Chapter 226
"Director Abernathy, it's an enemy attack!"
The security officer's solemn voice rang out simultaneously. Immediately following was the 'click-click-click' sound of various instruments disengaging their safety and the metallic clanging of bullets being chambered.
What?!
Abernathy suddenly looked up.
On the holographic display screen monitoring the external environment of the vehicle, a dozen elongated, winding trails symbolizing guided rockets rose into the air.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
220
Chapter 220 Vera is still busy, a passerby in the sky after the plane crash.
Ring! Ring! Ring—drip-drip.
Shortly after the Director of Special Operations's convoy was attacked and lost signal, the security officers stationed in Westbrook, the neighborhood where the Arasaka Corporation family mansion is located, were initially taken aback. "Assassination? Attack?"
As his prosthetic eye flashed, his brows furrowed, and then he jumped to his feet and shouted, "The entire Security Division, go on high alert! Martial law!"
"Gather your men! Seal off the entire community! Afterwards, I do not want to see even the slightest property damage to His Excellency's manor!"
After saying that, he hurriedly put on his tactical helmet, put his beloved gun into its holster, walked out of his post office, and sped off toward the central mansion with the address 'Russell'.
Then, buzz... buzz...
Inside and outside the decorative wrought iron gate of Russell Manor, a number of people were already gathered.
The engines of the hovercars and heavy drones roared overhead.
Upon seeing who it was, the guard couldn't help but spit out his anger.
Damn it! One or two of you, what's it to you? Why are you all so quick and eager?
It's one thing for the people in the intelligence and security departments, the guards and garrison mobile units to be here, but what are those guys in the administration and R&D departments, who are enjoying their precious rest time, doing here?
Damn it, he even saw members of the Night City Council.
Although named after a company, the residents of the company community are not limited to company employees. Some government officials, investors, and celebrities who are close to Arasaka also settle in the company community, as it is safe.
These people are all well-informed and quick-witted. To put it bluntly, they are extremely eager to climb the social ladder and are all very ambitious.
Of course, despite the criticism, the guards themselves quickened their pace.
Less than a minute after the first explosion at Jackson Plains, Vera, who was at home, learned of the attack on Abernathy.
Indoor shooting range.
"Sir, something has happened."
The Head of the Official Residence Security Room, who arrived first, tapped his heel with a 'click' before standing at attention and bowing, saying, "Inspector Abernathy's convoy was attacked in Badlands."
"Oh? Is that so?"
Regardless of what her subordinates were thinking about the attack, Vera remained calm. She glanced at the urgent email from the intelligence department on the local network, marked it as "read," and then continued with her target practice at a leisurely pace.
She raised her right hand, which was encased in silver-white armor.
'Click!'
With a crisp sound, the Wrist Cannon, shaped like folded feathers, spewed out a blue flame unlike Kinetic Gunpowder Rounds, Technical Solid Rounds, or Smart Tracking Rounds.
No, it was less like gunfire and more like a stream of light.
The gunshot wasn't loud, but it was similar to the Focused Beam of a Centaur Thermal Cannon, though the impact was quite significant.
Bang, bang bang bang, a series of cyan energy bullets struck the composite target of armor and concrete walls, which was sufficient to test Tsunami Tungsten Dart Rounds fired by [Nekomata], and instantly, a roar resounded throughout the firing range.
The blue light turned red, heat surged, the converging shock blast exploded, the steel armor melted, and Crushed Stone and Molten Iron splashed everywhere.
Boom boom boom...
Vera only put down the Wrist Cannon after running out of ammunition and firing several times until the magazine was empty.
The surging dust dispersed, and the surface of the composite target had been transformed into a large, deep, wavy crater.
Just like wax that melts and then solidifies, it combines High Penetration Power, high temperature and explosive impact.
"Fortune and misfortune are intertwined."
Vera remained expressionless and turned her head. "The ancients were right."
This is a lie.
It should be considered a double celebration, but for the sake of unity, excessive laughter is not advisable.
She found it quite amusing; of all times, it just so happened to be today, amidst the Badlands war. Sigh, yet another sub-project of the [Warframe] system, the [VARIS]—a Variable Ammunition Reactive Impact Cannon originally intended for Knightmare armored cavalry—has been successfully Miniaturized Integration.
Tap, tap.
At the same time, more footsteps could be heard.
The mid-level managers from the intelligence department, who had come to give their reports, watched Vera's retreating figure with trepidation.
They had no idea what Vera was thinking; they only saw that Vera seemed quite annoyed after learning about the attack, and in a fit of rage, she poured ammunition at the target.
The community security officers were among them, and were only allowed in after passing through the Cyber Ninja's scan and inspection.
As a retainer of the Arasaka Family, the latter does not interfere in company affairs; his sole duty is to protect Vera.
"Why are you all running here? I need to see the person, alive or dead. Find out who did it."
Vera turned her wrist without looking back, snap, sizzle!
The tightly fitted arm armor's grooves were exposed, and a 5ml ampoule-sized metal tube popped out. Vera pulled it out to replace it, drawing out 'ammunition' filled with a thick Pinkish Dense Liquid from a reagent kit-like container on the table.
With a gentle press, the liquid Sakura Dite neatly and cleanly embeds itself into the arm armor.
"Let's try a different output mode," Vera thought to herself. She stood sideways and switched [VARIS] from convergence mode to Hadron Mode.
Arm armor and Wrist Cannon, their folded feathers unfurling, humming—
The Sakura Stone energy was converted and stored all at once. Through the Quinque Warframe Lining, which was connected to the body like Second Skin Organ of Kakuja, and the Neural Network Connection Port Technology from the German GSG-9 and the Japanese Public Security Section 9 (Ghost in the Shell), Vera controlled the Armored Gauntlet Weapon System to pull the non-existent trigger and activate it.
The immense recoil shook her right arm, and her pale gold hairpin was blown up by the blast of air.
It was light to her, but enough to dislocate the shoulders of most Light Cybernetic Augmentees.
The air surged violently as a dark red beam shot out of the barrel, leaving a long trail in the air before instantly shattering the riddled, crumbling composite target. Then came the second and the third, the thick target walls being destroyed as easily as building blocks.
In less than a second, the light from the Focused Beam came to an abrupt halt.
[Energy depleted]
Vera can see the weapon system's prompts.
Although its performance is far inferior to the [VARIS] prototype equipped by [Lancelot]—which has the output level to pierce through an entire valley with a single shot—it is sufficient as a single arm armor.
Moreover, she's not the kind of person who's inflexible; she desires both portable and miniaturized human-carrying vehicles and heavy, mecha-operated weapons. It's just a pity that Sakurastone can't be produced domestically, and such stingy use is ultimately not a long-term solution.
Ignoring her subordinates who fell silent as a result, Vera merely assessed the completeness of the [Battle Armor]. With a thought, the entire arm armor rapidly contracted, and with a transformation of Memory Metal, the protruding, angular [VARIS] Wrist Cannon transformed back into tight-fitting arm guards.
Smooth and light, cold and sharp.
After methodically completing today's optimization and tuning of the Warframe System and confirming that nothing had been missed, Vera turned around, her indigo eyes looking at the crowd gathered silently waiting at the entrance of the shooting range, and asked, "Where are the support troops?"
Based on rank and the degree of relevance to the position, and belonging to the Special Operations Department, the official who stayed behind in Night City after Abernathy's business trip, responsible for reporting to the Council at all times, respectfully said, "We have left Heywood and are entering Badlands through Pacifica. We are about 5-7 minutes away from the signal disappearance point of Jackson Plains."
"The Border Checkpoint were not informed of the message because their security level was insufficient, but the mobile Security Department unit stationed in Dogtown has responded to the Rescue Order and has been dispatched."
Dogtown.
Inside the Arasaka Barracks.
It was the sound of the Vector Engine starting up on the armored airborne vehicle and the noise of heavily armed personnel boarding the vehicle.
The unexpected situation in the Badlands disrupted the rotation and garrisoning rhythm of a three-person team.
"Hey, Katsuo, what's going on?"
"David, Suneo, we've got a big job coming up. A convoy of director-level managers has been attacked."
Very professional, the team members quickly got into the zone, and the vehicle was completely silent except for the sound of organizing the equipment.
Two minutes ago.
Jackson Plains Canyon.
Boom--!!!
The missiles, rising from the ground, meandered and collided with the Heat Decoy. The escorting 'Octagon' heavy drones activated their Anti-air Missile. Offense and defense collided, and chaotic fireballs of explosions filled the nearby airspace irregularly.
The armored airborne vehicle in the center was clearly heading back.
"Just as I thought! That bitch is trying to run away!"
In the makeshift tunnel where they were hiding, Jackie, carrying EMP Missile Launcher on his shoulder, slapped his thigh and urged, "Panam, isn't it time yet? My sister gave me so many good things, hurry up and use your EMP to blast that middle one down!"
"Shut the hell up! That vehicle belongs to Zeta Technologies' Surveyor. Don't let its size fool you, it's fast, and its acceleration is incredibly fast! Plus, it's equipped with a next-generation defense system, so its electromagnetic pulse resistance is pretty good!"
Holding binoculars in one hand and a detonator in the other, to prevent Infrared See-through Desert Camouflage Blanket covering his body, Panam lay on a small hillside, observing the suddenly bustling airspace.
Beside me is a PDA with hands-free enabled.
"Ordinary EMP rockets are not enough to shut it down. There are also two 'Octagon' gunship drones and four unmanned troop carriers escorting it. I need to time my actions carefully to detonate the buried EMP Bomb. This way, I can have a large quantity and be foolproof, instead of just detonating them one by one like food, which would be too time-consuming."
"Damn it! You guys aim your shots, top-down, top-down, force it to lower its altitude! Maine, where's your firepower?"
Didi.
[Maine: Damn it, my goodness, slow down. I'm drawing your fire... Damn! It's spotted me, Kiwi, find a way to hack its Fire Control!]
[Kiwi: It's already getting dark!! Lucy, come help!]
Lucy: Received.
"They're here!"
With his eyes fixed on the hovercraft forced to shift to one side by the Guided Missile from Maine, Scorpion, and Mitch (Nomads), Panam raised the push-button detonator in his hand. "The vehicle is on track, Scorpion, Mitch, hold on... wait a little longer... hold on tight. OK, it's in the marked range, detonate!"
The explosion occurred to the lower left of the hovercraft.
With a flash of blue electricity, the hovercar, which was speeding along at high speed and whose engine exhaust was surging, suddenly lurched as if it had caught a cold. Sparks flew from the vehicle, and it began to slow down, swaying and dragging white smoke along its body.
No sooner said than done, even faster than Jackie's movements, whoosh! In a wasteland not far away, another missile soared into the sky, fast and powerful. Panam could see clearly that the trail of its tail flame was visibly larger, much better than the ones used for Maine and the Nomads family members she had called over; even Heat Decoy were ineffective.
Was it launched by Jackie's Corporate Dog friend? Panam squinted.
Before I could think any further, another deafening explosion occurred.
Debris flew everywhere as the hovercraft plummeted and made an emergency landing amidst billowing smoke.
221
Chapter 221 Bandit Clash
"Director! Buckle up!"
The security officer yelled.
Boom!
After the fire, another explosion shook the airship—for Susan Abernathy, this was the moment when her life took a sharp turn for the worse.
Who is it?!
Is it another Major Corporations? New America? A gang? Nomads? Free Mercenaries? Or... Jenkins?
When was her whereabouts and schedule leaked? The EMP Bomb that was just buried in the Badlands was obviously prepared in advance. How were the attackers so sure that she would go to Jackson Plains?