Chapter 14: Uprising, the Warrior Who Survives Against All Odds (Part 2)

Sandevistan, an active operating system, squeezes every ounce of potential from the body the moment it's activated, pushing reaction time and physical abilities to the limit. To the user, it feels like time has slowed down or even stopped entirely. Kerenzikov enhances the nervous system under extreme stress, passively boosting the body's reaction speed and squeezing out potential. Kerenzikov's limit is around 50-60% time dilation. The more excited or stressed the user is, the more effective it becomes. However, it's not a particularly useful piece of cyberware compared to Sandevistan. Most people die in combat before they even feel tense. If they're hit by a bullet, Kerenzikov might push the time dilation up to 40% or more, but their bodies are usually too damaged to maintain high-speed movement. For ordinary people, activating this tech might not be a good thing. Since it's a passive effect, it won't trigger when needed, and by the time it does, it might already be too late. But V was different. Once she entered combat, her focus was always at its peak, her body always tense. As V got closer to the mantis blades, with more and more bullets whizzing past her, the world slowed down in her eyes. The bullets Leo fired wildly missed her implanted subdermal armor and struck flesh instead, blossoming into small bursts of blood. Her body began to ache, her nerves tightened, and adrenaline surged, slowing the world even more— She was waiting for an opportunity. The difference between them might only be around 10%, but the rounds fired from the Nekomata were supersonic. At a distance of less than 30 cm from muzzle to body, Knott would need to slow time by 99% just to react. Even if he could react, the physical limits of his body were still there. Sandevistan is a physical enhancement component, not some magic that breaks the laws of physics and exceeds the speed of sound! Bang! The terrifying kinetic impact shattered Knott's body, both mechanical and organic parts alike. The tungsten spike round tore through his form, leaving a hole over 12 cm in diameter in his torso. V rose from the hail of bullets, turned around, and saw Knott fall to his knees— Bang! Another shot, and Knott's head exploded, along with the precious Sandevistan, now reduced to fragments. The gunshot echoed through the sky, leaving only the sound of burning flames in the distance. It was clean, swift, and gave the big guy no chance. "Damn... V, that was amazing." Leo propped himself up on the ground and barely managed to give a thumbs-up. "Taking down a veteran with a Sandevistan using Kerenzikov—if we were in Night City, that'd already make you a legend, assuming Adam Smasher doesn't kill you first." "Screw you." V plopped down on the ground, unable to suppress her smile. "I just killed a Militech elite! I should be the one to take out Smasher! Wait, why do you keep mentioning Smasher? Are you nuts?" "I am nuts." "I think this idiot was nuts too. You have no idea, but he actually stood still like he was dancing, waiting for me to run into him." "Maybe he had an episode." Leo lay on the ground, catching his breath. "Cyberpsychosis?" "What now?" V hugged the Nekomata and looked at Zhu Shen, "He doesn't seem dead yet." Leo forced himself to stay conscious, glancing at Zhu Shen, who was on the verge of passing out. "Leave him—originally, I planned to deal with him myself. Now... let fate decide. No telling when Trauma Team might show up." In reality, Trauma Team wasn't a suicide squad. If Militech had sent in their forces, they'd wait until the dust settled before arriving. V looked at Leo in surprise, "So you planned to sell him out from the start?" "I'm here to make money, not be a lapdog. He broke the rules first. Militech has another wave of reinforcements coming, just behind him. We need to keep moving. Push that car upright and load the goods onto it." Leo pointed to the overturned Militech Behemoth armored vehicle nearby. The thing was at least 5 tons, and V could probably push it upright with some effort—though in theory, the vehicle should have an anti-roll system. "And then? I guess we're wanted criminals for life now. Should we become nomads?" "No." Leo shook his head. "As long as we escape, they won't track us. Don't forget, you're still hunting Scavengers and are only halfway legit, while I—I'm a full-on ghost. They'll trace me back to Atlanta, where I got a neural interface and an eye implant. Look around; everything here is Militech and Kang Tao—personnel, weapons, drones, and vehicles." The dead and broken bodies, cars—all belonged to corporations. The all-powerful Nekomata sniper rifle came from the Veterans Association. And their president was splattered everywhere on the ground—right here. "They'll know someone was involved, but figuring out who? That's their problem. Everyone will believe Kang Tao and Militech had a nasty fight here." "I have no choice but to trust you..." Bang! Just as V was about to say more, a bullet whizzed by, grazing the rock she was hiding behind. She cursed and took cover. "Shit! Reinforcements! Think of something!" Leo ducked and headed for the cargo hold— He hoped Knott hadn't had time to shut down the physical link! He needed to call for backup! "Vic! Vic! Thank God, I need your help!" "This Sandevistan is a true prototype. Sandevistan pushes the nervous system to its limit when activated, so it can't equip any daemons or handle complex netrunning protocols. There's a saying: if you get too deep into the data, your brain will become data; your mind will accelerate until you forget you're human. So Sandevistans have safety protocols to ensure you function like a human, not a supercomputer. But this one doesn't have such limits—not even signed software. Looks like the developer didn't get to that yet. Imagine the combat power of a Sandevistan against regular people—now apply that to netrunning. The instant-response cyber warfare would be just as powerful. But I have to say, this isn't designed for humans." Leo called Vic, asking him to check the cyberware. Vic was shocked; he'd never seen something like this. Unregistered components, unregistered drivers, unregistered code... This was top-tier prototype tech within the company, but clearly not meant for humans. It was likely for research purposes. Of course, it could also be for those meant to die anyway. Hearing Vic's words, Leo's plan shifted— He initially thought about letting V equip the Sandevistan, but it was clear she couldn't handle it. Leo summed up, "So, a regular Sandevistan is only good for combat, but this one is different—it can be used for hacking." "No," Vic shook his head, "you don't get it. It can be used that way, but you'll go mad—probably before you even accomplish anything. The net is a deep abyss; once you fall in, you can't climb out." "I won't go mad." Leo calmly lay on the operating table. "Trust me, I won't go mad. Do it, Vic. This is our only way to escape—" "No—" "There's no time—Vic, do it!" Leo said quietly, "Do it! Or we're all dead!" Bang! The bullets kept coming, some even hitting the cargo door! "Damn it—this is the most unethical job I've ever done! And there's no anesthetic!" Leo turned over on the operating table, a stream of data flowing before his eyes— [Severe pain from surgery is corroding your consciousness] [Remove?] [Removed] [Severe pain from spinal severing...] [Pain from spinal misalignment...] [Removed] The pain— The mind-numbing agony made Leo regret ever coming to this world. But he didn't pass out, nor did he lose his ability to think—he even used his cyber eye to control the surgical table's built-in interface to learn hacking skills! Vic was utterly stunned.