Players Invade Cyberpunk

"Scared now, aren't you?"

The leader hadn't noticed the increasingly eerie atmosphere in the bar, still provoking without an ounce of self-preservation.

Pointing directly at the female player closest to him, he said,

"What are you looking at? Believe it or not, I'll beat you up!"

He wasn't entirely stupid; his cybernetic eye scanned her and found she had very few body modifications, making her an easy target. He intended to pick on her as a warning to others.

After all, the big black man next to her, with his back turned, was clearly not someone you wanted to mess with. Even his silhouette was frighteningly strong, and the others were loaded with so much cyberware they didn't even look human anymore.

Suddenly, he felt like he'd wandered into the Vortex Gang's territory instead of a bar.

But with so many people watching him, he steeled himself and said,

"I'm talking to you. Not satisfied? Come on, let's duel, one-on-one, and no cheating."

A mercenary wanted to step forward to teach this guy a lesson, but a nearby player held him back, ready to enjoy the show.

Manthou silently stood up, somewhat speechless. There were no classes today, and she was just killing time in the game when she stumbled into this unexpected event.

"I'm so fed up!"

"I still have that robot competition to attend tonight, can't even relax!"

Seeing the woman walk up to him, the punk got even more arrogant.

"Why the angry face? Think you can beat me? I'll even let you throw the first punch."

He pointed to his stomach.

"Hit me ————"

The last word dragged on not deliberately, but because before he could finish speaking, Manthou had already slammed her fist into his stomach.

"Pfft..."

Blood spurted from his mouth as his body bent like a shrimp, his facial features contorting as he turned bright red.

Suppressing the excruciating internal pain, the punk looked incredulously at the woman in front of him.

"Ma'am... What do you do?"

Manthou gritted her teeth and said,

"I'm your damn mother!"

Bang bang bang!!!

The sound of tables shattering and fists connecting with flesh echoed from inside the bar, but the hackers on the gang's side still couldn't breach Sea God's defenses. Even with the Huang Ban's support in the form of icebreaker programs, they found it impossible to bring down a genuine, formidable AI.

The battle in cyberspace raged on intensely, while the surrounding buildings and streetlights flickered like they could overload and explode at any moment.

"No more waiting."

Sitting in the limo in the middle of a convoy on the street, a man in American military fatigues, wearing sunglasses, snuffed out his cigarette butt.

"Blow up those automated turrets, and everyone move in and finish them off. No survivors."

"And make sure to find their server room. Don't damage what the higher-ups want."

The people on the street weren't all from the same gang, nor did they all take orders from one person. Therefore, the Sixth Street Gang took the lead and fired the first shot. A salvo of rockets blasted into the corporation's compound, instantly blowing apart the exposed automated turrets.

————

"Damn it, why did it suddenly start raining? Bad luck."

Reyes, who had been waiting in a second-hand car garage for his subordinates to deliver vehicles, was drenched by the rain before he even got inside.

He shrugged off his jacket, hung it on a rack, and sat on a shabby couch, lighting up a cigarette and taking a long drag.

"Seth, go ask how much longer they'll be."

Seth checked his watch. "They said maybe ten minutes."

"But boss, I think we'll run out of stock in just two days. Those guys are buying way too much."

Old Captain chuckled bitterly. He'd been in the second-hand car business in Night City for years, and this was the first time he'd sold out of stolen rides so fast.

The cars the henchmen stole couldn't keep up with the insane pace at which people were buying them.

Mercenary squads bought one or two for the team, but these bastards insisted on one per person, and each time they brought them back full of bullet holes, like something out of a warzone in Iraq.

Reyes flicked his cigarette ash and brushed the corner of his mouth.

"Never thought I'd ever be stressed out from making too much money. What a fortunate worry to have."

"How about I end that meaningless worry for you, Reyes?"

The sudden voice made Reyes stiffen, his right hand reaching under the couch.

BANG!

A bullet tore through the couch and precisely hit Reyes's hand, obliterating it, his blood and five fingers splattering all over the sofa.

"Ugh..."

Reyes clutched his bleeding right hand, his face pale as he looked toward the source of the voice.

At the side door of the garage, illuminated by relentless flashes of lightning, he saw the man's features.

And his distinctive four eyes.

Reyes gritted his teeth and uttered the man's name,

"Faraday... What are you doing here?"

Seth, who'd been working on car repairs, immediately went for his gun upon hearing the gunshot, but another bullet pierced the garage door and hit his right shoulder.

Faraday gazed coldly at his fellow Santo Domingo insider,

"As an old friend, thought I'd see you one last time, have a chat, then send you off."

A mechanical hand punched through the rolling door, tearing through the metal like paper.

Behind the door stood an entire squad of mercenaries.

Seth tried to call for backup, but Faraday's crew had already jammed the signal here.

The mercenary hacker noticed Seth's actions, playfully saying,

"Give it up. I've hacked your channel, and all nearby safe houses are emptied. This is the last one – cry all you want, no one's coming to save you."