On the streets flashing neon lights.
A modified heavy armored vehicle drove through the puddles, its wheels kicking up large amounts of dirty water, and crashing into pedestrians on both sides who were unable to dodge in time.
Outside the car window, acid rain was washing over the streets.
The neon signs were distorted by the rain, the red like blood, the blue like a broken circuit. Several women dressed in cheap clothes stood by the roadside, huddled under a dilapidated advertising shed, their faces covered with mechanical prosthetics, silently watching the armored vehicles pass by.
Further away, several passersby walked by with their heads down.
The cold light of their identification chips shone from their necks.
Inside the armored vehicle, the air was thick with the smells of engine oil, alcohol, and a lingering stench of blood.
That came from a traitor they had just devoured.
Buck sat in the center, his hands resting on his signature power axe.
This axe is almost half a person's height, and its blade is made of a special alloy sourced from the Nite Owl Consortium. It also has a high-frequency vibration device installed on its edge. Once activated, it can cleave open not only a human body, but even the door of an armored vehicle.
In Buck, he was known as the Butcher.
The person who took the picture did so after he had chopped up everyone on the street into mincemeat.
"Boss, it's confirmed."
The confidant sitting in the passenger seat turned around, his electronic eyes flashing incessantly.
"It's just outside the three outer streets; someone killed three of us corpse collectors."
Buck didn't say anything.
Behind him sat a dozen or so fully armed gang members, their mechanical arms, prosthetic spines, and exoskeletons crammed together, emitting a soft metallic clatter as the vehicle swayed.
One of the younger brothers asked, puzzled.
"Just three body collectors, is it really necessary for so many of us to come?"
Buck slowly raised his head, his voice low.
"They're collecting taxes from the Bloods."
The carriage fell silent.
In Night City, the corpse collectors do more than just dispose of corpses.
They would walk around the outer district every day, collecting fees from door to door for gangs and companies.
Those with money can pay in cash, and those without money can pay with prosthetic body parts.
Even people who are breathing under the eaves have to pay for air purification regularly.
As for those who dare to refuse, they usually end up working as corpse collectors the next day.
"The other person didn't have a prosthetic body; they just looked like a young man in the surveillance footage."
The confidant hesitated for a moment, then added, "They might be a newly arrived homeless person."
Buck grinned.
The left side of his face was replaced with metal, and when he moved his mouth, he revealed a dense array of steel teeth.
"He doesn't have a cybernetic body, yet he dares to kill members of the Bloods?"
"Perhaps it's some conglomerate's experiment."
"Their people crossed the line, so killing them is acceptable."
Buck gripped the power axe tightly, and the blade immediately emitted a deep hum.
"I'm going to hang his head on a lamppost at the street corner."
He paused, then licked his chapped lips.
"Tear his body apart and send him to the factory. I want everyone to know that not just anyone can owe the Bloods's taxes."
The armored vehicle came to a sudden stop.
The sirens outside continued to approach, and several low-flying patrol drones flew over the rooftops, their searchlights illuminating the street soaked by acid rain.
The car doors slid open to both sides.
Buck was the first to go out.
He was nearly 2.5 meters tall, with most of his body covered by heavy cybernetic implants. His arms were entirely made of machinery, and the Bloods's skull emblem was embedded in his chest. A thick hydraulic pipe was also dragging behind him.
His confidants followed suit and jumped out of the car.
More than a dozen guns were raised at the same time, their dark muzzles pointed at Chen Mo.
Buck had already prepared his expression.
He was prepared to project an image of cruelty, indifference, and complete control.
But when he saw Chen Mo in the rain, his expression froze instantly.
Chen Mo stood alone in the middle of the street.
He has no prosthetics.
There were no robotic arms, no metal skeletons, and not even an acid rain-proof jacket.
Rain fell on his face and dripped down his chin.
That young face looked ordinary, even a little boring.
In Buck's view, the person in front of him had no identifiable life parameters.
The combat support chip did not issue a warning.
Threat scans did not detect any weapons.
No abnormal energy was detected by biological detection.
But Buck's mind was suddenly gripped by extreme fear.
It wasn't the chips and machinery issuing a warning; it was his body that was afraid.
Buck, who crawled out of the pile of corpses, felt as if he had returned to the day he lay among the corpses.
"Boss?"
A trusted confidant beside him called out.
Buck did not answer.
He saw Chen Mo raise his head and look at him through the rain.
"Are you the owner here?"
Chen Mo asked.
Buck's Adam's apple bobbed.
"Yes, this is my territory."
After he finished speaking, he realized his voice was a little strained.
Chen Mo glanced down at the remaining shell casings in the water, then looked at Buck.
"Those three guys are your men too?"
"They are my body collectors."
Buck's confidant behind him blurted out, "Killing them is tantamount to declaring war on me!"
Chen Mo nodded.
"Understood."
He pointed to the armored vehicle.
"Nice car. Do you need to pay for parking?"
The trusted aide was stunned.
Buck was also stunned.
Why would the other party ask about parking fees in this situation?
Chen Mo did not wait for their reply.
The light in the world suddenly flickered and went dark.
There was no familiar explosion sound, nor any sound of anything starting up.
Buck only saw the rain curtain in front of him being sliced open by something black and red, and then his confidants behind him fell down one by one.
The first person's head disappeared from his neck.
The second person had a black spike piercing his chest.
The moment the third person pulled the trigger, the entire mechanical arm was engulfed by a blood-and-flesh-like Blacklight, exploding along with half of its body.
In an instant, thin black and red lines shot out from the water, entered the gaps in their prosthetic bodies, and then suddenly opened up inside their bodies.
Metal, bone, and flesh shattered simultaneously.
More than a dozen Bloods members lay dead in the street.
Acid rain fell, washing blood everywhere on the ground.
Buck was still standing.
He still held his power axe in his hand, but didn't raise it.
How is that possible? He clearly doesn't have a prosthetic body!
Chen Mo walked up to him and tapped the armor on his chest.
Why don't you lie down with me?
Buck stared intently at him.
"What... exactly are you?"
Chen Mo thought for a moment.
"An environmentalist who was just passing by!"
Buck's mechanical eyes flashed wildly.
"Environmentalists? Is that the name of an organization or company?"
This time it was Chen Mo's turn to be surprised.
"Damn it, have you guys even forgotten about education?"