Outrun – Cyberpunk LitRPG
Chapter 247

I locked the door behind me and moved Dev into a place I’d have a bit more room to work. He was in bad shape. Deep cuts bled profusely from the gaps in his armor. Already, there was a pool of the stuff beneath him. How did he manage to drag himself all the way here from where he fell?

Worse yet, there was a metal rod impaled deep through the silver armor. The fall hadn’t been kind. I shudder to think how much force would’ve been needed to get through the Crusade’s armor.

I pulled out all my medical equipment and checked what I had. I also changed the canteen to produce Pervider venom. It wasn’t the best medicine, but it was super helpful. I figured I’d get a use out of it somewhere.

I checked his ABCs. Airway, Breathing, and Circulation were something I hadn’t always checked in the past, though the medics I worked with drove into me how important all of it was. You could tell a lot about a patient's state based on just the ABCs.

Thankfully, he was breathing just fine. His lungs didn’t seem injured in the slightest, though his breaths were halting. Probably thanks to it flexing his injured belly. His Circulation on the other hand… he was rapidly turning pale as he lost blood. It was only a matter of time unless something changed.

First things first, the easy wounds. I carefully pulled off all of his armor except for the chest plate, leaving it for the time being. I disinfected and wrapped the lighter wounds the best I could. My skills had definitely improved after shadowing the medics Underground, and it showed as I smoothly and easily treated all the minor injuries.

Then there was the chest plate. I needed to get the rod out of it, but I wasn’t confident in my strength. I mean, it was Crusade armor. It wouldn’t be easy to pierce it, let alone pull something out of it. Still, I couldn’t just leave it stabbed into him. Really hope he got his tetanus shots.

Instead of just pulling the rod out, I decided to try and get the chest plate and rod off all at once. It took a minute to figure out how his chestplate went on, but eventually I got it all ready. “Sorry, Dev. This is going to hurt.”

I waited a few minutes for the canteen to produce venom. I didn’t need a lot, just enough to put his injured chest into stasis while I worked. Once that was ready, I grabbed the edges of his chestplate. He groaned in pain as my movement shifted the rod. Before I could second guess myself, I ripped it straight up, pulling the rod out with it.

“Gaaahhh!” Dev let out a strangled scream before going entirely limp. His face started to turn pale as the wound gushed much more blood than before.

Time slowed as Dexterity took effect. I moved quickly, my speed boosted by the slowed time as I poured the canteen onto his wounded stomache. As the venom took effect, his bleeding slowed to a crawl. His breathing turned rougher and rougher though. His entire body twitched erratically as the venom coursed through him. Allergic reaction?

Unfortunately, I didn’t have access to any proper medical equipment. I couldn’t scan his body to assess the pole’s trajectory, if it fractured inside, and if there was any organ damage. Technical Expertise helped a bit, but it wasn't a bioscan. I’d have to do things the old-fashioned way.

I pulled a knife out, cutting apart his shirt and washing off the caked blood with his canteen of water. The debris blocking my view cleared off, and his torso was fully exposed-

I nearly dropped my knife as I looked down at the Squire. He had dozens, maybe hundreds, of circular scars all across his body. It looked like something had burst out of his skin repeatedly. I immediately recognized the horrific scarring from my time Underground.

Pervider survivors were rare. Most of the time, mercy killing was the easiest and correct call. Treatment in the Underground was almost impossible. Even if they lived and physically recovered, there was no telling how much damage would be done to their minds. Being trapped in memories of watching hundreds of spiders burrow into your body would be enough to drive most people insane.

I can’t even imagine… not only living through Pervider young burying into my body, but also being forced to enter the place of my trauma repeatedly… And then having a Pervider’s venom carelessly poured into my wounds?

Ugh- my chest felt tight, though I washed it away with pulses of Cold-Blooded. Regardless, the guy needed treatment. Pervider venom was the best I could do… I really needed to start carrying more medicine with me. I always ran into the inevitably issue of carry weight though.

I cleaned out the blood from his wounds, the Pervider venom doing its job to stop the bleeding. Thankfully, the rod hadn’t stabbed too deeply into him. It’d barely poke into his liver, cutting it open slightly. Most of the blood was coming from there.

I couldn’t exactly staple the wound closed… cauterize it? Or suture? I wasn’t confident in my suturing skills. I’d learned how to do it briefly, but not on organs… cauterize it is.

Unfortunately, I didn’t exactly have the right tools to cauterize it. But who was I? If I didn't have the right tools, I could just make them. I didn't spec into Tech for no reason.

I carefully modified my gauntlet, disconnecting the shock plates from it and exposing its wires. From there, I pulled a needle from my medkit and coiled it in the gauntlet’s wires. I already had the knowledge. Hell, I even built something similar with the thermal katana.

Once I got everything set up, I flicked on my gauntlet. The needle immediately started glowing red as electricity superheated it. I waited for a few moments, allowing the heat to sterilize it. Just like that, my makeshift cautery pen was done. It was... well, jury rigged, but it'd work.

He was already unconscious and under the effects of the venom, so I didn’t have to worry about anesthesia. This section of his torso was fully in stasis. I carefully approached his wound with the bright red needle, my shaking hand causing me to move back for a moment.

Breath, Shiro. Only you can do this… Back to talking to myself when stressed, huh? Haah… how the mighty have fallen…

Focus up. Just imagine he’s a machine? A broken machine that needed to be welded back together. It was basically the same thing, right? I’m good at welding. I had eleven levels in tech, after all. I got this. Deep breaths. I got this.

I moved back, the shaking in my hand gone as I saw his flesh as metal and blood as oil. I carefully identified the leaking point. With one hand, I pinched the wound closer together using tweezers. In the other, I carefully moved my makeshift cautery pen.

The stench of burning flesh filled the air as I carefully burned and scorched Dev’s organ, ensuring I didn't excessively heat the tissue. It was nauseating. It even managed to get through my mask. I’d been privy to some awful scents in my life, but the smell of burning flesh point blank like this was something that made my guts churn.

Once I carefully cauterized the whole wound, I pulled out and checked for further bleeding. It looked good. The bleeding had fully stopped now. There were still injured veins, muscles, and the massive gut wound, but it looked much better than when I started. The stasis effect kept most of them from bleeding too severely.

I took apart the cautery pen, gently washed the wound out once more, and sutured his flesh closed. It wasn’t pretty, with my stitches not all perfectly aligned, but it was the best I could do. It was the best he could get given the current situation. The medics back at the Crusade would have their work cut out for them with his treatment.

Blood dripped from my nose. I roughly wiped it away, feeling my head pound in discomfort as I checked him one last time. How enviable, just sleeping through everything. I squeezed my eyes shut, blocking out the bright lights as I slumped down against the wall.

Dev was down, but not out. At least, not yet. It remained to be seen whether or not we’d be able to get out of this. The best thing we could do was stay here, barricade ourselves in, and wait for reinforcements. He wouldn’t be able to move in his current state, at least.

I forced myself back to my feet. Moving swiftly, I repositioned him, grabbing pillows from the toy store to make sure he was comfy. Or, at least, as comfy as he could be. Then I pulled out my Crusade phone. The screen was horribly cracked, but I managed to find Ligh’s contact.

”Zuku! Are you alright?” The Inquisitor immediately picked up. Gunfire sounded right next to him, though he didn’t seem to care as he kept asking me questions. “You with Dev? That Valkyrie backshtab use?”

”Chek, Chek, negative. Dev’s injured. We’re hiding in a toy store at the moment. The Valkyrie is…” What happened to her? She was an elite, right? No way she’d go down that easy… still, I barely survived the fall. No telling if she did. “She’s probably dead? She got shot by a sniper as she tried to escape.”

“Good riddance.” His voice faded as he turned to talk to someone else. “Hope, find a toy shtore around here. What? No, not for that. The other two are trapped there.”

In the distance, I heard shifting rubble. Hope bloomed in my chest. Were they closing in? That was certainly quick. How? “Sir-“

I cut myself off as I heard something heavy drop into the toy store. Eight metallic clicks sounded out one after another. Even from here I could hear the rough whirl of servos and parts as something massive moved. Did the Crusade have something that sounded like that? I tried to think back, but my head felt extremely foggy.

I took a deep breath and then cracked the door, peeking out into the toy store. A spider tank stood in the middle of the space, a squad of cultists dropping down behind it. Thankfully, the squad itself looked rather weak. Just the typical tac gear. No borgs, at least.

The spider tank’s eight legs rumbled menacingly as it stood tall in the toy store. Calling it a tank was a bit of a disservice. They were closer to a spider mecha with only enough space for one pilot. Still, it was just as dangerous.

Spider tanks were originally designed for search and rescue in dangerous areas. The armor and lifting power of its legs were originally supposed to be for cave-ins and collapses, not battle. The original idea was that the tank could lift itself, then create a safe pocket below it until rescue arrived. Even the legs were designed to be able to dig out rubble.

As corporations inevitably do, the one search and rescue vehicle was vastly twisted. Sentinel’s version? There was no doubt it was meant for war. The machine was sick. If it wasn’t my opponent, I’d even call it badass. The entire design was sleek, with red lights glowing from the gaps in its heavy armor. There was no doubt it meant business.

Sensors across its main cabin blinked like glowing red eyes and it shifted heavily. The several turrets covering its body defensively flicked around to watch for threats. Its ‘head’ twisted and twirled as the heavy armor covering the spider clacked against itself. Two heavy artillery cannons strapped to its back gave it more than enough firepower to handle most threats.

The design was nimble, too. Its eight legs could help it rapidly reposition, allowing it to outmaneuver heavier class vehicles. What was originally a tool to save lives had long since been optimized to end them.

The squad of eight centered around the spider tank for a moment before splitting up. It was only a matter of time till they found the corpses, and then from there found Dev and I hiding in the back room. I closed the door and ducked back into the employee-only zone.

Staying here wasn’t an option… I could sneak away without being noticed, but I'd have to leave Dev behind. No way I was leaving a patient I just treated to die a dog’s breath. I suppressed a sigh as I made yet another decision against my instincts.

My heart pounded unstably as I whispered into my phone, “Sir… I’ll- I'll lead them away. Find Dev.”

”What are you-“

I cut off the call and turned on the Find Me program. I sent the location to Inquisitor Ligh, then dropped it off with Dev. As long as they followed the pings, it’d lead them here. Until then…

Well, I could meet up with them after this was all over. I took a deep breath, activated my Blinder and Illusive, and stepped out of the employee-only zone. It was just a spider tank… what was the worst that could happen?

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