"I'm done." Yamata said as she rose from her seat.
"Great. Can we go now? And yes, no splitting up. You'll cover our rear. Wouldn't want the corporation's hounds to take you down." I stood up from my lotus pose. What? It makes no difference to me how I sit. My body doesn't go numb anymore, I don't feel the chill of the concrete, and in general my sense of touch still isn't great—though it's much better than in the previous stages (I almost teared up with happiness over that). And visually, sitting like that looks… more imposing, I guess?
"Alright, alright, you're right. I'm still fond of my own hide, so I'll bring up the rear." Yamata raised her hands in mock surrender.
Reaching the rooftop exit, I didn't bother with subtlety and simply crushed the door. And yes, I remember Four Eyes's lockpicking skills, but time is money in a situation like this. Better not waste even a couple of seconds. If we can catch one of the squads right on the stairwell, where people can only move in a single plane, it'll be cramped enough to make fighting very uncomfortable for them.
One leap—and I cleared the entire flight, landing on the fourth floor. I noted that my feet sank into the flooring up to my ankles.
Looks like I've gained quite a bit of weight.
A quick look around the floor brought me to the same conclusion as before—it was fairly small, especially compared to the first floor. A private clinic with a large reception area, for which the ground level had even been expanded. So that's it? The rest of the building seemed far too small for a proper hospital. Perhaps I'm being biased, but I feel I'm not far from the truth.
A rapid dash down the T-shaped corridor, and I was already at the stairs leading down. I noticed that Four Eyes wasn't lagging far behind. Either I've slowed down, or her abilities have improved without noticeably affecting her appearance.
A quick descent and a turn to the left—like any true man, I couldn't choose the other side. Besides, the left stairwell was closer. Another leap, and I quite literally dropped onto the mercenaries' heads, right into the center of their formation.
And then one of my newly acquired traits truly delighted me.
Now I understood how Lisa had endured so many shots. Bullets had trouble piercing her skin. Trouble? They got stuck in it! And this was from heavy-caliber weapons. As for the mercenary who had drawn a pistol, I didn't even bother paying attention — nine-millimeter rounds simply ricocheted off me. Beautiful!
Two crushing swings of my sledgehammer fists in opposite directions—and the man above had to part ways with his head, while the other, ribs shattering with a monstrous crunch where the blow landed, was hurled back into his comrades, knocking them down the stairs like bowling pins. If I've sacrificed speed in favor of strength, I'm not complaining!
Grabbing the rifle barrels aimed at me, I bent them without the slightest strain. Gunfire from behind made it clear that Yamata had joined the fight unnoticed thanks to me. That was confirmed when the men standing slightly higher fell first, followed by the two whose rifles I had just twisted.
The upper half was finished.
I turned toward the ones who had tumbled down the stairs. Only then did I realize that two of them had been firing at me the entire time, deciding to try and finish me off before advancing themselves.
A leap—and my feet crushed their ribcages, sending the remaining two scattering in opposite directions. Yamata immediately dropped one with a shot to the head. The other I simply slammed into the wall with a powerful blow, likely snapping his neck in the process.
"Damn, you're an elephant!" Yamata said as she swiftly confiscated the mercenaries' weapons, tossing aside the ones I had mangled with visible regret. "I think you're on par with Nemesis in raw strength now—maybe even with him in his second stage. And we could make body armor out of your skin. Don't frown, I'm kidding about the body armor."
"I get it. Now we deal with the rest. There were ten here, so the remainder of the second squad is still out there." I bared my teeth in a predatory grin. Sigh. That's about all my jaw allows me to do—bare my teeth menacingly.
"Then let's not waste time. I spotted a mortar with one of them—and I already want it," Yamata muttered under her breath.
A mortar—that's a problem. I couldn't afford to test my strength or the toughness of my hide; I had to rush straight into battle. Once again relying on acceleration — how many times must I? Sometimes I really want to bulldoze through everything like Nemesis or Birkin. But even if it worked this time, it's best not to toy with someone wielding heavy weaponry.
The second group had already reached the third floor and spread out, covering all four approaches—the stairwell, both side corridors, and the central one. In fact, the entire third floor consisted of two rectangular loops of hallway connected by a central corridor, with patient rooms forming the "interiors" of those shapes. At one end of the central corridor was the stairwell; at the other, the elevator shaft doors, sealed off on this floor. Our stairwell, where we'd just fought the mercenaries, was above the elevator, tucked into the corner of the "upper rectangle."
Four Eyes and I could clearly hear the leader of the remaining squad trying to reach the second team over the radio. Signaling Yamata to stay quiet, I suggested—again through gestures—that she open the doors to the patient rooms along the upper corridor and release whoever had been locked inside.
Given that the city's infection hadn't been instantaneous, the doctors must have had time to lock at least some of the patients in their rooms once they realized what was happening.
(End of Chapter)
Hey! Don't forget, your support is very important.
Please donate power stones, write reviews, and leave comments. It will be a huge help!
🎁 Bonus chapter at 50 power stones!