Chapter 143

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Upon learning that the Tyger Claws were searching for them, everyone was shocked.

"Didn't expect the Tyger Claws to come snooping around so quickly," remarked the Moxes gang member, clearly baffled.

Gloria, who never mistook caution for paranoia as Tang Yu's company assistant, solemnly stated, "This safehouse hasn't been compromised for long; they shouldn't have noticed it this quickly."

She then voiced her suspicion, "Could it be that you were followed here without realizing?"

"Damn! It must be Suzie Q's doing; she's suspected our investigation into Seiho Shomune for a while," another member of the Moxes spat out angrily.

Upon hearing this news, Judy finally understood, saying anxiously, "It's very likely, I didn't expect to drag you all into this."

Realizing the gravity of their situation, Gloria noted that the building, being a low-rise and sparsely arranged, might not take long for their safehouse to be discovered.

"Sasha, can you get a read on their numbers and what sort of weaponry they're packing?" she asked.

Sasha's cybernetic eye began cycling through the building's security feeds.

They spotted Tyger Claws sporting mohawks dyed in various vibrant colors, wielding katanas or short blades, and most noticeably, glowing tattoos. 

Before they could gather more information, bullets shattered the screens, cutting the feed one by one.

"The Tyger Claws have destroyed the surveillance cameras. I estimate there could be about fifty people, all armed with combat cyberware and light firearms—no signs of heavy weapons yet," Sasha reported.

The gang was prepared for trouble.

Judy, apprehensive about the overwhelming numbers, said: "Damn, we didn't anticipate our location being leaked. We're all Moxes; why would Suzie Q..."

She had believed her disagreement with Suzie Q to be limited to Lizzie's Bar, both parties striving for the bar's better operation and survival, never involving Suzie Q in the kidnap of Seiho Shomune.

Gloria looked at Judy sternly and asked, "Now's not the time for such discussions, what's the plan for Shintaro?"

The key now was how to handle Seiho Shomune. Handing him over might not ensure peace from the Tyger Claws. However, not doing so would lead to persistent pursuit.

Without hesitation, one of the Moxes retorted, "The Tyger Claws can muster forces so can we. Judy, let's hit them hard."

Still caught in a dilemma, Judy feared escalating the conflict with the Tyger Claws, considering the considerable power gap between the Moxes and their adversaries, which could endanger Lizzie's Bar.

She glared at the badly beaten Seiho Shomune and said icily, "Seiho Shomune doesn't deserve to live. I'll negotiate with the Tyger Claws."

Another gang member quickly dissuaded her, "Don't be foolish. You want to talk, but they may not want to negotiate. Be rational, Judy!"

Gloria, seeing the situation's futility, said, "Exactly, the Tyger Claws might be waiting to leverage Shintaro's situation to strike at the Moxes."

"A mere Tyger Claws lackey causing such a stir; surely they have ulterior motives."

She thought even returning Shintaro alive wouldn't appease them as the real goal wasn't his rescue but to destabilize the Moxes and seize Lizzie's Bar. 

If Judy fell into the Tyger Claws' hands, the Moxes would become puppets. Apart from Judy, there was no one else bold enough to oppose the Tyger Claws, as Suzie could just be a malleable figurehead, desperate to keep the business afloat.

After placating Judy, Gloria stepped aside and dialed Tang Yu.

Elsewhere, inside the Arasaka Tower, Tang Yu was in his office discussing with Meredith suspicions of Arasaka Counter-Intelligence trying to infiltrate their Militech personnel.

He instructed Meredith to deal with it routinely, as espionage was commonplace between Arasaka and the Militech division. Captured spies could either be eliminated or played in a counterintelligence game.

Tang Yu laughed off the banter and, upon receiving Gloria's call, dismissed Meredith.

Informed by Gloria of the current dire situation, Tang Yu grasped the complexity—with Seiho Shomune barely alive, the Moxes divided, and the Tyger Claws closing in. Still, he was confident in Sasha's capability to face the assault, instructing, "Seiho Shomune must die today; Sasha can handle the threat."

Understanding Tang Yu's intent to ignite a definitive standoff between the Moxes and the Tyger Claws, Gloria returned to the group, asserting that the Tyger Claws sought to exacerbate conflict, not rescue Shintaro.

"Whether you kidnapped Shintaro or not, they would've found another excuse. For the Moxes, this is an unavoidable war."

"We have solid evidence against Shintaro's crimes; the Tyger Claws have no righteous cause."

Judy consented, realizing resistance was the only option. She braced herself but remained concerned about the immediate threat: "The Tyger Claws are coming; we need to hold out for Moxes reinforcements..."

Gloria reassured her, observing Sasha's readiness and authorization from Tang Yu to engage the attackers.

"Those Tyger Claws downstairs are no big deal," Sasha asserted, moving to intercept.

Sasha departed with her high-tier combat cyberware, indicating readiness for battle as the Moxes gang member, armed with her bat, followed suit.

Judy, still worried, questioned Gloria, who reassured her of Sasha's capability against even corporate security forces.

With their predicament clear, Gloria suggested not to spare Shintaro, proposing to release him from life by destroying his cybernetic brain implants, a fitting end for his misdeeds.

The Moxes hackers swiftly overrode Shintaro's neural network interface, unleashing destructive code.

His head cybernetics fizzled, sparked, and finally, exploded, ceasing his life.

Below, the Tyger Claws gathered, ready to search, when a body was hurled from above, striking the ground with force.

Without recognizing the battered visage, they scanned the corpse; its biometric data confirmed it as their quarry, Seiho Shomune.

The Tiger Claw gang members showed astonishment on their faces.

One of them stepped forward, kicked the corpse a couple of times, and found it motionless, dead beyond any doubt.

He had received the gang leader's order upon his arrival: Shojiro, the target, must die, and die by the Moxes' hands.

"That saves some trouble."

Discovering their high-ranking member brutally murdered here, their target resided within the towering building in front of them.

His cybernetic eye rotated, reporting the scene to the Tiger Claws' boss, then without another word, raised his katana and led his henchmen charging into the building.

Meanwhile.

Tang Yu was sitting in Arasaka Tower, awaiting the Tiger Claws' leader.

After communicating with Gloria, he had the reception contact the Tiger Claws' leader, who was to come to Arasaka Tower immediately.

With Sasha at Gloria's side, there was nothing to worry about.

His task now was to ensure the Tiger Claws wouldn't send reinforcements to the scene.

Before long.

The reception sent a notification informing Tang Yu that the Tiger Claws' leader had arrived at the counterintelligence department and requested a meeting.

Tang Yu agreed to the request, and the office gate opened automatically.

The Tiger Claws' leader, still in his burgundy suit, walked straight to the desk and bowed slightly, his demeanor still respectful.

"Mr. Tang."

Tang Yu gestured for him to sit down and talk.

The Tiger Claws' boss then sat upright in the chair opposite, and in a grave voice, he asked, "May I inquire the reason Mr. Tang summoned me today?"

Tang Yu appeared somewhat surprised, asking peculiarly, "Haven't you received my gift?"

Gift?

The Tiger Claws' leader paused, recounting the recent gifts he'd received: piles of Eurodollars, beautiful women, famous paintings and watches, even male models, but none related to the counterintelligence department.

He pondered for a moment.

The only matter related to Tang Yu was the gambling at the Phoenix Club, but he had already returned the money lost by Tang Yu in full, adding another million Eurodollars as an apology.

The casino was currently closed due to Tang Yu's request for renovations.

Because of this, Shojiro held a grudge, hiding and recording even more brutal Braindance sessions on the club's second floor, not just for money, but also out of spite.

Was it about Shojiro?

The Tiger Claws' leader suddenly connected the dots with today's events.

He had just received a message from his men, stating that they had found Shojiro—but he was dead, nothing left but a cadaver, and they were preparing to apprehend the murderer.

The Tiger Claws' leader looked at Tang Yu incredulously, seeing his indifferent expression, and began suspecting that Arasaka's executives might very well have abducted Shojiro.

Realizing his understanding, Tang Yu nonchalantly inquired, "Do you remember now?"

The Tiger Claws' leader instantly got it; the abduction of Shojiro was by Tang Yu's design.

A chill ran down his spine as he remembered the incident at the Phoenix Club.

Tang Yu had gambled extravagantly in the casino, losing millions, perhaps out of frustration with the casino's unscrupulousness or simply in a bad mood, deliberately borrowed large chips to cause trouble.

Shojiro, not recognizing him in time, offended Tang Yu somewhat.

Fortunately, the leader arrived in time, halted, and disciplined Shojiro, returning the lost money and an extra million Eurodollars in apology, even closing the casino briefly.

He went to these lengths to show respect; never did he expect Tang Yu to stay relentless against Shojiro.

The Tiger Claws' leader always assumed the Moxes were behind Shojiro's abduction, but it turned out to be instigated by Tang Yu.

But to him, who commanded the abduction was irrelevant; the important thing was for the Tiger Claws to take this chance to strike at the Moxes.

"Mr. Tang, do you mean the matter concerning Shojiro? He has offended you and has paid the price, leaving this world for good. If it was your people who acted, I will have my men retreat immediately."

However, Tang Yu feigned nonchalance, smiling, "Don't misjudge me. Shojiro died by the Moxes' hands, nothing to do with me. If you seek revenge for your men, feel free to confront those girls."

The Tiger Claws' leader, caught off guard, looked up, a flash of surprise in his eyes, then understood: Tang Yu pinned Shojiro's death on the Moxes, capturing the implicit message that he'd help frame the Moxes.

Tang Yu continued, "Since the Moxes have broken the rules, everyone should hear about it. How could they threaten lives just for some money?"

"If your brothers from the Tiger Claws seek justice and encounter malicious attacks, Arasaka Corporation will not ignore this."

Convinced by Tang Yu's words, the Tiger Claws' leader asked, "Are you suggesting we should make a bigger scene out of this?"

Tang Yu remained noncommittal, "There's no need to discuss further; the Moxes have handed you the knife. It's up to you how to proceed."

"But a heads up: Michiko Arasaka is watching this case closely, so make sure not to mess it up."

The Tiger Claws' leader nodded profoundly to Tang Yu, understanding, "Got it."

He then got up to leave the office and immediately received a call from the scene.

"Boss, there's a woman with a cat mask, extremely dangerous. We've lost more than half of our men and need backup."

The Tiger Claws' leader coldly replied, "Take Shojiro's body and retreat. Prepare for a reckoning with them at Lizzie's Bar."

Tang Yu got up from his office chair and poured himself a glass of warm water, then with teacup in hand, strolled to the panoramic window, overlooking the plaza below.

His hint to the Tiger Claws' leader was clear – now was the best time to strike at the Moxes.

Soon, Tang Yu planned to arrange Arasaka's media assets to loudly back the Tiger Claws' fabricated claims about the Moxes.

Presenting Shojiro's death as a money-motivated murder, depicting the Mox girls as greedy and malicious, business clients murdered after being swindled.

With Tiger Claws seeking justice but ambushed by the Moxes instead, resulting in many casualties, would fuel the feud between the gangs.

As for public opinion following the propaganda, Tang Yu firmly believed it would not favor the Tiger Claws.

No one in Night City favors the menacing Tiger Claws, just as nobody dislikes the high-quality services of Lizzie's siblings.

More crucially, these propaganda were fabrications that would secretly reveal the truth.

The Tiger Claws would be burdened with bullying Lizzie's girls and framing them.

At that point, the Moxes could effortlessly retaliate, reclaiming their dues from the Tiger Claws.

Tang Yu took a sip from his teacup; the pressing matter was getting Gloria to quickly integrate with the Moxes, aligning with Judy's opposing faction to vehemently condemn the Tiger Claws.

If Gloria helped the Moxes fight the Tiger Claws, Judy would surely be grateful.

Opposing the Tiger Claws and helping the downtrodden girls was her desire, but she lacked supportive people and power.

For Gloria to secure her position at Lizzie's, she needed Judy's backing.

The Tiger Claws becoming the target was an opportunity for both Gloria and Judy to collaborate.

Tang Yu activated his remote visual connection with Sasha, getting an instant understanding of the situation at the secret staging point through Sasha's eyes.

The fight was over, and the remaining Tiger Claw thugs had retreated.

In the building's corridor lay scattered Tiger Claw members' bodies, weapons strewn about.

Sensing Tang Yu's connection, Sasha holstered her leopard king claws, having unleashed her fury in the corridor.

A Moxie lifting a bloodied baseball bat onto her shoulder boasted to Sasha, "Well that's something, those Tiger Claw lackeys weren't a match for you."

With Sasha wearing an optical camouflage mask, only the electronic glow of a feline figure could be seen.

Sasha remained silent until Tang Yu disconnected the visual link, then blinked and replied with a smile, "Piece of cake."

As the outside disturbance grew quiet, Gloria, Judy, and others emerged from their hideout to join Sasha.

Judy, noting the havoc in the hallways, acknowledged the strength it took to fend off dozens of Tiger Claws, expressing her gratitude for Gloria's support by offering a fee.

The abduction of Shojiro might have been in the name of the Moxes, but it was more of Judy's personal commission, with the money coming mostly from her and some sisters.

Since her official account was running low, she invited Gloria to Lizzie's Bar.

The Moxie, impressed with Sasha's prowess, aimed to coax her, adding, "What Judy said is true, brokers like you are true treasures in Night City. Do us the honor and join us at Lizzie's."

Already briefed by Tang Yu, Gloria agreed to continue liaising with the Moxes, replying smoothly, "Shojiro got what he deserved, and the Tiger Claws needed that lesson. We should leave here soon."

"The Tiger Claws' abrupt retreat, taking Shojiro's body with them, suggests they have something else up their sleeve; caution is paramount."

The sisters unanimously decided to return to Lizzie's Bar to plan their next move.