Starting from Night City

Hotels with sea-view rooms and private swimming pools, amusement parks for the whole family's vacation, piers on the beach with parasols... well, and trash.

But who could blame it, with Night City right next door.

Besides, this location was prime real estate, guaranteed to be profitable.

-- This was the general thinking of the initial batch of generous investors.

However, they didn't hold out for long.

Midway through construction, even more lucrative opportunities emerged, and they discovered that investing in other districts of Night City was far more profitable than Pacifica.

So, the capital withdrew, and the unfinished buildings were left abandoned.

The Voodoo Boys and the Animal Gang moved in, occupying the nests.

Pacifica, once planned as a seaside paradise, turned into a war zone.

The city hall neither bothered to repair it nor demolish it.

They simply built a high wall to enclose the entire area.

This led to Pacifica, which was supposed to be the first stop for tourists visiting Night City, becoming a place where one had to tread carefully at every step.

It became a lawless land that only lunatics would dare to enter.

Many people would rather take the long way around through Santo Domingo than take the shortcut through Pacifica.

Since Pacifica is a place that even the NCPD doesn't bother with, the gang members and even street thugs here are exceptionally arrogant.

It's common to see sudden firefights erupt on the roads or streets.

Sometimes it's out of revenge, sometimes it's for robbery;

But sometimes it's purely because they don't like each other, and they suddenly draw their guns and shoot wildly.

On the first day Su Xiao and his companions arrived in Pacifica, several groups of thugs targeted the three of them.

So, Su Xiao kindly sent them to meet the old man in the sky.

Some might think that these thugs aren't all inherently evil, and perhaps giving them a chance to reform would be better than killing them outright.

To that, Su Xiao only had this to say--

"Whether to forgive them is God's business, I'm just responsible for sending them to meet God."

When Su Xiao and his group were performing... physical transcendence, it was done in broad daylight.

Nearby pedestrians all witnessed those waves of thugs die by Su Xiao's hand.

But no one called the police.

The passersby simply pretended nothing had happened and quickly walked away.

As for the other thugs in the distance, they were so scared they almost wet themselves.

Even the gang members marked the three of them as dangerous targets.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: You can lie to me, but don't lie to yourself.

Although the black market was located in an underground parking lot.

Cars were not allowed to drive directly in.

You either had to park on the roadside;

Or drive upstairs.

Of course, if you parked upstairs, you would also have to pay a parking protection fee.

Su Xiao directly had the car return to the Wolf Bar.

He could always call it back if needed later.

After getting out of the car, the three of them began to survey the terrain.

They discovered that this black market also had surveillance cameras.

There was one camera installed at each of the two entrances.

There was another one on the street outside.

And several more inside the black market, monitoring from different angles.

However, the people watching these cameras were not from the NCPD.

Instead, it was the Scavengers, hired by the black market vendors who pooled their money together.

Although the Scavengers make a living by harvesting kidneys, they aren't completely brainless.

They don't just harvest anyone they see.

Places like black markets and underground clinics are important hubs for their trade in human organs and secondhand cybernetics. No one that foolish would jeopardize their own supply channels.

Not only that, but some smart Scavenger gangs even form partnerships with black market vendors, with the Scavengers providing protection.

Su Xiao scanned the area using his tactical goggles' scanning mode.

He found the location of the surveillance room.

V and Sasha cooperated.

They switched all surveillance feeds inside and outside the black market to friendly mode.

This way, the Scavengers watching the screens in the surveillance room wouldn't notice them.

Then, Su Xiao sneaked into the surveillance room.

He killed the Scavenger who wasn't watching the surveillance feeds at all but was playing games on his computer.

The body was directly thrown into the trash.

After that, they and Mann's team began their stakeout.

They staked out the entrance and exit of the black market for two days, but the target never appeared.

It wasn't until the third day that Sasha's slightly soft voice finally sounded over the comms channel.

"Attention, the target has appeared. Repeat, the target has appeared."

Su Xiao, V, and Jack's spirits lifted.

Finally, they're here.

Jack took out the "Sadala" technical double-barrel shotgun Su Xiao made for him and checked the bullets inside.

"Su, stay behind me later."

Jack had never seen Su Xiao fight before.

He only knew Su Xiao could manufacture weapons and assumed Su Xiao was a technical expert with slightly weaker combat abilities.

"I can protect myself."

Su Xiao emphasized again.

But fine.

Jack will see my strength when the fight starts.

Actions speak louder than words.

Mann's solemn and serious voice came through the comms channel.

"I'll repeat the plan one more time. Wait until the other party enters the black market, and we'll make our move after both teams have rendezvoused. Remember, absolutely do not attack prematurely, or we risk exposure."

On the road outside the black market, two vans were parked.

The sides of the vans were spray-painted with conspicuous Animal Gang logos.

A group of muscular men got out of the vans.

The last one to get out was even taller.

He couldn't be called a muscular man anymore; he was a giant.

He was the leader of the Animal Gang.

However, if someone familiar with the Animal Gang were present, they might find it strange.

The Animal Gang always liked to boast about their bodies, honed to perfection.

But this leader wore a thick, long-sleeved windbreaker on his upper body.

It completely concealed his two thick arms.

However, even with the sleeves covering them, one could tell the muscles straining the fabric.

This group was conspicuous and attracted the attention of many thugs.

But they didn't dare provoke the Animal Gang.

While the Animal Gang wasn't as monolithic as the Tiger Claws Gang, where the death of even one subordinate would bring a large number of Tiger Claws Gang members.

The Animal Gang members present were not to be trifled with either.

Especially their bulging muscles.

They made people back away.

At this moment, two young men walked out of the black market.

They happened to come face-to-face with the leader and his entourage.

But these two young men weren't watching where they were going; they were chatting amongst themselves.

"Look what I found in the black market," the "Shigure" kinetic submachine gun. Arasaka production. Its gunshot is as pleasant as a cat's purr."

His companion asked doubtfully, "'Shigure'? Isn't that a model from the early 21st century?"

"Okay, this submachine gun might be a bit old, and its firepower isn't as good as newer models. But, it's no exaggeration to say that in one minute, it fires more bullets than Arasaka has stolen in taxes. Think about how much that is."

"Accuracy isn't that important. Imagine firing all the bullets, and after the smoke clears, seeing the utter devastation before your eyes."

"You can dislike Arasaka, but you should respect Arasaka. Without Arasaka Corporation, people wouldn't be able to buy guns for self-defense. It's Arasaka Corporation's weapons that meet people's self-defense needs and maintain social stability."

"As for those complaining about Arasaka employees' poor treatment, don't be jealous. The corporation even provides its employees with the latest cybernetics technology. Those who are jealous couldn't even get a job there."

"I've been using Arasaka Corporation's products. There's a world of difference between Arasaka Corporation's weapons and those from other manufacturers; their stats are simply incomparable to Arasaka's."

"When you use Arasaka gear, everyone around you knows you're using the latest Arasaka weapon. It's incredibly impressive!"

"Although Arasaka Corporation has had a few scandals, their handling of issues has been excellent, winning me over. Big corporations need this kind of responsible spirit!"

"In short, you don't have to use Arasaka products, but Arasaka is the greatest corporation in the world. Without Arasaka, you'd be stuck with more expensive and inferior weapons, like Military Technology's stuff."

"Glory to Arasaka!"

He became more and more agitated as he spoke.

By the end, he even raised both his hands.

Striking a pose like a salute to the sun.

But his companion was unfazed, even patting his shoulder and offering comfort.

"You can lie to your bros, just don't lie to yourself. It's fine if you lie to me, we can just laugh it off, and it'll make you feel better. But this kind of talk is best kept to yourself, or just for a laugh with your buddies. If I believe you, it won't hurt me, but just don't end up believing it yourself."

As the two were talking, they suddenly felt like they had run into a wall.

They looked up in confusion.

Standing before them was a giant, over two meters tall.

Staring down at them.

And behind this giant stood twenty to thirty Animal Gang members.

An overwhelming aura washed over them, as if the very air had solidified.