"Damn it, damn it, damn it!!!"
Royce ran with his teeth clenched so hard it looked like he might crack them.
He never would have imagined that those two idiots, who had looked like clueless rookies, would actually dare tamper with the chip and use it to hack into their system.
The netrunner lackey lying in the chair, jacked into the entire All Foods network, had burned out on the spot—his nerves literally smoking.
He hadn't even been in charge of Maelstrom for long. He hadn't had time to properly enjoy being the boss, to savor that rush of holding power over life and death, before it all came crashing into him head-on. The humiliation and rage filled his brain to the brim.
He was going to get into the mech he'd stolen and roast those two little bastards into ash with its heavy-caliber thermal cannon!
Bang!!
He kicked the door open.
"Get my fucking mech online, now—"
The roar cut off halfway.
His huge red eyes bulged and froze.
Ahead of him—
three identical cold-gray mechs stood in a row, their dark cannon muzzles aimed straight at him.
"Surprise, motherfucker~"
Sitting on the center mech was a grinning young man.
If Maelstrom could steal military mechs from Militech, then of course Militech had more of their own.
After slipping out through the back door, Luo Qi had run straight into the Militech force that had just landed. After a "discussion" with that spiky-haired woman Meredith Stout—meaning he got pinned down and interrogated one-sidedly—Militech launched a coordinated assault from both the front and rear entrances.
And Luo Qi?
He had very politely climbed into the mech Maelstrom had stolen and settled in to give Royce a little surprise when he came roaring in looking to pull out his trump card.
Danger, Royce. Extreme danger.
"Fire," Stout said coldly, arms folded across her chest.
Two Militech soldiers in slick helmets pulled the trigger without a change in expression.
Vmmmmmm—
Shoom!!!
Two rectangular beams of long-wave energy shot out, melting through bars and metal doors alike and turning Royce—who had been trying to flee—into a shredded mass of burned meat.
He didn't even have time to scream.
"Uh… uh… uh…"
Luo Qi stared blankly.
∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ Holy shit↗!!!
"Damn, thank god I changed the plan…"
Luo Qi let out a long breath, still a little shaken.
Because only now had it fully sunk in—if he hadn't pulled off that sneaky reversal, then the three of them would have had to face something this brutal themselves.
Even without full armor plating, the solid alloy frame and the indestructible red shield were not things ordinary pistols or blades could deal with.
This was reality.
If anyone got hit by one of those shots, they could go ahead and start planning the memorial service.
"¡Madre mía!"
A familiar voice rang out.
Jackie had just poked his head around the corner and jumped half out of his skin. For a second, he didn't even recognize the lump of matter on the floor as Royce.
"Hold your fire. Friendlies," Luo Qi called out at once, stopping the Militech soldiers nearby.
"Hey! Jackie! V! I'm over here!" Luo Qi climbed out of the mech, standing on top of it and waving.
"Oh, it's Lucky!" Jackie said in delighted surprise. "That Militech bitch—"
V stepped out from behind Jackie, and after confirming there was no danger left, dropped down with a clean hop.
"You know, I like your style. Interested in doing more work for us?" Stout said lightly, smoking as she waved a hand for her people to finish taking over the entire plant.
Fully armed soldiers rushed past V and Jackie with sharp, efficient movements. Even the guards who had been eyeing the mech under Luo Qi suspiciously were called away by Stout to stand watch elsewhere.
When the boss wanted to talk about something confidential, it was best to stand far away. Otherwise your comfortable life probably wouldn't stay comfortable for long.
"Yeah, maybe. We'll think about it." V glanced at Luo Qi, saw him nod, and answered with layered meaning.
"Next time, perhaps. The company is very pleased with you." Stout's tone carried the same suggestive weight. "I heard a Flathead went missing. Must have fallen off a truck somewhere. And one of our mechs was destroyed too. Looks like Militech won't be recovering either one."
"We had a good partnership."
As she said that, she gave Luo Qi a long, narrowed look.
Then she flicked the expensive cigarette she'd only smoked halfway to the floor and crushed it under her heel.
Stout strode off with commanding force, leaving the three of them behind.
Her two bodyguards—bigger and broader than Jackie—glared at Luo Qi, V, and Jackie for a few seconds through invisible eyes behind their shades, then followed her in lockstep.
"Holy shit, Lucky, you're the fucking man." Jackie slammed Luo Qi hard on the shoulder, eyes shining as he looked at the mech. "That is cool as fuck, hermano."
"Wait, where's Royce? You didn't let that bastard get away, did you?"
"Nah. You two just stepped on him coming in." Luo Qi pointed at the flattened mess of a corpse by the door—the one both V and Jackie had unknowingly stepped on with one foot each. "That thing did it."
"What do you mean? How did you convince that woman to hand you a Militech mech?" V asked.
"Anthony Gilchrist… there's a reason Maelstrom managed to hijack an entire Militech convoy," Luo Qi said with a smug grin as he climbed back into the mech. "And I gave that reason to her."
"You helped them find the mole?" V said, startled.
"Yep. And that poor bastard was being squeezed by Smasher."
"Smasher? You mean that Smasher? Arasaka's Smasher?" Jackie said in shock. He hadn't expected that one day he'd get tangled up in the orbit of one of the legendary names of the merc world.
I'm Lucky's brother → Lucky made a deal with Stout → Stout's fighting with Gilchrist → Gilchrist's being threatened by Smasher.
Rounded off, that meant Jackie basically knew Smasher.
Damn, Jackie Welles really was moving up in the world!
And with the next step being a trip to the Afterlife to talk with Dexter about stealing the Relic, Jackie suddenly felt that maybe—just maybe—the three of them really weren't nobodies anymore.
"Tell Dexter we got his toy. Then the two of us can meet up at the Afterlife later," Jackie said, leaning against the wall. "Shit. I really thought we were dead today."
"Don't say 'Afterlife.' Bad luck," Luo Qi said through gritted teeth.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Jackie asked curiously.
V went off to one side to call the fat fixer, leaving Luo Qi and Jackie standing together.
"We don't waste time. We go now. Right now. The faster the better."
Jackie had no idea why Luo Qi was in such a hurry, but he chose to trust him.
V overheard it too and gave an OK sign, then kept talking to Dexter.
"…Everything's ready. What do we do now?" V asked the person on the other end. "Alright. I'll head over right away."
He snapped his fingers toward Luo Qi and Jackie.
"Dexter's waiting for us at the Afterlife. We heading over now?"
"Yeah. You two go first."
After a moment of silence, Luo Qi looked up at the sky and spoke with a tight, worried expression.
"A-again? Just the two of us?" Jackie asked. "You got something else planned?"
"…"
Luo Qi didn't answer.
He looked at Jackie's broad, almost kindly face, and his focus drifted for a second.
"May you shine brightly, unrivaled beneath the heavens."
A small smile appeared on Luo Qi's face.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 175)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 119)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter79)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter125)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 60
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 40
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 73
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 55
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 66
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 64
The Way the Umamusume Look at 63
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 55
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 45
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 31
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 31
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 31
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