Cyberpunk: 2075

The moment Carl turned the corner at the end of the hallway, he found himself in a massive warehouse, cluttered with machinery and scrap metal, resembling some canned food production line.

In the distance, Oliver and Jack had already taken cover behind a steel workbench, both frantically waving him over.

Oliver clutched his Nova, while Jack, gripping the Copperhead that originally belonged to Oliver, had his sights locked onto the corridor behind Carl, waiting for whoever was chasing him to step into range.

Even though they were ready, neither Jack nor Oliver had any clue what Carl had just encountered.

"That bitch has subdermal armor! My Lexington doesn't do shit to her!"

Carl shouted mid-sprint, explaining why he hadn't dealt with whoever was behind him.

Hearing that, Jack let out a loud, exasperated response.

"Told you to get a better gun, mano!"

"Yeah, well, I'm regretting it NOW!"

Lesson fucking learned. The Copperhead had far more stopping power than the Lexington, but in certain situations, a pistol was irreplaceable.

Pure accuracy alone wouldn't always make up for firepower.

Carl was experiencing that lesson firsthand.

Just a few steps away from reaching Jack and Oliver, Carl heard it—

Heavy footsteps pounding against the metal floor.

She was already here.

"What the fuck?! I had a two-second head start!"

Carl realized he wouldn't reach them in time, so he quickly scanned the area and found something he could use for cover.

A dumpster.

A massive scrap bin, overflowing with discarded steel and machinery parts.

'I swear, I have the worst luck with trash.'

The moment Demon burst out of the corridor, she locked onto Carl's retreating figure, watching as he dove behind the towering dumpster.

At the same time—

Jack and Oliver opened fire.

A storm of Copperhead and Nova rounds rained toward Demon, creating a dense hail of bullets.

But—

Demon didn't even flinch.

She charged forward, completely unfazed.

Her subdermal armor absorbed the barrage, allowing her to eat every shot head-on.

She wasn't trying to survive.

She was charging straight at Oliver—ready to take him down with her.

"Cabrón, she's going for a suicide rush! That's a Crusher—our cover won't stop those shells!"

Jack cursed, his finger locked on the trigger, desperately trying to put her down before she got close enough to use it.

"Her armor's even thicker than we thought—how much did she fucking spend on that upgrade?!"

Oliver shouted in frustration.

Demon wasn't just ignoring their bullets—

She was firing back while charging.

Her Yukimura pistol barked, sending round after round straight at Oliver.

He had no idea who she was, no idea why she was after him.

But she wanted him dead.

And she was about to reach the perfect range.

Subdermal armor neutralized most kinetic force, absorbing the brunt of their bullets' impact.

Some residual shockwaves still hit her body, but they weren't enough to slow her down.

She was already there.

Perfect range.

Demon dropped her empty Yukimura, both hands now gripping her Crusher shotgun.

In just one second, she was about to turn Oliver and Jack into shredded meat—

But Carl wasn't going to let that happen.

Carl hadn't jumped behind the dumpster to run away.

It was to vanish from Demon's line of sight—at least for a moment.

Those six cybernetic eyes covered a wide field of vision, making it nearly impossible to slip past her unnoticed.

But now—now was the moment when all six of Demon's glowing eyes were locked onto her target—

She wanted to watch Oliver get blown to pieces.

And that's when Carl leaped.

Launching himself off the top of the dumpster, Carl crashed down onto Demon.

She heard the rush of air behind her—

But with her Crusher already raised, she couldn't turn in time.

A fully grown adult male weighed at least seventy kilos—and with Carl's full momentum behind it, even Demon's reinforced body couldn't stop herself from being slammed to the ground.

But—

That was all Carl managed to do.

The second his body pressed against the floor, he felt a fist smash into his face.

The force of it nearly threw him off her.

With subdermal armor reinforcing her knuckles, it was like getting hit with a steel gauntlet.

His nose shattered instantly.

Blood gushed down his face.

"Get the fuck off me!"

Demon's left hand was trapped under Carl's thigh, but that didn't matter—

She swung again—

Another metal-fisted punch—

Carl's skull rang like a bell.

His vision blurred.

Consciousness faded.

But—

He had one last shot.

He felt it.

Oliver and Jack were charging in, abandoning their guns to wrestle Demon off him.

But Carl already had his weapon.

He wasn't worried about friendly fire.

The Lexington barked.

At the exact same moment, Demon's fist collided with Carl's face one last time.

His cheekbone caved in.

His head snapped back.

Blood spurted from his lips.

And yet—

Carl grinned.

Because he had figured it out.

Demon's subdermal armor covered her knuckles—

But not her fingers.

And fingers could be shot off.

He didn't shoot the hand punching him.

That hand could still kill him without fingers.

He shot the other hand.

The one clutching her Crusher.

Her fingers exploded.

The massive shotgun slipped from her grasp.

Carl caught it.

And through his swollen, bloodied face, he smirked down at her.

"Pleasure meeting you, sweetheart."

Demon's six red eyes locked onto one thing.

The Crusher.

Now in Carl's hands.

"Better luck next time."

PONG!