Note: Hey everyone! As you've seen, I had to reupload everything because of a Webnovel "nuke," which, from what I understand, is random. All the comments were lost, which is really sad, but there isn't much I can do.
The photos in the auxiliary/bonus chapter were also removed. I'll add them back later. Once again, feel free to share any images you think best represent the characters.
From now on, I'll make a habit of putting chapters up for free on my Patreon, so even if the story gets nuked again, you'll still have a place to read the next parts while I put everything back online.
Thanks to everyone who took the time to read this, and enjoy!
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Dogtown, Living Room of Kindling House.
"So, you're saying..." Pilar's mouth hung open as he stared at Mercer in disbelief, "we not only have to take out over twenty professional soldiers from Biotechnica, but also a Militech combat squad?"
"This squad includes two elite soldiers equipped with Militech Centaur armor, a Militech Behemoth, and a Basilisk hovertank?"
Pilar was so incredulous he nearly laughed. "Look, choom, even if you sent Dogtown's boss Colonel Hansen himself against this level of transport security, he'd probably lose half his Barghest soldiers, wouldn't he?"
"If we confront this joint transport team head-on, then yes, I think our chances would be slim at best."
Mercer tapped the table and said seriously, "So, I believe if we want to successfully hijack what I'm after, we only have three options."
"First, we take them out one by one."
Mercer spoke gravely, "We must separate and deal with Biotechnica and Militech's security teams individually. According to the deets, Militech's security forces will rendezvous with Biotechnica at the border of Night City."
"That means, before they meet up, we still have a window to prioritize taking out either the Militech or Biotechnica team."
"I lean toward tackling Militech's tough nut first. If we can pull it off, we might even drive their Basilisk to snatch Biotechnica's goods."
"Then we just need to have the Aldecaldos quietly transport the loot away and stash it temporarily in their camp."
"After that, I'll use a program to hijack the vehicle system and create the illusion that the convoy is heading toward NorCal or Mexico, to buy some time by misleading the enemy."
"Then we must quickly eliminate Biotechnica's Diana, go into stealth mode, and see if our collaborator is reliable."
"If not, we delta, take whatever we can through the Aldecaldos' channels, and head to Mexico, Cuba, wherever, just lay low for a while."
After speaking, Mercer glanced at everyone's expressions before adding, "If all goes smoothly, after Diana's death, this will all blow over. Biotechnica will have to suck it up and compensate Militech."
"And our newly appointed Militech operations director will turn a blind eye to us. Once Militech gets enough compensation, they won't come after us. As for Biotechnica, I doubt they have the guts to cause trouble in Dogtown."
"We can just stay in Dogtown and carry on with our business."
"Lay low for about a year to avoid heat, observe the situation, develop the base's operations, and strengthen partnerships with various factions."
Pilar, still frowning, asked, "Isn't that still pretty tough? What if we can't finish quickly and they call in reinforcements?"
"Or what if they suddenly decide to change the rendezvous point last minute, or even opt to meet up in SoCal before setting out together?"
Mercer nodded and said, "The second plan I'm considering is to let them deliver the goods first, then steal the items from Biotechnica's company."
This time, Kiwi frowned with concern and said, "Once Diana realizes we didn't make a move, she'll likely figure out that her secret dealings with Militech have been exposed. If we try to steal it after that, nine times out of ten, we'll walk right into a trap."
"Plus, we can't use heavy firepower in Night City, otherwise, we might end up drawing MAX-TAC. And those MAX-TAC maniacs are all chromed to a level no lower than V's."
"Then let's talk about the third option, the one I personally think is the craziest."
Mercer sighed before continuing, "We just take it by force, right in Night City."
"What?" Pilar gasped. "You mean rob them in the city? Won't we still have to deal with MAX-TAC then?"
"Exactly. We hit them during that window when they're entering the city, thanks to Night City's laws, neither Militech nor Biotechnica can openly bring in heavy firepower."
"That means, whether it's a Basilisk hovertank or Militech Centaur armor, they have to disarm before entering Night City. At most, we'd be dealing with elite soldiers in APCs."
Mercer emphasized, "I'll work as fast as I can to get the ctOS up and running before we move. Once it's online, I'll have control over the entire city's traffic signals and command dispatch."
"We'll finish the fight within ten minutes, in as remote a suburban area as possible, grab the goods, split up in different vehicles, and stash the machine in the Badlands. Once things calm down, we'll dismantle it and bring the parts back to base."
"NCPD can't possibly rely on just one communication system, right? And if we fight within the city, support from Militech and Biotechnica agents will arrive very quickly."
Lucy reminded Mercer, worry evident in her voice, "If it's traced back to us, I doubt Hansen in Dogtown would risk a direct confrontation with either of those corps just to protect us."
"Even if we hide in Dogtown, we'd probably get caught by their agents, maybe even handed over by Hansen himself to keep the peace."
Mercer didn't make the decision alone. Instead, he discussed all three plans in depth with the team, analyzing the pros and cons of each option.
In the end, the group reached a consensus.
"Then we'll prepare multiple plans simultaneously. If the opportunity arises, we strike in the border zone."
"But if there's no chance there, we hit them when they're near Night City and have disarmed their heavy firepower."
"If neither of those works... we forget about the device and go straight for Diana. Then, amid the chaos, we look for a chance to steal the equipment. If no opportunity presents itself, we just let it go."
Mercer finalized the plan, assigning tasks: "No matter where we strike, we're bringing our heaviest firepower. We'd rather risk damaging the device than compromise anyone's safety."
"As for keeping our identities hidden and distancing ourselves from this operation..." Mercer narrowed his eyes, sorting through his thoughts.
First, how many people could trace this back to them?
V had bragged at the bar to Maine's crew about doing a job for Biotechnica once, but what street merc hasn't taken a corp-related job?
So, from the street level, it would be hard to pinpoint their involvement.
From the fixer's perspective, Rogue is definitely trustworthy. If she wanted to sell out Mercer, she could have already made ten million eurodollars by handing him over to Arasaka.
Moreover, if she sold him to Michiko Arasaka, she might even squeeze some extra benefits from NUSA.
So, Rogue wouldn't betray him.
Wakako knows nothing about their plan to pull off a big job. Even if someone questioned her, she'd only reveal the details of Mercer's previous commissions.
The only risk lies in whether Diana Cuno has discussed this matter with anyone else. If she has, those people might trace the entire operation back through Wakako.
Did she tell anyone else?
Mercer isn't entirely sure, but one thing is certain: Diana Cuno has no idea who he is right now, and she definitely wouldn't dare to secretly investigate Mercer's identity at this critical juncture.
Because if any hint of a leak reached Mercer, letting him know someone was looking into him, she'd undoubtedly be dead.
So, at most, someone might know that the group who took Wakako's commission has set their sights on Diana and forced her to request a batch of equipment.
As long as Wakako hasn't tipped off Militech, his identity should remain unnoticed before and after the heist. By the time others start investigating after the fact, Mercer and his crew will have long vanished without a trace.
"We need to confirm whether Wakako would sell us out."
As soon as Mercer finished speaking, Pilar scratched his head and said, "I don't think she would."
"Huh? Are you close with her?" Rebecca curled her lip. "Don't act like you're on good terms with her."
"Come on, even the old man used to call her 'Auntie.' Would she really sell us out to Militech just like that?"
Pilar argued confidently, "Her backing is Arasaka, not Militech. If Militech wants to know our identities, I'm sure Wakako wouldn't cave under that kind of pressure!"
"Even if she did sell us out, she'd definitely give us a heads-up so we could escape in time."
Mercer pondered this and nodded. "That makes sense. But just to be safe, after we finish this job and take out Diana, everyone should lay low for a while."
"Lay low?!" Rebecca was the first to object. "No way! If we disband, where would Pilar and I go?"
"I could head back to the streets of Heywood and enjoy some downtime," V said, frowning. "But if we disband, where will you go?"
"I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay right here. Kiwi can go with you, and I'll have Kyoko and Lucy head back to the Aldecaldos to lay low for a while."
As soon as Mercer finished, Lucy shook her head firmly. "If you're not leaving, neither am I."
"What's this? This isn't some cliché movie scene where you say, 'You go on ahead, I'll hold them off,'" Mercer said, both amused and exasperated. "Don't forget our base has a secret passage. If things go south, I can just dive into the sewer and escape."
"Once I'm in Pacifica, with my netrunning skills, slipping away unnoticed would be a breeze. Even NUSA agents wouldn't be able to catch me."
"Then I'll stay. If it really comes to running, I'm way faster than you," V said, her tone resolute as she stared at him. "Even if you're staying, we'll run together."
"With your netrunning skills and my combat abilities, even if a whole squad of agents shows up in helicopters, we'd definitely make it out alive."
Mercer pondered for a moment before something surfaced in his mind.
Behavioral Imprint-synced Faceplate, that black tech from the Cyberpunk DLC. Once it records someone's information, it can perfectly mimic their body details, facial features, biometric data, and everything else to disguise as another person.
You could say that with this faceplate activated, even if NCPD scanned your face right on the street, they wouldn't be able to identify your true identity.
If they could get their hands on this thing, they could just activate it and make a clean escape when things went south.
But wouldn't going after this device mean dodging Militech's surveillance only to crash right into NUSA's line of sight?
Plus, Mercer didn't even know if this thing was in stock in Dogtown. In the game, V had obtained it through channels from two senior agents, Reed and Alex.
If he went himself, even if he found the ripperdoc who worked with them, there was no guarantee he'd find any faceplates in stock.
After agonizing over it for a long time, Mercer finally knocked on the table: "Let's set this aside for now. I'll figure out what to do later."
"What kind of equipment are you even after? We're already this deep and you still won't give up?"
V couldn't hold back her questions: "If you ask me, we should just take out Diana and be done with it."
"You're making this bigger and bigger, dragging more people into it, started with a Biotechnica Deputy Director, and now you're collaborating with a Militech Deputy Director..."
"It's a Rapid Cloning unit," Mercer decided to come clean.
The others exchanged glances: "Cloning? What do you need that tech for?"
"Not just cloning, but rapid cloning, according to Biotechnica's database, it can clone a complete adult body within one month."
"There might be genetic collapse risks, but if you lower the preset parameters to clone a body with lower potential across all aspects, the success rate becomes very high."
After explaining, Mercer noticed everyone still looked confused, so he cut straight to the point: "Has anyone heard about Arasaka's 'Secure Your Soul' project?"
"I saw it on TV, they said it can store human consciousness, allow people to communicate with deceased relatives... Wasn't that exposed online? They're just replicating fake engrams?"
As she spoke, V's eyes widened slightly, guessing that Mercer might have some crazy ideas.
"Because what Arasaka sells commercially is a neutered version."
Mercer paused before continuing: "The core technology of the 'Secure Your Soul' project originates from a black program called 'Soulkiller' created fifty years ago by a genius netrunner, or rather programmer, Alt Cunningham."
Kiwi unconsciously picked up a ladies' cigarette: "That program actually exists? I read about it online, thought it was just some netrunner nostalgic for the old days talking nonsense."
"It's real. This program can completely upload and transform human consciousness into digital engrams. Arasaka actually kidnapped Alt Cunningham for this technology."
"And her ex-boyfriend Johnny Silverhand stormed Arasaka Tower twice for her sake. The last time even triggered a nuclear blast, causing Night City's decades-long 'Time of the Red' plagued by crimson radiation."
Mercer recounted this urban legend-like story methodically, speaking earnestly: "Alt Cunningham is still alive. Her consciousness has become an extremely powerful AI in the Net."
"Even in Hong Kong, which is already controlled by AIs, she established her own network nation called 'Shangri-La,' harboring rogue AIs and some consciousnesses uploaded by Soulkiller."
"You're not thinking of using Soulkiller combined with this cloning technology... Mercer, get a grip! Saburo Arasaka has researched this technology for decades! He's never attempted transferring personalities between different bodies; what makes you think you can?"
Lucy had already figured out what Mercer intended to do. She spoke urgently, even rising to her feet: "I object... If this is the purpose, I refuse to participate in this operation!"
"I refuse too," V said with a serious expression. "You're already bold enough; if you really believe you can resurrect through consciousness transfer anytime, I can't imagine how insane you'd become."
"I also disagree! What if something goes wrong? What if your consciousness transfer fails and you turn into an AI? Or worse, get uploaded as a madman... I won't allow it!" Rebecca likewise refused.
Mercer simply pressed his palms down gently and said, "Don't worry, do I look like some idiot who'd be eager to use new technology for human experimentation on myself?"
He smiled slightly before continuing, "I can promise you all, I won't use this technology recklessly. It's purely for research purposes. Most importantly..."
Mercer spoke with keen interest: "Have any of you considered that combining these two technologies could actually resurrect those who've already become digital consciousnesses?"
"Then why hasn't Saburo Arasaka tried it? Mercer, I think you're being too idealistic." Lucy remained visibly resistant.
She always felt that once they obtained this technology, Mercer would inevitably use it, that was just his nature. No matter the risk, if he believed it feasible, he'd charge ahead. This had been true ever since their escape from Arasaka.
"First, because this technology must be used in conjunction with the Relic chip, and Relic technology isn't fully developed yet, it currently only works on deceased subjects."
"Second, consciousness transfer differs from loading already-uploaded consciousnesses into bodies. The former means that once you begin uploading and transferring consciousness, you enter an irreversible rebirth process."
"That old fossil Saburo Arasaka still has a few years left in his current body. Of course he won't rush to kill his own flesh to gamble on unstable technology."
After finishing his explanation, Mercer emphasized: "As for resurrecting others... how do you know Saburo hasn't tried? The current Relic chip is designed precisely for that."
"It's just that using this technology on the dead involves too many uncertainties, you not only need to transfer consciousness but also replace the original host's consciousness while ensuring the deceased can be revived."
Mercer chuckled and said, "But with cloning technology, it's different. Rapidly cloned humans are just vegetative beings without consciousness. No matter how much you modify them, they won't resist on a conscious level."
"Why doesn't Arasaka collaborate with Biotechnica? Or develop the technology themselves?" Lucy retorted.
"What consequences do you think would arise if Arasaka partnered with Biotechnica to develop this technology?"
Mercer sneered, "Let those people find out that Saburo Arasaka is scheming for immortality? Or that he would share the power of eternal life with others? As for developing their own cloning project... ha! Arasaka is currently struggling with a lack of succession, internal strife, and external threats. Even their main revenue source, the 'security business,' has almost become a joke. Where would they find the resources, time, or money to research cloning technology?"
"If Saburo Arasaka were a hundred years younger, he might consider pursuing both paths simultaneously. But now, Saburo has no patience for cloning. He's dying and must achieve the Relic consciousness transfer project as soon as possible. Nothing else matters."
Mercer believed there was another, more critical reason: Saburo Arasaka's obsession with bloodline purity. The old man was a staunch extremist when it came to lineage, perhaps harboring a deep aversion to clones. In Saburo's eyes, reviving in the body of his son or grandson would be far preferable to living in a cloned vessel.
Seeing the group's strong opposition, Mercer tried to reassure them, "I promise, unless it's absolutely necessary, I will never use this technology on our own people. I'll test it with other consciousnesses first. I won't take any risks until the technology is proven feasible."
Lucy stared silently at Mercer for a long moment before suddenly asking, "Have you already decided which consciousness you want to revive?"
"Yes," Mercer admitted without hesitation, nodding. "I want to revive Johnny Silverhand."
"That gonk who set off a nuke?" Rebecca rolled her eyes. "What's the point of bringing him back? If we could find Morgan Blackhand, now that would be interesting."
"He was Rogue's old flame, and Alt's as well. I once made a deal with Alt; if I can bring him back, she'll owe me a favor." Mercer emphasized, "You might not understand Alt's current power, but let me be clear: as long as she owes me, even if we nuke Night City again, we can all safely retire in Europe or Hong Kong."
"Besides, bringing that rockerboy back to life... I think it could help my dream." Mercer mused, "Though he's a scumbag and a gonk, there's no denying his charisma. He made so many people willing to follow him into madness. If he comes back, maybe this city will come back to life too."
"...Sigh." Rebecca sighed. "Looks like you've made up your mind."
"Why don't we look on the bright side?" Mercer said optimistically. "If this technology succeeds, we might become the only ones in the world who truly master consciousness transfer and resurrection."
"I don't think the emergence of this technology will bring any good. Mercer, you'll become another 'Alt' in the eyes of those wealthy elites, they'll go mad for your technology."
Lucy said with concern.
Mercer remained optimistic and said with a smile, "By then, they'll be the ones who are afraid. Just imagine, a Bartmoss who doesn't fear physical death. How terrifying would that be in a world where everything is connected?"
"Only with that kind of power can I confidently pursue my dreams."
"I don't agree with your idea, but if you want to try it, go ahead," V said, her heart softening.
Lucy seemed to hesitate, holding back her words before finally looking at him and saying after a long pause, "Think about Spider Murphy."
Mercer nodded. "I know. Consider it an insurance policy. After what happened to Bartmoss, I have to leave myself a way out. Don't you think?"
Lucy fell silent. After a moment, she nodded in agreement.
With Mercer's talent, unless he was willing to remain a nobody, it was only a matter of time before he became a target for every ambitious power player.
For a super-genius whose netrunning skills might surpass Bartmoss and whose programming abilities could rival Alt Cunningham's level, corporations would only give him two choices:
Either make him one of their own, or destroy him.
Back in the day, countless corporations tried to recruit Bartmoss, no matter how much chaos he caused, some company would grit their teeth and hire him to work for them.
Until everyone realized Bartmoss was an ingrate who could never be tamed. Then, they silently agreed on another way to deal with him: physical annihilation.
Back then, Arasaka even resorted to artillery strikes across entire districts trying to kill Bartmoss. And if Mercer ever reached that point...
Lucy thought some corporation might even drop a nuke on his head.
And Mercer truly had no other choice.
He had to prepare a last-resort backup for himself. Bartmoss's corpse was still frozen in a cryo-chamber, he had no intention of following in his footsteps.
Rather than becoming a rogue AI after death without even understanding how, it was better to plan for the worst while still alive. Even if things went south, he'd still have a chance to live again as a human.
Instead of being forced to exist as a consciousness, forever separated from his friends and family by life and death.
Spider Murphy's situation had shown him what complete digitization would lead to. By then, Mercer might become the most powerful AI in history, a true mechanical ascension. But would he still be human? Would he still be himself?
As for Johnny Silverhand...
As grand as it sounded, all that talk about 'setting the city on fire again' was just that, talk.
Truth was, Mercer saw him as a lab rat, though saying it out loud would've been too harsh. Still, if Silverhand could safely revive in a cloned body, Mercer was certain he could do the same.
As for where the genetic material to clone Silverhand's body would come from, well, that was Alt or Rogue's problem to figure out.
If they really couldn't find any, they'd just have to use random genes and approximate his appearance. Given Silverhand's personality, he probably wouldn't care whether the body was original or not.
Everyone exchanged glances and silently agreed to drop the subject of cloning technology for now.
After all, they might not even be able to pull it off. Even if they acquired the materials, Mercer's tech might not succeed. They'd cross that bridge when they came to it.
After discussing all this, when the group returned to the topic of the 6th Street deal, they suddenly felt no pressure at all.
Just thinking about Militech's Basilisk and the dozens of professional soldiers they still had to deal with made this bunch from 6th Street seem like a bunch of small fry in comparison.
So, after wrapping up the meeting about 6th Street in a relaxed and cheerful mood, Mercer dismissed everyone, letting V, Lucy, and the others figure out the combat deets on their end. As for Mercer's side, he kept it simple, adapt as needed.
He dove headfirst into the server room, continuing to refine the ctOS, while Morning Star diligently monitored network data, using NCPD's city surveillance to keep a real-time watch on targets Mercer had recently flagged.
To test ctOS's big data collection capabilities, Mercer had added everyone he knew, Maine's crew, Vik, Misty, Jackie, as well as enemies like Diana Cuno to Morning Star's watchlist.
Morning Star would use city surveillance and data from various connected devices to monitor their activities in real time. If anything unexpected happened, or even before it happened, the system would predict possible incidents based on data and report anything requiring Mercer's attention.
It was through this process that Mercer continuously optimized the algorithms, improving the ctOS with the goal of one day achieving city-wide monitoring and analysis, with AI automatically reporting any major events that had occurred or were likely to occur.
If he could reach that point, ctOS would be considered complete, and from then on, the AI would only need to continuously optimize its algorithms on its own.
As for other supporting functions like traffic control, these were essentially built on the permissions granted by City Hall and NCPD for public infrastructure, posing little technical difficulty.
—--
Time flew by, and just before nightfall the next day, Mercer and Rebecca geared up with their weapons and equipment, quietly driving an inconspicuous, commonplace Thornton Colby to the neighborhood adjacent to their target.
Mercer's first target was John Will, the person in charge of 6th Street's drug manufacturing operation hidden in a two-story building. Equipped with a Sandevistan, he was the type of adversary Mercer found most troublesome, but fortunately, this time, Mercer was in the shadows while the enemy was in the light, allowing him to choose the battlefield and strike first.
Mercer and Rebecca relaxed in the car, waiting quietly until V sent the signal. Then, Mercer used Polaris to autonomously drive the vehicle toward the block where the two-story building was located.
More precisely, his goal was to position the car on the necessary road leading from that block to The Glen.
[V: We're moving in on our end.]
[Mercer: Stay safe. Keep in touch.]
[V: Copy that. You too.]
[Mercer: Yeah.]
After briefly confirming the deets, Mercer patiently waited for the target to appear.
On V's end, it only took about thirty seconds before the combat reports started coming in.
[Kiwi: First floor clear.]
[V: Take care of the camera at the second-floor corner for me.]
[Lucy: Hacking it now.]
[Lucy: The security server connected to the second-floor cameras is the main server. Kiwi and I are falling back to the netrunner van to provide remote support for you.]
[V: Understood.]
This time, everyone had switched to a server-hosted messaging app for operational communication. Mercer monitored their progress in real-time through the group chat, keeping clear track of their advancement.
After about a minute of waiting, Morning Star, who had been surveilling the situation through city cameras, sent an alert.
[Morning Star: Target John Will has left the building with 6th Street combatants. Enemy composition: three vehicles, nine combatants.
Detailed analysis as follows:
Target vehicle is a Villefort Alvarado V4F 570 Delegate. Estimated arrival at your intersection in one minute thirty seconds.]
Mercer glanced at Rebecca, who seemed slightly tense beside him, and said, "Target arriving in one minute thirty. Driving an Alvarado, with two follow cars, nine hostiles total."
"John Will's in the lead car. When they approach, I'll hack the rear car's throttle to break their formation, then focus fully on hacking John Will. Just buy me the time I need to breach."
"Got it. Don't worry, if he wants to get to you, he'll have to step over my..."
Before she could finish, Mercer tapped her lightly on the head. "Don't jinx it. With your setup, he doesn't stand a chance."
"Heh." Rebecca relaxed, gripping Guts tightly. She didn't mind him tapping her head, focusing instead on the street. "Alright! Just watch me!"
Mercer grunted in acknowledgment, shrugging off his jacket and sitting upright.
His pre-activated cooling system hummed to life. As a luxury two-seater came into view, his cybereye began to glow.
The moment all three vehicles entered Mercer's 32-meter range, he acted decisively, sending a virus to lock the rear car's accelerator at full throttle and another to jam the middle car's brakes.
Once the viruses were deployed, Mercer focused intently on the open window of the lead car, where a middle-aged white man in the passenger seat was clearly visible.
"Alert."
The instant Mercer spoke, Rebecca kicked the barely-closed car door open and pulled the trigger on Guts without hesitation.
Because the moment Mercer began the hack, John Will, seated in the luxury car's passenger seat, turned toward them with murderous intent. In a motion too fast for the naked eye to follow, he drew a pistol and aimed it at Mercer.
In that moment, Mercer, Rebecca, and John Will all entered accelerated states. A single second stretched into five, six, or even more seconds of perceived time.
Rebecca's Kerenzikov was operating at its highest setting, and her Berserk OS began enhancing her muscles through nanotech.
The power surging through her Gorilla Arms allowed her to aim and fire even faster than someone drawing a weapon with a full-body Sandevistan acceleration.
The massive blast from Guts roared out. Because John had rolled down the window, the car's bulletproof system had long become useless.
The bullet flew unimpeded through the passenger side window, instantly turning the driver in the seat into a half-congealed mess of flesh and gore plastered across the cockpit.
As for John?
In less than 0.1 seconds after Rebecca fired, he had already raised his gun to return fire while ducking down, opening the car door, and leaping out of the vehicle at an unbelievable speed. He began sprinting in an S-shaped pattern down the street.
With one hand, John wielded his pistol, not even glancing at Rebecca as he relentlessly pulled the trigger toward Mercer's position in the driver's seat. His rate of fire was incredibly fast; to an ordinary person, the gunshots would have sounded like a continuous string of firecrackers.
With his other hand, he extended a Mantis Blade, aiming at Rebecca with a preemptive slash.
At this moment, a fierce grin twisted Rebecca's small face. Her shotgun required pumping after each shot, meaning she had to time her attacks carefully.
The reason she didn't immediately follow up with another shot was that she realized John's target was directly focused on Mercer. So after firing the first shot, she immediately hooked her foot and slammed the car door shut, or more accurately, smashed it closed.
John's bullets clattered against the door; the bulletproof glass and armored body of the car meant his pistol could only create a few cracks in the window. The sole bullet that managed to penetrate was so severely slowed down that Mercer, who was also accelerated to his limits, easily dodged it with a slight tilt of his head.
John gritted his teeth, intending to change his angle and break through to eliminate Mercer first. But then, his expression suddenly shifted.
The crimson words flashing in his vision, 'Hacked,' 'ICE Failed,' made his heart feel as if it had stopped for a moment in this high-speed duel.
Impossible! My military-grade ICE...
He didn't get to finish his thought before the barrel of a shotgun was shoved into his mouth. Rebecca cackled wildly as she pulled the trigger, while John, his cyberware suddenly disabled, could only watch helplessly as the world returned to normal speed.
The image of Rebecca's finger squeezing the trigger became the last thing burned into his mind before he died.
Boom!
The violent blast from Guts blew John's head apart, but his body, still carrying the momentum from the Sandevistan, continued forward.
After just one step, the headless corpse lost its balance, crashed into the car, and was flung backward as if hit by a collision before tumbling and rolling into the distance.
By now, the remaining Sixth Street members in the other two cars still hadn't fully grasped what had happened.
Mercer maintained his Overclock but deactivated the Synaptic Accelerator, letting out a soft sigh of relief as he quickly uploaded a virus into their systems.
What Rebecca had to do was much simpler.
She stood right beside Mercer's car door, holding Guts, and aimed at the two vehicles, one suddenly slamming on the brakes and stopping in place, the other uncontrollably accelerating and crashing hard into the rear of the first. She kept pulling the trigger.
The occupants in the lead vehicle had their windows blown apart by Rebecca's two shotgun blasts, and the third shot shattered the entire cabin. The passengers in the trailing vehicle didn't even have time to retaliate before their bodies convulsed, erupting with electric sparks as they burned inside the compartment.
By the time Mercer took control of all three vehicles, Rebecca, still gripping her shotgun, went to inspect each one. Three vehicles, nine people, all reduced to a gruesome pile of corpses in less than five seconds.
"Woo-hoo!" Once Rebecca confirmed all targets were eliminated, she excitedly rushed back to give Mercer a high-five. But when she tugged at the car door, she realized...
In her haste to shut the door for Mercer earlier, she'd used too much force. The door was shut, all right, but it was also welded shut.
After a moment's thought, Rebecca decided to force her way through. She simply yanked the entire door off its hinges, slid into the passenger seat, and then used her strength to 'reattach' it with another forceful shove.
"Good thing this car's a piece of junk," Mercer remarked. "Next time, I'll get you a detachable door so you can just carry it around with you."
Rebecca pictured herself stepping out of the car holding the door and burst out laughing. "Wouldn't that be something? It'd double as a bulletproof shield, how cool is that?"
Mercer slammed his foot on the accelerator. This car was an old clunker he'd urgently acquired from El Capitán, lacking any stable vehicle control system, so they couldn't enjoy Polaris's autonomous driving.
"Now... we head to the casino?"
Rebecca took a deep breath, the barrel of Guts still smoking faintly from the heat.
"Yeah." Mercer nodded, meeting her gaze. "To the casino. To get your revenge."
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5500 words.
Bonus chapter @300 power stones