Taking the baseball bat from the rack on the side of his motorcycle, Bruiser gave it a few casual swings to warm up his body.
He pointed it straight at Ruan Xian and said, “That flesh of yours looks decent enough.
I’ll strip you down myself in a bit to see what kind of high-end cyberware you’ve got.
Showing up to act tough without carrying a single piece of gear?
I’ll send you flying.”
“Hmph,” Ruan Xian snorted in disdain.
With one hand in his pocket, he slowly walked forward.
“Ho-ho!
You’re approaching me?
Instead of running away, you’re coming right to me?
How laughable,” Bruiser sneered, resting the bat on his right shoulder, ready to swing.
He pointed his left hand at Ruan Xian, beckoning with a provocative wave of his finger.
“I can’t beat the shit out of you without getting closer,” Ruan Xian replied, offering a bright, sunny smile as he continued to approach.
“Acting this cocky bare-handed…
He must be some kind of expert.
I’ll aim for his chest first to see if he’s got some high-grade subdermal armor installed.” Bruiser looked like a reckless brute, but that was just a front.
In reality, he was highly cautious.
After all, nobody wanted to charge in close only to see the opponent pull out a Carnage, a Satara, or some needle-firing shotgun.
When the distance between them closed to seven paces, Bruiser’s eyes narrowed.
He took a quick step forward, bringing the bat on his shoulder down in a heavy, vertical strike aimed straight at Ruan Xian’s left chest.
“Got him!” Bruiser connected.
Using the rebound force, he swiftly retracted the bat while his left hand pulled a concealed punk knife from his lower back, thrusting it straight toward Ruan Xian’s kidney.
Bruiser had dealt with people who dared to fight back before.
They always assumed someone of his build must be a brainless brute, only to have their lives snuffed out by this sudden left-handed stab.
“This doesn’t feel right.” The stab was sudden but lacked power.
When it hit Ruan Xian’s waist, it felt like poking thick leather.
The tip penetrated just a fraction of an inch before being completely blocked.
It couldn’t pierce any deeper.
“Damn, subdermal armor—high-grade stuff.”
Fearing a counterattack, Bruiser quickly hopped back two paces to open up some distance.
As for Ruan Xian, he hadn’t even budged.
“Is that it?
That’s all you’ve got?” Ruan Xian didn’t even pull his right hand out of his pocket.
To test his Moderate Damage Reduction, he had deliberately avoided defending himself.
As long as Bruiser didn’t pull a gun, Ruan Xian had no intention of dodging.
“Fuck.
I left my pistol in the car when I came out.
Son of a bitch…
so the knife can’t pierce his subdermal armor, huh?
I’ll just have to beat him with the bat a few more times.
Let’s see if his internal organs are just as hard.” As a close-combat veteran, Bruiser knew that turning his back to run now would only get him beaten like an idiot. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
What if this guy pulled a gun?
The boss still hadn’t come out; he was probably dead or knocked out.
Bruiser could only rely on himself now.
Throwing the punk knife to the ground, Bruiser gripped the bat with both hands, charged at Ruan Xian, and swung hard, aiming straight for his head.
Ruan Xian sneered.
He finally pulled his right hand out of his pocket, assumed a stance, and then: “Ora ora ora ora!”
“Arghhh!” Bruiser’s death charge did hit Ruan Xian, but it was completely useless.
The bat struck his head with a loud crack, yet Ruan Xian didn’t even wobble.
But taking Ruan Xian’s barrage of heavy punches, Bruiser felt like he was about to die.
“Ah, refreshing!” Ruan Xian’s final right hook slammed hard into Bruiser’s jaw, giving him the classic, dramatic knockout pose.
[Ding—Designated target approaching.]
“Hmm?” After marking this nest of Scavengers as targets, Ruan Xian had registered the five of them in his Data Fortress.
The system would immediately alert him if they came close enough to be spotted by any camera.
The only one left now was Skinny Monkey.
Among the Scavengers, Skinny Monkey acted as the tracker, responsible for selecting targets and monitoring their movements.
He was the stealth expert of the squad.
Right now, he was crouching behind a wall in the corridor.
“Holy shit, a cyberpsycho!
I saw Bruiser rushing off like crazy and he didn’t even react when I called him.
I wondered what was going on.
Turns out it’s a fucking cyberpsycho!
If I’d known, I would’ve run for it.”
Did Scavengers care about each other?
Not at all.
If they hadn’t just finished a job and hadn’t split the money yet, Skinny Monkey would have bolted immediately.
“Dammit, I have to find a way to get back to the nest and take the money first.
What rotten luck.” Skinny Monkey watched Bruiser get pummeled into a pulp by the cyberpsycho.
Bruiser was clearly a goner.
Skinny Monkey decided to abandon his teammate without a second thought.
He had seen Dazhuang’s heavy swing during that desperate charge—it was enough to send a normal man’s head flying.
Yet this cyberpsycho’s head didn’t even shake.
With subdermal armor and reinforced skeletons of that level, Skinny Monkey’s defense submachine gun probably wouldn’t even scratch him.
“The money in the car is a lost cause.
I just hope the money back at the nest is still there.
Cyberpsychos are all brain-damaged lunatics; they probably don’t care about money.
I need to move fast, grab the cash, and slip out through the balcony.
I can make it.” Skinny Monkey sneaked upstairs, heading straight for the chest where they hid their money.
To him, dying was better than leaving empty-handed.
“Phew, he didn’t follow.
Looks like he didn’t see me.
Safe.
Quick, quick, get the cash.” Skinny Monkey slipped inside, closed the door, locked it, pulled out a chest from near the doorway, and began rummaging for money.
Brilliant.
I’m learning so much.” Meanwhile, Ruan Xian, after dragging Bruiser to a blind spot away from the cameras and stuffing him into the Spirit World, had quietly leaped onto the balcony.
He was now watching Skinny Monkey gather the cash through the indoor surveillance feed.
The ceiling panels, behind wine bottle labels, inside combat boot soles, sandwiched in thick books…
Ruan Xian watched in absolute awe as Skinny Monkey pulled out credchips and rolls of Eurodollars from the most ingenious corners.
“Impressive.
If he hadn’t dug it up himself, I would have never found all this cash on my own.” Ruan Xian watched Skinny Monkey turn the entire room upside down, stuffing various bills and chips into his case.
“Done.
Don’t blame me, boss.
It’s not your fault we ran into a cyberpsycho.
I’ll make sure to live a good life for the both of us.” Having swept clean several years’ worth of the squad’s savings, Skinny Monkey poked his head out of the window to scout Ruan Xian’s whereabouts.
“Shit, he’s gone.
Ghosting around like that…
But the car is still there, and this haul’s money is still in the trunk.
A whopping thirty thousand eddies.
I’m taking the gamble.” Skinny Monkey saw that the street below was empty, and the boss’s car was still parked where it was, unmoved.
They had finally found a sucker to buy up all their backlog of premium goods in one go.
If he left that money behind, Skinny Monkey would regret it for the rest of his life.
Ultimately, he couldn’t resist.
He climbed over the balcony, slipped down the side fire escape to the ground floor, crouched and looked around for a bit, then slid quickly behind the car.
“Fuck, fuck!
This lock is too damn tough.
Couldn’t find the boss’s key card.
Piece of shit!” Drenched in sweat, Skinny Monkey tried to pick the lock, but his skill level was far from up to the task.
Just then, a hand reached over, holding several cards and small chips.
“Hey pal, which one’s the key?”
Distracted, Skinny Monkey took a quick glance.
“Hey, the blue one!
Boss treated it like his baby.” He grabbed the key card and swiped it.
The trunk popped open, revealing a sleek black case inside.
“Thanks, man.
I’ll buy you a drink later.
I…
I?
Me??
Wait, what the fuck?!” Skinny Monkey suddenly froze.
He hadn’t seen anyone when he walked up.
Who the hell had handed him the keys?
A wave of icy dread instantly washed over him.