If there's one gang in Night City that stands out, it's the Animals.
These hulking brutes fixated on Biotechnica, targeting that company almost exclusively.
Powerful testosterone boosters, animal enhancers, hormone-regulating implants, and, most importantly, gene-modifying injectors—
just about everything the Animals craved rode in Biotechnica's convoys.
Sure, they'd tried hitting other targets and fencing the loot to buy what they wanted.
But the risks of reselling—and the number of times they'd been swindled by shady fixers—taught them a clear lesson.
That path wasn't for them.
"Alright... Since the haul's useless to us, I can give it to you.
Here's the deal: fight me.
Win, and it's yours. Lose, and you pay up. How about it?"
The wild-eyed woman flexed her knuckles, the joints creaking unnaturally.
Arthur studied her. She stood about his height but was built nearly twice as wide.
Instinctively, he glanced back—maybe this was Jackie's fight.
"What're you gawking at, pretty boy?"
The woman showed off her swollen biceps.
"If you're too scared to step up, just hand over thirty thousand eddies.
I've got no interest in trading punches with a spineless man."
"Boxing, huh..."
Arthur rubbed his chin, then looked back at Jackie, his eyes asking the question.
Arthur wasn't reckless—he only fought battles he had a chance of winning. And this woman? She didn't look easy.
Jackie caught the look and felt his gut tighten.
Sure, he was taller, but—damn. She was a monster built on testosterone since childhood.
No matter how good his boxing was, he was still just a guy. Her arms looked thick enough to match his legs.
He glanced at Arthur again. The bastard was still staring at him. Fine...
Jackie clenched his fists and stepped forward.
"Fine. I'll take this one. But I'm the one landing the punches."
Moments earlier, his black jacket had hidden his size in the shadows. Now, stepping into the light, his broad frame was on full display.
"Ha ha ha!
Now that's more like it. I didn't want to box a beanpole anyway.
Soft little jabs? Like a brat whining for attention."
Hands on her hips, the woman laughed so hard it felt like she might bring the factory roof down with her.
"Matilda K. Rose. You can call me Sasquatch.
And you? You're just delicate little rats."
She turned sideways, revealing the space behind her.
It looked much like the outer corridor—rough concrete walls and floors, dim blue lights hiding the decay in shadow.
"Jackie Welles."
Since the fight was his, Jackie stepped forward, putting himself between Arthur and Sasquatch.
Then he gestured back.
"This is Arthur Morgan, my friend."
"Ha! No interest in meeting the weak one."
Rose—Sasquatch—boomed with laughter and waved Jackie inside.
Arthur, trailing behind, barely got a glance.
"Lucky me..."
Arthur muttered, following.
Inside, aside from being more spacious, it wasn't much different—cracked walls, dust, and debris everywhere.
A few steps more revealed the building's center—
a cylindrical pit several meters deep, with ladders bolted along the sides.
The pit stretched more than ten meters across, its pale gray walls unlike the rest of the factory's structure.
"A mixing pit, back when this was a paint factory."
Rose gestured at it.
"We turned it into a ring."
She gripped the edge and vaulted down, the several-meter drop meaning nothing to her.
"Come on! Let's see whose fists hit harder."
Sasquatch clenched her fists, grinning savagely up at Jackie.
Jackie felt her raw aggression radiating across the pit. His gaze hardened.
He shrugged off his jacket, revealing a plain vest stretched tight over solid muscle.
For a boxer, strength was the foundation and technique the tool—but confidence and willpower often decided the fight.
Under the dim blue lights, Jackie bared his teeth. His usual easy grin was gone.
He leapt into the pit.
"Rules are simple. No external cyberware—no Mantis Blades, no Gorilla Arms, nothing like that.
Anything else goes. If you can't take it, surrender. That's it."
Sasquatch glared across at him, teeth bared, a beast ready to devour.
"No problem. Shall we start?"
Jackie spread his stance wide, rolling his shoulders loose.
"Ha ha ha... Bring it."
Sasquatch shifted her footing, raised her massive arms to guard her face, and braced her core.
Jackie raised his fists, settling into a boxer's guard.
The probing began.
Jackie tested a block and felt her punch slam into his forearm like a sledgehammer.
It was like fighting a bear.
Each swing cut the air with a violent rush. Jackie ducked low and drove a counterpunch hard into her gut.
Thud!
It was like punching a steel plate.
She only staggered back a few steps, then straightened and reset her guard.
Jackie was clearly outmatched in raw power.
Above the pit, a crowd of Animals roared in delight.
Every one of them was musclebound, their voices booming like thunder.
Their cheers clashed and echoed wildly in the dark, rallying around Sasquatch's raised fists.
In the pit, the fight looked one-sided.
Sasquatch's huge fists chased relentlessly, while Jackie was forced backward step by step.
The crowd shouted over one another, their voices mixing into a storm.
"Crush him! Smash that outsider!"
"Woo! The Tribe is invincible!"
"Sasquatch! Sasquatch!
Our queen will never lose to some outsider!"
"Coward! Why the hell are you backing off? Fight! Stop running!"
To Arthur's surprise, a few voices even cheered for Jackie—though none of it sounded kind.
...