“They’re here!”
Suddenly, just as the group was starting to get bored from waiting, Maine spotted the three chevillon emperors mentioned in the intel.
Two of the cars were flanking the one transporting the key personnel, acting as an escort.
“Sasha, are you ready?”
Maine gripped the steering wheel and checked in with Sasha over the comms channel.
“Ready whenever you are.
Just waiting for your signal.”
“Alright, wait for my command.”
Receiving Sasha’s reply, Maine nodded slightly and fixed his gaze on the three armored vehicles ahead.
For this mission, they had brought three cars in total: one driven by Maine, one by Pilar, and the last by Falco.
“3.”
“2.”
“1.”
“Do it!!!”
As Maine roared the command over the channel, data surged through Sasha’s eyes.
Instantly, several Daemons were launched through the data network toward the lead Arasaka vehicle.
Screech—
Following a sharp screech of brakes, the lead Chevillon slammed to a halt.
The agent in the driver’s seat was thrown forward against the steering wheel, appearing dazed and disoriented.
The two Chevillons behind were startled by the sudden stop.
The car carrying Kochi immediately swerved left and sped off, while the rear car veered right and crashed head-on into a lamppost.
“What’s going on?!”
“Daemon intrusion!
Our vehicle has been forced to a halt!”
“Dammit!
Someone actually dares to hijack our car?!”
In an instant, the agents responsible for guarding Kochi were seething with rage.
“Deploy the robots to scout the situation first!”
“Copy that!”
At the squad leader’s command, the rear doors of the chevillon emperor that hit the lamppost burst open.
Two Arasaka robots armed with Masamunes jumped out.
“They’ve got robots, what do we do?”
“Ignore them, I’ll handle it.
You guys move in!!!”
Maine grinned at Pilar’s question.
He placed both hands on the wheel, spat out his cigarette, and floored the accelerator.
Screech—Vroom—
In a flash, a car charged out from around the corner, drifting through a turn before slamming violently into the two robots.
Bang! New chapters come out on g.com first.
Zzzt—
The two robots, nearly severed in half, began to spark with electricity.
However, their programs hadn’t fully crashed, and they slowly began to raise their weapons.
“Shit!”
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!!!
The Arasaka Agents quickly swung into action.
Several agents leaped out of the lead Emperor and began concentrating their fire on Maine’s vehicle.
Just as Maine seemed pinned down and unable to move, a sudden roar of an engine echoed through the street.
“Woohoo!!!”
With a wild cheer, Rebecca raised her submachine gun and began spraying bullets toward the other two cars.
“What?!”
Two Arasaka Agents in the middle of the road felt something was wrong and whipped around, only to see a car hurtling toward them.
In the next second, the Arasaka Agents only had time to raise their arms and fire a few desperate shots before Pilar ran them over.
Blood splattered everywhere.
One agent’s head was crushed, and a glowing red Cybereye popped out and landed nearby.
Pilar and Dorio then kicked their doors open and jumped out of the car.
Pilar reached out and tossed several grenades toward the Chevillon in front of Maine.
The Arasaka Agents’ expressions paled as they scrambled for cover.
Maine’s face also went pale.
He kicked his door open and used it as a shield while rolling away.
Boom—
Flames erupted.
The powerful shockwave sent Maine flying several meters.
The Arasaka Agents who had scrambled away looked even more disheveled; they quickly found cover to hide, though one was shot dead by Dorio before they could reach safety.
“Cough, cough, cough…
Dammit!
Don’t you know I’m still in here?!”
“I’ll be more careful next time, next time!”
“Motherfucker, do that again and I’ll rip your balls off!”
After cursing over the channel, Maine raised the car door and charged toward the chevillon emperor carrying Kochi.
Meanwhile, Rebecca laughed as she began laying down suppressive fire on the remaining Arasaka Agents.
One agent failed to dodge in time and was struck by a bullet through the head.
The remaining agents didn’t dare show their faces, hiding behind cover and waiting for an opening.
“Captain, what do we do now?!”
“What else can we do?!
Call for backup, dammit!
Are those NCPD bastards just sitting on their hands?!”
“Drive!
Just drive already!!!”
The agent prompted by Kochi tried to restart the vehicle, but before he could finish, a bolt of electricity surged through the neural port at the back of his head.
“Aaaargh!!!”
Instantly, a scream echoed through the car.
Kochi’s expression became even more horrified as the interior filled with the eerie scent of cooked meat.
“Blegh!!!”
Bang!
The Arasaka squad leader sitting beside Kochi shoved him away before he could vomit on him, then kicked the door open and jumped out with a dark expression.
“Done!”
Hiding in the distance, Sasha’s lips curled into a smile as she continued to monitor the battlefield and the surrounding area.
Seeing the squad leader jump out, Maine accelerated and swung the car door like a club toward him.
Bang!
“Huh?!”
Suddenly, another force countered Maine’s strike.
Sensing something was wrong, Maine let out a grunt of confusion.
“Bastards…
I’ll make you pay for this!”
With those words, a Gorilla Arm punched straight through the car door and slammed into the bridge of Maine’s nose.
Reeling from the pain, Maine staggered backward.
Having landed a hit, the Arasaka Agent immediately pressed his advantage, reaching for Maine’s head to take him as a hostage.
But in the next second, the sound of an electrical discharge crackled.
“Ah!”
Though he screamed, the agent quickly regained his senses.
His ICE defense hadn’t been completely breached!
However, the ultimate outcome didn’t change, because Maine had already recovered.
Click—
“What?!”
Staring into the dark barrel of the gun, the Arasaka Agent’s eyes widened in shock.
“Shit!”
Bang—
After a loud blast, the Arasaka Agent in front of Maine was instantly reduced to a mess of gore painted across the wall behind him.
A severed Gorilla Arm landed right next to Maine.
“Heh, a pretty new model!
Thanks, Sasha.”
“No big deal.
Just remember to pay extra.”
With a smirk and a wink, Maine turned his attention to Kochi inside the vehicle.
“Hello there, target.”