In a dark space, just like a spark of light lights up the space, illuminating everywhere and turning into a beacon, so did the idea that suddenly popped up in Leon's head illuminate his whole world as his eyes twinkled like gleaming stars.
'I have an idea!'
Leon had seen the whole crew in action.
He had seen the ridiculous power and agility of a Cyber Gladiator, the resilience of a Gene Augur, and the ability of a NetRunner, yet he didn't believe that they stood a chance against this stampede.
This was why he was worried and uptight, and this was why he had been thinking since, and finally, a crazy idea lit up in his head like a lightbulb.
Leon observed his surroundings, taking all the information in.
'…batteries… energy reactors… flux crystal…'
He made deductions, and with the deductions, combining the clues, he came up with a radical plan. 'I can jury-rig a bomb!'
He was an avid engineer in his previous life, but in his free time, he also played video games. Leon had once played a game where the main character jury-rigged a bomb, bombing a bridge that led to his eventual escape.
Then, it was just science fiction, but what about now?
In this strange world full of crazy powers that he was still getting used to, he felt that anything was possible.
He had no idea if it would be successful. Afterall, he had no idea if there was any precedent to this. He was going in completely blind, but it kind of made him excited.
The thrill of the unknown, the excitement of a crazy experiment…
'F*ck! You need to calm the f*ck down!' He berated himself even as his brain geared into overdrive.
By combining the traits of this world- ADE, with the batteries and energy reactors ravaged and left to waste in the aftermath of the double-layered storm and the beast stampede, including the Flux Crystals left in his destroyed Spear, Leon felt that his radical plan could actually work.
But he was hesitant.
'What if I don't do it well? What if it backfires and explodes, killing me instead? F*ck, that's a pathetic way to die!'
He took a deep breath. 'I only have one chance'.
His dilemma didn't last long because soon enough, the luxury of choice was taken away from him when a familiar aura that almost traumatized him swept through him and the whole battlefield.
Bzzz!
Leon shuddered. 'Another E Rank?!' He was alarmed.
Due to the sheer number of Neon Beasts, he couldn't see where the new E Rank Beast was, but the suppressive ADE that pressed down on his very being was too familiar for him to forget the feeling after experiencing the Ostrich.
And soon, he confirmed it when…
BOOM!
The E Rank Neon Beast tore through its own kind as a wind tunnel seemed to tear a hole through the ranks of Neon Beasts, charging straight at Daren.
With wide eyes, Leon finally saw this Neon Beast clearly.
It was a Jaguar!
Its jaws were reinforced by metal, making it look more like a Robot, revealing rows of black metallic teeth dripping with blue and black oily blood.
On the side of its ribs on both sides, there was a folded metallic bulge; Leon's engineering instincts told him that the metallic bulge could elongate to form something, maybe a weapon.
It's leg were long and swift, and around it, violent wind flared, powered by ADE as with it, this Neon Beast moved at a rapid speed.
Brick instinctively tried to move and intercept the threat as the tank, but the Neon Beast was too fast.
It opened its jaws, aiming at Daren's head, then…
SNAP!
The metallic jaws and teeth snapped close with a bite force that ignited a mini sonic boom! But they only met empty air.
Daren once again showcased the ridiculous agility and reaction speed of a Cyber Gladiator as in the last moment, he leaned back, jerking his head away from the lethal strike, but that was not the Jaguar's only mode of attack.
As soon as its jaws missed, its front left paw slashed, revealing long metallic claws that gleamed sharply.
This time, Daren couldn't dodge.
The claws struck his abdomen, tearing through his reptilian scales with effortless ease as it gorged 1/3rd of his abdomen out!
Daren lost the entire right part of his abdomen, the entire right rib!
Daren gasped as blood vessels rapidly gathered in his eyes, turning them blood-red. The pain almost paralyzed him, but he managed to move because the Jaguar was not yet done.
As soon as its front left paw attacked, the front right paw also followed to end its job in a devastating combo even as its hind limbs also pounced, aiming to pin Daren to the ground.
But Daren reacted.
CLANG!
A loud metallic ringing sound reverberated as with his left gauntlet, he blocked the second claw attack from the Jaguar, surviving at the expense of his weapon as large metallic chunks from it were pulled out by the Neon Beast.
At that moment, even as he coughed red blood, Daren pulled out with a backward roll to evade any follow-up attack.
It was at that moment that Brick finally reacted, recklessly jumping in to intercept the Jaguar even if that meant forfeiting his life.
And that was when Leon also moved.
It was instinctive. He didn't even think about it; as soon as he saw the attack and saw blood, his body moved on instinct.
"Leon!" Kain called but Leon didn't look back.
"Cover me!" His voice barely sounded out amid the chaos.
Kain didn't know what the human was up to, but he vividly remembered exactly what Leon could do. And desperate with no hope to claw on, he instinctively diverted his attention from Brick and Daren, leaving their fate to the heavens to decide as he put all his attention on Leon.
Bam… bam… bam…
He pulled the trigger, releasing bullet after bullet into the stampede of Neon Beasts that were all around the rapidly moving Mechanist.
Leon ducked, jumped, rolled, smeared his body against the ground- he did everything to stay mobile as he moved through the stampede.
And as he moved, he spotted what he was looking for- batteries, reactors, and the Flux Crystals from his spear. As he ducked, he picked them, even as his left hand slashed with the dagger at any Neon Beast that got too close.
~----~
[You have stored an item in your Inventory!]
~----~
What Leon was doing was reckless.
He was dancing on the edge of death, but he already realized that if he didn't do this, he would die and all of them would die.
Adrenaline flooded through him, pushing him to always escape death a moment too early even as Kain supported him from behind.
To Leon, his greatest secret was his System.
He didn't know its origin, he didn't fully understand the world yet, and he had no intentions of revealing its existence to anyone.
As for the matter of him coming from the past, it was still just a conjecture, it was not fact yet. The fact that he was the only human in an evolved world all pointed to it, and there was no way to hide it, so he didn't even bother.
But his System, for that, he bothered.
The only reason why he dared to use the System Inventory now was because of the chaos. Kain was supporting him, but he couldn't see what he was doing due to the chaos, masking his use of the System.
BA-DUMP! BA-DUMP!
Leon could feel his heart hammering against his chest.
He was in a race against time. He had no idea if Brick and Daren were already dead; he could only work with what was in front of him.
In less than 30 seconds after he moved out, he rolled backwards and started running back. Ghostwire noticed his actions, but this NetRunner was too focused on helping Brick and Daren stay alive.
Seeing his actions, Leon heaved a sigh of relief. It meant that the two crewmembers out in the heart of the stampede were still alive.
Leon quickly arrived back at the entrance of the cargo trailer, and rolled inside. "Protect me!" He quickly said to Kain.
Kain didn't understand what was going on, but he did as he was told.
Protecting Talia's unconscious body behind him, Rex stared at Leon, fear written all over his face.
Noting his stare, Leon turned his back to face him, and then, items started materializing in front of him- batteries, reactors, flux crystals, and a few wires. Rex only saw them fall down from behind, he didn't see where they came from.
Staring at the items in front of him, Leon's brain whirred as the rough blueprint in his mind solidified, then suddenly the System's HUD screen appeared.
DING!
~----~
[You have created a new blueprint: Jury-rigged Bomb!]
[You have gained +111 Ascended Essence!]
[Ascended Counter: 652/1000]
…
[You have created a self-made Mechanist Ability: Bomb Jury-rigging]
>Bomb Jury-rigging: Uncanny ability and affinity to erect, construct, and arrange a bomb from scavenged batteries and resources.
[You have gained +80 Ascended Essence!]
[Ascended Counter: 732/1000]
~----~
Leon only took a brief glance at it before going to work.
BUZZ!
His magnetic gray energy (ADE) seeped out of his hands as the Bomb Jury-rigging ability took effect. With the blueprint already in mind, the magnetic energy connected all the pieces, fusing all the batteries, flux crystals and wires together to form an irregular shaped bomb.
DING!
~----~
[You have crafted a Bomb: ???]
[Rank: Quasi-E Rank]
~----~
As the creator, Leon instinctively knew the trigger for the bomb.
Immediately, he picked it up and rolled forward towards the entrance of the cargo trailer. Kneeling on one knee, he looked into the distance; he saw Brick and Daren, both bloody and broken, yet still fighting somehow against the Jaguar.
Seeing their pitiful selves but feeling their unbroken will, Leon felt goosebumps all over his skin as adrenaline surged through him.
Then he shouted. "RETREAT!"
His voice pierced through the chaos like a dagger.
Brick and Daren didn't know why the voice told them to retreat, but as front-line soldiers, they knew to trust orders and most importantly, to trust their companions. Instinctively, they rolled backwards, retreating away from the Jaguar.
The Jaguar froze in surprise for a brief moment before erupting in pursuit.
From the brief interaction that his crewmates had with this Jaguar, Leon already had a basic mental profile of the Neon Beast.
It saw itself as a King. It was arrogant and domineering, it never backed down. And this was exactly what he intended to use against it.
Time seemed to freeze as the Synth and Geneform ran, chased by a Neon Beast who saw itself as King.
Thud… thud…
Brick and Daren ran; the King Jaguar pursued them.
Then…
Whoosh!
Leon threw the jury-rigged bomb with all his might straight at the Jaguar!
With the personality of the Neon Beast, Leon was 88% sure that it wouldn't dodge out of the way. This Neon Beast would most likely either hit the bomb head-on with its head or swipe at it with its claw to assert its dominance.
Well, the Neon Beast exceeded Leon's expectations entirely as it went one step further and opened its jaws, arrogantly biting down on the bomb.
'Eh? You want to swallow a bomb? How gutsy…' Even Leon shuddered, speechless, and then, everything turned white…
KABOOMMMMMMMMM!
Leon felt the world burn hot, the heat rapidly expanding the air. He felt the ground vibrate, he heard Neon Beasts wail.
When the commotion died down and he opened his eyes, he saw a wasteland again, this time with the theme being black.
The desert sand was blackened and scorched.
Neon Beasts in a 100 meter radius around the bomb were absolutely decimated, 90% of them directly being burned to death, including the King Jaguar!
The E Rank Neon Beast became a puddle of flesh and metal.
The other Neon Beasts who didn't die were all crippled. And all of a sudden, the stampede died, leaving only dead or injured Neon Beasts.
Brick and Daren were also affected by the bomb as they were a bit closer to it. Their backs were scorched black, but they survived due to their Class and due to their innate nature as Synth and Geneform.
Maybe if it was Leon, he wouldn't have survived it.
"…"
They all stared with wide eyes, then they turned to look at Leon. "What did you do???"
Leon collapsed to the ground, forced a laugh, and shrugged.