Chapter 46: Chapter 46
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At the end of his tether, a person starts to feel like the whole world is against them. This thought hovered in Carter Smith's mind, refusing to dissipate, even after working for Arasaka Corporation for many years. He still couldn't shake the feeling of being ostracized to the brink of danger. The noise of the gangsters in the car behind, the dark hand of the corporation pressing down on him, and the spine that had never been able to straighten in his life. He gripped the steering wheel tightly in both hands, struggling to suppress the intense restlessness within him, telling himself over and over again that it would be okay if he could just endure a little longer.
Unknowingly, Carter's eyes began to tremble eerily, gaping like the eyes of a dead fish. It was as if he suddenly rushed into a river on the brink of drying up, becoming a salmon desperately trying to find its home ocean, yet blindly at a loss for direction. Anxiety, panic, and helplessness threatened to overwhelm him.
Suddenly, he seemed to hear his mother Mary's gentle calling. A caring voice came from the other end of the phone, "Child, what happened? Aren't you at work at the company?" Carter woke from his daze, lifting his head slightly to see his own reflection in the rearview mirror, his forehead drenched in sweat. With a look of resolution, his expression turned from bewilderment to determination.
He didn't have time to explain the situation, just told his mother to lock the doors at home and wait for his return, not to open the door for anyone. After hanging up the phone, Carter didn't hesitate. He slammed on the brakes, the tires screeching against the asphalt, leaving two long black marks. The vehicles following him couldn't swerve in time and crashed into the rear of Carter's car, causing a severe rollover. The gangster's car flipped over, dragging a trail of sparks as it hit the curb and came to a stop. Nearby vehicles quickly avoided the crash, and the traffic behind slammed on their brakes, causing an impassable jam.
Carter turned the steering wheel and quickly parked the car in the middle of the road, determined to bid farewell to his past subservient self today. He stepped out of his car and walked straight towards the overturned vehicle, his high-end cybernetics fully activated, red lines glowing on his body. The honking from the vehicles trapped behind ceased when they saw someone from Arasaka approach, and the scene fell silent except for the beams of a few headlights.
Although not a top executive like Tang Yu, Carter Smith was a middle management officer of Arasaka. His entire cybernetic body was not only outfitted with standard Arasaka gear but also upgraded with his own money for premium combat implants and a high-performance operating system chip. However, he had never shown anyone these upgrades - they were his hidden trump cards, not to be revealed until absolutely necessary.
But today, he didn't hold back any longer. He couldn't tolerate it anymore! Faced with the gangsters provoking death, Carter decided to take them on directly. He slowly pulled out the thermal katana developed by Arasaka, its nanoheat wire igniting with a hot crimson glow. Carter strode towards the overturned car. With one swing, the entire car door was sliced cleanly off, falling to the ground with a loud clang.
The gangsters inside, seeing Carter approaching like a demon incarnate, pulled out their guns and shot at him in a frenzy. Bang! Bang! Bang! The bullets hit Carter's subdermal metal armor, causing sparks to fly without any harm. Without hesitation, Carter thrust his thermal katana into the gangster's skull, the high heat instantly turning his brain to a smoking, melting mess.After dealing with the thug in the driver's seat, three more people, crawling and kneeling, squeezed out of the vehicle. Seeing Carter Smith kill their companion, some pulled out their mantis blades while others brandished guns, charging at him with furious shouts. Carter activated his neural control system and, with a slight bend in his knees to trigger the servomotor in his prosthetics, he charged forward in a swift stride. A flash of red light, and he'd reaped the heads of all three. The heads tumbled to the ground, rolling off to the side of the road as the headless bodies stood for a moment before silently collapsing, their necks neatly seared by the thermal blade.
Bystanders who witnessed the massacre by the Arasaka employee immediately cried out in alarm, activating their prosthetics or pulling out their phones to start recording. But before Carter could sheathe his sword, he heard multiple drones hovering overhead issuing a warning.
"Arasaka Corporation Grade 4 employee, Deputy Head of Counter-Intelligence, Carter Smith."
"Drop your weapon immediately and return to Arasaka Tower for debriefing!"
Carter turned to see the Special Ops team; five squads had been deployed, swiftly surrounding him from every direction, leaving no room for escape. Knowing he had no way out, Carter chuckled coldly.
"I always knew I'd die at the hands of the company, just didn't expect it to come so soon," he said with a bitter laugh. His eye prosthetics whirled with yellow light circles in a final effort to plead with Susan Abernathy to spare his mother, Mary.
Then he dialed his mother, Mary, again.
"Carter! Someone's knocking at the door!"
"You told me to wait for you, I haven't opened it!"
"They said they are your friends."
Hearing his mother's plea for help, Carter's eyes bulged with rage, completely overtaken by explosive fury. They'd gone after his mother, Mary, after all. He gripped the thermal katana in his hands tightly; his entire body trembling, his gaze starting to quiver ominously.
"Mom, I'm sorry I failed you..."
"There's a pistol in my room, please..."
Carter couldn't bring himself to say what needed to be said, knowing that being captured by the company would lead to an even more miserable end.
"Carter, I understand..."
A moment later.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out from the other end of the line. Carter lost all control, howling in agony towards the heavens.
"Ah!!!" Tears helplessly streaked down his cheeks. With his last desperate cry, Carter aimlessly charged at the Special Ops team with his sword drawn.
"Carter Smith is attacking Arasaka Special Ops; suspected onset of cyberpsychosis, eliminate immediately!"
Instantly.
Carter felt his body stiffen, his prosthetics unresponsive, issuing warnings as the sword he swung failed to descend.
Bang!
Another gunshot. As Carter was paralyzed, a bloody hole appeared in his forehead, before he collapsed to the ground not to rise again, his eyes wide open in a mix of regret and defiance.
The Arasaka Special Ops team quickly surrounded Carter Smith's body and reported back, "Report: Carter Smith violated company protocols, experienced cybernetic prosthetic malfunction, and has been dealt with."
Soon after.
All information about the employee Carter was locked, and related benefits ceased.
Carter lay bleeding incessantly on the ground, with his bio-monitoring signal from his neck automatically sending out an alert.
"Your Trauma Team insurance has been canceled by your employer, Arasaka Corporation. If you require our assistance, please..."
Not long after.
Plop!
A splash erupted on the calm bay's surface. The body, wrapped up like a dumpling, was thrown into the depths of the sea, sinking out of sight.
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