Outrun – Cyberpunk LitRPG
Chapter 251

I staggered down another street, dodging a lunge thanks to Insight’s warning. I fired back toward my attacker with my pistol, though even that was running out of ammo. Of course my stupid luck would put me in this situation. Why'd I have to run into a full pack of hunters?

The hunters behind me didn’t all swarm in like they had before. Instead of the murderous intent they showed earlier, they nipped and clawed at my back, as if urging me to run faster. To just try and escape. There was a sadistic sense of glee radiating from the pack.

I felt a barbed vine whip at me, cleaving through the back of my pants. Mid dodge to escape a lunge, I couldn't even try to avoid it. It left shallow trails of blood all over my calf, slowing me even further. The wound was just a fraction of the ones covering my body from their ‘light’ attacks.

And yet? As I slowed even more? They sat back. They circled. They played with me as if I were already well within their grasp and they could kill me at any time. And while that may be close to the truth, I had a few tricks up my sleeve. I wasn't just running anywhere, even with my concussion pounding at my head.

Everything felt woozy. Every limp painful. I moved past a still-running truck, its alarm blaring. The running engine brought my mind back to the APCs of the Crimson Company. Things had been so much simpler back then... what was it he told me? Always know the win condition?

My win condition here was simple: get away or kill all of the monsters. The latter would be near impossible with my resources already running low. The former was likewise not looking great with my rapidly accumulating injuries. Still, I had a plan. Not a very good one, but a plan nonetheless.

When I first started running, I changed the canteen to produce ammonia. It’d been a while since then as I fled down the streets toward my destination. Hopefully, it’d be enough. I didn't have a tracker or anything, but my scent was definitely what gave me away.

I thought through the map as I nearly slipped in a pool of gore, my leg going out beneath me for a moment. I forced my way forward with Cold-Blooded and sheer determination not to lose my life to runts like these. 

My turn was coming up. I limped forward, warding off a snapping snout with a punch of my shock gauntlets. With an electrical zap, it staggered back, falling into the surging pack. Had the pack grown? I moved to turn down the street-

The rest of the pack darted forward, blocking off my direction change. Barbed vines whipped through the space in an impenetrable wall. The alpha looked far worse for wear with an eye out. It growled and lunged at me, forcing me back onto the path I was originally taking.

I dodged backward, stumbling before catching myself on a car’s outstretched door. I slid off it as one of the wolf-like plant beasts slammed into the car a moment behind me, tearing the door clean off its hinges.

I wasn’t sure at first. The plants I'd seen weren't intelligent. They were manifestations of brutal instinct and violence made flesh- er, fibrous. They didn’t have the IQ to make plans or to play with prey. They followed their instincts like berserkers, not caring what happened to them, nor what they had to do. They weren’t sapient, and they probably weren’t even sentient.

So then- how does a creature that isn’t even sentient know how to toy with prey? Why weren’t they just killing me? I limped past yet another block, heading further and further east away from the Crusade.

The answer was, unfortunately, simple. They weren’t just toying with me. They were forcing me in a direction like hounds driving prey up a tree. And unfortunately, there was only one tree around here that would want such a thing to happen. How'd she know? Was it when that bastard bit my shoulder? Did she have my blood memorized?

I was half tempted to flick on Aetherial Perception and check if she was really watching me. If I was wrong, though? I’d basically be broadcasting my location in the heart of enemy territory. 

For now, I could only run and try to think up a new strategy.

— — — 

I stumbled into a building on the inner rim of blocks surrounding Mother’s tree, ramming a metal bat I’d picked up from a dead man into the handles of the door. They’d let up as I grew closer and closer, easing on the attacks and nips. I was still covered in blood and entirely drained, but their moment of laxness gave me time. Time I couldn’t waste.

The door slammed. One of the beasts threw themselves against it. It’d hold for a minute at most. This opportunity- it was one I couldn’t affford to waste. I limped across the lobby of the building, spraying ammonia from my canteen everywhere to cover my scent. Even through my mask, the pungent and overpowering scent made my nose scrunch up in disgust. 

I cracked open the stair door, though I didn’t go up. Instead, I backed up toward the basement of the building. Smoke and mirrors would hopefully buy me a bit of time. Time to figure out what was coming next.

I was down to my sidearm, and even that only had two mags left. A total of fifteen shots. My grenade launcher was still with me, though I was down to two frags and four pyro grenades. My battery was at half its charge, though that was more than enough for whatever I wanted to do.

Flashes- I was down to one. My very last flashbang. They’d been surprisingly effective against She Who Grow’s plants. They didn’t have flash suppressors. Likewise, I was down on knives. I had a dozen left strapped all over my body, including my replacement emergency shiv in my boot. Hopefully, it'd be enough.

My wrist guns were out of ammo entirely. I hesitated for a brief moment before one off and tossing it into a trash bin. The added weight was only slowing and tiring me down. It was sad to see it go, but I’d rather keep my life. The other one I kept for Dexterity

While I was at it, I dumped the drone and turrets too. The drone I just tossed, but the turrets I treated a bit differently. I put one up to buy me some more time, setting it to shoot at anything that approached. I stripped its twin of ammo, bringing up my ammo count to twenty-three.

My tech… maybe one day I’d be able to come get it back. Doubtful, but I could hope. If I got out of this, I’d have to remake it all. Assuming I get out of this. The AEZ may be where the short-lived adventures of Shiro Tsukuyomi end… though not if I could help it.

I checked my location once more, crossing over into another basement through a shared power relay. The doors were locked and defended, of course, but electricity was out across this section of the city, and locks weren’t hard to get through. I slipped past the gates, securing them behind me.

My phone buzzed as I momentarily got a connection once more. It was an emergency broadcast message to all of the AEZ. ‘Warning! Escape now! Bombardments inbound. Warning!’

A message to get any civilians and mercs still in the AEZ out of this place. Not that there would be any left. How many of them, just like me, were doomed by this very message to leave? With the hunting packs on the prowl, even just attempting to leave would’ve gotten the majority of them caught. And the noise- ugh, my head.

Still though… the bombardment was staring? How’d the Crusade plan go? The Blue Crusade and assorted factions would start their frontal strike on the Circle cult’s HQ, creating a distraction for the elites to slip in. The strike squad would clean up any POIs left over and hit the tree hard and fast, right? Could I- could I try to reroute to them? Get to safety/

I'd have to lose the wolves fully first. I crossed the lobby of the new building and went up the stairs. This place was a love hotel, from what it looked like. I opened the door-

Bang! Bang! Bang!

My turret’s shots faintly rang up from the basement. They were coming in quick. I slipped up the stairs, pouring ammonia around up to the seventh floor. Then I slipped back down to the fifth floor and moved down the hall towards a random room along the back hall. 

I ignored the overwhelming rose scent of the place and moved toward the window on the far side of the room. It took a few hits to shatter it, letting in the fresh scent of acidic rain into the place. Soothingly cool and wet wind also blew in, pushing back the stale air. It felt refreshing against my heated flesh.

I peeked out, eying the alley that the hotel’s window opened out into. This place had at least tried to make the alley view appealing. Elaborate art designs and graffiti covered the wall across the way. Not the street stuff, but professional-looking graffiti. To be fair, it looked worse than street stuff, though it was far more tame. 

I staggered back, feeling an intense sense of vertigo as I stared at the five-floor drop back down to the street side. The blood loss was really starting to get to me. 

I slowed down, taking deep breaths as I pulled out the medical supplies and quickly wrapped my injuries. The worst of them I filled with as much gauze and disinfectant as possible, but I really didn’t have time to treat them much more than that.

"Grrr." A growl erupted from down the hall. It was only a matter of time till they got here.

I lunged out the window,  the Drop Chutes kicking on before I could hit the ground. Although the four sputtered slightly, they did their job as I hit the ground with barely any impact. No time to waste. Hopefully, that’d let me lose the hounds. I staggered out of the alley, intent on moving along the inner edge of the tree’s field of destruction to put up some space-

Fuck! You’ve gotta be kidding me! I felt like crying as I ran face-to-face into a large group of the ent-like creatures waiting just outside the buildings. Reinforcements for the wolf-beasts. It seemed Mother was truly intent on getting me to go where she wanted. How very unfortunate.

Maybe they hadn’t seen me-

A root surged through the ground, grabbing onto my leg. It didn’t do any damage, instead growing up and over my ankle as if making a splint. Part of the wood broke off, a corrosive ooze seeping through the bark as it wrapped around my leg. It didn't burn me, but I could feel it tingling against my injury.

I tried to shake it off. By the time I—drained and exhausted—could react, the root already let go. I staggered off to the side, trying to escape-

The group of ents encircled me, their large, lumbering frames easily outpacing my much smaller steps. All my attempts and plans fell apart as the much more intimidating and dangerous trees gathered around me. It felt as if Mother herself was sitting there, laughing at my feeble attempts.

Thankfully, they didn’t attack like the wolf-beasts did, their motions almost gentle as they pushed and prodded me out of the alley with vines and roots. Their intentions were clear. I could practically hear them speaking. Move it. 

They led me out of the inner ring of buildings in the AEZ and toward the forest directly encircling Mother’s gargantuan tree. More and more plant monsters joined with each step, making my chances of escape even slimmer. It was as if Mother learned not to just leave it up to one group to keep me captive, like she had with the wolf-like monsters. The hope I’d barely kept alive finally started to die inside my chest.

Escape wasn’t in the cards for me. Mother was an entity on the level of the eidolons. Why had I thought I’d be able to get away once she caught my scent in the heart of her domain? Of course, she'd swarm me... what did she even want? Why go to such lengths? I staggered along, freedom more and more distant with each forced step.