Chapter 228

[Mitchell: It'll just gather dust here anyway, might as well take this opportunity to give it to Panam.]

Panam hadn't undergone any cybernetic modifications, so she had to use her phone to chat and access channels. It was also inconvenient for her to operate the vehicle's weapons while driving, requiring a co-driver. Therefore, before the heist began, Mitch gave Panam her beloved gun. Since she was all flesh and blood, she was less likely to be remotely targeted by Arasaka's hackers, making it easier for her to focus on sniping and setting EMP Bomb.

Chatting was to relieve stress. Scorpion was also very quick. The smaller light machine gun turret and the rocket launcher, which was crudely welded onto by high-tech military workers using the T40 Hurricane, also opened fire.

The two red squares that were firing across each other from the Gobi stones were instantly engulfed by the explosion, and the square markings disappeared.

[Mitch: Eliminate two. Not sure if they were robots or security personnel...]

Before the words were even finished, bang!

A tungsten needle bullet carrying an electric current streaked through the air amidst the intertwined ammunition belts, instantly piercing the front bulletproof windshield of a Colby Wolf.

The blood mist exploded, and the car lost control, crashing headlong into the Gobi Desert, flipping and smashing, throwing out the deformed corpses inside.

"Damn it! It's the Nekomata from the Tsunami!"

Before Mitch and Scorpion could even call out their partner's name, the Arasaka Special Operations Department agents launched a counterattack.

Rocket launchers and rifle grenades, along with Colby Wolf that were moved out, secured, and raised, pierced through the armor of Mitch's Militech 'Nomad', exposing rows of sparking pipes. He barely managed to dodge them with a sharp turn and a nimble maneuver.

Only then did he realize that the firepower on the side that Maine's squad was responsible for had suddenly weakened.

The remaining Octave heavy drone broke free of the intrusion and advanced towards them. One unmanned troop carrier was shot down in mid-air by missiles launched from the area on Maine's side, but another completed an emergency landing and began deploying the armed robots and drones it was carrying.

Upon witnessing this, Panam panicked and grabbed his PDA, unleashing a barrage of 'birdsong and fragrant flowers'.

"Damn it, Maine, where's your firepower? What happened to your two hacker buddies? You guys, shit!! Don't you dare let me down at a time like this—! Are you kidding me?! Jackie, answer me the hell?!"

Jackie was also a little confused after being yelled at.

As a bridge connecting V, Maine, Panam, in addition to serving as a telescope and missile firing point when appropriate, he is also responsible for real-time intelligence sharing.

His eyes flashed with an orange-red light as he grabbed a spare man-portable missile wrapped in camouflage cloth from his feet and looked at the furious Panam: "Maine seems to have encountered a 'ghost'? He just... he seemed to angrily shout out a name, Reed?"

Not knowing who this Reed was, Jackie decided to email V first.

At the same time, in the Badlands Gobi Desert.

About 1,500 meters from the crash site, on a slope, under a multi-layered camouflage net that matched the color of the surrounding terrain, V, dressed in unmarked desert camouflage combat uniform and completely covered up, was sitting on a used missile launcher, having just hung up an emergency encrypted call from his superior, Jenkins.

"Damn it! What do you mean by 'try not to destroy the airships,' 'prevent the board from being enraged by the destruction or the theft of the 'gift' given to Michiko, and thus launching a city-wide internal investigation and search... and 'try to control the timing so that Abernathy dies before reinforcements arrive'..."

V was speechless. What kind of boss wants both?

Fine, a higher rank can crush you, so she had no choice but to grit her teeth and keep going. If all else failed, she would destroy the entire airship.

Just as V turned his attention to the crash site, preparing to emphasize to Jackie his demand to see Abernathy dead with his own eyes, "Hmm? Why did Maine's engine go out? His firepower is so much less... Hey, Jackie, what's wrong? I'm watching. Maine's over there... Huh?"

"Wait, you mean Reed?"

223

Chapter 223 They all died violently! (Part 1)

"Long time no see, Maine."

A deep male voice suddenly entered Maine's mind.

Who are you?

Although he couldn't immediately recognize who the other person was, that didn't stop Maine from going into a state of rage.

Unlike temporary, one-off shared groups, this encrypted channel, set up directly through a specific Comms Chip, is the internal channel of the Edgerunner team he formed.

If someone who isn't a teammate interrupts the conversation at such a critical moment, there are only two possibilities: either they were actively pulled into the conversation by someone, or a teammate is being hacked at that moment!

"Who are you?!"

Crack! In the armored SUV driven by veteran driver Falco, Maine crushed the empty rocket launcher in his hand and blurted out with a fierce expression.

Perhaps the unfamiliar male voice sounded somewhat familiar, for he paused after shouting, as if he had remembered something.

The dusty Remembrance of the past are washed away in an instant.

Before the Metal War of 2069, his service in the NUSA Special Operations Forces included a close comrade-in-arms whom he met during the South American clearing war, an impressive and loyal defender of the new America who put national interests above all else, and an ace agent who later joined the Federal Intelligence Agency and extended an invitation to him...

"Reed."

Maine gritted his teeth and said, "You bastard, not only are you still alive, but you've also set your sights on me!!"

Because of the short time and his heightened emotions, he didn't even block the group chat where he shared information with Jackie in real time. Or rather, he did it on purpose.

"It's me. It's been seven or eight years since we last met. Old friend."

Solomon Reed's voice continued to be transmitted to the brain-computer interface.

At the same time, Reed's location and the method of 'violently joining the group' were also transmitted as visual intelligence.

In the direction of the Stone Ridge Mountains, there is a small ravine about 1,500 meters away from the crash site.

A temporary camp, with scaffolding, camouflage netting, and shielding screens erected, had a rusty Russian-made Caucasus -U4020 modified truck parked there.

Outside the side-opening carriage door.

"Damn it!! Let me go! I'm going to smash your head in, you big black guy, you've done this to me—uhhhhh!"

With her face pressed to the ground, Rebecca's hands were tightly bound behind her back.

The new Federal Intelligence Agency, dressed in an old Soshikah combat uniform, showed no mercy. He knelt down on her back, sealed her mouth with duct tape, and then pressed a Crusher shotgun against the back of her head.

It was very forceful, almost shoving Rebecca's nose into the ground.

Inside, in a completely different compartment, was a network support room, utterly different from the dilapidated Badlands atmosphere. There were two hacker chairs, surrounded by servers flashing red lights, a dense network of cables, fans, external medium-sized heat sinks, an ice maker, signal boosters, and monitors everywhere. On the table were also inhibitors, stimulants, and unfinished cold drinks.

Reed's robust figure was also prominently featured among them.

[Maine: If my comrades are harmed by any of your men, I'll never forgive you, Reed!]

"Not for now. It's hard to say, but you know I can't refuse this kind of mission. It's my duty, and you're a soldier too, so you should understand..."

He was on the phone with Maine.

A wire from a security repeater was connected to his brain-computer interface behind his ear.

With that, Reed unplugged the cable and walked outside. The frequency band had been recorded, and with one of his own hackers here, he could spy on the group at any time.

Before leaving, he exchanged a cold glance with the Federal Intelligence Agency who had taken control of the area; the order to act expediently was unspoken.

The other end of the repeater is the technical officer.

The fact that she was wearing a hacker client under her combat suit clearly indicates that she was in the same line of work as the two female hackers lying on the hacker chair.

With the security repeater for leadership in his chest pocket, he restrained the tall, blonde hacker with one hand and forcibly connected to the network pod with the other, monitoring the battlefield situation while reading the communication converter frequencies of Maine's team and even the Nomads.

Faced with the intruder who barged in menacingly and pointed a gun at her head, Kiwi wisely raised her hands in surrender.

"Whispering sound..."

Lucy also raised both hands.

After unplugging the high-end, high-throughput connection cable from the data interface at the back of her head, she stepped down from the hacker chair, dressed in her expensive black customer service uniform, and obediently sat down on a small stool to the side, following the intruder's instructions. She looked at the large black man in front of her with a thoughtful expression.

Who are they? It seems the big black guy in the lead knows Maine, and they have a close relationship... Have they become enemies? Is it a case of double-crossing?

Damn it, the commission is in jeopardy.

The timing of this group was impeccable; it was precisely at the critical moment when she and Kiwi were going all out to hack into the target prospector's control panel.

There are also hacking attacks targeting defensive equipment such as octant, drones, and armed robots, as well as suppression and interference with security personnel... Without hacker assistance, Maine, Dorio, Pilar, and the Nomads are probably in trouble.

Mr. Wells must be jumping up and down in a panic.

The most critical issue is what happened to Arasaka.

Internal strife is never honorable, no matter how you look at it. What if the Corporate Dog get angry and kill them all?

With a hint of doubt and seriousness in her eyes, Lucy a way to break the deadlock.

"—Bullshit!"

The roar of engines and the constant gunfire filled the air as Maine continued to yell into the channel, "Don't give me that crap, Solomon Reed! You're just trying to justify your actions by pointing fingers at me from your moral high ground!"

"Just say you've been watching me all along and want to use me, why pretend? Protecting the interests of the new United States on the territory of other countries, carrying out missions that are ostensibly for suppression but are actually massacres? What kind of 'above all else' nonsense is this? New America, Washington, Militech, Arasaka, the whole world is the same..."

Vroom. He boarded the vehicle, put on his helmet, grabbed his gun, loaded it, started the engine, floored the accelerator, and sped towards the crash site in seconds, reaching 90 miles per hour. Reed said calmly, "You're a soldier too. The country needs your loyalty."

"I retired a long time ago!"

"Loyalty? We cowered in air-raid shelters and got bombed, our brothers bathed in White Phosphorus Shells, while those officials were still yelling about responsibility and honor? In the end, when we retired, we got nothing. Can honor put food on the table? Even taking mercenary jobs could at least support me and my team!"

In the middle of the sentence, a creaking sound came from the mouth.

Maine's side had already engaged in battle and was in a dilemma, so they had no choice but to fight. After the sound of brakes, there was the explosion of rockets.

When two people don't see eye to eye, there's no point in saying more. At this point in the conversation, Reed knew that his comradeship with Maine had come to an end.

When he decided to use Maine to target his team.

But Reed doesn't regret it.

This was a necessary price to pay; the interests of the motherland outweighed his personal friendships, above all else. He needed Maine's crew to act as the 'mantis' catching the 'cicada'; they could win, but not easily—it had to be a Pyrrhic victory.

There's nothing more to say now that things have come to this.

Reed's tone shifted from reminiscing to coldness. "Maine, if you want your three partners to survive until after this, obediently complete the mission. You can do whatever you want with Abernathy, but you are forbidden from using high-damage weapons, and you are forbidden from attacking the hovercraft itself. Make sure the structure remains intact, or else, you know what will happen."

He was now afraid that Maine, in order to save time, would restrain his greed for the advanced equipment on the Arasaka and ignore the Nomads's furious barrage, unleashing a hail of fire, which would mean that his trip would have been in vain.

Reed hung up the call.

"Asshole!"

In the arena, Maine cursed and punched the weathered stone wall next to him, shattering it.

Reed's tone reminded Maine of the dead middleman Faraday.

Damn it! You're all in cahoots! I took over Arasaka's solo life and sold my soul to that old geezer Saburo, but you, Reed, did the same; you sold your soul to those politicians in Washington! No one is inherently superior to anyone else!

"Maine! How is my sister?!"

The long-armed man Pilar the handbrake sharply, causing the modified vehicle with extra armor to drift sideways and come to a stop not far from Maine, its tires screeching. He jumped out of the car, carrying two short-barreled DB-4 Iron Rod basic Smart Shotgun.

Boom! Two shots rang out, and two newly deployed robots from unmanned troop carriers were reduced to scrap metal by the bombardment of needle bullets.

It even covered a low-altitude strafing attack drone, which exploded in sparks and wobbled as it fell to the ground.

You get what you pay for. The price and performance of the Iron Rod are indeed far lower than those of competitors like Arasaka, Kang Tao, or Tsunami, but it still has the basic functions of a smart shotgun. For those who are short on cash, it is the best lower-end alternative, and you won't feel bad if it gets damaged.

"No problem for now."

Maine can only say it's temporary.

With a face ashen, he injected himself with three full shots of immunosuppressants under Pilar's cover fire. Then he opened his eyes wide with fury. He hadn't used that deadly stuff for half a month, resting and saving it up for this moment!

With a fully loaded [Crusher] in one hand and a fully charged [L-69 Zoro] in the other, Maine took a deep breath and activated [Sandevistan]!

Everything happened during the brief window between the train crash and the arrival of Arasaka's reinforcements.

A battle, though small in scale, was no less bloody, and it broke out near the breach.

Octagon flew overhead, attacking the larger convoy of Nomads with machine guns and rockets.

These companies, armed with what they called lowly beggars, gritted their teeth and used their driving skills honed in the harsh conditions of the Badlands to evade ballistic fire and constantly fight back. The vehicle-mounted turrets spewed flames repeatedly. Unfortunately, without the support of hackers, the Puppet Virus interfered, and location sharing was countered by the ICE drones, rendering it ineffective.

The Nomads could only manually aim, and the drones without debuffs were agile, mobile, and powerful, demonstrating the necessary suppressive power of heavy drones against unorganized firepower targets in asymmetrical warfare.

Blood and mangled limbs flew high in the air, and the vehicle overturned, was totaled, and burned.

It wasn't until Jackie's 'private contraband' Anti-air Missile arrived that the arrogant creature was shot down.

As Abernathy and his bodyguards emerged from the crashed hovercar, they witnessed the fall of the last Octagon.

The blast wave caused sand to fall, and as soon as she appeared, she was covered with a thin layer of fine sand. After being half-pushed by her bodyguards to the rock wall shelter, she didn't care about her disheveled appearance. She crouched down against the shelter and could feel the hot sand squeezing from the heels of her office shoes to her toes.

Then, she looked at the three security officers wearing exoskeletons not far away, and before she could ask them anything, the first thing she heard was. "Watch out, it's [Sandevistan]!!!"