“Hold the gun steady with both hands, brace it here, then just aim the muzzle at the enemy and pull the trigger. In this kind of street fighting, there’s no time to aim—whoever shoots first has the advantage. This gun’s fine sight adjustment is perfect for beginners.”

Jack Spencer tried mimicking the motions a few times. The heavy weapon in his hands made him feel a bit more at ease, but even though he now had a weapon, he still hoped he wouldn’t have to use it.

“Let’s go. How much longer until we’re out of this space station?”

“According to my radar and our current speed, we’ll be out of the outermost perimeter in about twenty minutes.”

But before he could finish, with a whoosh, Jack Spencer suddenly felt a hot sensation on his left ear, followed by a numbness.

“Enemy attack.” Before Jack Spencer could react, the blue display on Brian Carter’s head instantly turned red, and he quickly pulled the trigger toward the direction the shot had come from.

“Shit!” Clutching his ear, Jack Spencer ducked behind nearby cover. When he took his hand away, his palm was already stained red with blood.

The area above his left ear had been grazed by a bullet, leaving a half-moon notch. If it had been just a little off, his head would have been blown off!

Gritting his teeth, Jack Spencer carefully peeked out from behind cover, looking toward the enemy who had just ambushed him.

These people were hiding behind cover, firing at Brian Carter. They looked like gang members, with all kinds of tattoos on their faces and hands, and were shouting curses in a language he didn’t understand.

The only thing they had in common was the inverted cross brand on their necks.

Even more unusual, just like those who had jumped from the hovercar earlier, each of them had some kind of metal prosthetic on their bodies.

When he saw the bullets they fired sparking off Brian Carter’s body, Jack Spencer immediately raised his gun, braced it on a slanted piece of fireproof metal, and fired back quickly.

At first, the recoil made Jack Spencer’s first few shots go wild, but just as Brian Carter had said, this gun really was good for beginners. Before long, he managed to hit one of their heads, snapping it back violently.

Killing for the first time in a situation like this, Jack Spencer didn’t have time to worry about psychological pressure. Right now, it was kill or be killed—he wished he could take out even more of them.

“Brian Carter!! Find cover!” Jack Spencer shouted to the robot beside him.

Riddled with bullet holes, Brian Carter saw that Jack Spencer was temporarily safe and quickly retreated to his side.

“Boom!” A violent explosion went off, blasting the two of them into a sorry state behind their cover.

“Their firepower is too strong—we’re no match! We need to find a chance to retreat!” The chaos forced Brian Carter to raise his voice.

“No shit! Of course I know that, but how are we supposed to get out of here?!” Jack Spencer fired off another burst as he spoke. If they tried to run now, it would be suicide.

But they couldn’t just keep waiting either. The enemy, seeing there were only two of them, had already started to split up and flank them.

As the anxious Jack Spencer desperately tried to figure out what to do, intense gunfire erupted from the ruins to their left.

Hearing the shots, Jack Spencer immediately had an idea. “Brian Carter! Let’s fall back that way—let them fight each other! We’ll use the chaos to escape!”

“Will that work?”

“Didn’t you say they’re all a bit crazy? Now’s the time to see if you were telling the truth! Besides, do you have a better idea right now?”

With that, Jack Spencer started firing as he retreated.

After a few tense minutes, the gunfire behind them grew closer. Jack Spencer could even catch glimpses of figures in the ruins out of the corner of his eye, but the two sides still hadn’t started fighting each other.

It was as if there was some unspoken agreement: each side kept shooting at their own targets.

A rather battered Brian Carter leaned over to Jack Spencer’s side. “I told you this wouldn’t work. They’re crazy, but they’re not stupid.”

Jack Spencer nodded in agreement. “Exactly. That’s why we need a decoy to get them to shoot at each other.”

With that, Jack Spencer looked at Brian Carter and gave his shoulder a firm, approving pat.

A new image quickly appeared on Brian Carter’s display. “_”

Chapter 7: Wounds

“With great power comes great responsibility, right? I can’t be the one to go out there. At least you’re made of metal—you’re bulletproof.” Jack Spencer said earnestly to Brian Carter.

“Screw you.” Brian Carter gripped his gun, braced his reverse-jointed legs, and launched himself straight at the people behind them.

Bullets from the front quickly followed Brian Carter’s figure, finally drawing a chorus of angry shouts from the other side.

“Haha! It worked!” Jack Spencer watched as the two sides started shooting at each other, and clenched his fist in excitement.

With a sudden “squelch,” Jack Spencer’s smile froze on his face.

He looked down, trembling, to see a blood-soaked arc blade piercing through his abdomen. As the blade was pulled out, hot blood spurted out.

Clutching his stomach, Jack Spencer turned around, but saw no one behind him—only a bloodstained blade floating in midair.