7:38am.

The moment the reinforcement from the Zmer gang arrived, Leon and the rest of his crewmates knew instantly that the situation already changed.

When they saw Parasite charging towards Talia, they panicked.

Afterall, despite how valiantly she had fought against the representative from the Omnicore Federation, in the end, she was still a newly promoted Neo NetRunner who had not even enjoyed her status as an E Rank Ascended for up to a week yet.

Compared to her opponents who were both veterans, she was a newbie. 1v1 was still doable, but 2v1? Nah.

Daren and Brick didn't hesitate.

CRKSH!

Both broke the window and directly jumped out of the bus that they hijacked immediately as they fearlessly charged towards the battle of Neo Ascended.

They were charging towards E Rank Ascended, Ascended who were a whole rank ahead of them but they showed no signs of fear with Talia's life on the line.

They believed in Talia's might, but they were rational. There was no way Talia was surviving against two veteran enemies of the same rank alone, so both of them took it upon themselves to help her.

When Parasite's kick sent Talia flying, both Ascended felt even more desperate as they accelerated faster, thinking of how to survive the fury of two E Rank Ascended.

When Talia saw them coming, she wanted to yell at them to stop but the pain in her ribs affected her lungs and no sound came out.

When Parasite saw them coming though, he laughed and grinned. "Good, come, come let me take you to the deep waters and show you exactly who you are!" He cackled in a maniacal manner.

Then he charged at the two F Rank Ascended while Ben rushed towards Talia.

Parasite didn't see reason to use any of his abilities on them, he simply relied on his passive abilities and raw E Rank might to raise his Zweihander high as he swung it down in a powerful downward slash at the duo.

Both scattered and dodged.

BAM!

Where the tip of the Zweihander hit, the ground cracked open.

Parasite could not lift the heavy weapon immediately for another attack, and the two F Rank Ascended knew this. This was the opportunity that they sought.

From the right, Daren closed in on the E Rank Gene Augur with fire burning in his veins even as he attacked with his VX-09 Emberfist gauntlets.

Impact Surge!

Overheat Drive!

Ember Burst!

With doubled strength gathered through the gauntlets, and with his next attack poised to deal +40% damage through Impact Surge, Daren punched and his right gauntlet generated a directional flame shock-punch with a 2.5m cone range.

BOOM!

The gauntlet slammed into Parasite's side, the extreme temperature flames directly devouring him as his skin burned and blistered, beginning to fall off even as a burnt smell lingered in the air.

Despite the world of pain that he must be in, Parasite showed no signs of pain on his face as instead he laughed maniacally.

Cell Repair!

His skin started visibly regenerating right in front of Daren's eyes.

Daren's eyes widened and before he could react, Parasite moved at blinding speeds. One moment, he was taking his punch, the flames eating through his flesh and the next his right elbow was already smashing towards Daren's chest.

Daren couldn't think, he reacted instinctively.

Kinetic Absorption!

CRACK!

The ability took a part of the damage, saving his life but Daren still gasped for breath as he felt majority of his chest bones directly fracture from that single attack.

Blood vessels in his eyes ruptured, turning his eyes blood-red.

But despite the blinding pain, he didn't hesitate as he converted the damage absorbed by Kinetic Absorption, converting it into energy for his counterblow as his left gauntlet smashed into Parasite's abdomen.

BAM!

Daren gave it his all, and hearing Parasite grunt slightly from the impact felt like music to his ears as it made him smile maniacally through his bloodied lips.

He grinned, revealing his bloodied lips, then he growled. "Let's dine in hell!"

He pounced on the E Rank Gene Augur.

Parasite's predatory blood-red eyes moved behind his reflective aviator sunglasses, but just as he was about to move, he felt a cold body slam into him from behind as a mechanical body hardened like stone wrapped around him, grappling him and forcefully holding him in place.

Brick tightened all his mechanical body's musculature as he held on to Parasite's body for dear life, holding him in place.

Impact Surge!

Daren pounced and threw a Superman punch straight at the Warlord's face, making him bleed again as a cut appeared on his face.

Parasite twisted his lips, tasted the blood and spat it out, then he grinned. "Muahahahahaha!" He laughed like a mentally deranged man.

"Haha, hahahaha, hahahahaha, c'mon, I'm loving this!"

"C'MON!!!" He roared and responded.

Bio-Pulse!

He flexed his muscles and the force generated instantly overpowered the Synth Gene Augur that was grappling him from behind.

The carbon-fiber musculature of Brick's mechanical hands directly ruptured, leaving his hands limp and weak as Brick groaned in pain.

Parasite turned around with a maniacal gleam in his eyes, briefly released the handle of his Zweihander and grabbed the Synth's two mechanical hands, then he head-butted him.

BAM!

Brick suffered an instant concussion.

Parasite was about to kill Brick. Seeing this, Daren's eyes gleamed with madness as he charged forward to save Brick but unknown to him, a new pair of eyes already appeared behind Parasite's head- a new organ.

When he charged, the eerie ADE-fed pair of eyes tracked his movement, then Parasite moved.

Before Daren could even know what was happening, Parasite's right hand grabbed the handle of the Zweihander again before it could fall then moved with blinding speed, slamming the handle against Daren's forehead.

BANG!

Dareb saw stars as he also suffered a concussion.

Parasite's grin widened as he raised the Zweihander, about to cut the Cyber Gladiator in twain but at that moment, he suddenly shuddered.

Data Lash!

An injured but determined Talia escaped Ben's blockade, charging towards him with a maniacal look in her eyes.

When Parasite recovered, he grinned as he looked at her. "Hey babygirl, such ferocity, ahh… it's making me horny!"

"Such a pity that you just want to f*cking die!"

With his free left hand, he grabbed Daren by the head and slammed him against the ground, then he faced the advancing Neo NetRunner.

…

While Talia, Daren, and Brick fought against Parasite and Ben, the 3 of them still being at a great disadvantage, Leon, Rex, Kain, and the other rebels of community G also fought their own battles.

Cell picked out Leon as soon as he arrived, jumping from the super bike and turning into a torrent of shadows as he approached the Mechanist.

In the face of the torrent of shadows, Leon felt his heart pound loudly in his ears as the Gene Augur approached.

BADUMP! BADUMP!

Just like in the siege of the cargo trailer, he felt fear. But just like then, he didn't let the fear paralyze him.

Leon stood his ground as he equipped his Air Gun Rifle from the leather bag, aimed into the torrent of shadows before beginning to unleash projectile after projectile into it as he chipped at the shadow.

Bam… bam… bam…

It didn't matter though, Cell stayed completely unharmed.

When the shadow came close enough, it morphed and Parasite's right hand man emerged from inside.

At some point, he already switched his scabbard with his two swords from his back to his belt by the side of his waist.

This way, he could quickly and easily unsheathe both swords for battle.

And now, he did.

Swhing!

The metallic sound of both blades leaving their scabbards reverberated like thunder, ruthlessly cutting through the air.

Both swords were a Jian, sharp and deadly. Cell wielded them with the confidence of a warrior who had slaughtered hundreds with his weapons as he pounced at the Mechanist.

Seeing this, Leon didn't hesitate. Knowing that his Air Gun was useless in close range, he threw it to the side and finally picked up the Flux Crystal Spear.

Then, he fearlessly faced the F Rank Gene Augur.

CLANG!

When Cell's Jian clashed against Leon's Spear, he was pushed back, showing the clear disparity in strength between the both of them.

Leon staggered, but his eyes remained sharp as he stayed focused.

Clang… clang… clang…

The both of them charged and fought, turning into a hurricane of steel, forming just a part of the chaotic battle royale now taking place in the wasteland.

As for Kain and Rex, they faced Alexander Cain.

The familiar square-faced Cyber Gladiator stared at them with an amused expression on his face as he walked towards them.

Alexander Cain wielded a Spear.

"Hehe, if it's not my personal mechanics". He grinned. "Say, will you guys surrender if I ask you to?"

"I don't want to destroy such promising talents".

"By the way, where's my guns? Don't tell me you guys forgot about your business client, did you?"

Kain and Rex didn't answer him, instead the both of them opened fire.

Bam… bam… bam…

Alexander Cain casually blocked the attacks with the large blade of his Spear even as he pivoted his body to dodge the rest, then he charged forward.

Ba-dump! Ba-dump!

Kain and Rex could feel their hearts beating rapidly as they faced this man. They may have survived the siege of the cargo trailer, but they were mostly carried by Daren, Brick, and Ghostwire.

They were creators, not fighters.

Besides, they knew that facing an Ascended in battle was far different from facing an F Rank Neon Beast in battle.

In front of this Cyber Gladiator, they felt fear.

When Cain charged, they retreated as they kept the steady barrage of bullets, forcing the Cyber Gladiator to halt and dodge.

Only one thought rang in their head over and over again. 'We must maintain distance!'

They knew not to let a Cyber Gladiator get close. If he did, one attack would be enough to take their lives.

But by keeping the distance with their weapons, they at least stood a chance.

Afterall, despite being a Cyber Gladiator who were expert combatants, a well-timed bullet could still take Alexander Cain down. Cain also knew this and he dared not be hasty as he maintained a steady and patient battle approach.

He had no doubts in his mind that eventually, he would kill both Ascended.

They were riding on the edge of life and death.

And with every important opponent already taken care of, Swain was left free with the other thugs from the Zmer gang.

The F Rank Gene Augur led the thugs to descend on the rebels.

All hell broke loose.

…

7:40am.

Community G, a cyber-lab inside the cell tower base.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The loud sounds reverberating from the dangerous battle royale in the drone footage made Brad pale and flinch in fear.

He shuddered. "W-w-will they be alright?" He was frightened by what he was seeing as he could not help but fear for his life.

From what the drone footage was showing, their crewmates were at a great disadvantage. Parasite plus an unknown E Rank NetRunner was just an unfair combination to face in battle.

Talia was already injured, and her injuries were gradually increasing against the 2 enemy E Rank Ascended even with Brick and Daren's help.

Leon was not injured yet but against Cell, a veteran Gene Augur, they could tell that he was barely hanging on.

As for Rex and Kain, both were barely surviving against the assault of a single enemy Ascended, Alexander Cain.

If things continued like this, it was only a matter of time before the first casualty appeared. After that, the casualty list would only continue to climb.

As for the final enemy Ascended, another variable of the Zmer gang that they failed to account for, with all the enemy Ascended occupied by his teammates, the enemy Gene Augur was free to cause havoc alongside the thugs of the Zmer gang.

Swain was sweeping through the rebels that followed Talia to rescue the slaves, and 3 of them were already dead!

Against an Ascended, they stood no chance.

Ghostwire's eyes gleamed in desperation. 'I need to do something!'

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