Outrun – Cyberpunk LitRPG
Chapter 249

A few minutes passed as the sniper occasionally took potshots at us. For the most part, Brunhilde and I just sat behind our cover, patiently waiting. She tried a few times to spark up a conversation, but now really wasn’t the time.

Eventually, the sniper shots toward us cut off entirely. I lifted my head from where it’d been resting on my knees, feeling it throb with the effort. “Think it's over yet?”

Brunhilde glanced over to me and stopped messing with the holes in her armor. “Maybe? I’ll peek.”

Brunhilde took off her helmet and put it on the end of her spear. She lifted it up out of cover and swayed it around. A few moments passed with nothing, so she slid around behind cover and checked a different spot. No shots. She dropped her spear and put her helmet back on. 

I cracked my knuckles and stood up fully, ready at a moment’s notice to throw myself back into cover as soon as Insight pulsed. It never did. “Might be clear.”

”Hopefully.” Brunhilde also stood up, exposing herself. She looked just as wary as I felt. “The other Valkyries finally did their job… Well, do you have any plans, Squire?”

”Survive? I’m getting out of here.” I jerked my thumb in the direction I’d been going. I’d run enough distraction. Dev would probably be safe now, so I just needed to regroup and I’d be fine.

”I’ve gotta remain as bait for the Wingbane, unfortunately…” She sighed and muttered under her breath. “I was supposed to be the leader. How’d it turn out like this?”

I pretended I didn’t hear anything. “Good luck with that.”

”Yeah, you too… Oh, don't forget to call me once this is over.” I could practically feel her smirk even though it was hidden by her helmet.

I flinched slightly. There goes my hope she’d forgotten about it with all that happened. “If I live through this.”

”I trust you. I’m off to find that jammer. See ya around, kid.” And with that, the Valkyrie split off from me, climbing up into the collapsed tower.

I watched her go for a moment before turning around and continuing on my way down the tower. I was still super turned around withe the dustbowl in effect, but I was probably approaching the exit. I could see a massive shadow against the dust, at least. I mentally flicked on all of my Perks as I went, dipping down into the shadows.

I walked down the shattered halls and broken structures, carefully picking through dust and debris for stable footing as I went. A few more cultist squads passed me by here and there, but they were becoming rarer and rarer. There was a good chance I was fairly close to the Crusade’s line.

I dropped down through a shattered building's roof into a cubicle farm. It was completely trashed, the localized quakes from the fallen building and the explosions having done a number on it. Cubicle farms always gave off an ominous feel. There just something... uncomfortable with how they were set up. Especially after my time in New Tress City. I doubt I’d ever forget that twisted altar to agony that lurked in the depths of the opera house. 

A sharp mechanical clank came from the other side of the cubicle farm. I immediately ducked into a cubicle and reactivated my Blinder. I’d deactivated the blackout module back after I ditched the spider tank, wary of my battery draining or the module itself overheating. Now was as good of a time as any.

I checked just over the edge of the source of the noise with my rifle ready, carefully scanning the dark space for any movement. Panther’s Sight allowed me to see through the darkness as if it was brightly lit, outside of the layer of obscuring dust. Nothing.

If it was any other noise, I wouldn’t be so hesitant. The mechanical clank though? It was different then the noises that the cultists made. And it was by itself, so the chances of it being a spider tank were low. Maybe a merc? Or one of the other factions in the AEZ?

If it was, it was good news for me. It meant I was on the outside of the cultists HQ. I hesitantly slunk forward toward the source of the noise, my ears perked up for even the slightest of noise-

More clanks came from the distance. A crash echoed from down a hall, and what sounded like a door opened up. I scanned where I originally heard the clanking, carefully checking for tracks. Some boots prints scattered here and there looked fresh. 

A moment later, a shadowy form appeared as Panther’s Sight took charge of my tracking. The shadowy form lurched forward to the hall, appearing humanoid. Only, they were really big. Maybe a borg? Or someone in some kind of power armor?

I moved forward, rifle up as I edged my way along the edge of the cubicle farm, though staying inside of it as much as possible. It provided ample cover for me to stay low and hidden from any potential enemy as I followed the trail.

I found a body- no- a fallen robot near the entrance to the hallway. An infested. It lay against the wall, slumped over with its vines wilted. The marks lined up with sword strikes. A Crusader? But the sword marks looked slightly off. Never thought I'd say this, but I'd been around the Crusade enough to recognize their marks.

I moved for the office, spotting several other downed infested. Whoever was here had cleaved a path through over a dozen of the infested. And yet, no gunshots. A Crusader by themselves? What about their Squires? Were they in a similar situation to me?

Clank!

I looked into the office, eyeing a collapsed section of the floor. The sounds of battle came from below. I moved to the edge, looking down onto what looked like a conference hall. A lone figure stood against a swarm of infested surging toward him, sword flashing as it slashed through the half-robot, half-plant monsters with seeming ease.

I immediately fired into the swarm to support, dropping two of them as I emptied my mag. They were clumped up enough I didn’t have to worry about accuracy as I full-auto dumped another mag.

I grabbed a reload, pausing as I counted my ammo. Instead of continuing the fire down into the group of enemies, I pulled my grenade launcher out and fired. AOE would be better here.

With explosive support from above as well as the person’s own skill with a sword, it was only a matter of minutes as we cleared out the attackers. As soon as the fighting was over, the person collapsed. “Hey, you okay?”

No answer. I eyed the person for a minute. They weren’t a Crusader. No idea who though. They wore dark, heavy armor. Way more protective than the tac gear of the cultists. Plates and armor padding covered the person's entire body, though it wasn’t as bulky as traditional juggernaut armor. 

The armor, while heavy, looked streamlined. An exoskeleton was faintly visible just inside of the armor, hidden by straps, pouches, and protective plating. The armor itself had several deep lacerations through it, all glistening with blood.

A streamlined oval backpack was strapped to the person’s back with several tubes connecting to the armor. It looked faintly like a hydration pack, with liquid leaked through a few tears in the pack. Some kind of combat drugs?

Their helmet was black and bulky with a tinted visor hiding the person’s eyes. An armored gasmask covered their mouth, slightly torn with blood leaking through the gaps.

They looked faintly familiar, though I couldn’t quite tell from where. Ugh- stupid concussion blocking my memories. Regardless, the enemy of my enemy was my friend, right? I dropped down the hole-

I felt something in my ankle twist as I hit the ground, sending a shooting pain up through my leg as I crumpled to the ground. It wasn’t nearly as painful as the damage dealt to my pride though. Stupid. Stupid, Shiro. The Drop Chutes were broken. 

I’d grown so used to having them and now I was really suffering because of it. At least it wasn’t that big of a drop. If I’d carelessly jumped off a building though? My mental beatdowns increased exponentially. 

I winced as I put some weight on my ankle. With Cold-Blooded active, I could walk on it, but not perfectly. I limped over to the fallen person, stepping past the fallen infested as my ankle dully ached.

”Hey!” I grabbed the armored person by their shoulder, lightly shaking them. A groan sounded off. Still alive. Good, good. I could probably patch them up and then-

I flung myself backward, dodging as an icy pain surged through me, shattering my spine. A moment later, the person’s sword sharply cleaved through the area I just vacated. The blade practically vibrated with malice, completely overlooking that I helped them survive the initial attack.

“What are you doing?!” I dodged another strike, this one much faster than the last as the person seemed to fully awaken. Dexterity was activated in full swing, allowing me to barely keep up with the slashes as my perception of time sped up.

I dodged one more slash, even faster than the last. Burst Step sent me flying as I felt my legs pulse in agony. Fear the Reaper flared out from me. “F-final warning! Cut it out!”

They flinched but didn’t seem to hear me, Insight warning full well of their intent to bisect my poor body. My final hesitations lifted as I fired at the person. My rifle bullets impacted them all over, doing little damage against the heavy armor. 

The exoskeleton whirled as they lunged forward though I was already dodging thanks to Insight. Their injuries were slowing them down just enough for me to keep up, though even a mere moment could decide my fate.

I backed away, dropping my rifle. It was useless against the person’s armor anyway. I fired a shot from my wrist gun, fire blazing to life as I hit the person in the face. The crackling heat slowed my attacker slightly as they panted raggedly.

I fired several more, aiming at the small cracks and lacerations across their body. Both fire and ice sprouted from them, dripping into already injured sections of their armor and burning the person inside. 

They didn’t seem to care- didn’t seem to even feel it as they lunged with an overhead slash faster still. The attack seemed to carry all of their will and might, vibrating the air as I felt a cold trail bisect me from head to waist. 

I moved, barely throwing myself to the slide as the blade drew a line down my shoulder. It cleanly carved out a chunk of flesh and muscle even with just a glancing blow. For a few moments, I didn’t feel anything. Then my body wailed in agony as blood spurted through my clothes. Only Cold-Blooded kept my head in the game as I point-blank fired another shot into their face.

My last Blaze round cracked loudly as it flew through a gap in their mask. The gap had already been there, though it had widened thanks to the previous fire. The bullet ignited inside the helmet, flaring brightly as the person’s face caught fire.

They immediately dropped to the ground, sword still tightly gripped as if refusing to submit. One last grotesque rasp of their mask echoed out before they went entirely still.

I panted for breath, pressing my shoulder with my hand as I felt blood flush from my body. I moved to the side, dropping my bag down as I quickly pulled out bandages and cleaned the wound. The sliced sliver wasn’t bone deep, thankfully, but it was far too big an area to staple or stitch back.

Blood continuously pumped with no end in sight. If I didn’t do anything, it’d only be a matter of time till I bled out. I hesitated for a mere moment before reassembling my cautery pen once more. I pressed it into my shoulder, burning the wound closed as the scent of my own flesh rose into the air. 

I barely suppressed a gag as I continued the treatment and wrapped the now cauterized injury in bandages. It wasn’t a clean treatment, though it wasn’t meant to be. With some sleep, it’d recover. The treatment was purely to keep it closed until then.

I tiredly dropped down where I stood as I glanced toward my attacker. If they hadn’t been injured already… It would’ve been me on the ground, drawing my last breath of air. I felt it in my bones. Whether it was skill, equipment, or training, they had me entirely outclassed.

I recovered for a few minutes before I approached, my hand running over their armor as I sent out pulses of Technical Expertise. After a few moments, I fully copied the blueprint for the exoskeleton underneath the armor. I had no doubt it was partially responsible for the person’s quick and strong movements. If I could make my own version of it…

I also copied the bag. Interestingly, it fed throughout the armor. It was some kind of auto-injector that’d probably been full of combat drugs at one point. Now though? It was empty, whether that be thanks to overuse or leaking out of the tattered bag.

There were a few other minor mechanisms and parts that interested me, but I was more focused on the person in the armor themselves. After stealing all the tech, I carefully ran their identity and affiliations through every faction I knew.

Of all the factions I knew to be in the AEZ, only the Maniacs of Shen Kang stood out to me. They were known to be juggernauts hyped up on combat drugs, creating mass-producible and yet powerful combatants that didn’t feel pain. Incidentally, they also struggled to tell the difference between friend and foe. It fit my attacker to a T.

With that realization, I quickly cleaned up the battle zone of all my traces. It’d probably be fine, but I didn’t want to leave any clues that would make Shen Kang come to me. It took a while to get every clue cleaned up, my blood everywhere being the worst of the problem.

Once I was finished, I moved out of the conference room-

"No! No- no, no..." My entire body locked up as I stared out the window. The headache I'd barely been suppressing came back in full force, making my vision scratch hand tear at the edges.

The dustbowl had settled at some point. Before me lay the massive tree, standing in all its corrupt glory. With a sinking feeling deep in my gut, it struck me. I hadn’t been headed back to the Blue Crusade at all. I’d been heading deeper and deeper into the AEZ.

Rubble shifted in the distance, drawing me from my daze. Something was coming my way. I barely suppressed my anxiety as I sank back into the shadows. I needed to find a spot to recuperate before anything else.

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