Starting from Night City

The two froze on the spot, their minds completely blank.

BANG!

The young punk and his precious gun flew out like a kite with a broken string, crashing into a dumpster.

Retracting his fist, the leader slowly spoke.

"You talk too much, and you're in my way."

His companions snapped out of their daze and hastily, fearfully, moved aside.

They didn't even dare to look at them again.

The leader smirked, a hum rumbling in his nose. "Gutless trash. Go home and drink milk."

Chapter 30: When You're Asked to Do Something, It Might Not Be Because of Your Talent, But Because...

The Animal Gang behind him followed their leader.

Looking at the young punk in the dumpster and his companion, who was trembling like a quail, they all sneered.

Laughter erupted without restraint.

Knocking away a punk blocking their path was as easy as kicking a stray cat.

The leader didn't think there was anything wrong with that.

He had kicked stray cats before.

But as he reached the entrance to the black market, his steps suddenly halted.

His cybernetic eye narrowed slightly.

A grave expression settled on his face.

He looked at the black market, hidden in the underground parking lot, looking no different than usual.

Then he glanced at the surrounding concrete walls and ceiling.

He had been to this black market many times.

But this time, a bad premonition suddenly washed over him.

"Boss?"

The Animal Gang behind him stopped, their faces etched with confusion.

Why had he stopped?

"You," the leader didn't explain. He pointed at one of his subordinates. "Go buy the stuff."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. Stop wasting time and hurry up, damn it! Run faster!"

The subordinate nodded blankly.

After receiving the transfer from the leader, he ran into the black market without stopping.

The unique damp and musty smell of the underground parking lot hit him, making him uncomfortable.

But the subordinate's heart was filled with joy and excitement.

He thought he had been chosen by the leader to buy the medicine.

This was his chance for a promotion.

The leader gave the fast-moving subordinate a deep look.

Then he turned and walked away.

"Boss, aren't we waiting for him?"

"We'll wait for him in the car."

"What's going on?"

Mann and the others looked at each other, completely bewildered.

The entrance the Animal Gang leader had intended to use was the one Mann's team was guarding.

Sasha hacked into the surveillance system. Through the monitors, they could see that the Animal Gang leader had only sent one subordinate into the black market.

He himself, with the rest of his men, had returned the way they came.

Mann punched the wall. "Damn it, Faraday's intel was wrong. He always buys the medicine himself!"

Dorio frowned deeply. "Could he have discovered something? Are we exposed?"

Su Xiao chimed in over the team's comms. "Whether we're exposed or not, now isn't the time to dwell on it. What are you planning to do? Continue?"

Dorio gritted his teeth.

"I suggest we abort the operation and wait for another opportunity."

Mann looked at his companion with disbelief. "Are you serious, Dorio?"

"Our original plan was supposed to be a surprise attack, not a direct confrontation."

"No, we still have a chance. If we push through now, there's a high probability we can take them down with a few well-placed shots before those Animal Gang brutes even react."

"But there's also a high probability we'll end up in a desperate situation. If we can't kill them all in one go, they'll call for reinforcements."

"Then we'll have to take him out before the reinforcements arrive. Fighting here is better than storming their den."

Seeing Mann's stubbornness, Dorio knew she couldn't convince him.

Whether to continue with the plan or abandon it, they had to race against time now, not a moment to spare.

She sighed.

"Since no one can convince anyone else, let's do it the American way and vote."

"I have no objections."

"I'll go with whatever everyone else decides."

The voting results for Mann's team came out quickly.

Three to one.

Mann had an overwhelming advantage.

But their operation involved two teams.

A vote from just their team wouldn't be enough.

If Su Xiao and the others decided to back out.

Then they would have to go it alone.

Which also meant losing half their strength.

"Su, what about you guys?"

"We're already on our way. What do you think?"

At the entrance and exit of the black market on the other side, Su Xiao and two others were running out quickly. "If we can deal with him, we will. If not, we'll stall him. We'll circle around from the outside and sandwich him, making a dumpling out of him."

"Let's go!"

Mann was the first to charge out from their cover.

He pulled out his "Crusher" kinetic shotgun from his coat.

The muzzle pointed at the Animal Gang lackey sent by the boss to buy medicine.

BANG!

Before the lackey could even react to what was happening, he was hit from the side as if by a heavy hammer.

He flew backward, smashing into a makeshift shop.

He sent the second-hand cybernetics displayed there crashing down in a mess.

Dorio, Rebecca, and Sasha also charged towards the Animal Gang.

Bullets rained down.

The boss's pupils contracted, and he quickly pulled a subordinate in front of him to use as a shield.

The subordinate was riddled with bullet holes and bleeding profusely.

But the boss was unharmed.

The boss held the subordinate with one hand and took the "Sadala" tech shotgun slung on his back with the other.

This tech shotgun, which normally required two hands to operate, was held steady by the boss with just one hand.

"Hurry and bring the car over! We've walked into an ambush."

There were quite a few Animal Gang members following the boss.

And they weren't rookies who just yelped when things happened.

Each of them was a veteran with blood on their hands.

After the initial chaos, they quickly reacted.

They raised their guns and fired back.

There were more people on the Animal Gang's side than in Mann's team.

Even though Mann's team had the advantage of cover, as soon as the two sides engaged in a firefight, they gradually fell into a disadvantage in terms of firepower.

Seeing that the enemy was only a handful of people, the boss's face darkened.

He didn't know who was targeting him.

Was it a rival gang that had already taken a dislike to him?

Or was it the suited dogs he'd been hired to kill before, but failed to succeed?

Or was it simply a group of audacious thugs who wanted to rob him?

The leader couldn't figure it out.

But now wasn't the time to dwell on it.

It was time to leave here quickly.

He continued to use his subordinate's corpse as a shield, holding it in front of him as he slowly retreated.

The other members of the Animal Gang also retreated while firing.

The enemy had too many numbers; with one gun per person, their firepower was no joke.

Mann's team was outnumbered. Although their marksmanship was better than the enemy's, it was clearly impossible to leave the heavily protected leader behind before the enemy retreated.

"Su, where the hell are you guys?"

"We're almost there."

"Damn it! If you don't hurry up, they're going to escape!"

Mann stood up directly from behind cover.

The "Crusher" kinetic shotgun in his hand spewed forth a torrent of fire.

The terrifying power tore apart the bodies of two Animal Gang members.

But at that moment, he felt a kick to his calf.

Mann lost his balance and fell backward.

However, he dodged the subsequent bullets because of it.