Outrun – Cyberpunk LitRPG

Chapter 220

Lightning struck above, causing a deep rumble that seemed to fill the city. The lightning illuminated the Ryu Container Yard just in front of the sky tram. It was just a few blocks now, close enough to sprint to without any issues.

I sighed as I stood up and stretched out, hearing my spine pop in several places. I barely suppressed a yawn. I'd been woken up in the middle of the night, and after a desperate flight through the city, I was definitely feeling it.

I glanced back out the window, catching sight of the Circle’s hunters. I was actually putting up quite a bit of distance. Unlike the vans that got caught in traffic, the sky tram had no reason to stop as it moved across its rails. 

Leaning back, I rubbed at my eyes-

The lights in the sky tram flickered briefly before going off entirely. Looks like this was my stop. I didn’t hesitate, smashing the window of the tram and flinging myself out the window before the tram could even fully come to a halt.

The Drop Chutes kicked on as I dropped onto a busy street. I adjusted my landing, aiming for a truck off to the side. I stuck the landing before jumping one more time onto the nearly empty sidewalks. 

It was only a matter of time till the Netrunner got in. I was planning to go a bit further than this, but I was going to smash the window and escape from the tram before the next stop anyway. I figured they’d have a couple squads waiting at the next stop.

I thought through the city as I moved. There were only two blocks left until I got to the outer perimeter of the Ryu Container Yard. These two blocks would make or break my escape from the Circle, so I needed to plan accordingly.

I glanced over my shoulder, spotting the black vans of the Circle caught in traffic. Already though, squads were deploying from them, pouring out of the vans with rifles at the ready as they likewise made a mad dash after me.

I ducked down an alley, ruining the clear sight lines that the squads previously had on me. It slowed down my southern sprint having to go down a side alley, but safety first. 

I didn’t immediately continue down the alley, though. I rigged up a microwire just inside the alley’s mouth, where the neon lights of the city created deep shadows. I tied the microwire to a grenade pin, creating yet another improvised explosive trap. I made another one just out of range of the first.

It slowed me down, but if it could make the Circle hesitant to chase me, then it would be well worth the time. With the two traps set up, I continued my sprint on aching legs. Just as I cut down an alley heading south again, I heard two explosions in quick succession behind me partially hidden by thunder. A frown caught on my lips. They were closer than I thought.

Running down the alley, I cut down two more before running into what looked like a gang meetup. This particular alley was quite a bit larger, mixed with what looked like a loading dock. There were a ton of crates and boxes scattered around, as well as rusty old forklifts.

A group of people, heavily chromed though restricted to what looked like small arms, gathered around a burning barrel. Lots of cosmetic chrome, all of them rigged with green spikes instead of hair. Most of them were smoking what smelled like Torta.

The flaming barrel hissed as steam flowed freely from the raging flame. The nearby rain sparkled with reflections of the barrel's glow. “Boss, what about that explosion?”

“You dunce, it was just thunder! All those drugs breaking your brain already?” The boss of the group laughed, revealing green serrated teeth. The nearby gangers joined him as they mocked the guy.

”Right, now back to what I was saying. A good opportunity had opened up!” I let the boss’s voice fade to the back of my mind as I focused on other things.

I slowed down, slipping into the shadows as I edged around the group. I kept low and behind cover to the best of my ability. The gang was focused on their leader though, so no one noticed me. There were a couple of glances in my direction, causing my entire body to freeze momentarily, but they were just glances.  

I edged around them before ducking down a different alleyway. The gang slowed me down substantially, but I had hope that they’d get taken by surprise and get into a fight with my pursuers.

I stopped my movements and clambered up a fire escape. There was a good chance they had squads set up on the other mouths of the alleys, circling me in. I’d been lucky so far since I broke the initial encirclement of my apartment so easily, but surely they’d recovered by now.

 As I climbed the fire escape, I heard shouts from the alley, as well as the exchanges of a firefight. Another chance to get ahead opened up. A grin spread across my lips as I raced south. I stayed atop the buildings the best I could, only jumping down as I crossed a street. One more block to go.

All my diversionary tactics must have paid off because I had quite a large gap to cut through the next block. They were still behind me—I could hear them occasionally popping shots at shadows—but they were far enough back that I caught some breathing room.

And then I was there, staring at the outer perimeter of the Ryu Container Yard. This particular side was walled in with a massive stone wall. It was entirely covered in decades' worth of bioluminescent graffiti, looking oddly pretty. Just past the high wall sat a bunch of warehouses, with dark windows.

This side… should still be private property, right? Not every part of the Ryu Container Yard had been transformed into cheap living. There were still a few parts here and there that were privately owned. The warehouses being one of them. 

I tried to think back to the few times I passed by. They should have good external security, but internal security was almost nonexistent, I think. Should be relatively safe for me to cross through. 

I climbed up the stone wall, using the gaps between the stone bricks to quickly work my way up to the top. Ice thundered across my body as all my instincts tingled that I was endangered.

Without hesitation, I threw myself over the wall, entering the area just outside of the warehouses. Unlike most of the Ryu Container Yard though, the shipping containers out here looked relatively new.

I hit the ground, stumbling slightly as I slipped into a patch of mud-

I flung myself behind a crate as Insight tingled, feeling a burst of ice all over my body. My movements were slowed by the mud- no, not mud. A twisting bramble that’d been trampled and concealed by the mud. The bramble lay all across the wall. They were ready for me to come over at any point.

A flash of Aetherial Perception revealed it to be a spell. It looked like its original purpose was to entangle whoever walked through it, but my amulet made it just sit there. Still, that was enough to make me trip up.

I managed to break out with Burst Step, feeling my muscles cry in misery. I could still move, but one more use of Burst Step would destroy my mobility entirely. I tumbled, falling behind a crate as gunshots filled the air. Most of them missed, but I felt several bursts of pain along my arm.

I suppressed a cry of pain as I took cover and checked my injuries. They were still using gel rifles, but that gel packed a serious punch. My arm refused to move, as if every nerve and muscle in it had been overloaded by pain. It just hung limply, almost as if broken.

”Come on out! If you come willingly, we won’t treat you badly, Holy Daughter!” A man’s voice called out as the firing temporarily stopped. 

Holy Daughter? What the hell have these guys been smoking? Still… this was a chance to buy time. “Really?!”

Thunder boomed as I struggled to get my mind working again. I was so tired—little sleep combined with the chase left me almost entirely drained. No wonder I felt the pressure loosen earlier. They’d moved ahead of me and set an ambush here. My path hadn’t exactly been hidden…

Really, it was smart. There was no way out for me. Climbing the wall would result in me getting shot repeatedly and knocked off before I could even get halfway up. They just had to watch three sides to encircle me.

”Of course! Mother just wants you safe and sound! It’s time to come back! End this petty rebellion!” The man shouted with a tinge of zealotry in his voice. 

Plan, come on, surely I can whip up one more plan! I struggled, hoping to find a way out. My brain practically buzzed in pain as I forced every part of it to get to work on an escape route.

The man called once more as I failed to reply, “Mother is willing to forgive what you’ve done to her servants!”

I peeked out. They'd summoned several plant entities while I was waiting here. Large ones. Not quite as big as the tree one I fought with Inquisitor Varus, but still pretty damn intimidating. They weren't pushing yet, as if hoping to talk this out.

I barely suppressed a sigh as I closed my eyes. I thought for a moment before stripping off my poncho. Immediately, rain started soaking into my clothes, sending a chill down my spine. I didn’t stop, though, carefully shifting the poncho’s color to the third option I had yet to use—bright, eye-catching pure white.

I summoned my canteen, going for plan Z. Back in the apartment, I’d changed the canteen to start producing the Hibisen fluid, or whatever it was called. The hazy stuff that made it hard to see what’s inside its area. I dumped the canteen over my head, fully saturating myself in the liquid as my very presence started to fade.

With all the preparation set, I looked to my goal: the warehouse. If I can just get in there, I could maybe have a chance at getting out of this one. Or it was where I wanted to make my final stand. The plant entities were too big to get in there. I thought through the city’s map as I formulated my last Hail Mary plan. Unfortunately, there were no Underground entrances or basements I could abuse. No map based tricks I could pull.

“Okay! I’m coming out!” I called as I grabbed the last of my grenades and flashbangs. All at once, I pulled the pins and tossed them towards where the voice came from.

Boom! 

As soon as I heard the explosion, I tossed the bright, eye-catching poncho in the opposite direction from me. It fluttered out as I raced in the opposite direction.

"On the left!" The sound of gunfire filled the air. I didn’t have to turn around to know that my poor poncho had taken the brunt of the force. 

It was mere seconds for them to realize they were shooting a distraction, but that’s all I needed. I ducked behind crates, using them to break the sight lines as I darted for the warehouse. 

Several flashes of Insight caught me, most of them warning me in enough time to dodge shots. Most. I ate a couple more gel rounds across my torso, my ballistic armor blocking them. 

Gel rifles were good—against civilians, that is. Any kind of armor or chrome and gel weapons fell off fast, which is why they hadn’t had a massive boost in popularity. They were more of riot weaponry than anything else. That being said, it stung horribly as I felt the impacts across my back and side.

I smashed a window with my gauntlets, pulling myself up into an office section of the warehouse-

A jolt of electricity jolted through my body, causing every single one of my muscles to seize up. I flopped to the floor, unable to control my body for several long seconds. Taser?

The electricity stopped, allowing me to force myself back up to my feet and crawl behind a desk as I roughly panted-

Another jolt caused every part of my body to spasm, incapable of controlling myself. Not a taser. My head struggled to work as I felt my brain buzz harshly.

The electricity cut out once more. Wha-

My chrome. It was definitely my chrome. My Neural System Interface? Was it overloading my Neural Link? My Neural Link had built-in overload protections, so that must be why it wasn't staying constant. The Netrunner. How though? All my chrome was offline, with nothing connecting-

The electricity interrupted my thoughts once more. I heard the squish of boots as the squads approached the window I busted in through. My Neural Link’s protections kicked in once more, stopping the jolts.

My eye. It must be my eye. That was the only way someone could get access to the rest of me so easily. I can’t just stay here though—they’ll easily be able to capture me if I do. And I can’t run with the constant overloads.

I felt sick as I raised my hand in between bursts. I stared at it for a moment before raising it to my chrome eye. If it was where the Netrunner was getting access, I had to remove it.

I held back bile as my hand closed in.