Starting from Night City

PS: The author knows it should be "shotgun", but these three characters are sensitive, so "scattergun" is used instead.

Chapter 31: Leader! The Car is Ready!

Mann, lying on the ground, glared at Dorio, who was loading bullets into the cylinder of a large-caliber revolver.

"What are you doing?"

"Saving your life. You're welcome."

Sasha's eyes lit up red.

Sparks suddenly crackled from the neural interface on the back of an Animal Gang member's neck.

He convulsed and fell.

Sasha had hacked into the Animal Gang member's cybernetics, causing an electromagnetic short circuit.

The Animal Gang member standing next to him immediately turned his gun towards Sasha.

"Hey, you bastard!"

Rebecca emerged from behind cover, wielding two "Lexington" kinetic handguns.

A burst of fire erupted, bullets flying everywhere.

Mann's team and the Animal Gang exchanged intense fire.

Despite being at a disadvantage in firepower, Mann's team had suffered no casualties yet.

However, over ten Animal Gang members had already fallen.

And just then, a new situation arose.

Two vans sped down the outer aisle.

One, seemingly due to the driver's poor skills and excessive speed, hit two Animal Gang members who couldn't dodge in time.

It stopped crookedly between the Animal Gang and Mann's team.

The other van stopped a little further away.

With the vans as cover, the remaining Animal Gang members' pressure immediately lessened.

They were no longer suppressing with overwhelming firepower as before.

Instead, they could hide behind the vehicles and conduct precise shots with ease.

"This is bad, they're going to escape... Damn it! Son of a bitch! I knew they were unreliable!"

Mann didn't distrust Su Xiao and the other two.

He distrusted everyone except his own team members.

Seeing their leader had already reached the other van, dropped the corpse he had been holding, opened the door, and got into the passenger seat.

Mann tried to rush out to stop him, but Dorio held him back firmly.

"Get down, Mann, are you trying to die?"

With the vans providing cover, the Animal Gang's firepower became precise, clearly on a different level than before.

Mann gritted his teeth tightly, blood flowing from between his clenched jaws.

He stared intently at the van the Animal Gang leader had just boarded.

His heart was filled with mixed emotions.

But more than anything, it was regret and unwillingness.

"Drive! Drive fast! Get us out of here!"

The leader kept his eyes on the rearview mirror.

Seeing Mann's team attempt to block them several times, only to be suppressed by his subordinates' firepower.

He felt a slight ease in his heart.

But to truly set his mind at ease, they had to leave this place and return to their stronghold first.

The driver nodded.

He stepped on the accelerator.

Suddenly, something splashed onto his face.

His face felt wet.

Causing his eyes to instinctively narrow.

The driver quickly stopped the car.

He wiped his face repeatedly with his hands.

Only then could his eyes finally open a little.

Then he froze.

Because his own hands were covered in bloodstains.

The driver turned his head in disbelief.

He saw that the leader sitting in the passenger seat was utterly disoriented.

Even the leader's head was blown apart, scattered everywhere.

The driver looked horrified, forgetting to even wipe away the filth that had splattered onto himself.

Only then did the sound of shocking gunfire echo from afar.

Su Xiao pulled the bolt back.

A scorching, golden shell casing fell to the ground.

It made a crisp sound.

Wisps of white smoke still curled from it.

The second shot followed immediately.

It killed the driver who had reacted and was trying to open the car door to escape.

The driver's corpse fell directly from the driver's seat.

Like a tattered sack, it landed on the ground with a thump, unmoving.

The entire scene instantly became quiet.

What had just been a battlefield of gunfire was now silent.

Everyone's gaze was fixed on the leader's blown-apart body.

They couldn't help but gasp.

With the leader dead, the remaining Animal Gang members lost the will to fight.

The Animal Gang, which had been full of fighting spirit moments ago, now saw their morale collapse, and they scattered like birds and beasts.

Su Xiao naturally wouldn't miss the opportunity to twist the knife.

Like swatting flies, he easily reaped the fleeing Animal Gang members.

He continued until the remaining Animal Gang members were almost out of sight.

Su Xiao glanced at the Potential Points he had gained.

Only then did he contentedly put away the "Ice Storm" sniper rifle.

He called V and Jack over to rendezvous with Mann's team.

Mann's face was a little flushed, and he felt a pang of guilt.

Previously, when Su Xiao and the others had been delayed, Mann had mistakenly believed that Su Xiao and the others had abandoned them and fled.

But the actual situation was the exact opposite.

Leaving the Animal Gang leader to complete the mission was the key, and it was Su Xiao and his group who had done it.

Without them, the Animal Gang leader would have escaped, and the mission would have failed.

"Is that 'Ice Storm'? My god, I heard that not just anyone can use this gun."

Rebecca's gaze flickered between the "Ice Storm" sniper rifle and Su Xiao's arm.

She tilted her head slightly.

Her excessively cute little brain couldn't figure out how such arms could withstand such powerful recoil.

Dorio's voice came from behind.

"Alright, I don't know if you've noticed, but there are corpses everywhere. Let's find another place to chat."

"Dorio is right, let's get out of here first."

Mann waved his hand: "Sasha, go get the car ready."

Sasha nodded and quickly ran outside.

"Let's leave here first. We'll hold the celebration party at a bar in Santo Domingo. If you don't mind, I'll send you the address later."

"Okay."

After Su Xiao and the other two left, Mann walked up to the corpse of the dead Animal Gang leader and took a few photos from different angles.

Then send it to Faraday.

"Mann, the car is ready."

"I'm coming right now."

Just as Mann was about to leave, his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of the Animal Gang leader's attire being somewhat off.

The Animal Gang's bodies were perhaps the most exaggerated in all of Night City.

Therefore, they usually wore outfits that could showcase their biceps.

But this Animal Gang leader was completely concealing his explosively exaggerated physique with a loose-fitting trench coat.

Wasn't that like wearing silk at night?

If it were someone else, they might not have paid much attention.

But Mann still got into the car through the window and lifted the leader's sleeve to check.

Underneath the sleeve was a massive arm.

Even by the Animal Gang's standards, it was too large.

The muscles were knotted like small calves.

Mann took out a small knife.

He inserted it into the Animal Gang leader's arm.

Not a drop of blood flowed.

But the sensation from the knife felt wrong.

Mann cut open the skin of the arm.

Then...

His eyes widened.