Get comfortable, turn the page, and let’s see what this story has been hiding 🔥 ✦ “Why do you keep staring at that busted rifle?” Cade’s hand stopped stroking the sniper rifle.
“How can you see that?” Hamster said nothing.
“Oh.
Right.
I forgot every camera in here is plugged into your brain.” Cade scratched his head.
The solid weight of a real weapon was not something a collectible figure could replace.
What was wrong with admiring it?
He still had not fired a single shot from it.
Then again– ‘Shit.’ ‘Is Intelligence 4 really that obvious?’ “Seriously, choom, level with me.
Have you ever put your life on the line?
Or, well, been in an actual firefight?” Hamster found the idiot in front of him less reliable by the second.
Cade’s eyes had the clear look of someone seeing the world for the first time.
How was Hamster supposed to relax?
“We were escorting cargo.
The car got blown sky-high, and I got thrown out.
Then I was in a chase with my chooms, missiles flying, and I dumped enough rounds into the mercs that they couldn’t lift their heads.
Does that count?” “And I did come out of Barghest, you know.” Cade shot back without much patience.
“Fine.
Preem.
I’ll keep watching the other runner.” Hamster returned to cyberspace.
Cade rubbed his chin.
He was wondering whether Maine’s crew currently had only one netrunner, or if Kiwi was already with them.
Or maybe it was the white-haired woman with colored tips.
His own head was to blame.
Before transmigrating, he had not done enough homework on the crew’s early history.
Based on his memory of this world, though, 2075 probably meant it was not Lucy.
Kiwi was the more likely extra.
‘Kiwi would be something.’ Cade shook his head.
He had no idea how this edgerunner crew planned to deal with him and Hamster next.
He was very, very uneasy.
Tech sniper rifle.
Charged penetration.
Cade looked at the heavy rifle’s trigger.
He wanted to know whether it charged while the trigger was being pressed, or only when it was fully held down.
The question mattered.
A sniper rifle’s shot lived inside a single second.
If only he could test-fire it here.
The gun shop owner had refused no matter what, afraid Cade’s rifle would punch through the target and the concrete wall behind it.
As for firing it in the street, Barghest’s exosuits would turn him into a sieve.
The original owner of Cade’s body had only handled rifles and pistols.
In the Barghest camp, he had not been a sniper.
‘Wait.
There is a way to make myself fire a few shots.’ Cade’s eyes lit up.
“Hamster, question.” “Mm-hm.” Hamster was still busy and answered with a distracted hum.
“With a tech sniper rifle, does it charge while you pull the trigger, or after you press it all the way down?” Dead silence.
Only the servers and devices kept clicking and humming.
“Are you joking, choom?” Cade thought about it seriously.
“No.” Hamster, who had not left his netrunner chair since Cade arrived, sat up.
He pulled the cable from the back of his neck.
His modified optics looked like a row of glowing lenses, and his mouth hung open.
“You have got to be fucking joking.” Cade looked innocent.
“I only used rifles in Barghest.
What’s wrong with asking?
Relax.
My aim is good.” “Do you know why Hands gave you a sniper rifle?” Cade nodded.
“Sure.
A sniper can hold off multiple attackers and buy time.” “You know that, but you don’t know how to use the gun?
Jesus fuck.
Why would Hands trust you with a sniper rifle?” Cade watched Hamster pace back and forth, shouting nonstop.
This guy’s emotions were not especially stable.
If bullets started flying, Cade would be the one eating them first anyway.
“Calm down, choom,” Hamster muttered, like he was trying to soothe himself.
Not exactly a man overflowing with security.
Cade slowly shook his head.
“Those turrets outside are Zetatech, right?
And with your personality, you probably have more Zetatech turrets in the back.
That means I’m the one who gets shot first outside.
What are you scared of?
Even if I die for real, you can still wait for Barghest to arrive.” Cade had only asked a question.
Hamster’s reaction was way too big.
“You don’t fucking understand.
The point is that you need to stay alive, got it, dumbass?” Hamster snapped.
“But you have to handle their runner.” Cade’s reply was perfectly flat.
“Fine.
Fine.
You’re so damn impressive.” Hamster nodded with the expression of a man admitting defeat.
He flicked a shard from his hand, and Cade hurried to catch it.
“This is Militech tech.
I modified it with some Arasaka methods.
It contains simulated behavioral records from corporate snipers.
There is a training mode in there too.” “Fuck.
I knew that old bastard Hands had no good intentions.” Hamster knew exactly what had just been squeezed out of him.
The shard in Cade’s hand looked like a trophy.
Hamster, furious, tossed it over and lay back down in the netrunner chair, refusing all further communication.
[Incoming Call: Mr.
Hands] “Young man, I assume you have arrived at my friend’s home?” Cade nodded.
“I’m here.
I also picked up the shard.” On the netrunner chair, Hamster clenched his fist.
Mr.
Hands sounded genuinely surprised.
“That miser took that fine little item from me at a low price, claiming he would study it for a few days.
Months passed without a whisper.” “I had little hope, but you actually got it back.
Credit where credit is due.
Bring it to me when this is over.” “Hansen has Barghest patrols nearby.
We must complete the performance.
Keep things as peaceful as possible.
Once they get the false data, they should give up.” Cade nodded.
“Also, there will be a surprise tonight.
I hope you can protect yourself.” Mr.
Hands hesitated, but said it anyway.
A surprise?
Cade did not understand.
“I wish you success, my friend.” Mr.
Hands ended the call.
Cade thought about it for a long time, then simply stopped thinking.
The important thing now was plugging this shard into the port behind his neck and learning some sniper technique.
Maine’s edgerunner crew absolutely had the nerve to kill him.
Cade muttered to himself.
Once the shard connected, a faint veil of light rose over the netrunner basement.
“Young man, burn the Barghest manual and tactical target selection into your head.
If you get yourself killed, that is not my problem.” Hamster could only vent his anger through sarcasm, but the advice itself was solid.
[Weapon Training] Please calibrate your weapon.
Detecting…
Tech Sniper Rifle confirmed.
Please empty all rounds from the magazine and confirm there is no possibility of discharge.
The Militech detection system will continue monitoring…
Cade followed the steps and unloaded the rifle.
The surroundings rapidly dimmed.
A three-dimensional environment made of single-line geometry appeared around him.
Behavioral data began pouring into his cyberware and neural port.
It felt as if a veteran sniper were teaching him how to hold the rifle, how to fire each shot, and every other detail that normally required long training to master.
This was how corps made it possible to produce qualified soldiers in a short time.
[Weapon Training] Please attempt to fire.
Bzzzz–bang.
Cade pulled the trigger.
The massive rifle gave off a faint hum while charging, and the instant he released the trigger, a powerful surge of energy burst from the muzzle.
[Weapon Training] Step One: Sniper Position Selection.
Select a favorable position according to simulation training data.
Cade followed the process step by step.
Thanks to the experience already in his body as a former Barghest soldier, the training mode made the concepts easy to understand.
During the process, Cade also realized something.
This was only training him to become a formal sniper.
There was a difference between an ordinary sniper and a veteran.
The experience Cade lacked belonged to the street under gunfire and the Badlands under military engagement.
But this was enough.
In the basement, a young man plugged into a shard for immersion training and a netrunner lying in a chair with a cable in his neck created a strange, silent scene.
✦ ✦ ✦ Ready for more?
CREATORS’ THOUGHTS EmberHollow Thank you for reading.
I hope this chapter pulled you deeper into the story.
Stick around, because there’s still a lot waiting just ahead.