Burly men hauled crates nearly as tall as themselves. No one knew exactly what was inside, but the sheer weight was clear.
Inside the abandoned paint factory, not a single person stood idle.
The place buzzed with chaos, like a relocation. And maybe it was—though no one knew who'd fall along the way.
Outside, dozens of pickup trucks lined the desolate highway.
Every truck had a mounted machine gun bolted to the bed, displayed openly in broad daylight.
"Is that... Militech's Ripper?"
Jackie muttered, eyeing the thick black barrel jutting out like a cannon muzzle on one of the trucks.
A few steps further back, the scene looked less overwhelming.
Militech and Arasaka were Night City's two biggest powers, with plenty of overlap in their products and business.
But their styles couldn't have been more different.
Militech's gear always shared one trait—size.
In terms of caliber, they never let users down.
Arasaka was the opposite: small, precise, and intricate were their trademarks.
The difference reflected their corporate cultures.
Arthur, though, preferred Militech's heavy firepower. As for Japan... in his previous life, he'd never even heard of such a place.
One by one, the black crates were hoisted onto trucks. The Animals pried them open on the spot, revealing piles of golden ammunition.
They might have been known for their fists, but they weren't stupid enough to go barehanded against guns.
Once everything was loaded, the convoy rumbled to life, kicking up a storm of dust as it pushed northwest toward the Grand Empire Mall.
"With all this noise, there's no way they won't notice."
Arthur and Jackie sat in the backseat of the lead truck.
This time, the driver had finally changed—Sasquatch sat behind the wheel.
To Arthur's mild surprise, the woman could actually drive.
He scoffed inwardly.
"So what if they notice? If you're scared, stay behind."
Idiots.
The road wasn't long, and soon the Grand Empire Mall loomed ahead.
"Ha! Take a look at our new home!"
Sasquatch laughed heartily, pressing harder on the gas.
Yesterday, in the dim light of the factory, Arthur hadn't seen her face clearly.
But in daylight, the scars across her eye stood out harshly—an unpleasant sight.
With two rows of jagged copper teeth bared, the convoy drove straight into the underground garage, guided by Arthur's intel.
They slipped past dim concrete pillars until the entrance to the building appeared ahead.
The brakes screeched as the lead truck halted.
Sasquatch kicked open the driver's side door.
"Woohoo!
Grab your gear, kids—we're home."
She raised a shotgun high, the barrel sweeping overhead.
These people were far more ruthless than Arthur and his crew. Back in his day, they'd only stolen money—just enough to scrape by.
But the Animals? They were here to take territory.
It was hard to believe the government, two centuries later, had even less control than before.
"Alright, pretty boy, what's the plan?
We don't like you, but we agreed—you're in charge."
Her booming voice sent the Animals spilling out of the trucks before she turned to Arthur.
He frowned, his eyes showing rare weariness.
There wasn't much he could do with this bunch.
"We've been spotted...
So we push forward, steady and slow.
And nobody goes alone."
Arthur barked the order and started toward the ramp.
But before he finished, the Animals surged past him, faces wild with excitement, like starving dogs catching the scent of meat.
At this pace, they didn't even need enemy fire—half of them would trample their own.
"Slow it down! Run all you want, you're not getting first pick of the kill!"
Arthur shouted after them, herding them like sheep—something he was far too good at.
The slope ended at a massive iron rolling gate, as wide as a wall.
Sasquatch strode forward and hammered it with a test punch.
The impact sent the metal shuddering and rattling loudly.
Clearly, it wasn't sturdy.
Without hesitation, she drew back and swung again—this time with full force.
With a sharp crack, her arm punched straight through the sheet metal, tearing a hole clean through.
Her subdermal armor kept her from flinching at the jagged edges as she yanked her arm free.
Grabbing the torn edge, her muscles bulged as she ripped the steel as if it were paper, widening the gash into a tall opening.
Her massive frame forced its way through first, arms and shoulders straining until the gap was wide enough for the rest.
If anyone could make an opening, it was her.
Arthur, at least, slipped through easily.
"Who's there?!"
The shout rang out from the far end of the stairwell, trembling with forced bravado.
"This... this is company property!
You'd better not cause trouble."
Sasquatch marched straight toward the voice, the stairwell light spilling down through years of drifting dust.
In one swift motion, she seized the man by the collar. He froze in terror at her monstrous presence, offering no resistance as she lifted him off the ground.
"Get this straight: from now on, this place belongs to the Animals.
Company? I don't ever want to hear that word again."
A sharp snap echoed as she flung him aside like a rag doll, his body hitting the floor at her feet.
For Sasquatch, killing a man looked easier than wringing a chicken's neck.
At first, after time spent with Arthur and Jackie, the Animals might have seemed only a bit dim-witted.
But the truth was far darker.
...
(70 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / GhostParser