Hit Them Hard, Director Tang!

Human sorrow and joy were not shared.

The scene before them perfectly illustrated that saying.

The Inspection Bureau's sirens sounded like heavenly music to the ears of the Serpent Coil combat team.

It was not that they could not beat these rioters, but having reinforcements was never a bad thing.

The Spark members, however, were instantly alarmed.

"Fuck, is the Inspection Bureau made of dogs?"

Even Lei Song panicked a little. "How the fuck did they get here so fast?!"

His operation team had never come here looking for a fight. Their personnel and firepower were already stretched to the limit just holding off the factory guards.

There was no way they could spare any attention to deal with the Inspection Bureau!

Forget fifteen minutes—whether they could hold out for five minutes had become a problem!

As they spoke, the Inspection Bureau team had already arrived.

"I'll say it one more time. Drop your weapons!"

The one leading them was naturally Director Tang Shuang. Holding a loudspeaker, she shouted, "Stop this pointless resistance! Get on your knees with your hands over your heads!"

"Fuck you!"

Lei Song gritted his teeth and viciously hurled the machine gun in his hands at her. "Shut your filthy mouth, bitch!"

Tang Shuang nimbly dodged, but the vehicle behind her was smashed to pieces.

"...All units, prepare to fire!"

Having been treated like that, Tang Shuang immediately gave the order.

Those familiar with her knew that the director of the Inspection Bureau had never been mild-tempered. She was decisive and explosive, ready to ignite at the slightest provocation.

And Lei Song's insults had hit a sore spot perfectly.

After all, just a few days ago, someone had humiliated her in exactly the same way.

Once had been enough to make her furious, and now he was doing it too?

Die, motherfucker!

With her command, the suppressive fire directed at Spark instantly doubled.

Tang Shuang herself also drew the pistol at her waist and pulled the trigger at Lei Song.

At first, Lei Song paid it no mind.

He did not know much about the people of Night City, but he had great faith in his own ability.

"Metallization"—once activated, it could greatly enhance his defensive power.

That was why he dared charge at the front without armor. Even armor-piercing rounds had difficulty breaking through his defense.

So he was not afraid of this woman at all. He even wanted to return the favor with a burst of bullets.

However.

The instant the bullet touched his skin, it did not fall away. Instead, it exploded violently!

The immense impact caught Lei Song off guard and forced him back several steps.

Looking down, he saw a wound on the shoulder blade where he had been hit, blood streaming out.

High-explosive rounds?

Lei Song froze, but even high-explosive rounds should not have been able to hurt him.

So...

This bitch was an Ascendant!

And he clearly could not fully negate the damage she inflicted. The agonizing pain from the wound added a trace of panic to his mind.

This was bad!

With the Inspection Bureau squad helping them, the recovered Serpent Coil guards also noticed the sneaky third group.

"They're going to blow up the warehouse! Send people back to defend it!"

"...Fuck! We can't hold them off already?!"

The third group members went numb at the sight. It had only been a few minutes!

"It's over. I knew we shouldn't have come. I—civilized language—..."

But the arrow was already on the string. They could only press on.

"Nice one, Director Tang."

Inside Serpent Coil's headquarters building, Xu Shi, who had taken in everything below, cheered like an enthusiastic fan.

He did not desperately need Tang Shuang, but he did quite like her ability.

"Touch of Calamity"—it could turn objects she touched into bombs that would automatically detonate after a short time.

It sounded a little like that killer's Queen... The fact that the original author had designed an ability like this said enough about what kind of person they were.

Naturally, Xu Shi had called the Inspection Bureau here. He knew Tang Shuang had recently been keeping a close eye on Serpent Coil anyway, so this was perfect. Why not make use of free labor?

Last time, you mocked me for not notifying you. You have nothing to say this time, right?

You chose this yourself, Director Tang!

And with her help, Spark basically had no chance left.

They might have expected this mission to be difficult, but they had no idea that this operation had been doomed to fail from the very beginning.

Because Xu Shi had long since learned their plan inside out.

According to the original plot, after getting a taste of success, Spark and Shark Tooth would repeat the same trick and launch another round of attacks on Serpent Coil.

They would have two targets—the Sea Crane drones in District 13 and the Sand Nightmare tactical chips in District 15.

Both were pieces of equipment Shark Tooth had coveted for a long time.

So even after crushing Spark's previous interception operation, Xu Shi had not relaxed.

Although the alliance between the two sides was on the verge of collapse, their desire for Serpent Coil would not disappear because of that. More trouble was inevitable.

Even if they stopped working together, they might split up and act on their own, right?

And he could not be sure which side they would strike first.

You could not trust the plot completely. It could only serve as a reference.

After all, he had already changed many things. Who knew whether reality would be affected as a result?

So he simply prepared for both possibilities. No matter what choice they made, the outcome would be the same.

But now, it seemed that perhaps due to the correction of the worldline, Spark had still attacked District 13 first, just as in the original story.

Then go die... No.

They should suffer something worse than death.

As he pondered, the battle had essentially reached its conclusion.

Lei Song simply could not withstand Tang Shuang's relentless bombardment. Within a few minutes, he had completely lost his earlier arrogance.

His body was covered in charred wounds, one arm had vanished entirely, and blood dripped down as if it cost nothing.

His defenses had been broken. Completely broken.

To make matters worse, the injected drug had also worn off early under the impacts.

Its side effects left his head splitting, his vision and hearing severely impaired. He could not even see what was happening around him clearly.

He did not know whether the third group had succeeded, but they had probably failed...

"Fuck... your mother..."

"Any last words?"

Tang Shuang flicked her cape aside and looked down at him expressionlessly.

"My last words are... that a bitch like you deserves to die."

Lei Song forced out a contemptuous smile and spat on the ground.

It had to be said, he still had a bit of tough-guy spirit.

But the director was not moved in the slightest. She was still far angrier over how he had insulted her earlier.

Even maintaining an outwardly calm expression was already difficult for her.

"Then die!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Tang Shuang pulled the trigger at Lei Song's head.

Bang.

Yet the scene she had expected—the bullet piercing his forehead and blood spraying everywhere—did not appear.

The fired bullet fell straight to the ground at a strange angle.

"Hmm?"

Both Tang Shuang and Lei Song were startled by the sight.

What was going on?

Before either of them could react, an Alloy Battle Blade had already been placed between them.

The newcomer was completely encased in heavy black armor. No one knew who was beneath that helmet.

"Let him go. Your opponent... is me."