Gearbound: Cyberpunk 2077-Chapter 293

2-in-1 chapter

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Even if there were any enemies who had somehow survived, under Leo's sweeping fire, none of them had the slightest chance of getting out alive.

By the time he emptied a full magazine from his smart submachine gun, every enemy below the stairs had been killed—no one left breathing.

"Jackie, let's go down. V, bring José and María over," Leo said as he swapped out the empty magazine for a new one.

Still, he didn't toss the used magazine away, instead stowing it in his tactical pack.

Even though he had money now, there was no reason to waste useful gear.

Seeing Jackie gripping his Satara shotgun tightly, eyes scanning every corner in full alert, Leo chuckled and patted his shoulder.

"Relax. No more enemies left."

Only then did Jackie exhale in relief.

The two descended the stairs into the ground floor foyer.

Corpses littered the space, blood pooled everywhere—a grisly scene.

Some had been blown apart by Jackie's grenades, the rest were shredded by Leo's Dian smart SMG.

In the field of smart weapons, Kang Tao and Arasaka stood at the top. Leo personally thought Arasaka's tech weapons were decent—cutting edge even—but when it came to smart weapons, Kang Tao was still the superior choice.

Whether it was the "Dian" smart SMG or the "Kappa" smart pistol, they both operated in full-auto mode.

As long as you held the trigger down, the weapon would keep firing in continuous bursts until the mag was spent.

By contrast, Arasaka's "Shingen" smart SMG and "Yukimura" smart pistol only fired in three-round bursts.

And it wasn't just their smart guns—other Arasaka weapons like the "Masamune" kinetic assault rifle or the "Kenshin" tech pistol also followed the three-round burst firing mode.

Leo could never understand why this company was so obsessed with three-round bursts.

With kinetic and tech weapons, you could argue that burst fire preserved accuracy. But for smart weapons—already auto-targeting through neural links and not relying on the shooter's aim—precision shouldn't be an issue.

Leo turned away from the door, heading deeper into the foyer, and Jackie blinked in confusion.

"Where are we going?"

Leo didn't answer. Jackie had no choice but to follow him.

They made their way to the back of the foyer and found a basement entrance.

Without a word, Leo descended first.

Jackie followed, and when he finally took in what was in the basement, he gasped sharply.

"This… this is…"

Structurally, the motel's basement looked no different from any other.

But what shocked him were the corpses lying inside.

Jackie stepped forward to inspect them and exclaimed, "These are the original owners and staff of this motel."

Leo nodded grimly.

He had only just discovered this through a tactical scan.

The cartel's killers, upon entering the motel, had murdered the owners and employees to prevent any chance of alerting others.

It confirmed everything Dante González had said—the Salamanca Cartel truly was cold-blooded, ruthless, and without mercy.

"Let's go. We're done here."

Leo and Jackie left the basement and returned to the foyer.

By then, V and Lucy had brought José and María down from upstairs.

Seeing the trail of corpses, José's face turned pale.

After all, when they left Tijuana earlier that day, José had thought they'd finally escaped.

He hadn't expected the Salamanca Cartel to track them all the way here.

If not for Leo and the others, he'd probably already be back in the cartel's hands.

José opened his mouth, about to say something—maybe to express fear or seek reassurance.

But Leo raised a hand to stop him.

"Don't say anything. This place isn't safe. We'll talk after we leave the motel."

José nodded silently.

The group moved toward the exit.

When the others made to board the same SUV they had arrived in, Leo stopped them.

"Not that one. Use those two."

He pointed to two pickups—the ones the Salamanca Cartel's hitmen had arrived in.

The others looked confused, but V reacted instantly.

"There are bombs in the car?"

Leo nodded.

Through his tactical visor's scan, he'd seen that not just their SUV, but also other cars in the lot, had been rigged with explosives by the cartel.

Only the vehicles driven by the cartel themselves had been left untouched.

This time, the six didn't squeeze into one car—they split into two.

Leo, Jackie, and José in one; V, Lucy, and María in the other.

Leo's car led the way, with V and Lucy following closely behind in their vehicle. The two cars departed from the Motel one after the other.

"Leo, where are we going?"

"First we need to get off the main road, head deep into the wilderness and find a place to get through the night. Once the checkpoint opens tomorrow morning, we'll cross the border then."

Leo checked the time.

It was just after 1 a.m., and the checkpoint wouldn't open for another six hours.

So they had to find somewhere to spend the night.

But they couldn't go wait directly outside the checkpoint—that would look too much like they were trying to sneak across.

Suddenly, Jackie spoke up. "I just thought of something—we don't have any valid legal documents. The checkpoint's not going to let us through, right?"

Leo glanced at him, calm and confident. "Don't worry. I've got a way."

….....................

.........

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When Leo brought the car to a stop, the one carrying V and Lucy behind them also gradually slowed and parked.

Leo looked around.

There was nothing else here besides their two cars.

It was a remote, desolate place, clearly untouched by people.

"This'll do."

They had driven for nearly an hour. They were now far off the main road.

Jackie opened the car door, intending to get out, but as soon as the door cracked open, a blast of cold air rushed in.

The temperature inside the vehicle plummeted, and Jose nearly curled up under the seat from the chill.

Jackie quickly apologized and shut the door. "It's freezing out there, and we've got no tent or camping gear. There's no way we can sleep outside."

"Then stay in the car—we'll just make do for the night."

Jose was in the back seat alone, so he could lie across it, though he'd have to curl his legs.

Leo and Jackie couldn't lie down, but they could recline their seats a bit.

It wasn't comfortable like a bed, but under the circumstances, it was the best they had.

Jackie suggested, "Let's take turns keeping watch."

Leo declined. "No need. It's only a few hours until dawn. You all get some rest—I'll watch over us."

Leo leaned back in his seat, resting his smart pistol on his thigh.

He turned off the headlights and cabin lights. As everyone else gradually drifted off to sleep, only the howling wind outside rattled against the car windows.

Leo stayed alert, keeping watch over the surroundings. Every so often, he used the scanner to survey the area.

But there was nothing. No animals, no people.

Surrounded by the vast dark wilderness, the complete stillness of the night created an illusion—like the end of the world had already come, and they were the last survivors.

Leo chuckled and patted his cheeks to stay awake.

It was just a false impression, a kind of information cocoon effect—like interviewing passengers on a train and finding they all had tickets, as if no one ever stowed away.

Time passed slowly, minute by minute.

The danger Leo had feared never came. The night passed without incident.

By 5:30 a.m., the sky was still dark, but Leo reached over to shake Jackie awake.

"Jackie, wake up. Come on, get up."

Jackie jolted, nearly jumping out of his seat.

Luckily, Leo caught him just in time—otherwise, he would've smacked his head on the roof of the car.

"What is it, Leo? Are we under attack?"

"No, it's time to get up."

They had only fallen asleep around two in the morning, so after just three hours of rest, Jackie was groggy and disoriented at first.

After a moment, the meaning of Leo's words clicked.

"I'll go wake the others."

Leo nodded, and Jackie got out to wake V and Lucy in the car behind them.

The border checkpoint wouldn't open until 8 a.m., but the drive from here would take an hour.

And arriving early meant they could get in line before the rush.

If they showed up right at 8 a.m., they'd definitely have to wait in a long queue.

Jackie returned to the truck and glanced at Leo.

"Leo, why don't you get some rest now? I'll drive."

Leo shook his head at first, but then reconsidered—driving while tired was dangerous. He nodded and agreed.

He got out, walked around to Jackie's side, and climbed in. Jackie slid over to the driver's seat.

Leo reclined the front passenger seat, letting his back sink into it. A deep sense of relaxation swept over him as the strain of the night began to lift.

…..................

..........

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An hour later, they arrived at the border checkpoint.

It wasn't even 7 a.m. yet, but several vehicles were already lined up outside, waiting for the inspection lanes to open.

If they had come any later, the line would've been even longer—just like yesterday.

Jackie slowly eased the pickup behind the other cars.

"Hm? We're here?"

Feeling the vehicle stop, Leo sat up from his reclined position.

"Yeah, we're here. But lie down a bit longer—it's still…" Jackie checked the time, "not even 7 yet. We've got another hour before the checkpoint opens."

"No, I'm good."

Leo declined Jackie's offer, opened the car door, and jumped out.

"Wait here. I've got something to take care of—won't be long."

Leo's destination was a gas station outside the checkpoint.

This gas station sat near a border checkpoint and had a signboard marked with the insignia of the Western States, which was as clear as saying it had official backing.

Because of this, unless someone had completely lost their mind, no one would dare to touch this gas station.

The gas station opened slightly earlier than the checkpoint, which didn't open until 8:00 a.m. It was just before 7:00 now, and someone had already pulled up the shutter door, preparing to open for business.

Leo walked straight up to the gas station employee who was lifting the shutter and suddenly asked, seemingly out of nowhere, "Six people, two cars—how much?"

The man was momentarily stunned, then gave Leo a suspicious once-over, pretending not to understand what he meant.

"Go check the pump yourself. Prices are on the display."

"I'm not here for fuel. I want a safe crossing. Emphasis on 'safe.'"

Leo deliberately stressed the word "safe."

The man looked Leo over again.

Although Leo was a stranger, the format of the code phrase he used matched, so the employee dropped his guard. "Six people? Two cars? Are you armed?"

"Of course we are. Who the hell goes out unarmed these days? Ever heard, 'My neighbor hoards food, I hoard guns. My neighbor becomes my pantry'?"

"If you're armed, it's not so simple," the man said, pretending to be troubled. "That'll cost extra."

"How much in total?"

"100,000. Eurodollar only. No new dollars or any of that Mexican peso junk."

The old U.S. dollar had once been the singular global currency. Now, the Eurodollar had taken that place. freēwēbnovel.com

New dollars were only accepted in New America. Countries that had split from the old U.S.—like the Republic of Texas, the Western States (Western Corporate States, WCS) which included California, the Pacific Confederation, and Night City—no longer accepted the new dollar.

As for Mexican pesos, they were still usable inside Mexico, but outside its borders, they needed to be converted at a bank into Eurodollar.

"I'll wire the payment," Leo said, the blue light on his tactical goggles flashing briefly. "Transfer's done."

The gas station employee nodded. "I got it. Alright, when you cross, just make it look legit. No one's actually going to check your documents."

Leo gave a slight nod, then turned and walked away without lingering.

"Hey—wait up."

"What now?"

The gas station employee asked curiously, "How'd you even know you could arrange a crossing with me?"

"Don't ask what you don't need to know."

Leaving those words behind, Leo didn't stop and headed back.

Not just the California-Mexico border checkpoint—this arrangement applied to those along the border between the Republic of Texas and Mexico too.

This smuggler wasn't some outsider. He was one of the insiders on the border, making money on the side.

Back when the old United States still existed, getting from the U.S. into Mexico was easy, but returning was heavily scrutinized.

But after the collapse of the U.S. at the end of the last century, and the formation of the Republic of Texas and the Western States (California being one of them), their proximity to the border turned into a cash cow.

While Americans didn't have a saying like "live off the mountain when by the mountain," they understood the logic well enough.

This had long since become an open secret.

Leo had learned all this while still working with the Bakkers—McCoy had told him.

McCoy had done long-haul trucking across the Republic of Texas, the Pacific Confederation, New America, and Mexico—mostly Mexico—so he knew this route better than anyone.

Leo had once asked McCoy whether this trick would stop working someday.

McCoy had just laughed and said, "Too many people's livelihoods rely on it. Cutting it off would be like closing the canal—no one would allow it."

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