[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-cyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer":3,"chapter-cyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer-cyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer-chapter-1021":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Cyberpunk: Cross-dimensional Science and Engineering",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},1152980,1495,"Chapter 1015 - 58: War Begins","cyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer-chapter-1021",1021,"\u003Cp>One week later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These days, Night City has become increasingly desolate, but municipal statistics show that social order is becoming more stable. Uncontrollable violent crime and shootings have even reached the lowest level since the city’s founding, and even the employment rate has been effectively controlled and is steadily declining.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before seeing this situation, if someone told the two high achievers, Perares and Ryan, that economic depression could actually accompany a city becoming stable, they would definitely sneer and consider the person a lunatic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, the reality is that Night City is more orderly than at any time in history. Almost everyone, unless they are a born criminal, can find a job...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, even criminals can find a place here, but it’s certainly not the home they hoped for.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This phenomenon left Ryan and Perares puzzled: both had once taken an all-or-nothing approach to reach their current positions, channeling all resources into their degrees, so they took their school and societal experiences and knowledge seriously. Yet, these experiences have been shattered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after thinking it over, it’s not hard to understand the logic behind it: the depression is due to companies fearing Night City’s \"strong authority,\" making the environment unsuitable for large businesses, leading strangers to hesitate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, the order...is more complex. On the one hand, everyone fears Burger King, and on the other hand, although listening to Burger King means they can’t be the boss, it meets their demands—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the very least, civilians can fill their bellies, life is thriving, and those aspiring gang leaders have new industries to manage, satisfying their psychological pursuits to some extent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, whoever stays in Night City is generally satisfied with one situation: here, corporate order is in disarray:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There are no incidents of releasing biological viruses for dumping expired vaccines, no human organ trade, no drug transactions and corruption by officers beyond what ordinary people can do...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perares looked at the thriving Night City—which in his eyes is a thriving Night City, with only large companies in decline.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sometimes he had an illusion that this is the city the founder, Knight, wanted to build, only Knight didn’t know how to maintain true freedom under free trade...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he thought, he spoke:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Now we have dignity; companies tucked their tails and left—Kantao and Peizhuo Petrochemical have already moved out their equipment. The former is okay, but the latter...they wiped us out big time before leaving, but the remaining oil is enough until the end of the year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Do you think today’s Night City is closer to or further from the city Knight wanted to build?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If you ask me, it’s a stable economic cycle that supports all this...think about it, even without Euros, people won’t starve, and those exaggerated AI assistants... that’s Night City’s specialty industry.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ryan held a Mexican cigarette between his lips: it’s not like before, you have to smoke something good and affordable now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After speaking, he paused to gently flick ashes into the ashtray: \"That’s hard to say, Knight was a strong supporter of free trade—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A Free City that supports free trade while hoping it’s not oppressed by insurmountable forces...if you ask me, you’re a lot like him, always thinking about unreasonable idealisms.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perares didn’t argue, he had once been an outstanding figure who rose from the bottom smoothly, but after the incident with the Ye Group, he couldn’t be arrogant anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So...we have to unite and cooperate, following your method would also be a dead end, right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s true—unite and cooperate, that also sounds quite idealistic...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thump—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A loud rumble from outside the window, it was some kind of huge metal blast door opening:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The launch silos of intercontinental nuclear fusion missiles are deeply buried underground, and the sound came from the opening of the blast structure!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gears turning, hydraulic pistons roaring lowly, alloy doors painted in warning colors slide slowly along tracks, layer by layer opening, revealing a bottomless missile launch silo...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dust cover shattered with vibration, falling metal fragments sliding under low light, falling into the bottomless launch silo—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Red warning lights lighting up in sequence, high-pressure air released from the enclosed system, steaming cooling vapor pouring from the exhaust vent, the sunset’s afterglow passing through the steel giant’s scorching breath, shafts of light scattering the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Drones, engineers, and soldiers walked quickly, everyone’s heart pounding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They may not know what this thing is for, but they know they are going to war with New America.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Ryan and Perares felt this way: they had never thought there would be a day when they would go to war with companies, with New America, with the European Union, with...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the entire world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two watched this scene intently, the tea in their hands gradually cooling, the cigarettes burning to the end...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thump—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another loud noise, followed by flashing warning lights and alert sounds:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Launch command confirmed.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Cooling system released, ignition thruster preheating started.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ash fell to the ground—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything was going to be settled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three hours before the launch command.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Cyberspace, the two AI, Munemasa and the Illuminati, monitored everything concerning the launch silos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The former penetrated every inch of wiring and control panels, received feedback data from every engineering robot and operating device for monitoring;\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The latter fully accepted all data feedback from humans, any of whom whose status significantly deviated from predictions would be immediately handled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One monitored the machinery, the other the humans, there was no company willing to invest in Night City, yet a large number of spies remained, but under the powerful surveillance of the two AIs, no confidential information left Taiping State, or even the City Defense Army’s military base.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, Night City’s most elite army was also approaching Southern California.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This army had begun using the same equipment as the mecha soldiers, each soldier passed the Illuminati’s \"psychological quality assessment,\" and their combat skills had been enhanced through the virtual reality training grounds in these days...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just evaluating combat skills, it’s hard to say if each of these potential mecha soldiers is qualified, but once they survive this battle, they’ll become real mecha soldiers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each vehicle in the troops was equipped with a stealth system combining surface coating, interference signal emission, and other equipment operating together, armored vehicles made by Mackinaw General Vehicle sped across the Evil Land, kicking up clouds of dust—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end, drones from Southern California would still detect anomalies, but this would have to wait until these troops stormed near the outskirts of the city in Evil Land.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A small number of mecha soldiers and regular troops would attack from land, while the remaining mecha soldiers would be airdropped to each target location after the large group’s floating cars reached the rear, following the destruction of the city command system by the Black Wall bomb, including City Hall, military bases, power grid...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the battle predictions, this battle wouldn’t be too simple, because most of New America’s military force was transferred to Southern California.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hansen sat in the car, watching the HUD’s action countdown, silently reciting what he had to do:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Engage, then activate the Black Wall bomb, mecha soldiers launch an assault, floating cars airdrop combat mecha, directly strike New America’s military camps, then...bomb City Hall...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, a bright light rose from Night City, Hansen felt like he was hallucinating:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the sound of an intercontinental missile piercing the sky, charging straight towards its target.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the next second, he heard the actual sound of bullets tearing through the air—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Patrolling drones in the sky had discovered them!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whoosh—Boom!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A micro missile had just launched from a drone in the sky when it was shot down by a sniper rifle, its battery exploding into metallic fragments flying, the entire automated forces of Southern California detecting anomalies!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Attack!\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1301,"2026-06-03T12:33:47.681Z","2026-06-03T12:33:56.171Z",1,"novelbin.me","98adcb9e0f55a02c5866184b9277d53f6c7cf7f7e4c25486f9107a0a0d3bbd97","cyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer-chapter-1022","cyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer-chapter-1020",1068,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fcyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer-cover.jpg"]