This might've been the first person in over fifty years — since that madman who carried a portable nuke and walked alone into Arasaka Tower (Johnny Silverhand) — who had the nerve to declare war on Arasaka single-handedly.
But today's Arasaka wasn't the Arasaka of old. After half a century of upgrades, their chrome, their drones, their weapons — everything hit harder than ever.
After baiting Adam Smasher's bombardment into wiping out Arasaka's own airborne drones, Vash hit the ground first.
Konpeki Plaza's armed personnel had already poured out with guns up. The smiling receptionists and "golden staff" who'd been bowing and welcoming guests a moment ago all flipped into combat mode.
That's right — even Konpeki's staff had teeth.
Because this was Arasaka turf.
Just as they were about to squeeze triggers, Vash's mouth curled into a grin.
"Friday — rewrite their directives. New target: Adam Smasher."
「Hack successful… Instruction override successful!」
The smart gun barrels in the golden staff's hands swung up and started dumping rounds into Adam Smasher overhead like they'd gone insane.
Vash had even pushed them into extermination mode: burn through the mags; when ammo ran dry, close to melee — keep going until the AI core was fried or the command timer expired.
Of course, not everyone took the override. A small portion of the "security team leaders" weren't bots at all — they were Arasaka-trained deadmen.
The moment they boxed Vash in with katanas, they went for the kill.
"Using blades?"
Vash retracted the mantis blades and reeled in the monowire, then drew the thermal katana he'd lifted from Yorinobu's suite.
One deadman rushed first. The swordwork was vicious — every cut aimed for a clean kill.
Vash didn't have fancy kenjutsu, but Mark L had his agility capped. He slipped each slash with ease — and he was faster. One clean draw, one clean strike, and the deadman's head hit the ground.
The rest charged in without hesitation. Vash snapped the blood off the thermal blade and kept carving.
Then a thunderous voice rolled in.
"Alright, cabrones—Jackie Welles is here!!"
Jackie slammed into the melee, driving one deadman straight into the floor with brute force. His gorilla arms were fully charged — one hit, one kill.
Vash's blade swept like an autumn wind through dry leaves, cutting down the ones closing in, and then he saw the big bastard had really come back.
The faceplate of the Mark L opened. Vash stared at him, "Jack — why are you back?"
"V. Back at that bike race, you could've taken first prize — but you turned around without thinking and saved me." Jackie said, "How the hell am I supposed to let you face Arasaka's corpo dogs alone now? Don't worry. Delamain's already headed somewhere only I can find. Safe as hell, choom."
He stepped closer and looked Vash's black-and-gold suit up and down.
"Now I get it… that's why you never go to Old Vik for implants. You've had gear this preem the whole damn time, huh?"
After knowing Vash this long — even if Vash always hid things behind that "nomad secret" excuse — Jackie only knew one thing: this was his brother.
So he didn't care about the flashy stuff. He'd stashed the Relic in the Delamain, then came back to fight.
And now, seeing Vash's suit and the way he moved, Jackie's last bit of worry evaporated.
His brother was strong as hell!
"Jack." Vash said, "Then let's raise this storm."
He couldn't be bothered to overthink it anymore.
Just do it!
"A frontal assault?" Jackie cracked his animal knuckles, fighting spirit boiling over, "Heh — just what I wanted!"
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Meanwhile, the staff trying to stop Adam Smasher got burned into scrap under his firepower.
Arasaka combat frames and deadmen kept pouring in as reinforcements.
Boom, Boom, Boom!
Several heavy rounds cratered Konpeki Plaza's entrance into a ruin, and the last batch of golden staff went up in ash under the bombardment.
Adam Smasher turned — and spotted Vash and Jackie not far ahead.
"Been a long time since I've found rats this fun." Smasher said, stalking forward step by step. Each heavy footfall sounded like a death knell.
At that moment, Arasaka's deadmen and combat robots arrived and started to raise weapons.
"Wait." Smasher's voice came out like gravel. He lifted a finger and pointed at Vash, "You handle the big guy. He's mine. Nobody steps into my hunting ground."
Inside Arasaka, Smasher's status was special — head of security and executioner. Some of his orders carried the same weight as Yorinobu's.
With that, the barrels that had been aimed at Vash swung over and locked onto Jackie.
Jackie took off in a sprint, "If you've got the guts, chase me—let me smash you proper!"
The deadmen and Arasaka combat frames immediately switched targets and tore after him.
At Konpeki Plaza's entrance, Vash and Adam Smasher faced each other across the wreckage — like a final duel at the top of the world.
Smasher wasn't just Arasaka's top combat power. He was the peak endpoint of full body conversion.
"Hope you can entertain me." Smasher said, raising both arms.
Autocannon ports unfolded from his forearms, and special-caliber heavy rounds screamed toward Vash.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Vash walked into it.
With each sweep of the mantis blades, he knocked most of the rounds aside, though a few still struck the suit.
Only then did the nanoparticles show what they were really for: the heavy slugs hit like they'd splashed into liquid mercury. The material flowed, shifted, then settled — no penetration.
"Interesting chrome you've got there!" Smasher lunged in a single step. At the same time, he reached into his torso and yanked out a rib of special alloy.
Then he brought it down like a warhammer.
Vash raised his mantis blades to block. Even that razor edge couldn't bite through the alloy rib.
The instant they collided, Smasher's monstrous strength crashed down — but Vash didn't budge. Holding the impact on the mantis blades, he lifted his free hand and fired a one-handed repulsor burst.
The blast shoved Smasher back, leaving only a shallow scorch on his chest plating.
Vash flexed his fingers. The repulsor was stylish, sure — but the output wasn't impressive.
Smasher took a couple of steps back, face twisted into excitement, "Interesting. You actually survived a round with me!"
Ever since he flatlined Johnny Silverhand decades ago, he'd lived a life of slaughter. Any "legend" that rose after was nothing but a chick in front of him.
But today — the rat that crawled into Konpeki Plaza — finally satisfied him.
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T/N: Comment, give me Power Stones, like and favorite, it all supports me and makes me go foward with this. Appreciate my other stories as well, I guarantee the good work!
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Take a look at the new book I'm translating on my profile, Umamusume Pretty Derb: I'm Just a Trainer! Its also on my website for $5 too!
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)