Cyberpunk: The Relentless

James Norris felt the intrusion of the data stream into his system.

The Puppet Daemon flooded his neural pathways, disrupting the transmission between his pyramidal tracts and his legs, completely locking him in place just as he was about to take a step forward.

Military-grade anti-hacking countermeasures prioritized protecting the user's brain, preventing hackers from overloading implants to the point of self-destruction.

But when it came to blocking movement-disrupting hacks—that priority was much lower.

So, the 'Movement Inhibitor' daemon easily bypassed security and took effect on James.

But Karl knew it wouldn't last long.

A military-grade cyberware system would quickly recognize the breach and begin purging it.

At best, he had one second.

That was more than enough time to shoot.

At a 20-meter distance, Karl took aim with his Kenshin—

And in an instant, he fired six shots.

Two aimed for James's cybernetic eyes.

Two targeted his bare, unarmored left chest.

One went straight for his throat.

And the last one... was aimed at a rather delicate spot below his waist.

Karl was genuinely curious.

Would a so-called 'hardass' like James Norris still be able to act tough if he got shot there?

Gunfire erupted.

And in that moment, time seemed to slow.

It wasn't that time actually slowed down.

It was that Karl's reflexes had caught up...

To James Norris activating his implants.

His Kerenzikov spinal mod kicked in,

enhancing his reaction speed,

And then—

The military-grade prototype Sandevistan activated.

Even with his legs immobilized,

James's movements became as fluid as a butterfly.

He dodged the shots aimed at his eyes.

He sidestepped the bullet meant for his throat.

And as for the shot aimed at his groin...

James didn't even try to dodge.

Because as the bullet tore through his pants—

Karl saw something unexpected.

There was nothing there.

Only an empty, reinforced metal casing.

"...Oh."

Karl suddenly understood.

"...That's why they call him a hardass."

Ding!

Out of the six bullets fired—

Four had been completely dodged.

The only two that landed—were the ones aimed at his left chest.

But instead of tearing through flesh...

They hit metal.

The bullets collided against his chestplate with a sharp metallic clang—

And then clattered to the ground, completely flattened.

Karl's eyes narrowed.

Beneath the damaged artificial skin,

He saw it.

Subdermal armor.

"...This motherfucker just tanked my Kenshin?"

Karl's mind raced.

'Fuck. I should've known.

Militech's gear isn't on the same level as civilian crap.'

He recalled something from his past life's era.

Back in America, ballistic vests were ranked across six levels:

Level I - Could stop basic 9mm bullets.

Level IV - Could withstand armor-piercing rounds at 850 m/s.

The difference between low-end and high-end protection was massive.

And clearly, even in 2075...

That hadn't changed one damn bit.

Military gear was for insiders.

Karl figured Militech's soldiers probably felt grateful for getting top-tier protection—

But as someone on the other side of that corporate advantage?

He really wanted to fucking swear.

"Tss... Tss..."

The data stream cut off.

Karl's hacking had reached its limit.

Now, there was one good news and one bad news.

And Karl was the type who liked hearing bad news first.

Bad news?

His cyberdeck had maxed out.

Due to lack of skill, he couldn't use another daemon for a while.

Good news?

James had already activated his Sandevistan once.

According to Blanca, the experimental Sandevistan wasn't something a normal person could handle.

Even for a highly adaptable soldier like James, in previous company tests, he had only managed to activate it three times a day before passing out.

Which meant—

He had two uses left.

James dropped the useless remains of his destroyed shotgun.

From the start of their engagement,

Only three seconds had passed.

And he had only now found the time to discard his broken weapon.

Then, he reached for his waist—

And drew two handguns.

One was from Militech, the other from Arasaka.

Militech M-76E Omaha

Arasaka HJKE-11 Yukimura

[Militech M-76E Omaha]

A powerful burst-fire handgun from Militech.

Each shot fired three rounds.

If the trigger was held, the gun's magnetic rails would charge up,

Then it could unleash three-round bursts rapidly,

Packing the firepower of a light machine gun in close quarters.

[Arasaka HJKE-11 Yukimura]

Released in 2040, yet still regarded as one of the best pistols ever made.

This gun sparked the 'smart weapon' revolution.

Rumor had it, Kang Tao's early smart weapon tech

was directly inspired by the Yukimura.

Capable of single-fire or three-round bursts,

Even 30 years later, it remained a top-tier weapon.

Karl didn't hesitate.

The moment James drew his guns,

Karl immediately took aim and fired—

Right at James's weapons.

According to the intel, James didn't have a smart-link implant.

But Karl knew better.

A highly trained soldier

With combat experience and discipline

Could outshoot even corporate security officers

Who relied on smart-aiming implants.

Karl trusted James's shooting skills.

Which is why—

He needed to take out those guns first.

But James had expected it.

Before Karl's bullets could hit their mark—

James blocked the shots with his cybernetic arm.

'Damn... Military instincts kicking in again?'

Karl clicked his tongue.

But—

He wasn't fighting alone.

"Jack! Aim for his guns!"

"You got it, mano! Jack Wells is on the scene!"

Jack had arrived.

As always—right on time.

He raised his Saratoga submachine gun—

And unloaded a full burst

Straight at James's hands.

Jack wasn't the best marksman.

He wasn't as precise as Karl.

He wasn't as deadly as Oliver.

But—

He had survived the streets.

His skills were on par with any trained soldier.

And right now—

All he needed was to fire suppressive bursts.

Metal cracked.

Bullets slammed into James's hands.

His Omaha pistol shattered.

His Yukimura malfunctioned and fell.

Both weapons hit the ground.

And along with them—

So did James's fingers.

The intense gunfire had ripped through his cybernetic skin.

His fingers—shattered.

His subdermal armor—held firm.

But his bones?

They weren't unbreakable.

Cyberware still needed organic support.

And without proper structure—

Even cybernetic fingers couldn't withstand that kind of impact.

But just as Karl was about to press the attack—

He felt it.

Time slowed down.

Again.

James—

Had activated his Sandevistan.

This time—

His left arm shifted.

From his forearm—

A hidden launcher system activated.

The barrel extended—

And locked onto Jack.

Then—

The high-explosive round was fired.