Kill one enemy: +10% movement speed, +10% hand speed!
[Savage Instinct] activated!
After decapitating the man, Lin Mo didn't hesitate. He shoved the stunned Hiro Kitagawa forward and the two of them dove behind the wreck of a nearby car.
Blood gushed from the neck of the headless corpse like a rainstorm.
Just moments earlier, that man had been spewing filth with smug arrogance—now he didn't even get the chance to scream before dying.
His raised arm went limp, the pistol clattered to the ground, and his body collapsed in a heap.
Gunfire erupted instantly. The Tiger Claws snapped out of their daze, screaming in rage as they fired blindly. Bullets slammed into the wrecked vehicle, but couldn't penetrate the cover.
Everything had happened too fast. Lin Mo's sudden action hit them like a hammer to the head. And when the panic settled, all that remained was blind fury.
But rage can make a man fearless—or stupid.
The Tiger Claws fired without restraint, wasting entire mags in seconds.
Just as they started to reload, a hand appeared from behind the car. Lin Mo raised his smart weapon and fired wildly in their general direction.
Micro-guided rounds curved in the air, locking onto heads and necks like venomous serpents, striking with lethal precision.
Three Tiger Claws couldn't dodge in time. The bullets twisted mid-flight, boring into their foreheads. They collapsed with gaping holes in their skulls.
"He's using smart weapons!"
One of them realized it too late.
The remaining thugs scrambled for their helmets and dove for cover.
Smart weapons were deadly, but not magic. Their guidance systems could only redirect bullets within limits. If a bullet had to curve too sharply, it lost kinetic energy fast.
A helmet could be the difference between life and death.
Add in subdermal armor implants, and most ordinary kinetic rounds—including smart ammo—couldn't penetrate.
So the best response? Put on your helmet and hide.
Even so, smart weapons were still devastating to unarmored flesh.
As Lin Mo changed mags, Hiro rolled to the other side of the car, breathing heavily. His heart felt like it was about to explode.
What he'd just seen replayed in his mind: Lin Mo turning a living man into a headless corpse in an instant, then tackling him and diving for cover. His head still ached from hitting the ground.
That kid... is terrifyingly fast!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunfire rang out again. A few Tiger Claws peeked out to return fire—only to get domed instantly.
Their helmets saved them from death, but the impact knocked them back behind cover.
"Baka! How is that brat so damn fast!?"
"Sandevistan? Kerenzikov? He's gotta have a neural speedware or reflex booster!"
The firefight entered a tense stalemate—no one dared to show their head.
Ting.
A faint click—the sound of a grenade pin. One flew from their position, but Lin Mo blew it out of the air with a single shot. The explosion blossomed in the sky.
Eyes sharp, Lin Mo stayed behind cover, only leaning out to scan the field.
Any enemy dumb enough to peek was met with an A-22B burst to the face.
"What's the plan now?" Hiro asked, glancing over. After seeing Lin Mo in action, he had no more doubts. He fully accepted this boy as a powerful edgerunner.
Strength over appearance—that's what the streets taught me, Hiro thought. This kid's the real deal.
"I spotted Arasaka's Yokaze and Shigure models—kinetic AR and SMG. High fire rate, low impact," Lin Mo said, eyes gleaming.
"You've got basic subdermal armor, right? I need you to draw their fire—give me an opening!"
"We wait any longer, they might bring in heavy weapons. Or precision tech rifles. We can't stay put!"
Hiro blinked.
You're kidding. Subdermal armor ain't magic, kid! A few more hits and I'm toast!
But then he thought of his sister. Gritting his teeth, he growled:
"Fine! I'll give you five seconds—no more!"
Without hesitation, he popped up from cover, Copperhead rifle blazing. His cyberarm absorbed the recoil as he suppressed the enemy positions.
"Come on, you sewer rats!"
He raised his left arm to shield his head, while his right fired in controlled bursts.
Meanwhile, Lin Mo sprinted out low and fast, like a trained spec-ops soldier.
With most of the fire drawn by Hiro, only a few stray rounds came Lin Mo's way—and they missed.
Thanks to his muscle stim injection, his Body stat had temporarily increased by +2.
Combined with [Savage Instinct]'s +30% speed bonus, his sprinting was inhuman.
Some Tiger Claws saw him and turned their guns toward him.
Bullets tore through the air, the stench of gunpowder thick in his lungs. He could feel the rounds graze past—like Death itself nipping at his heels.
The alley stretched just two seconds long, but it felt like an eternity.
Then—they were exposed.
Lin Mo launched himself into the air, twisting mid-flight. His SMG roared with fury.
Land. Roll. Crouch. Aim. Fire. Empty mag.
The smart rounds curved around cover and struck true. With no cover and full exposure, the Tiger Claws were mowed down.
Lin Mo gasped for breath, still high on adrenaline. His heart thundered.
He reloaded, then methodically walked over, finishing off any survivors with precise shots.
Finally, he approached Hiro.
The man was leaning against a fuel drum, bleeding from several gunshot wounds. Thanks to his subdermal armor, nothing hit vital organs.
"I… I think I can be saved…" Hiro croaked.
Lin Mo hesitated—then sighed. He pulled out a Type-3 Rapid Coagulation Nanogel Injector and stabbed it into Hiro's chest.
"Holy shit… Where the hell did you get this?" Hiro gasped as warmth surged through him. His wounds began to clot, itching as they healed.
"I just hope this gig turns a profit," Lin Mo grumbled.
He stood, face lit by the fire's glow like a warrior cast in sunset.
Hiro reached out. Lin Mo grabbed his hand and pulled him up.
"Bastards! What the hell happened here!?"
Footsteps echoed down the alley—Tiger Claw reinforcements, finally drawn by the gunfire.
"You still good to fight?" Lin Mo asked, grinning toward the alley entrance.
"With that injector? I feel like I could run a 100-meter sprint," Hiro said with a grin of his own. He picked up his Copperhead and slammed in a fresh mag.
Lin Mo calmly drew his katana. No need to waste more smart rounds.
Tiger Claw grunts rounded the corner—only to freeze.
Before them stood flames, bodies—and two fighters, weapons raised, blades unsheathed, waiting.
.
.
.
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