Starting From Night City

However, the specific causes of this disease have not yet been accurately verified.

Some say Cyberpsychosis is a disease caused by social inequality;

Others say it's the price one pays for a pathological obsession with technology;

Still others believe it's completely fabricated and doesn't actually exist.

Hmm, that last idea is very American, very Redneck.

Su Xiao asked doubtfully, "There's a Cyberpsychotic nearby? Then why aren't you calling the Riot Control Unit?"

The Riot Control Unit is an elite special operations department specifically for handling Cyberpsychosis.

If it were far away in the Wasteland, it would be manageable.

This town is on the border, a stone's throw from Night City.

Yet there's a Cyberpsychotic wandering outside the town.

Why isn't the sheriff calling the Riot Control Unit and instead asking a wanderer passing through town for help?

Su Xiao's question made the sheriff burst into laughter.

"How novel! As the sheriff of this town, I can't possibly think that there are too many people in town and wish more would die to reduce carbon emissions and resource consumption, can I?"

"You might not understand the rules here, kid. This is the border, not Night City. The Riot Control Unit won't come."

"Even if everyone in this town dies, the people in the city won't bat an eye."

Su Xiao ignored the sheriff's sarcasm. "So you need someone to deal with this Cyberpsychotic for you?"

Cyberpsychosis also varies in severity.

The weakest Cyberpsychotics are those with cheap cybernetics installed.

They can't afford to go to a proper hospital to purchase and install legitimate cybernetics.

They can only have unlicensed quacks implanting substandard products into their bodies.

Cyberpsychotics like these are just ordinary civilians.

Their threat level is the lowest.

The most difficult to deal with are the former soldiers, former agents, and former mercenaries who have madly stacked themselves with large amounts of military-grade cybernetics.

Once they go berserk, especially in a crowded area, they usually cause heavy casualties.

Su Xiao wasn't sure which category the Cyberpsychotic the sheriff wanted him to deal with fell into.

Su Xiao pondered for a moment.

He quickly came up with an idea.

He thought he could go and check out the situation first.

If it was easy to handle, he'd complete the commission as a favor.

After all, it was free money, a thousand Eurodollars.

But if he had to deal with the most troublesome kind, like a former soldier/agent/mercenary...

Then it would be "You're not getting away with this."

"I can go take a look, but I can't guarantee I can resolve it."

"Alright, I didn't have high hopes anyway."

Su Xiao held up two fingers. "But if I handle this trouble for you, you have to give me two thousand Eurodollars."

The sheriff couldn't sit still.

"Two thousand? Are you dreaming?"

"Two thousand, not a cent less, or you can try to handle your own business."

The sheriff glared at Su Xiao.

However, after a stalemate, he compromised.

"Fine, two thousand it is."

The sheriff thought to himself that the Cyberpsychotic wouldn't be easy to deal with.

Even if this wanderer in front of him could actually kill the Cyberpsychotic, would he come out unscathed?

At that point, even if he didn't pay, what could a battered stray dog do?

The sheriff sent someone to guide Su Xiao.

That person happened to be the townsperson who brought Su Xiao to the sheriff.

The townsperson sat in Su Xiao's car and gave him directions.

Before long, they arrived at their destination.

It was a patch of wilderness, with barren hills stretching as far as the eye could see.

At the foot of the mountain, there was a lone shack.

The villager leading the way was extremely timid.

He didn't even dare to get out of the car.

After pointing out the shack to Su Xiao, which was the location of the Cyberpsychosis, he refused to go any closer, no matter what.

It was as if he was afraid that if Su Xiao was killed, the blood would splatter on him.

Su Xiao was speechless.

He first observed carefully from a distance.

But he couldn't see what was happening inside.

He had no idea what the shack looked like, or if there was any light.

Entering rashly would be gambling with his own life.

Su Xiao drove the car to different positions, constantly observing from afar.

Soon, he had an idea.

However, before getting out of the car, he glanced at the villager sitting in the passenger seat.

Then he pulled out the car keys.

The villager's face instantly turned pale.

He had originally planned to drive away as soon as Su Xiao got out of the car.

It wasn't that he wanted to steal Su Xiao's car, but he was simply too scared.

He was worried that if he stayed, he would be killed by the Cyberpsychosis.

Su Xiao didn't care what the villager was thinking.

He wasn't going to hand over the car keys to a stranger he'd barely spoken to.

After getting out of the car, he carefully examined the surroundings.

He noticed that the shack had only one exit, which was the main entrance.

And besides the main entrance, even the windows were sealed shut.

So, after some thought, he placed a few anti-personnel fragmentation mines on the ground outside the main entrance.

This way, if the enemy came out of the main entrance, no matter which direction they charged from, they would trigger the mines.

After doing all this, Su Xiao was supposed to shoot to alert the Cyberpsychosis inside the house.

But he suddenly felt a prickling sensation on his skin.

Without thinking, his body instinctively lunged forward.

And almost in the next second after he dodged, a blade with a chilling glint slashed from behind him.

Chapter 7: The So-Called Benevolence Is the Art of Splitting a Man in Two

Su Xiao rolled forward, but that wasn't the end of it.

He blocked the incoming attack with Muramasa, blade and sheath, behind him.

Clang!

A heavy sound of metal striking metal rang out, and he felt an irresistible force surge through the blade.

He was sent flying uncontrollably, like a kite with a broken string.

However, Su Xiao didn't fall to the ground.

Instead, just as he was about to land, he executed a beautiful recovery maneuver.

He landed on the cracked ground in a pose resembling a one-knee kneel.

At this moment, Su Xiao finally got a clear look at the true face of the person who had ambushed him.

The man's broad body, nearly two meters tall, was clad in a filthy, dark green trench coat. The coat and trousers were tattered everywhere, with dried bloodstains and dirt still visible.

But the man seemed unconcerned about his hygiene.

His face bore several cracks from cybernetic modifications.

An optical implant was installed on his forehead.

At this moment, the optical implant was spinning erratically.

The man's face was ferocious, and when he grinned, he revealed wolf-like fangs.

What was even more striking were his arms.

Two sharp blades extended from his arms.

These arm blades, due to their resemblance to mantises, were also known as Mantis Blades.

They possessed not only the sharpness of a katana but also an advantage that katanas lacked.

That was concealment.

Just imagine.

When you wear a long-sleeved shirt and a coat over it.

To conceal your modified arms.

Who would know that inside your arms, two blades could deploy at any moment, blades that could slice people like sashimi, the Mantis Blades?

A drop of cold sweat seeped from Su Xiao's forehead, slowly trickling down his face.

Cyberpsychosis with military-grade combat cyberware was the most troublesome situation imaginable.

Worse still, this cyberpsychotic wasn't in a shack, but out in the open.

This turned a potential ambush into an open engagement.

Despite the unfavorable circumstances, Su Xiao quickly regained his composure.

He drew his revolver and aimed it at the man.

He unleashed all the bullets in the cylinder in one go.

But the man's movements were like something out of a glitchy video, dodging the incoming bullets with impossible agility, weaving and shifting.

Then, the man swung his hands, drawing two arcs of light.

He stomped on the ground, a blurry, dark green shadow, and charged forward.

"The opponent is too fast. There's no way I can reload before he gets close."

The moment this thought crossed his mind, Su Xiao tossed aside the empty revolver and charged forward as well.

Clang--!!!

The katana and Mantis Blades collided in mid-air!

Sparks flew!