Gearbound: Cyberpunk 2077-Chapter 188

Everyone said the battlefield was a meat grinder—but that didn't apply to Adam Smasher. To him, others were the meat, and he was the one doing the grinding.

After retiring from the battlefield and taking on mercenary work, Smasher crushed Night City like a dimensional invader, rising to dominance with overwhelming power. His methods were brutal and sadistic, only deepening the fear people had of him. Though he eventually joined Arasaka and disappeared from the public eye, his reputation never faded. On the contrary, it became the stuff of urban legends.

"Leo, get V and run. Leave this to me," Jackie said, sweat beading densely on his forehead and mixing with the rain—making it impossible to tell what was sweat and what was water. He wiped his face with one hand. He didn't know how long he could hold off Adam Smasher, but he knew he had to. Even if he couldn't hold him back, he had to try. If even one of them could escape, it was worth it.

This high-stakes job—Leo and V hadn't agreed to it at the start. It was Jackie who had dragged them into it. As a man, he had to take responsibility.

Suddenly, Jackie felt a hand on his shoulder. He paused for a moment, then turned his head—Leo had appeared at his side without him noticing. In times like this, having a partner who chose to face death together was rare and precious. But Jackie didn't want Leo to do this.

"Leo, what are you doing here? I told you to get V out of here."

"What do you take me for? I'm not leaving any of my crew behind."

"I appreciate it, but if this keeps up, none of us are getting out. Leo... take care of my mom."

"Take care of your own mom, Jackie. No one's dying here today."

Watching this heartfelt exchange, Adam Smasher felt nothing. "What is this? A stage play? How touching. Don't worry—I'll send you both off together. That way, you won't be lonely on your trip to the afterlife."

He'd seen scenes like this too many times over the years. Sentiments? Brotherhood? That crap was worthless. Once someone died, all that remained was rotting meat and rusting metal. Empty talk about immortal spirits was just that—empty talk. Smasher didn't buy it, unless you uploaded your soul to Mikoshi—the Arasaka data fortress, or what some called a digital prison for souls.

"Who dies today is still undecided, Smasher," Leo said, and just as the words fell, a Delamain cab shot out from the alley beside them, ramming full-speed toward Smasher.

His cybernetic eye contracted sharply. Hugging his Mk.31 heavy machine gun, he unleashed a torrent of gunfire. But every Delamain vehicle had reinforced armor. Even large-caliber rounds could only dent the surface.

With a loud crash, the cab slammed straight into Smasher. He staggered backward, his feet grinding sparks into the pavement as he was pushed back twenty, maybe thirty meters. But soon, the cab's momentum began to slow. Smasher lifted the front of the vehicle, raising it up with sheer strength.

His shoulder-mounted rocket pod deployed, several warheads gleaming coldly as they locked onto the Delamain cab. Even with all the armor in the world, there was no way it could withstand rocket fire.

But before he could fire, a single anti-armor projectile shot in from the side, striking the rocket launcher dead-on.

Boom!

A violent explosion shook the street. Black smoke spread rapidly.

"Back off, Del!" Leo shouted, gripping a precision tech rifle he'd retrieved from the overturned cab—the one they'd stashed before entering the hotel—and opened fire into the smoke with rapid, storm-like shots.

Conventional kinetic weapons were useless against Smasher. Even heavy machine guns couldn't penetrate his armor. Only charged tech weapons stood a chance.

Jackie joined in, unloading another tech rifle. Two people, three guns—the barrage was overwhelming.

Before long, the magazines clicked empty.

"He's gotta be dead now, right?"

"Every time someone says that it means they're not, idiot!"

Smasher's cold voice echoed from within the smoke, followed by a storm of bullets composed of pure metal fury. Leo shoved Jackie aside, gripped his blade, and spun Muramasa into a glowing red vortex that formed an airtight shield. Sparks flew like a welding torch as the rounds deflected off the spinning edge.

Leo's shoulder ports deployed, firing off dozens of smart shotgun shells. But Smasher's armor absorbed them with minimal damage.

Another hand cannon blast came, which Leo dodged cleanly. Smasher quickly realized long-range attacks wouldn't end this.

"My blade!"

He reached out, and from the top of Konpeki Plaza, a crate descended on blue thrusters, landing with a thud before him. The sides opened to reveal a massive sword the size of a steel door—an enormous, engine-assisted slab of destruction.

The blade was lined with glowing circuits, and instead of a handguard, it was fitted with a compact motor. It wasn't double-edged—just a single honed edge—while the blunt side housed a massive thruster.

Smasher hoisted the jet greatsword onto his shoulder. His Sandevistan activated and time began to slow down.

He stomped down, cracking the ground beneath his feet. Despite his multi-ton frame, he launched into the air like a rocket.

The rear thruster of the sword erupted in flames, and with terrifying force, he brought it crashing down on Leo.

In this slowed-down world of Sandevistan and jet propulsion, Smasher believed there was no way Leo could dodge.

The sword's raw weight, combined with Smasher's body plunging from above, could slice a main battle tank in half—

—What the hell?!

No way!!!

Smasher's vision blurred—Leo, who should've been frozen in place under the effects of time dilation, suddenly slid backward, completely evading the sword's arc.

What Smasher didn't know was that, because he was using Arasaka's most advanced Sandevistan, he could just barely perceive Leo's Time Zero activation. To anyone else, Leo would've simply vanished in a blink.

BOOM!

The jet sword slammed into the ground, exploding with a blast no less powerful than artillery fire. Wind howled and debris flew with similar velocity as grenade shrapnels.

Leo pushed off the ground, launching forward like an arrow.

Smasher threw up his left arm to block.

Clang!

The arm that had resisted all those bullets... now cracked under Muramasa's blade. Smasher's eyes widened.

The embedded jet greatsword kicked up rubble and dirt as Smasher swung it sideways at Leo.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

The seemingly delicate Muramasa blade clashed again and again with the massive jet sword, sparks erupting with every strike.

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