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Chapter 200 c
🕑 Added 2025-05-02 15:00:06 +0000 UTCChapter 200 c
200 Chapter baby!!!
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"Delamain, activate combat mode."
"Combat mode activated."
From the trunk of the cab, a Gatling rotary cannon slowly rose.
The six barrels spun, the muzzle spraying blinding flashes of fire.
One Arasaka ninja trailing behind was caught off guard and shredded by the hail of bullets, falling from his bike.
The motorcycle skidded out, crashing into a streetlamp and exploding.
The other two Arasaka ninjas dodged to the sides the moment the Gatling opened fire. But the rotary cannon tracked them relentlessly, like a shadow clinging to the bone.
Bullets spilled out in a long golden chain, whipping brutally against another ninja. Despite his best evasive efforts, he was still riddled with bullets and died on the spot.
The last Arasaka ninja took the opportunity to close the distance between his motorcycle and the Delamain cab.
Stepping onto the seat, he leapt high into the air like a great bird—
Thud!
He intended to land atop the Delamain taxi, but he overestimated his balance and underestimated the vehicle's speed and the slick surface of the car roof. Unable to steady himself, he slipped off. But before he could tumble off completely, he drove his mantis blade into the trunk for leverage.
Swinging his empty left hand, he used the mantis blade on his arm to slash at the rotary cannon, chopping half of it off.
................
..
.
On the streets of Little China, a Delamain taxi sped along.
Still stuck in the trunk was an Arasaka ninja clad in uniform.
His legs were being dragged brutally against the asphalt, yet he seemed entirely unfazed, expressionless, gripping his mantis blade deeper into the trunk as he tried to climb forward.
At that moment, the car door opened, and Leo leaned halfway out. His right arm straightened, aiming directly at the ninja clinging to the back.
The exoskeleton armor on Leo’s arm split open, revealing a cannon muzzle. A fired anti-armor missile slammed directly into the Arasaka ninja, blasting him clean off the taxi.
Leo pulled himself back into the cab without looking at the explosion behind them. Using his tactical optics, he scanned the surroundings.
No signs of Arasaka pursuit remained.
"I think we shook them off."
"Those guys... they didn’t seem like regular Arasaka."
V recalled the earlier battle, those ninjas who, even as they were torn apart by bullets, kept that same unwavering gaze etched in their cybernetic eyes. It sent a chill down her spine.
That was not the look of someone willing to die. It was more like... machines that had lost all traces of humanity.
In the front passenger seat, Takemura Goro lifted his shirt, revealing a bloody wound beneath. Earlier, he had only used the pneumatic injector Leo tossed him. Only now did he have a chance to treat his injuries.
Takemura first heated the sides of a short blade red-hot with a lighter. Then, using the blade, he dug out the bullet lodged deep in his flesh— all while inside the speeding car, without anesthesia and without assistance.
Blood splattered everywhere, making both V and Jackie instinctively wince.
"Here."
Leo handed over a bottle of medical spray.
Takemura accepted it with a word of thanks and sprayed the wound liberally. The wound visibly began to heal.
He finally dropped his shirt back down and leaned heavily against the seat, breathing hard.
Sweat drenched Takemura’s hair. Even though he hadn’t uttered a sound while operating on himself, the sweat had still poured down uncontrollably.
"They're called 'Troy.'"
"'Troy'? What's that?"
"They're assassins lurking in the shadows, the sharpest blade—one that’s always used against their own people. Arasaka always has two blades: one aimed at enemies, one aimed at their own."
Leo shrugged, adding mockingly,
"Why not name the group something more Japanese, like 'Lone Shadows' or 'Sekiseigumi'?"
"Sorry, I don't know," Takemura responded seriously not catching Leo's sarcasm.
Jackie pointed at Takemura, "What’s with you? Don’t you have bulletproof cyberware? How did you even get hurt?"
Takemura's face stiffened.
"This involves Arasaka company secrets. I can't disclose it."
Leo glanced at him and said flatly,
"No need to ask, Jackie. His cyberware was remotely shut down by Arasaka. That was why he ended up running away, he is a stray dog now."
"What?!" x2
V and Jackie both cried out in shock, while Takemura’s expression shifted slightly, showing a trace of surprise.
"You... how do you know that?"
He looked at Leo, who was driving
"Don’t get me wrong. I was never with Arasaka, but I’ve seen enough corporate tricks to know how they work. It’s just common sense. They give you power, but you think they don’t leave backdoors? Why do you think Adam Smasher is so loyal to Arasaka?"
V and Jackie were startled at first, but after thinking it through, they quickly pieced it together themselves. Arasaka was never the kind of corporation to give out real power without control measures in place. The stronger the cyberware they handed out, the tighter the hidden leash behind it.
What surprised them wasn’t the method, but that even someone like Takemura, who had followed Arasaka faithfully for years, could be discarded without hesitation.
Takemura fell silent. He knew—everyone in Arasaka knew—that the company left fail-safes inside their employees. He just never imagined that one day those backdoors would be activated against him.
"Speaking of which, Takemura, don’t think I forgot—
you were trying to drag us to Hanako Arasaka earlier, right?"
Takemura tensed. His hand subconsciously rested on the hilt of his sword.
Seeing his defensive move, V and Jackie both drew their guns, pointing them at his head. The atmosphere inside the car turned explosive.
"Relax, I'm not going to kill you,"
Leo said casually. If he really meant harm, he wouldn't be talking—he would have already acted.
Don’t forget: Leo was still wearing the Falchion.
Before, when Takemura’s cyberware was fully operational, he could barely fight Leo to a draw. Now, with all his implants shut down, if Leo wanted him dead, Takemura would have been a corpse by now.
Although Leo didn’t know why Arasaka was after Takemura,
he had a strong gut feeling— keeping Takemura alive would be more useful than killing him.
Now that Arasaka was after him too, maybe this man still had value.
"You got a safe place? We can't just keep circling the city."
Jackie spoke bluntly. "Of course we have one, but we're not bringing you. We don't trust you."
"Fair enough. I understand."
"If you understand, then good. By the way, maybe it's time you got out of the car?" Jackie said, clearly wanting him gone.
Takemura quickly replied,
"Wait, I have a few questions to ask you."
V raised an eyebrow,
"And what makes you think we’ll answer?"
"I can pay. You’re mercs, right? You want money, right?
Name your price for this intel."
