Just as Kai sprinted toward Oliver and Jackie, loud, rapid footsteps echoed from the corridor behind him. The Maelstrom ganger was closing in fast.
"Damn, does she have to be this fast? I had a two-second head start!"
Realizing he wouldn't make it to Oliver and Jackie in time, Kai abandoned the idea of sharing their cover and quickly scanned his surroundings for another hiding spot. His eyes landed on a massive dumpster overflowing with scrap metal and discarded machinery.
He really did have a knack for ending up in the trash.
The moment the Maelstrom enforcer burst out of the corridor, she caught a glimpse of Kai vanishing behind the two-meter-high dumpster. At the same time, Oliver and Jackie, positioned directly in front of the entrance, opened fire.
A hailstorm of bullets from the Copperhead and Nova tore through the air, but the Maelstrom enforcer didn't flinch. She barreled forward, heading straight for Oliver—her true target. Her subdermal armor allowed her to tank the incoming rounds, the bullets piercing her flesh but failing to penetrate the reinforced plating underneath.
"Cabrón! She's trying to take us down with her! That's a Crusher—our cover might not stop its rounds!"
Jackie cursed as he watched the bullets sink into her skin but stop just short of dealing any real damage. His trigger finger didn't waver—if they couldn't kill her before she got close enough to use that shotgun, they were done for.
"Her armor's even tougher than I thought! How much did she pay for this? Is this some new prototype?!"
Oliver was also panicking. This Maelstrom lunatic wasn't just suicidal—she was taking potshots at him with her pistol as she charged. He didn't even know this woman! Why was she so hellbent on killing him?
The kinetic impact of their shots was absorbed by her subdermal plating, barely slowing her down. She was already at the ideal range for using a shotgun.
With a metallic clatter, she tossed aside her empty pistol. Then, gripping her Crusher firmly with both hands, she aimed at Oliver and Jackie. In one second, she would blow them—and their cover—into pieces.
But Kai wouldn't let that happen.
He hadn't hidden behind the dumpster to run away. He had done it to disappear from the Maelstrom enforcer's six cybernetic eyes. Their field of vision was extensive, making them difficult to evade.
But now—all six of her glowing red eyes were locked on Oliver and Jackie, fixated on the moment she would obliterate them.
At that exact instant, Kai vaulted over the dumpster and lunged at her.
She heard the rush of air, but it was already too late—her weapon was raised, and there was no time to reposition it.
Kai had estimated his own weight—seventy kilograms, give or take. Combined with the force of his downward momentum, he slammed into the enforcer with enough impact to knock her off her feet. Even with her cybernetically reinforced body, she couldn't stay upright.
But that was all Kai could manage.
The moment his limbs registered the impact of hitting the ground, a fist—reinforced with subdermal armor—smashed into his face. It was like getting punched by a steel gauntlet. His head snapped back, and blood gushed from his shattered nose.
"Get off me!"
Her other hand was pinned beneath Kai's leg, so she threw another punch with the same hand. Kai barely withstood the second hit—his head was ringing like a bell, his vision blurring. But even in his dazed state, he spotted his only chance.
Oliver and Jackie had abandoned their guns, rushing over to help him subdue the enforcer in close combat. But Kai?
Kai still had his gun.
He was the only one engaged in a direct struggle with the Maelstrom enforcer. There was no risk of friendly fire.
The Lexington barked.
Another punch slammed into Kai's face, nearly caving it in. His features were a mess of blood and bruises, barely recognizable. But despite the agony, he managed to grin.
He had aimed for her fingers.
Through the pain of her blows, Kai had confirmed something—the subdermal armor only covered her hand, not her fingers.
And fingers could be shot off.
Kai hadn't targeted the fist that had been pummeling him. He had aimed for the hand trapped under his leg—the one still gripping the Crusher.
The moment her fingers were blown apart, the shotgun slipped from her grasp.
And Kai took it.
"Nice to meet you, lively lady."
Before she could throw another punch, her six cybernetic eyes locked onto the massive firearm now in Kai's hands.
"Maybe we'll meet again someday."
"BANG!"