Chapter 89

"Now for a breaking local news segment."

The host seems to have received new information.

"Just now, a large-scale gang fight broke out in the Santo Domingo Valley District. Witnesses say it was between the Six Street Gang and the Barghest Gang from Pacifica."

Chapter 093 Blitzkrieg and Arrival (4.5K)

Night fell.

The old riverside neighborhoods of the Valley District, adjacent to Pacifica and Heywood, are predominantly gray and gloomy, with abandoned factory buildings from bankrupt factories and unfinished buildings by real estate developers dotting this industrial heartland of Santo Domingo.

In the dilapidated old streets shrouded in the shadow of the towering overpass, a campfire and a grill made from an oil drum crackled.

"Fuck Arasaka! Mind your own business!"

Sitting on rusty scaffolding, a shirtless old street thug spat out a mouthful of phlegm and raised his middle finger at the Heywood and the magnificent modern skyscrapers of the City Center that he could see when he looked up.

"If it weren't for those stupid Corporate Dog, the Valentino Gang of Mexican cowards would have been beaten to their knees by my big guns long ago, and Glen and Li scenic areas wouldn't have been occupied by them."

"Dozens of people died. A good friend of mine said the body was shattered beyond repair, and his wife suffered terribly..."

"Pah! What a load of rubbish! Who was it that broke in at night yesterday morning, taking care of you? You took care of you in bed?!"

"You don't understand, this is emotion, this is love. Alas, it's a pity Lieutenant's land grabbing plan for the Lishui Scenic Area failed. Those slutty bitches of the Haywood Mox's gang are just itching to go to some cheap prostitutes..."

"You? Be careful, or Lizhi's women might crush you in half."

The street scum chatted amongst themselves, and soon a few armed men wearing military boots, jeans, work pants, combat vests, and knee pads, who looked like militiamen but whose demeanor and attire were particularly rabble and thuggish, joined in while muttering to themselves.

Baseball caps, cowboy hats, and boat caps emblazoned with old-fashioned American flags, stars, stripes, and bald eagles proclaimed their identity— the Six Street Gang. In Night City, no one else would use the Stars and Stripes as a symbol.

"Hey, all the taxes paid?" a shirtless old street thug asked.

In the territory Six Street Gang, taxes were essentially protection fees.

"Buy my ass. Santo Domingo's people are all paupers; the money they squeeze out isn't even enough to fill a tooth gap. If you want to make big money, you have to go to Heywood. Damn it, why did that Arasaka bitch have to come back at this time? Bad luck..."

After downing several bottles of a concoction of industrial alcohol, syrup, marijuana, and stimulants, the street scum chatted and complained among themselves.

The night in Santo Domingo was indeed quiet. Apart from the noise of industrial equipment, only gangsters and outlaws were still wandering the streets. The sane residents had long since retreated home.

And, clang... clang...

The irritating engine noise and the sounds of dismantling and leveling the border fence.

The territory of the Barghest Gang in 'Dogtown', Pacifica, is near the wall of the Santo Domingo Valley District.

Adapting to local conditions, using whatever is available, it has a very wasteful style, using steel bars and cement, scrapped vehicles, fence scraps and other materials piled up and shaped.

Standing up from the scaffolding, "Shh—!" The old gangster from Six Street Gang bared his yellowed steel teeth and whistled across the gaps between the tall bridge piers of the overpass, which was filled with dull yellow sand and stinking garbage heaps.

The east-west oriented elevated interchange serves as the dividing line, with Santo Domingo to the northeast and Pacifica to the southwest.

The factories in Santo Domingo are numerous and dilapidated, and the same is true in Pacifica, which is even more desolate. After all, construction was interrupted by war before it was completed, leaving behind abandoned buildings and haphazardly damaged equipment.

"Hey buddy over there, wanna grab a drink?"

On the container that forms the main structure of the wall, several military personnel wearing yellow and green camouflage combat uniforms and carrying guns are looking at the old gangsters from the Six Street Gang.

"Hey, you NUSA guys."

Led by someone, several Six Street Gang gang, fueled by alcohol, shouted loudly in that direction, "If you had been more assertive back then, if you had won the Unification War (Metal War), why would we old Americans have to continue to suffer the oppression of those Arasaka devils?"

There was no response.

Silence.

And the howling sandstorms.

"Alright, alright, stop yelling."

A sergeant wearing the Six Street Gang armband impatiently picked at his ear.

"It's giving me a headache from all that noise. Shouting won't do any good; they're just a bunch of traitors who don't know what they're thinking. Shouting won't help anyway; they've been holed up in Pacifica for six years, what a waste of this resort..."

Before the words were even finished, bang!

Like a watermelon suddenly bursting open, the sergeant from the Six Street Gang's jaws exploded, scattering bloody skull fragments and brain tissue everywhere.

"Damn! Electromagnetic Sniper Rifle... Enemy attack!"

"Calling Lieutenant, enemy attack!"

The Six Street Gang soldiers to his left and right finally spoke in horror, bang! thud! thud! clang clang! A series of bullets instantly felled them, sparks and blood splattering, tearing apart their prosthetic bodies and piercing through their flesh.

This prompted the Six Street Gang soldiers sitting by the campfire to shout and curse loudly. Reflexively, they grabbed their weapons and retaliated while looking for cover, rat-a-tat-tat! Their assault rifles and submachine guns opened fire in the direction the bullets came from.

Gunfire erupted in the arena.

Just as the Six Street Gang soldiers called for backup, Boom! Sparks erupted from the crumbling wall. It was a machine gun! Then, there were explosions and flashes, like a steel furnace exploding, blindingly hot. It was an incendiary grenade!

One unlucky fellow's chosen shelter vehicle was blown up, half of his body torn apart by shrapnel and thrown into the air. Chemical substances ignited his remains, and he screamed horribly before falling silent.

Faced with a premeditated and targeted surprise attack by superior firepower, this group of Six Street Gang soldiers were wiped out in less than half a minute.

The devastating gunfire tore through the gang members; their thin body armor was clearly no match for military-grade firepower.

The old gangster from Six Street Gang was also shot and fell off the scaffolding.

He had lost an arm, suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his torso, and his abdomen was pierced by a bullet, with a large chunk of flesh gouged out, exposing his synthetic organs and subcutaneous armor. He had clearly lost all ability to fight and move.

Half a minute later, creak, creak...

"Cough cough... damn it..." He coughed up blood, glancing at the Barghest soldiers in yellow-green camouflage combat uniforms rushing over from the Pacifica area across the overpass. "What the hell, how dare you guys show yourselves out here?"

In response to the taunts of the Six Street Gang veteran, the Barghest soldier stepped forward and stomped on his chest, even shoving a gun into his mouth.

"You social trash playing house on the street! While I was risking my life for the country, you were probably hiding in some back alley selling your ass! Traitor? You have no right to call yourself that! It was Washington and Militech that betrayed us!"

"Don't think you can mess with us just because Night City prohibits excessive firepower. You cowards from the Six Street Gang, watch your mouth next time."

As soon as he finished speaking, bang. A bullet pierced his mouth, killing him instantly in the head.

The crisp sound was like cracking an eggshell.

"Boss. If we cross the line and kill the Six Street Gang members, won't we be violating Colonel Hansen's orders?"

One of the Barghest soldiers spoke to the group leader.

"We won't kill them. Are we just going to let these street scum insult us?! Time and time again, do they really think we're made of clay? Do they think they can run wild in front of us just because they have some small favors backed by Militech?"

The leader of the Barghest squad seemed to be suppressing his anger.

"You fucking idiot. We can't retaliate against Washington and those Militech worms, but these little shrimps are coming right up to us and provoking us? Are we just going to pretend we didn't see or hear them? Colonel Hansen, I'll go explain!"

"Yes, yes..."

The Barghest soldiers began finishing off the remaining Six Street Gang members who were still alive.

The squad leader watched this scene quietly.

Beneath the heavy helmet unknown to his subordinates, his gaze suddenly turned stern.

There was no video call; he simply sent a short message to a fixed, encrypted channel using an anonymous space Comms Chip.

[It has already been started.]

"Colonel, your conservative thinking is outdated. The only way to get revenge is through Arasaka..."

The leader of the Barghest squad whispered silently.

As a veteran of the Metal War launched by NUSA in 2069, he followed Colonel Hansen as the vanguard to invade the Pacifica region of Night City and occupy a stronghold as an outpost, intending to create conditions for the subsequent arrival of the main force of NUSA and Militech.

But after waiting and waiting, what they received was news that Washington and Arasaka had reached the Alvin Peace Accord.

The pain of betrayal.

The more fervent they were then, the more they hate now.

Those above have their reasons, and they expect those below to understand. Okay, you're not directly involved, so you understand since the knife isn't at your throat. But if you were one of the sacrifices, would you still understand the reasons behind those above's predicament?

Traitor! Insect!

The enemy is on Capitol Hill!

[Receive.]

Meanwhile, members of the other Six Street Gang in the area, after receiving a signal that their fellow gang members had been attacked, arrived with exaggerated efficiency in all sorts of modified vehicles, catching the Barghest soldiers who were retreating towards Dogtown territory on the other side.

The Six Street Gang opened fire bravely, unleashing a deluge of ammunition from their vehicle-mounted modified rocket launchers. Some rockets accidentally struck the outer defensive wall built by Dogtown.

The Barghest soldiers inside the protective wall chose to fight back.

With a hum, the heads of several multi-barreled sentry turrets, which had been hanging low, slowly rose.

In an instant, flames crisscrossed, bullets flew freely, explosions, fires broke out, and the sounds of engines, gunfire, and screeching tires echoed throughout the border area between Pacifica and Heywood in the valley district.

Many died instantly, many were left in a state of uncertainty, and many suffered undeserved calamities...

Amidst the chaos, on the opposite bank of the river, Heywood, "Arasaka, the final solution to your security problem."

Across the river, on the skyscrapers bordering Pacifica in the valley area, holographic screens soaring into the sky display images of Arasaka's security business advertisements.

Dogtown, EBM Petrochemical Stadium, upper floor, Colonel's private room. Kurt Hansen slammed his empty glass down on the bar, lowered his arm, and his gaze toward his subordinate who came to report turned hostile.

He said in a low, indifferent voice, "The reason."

"Those idiots from the Six Street Gang couldn't control their tongues and provoked our wall-building patrol team..."

At this point, the trusted confidant who had come to report took a deep breath.

"Colonel, you should know the pent-up emotions down there. They've long harbored resentment at being confined to this tiny Dogtown. Many veterans who participated in Operation Midnight Storm 70 years ago have been itching to teach those damn Six Street Gang gang a lesson..."

"..."

Hansen tapped his fingers on the bar, pondered for a moment, then looked up as if he had made up his mind. "Order them to continue the attack. You, go tell Yuri to mobilize troops."

"Not withdrawing troops?"

"Withdraw what? The situation is beyond saving. Let's fight for the maximum benefit for the Barghest."

Either remain as still as a mountain, or if you do move, fight to the death!

The situation in Dogtown is delicate, and the balance is fragile. He must maintain the deterrent power of the Barghest; there's no way he can just retreat after the fight.

Hansen made a decisive decision.

"Tell Yuri, tell the guys, the first priority of this operation is speed, a blitzkrieg. In addition to prohibiting the use of weapons that exceed the explicit limits of Night City law, mobilize a large force to paralyze the Six Street Gang within half a day and occupy the River Valley to create a fait accompli. Let our actions show Militech what they did wrong and what they lost in the past."

"Yes!"

After his trusted aides left, unlike the excited and overjoyed men who could finally vent their frustrations and fight—especially the Six Street Gang's subordinates— Hansen, sitting on a bar stool, had a furrowed brow.

Although there was no direct evidence to him, he was convinced that there must have been external influences in this matter.

The Barghest's rivals, his subordinates plotting to usurp the throne, new members dissatisfied with Dogtown's conservative strategy, unhappy customers, and ambitious individuals lurking in the shadows, all seeking to exploit Dogtown...

According to Hansen, these large corporations— Arasaka, Militech, and Soshikah —all have reasons and motives to disrupt the stability of Dogtown.

"Fine... suppressing it all this time will eventually lead to an explosion... and besides..."

Muttering to himself, Hansen glanced at the news on the television hanging on the wall: Vera Adelheid's private plane had arrived at Night City International Airport under the escort of the Arasaka Naval Air Force fighter squadron.

"If she returns, Arasaka's offensive will intensify, and Militech will inevitably reduce support and attention given to the Six Street Gang. Washington's attention will also be drawn away, which will be a rare development opportunity for the Barghest..."

Colorado Bay, artificial island, Night City International Airport.

Local time, early morning of January 24, 2076.