ambush

Badlands

This is a hostile region outside Night City.

Asphalt roads built in the old days crisscross the wasteland, most of them buried by sand, with dried-up oil fields and piles of scrap forming a unique landscape.

As far as the eye can see, there is nothing but vast, boundless desert, as if Night City were the only oasis.

A Chevillon Emperor 620 Ragnar Arasaka Edition SUV was hidden behind a low dirt slope.

The Arasaka logos originally on the vehicle had long been covered with black paint, making it look no different from a standard model at first glance.

But inside, it had been modified by the Arasaka Corporation's Counter-Intelligence Department; besides the thickened bulletproof armor and various coatings, the main addition was a small server placed in the rear compartment.

This was specially designed by Arasaka Corporation for Netrunners, to provide them with computing power support anytime, anywhere.

Computing power is the core resource of cyberspace.

When intelligence levels are similar, the side with sufficient computing power basically has the victory locked down.

This is why netrunners often find themselves at a disadvantage when clashing with corporate Netrunners—they lack sufficient computing power support.

Facing fully-equipped corporate Netrunners, netrunners are practically naked.

This is why Bartmoss is revered as the God of Netrunners; with no gear at all, he suppressed a multitude of corporate Netrunners backed by massive servers using only his intellect, eventually forcing the corporations to track him down offline.

The result was that Bartmoss, facing a physical confrontation, took them all down with him, dealing a devastating blow to every corporation.

This directly led to the subsequent DataKrash; he lost his physical body, leaving only his consciousness to wander through cyberspace.

Additionally, the vehicle was equipped with two military-grade drones and related signal enhancement devices.

These were high-end Arasaka goods, completely unavailable on the open market.

Looking at this setup alone, anyone unaware would think an Arasaka squad was lying in wait for a mission.

"How much longer do we have to wait? Why hasn't Militech arrived yet?"

Rebecca shouted out of boredom; despite the seat being spacious and comfortable, it couldn't contain her restless body.

"Quiet."

Maine, sitting in the front passenger seat, glanced at Rebecca like a stern father, instantly silencing her.

This was the first time their crew had taken on a commission of this level; no amount of seriousness was too much.

"Tch."

Rebecca pouted slightly but didn't dare say more, continuing to pretend to study the two Shingen-series smart submachine guns in her lap, looking every bit like a child.

This commission was fully supported by V; while he couldn't provide any personnel, he made up for it as much as possible with equipment.

Even just as the new head of the Intelligence Department, the resources V could mobilize were unimaginable to Maine's crew.

It could be said they had never fought such a well-funded battle.

Not to mention the all-smart weapons, they even had technical sniper rifles like the Nekomata.

This thing was a genuine weapon of mass destruction, strictly controlled by corporations; Maine and the others had only heard of its reputation on the streets.

Unfortunately, there was only one Nekomata, and it had ended up in Chen Nuo's hands; otherwise, Maine would have loved to get his hands on this legendary weapon. He believed sleeping with it at night would feel incredible.

As for frag grenades, sticky grenades, incendiary grenades, and so on, they were brought in by the crate.

It was clear how much V had invested in this operation; he had likely used every corporate connection he'd built up over the years.

Then again, if he didn't use them now, he might never get another chance.

If the operation succeeded, everything would be fine—all material investments could be written off as normal losses and reimbursed through the proper channels. But if it failed, they might as well consider a career change.

Well, provided they survived the corporate liquidation.

In addition to hiring Maine's crew, Chen Nuo had also brought Jackie along, officially making him part of the team.

"They're here!"

Lucy suddenly spoke; the military drone she was controlling had locked onto the Militech convoy from high altitude and was transmitting the feed to Chen Nuo in real-time.

"That's the target. Get ready to activate the jammers, Jackie."

Chen Nuo cross-referenced the intel provided by V, and after confirming everything was correct, he spoke to Jackie.

"Copy that."

Jackie stepped out of the driver's seat, holding a Satara electromagnetic shotgun; his La Chingona Dorada was fine for the streets, but it fell short when it came to fighting corporate security.

"Finally, some action!"

Rebecca seemed particularly excited, pushing the door open and jumping out of the car, only to be pulled back by Maine, who said seriously:

"Don't get carried away later. Just stay behind me."

"Tch."

"Did you hear me?"

"I heard you."

Rebecca stuck her tongue out at Maine's back, but she complied.

She had no choice; Maine wasn't Pilar—he would truly get rough if he had to discipline her, and more importantly, Rebecca couldn't beat Maine in a fight.

Dorio wasn't skilled with firearms, so Chen Nuo had given her most of the throwable weapons.

As a former professional athlete, Dorio was an expert at the shot put; throwing grenades now, she would surely be just as accurate.

The three of them arrived at the pre-planned ambush site.

As for Pilar, the tech expert, he took the driver's seat; his combat presence wouldn't make or break the fight.

"Ohoho~ This car is amazing! I really want to lift its skirt and stroke it inside and out with these flexible cybernetic hands of mine."

Pilar began to drool as he spoke, only snapping out of it when Chen Nuo flicked his forehead.

"You'll have a chance to touch it later. For now, focus on the mission."

"Yes, sir!"

Pilar raised his hand in a clumsy military salute.

"Lucy, you keep controlling the drones and provide me with a field of vision."

Chen Nuo said to Lucy; Netrunners rarely have a real advantage in direct combat, especially against Militech security personnel.

Those guys are all equipped with military-grade ICE. Trying to breach their network protection and hack their cyberware in the heat of battle?

The battle would likely be over by then; she was better off staying in the car and providing drone support.

It was only because Chen Nuo had acquired these two military reconnaissance drones so recently; otherwise, with his technical skills, he could have added some light weaponry to them.

"Mhm."

Lucy nodded and lay back on the reclined seat.

Sasha did not participate in this operation; her injuries hadn't fully healed, and since her previous troubles weren't entirely resolved, moving in and out of Night City would be problematic.

Then, Chen Nuo climbed the high slope with the Nekomata, taking the only high ground for kilometers around. He adjusted his binoculars and watched the billowing dust rising from the distant highway.

On the road, two Militech armored vehicles protected the transport vehicle from the front and rear, the prominent corporate logos on their hulls serving as a warning to anyone thinking of crossing them.

Things weren't like the old days; corporate influence had long since permeated the Badlands. Not just Nomads, but even the most crazed Wraiths wouldn't dare provoke a corporate convoy lightly.

Seeing they were about to reach Night City, the squad members responsible for driving clearly relaxed, some even starting to yawn.

Long hours of driving through the unchanging scenery of the Badlands would indeed dull one's nerves.

But in the blink of an eye, the driver was wide awake.

Because the armored vehicle in the lead was sent airborne by a massive roar, flipping several times before slamming heavily onto the ground.

A landmine?!

The driver instinctively slammed on the brakes, but just as the vehicle finally came to a halt, his head exploded.

At the same time, the crew led by Maine poured continuous fire into the overturned armored vehicle, intending to leave no chance of survival for the tactical squad inside.

No matter how strong the defense of Militech's armored vehicles was, they couldn't withstand such a pummeling; the deformation was visible to the naked eye.

The incendiary grenades thrown by Dorio were particularly lethal for the tactical squad trapped inside the compartment.

They hadn't been modified to the point where they didn't need to breathe.

"Sniper!!"

The security officer in the transport vehicle's passenger seat screamed at the top of his lungs, but as soon as the words left his mouth, his head met the same fate.

On the high slope, Chen Nuo expressionlessly pulled the trigger again; the recoil that could shatter an ordinary person's shoulder blade seemed non-existent to him.

Like the King of Hell calling roll, every gunshot was accompanied by a disappearing head.

Militech's reinforced glass couldn't stop the Nekomata's bullets; nothing was safe before it. With a charged shot, even titanium bones would be shattered.

Its somewhat unique gunshot was also easy to identify.

Upon hearing the gunshots, the tactical squad in the rear armored vehicle immediately made the correct choice, throwing smoke grenades to obscure Chen Nuo's line of sight.

Unfortunately, hundreds of meters above their heads, two reconnaissance drones were using thermal imaging to mark the positions of all surviving members for Chen Nuo.

Right at the start of the ambush, the Militech squad had called for backup, but the jammers activated nearby blocked their signal connection.

Even if Militech noticed the squad's loss of contact and sent reinforcements, it would take at least thirty minutes.

The Badlands weren't Night City after all; it was too vast, and Militech's power projection was ultimately limited.

Watching his teammates fall one by one, the tactical squad leader knew they couldn't count on reinforcements; if they wanted to live, they had to rely on themselves.

"Found the sniper's position!"

The squad's scout shared the information with the other members.

"Covering fire!"

The heavy gunner raised the transport's heavy mounted machine gun and poured maximum fire toward Chen Nuo's direction; a fire rate of a thousand rounds per minute was enough to weave a lethal net of bullets.

Chen Nuo immediately ducked behind the slope, but he was still pinned down by the suppressing fire.

Facing such a well-trained tactical squad, expecting to snipe them all was indeed unrealistic.

"Assault team, with me!"

The leader spoke as he activated his Sandevistan, charging toward Chen Nuo at an incredible speed like a ghost.

The other two assault members did the same.

Militech's Sandevistan was recognized by everyone in Night City as the most advanced among all corporations; the "Falcon" model they equipped was the best and most high-end of its kind.

Upon activation, it could more than double the user's movement speed; the sensory feedback to the user made it seem as if time itself had slowed down.

But similarly, to exert the full effect of the Sandevistan, high demands were placed on the user's reaction speed.

"Nuo! Three of them are heading your way!"

Lucy's anxious voice came through Chen Nuo's ear.

"I'm heading over to support now."

Jackie's voice immediately rang out on the public channel.

Maine's side was tied up; the cybernetic implantation rate of the Militech tactical squad wasn't low, so killing them outright was no easy task.

Unless they were shot in the head, even if they were cut in half, these guys could still pick up a gun and fight you to the death, fueled by various combat stimulants that made them forget life and death.

"Don't worry about me. I'm the famous BT, okay?"

Chen Nuo could already hear the sound of the Sandevistan activating.

The three Militech assault troops were less than a hundred meters away; the heavy machine gun fire also stopped at this moment to avoid friendly fire.

Just then, Chen Nuo stood up and pulled the trigger.

The three assault troops instinctively activated their Sandevistan, but when they saw where the muzzle was pointed, they realized Chen Nuo wasn't aiming at them.

The charged bullet pierced right through the heavy machine gun on the armored vehicle, tearing the gunner behind it in half.

"Die!"

Seeing another comrade fall, a Militech security assault trooper roared, Mantis Blades snapping out from both of his cybernetic arms.

When Sandevistan was active, melee weapons were indeed more suitable than firearms, especially with teammates nearby.

But the reason this trooper put down his gun was purely because he was ruled by emotion and wanted to tear Chen Nuo apart; one look at his crazed eyes revealed he had signs of cyberpsychosis.

This was normal; the primary groups prone to cyberpsychosis were either corporate employees or soldiers, and the military-grade cyberware on these people also came with Braindance recording equipment.

In short, they were also corporate test subjects.

However, what made the trooper's heart skip a beat was that Chen Nuo's gaze could actually follow his movements.

How is this possible?!

Chen Nuo didn't even have a neural processor implant, so how could his reaction speed match someone who had activated a Sandevistan?

The incredulous trooper raised his Mantis Blades, trying to verify it all with action.

A gunshot rang out.

The trooper's brain was gone.

In the literal sense.

Chen Nuo moved the muzzle of the kenshin away from what was left of the trooper's chin and pulled the trigger at another assault trooper.

But the bullet passed through his afterimage.

The squad leader's reaction speed was clearly faster, especially with the boost from the Sandevistan.

It was a bit difficult for Chen Nuo to hit him from over ten meters away.

But how many more times can you use your Sandevistan?

Chen Nuo suddenly jumped, activating the rocket pack on his waist to leap into the air, dodging a Mantis Blade strike from another assault trooper behind him while pouring bullets down.

When the trooper saw the direction of the muzzle, he instinctively raised his arms to protect his head, but Chen Nuo only feinted; he was actually aiming for his limbs.

Without the Sandevistan's boost, the gap in reaction speed was enough for Chen Nuo to toy with this corporate security elite.

Not everyone is David, able to use the Sandevistan continuously without intervals.

Chen Nuo casually finished off the incapacitated trooper with another shot, then looked up at the last one and beckoned him over.

Running was impossible; with drones locking onto him from above, even if he used his Sandevistan until it smoked, he couldn't escape their range.

"Aaaaaah!"

The leader roared like a trapped beast, charging in a zigzag pattern to try and dodge Chen Nuo's line of fire.

But the result of closing in was the same as the first assault trooper.

With the boost of the Three Nuo Power, Chen Nuo's reaction speed was beyond what the leader could match, even with the Sandevistan active.

Keeping distance allowed some margin for error.

Once in close quarters, a split-second difference in reaction meant a world of difference.

With a final gunshot, Chen Nuo brought this ambush to a successful conclusion.