Belmont frowned, scrutinizing the new intruder.
Although her face was obscured and hard to make out, judging by her figure and voice, she was clearly just a little girl.
But the large hole in the concrete wall of the warehouse behind her, along with the gang members lying dead further away, all proved one thing: she wasn’t simple.
Before Belmont could think further, he heard a gulu gulu rolling sound on the floor.
The pitch-black sphere emitted a blinding flash of light on the ground.
Boom!
As the explosion sounded, Belmont quickly distanced himself from it.
The eight prosthetic limbs on his back swung flexibly, instantly sending him over ten meters away.
“…Sleight of hand?”
Only after creating distance did Belmont realize that, although the sound and light were intense, the impact from the explosion was much weaker than expected.
“This is a storage site for flammable and explosive materials, so of course I have to control the force, right?”
Bres said, rubbing his sore wrist.
Belmont didn’t respond, silently assessing the current situation.
Bres deep in the warehouse and Qiao Anni at the entrance had already flanked Belmont, putting him in a very disadvantageous position.
‘He could only use “that.”‘
“I was planning to use this on a tougher opponent…”
Belmont said, reaching his hand to the back of his neck and pressing something.
The next second, he dropped to his knees, his whole body convulsing violently, as if every muscle was trembling.
The spider-like prosthetic on his back also began moving, its speed and frequency even more frantic.
He stood up from the ground, not using a cane, but the prosthetic on his back.
“I’ll use you to test my blade!”
The blades swept in like a storm.
The prosthetic lost by Delaifu Logistics Company originated from the research lab of Titan Company.
That was the early stage when prosthetics were still mainly used for medical purposes.
A researcher whose name was unknown to the public proposed developing a prosthetic that did not replace existing limbs but added new “limbs” on top of the original ones.
This bold hypothesis piqued the interest of Titan’s higher-ups.
Eventually, at the behest of the higher-ups, the company began investing in the research and development of this prosthetic.
Afterward, the external prosthetic was born.
It was a prosthetic composed of eight long blades, named “Arachne” after its appearance.
During testing, the prosthetic’s test subjects exhibited astonishing offense-defense balance and flexibility.
Its effectiveness far surpassed the combat prosthetics on the market.
But problems quickly followed.
First, Arachne’s size was so large that it would affect the user’s daily life to some extent.
Second, during long-term testing, a fatal problem with external prosthetics was exposed—adaptability.
An external prosthetic is like a third hand, increasing the user’s neural load.
Due to its enormous size, Arachne further exacerbated this burden.
Before long, all test subjects exhibited varying degrees of cyber psychosis symptoms.
Finally, and most importantly, the project was shut down due to its extremely low cost-effectiveness.
The costs of Arachne from development, production, installation, to maintenance were astronomical.
Neither organizations nor military forces in need of combat prosthetics would ever purchase such an expensive and hard-to-maintain thing.
And those wealthy enough to use such a prosthetic had no reason to abandon their natural limbs and turn themselves into an eight-legged monster.
The company had no reason to continue burning money on such a low-return project.
As a result, the “Arachne” project was completely halted shortly after clinical trials, leaving only a few prototype test units locked deep in a warehouse.
Years later, they were secretly taken to the Lower City District’s black market, and finally loaded into Delaifu’s cargo containers.
And then, it was mounted on Belmont’s back.
As Bres was recalling the data he had gotten before departure, a sharp whistling sound cut through the air.
He instinctively ducked his head, and a blade grazed past the top of his head, sending a tingle through his scalp.
He quickly retreated, simultaneously taking a small bomb from his waist and hurling it at Belmont.
Belmont casually waved his hand, and the bomb exploded in midair.
The smoke momentarily obscured Belmont’s vision.
“Qiao Anni!”
Bres shouted.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Qiao Anni seized the opportunity, raising her gun and firing continuously at Belmont.
Having lost sight, Belmont drove Arachne to shield himself.
Clink, clink, clink.
The smoke cleared.
The deformed bullet heads fell to the ground, but Arachne’s glossy shell didn’t even have a dent.
“That hard?”
Qiao Anni exclaimed.
Before her words faded, Arachne’s sharp claws slashed at Qiao Anni.
Qiao Anni quickly dropped her gun and blocked with her already deployed prosthetic arm.
The prosthetics collided, sending sparks flying.
Then, Qiao Anni struck with her other fist.
Accompanied by a dull thud, one of Arachne’s claws was slightly bent.
The moment the claw bent, Belmont’s movements also faltered.
‘Guess I have no right to talk about him either.’
Qiao Anni gave a wry smile.
In the distance, Bres’s eyes widened—this was the first significant damage dealt to Belmont since the fight began.
Belmont grinned fiercely.
“You’re not any less bloody than me, little girl.”
“Don’t lump me together with you!”
Qiao Anni kicked at Belmont’s side.
Belmont quickly summoned Arachne to protect his abdomen, but the previously damaged claw couldn’t fully block the attack.
Belmont was still sent flying several meters by the immense force.
His eyes darkened, and he then switched his target to Qiao Anni.
In Belmont’s view, this being in front of him, who had also abandoned humanity and flesh, was more threatening than the man in the distance.
“Huh? Ah?”
This was truly a display of bared fangs and claws.
Qiao Anni gritted her teeth and began dodging and weaving within the deadly net of interwoven blades.
‘Although my limbs are already prosthetic, my torso is still flesh and blood. If I get hit by that thing, I’ll probably be cut in half and end up on the ground.’
The two fought while moving, like a hurricane, turning everything in their path into ruins.
“Bres! Give me a hand! Or think of something!”
Thanks to her enhanced heart and lungs, Qiao Anni could still call for help from Bres in between dodges.
Bres leaned against the wall and reopened the small computer.
“Give me two minutes! No! One minute is enough!”
“I really hope I won’t be missing an arm or a leg by then…”
Qiao Anni complained, while intentionally luring Belmont away from Bres.