Outrun – Cyberpunk LitRPG

Chapter 179

"Zuku, it's here.” Lia brought down the rather lightweight plasma torch.

“Set it down over there… think you could get it hooked up to the Prowler?” I asked as I fiddled with the jammer. It was the first time I’d actually gotten around to using it since I got the thing, so I was taking my time to set it all up.

The KairoTech jammer, still held together by tape and glue since I’d never gotten around to fixing it all up, looked like a piece of junk. I knew from firsthand experience how effective it was though.

This little beauty could completely block all outward communications and signals, hopefully including the sensors—if there even were any—on the other side of the shutters. It was basically a stronger scrambler capable of blocking even more tech.

There was a whole thing where I could modulate the jammer to allow certain signals through so I wouldn’t be blocking my own gear, but getting all that set up seemed like a pain in the ass so I skipped it for now.

I fiddled around with it, making sure everything was running, and checked on the rest of the squad. They were all in defensive positions, keeping a watch on our surroundings as I worked. Although I was technically the leader now, they definitely still moved as though Hampton was in charge. Not that I minded. I didn’t even want authority in the first place.

I heard the Prowler’s engine rev as the Magus called from just outside of the hole I stood in. “Is it working?”

The lights on the Plasma Torch lit up. “Chek! You’re good.”

With all my tools up and ready, I started with a small incision at the base of the shutters, pausing as the glowing metal easily melted under the plasma’s touch. With a hole in the shutter, sound from inside leaked out as though the soundproofing finally broke.

A siren blared from inside, and I caught sight of a flashing red light through the small gap. The siren was a typical emergency siren; extraordinarily loud and annoying. The noise was ever so slightly off though, taking on an almost human-like quality as if someone was in there screaming for help.

I widened the gap just enough to fit a Scouter in to get a better idea of what we were dealing with. I tossed the device in, realizing too late that the jammer blocked it from transmitting its signal to my deck.

I jury-rigged a wire connecting another Scouter and my deck, then tossed another in as I got my first look at the inside of Acumen Industrial’s Laurus Theatre.

Just on the other side of the door was a grand foyer, filled with ornate decorations and golden details. The theatre seemed to be going for an ancient design, with tons of pillars and arching supports.

I manipulated the camera to face up, catching sight of the roof so far above. It was absolutely covered in shuttered skylights, which at one point would’ve allowed a near-unobstructed view of the sky from inside the foyer.

The place was incredibly dim, only lit by faint red emergency lights. At some point, grand chandeliers that hung from the roof would’ve shed more than enough light to see by, but that was a thing of the past. Now the chandeliers, or at least, what remained of them, hung limply from the ceiling.

Grand staircases led up to the several floors and booths that would look out onto the stage. A few of them had collapsed at some point, turning into pure rubble.

At a glance, everything seemed alright. Then I started to catch more haunting details as I moved the Scouter’s view around. Bullet holes covered the intricately decorated walls and surfaces of the foyer, indicating a fight broke out. And from the sheer amount of the bullets, it wasn’t a small one.

The ground of the foyer, however, indicated it wasn’t a fight as much as a slaughter. Bones filled the place, each clad in clothes that would’ve at one point showing off wealth. Instead, they were dusty, deteriorated pieces left to rot in the theatre. Just like the people that had once worn them.

As I looked around more and more, I realized this place wasn’t a theatre. It was a tomb. A massive tomb filled with who knows how many corpses. Such a sight immediately set me on edge. Just what happened here?

The siren cut off for a moment as a robotic woman’s voice called out. Or at least it had been a voice. Years of disrepair hadn’t done the speakers well. Instead of a clear voice coming across the line, what I heard was a disorientating array of clicks and metallic scrapes as if some alien monstrosity tried to speak.

Movement from a balcony overlooking the foyer drew my attention. It took a while for me to realize what it was as flashing red lights illuminated the figure. A robot—shaped like a human and yet with a distinct metallic tint to its skin—walked around the balcony, scanning its surroundings.

The robot’s arms had been morphed into guns, immediately making me draw a connection between the bot and the corpses everywhere. Even without going further, I could guess what went down. During one of their plays, with the theatre filled to the brim, the solar storms nuked the planet.

The magnetic waves from the solar storms wreaked havoc on the tech here, causing it to trigger the lockdown. Only, not just any lockdown procedure, but one of the highest levels. The electronic security went insane and gunned everyone down… or at least, that’s what I’m guessing happened.

I waited for the bot to turn a corner before pulling out the plasma torch and cutting a hole just small enough for me to fit through. Then I headed back up out of the hole to talk to the rest of the team.

”How’s it look?” Hampton asked me as soon as I peeked over the edges of the hole.

”Not good. Security is still active. Looked like it was set to lethal. At the very least, armed robots, though there are probably a bunch of turrets hooked up too.” I brought my deck over and replayed the video of the bot moving by.

Lia watched the video before shaking. “That’s a lot of bodies… any chance we can shut it all off?”

”Not without finding where the command center for the theatre is.” Renold answered before I could. “I doubt they just left all the security controls out in the open.”

I zoomed in on the robot. “Not only that but even if we shut off the hardwired security, the bots might still remain active.” No telling what kind of backup protocols were instilled into the tech here.

”What’s the plan then, Zuku?” Hampton asked, forcing the burden of leadership onto my shoulders once more.

I looked at him for a long moment before answering with a question of my own. “Why’d Captain Roger make me the leader? No matter how I look at it, it's a bad idea.”

Hampton returned my look before rubbing at the back of his head and looking away. “I wasn’t supposed to say anything, but Athena asked him to test you… something about wanting to see if you were worth investment.” He shrugged. “Too much of a hassle to hide it though.”

Athena, eh? Investing in me though… What's that supposed to mean? Giving me harder jobs? Or is she looking to actually hire me? I- I wouldn’t know quite how to feel about getting offered an actual job. Sure, I’d have way better income, but I’d also lose a lot of free time. Free time I could be using to plot and scheme.

”Still… what if I made a life-ending decision?”

“Captain wanted me to shadow your decisions. If it was a particularly bad one, I’m supposed to interfere.” Hampton crossed his arms, his eyebrows pulled down in aggrievement. “Waste of time. Though he made a good point that we’d be following you anyway since you’re the one trying to break through the security.”

”I guess.” Seemed a little… I wonder if they were reporting back on me this entire time then? Has my every decision been held under a microscope since coming out here? Did Athena treat all her potential hires like this? Hmm… ”How am I holding up so far?”

Lia butted into the conversation. “We love you! You’re so much better than Frank- gah!”

Renold pulled the Magus aside, causing her to stumble as her double elbows folded up. “Shut it. Can’t you see we’re having a rather serious conversation?”

”It’s always so serious with you! Just let loose and have a little fun!” Lia patted Renold on the head. It was an odd look, though considering she was the tallest person in the group it didn’t look too awful.

Hampton just shook his head. “I’d recommend Captain to add you to the Crimson Company’s short list of people to stay in contact with… though not necessarily hire you.”

”Oh?” I couldn’t tell if what he said was good or bad.

”We engage in more combat-focused jobs usually. Rarely do we need to bring along two techies. This situation where Frank is out and we don’t have any other backups is a bit of an odd one.” He shrugged. “So… the plan?

“Right.” I sighed as I tapped back into the live feed. Now wasn’t the time to get distracted.

I would be perfectly fine going into the theatre myself. With Blackout and Cold-Blooded, I’d be mostly safe from the security even if they had thermal imaging. Going against all electronic security was practically a breeze compared to if people were in the mix.

And the tech here was before the invention of Nodes, so I wouldn’t even have to worry about Daemons watching over this place. Just an old program full of faults. Probably one with even more faults after so long.

The rest of these guys though? As soon as they step in, any chance of stealth will be over. No way we could get through the theatre quietly. So that just left the questions: risk a sole quiet infiltration or go loud with the entire group? Both had their cons.

If I played my cards right, a solo infiltration would be a breeze. Then again, if something went wrong, I’d be stranded by myself with no chance of help coming in time.

If we went loud though, we’d be thrusting ourselves into an entrenched location. The chances of at least one of us ending up injured were incredibly high. Especially since there was no telling the full extent of devices hidden around. Could have rocket robots for all we knew.

What to do… what to do…

”I’ll go in by myself. Root around until I find the command center, then disable the lockdown.” I shared my plan. “Then the rest of you can come in and clean up any stragglers from the security.”

”No.” Lia shook her head. “No way are we just going to let you head in there to get butchered by yourself.”

I offered a small smile as I closed my deck up. “This is my specialty. You lot are good at fighting and all that, but B&E is my forte.”

Hampton frowned. “You sure you’ll be able to get through?”

“Against this level of security?” I laughed confidently as I adjusted my facial features to align with Honest Face. “I’ll be fine. I’ve hit harder places in the city all the time.”

”Hmm… fine. But stay in contact?” He seemed to remember he was no longer the leader as he turned his order into a question. “And can you open the shutters enough for us to get in? You know, incase there is an emergency or something...”

”No problem.” I nodded to the group as I headed back down to the shutters. Come one, Shiro, you got this. Nice and smooth, just as you’d done before. This time, it's murderous robots with guns, but does that really matter? It's just B&E. Nice and slow.

I took a final deep breath before sliding through the small hole into the theatre.