Outrun – Cyberpunk LitRPG

Chapter 219

We walked a bit more, entering a sprawling metro station. It was big, taking up a large space with a balcony looking down onto the foyer. It'd been buried with time long ago, left to rot down here in the Underground.

It would’ve been quite something back in the day. Now though? Now it was worn and torn. Cracks crisscrossed the walls, and everything was left in a state of disrepair. There were also almost no lights outside of a few bioluminescent plants. Dev and the other Squire’s flashlights beamed into the darkness, creating long shadows. 

As soon as we entered, my guard was up. Large spaces like this were ideal spots for plenty of creatures. Add in the plants everywhere? Never a good sign. I flashed Aetherial Perception-

A flash of Insight kept me from getting caught in the first hail of bullets. The piercing cold played a staccato against my body as I flung myself behind Dev. Like a true meat shield, he ate every single shot. They bounced harmlessly off his heavy armor as I scanned our surroundings.

”Contact!” Persha yelled as if we hadn’t noticed the shots in our direction. 

I used Burst Step to retreat from my meat shield and back to the entryway. Pillars and arches provided ample cover. My leg muscles tensed, screaming in pain for a moment as I lunged with full force for the entrance. 

I ducked into cover, rolling out a Scouter to better understand our situation. I pulled the feed up into my HUD, momentarily getting dizzy from the two different points of view. It also didn't help that the Scouter couldn't see in the dark. I'd have to fix that at some point.

Dev and the Squires had taken the chance to get into cover. Unlike me, though, they had opted for the relatively thick pillars supporting the arched roof high above. It provided cover and was close but also got rid of any chance of maneuvering the enemy. All had weapons out, taking potshots before being forced back into cover by return fire.

Persha, showing the true insanity of a Knight of the Blue Crusade, stood out in the open. Her longsword was drawn, the silver sheen reflecting the light of gunfire all over the nearly pitch-black space. She effortlessly deflected the hail of fire launching towards her. Definitely some kind of reaction-boosting chrome and maybe some kind of internal processor too.

My gaze finally moved to track our enemies as they pinned us down. Interestingly, there wasn’t a hint of muzzle flash from them, making it harder to track their locations. I peeked up and used my actual eyes. While I could see in the dark, it wasn’t perfect. At a certain distance, everything kinda blended together as it turned fuzzy. I couldn't see our enemy.

They must’ve lost track of me because the bullets stopped coming in my direction entirely. I checked the situation once more. Everyone was still pinned except for Persha. She just stood there, occasionally laughing with glee as she deflected projectiles. I took the chance to activate my stealth Perks--mainly just Stalk--and moved around the entryway, using the pillars and railing as cover.

Once I was out of the line of fire entirely, I scaled up a pillar. I used the cracks and crevices to work my way up, repositioning myself onto one of the arches between pillars. It made a perfect nook for me to get a bird’s eye view of the scene through the cracks in the once-ornate decorations.

Running a quick calculation based on the trajectory of the initial shot, I tracked the enemy's position. It wasn’t what I expected. I thought there’d be some kind of Circle squad or gang members set up.

Instead, as I should’ve suspected, there were large plants set up all over the balcony. I turned on Aetherial Perception, using their slight glow to better see what we were dealing with.

Three serrated leaves formed a snout like some kind of demented flycatcher. A central thick vine acted like the body of the creature, supporting the grotesque head.  Vines spread out from the ‘body’ of the plant like arms, each one covered in sharp thorns.

The creature flicked out its vines, launching said thorns at incredible speeds akin to a bullet. Each burst shot off a couple thorns, all of which regrew by the time its other ‘arm’ flicked out. They constantly fired down upon the rest of the Crusaders.

With my target in sight, I anchored myself better to the arch, pulled off my backpack, and grabbed several pre-built Molotovs. With a quick refill from my canteen, I was ready to go. 

I lit the first one, slightly giving my position away as the cloth caught fire. Gauging the distance, my training from Throwing Weapon Master as I quickly lined up my shot and threw.

It arched perfectly, the flames dancing through the air as the bottle spun. Then, with a shattering sound, it exploded over the plant, encasing the entire thing in fire. A grinding sound came from the plant as if it were screaming in pain.

The light gave the others something to target as they lit up the plant, killing it almost immediately. These plants weren’t super durable. Everyone shooting it was overkill.@@novelbin@@

I dropped down into cover behind the arch once more. My action most definitely gave my position away. While hiding, I reconnected to my Scouter to check for other targets. Now that I knew what I was looking for, and by the light of the spreading flames, I easily picked out seven more of the thorny plants. 

I waited for several moments, expecting to get shot at. Nothing came my way. I ducked out, ready to hide once more at the first sign of danger, but the plants entirely ignored me. It was as if they couldn’t see me, or whatever they used for perception couldn’t sense me.

With the first one down, and its burning body illuminated, Persha finally reacted. “Ah, they’re just plants? No fun… let’s get this over with!”

Dev peaked out, shooting a burst at one of the other plant creatures. ”Careful! Might be more to this ambush-“

“Hah!” The Knight completely ignored him, charging toward the flaming plants with no fear. She easily bounded up the stairs to the second floor, her longsword making short work of the barrage headed in her direction. What she didn't deflect, her armor blocked without any issues. She reached the second one as I lit my next Molotov, easily cutting through the plant.

Just before I threw, movement caught my eye. From a side room, three humanoid shapes moved toward a doorway into the foyer. I recognized their wooden forms in the distance: Corrupted Dryads. They were the same creatures that Hope and I ran into.

I changed directions, throwing it at the doorway. The gasoline exploded over it, creating a burning patch they’d have to cross through. It caused a momentary delay and drew the attention of the rest of the squad toward the new enemies.

“Their weak spot is their vines!” I shouted as I finally pulled out my rifle. “Or their backs!”

”Roger!” A call came from below as the Squire’s moved their aim towards the approaching Corrupted Dryads.

I shifted my attention to the thorn throwers. They’d be an issue in a protracted fight. Persha easily took care of most of them. Three others were already dead to her swordsmanship.

I aimed at the one furthest from her. Although the Squires’ line of sight was blocked by the balcony, I had a perfect view of the enemy from my high ground on the arch. And they were weak to bullets without any of the hardened bark that some of the other Circle abominations had.

I burst fired in its direction, my shots easily cutting through the vines. With a couple more bursts, I completely obliterated its ‘body’, dropping the lifeless head to the ground. I readjusted as Persha moved on to her fifth. By the time she cleaved it to small bits, I killed the last of the thorn throwers.

Ducking down, I reloaded. My actions were practiced, easily getting my gun ready for the next volley. While I was reloading, I checked the situation once more. The dryads had pushed past my molotov’s pool of flames, getting lightly burned in the process. They stood side to side, carefully guarding each other’s backs from the firing Squires as they fired thorn barrages.

Persha’s armored Squire was the closest to them, hiding behind a pillar. He could hardly peek out as they launched thorn after thorn at him, keeping the guy in cover. It was only a matter of time until they moved up onto him and eviscerated him. Gah, I wish I made a rocket now. It’d do wonders against these things.

Or even some fire-imbued bullets from my Aether Imbuement Perk. I really needed to get that stuff up and running soon. My firepower was falling behind drastically these days. Or, at least, that’s how it all felt.

“Gah!” A shout came from the squire as his arm went limp and he staggered further into cover. In one of the Squire's flashlight’s glow, I caught sight of blood pouring down from his arm. Lucky hit right in between the armor plating.

Persha was on her way, but by the time she’d arrive, the Squire would be surrounded and likely killed. Something needed to change. I looked around for options, my eyes snagging on the roof. The cracks had spread up to it, weakening its structure. 

I did a quick check of the structure's stability, trying to figure out if a section of it collapsing would cause the entire ceiling to cave in on top of us. By my estimate, there were enough pillars that even if a section fell, it wouldn’t drop everything. 

I adjusted my fire, blasting into the roof above the approaching plants. At first, nothing happened other than a rain of pebbles. And then one of the others noticed what I was doing and joined me. Our combined firepower shattered the already weak stonework, dropping a chunk of the ceiling and earth down onto the Corrupted Dryads.

The falling debris slammed into them, pressing them into the ground as a plume of dust spread out. For a moment, I thought it was over. Then the rubble started to shift as the broken forms of the fallen dryads started to dig out of the rubble.

”Back away while they're down!” Dev shouted to the injured Squire, his voice echoing in the large chamber. 

The armored Squire scrambled away, ducking as a hail of thorns fired all around him. Their aim was way off thanks to the fact they were buried in rubble though. Only a few plinked off his armor.

As the Squire moved for safety, Persha finally moved in with her sword at the ready. She reached the Corrupted Dryads, her sword catching on its bark as she slashed. She ripped out the blade, tapping something on its pommel. The blade immediately started to vibrate rapidly, letting out a low-pitched whine.

With the vibrating blade, she slashed again. Her sword cleaved through the bark of one of the Corrupted Dryads. The cut easily took off its head in a spray of dark red sap. She moved around the rubble, cleaning up the other two just as quickly.

Everything went silent as the fight ended, though our guards were up for yet more attackers. After a few moments of nothing, Knight Persha made a call. “Back up to the entrance. Regroup before we head back in. Tyler, how’s the arm?”

Squire Tyler, the armored squire, groaned slightly. “Not too bad. Feels like a flesh wound. Thorn still stuck in though.”

I repacked all my gear, flipped on the Drop Chutes, and then jumped off the arch. Just before hitting the ground, they activated, allowing me to get down safely in mere moments. I walked over to join the group as we made a tactical retreat back the way we came.

Once we were out in the tunnels again, Persha moved to check on Tyler. “That the Circle’s MO?” 

“Yeah. Probably a bunch of Adepts somewhere around here too… call for more reinforcements?” I asked the group. I’d never run into a fully prepared Adept, and I’d rather not try my luck. Especially against a group of them. 

There was a good chance there'd be a high-level one too, considering the entryway had quite a few plants guarding it. This wasn't just a small outpost like the one Hope and I had stumbled across.

Persha pulled out a pair of tweezers from a pouch and ripped the thorn out, tearing with it a chunk of flesh as the Squire gasped. Not the most subtle medical treatment, and it looked as though she caused more harm than good. Then again, she was the combat expert here. The Knights probably had an entirely different way of doing things.

She then pulled a needle from her pouch and stabbed it into Tyler’s wound. The guy flinched harshly, though he managed not to make a sound. As soon as the needle ejected all of its fluid, the bleeding in his arm stopped. Probably some kind of Stim. “Good to go. Should be fine till we get out of here.”

"Thanks." The Squire twisted his arm around testingly.

"It's coming out of your paycheck." The Knight cruelly informed him. His expression immediately dropped.

“I’d like reinforcements,” Dev answered me. His finger caressed the trigger of his rifle. “No telling what else is lurking down here. Especially if this is a large operation.”

”No. They already know we’re here. We delay any longer, and they’ll destroy all the evidence and abandon this place.” The Knight cut down that path. “We go in hard and fast. I'll take the lead.”

I was afraid she’d say that. I was really beginning to see why Dev didn't like her.