Chapter 227

Abernathy was eager to find out the answer.

Unfortunately, there wasn't time to think about it further.

Even though she buried herself deep in the leather back of the chair, tensed her whole body and fastened her seatbelt, the shock from the explosion and the jolting motion caused by the stall still gave her a physiological stress. She was thrown around so much that she felt dizzy and disoriented, like a bearing in an old motor, spinning around and around with a clattering sound.

Beep beep. In the dimly lit car cabin where the ambient lights were off, a glaring red warning light flashed and a siren blared continuously.

The vehicle's AI system is reporting an error due to an electromagnetic pulse malfunction and is still restarting.

The safety officer manually operated the controls, monitoring the parameters. "Altitude decreased, 400 feet!"

"Release the shock absorbers, stabilize the gyroscope, and initiate emergency reverse thrust ignition!"

"100 feet!"

The safety officer's final warning before the emergency landing. "Prepare for ramming!!"

A momentary tug and a sudden jolt followed by a loud bang. The airship's structure emitted a sickening metallic scraping and twisting sound, and a violent vibration accompanied the impact, shaking Abernathy, who was pressed tightly against the aircraft seat.

Finally, after an unknown amount of time, a series of clattering and clanging sounds followed, and the inertia wore off, causing the vehicle to stop vibrating.

Almost immediately.

Click-swish, the sound of the seatbelt being unbuckled.

"Everyone, report your status and prepare to engage the enemy!"

Unlike ordinary company executives who have only made minor modifications to their combat implants, the security officers of the Special Operations Department, who are bodyguards for Arasaka Intelligence, are all company weapons with military-grade prosthetic bodies such as endoskeletons, reaction coordinators, and carbon fiber muscles. They were able to adjust to the effects of the forced landing in a very short time.

"You, you, groups 83HY and 29SL, stay behind to protect the director. Prolonged defense is unacceptable; hiding in your shell makes you easy targets. The rest of you, counterattack with me. Technician, is the backup control panel activated? Restart the defense program immediately upon logging in, release the robot guards, and the combat drones!"

"Recall the Octagon and the unmanned troop carriers, and set up defensive positions on the spot!"

The fully armed security officer grabbed his HJSH-18 rifle and manually opened the hatch while setting up defenses.

In an emergency, his authority was even greater than that of Abernathy, who had not yet recovered from the turbulence and stall.

It has nothing to do with ability or willpower; it's a difference in physical fitness and career positioning. Leave professional tasks to professionals.

Squeak—

The side hatch of the airship slowly slid open.

Then, halfway down the slide, click! Unsurprisingly, it got stuck due to structural damage caused by the impact.

Clang! Equipped with the [Gorilla Arms] and EX0-1 exoskeleton, the main combat safety officer punched the jammed hatch, then forcefully pushed it open, and plunged out while carrying the heavy blast shield.

Seven or eight security officers in top condition filed out in a professional formation.

"Hmm..."

I was startled awake by the loud banging on the door. "Damn it!"

Abernathy shook her head, gritted her teeth and cursed under her breath. Coming to her senses, she forced herself to unbuckle her seatbelt despite the discomfort.

Not all high-ranking Corporate Dog possess the abnormal combat skills and physical abilities of Vera Adelheid Russell, who is considered a master of survivability. Before Vera took office, she faced no shortage of assassination attempts while on field missions. It was only after she took over the Director of Operations that the number of targeted assassinations decreased.

Upon seeing this, the four bodyguards immediately surrounded him. The leader, carrying a black Arasaka Aramid Bulletproof Vest, asked with concern, "Director, are you alright...?"

The four men were dressed in civilian clothes; they were the standard bodyguards assigned to the head of the Arasaka department.

If the security officer's job is to protect VIPs as they travel from one city to another, then the latter's job is to accompany them around the clock.

"I'm fine."

Abernathy waved her hand, took a puff of the Kinlichi calming spray, and deftly took the bulletproof vest. While putting it on, she took an assault rifle with a thick, oval-shaped barrel shroud from the gun rack— the Tsunami Defense System's [Nine Tails]—and quickly released the safety and loaded it.

Although she couldn't compare to a military department like the Security Department, and she hadn't risen through the ranks from a low-level agent, as the head of Night City's intelligence network, she was by no means a mere scholar with no fighting skills.

Looking around the damaged interior, where sparks were emanating from the circuit boards, Abernathy asked, "What's the situation outside? Have you sent out a distress signal?"

Before he could finish speaking, there was a loud bang, something outside exploded, smoke and dust filled the cabin, and dust and debris fell densely onto the vehicle body with a clattering sound.

Gunfire followed, a mix of single shots, long bursts, and sweeping fire.

"Sent".

The bodyguard bent down to stand in front of Abernathy, leaning forward to look warily out of the cabin. "But the signal is very poor, intermittent. We can't rule out that the thieves used a signal jamming device."

Just then, the technician's urgent voice rang out. "Chief Supervisor, an octant has been shot down!"

"They are military-grade Anti-air Missile. They are definitely not ordinary terrorists; they must be the black gloves of other forces! The two unmanned troop carriers have lost contact; it's a cyber hacker!"

As he spoke, the technician unfolded his portable terminal, which began to flash red.

"Oh no! The control panel is being compromised!"

"Don't panic, stay calm, activate ICE (Intrusion Counter Element) to counterattack."

Abernathy darted behind the technician, checking the external cameras as he encouraged him, "Just a bunch of petty thieves. Even if they have signal jamming devices. This hovercraft maintains real-time contact with the Arasaka Tower Data Center. If it loses connection for more than two minutes, the people at the data center will check the situation!"

As if to confirm her words, the sounds of engines, explosions, and gunfire erupted outside the car.

Abernathy took a deep breath and said, "Just hold on for 5-10 minutes. Reinforcements will arrive! By then, they'll be the ones in a panic, not us. In any case, the advantage is on our side."

She clenched her fist calmly, as if everything was under her control.

Bullshit!

He appears calm and collected on the surface, but is actually panicking inside.

Abernathy was also unsure.

The attackers had planned this attack for a long time. The attack was so professional that the steps were almost flawless. Her convoy was thoroughly investigated, indicating that someone had leaked the information, and it was highly likely that it was someone on their own side.

Even though she desperately wanted to rush back to Arasaka Tower to demand accountability, she had to remain calm. The most important thing right now was to stabilize morale and boost the troops' spirits. The goods were absolutely not to be lost; it was better to destroy them than to have them taken away. Otherwise, even if she could return alive, with political enemies like Jenkins and countless upstarts eyeing her position, her future would be ruined.

With her eyes closed and her heart hardened, Abernathy immediately had her bodyguard give her a shot of combat stimulant. After putting on her protective gear, she waved her hand, "We can't just wait in a confined area. Although we can guess that the enemy's target is the cargo, so they won't easily blow up this vehicle with heavy firepower, we can't ignore the possibility that they might resort to desperate measures."

Unable to determine whether the enemy's target was himself or the "cargo" due to the nature of the "goods," Abernathy made a judgment: this attack was both a death knell and an opportunity. If he survived it, remaining calm in the face of danger would be a plus, and if he performed well, the chances of being reported again would be greatly increased!

"You, plant a time bomb on the 'goods,' using our biometrics as the standard. Once we're all dead, it will self-destruct. The rest of you, follow me and expand the effective blocking position. As long as we hold out until reinforcements arrive, everything will be alright!"

Gun in hand, follow me.

Director of Special Operations, don't embarrass yourself.

I speculate that Abernathy possesses combat abilities, based on the example of Tanaka, who serves as a mid-level manager in the R&D department in the anime Edgerunner.

222

Chapter 222 Who Died Suddenly?

The Badlands under the midday sun.

Yellow sand, fierce wind, Gobi Desert.

There were explosions, flashes of light, and billowing smoke from the wreckage of the crashed flying object. The air was filled with the pungent stench of burning components and a fishy smell that was neither flesh nor blood.

Amidst the rising and falling gunfire, bang! came a sound distinct from bullets striking earthen slopes, rocks, and metal obstacles.

Someone's head snapped back, his shattered winged helmet stained crimson, and copious amounts of cerebrospinal fluid and nerve fibers were flung out from his fragmented skull. He then collapsed heavily to the ground, his hand still gripping the trigger of his gun, bullets flying wildly until the magazine was empty.

"Wow, that's awesome! Panam girl."

From a relatively safe location away from the direct firefight zone, Jackie Welles observed the crash site with high-powered tactical binoculars. After witnessing Panam's skill in shooting a man in the head from 800 meters away, he couldn't help but give a thumbs up.

In truth, by nature, he was itching to join in, but V and Panam both berated him. Maine also told him not to take any risks.

After all, he was, in a way, a middleman. According to Sister V, what was he called again?

They can barely be considered decent people who wear shoes.

According to Panam and Maine, it's the rule in the underworld—how can a middleman lead the charge?

Besides, bullets have no eyes, and the job he took was a hot potato that involved killing a company executive. If something happened to Jackie, who was acting as the bridge, who knows if the Corporate Dog would still admit their guilt? Never overestimate the integrity of Corporate Dog.

The one who's involved is Jackie, not them.

"Shut up, Jackie. Don't open your mouth and start jinxing us. It's not time to pop the champagne yet."

As fiery as ever, Panam lay on the ground and pulled back the bolt. Click! It was a sniper rifle. The 12.7mm brass cartridge case, still hot, ejected from the ejection port of the SPT32-Icestorm [Watchtower] and landed on the gravel pile stirred up by the sandstorm.

"I just hope that Scorpion, Mitch, everyone, and Maine can successfully take down the target and finish this damn job as soon as possible."

Panam peered through the optical sight's interface at the fallen personnel from both sides around the crash site, his expression serious as he intently searched for his next sniper target.

Any violent confrontation will result in bloodshed, and bloodshed can lead to death, let alone the robbery and murder of a company executive.

Even though she knew mercenaries were risking their lives—you can kill people for commission, but you can also be killed by bodyguards, it's only natural—humans aren't plants or trees, how can they be without feelings? When the person who falls is a friend you've spent every day with, people always become hypocritical.

The same goes for Panam.

Even though she shared the deposit Jackie gave her with those Nomads friends, and made it clear beforehand that the risks were their own responsibility, and everyone readily agreed, and she herself had certain expectations, it's only natural to feel a tightness in your chest and anger when someone actually dies before your eyes.

"Corporate Dog, I'll fucking kill you!"

Why can't we remain unscathed?!

Panam pulled the trigger again.

Bang! A gunshot rang out.

Vroom! The engine roared, and the high-suspension run-flat tires crushed the dead Joshua trees and cacti along the way.

"Four bodyguards, a standard 10-person security team, five armed robots, and the last remaining VIP is the target?"

A heavily modified Militech 'Nomad', armed with thick armor plates, a vehicle-mounted turret, and rocket launchers, roared toward the thickest column of smoke. In the driver's seat, the Nomads Mitch skillfully scrambled into Panam's beloved car while maintaining contact with the 'hit squad's' temporary channel.

The pinned image and text in the channel contains the specific model and parameters of the Arasaka airship that made an emergency landing.

[Model: Zeta Technologies - Prospector]

Vehicle Class: Multipurpose Armored Aerial Vehicle.

Passenger capacity: 20.

Defense system: self-guided rocket launcher / automatic turret / attack drone external pod module ×4.

Power status: Backup control panel activated.

[Kiwi (Hacker): Updated every half minute. The target security team has lost 3 members. The four vehicle-mounted attack drones are overloaded. One of the two 'Octants' of the escort convoy has been shot down. Two of the four unmanned troop carriers are disabled... Additional information: One of the five armed robots on the explorer vehicle has been destroyed.]

[Lucy (hacker): The Puppet Virus has been uploaded and is currently infiltrating the enemy hacker's terminal. This is location sharing.]

[Dorio: Received.]

[Maine: Four and a half minutes left, hurry up! Don't be stingy with the good stuff you just got, out with the old, in with the new! Falco, drive faster!]

With less than 100 meters from the target, Mitch looked at the friend-or-foe identification boxes marked on the prosthetic body's visual interface and couldn't help but sigh, "Having a good hacker behind you to provide assistance is really useful."

A team with hackers beats a team without hackers, a team with more hackers beats a team with fewer hackers. If the team hasn't yet hacked into the ICE (Instrumental Enforcement) system, it's a crushing victory, like cheating.

Unfortunately, the Nomads are poor. Although they value education and follow the tradition of Old USA rural family education, their cultural level is much higher than that of Night City, where the average person receives prenatal education and drops out of elementary school. Although they have broken stereotypes, the specialized field of cyber hacking is the Nomads's weakness. Apart from the major tribes, most Nomads tribes do not have qualified hackers.

Mitch's hands moved quickly, though he was impressed.

Buzz—

He stepped on the gas again, accelerated, and made sharp turns from time to time to avoid the firepower launched by the Arasaka Special Operations Department security team. Boom! A grenade exploded, the impact kicking up a cloud of dust and gravel that crackled and popped against the vehicle. Bullets also hit the vehicle's armor, sparks flying.

Didi.

The data connection cable for the vehicle-mounted weapon is connected to the network compartment behind Mitch's ear. With just a thought, Lucy's location can be shared, and there is no need to aim. It's a monkey-like beyond-visual-range strike. The vehicle-mounted turret spews fire at the red frame a hundred meters away, and the rocket launcher also unleashes its firepower.

Because of the tight schedule and heavy workload, it was all about saving time, so he used up two-thirds of the rocket stockpile!

[Scorpion: Mitchell, aren't you afraid Panam will come after you for fighting like that?]

Mitchell: You're just jealous. I paid for it.

Mitch glanced at the rearview mirror, his eyes flashing with interactive data streams.

Amidst the billowing dust reminiscent of a rally race, seven or eight heavily modified off-road vehicles followed closely behind.

Most of them were Colby Wolf, and the lead car was the Scorpion's car.

[Scorpion: Pay up, oh, you gave your precious SPT32-Icestorm to Panam?]