ccnovels Chapter 518 336: Old Bastard
Chapter 518 336: Old Bastard
[Mission Objective Updated][Proceed to the last known location of Saw. (Incomplete)]
Oulos taught John the most important lesson: use his mind.
Silver Rider 577 headed to the edge of the West District.
Coordinates were synchronized at the edge of John's vision and the front windshield.
He had a strong intuition:
Saw was there.
The whole affair was too smooth.
Clues and evidence were linked one after another.
It's practically displaying a 'come find me' sign.
Company dogs aren't fools.
Neither is Jilead, but this guy who's gone mad thinking about promotion hasn't shown up personally.
What does this indicate?
Saw's not easy to handle, the matter is not simple.
It's like a compressed food packet with a leak, you can smell something odd, but it's uncertain what lies inside.
That's why mercenaries are needed to dive into the mess.
"Ha, fuck, they're all crafty people."
John let out a bitter laugh, using one hand to steer the wheel.
Mercenaries just eat this muddled meal, doesn't matter if it's spoiled or poisonous, they gotta take the first bite.
[Eden City-West District Logistics Line Street Shops]
This was the navigation endpoint.
A cluster of dilapidated buildings far from the commercial center.
The graffiti on the concrete walls was too blurry to make out any complete patterns, disconnected water, power, no subway or intercity train access, part of the city's grid not worthy of even a name, a black block.
The sides of the road were piled high with rusted vehicle shells.
Silver Rider 577 was the only 'new' thing, its metallic sheen reflecting against the desolate surroundings.
The coordinates were an establishment abandoned years ago...
Sex Doll Club.
Its sign was completely blurred, unfindable on maps—the only way to identify its business was the adhesive marks from neon tubes left on the wall.
Only two circular outlines of female figures remained.
A couch was tossed at the entrance, upside down, exposing its rusted metal frame.
[Scan Result: Entrance]
[Condition: Damaged, severe explosive residue [old]]
The Messiah's Eye couldn't analyze traces this old.
The building stood wide open.
John picked up the Triangular Maple Rifle, checked the magazine, and stepped inside on the piled mud and refuse.
[Scan detected, hacking in...]
Closed-circuit cameras immediately locked onto him.
This must have been newly installed.
Someone was hiding inside.
And they arranged a welcome.
Black Light flickered, interrupting remote hacking—it was likely a pre-set Magic Puppet rather than an ongoing hacker attack.
Bam!
John just stepped into the building when he took the first shot.
"Fack!"
His reaction speed was fast enough, even prepared for Sianweistan, as he dove into the nearby cover the moment he was attacked.
But he still got hit!
[Subcutaneous Armor: 77%]
John didn't even know where the bullet came from.
This place was terribly empty, the sound echoed, and he couldn't pinpoint the shooting location nor see the muzzle flash at first.
Very old-fashioned tactics.
Encountering it alone is tormenting.
Nowadays, street fights rely on prosthetic body performance and caliber, this traditional trick is just a clever spin, the tactical restrictions are too large, already replaced by chips and superior weaponry performance.
John was forced back to tradition, having to confirm the angle through the wound—the bullet pierced through the artificial leather and subcutaneous armor, left a scorched, silver-gray gash.
Revolver bullet, large caliber.
Matches the [Skuqi Kinetic Revolver] characteristics.
"Saw—"
John leaned against the wall, shouting loudly.
"I forgive this shot, can you tell me where that batch of goods from Jingke Heavy Industry is hidden?"
Bam, bam!
Bullets flew in rapid succession, missing John but hitting metal to ricochet, splattering just enough to cover his hiding spot.
Bam, bam, bam!
John dodged into new cover, getting hit by a second shot while rolling.
This time the bullet grazed his abdomen.
A stray bullet dug into his back, the blunt pain felt even through the subcutaneous armor.
The revolver's rate of fire wasn't fast.
But this old-timer's marksmanship was wicked.
John activated Sianweistan, landing into a roll and slide, his Triangular Maple Rifle aimed upwards towards the second floor.
Bullets fired out, instantly silencing the opponent.
Saw was very experienced, didn't fight to the death, knew how to advance and retreat, and how to defend against enemies with sometimes-stopped prosthetic bodies.
Just a shootout.
The weapon gap became apparent.
A hoarse voice, suppressing rage, exploded within the building.
"I fucking expected a team of company dogs, not a money-running little shit like you!"
"Oh really, company dogs aren't as agreeable as me, wanna chat..."
"Sure!"
Saw agreed easily, sliding to fire a shot.
[PreCogOS Protocol Activated]
[Synchronizing Eye, Calibrating Parameters...]
Black Light whistled through, activating auxiliary programs.
The world within John's eyes slowed down.
Saw's shooting posture was minimal, yet captured by the rapidly operating Messiah's Eye—these rounds wouldn't hit him.
John made the judgment, didn't dodge, stood his ground, and raised his gun to retaliate.
The Triangular Maple pressed against his shoulder, short bursts aimed at the second-floor pillars.
The force of top-tier experimental-grade firearms soared instantly.
The high caliber rifle bullets, advanced penetration, paired with very high fire speed, immediately shredded the cover into flying debris.
Saw didn't want to get shot through, had to dodge.
Vroom—
The color of the stopped time world was monotonous.
But within this sticky filter, another faint ripple surged—a shadow of overlapping gradients appeared in John's view.
Saw also activated Sianweistan.
But its prosthetic model was too weak, performance inferior to John's T17.
John stepped on furniture, using the momentum to rush to the second floor, the Triangular Maple Rifle driving forward, heavily smashing onto Saw's wrist!
The old man didn't make a peep, his reaction was absurdly fast.
The revolver slipped from hand, fell, yet was caught by the other hand before touching ground.
Bam!
A shot shattered the time-stopped filter.
The world resumed flowing smoothly.
A bullet flew from below upwards, grazing John's nose, embedding into the ceiling above them.
John felt a scalp-tingling relief.
Saw's reflexes were faster than the prosthetic body.
If it weren't for the company playing tricks, stripping him of high-grade gear, today wouldn't just be taking two hits—a gang legend indeed holds weight.
John dared not give Saw a second chance.
He released the Triangular Maple Rifle, his wrist flipped, the stream of the Single-Molecule Blade traced half an arc from his waist—
[Weapon: Sora [Customized]]
The blade cut through Saw's forearm tendon, forcing him to drop the revolver, and next, it slanted upwards, inserting into the shoulder, trailing linear blood.
Saw gritted his teeth in anger.
This old thing wouldn't give up resisting nor lament the prosthetic gap like street punks, generating hesitation and fear.
John sensed with each swipe of the blade:
Saw intended to raise his hand, but the tendon was severed, otherwise he'd risk severe injury or even death for a strike to a vital spot.
He'd grab any usable condition to continue killing.
Which is why he's alive today.
John continued to slice Saw with several blows, stopping the blade just an inch from the throat, even pressing into the synthetic leather, making contact with the tissue.
"I'll give Vito some face."
He stared at Saw, his pace slow yet firm.
"Don't, act foolish."
The blood began flowing, a slight shift would mean an artery.
Several seconds later.
John finally saw the answer in Saw's eyes.
He withdrew the knife, stepped back to create distance, cautiously, kicked the [Skuqi Revolver] down the floor.