"Hahahahaha! A five hundred million Beli bounty! It mine!"
"When you turned pirates in for bounty money, did you ever think you'd end up being hunted by pirates too?!"
"Surround them all! Don't let a single Mink escape!"
"Even if you're a bounty hunter, too bad—you've got a price on your head as well!"
Just as Sherwin had expected, the moment they stepped into this lawless zone, a pack of shouting thugs lunged at them.
"Sherwin!"
(=ω=)
Jinx turned her head, her eyes gleaming with excitement as she looked at him.
Sherwin smiled and nodded, gesturing with a hand for her to go ahead.
"Meowhahahahaha!" Jinx burst out in wild laughter. Her tiny paw brushed across the ammo pouch at her waist, and a pink triple-barreled Gatling gun with cat ears materialized in her grasp.
"Don't move! I'm working hard to shoot you all, meow!"
"Da-da-da-da-da—!"
The gun roared, spewing tongues of flame as a storm of bullets tore toward the bounty hunter–slave trader–pirate alliance.
"Waaahhhhhh!"
In this world where most people still used flintlock guns, Jinx triple-barreled Gatling gun was nothing short of a dimensional strike.
The moment she opened fire, the group charging toward them was instantly mowed down in a sweeping barrage.
But the backward state of firearms in this world had its reasons — the sheer power of individuals was enough for many to fight guns and cannons head-on with their bare bodies.
"Don't get too cocky!"
The leader roared and swung his curved blade from afar, sending out a powerful flying slash toward Jinx.
Though Jinx had only been in the pirate world for a few days, her battle instincts were exceptional.
She swiftly holstered her Gatling gun and instead pulled out Fishbones, aiming it at her feet and pulling the trigger.
The shark-shaped mouth of the rocket launcher opened, but instead of firing a missile, it spewed a bright jet of flame, propelling Jinx high into the air and out of the path of the flying slash.
Before Sherwin crossed into this world, many first-person shooters had similar "rocket jump" mechanics,
but those relied on the recoil of explosions to lift the player, not on turning the launcher itself into a propulsion system.
Besides, the Monster Hunter world already had a similar skill — Blast Dash — originally belonging to Gunlances.
Given Jinx talent for weapon crafting—more precisely, firearms crafting—and with Purah Meow technical assistance, it was easy for her to modify a Heavy Bowgun to replicate a Gunlance function.
Also…
"Did you supply the energy source for her rocket launcher?" Sherwin asked, turning his head toward the tiny plush doll perched on his shoulder, who was cheering Jinx on.
"Nope! Klee Meow just helped big sister Jinx fine-tune her grenades and shells, meow," the little doll answered honestly.
"Fishbones was upgraded with the help of big sister Purah Meow and big sister Haibara Meow, meow."
Haibara Meow lifted her chin proudly. "Purah Meow and I installed a modified Germa flamethrower unit inside. That way, big sister Jinx can switch between different modes when using Fishbones, meow!"
Purah Meow added, "And Jinx doesn't need a stronger flamethrower anymore, meow. The weapons she already has are more than enough."
Sherwin: "…"
When you're limiting Jinx flamethrower, shouldn't you also be limiting her grenades and shells while you're at it? And how did Klee Meow end up getting involved too?!
The Hunter had a mountain of things he wanted to complain about, but seeing the smug looks on Haibara Meow and Klee Meow faces, he could only sigh and pat their little heads in silence.
"This is my gift for you all! Don't forget to open it right away, meow!"
Jinx, laughing gleefully midair, tossed down several Chompers—yep, the upgraded versions enhanced by Klee Meow.
Sherwin quickly pulled the Felynes back to retreat.
"I'll give you three seconds, meow!" shouted the little blue Felyne above, still throwing grenades. "Three!"
What happened to one and two?!
Rolling his eyes, Sherwin sped up the retreat, positioning himself in front along with Seijuro Meow and Link Meow.
"BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM—!!!"
The enhanced Chompers detonated in rapid succession, blasting the attackers into the air and covering Sherwin group in dirt and grass clippings.
Fortunately, the grenade power was only about as strong as standard Boom Bombs—enough to crater the ground, but not enough to reshape the terrain entirely.
As the explosions subsided, Jinx landed neatly on the ground.
"Wow, not all of you went down," she pouted, seeing several of the attackers still standing despite her bombardment.
"You're no fun at all! I was ready to say something really cool, meow!"
(=`н=)
The little blue cat raised her Fishbones weapon. "Then, goodbye! Take this! Bye bye meow~"
The shark mouth opened once again—but this time, what flew out was a missile painted with a fierce yet slightly cute expression.
"Whoosh—Boom—!"
The explosion this time was stronger than before, though not by much. It seemed that Klee Meow was finally starting to mature a bit...
Sherwin looked at the little doll with satisfaction.
(=ω=)?
The small doll tilted its head in confusion.
Haibara Meow, perched on Sherwin other shoulder, guessed what he was thinking.
She sneered lightly and said, "It not that Klee doesn't want to make a more powerful missile for Jinx, meow.
It just that if the explosion gets any stronger, it'll end up hitting Jinx herself. That why they had to tone down the blast, meow."
Sherwin: "..."
Alright, maybe he had overthought it.
On the battlefield, the surviving attackers—who had barely endured the chained explosions from the Blazing Bombers—were immediately met with an even stronger Ultimate Reaper Missile.
Those who had been hesitating between surrendering or fleeing didn't even have the chance to beg for mercy before all collapsing at once.
Of course, that was also because their overall strength was quite average. The strongest among them was probably the one who could spot the airborne slashes.
"Meowhahaha! Finally, they're all down! Full score, meow!"
＜(=`=)＞
Jinx finally put away her weapon with satisfaction, then stood with her hands on her hips and burst into wild laughter toward the sky.
Sherwin: "..."
As expected of Jinx... This little blue cat goes completely crazy in battle compared to her usual self...
He had never seen her like this during their training sessions before.
Thinking back carefully, Sherwin recalled that Jinx had shown a few hints of this behavior back when she blasted that Sea King, but it had been interrupted by him and Huamei Meow interference.
Well...
It fine if she gets a little crazy during a fight, as long as she behaves normally otherwise.
Sherwin stepped forward, scooped up the still-laughing Jinx, rubbed her small head, and praised, "You did great!"
The once-manic Jinx instantly turned into a soft, affectionate little blue cat. She purred contentedly, rubbing her head against Sherwin palm.
After giving her a good head rub, Sherwin finally turned toward the surviving attackers—those tough enough to still be clinging to life.
He was genuinely curious why these people had chosen to wait until they entered the unlawful zone before making their move.