39 Chapter 39

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The night.

Watson's Northern Industrial District.

An intense gunfight erupted at the abandoned steel mill, a spark of light igniting in the vast darkness.

The sound of guns could be heard echoing for miles, an occurrence not out of the ordinary for Night City's countless nights.

Caitlin, the Deputy Head of the Arasaka Corporation Special Operations Division, was fervently organizing a new offensive against Maine and his allies inside the workshop.

Caitlin was a protégé of Susan Abernathy during her years as head of Special Operations, and tonight she received orders to seize military-grade Sandevistan cyberware.

Initially believing it to be a simple pickings affair amidst chaos, Caitlin didn't expect that after the Maelstrom gang had been swept aside, those cyberpunks from Watson would still be stubbornly resisting inside.

The first Special Operations squad to enter was decimated by an explosion—and forced to retreat.

Thus, she reluctantly ordered an indiscriminate barrage.

Despite the intensive shelling, thermal imaging revealed that the five individuals were still unscathed, having taken cover in dead angles.

"Damn cyberpunks!"

Caitlin had requested three Arasaka Special Ops squads for this mission—a significant number. If there were substantial casualties, she'd likely face an investigation upon returning to the company.

Moreover, time was of the essence; Director Abernathy had given a deadline of ten minutes, meaning she had to report back by ten past nine.

She knew the intel on this deal was leaked by a mole within Counter-Intelligence, and they intended to act in half an hour.

Although countermeasures had been assured by Director Abernathy, with only a single Special Ops squad sent by Counter-Intelligence, headed by the implanted mole Carter Smith, failure to retrieve the target cyberware and subsequent investigation for the leak could lead to Carter's demise—and Caitlin herself couldn't escape implication, possibly becoming the scapegoat.

With the first wave of assault failing to capture Maine and the others, Caitlin ordered a cessation of the barrage.

She called out to the workshop: "I know you're trading military-grade Sandevistan tech. We're willing to double Maelstrom's offer. We pay, you deliver, and then we all walk away. How about it?"

After speaking, a member of the Arasaka squad tossed an electronic account chip into the workshop.

The chip, flying into the workshop, landed awkwardly on the steaming brain matter of a Maelstrom member's blown-open skull.

"There's a hundred thousand eurodollars inside. Take it, and you can leave the cyberware and go."

Hearing the ruckus outside, Maine shouted back from his hiding spot: "The cyberware's already been taken by the Maelstrom gang; I've got nothing on me now!"

Caitlin cursed under her breath upon hearing Maine's refusal, "Still playing tough at death's door? Rush in and wipe them all out!"

Armed with Arasaka's state-of-the-art weapons, two Special Ops squads launched another assault on Maine and his team.

The firepower shook the workshop, dust and debris raining down as if an earthquake were erupting.

Maine inwardly cursed—despite the theft of the cyberware by Maelstrom, the stubborn Arasaka wouldn't believe him.

"Kiwi, any news on Lucy?"

Kiwi replied quickly: "No word yet. The Militech folks are here, but they're not moving in, wanting us to exhaust ourselves against Arasaka."

"Damn it!" Maine couldn't help but swear.

The pigtailed girl seethed with anger, staring down the approaching Arasaka squads shouting: "Maine, no more hesitation, just kill these scumbags, we'll break out ourselves!"

Maine and his team no longer held back, launching a fierce counterattack on Arasaka.

Machine guns, arm cannons, high-explosive grenades—all their firepower was directed at Arasaka's approaching forces.

Even clad in full-body armor, Arasaka soldiers couldn't withstand the onslaught.

Suddenly, a big fight erupted again.

Arasaka squads suffered heavy casualties amidst the intense gunfire.

Suddenly, Maine's arm cannon jammed, leaving a gap in their heavy fire.

Arasaka forces immediately targeted him, a barrage of bullets spraying from their guns, heading straight for Maine.

Dorio hastily threw herself at Maine, knocking him down, but it was too late to evade completely—three bullets pierced her right shoulder and arm, narrowly missing her neck artery.

The team was instantly down two firepower points, and Arasaka squads started organizing a concerted counterattack.

Pilar attempted to throw another high-explosive grenade. As he launched it, before retracting he hand, it was shot through by several bullets.

Pilar screamed in distress: "Shit, my agile cybernetic hand, busted! How am I supposed to get a new one made in a day??"

The pigtailed girl grinned fiercely: "Leave them all to me; this is my idea of fun. Ha ha ha!"

After emptying two pistol magazines, she discarded them and pulled out a green machine gun, letting loose on the approaching Arasaka squads.

RAT-TAT-TAT!!!

Bullets riddled their targets with a spray of blood and shrapnel, knocking them back.

Kiwi, seizing any opportunity to break through Arasaka's ICE—but their expertise in cybersecurity meant a fortified defense. In such a critical situation, a full intrusion was challenging.

Kiwi changed tactics, remotely initiating a barrage that caused their cyberware to overheat, losing combat capability. The hacking success created target-acquisition issues for several Arasaka men, making system-controlled movements impossible.

The pigtailed girl took advantage to launch a counter-offensive, alone, machine gun blazing amid the storm of bullets.

Maine helped the injured Dorio lie down, grabbing the heavy machine gun without a moment's delay to ask after him, continuing the fight.

At such a critical moment, everything had to wait until Arasaka's people were completely dealt with.

But trained Arasaka squads quickly found cover and began providing fire support upon entering the workshop.

The pigtailed girl's frantic assault drew Pilar out to risk his life pulling her back, using himself as cover.

He threw electromagnetic pulse grenades into the air to temporarily disable any electronic cyberware within range.

Arasaka squads, deprived of cyberware assistance, saw their heavy firepower cease.

"Requesting drone support."

Maine and his team found themselves in a perilous situation as armed Arasaka drones flew in from outside, initiating a deadly charge from above.

Maine had to shift his focus to deal with the four drones overhead, but as soon as he took down one drone, the other three opened fire.

The barrage forced the team to duck and weave throughout the workshop, a tough position to maintain.

Desperate and out of options, Maine knew they had to survive the Arasaka onslaught by calling that person.

Just when things were dire, Arasaka's gunfire ceased abruptly.

Soon after, more intense shelling and warnings blasted from outside the workshop.

"Militech is conducting a special operation. All irrelevant personnel evacuate immediately."

Maine cursed: "Damn, Militech's finally making their move."

Meanwhile, Tang Yu and Jackie watched from afar as the Maine team dealt with the Maelstrom gang and Arasaka's Special Ops.

Despite the distance, the ferocity of the battle was quite evident.

Jackie commented in surprise: "Tang Yu, your informants really have some skills; five of them almost wiped out two Arasaka squads, they're strong!"

Tang Yu nodded in agreement, having intended to assess Maine's capabilities through this trade. It seemed that Maine indeed had the potential to become legendary.

To become a legend in Night City, one must pass the test of Arasaka, proving their courage to face down corporations.

Though such actions might seem reckless, they are an essential part of the legendary path.

Suddenly, Tang Yu noticed a figure dashing towards them—he recognized it was a Maelstrom gang member through scanning.

Pointing to Dum Dum, who had escaped through a secret passage, Jackie stated, "Tang Yu, look, there's one that got away, holding something. Could that be the traded item?"

Tang Yu smiled, "That guy's a small-time Maelstrom leader, Dum Dum, a fool who's never seen the world outside the slum."

Without hesitation, Tang Yu and Jackie quickly descended in leaps from a container, landing squarely on Dum Dum's inevitable escape route.

"Dum Dum, long time no see."

Dum Dum was too preoccupied with checking for pursuers to notice two figures suddenly blocking his path.He held the safe with one hand and aimed his gun at the two with the other, his red cybernetic eye glinting faintly, "Who are you? You know I'm Dum Dum from the Maelstrom and you're still in my way!"

Tang Yu had known this guy before and knew he was a coward who acted tough on the outside but was soft on the inside. When it really came down to a fight, he'd scurry away faster than anyone: "Put the safe down and at least you'll keep your head in one piece."

Seeing that Tang Yu's gun was an Arasaka Kenin, Dum Dum asked darkly, "You're with Arasaka, ambushing me here?"

As Dum Dum hesitated, shuffling and pathetic footsteps came from behind.

"Royce?"

Dum Dum turned to find Royce, his body half-wrecked and face half-caved in.

Royce had taken a serious hit. His vision was wavy like ripples in a pond, and he seemed to see three figures blocking his path.

Just as he raised his gun to shoot, he recognized Dum Dum's voice and instead pointed the gun threateningly a bit closer toward Jackie.

"Get out of my way..."

Bang!

With a single-handed shot, Tang Yu blew Royce's head off, ending the vile life of the Maelstrom warlord.

Tang Yu didn't remember much about him, other than that besides the half-cybernetic face, Royce was all defiance.

He took advantage of the boss, Brick, being away on business, staged a coup, and even tried to starve Brick to death in a meatpacking plant.

Such trash wasn't worth listening to.

Dum Dum was intimidated by Tang Yu's ruthless methods, glancing back and forth several times.

He looked at Royce's headless corpse on the ground and then at Tang Yu, who had decisively pulled the trigger.

"You do realize you've killed Royce from the Maelstrom, right? Brick will never let you off the hook!"

Dum Dum tried to sound forceful, but his voice clearly lacked conviction.

"Even if you're with Arasaka..."

Tang Yu didn't care much for Dum Dum; the guy was more amusing to him than anything. He had gone through a few deals with him, so he spared a few extra words.

"Drop the goods and tell your boss Brick this: It was that old thief Royce who broke the rules first. Brick couldn't keep him in line anyway. Arasaka just did him a favor by cleaning up the internal threat."

Jackie saw that the gun in Dum Dum's hand had lowered, but the man still stood frozen. He walked up, snatched the safe from his hands, and gave him a fierce kick.

"Get lost, and make sure you pass on the message, you hear me?"

Dum Dum stumbled back a few steps from Jackie's kick, then scrambled away in panic.

Watching Dum Dum from Maelstrom disappear without a trace, Jackie picked up the safe and noticed it had a combination lock.

"Bro, there's a padlock. Not sure if that cyberware's in there. Should we just shoot it open?"

Tang Yu thought Jackie's idea was good—simple and brutal. He was about to agree when he heard a chill voice behind him.

"The code is 1003."

Jackie immediately turned the gun aimed at the safe toward the newcomer.

Tang Yu looked over to find a familiar face—the silver-haired netrunner-thief, Pilar—from Team Maine, with their own dark secrets of the cyberpunk world.

Lucy.

In the cold moonlight.

Her silver hair gleamed with iridescent colors of ice-blue and soft pink.

Her blue and purple neon eyes appeared as forbidding as a secluded pond, signaling "keep out" to strangers.

But the sweat on her forehead and her heavy breathing indicated she had rushed here in a hurry to intercept the safe.

To her surprise, the safe was already in Jackie's hands.

Tang Yu, recognizing Lucy, had Jackie lower his gun, "She's a friend."

Lucy, seeing Tang Yu's recognition, spoke quickly with some urgency, "Maine's team is surrounded by Militech people."

With Militech entering the fray, the final piece of the puzzle was falling into place.

Tang Yu was just about to wrap things up, "Jackie, give her the safe. We're gonna have a little talk with the Militech folks."

Despite Jackie not knowing who the newcomer was, he still tossed the safe to her. He trusted anyone Tang Yu trusted.

Lucy caught the safe, her eyes flickered with a hint of surprise, seemingly shocked that Tang Yu would so readily hand the safe over and agree to save Maine and the others.

She tightened her grip on the golden mono-filament wire.

In her view, nobody in the corporation didn't stab each other in the back, which was why cyberpunks needed a middleman.

Even though she knew the real sponsors behind the scenes were still the corporations, she had to pretend ignorance, focus on completing the tasks, and try not to deal directly with the company heads.

Current developments seemed to favor Tang Yu.

Militech's corporate opponents were in disarray, the cyberware safe was in his hands, and the data from the cyberpsycho Janes was within reach.

With a simple thought, Tang Yu could eliminate everyone involved, including herself.

This would grant Tang Yu a perfect mission completion, allowing him to return and claim credit from the Arasaka company.

For Tang Yu, this was close to a perfect endgame.

Now.

With the safe in hand, Lucy looked up to see a luxurious AV gradually landing.

The door opened automatically, and Tang Yu stood up with Jackie, entering the interior of the AV.

After getting inside and sitting down, Tang Yu looked around to find Lucy still standing there.

Jackie asked, "Since she's one of us, should we invite her along?"

Tang Yu knew Lucy didn't want to deal with the company people, so he hadn't called her into the AV.

But Jackie's reminder made him realize that besides himself, it would be hard for anyone else to get the details on the scene.

Militech had completely sealed off the area.

Tang Yu beckoned to Lucy who remained standing, "If you want a view of Maine's situation, you better come with us."

He expected her to agree, but Lucy just replied, "I'll wait for your good news," and then turned and left, her white figure quickly disappearing into the darkness.

Jackie, seeing how cautious the person mentioned by Tang Yu was, shrugged, "Seems like she's very wary of you, probably thinks there are no good people in the company."

"Without your identity from Arasaka company today, peaceful resolution would be difficult."

Tang Yu simply ordered the onboard AI to close the doors and then took off towards the abandoned factory workshop.

"Everybody has a past, and in Night City, who you trust or don't is a personal choice," said Jackie, laughing," Hermano, I trust you 100%, but are you telling me we're going in this luxurious AV to snatch people from Militech? Isn't that underestimating their armor a bit? We'll probably get blasted to the skies with one hit!"

"Who said it's just the two of us? I've got a security detail," Tang Yu noted, looking out the window.

Out of curiosity, Jackie peered through the AV's left window and saw an Arasaka armed AV keeping pace with them. Looking to the right, there was another Arasaka AV.

His eyes sparkled with excitement, "Hermano, I used to hate corporations, but now to have one as my bodyguard feels kinda cool, you know?"

Tang Yu was unfazed, "In the corporation as long as you have power and influence, even Adam Smasher would answer your beck and call, let alone these Arasaka elite squads."

The forces at Tang Yu's disposal—a couple of Arasaka armed AVs and a complete Arasaka elite squad—had the potential to start a small war.

As the final trump card, this elite squad was enough to keep a situation under control.

Working against Militech, not fighting a war with Meredith Stout was his intent; he was sure she would acquiesce for the sake of old times.

The extent of the situation was telling; Jenkins had some real clout to lend such power to Tang Yu.

Without this external force, it would have been just him and Jackie, unguarded against Militech.

Now, backed by armed might, his stance was firmer.

Tang Yu thought it over; until he was powerful enough on his own, playing the company loyalist was a card well worth using.

As the AVs neared their destination.

Tang Yu could see below that Meredith Stout and Militech had taken control and decimated the Arasaka strike team. Maine's team was in grave danger.