Chapter 23 Paying Off Debts

Joseph relentlessly weaved through the forest, his skin showing numerous signs of corrosion, exposing half of his mechanically augmented face, which resembled a metallic skull.

One of his eyes glimmered with a red brilliance.

"Beasts..."

The half-skull mechanical visage of Joseph twisted into a ferocious expression.

Who would have thought that a mere Awakening Day would bring about such a mess?

The death of Inner City offspring on Awakening Day, how long had it been since that was news?

Such a disgrace!

But thinking of the troublesome Yuan Force creatures, and the Python-like monster he had caught a glimpse of when he had looked back earlier, Joseph felt a heavy weight in his heart.

Fortunately, he was partly mechanized, and in combination with certain devices on his body, he had fairly advanced methods of masking his scent; otherwise, he might have already been caught by those creatures.

Even now, through the early warning devices he had set up along his path, he could sense that those things were drawing near.

Although the number seemed small, enough for him to deal with, Joseph had no intention of turning to fight!

These were cunning Yuan Force creatures, they would intentionally expose weaknesses to entice their prey, giving the illusion that they could be defeated.

The reason he and his partner had lasted so long was precisely this; having barely escaped, he couldn't risk trying his luck!

"When I make it back successfully, I'll bring people to wipe out your nest, damn it, the losses are massive!"

Even by Joseph's net worth, he couldn't help but feel pained at the losses incurred along the way.

Whether it was the Guile Thunder or the cost of repairing the corroded parts on his body, the expenses were not cheap.

To gain nothing and lose so much was truly embarrassing.

"I hope that B-rank kid is still alive; otherwise, there's really no gain at all."

Joseph then thought about the three thousand units of Yuan Force he had lent out and the B-rank talent from the Outer City mud-leg.

If that mud-leg survived, it might make up for some of the loss.

Having suffered such a great loss, he needed to recover somewhere.

However, the idea of using the loan relationship to make him a lackey felt like a bad deal, he had to find a way to turn him into a personal cannon fodder and slave!

This wilderness environment was more dangerous than expected!

"Get a loan from his family, give them a bit more 'Happiness', I should be able to arrange something, I'll think it over carefully..."

Joseph pondered to himself, surely an Outer City mud-leg receiving favor from an Inner City offspring like himself would be eternally grateful?

"Hmm?"

It was at that moment Joseph froze, halting and on high alert, as the last early warning device he had set up was triggered, but it failed to send back a clear image!

Something was coming!

Standing still, ceasing the noise created by his own movement, Joseph increased his ability to process sounds.

But apart from the sound of the wind through the branches, no other noises were captured by him.

Joseph's shoulder-mounted gun elevated, his mechanical arm once again switching to Gatling mode, his other hand withdrawing a High-Energy Incendiary Bomb, as a look of seriousness appeared on his half-mechanized skull-like face, the mechanical eye scanning all around.

However, the next moment, a bullet struck his forehead with a sneaky angle!

The severe impact made the bullet seem embedded into the metallic skull.

Before Joseph could recover from the massive shock, a soul-tearing sensation suddenly emerged!

He had felt this kind of attack before!

It was the kind of attack his father had him get accustomed to in advance, to remind him of some special offensive techniques!

It was an attack from the psychic side!

Psychic energy on a bullet?

What the hell?!

But his thoughts were immediately shattered by the second bullet, followed by the third! The fourth!

The continuous ripping sensation disrupted all his thoughts, breaking every consideration!

Da-da-da~

A succession of bursts came from the treetops in the distance.

Intense pain caused Joseph to twist and struggle in place, but it was futile; the bullets, as if they had eyes, locked firmly onto his head!

The Alloy Exoskeleton, specifically thickened for vital areas, which even Aliens couldn't penetrate, now burst with sparks from the bullet collisions.

The relentless psychic onslaught in his brain left Joseph incapable of mounting an effective counterattack, only able to madly fire his shoulder cannon aimlessly.

Breaking the surrounding branches, leaving terrifying gashes on the giant trees, even toppling two of them!

The transformed Gatling in his hand whipped around wildly, sending debris flying.

The unactivated High-Energy Incendiary Bomb also fell limply from his hand to the ground.

The next moment, he even opened his mouth, revealing a dark gun barrel, and began shooting indiscriminately.

He looked insane!

Bursts of electronic noise poured out of the 'speaker' in his chest.

"Come out, beasts! Beasts!"

"Who is it! Who is it!"

But obviously, no one could answer his questions, leaving Joseph in agony as he struggled futilely and raged in vain.

Finally, a bullet pierced through the last layer of protection, lifting the armor over his eye socket, and drilled in mercilessly.

Da-da-da~

After firing blindly into the air for a while, Joseph's body stiffened and he fell to the ground.

But even though he was already on the ground, the shooting never paused for a moment, continuing until two magazines were emptied. It was only then that Tao Yu started to reload a fresh magazine while refilling the empty ones with bullets.