Chapter 303 - 282 The Confused Anthony

In Evil Land, the Military Technology units were reconstructing the scene.

This was a holographic reconnaissance reconstruction system, with numerous sensors placed around the site to collect and scan high-precision data on temperature, humidity, wind speed, and capture chemical compositions, explosive residues, and any possible clues.

On-site reconnaissance personnel held material analysis scanning devices while squatting beside a pool of shattered armored plates.

Nearby, scattered Columbus freight vans were fully scanned, including the tire tracks imprinted on the ground.

Reconnaissance drones followed these tracks, guiding soldiers to deploy sensors over a broader area.

After calculation by the central processor, the scene was ultimately reconstructed.

The battlefield was vast.

Only a few completely scrapped Columbus freight vehicles and a ruined unmanned mecha were left at the scene, with wreckage fragments and unidentified mixed fluids scattered on the ground.

Scanning complete, the holographic projection began reconstructing the event.

[Uploading dynamic range data of the engagement]

[The combat is divided into several stages]

[Phase One: The attackers used some long-range projectile launch equipment to carry out an assault outside the reconnaissance range, with projectile types including high explosive bombs and high-power EMPs]

[Searching the database for possible matching ammunition types...]

[High likelihood of custom-made...]

[Phase Two: The enemy possibly attempted hacking, failed; engineers restored electronic equipment, Centaur Mecha began deployment, plasma gun hit target, some enemies withdrew]

[Anomaly: Centaur Mecha deployment may not comply with Night City’s legal agreements regulations; this intelligence is only for agents with sufficient security clearance.]

[Phase Three...]

A squad leader with tactical sunglasses slung his gun behind his back, crouched, and used some kind of analyzer to further scan the ground.

The more information they gathered, the more illusory the holographic projection became, with many mosaics—even some things that made no sense.

The happenings of the first two phases were easy to explain; it was nothing more than the enemy launching a sneak attack and then using wireless devices to hack in.

But it was clear that this group of robbers failed; the engineers successfully restored communications and power to the equipment, initiating the Centaur Mecha deployment.

Defeating a few hijackers was a piece of cake for the big guy, turning the tide of the battle, the plasma gun on the Centaur Mecha scattering the robbers, some even fleeing on the spot.

So far, everything seemed normal and very logical.

Until the third phase, where the reconnaissance equipment’s reconstruction encountered issues—too little data led to a scene with large mosaics.

Too little data could only mean one thing: the combat duration was very short, leaving hardly any traces.

First was the ground; what she was scanning seemed to be the remnants of the Bimong armored vehicle’s armor.

The armor of the Bimong armored vehicle would accumulate thermal energy when subjected to sufficient kinetic attacks, eventually triggering a small explosion.

In theory, blowing up the reactive armor would deflect the ammunition, reducing the penetration probability, but this time the reactive armor seemed not to function properly.

Two possibilities: the armor was breached from the inside; the opponent’s armor-piercing bullets were powerful enough to disregard such damage.

And according to the materials science database, the armored vehicle indeed seemed to have suffered an internal strike.

Thus, the central computer immediately constructed possible scenarios:

An unmanned mecha might have attacked the armored vehicle from inside, with two most probable situations according to the computer:

First, the unmanned mecha was hacked; second, the unmanned mecha was trapped in the vehicle, necessitating a violent breach of the armored vehicle.

This was a headache; the holographic reconnaissance system had a major divergence, requiring the input of more intelligence to eliminate possibilities.

The squad leader thought for a while and decided to first simulate the second possibility: the armored vehicle being trapped.

Choosing this resulted in even more absurd conclusions.

If it was the second situation, it indicated the Bimong flipped over, considering the vehicle was driven away, the reconnaissance system concluded it did not suffer fatal damage.

Probably, the driver was killed.

What about the sniper?

[Reconnaissance results:]

[The attackers used the Maoyou Sniper Rifle to kill the driver, causing the vehicle to flip over, unmanned mecha deployment failed, Centaur Mecha operator engaged the enemy.]

[Estimated shooting range: 1000-1600 meters]

[Reconstructing the shooting environment...]

The sniper shot from beyond 1000 meters! And from the probability, the most likely range was 1400-1500 meters...

They could find the likely sniper point, but it was on the motorcycle tracks!

Multiple pieces of evidence indicated: the sniper indeed shot from this distance, riding a motorcycle, and completed the sniper shot while on the motorcycle.

At least at a speed of 140-155 miles per hour in... Evil Land!

Judging from the tracks, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say it was flying!

Even hitting the target like this, what the hell?!

If the analysis and reconstruction continued, after the vehicle tipped over, the Centaur Mecha jumped off the external rack, and then another motorcycle even charged toward the mecha!

The motorcycle seemed to fly in front of the mecha, and then the mecha appeared to be hit by something.

At first, the squad leader thought it was the motorcycle that hit it, just like the bike bomb in the city center before, but nearby, other motorcycle tracks appeared.

In other words...

The holographic image showed a mosaic on the motorcycle colliding with the mecha.

Then, in less than 30 seconds of engagement, this person took down the mecha in an unknown manner.

That means, in the whole incident, the later two robbers, riding motorcycles over 150 miles per hour, in Evil Land, from more than 1000 meters away, killed the driver!

Then another vehicle, at over 100 miles per hour, collided with the Centaur Mecha and somehow dismantled the Centaur Mecha!

The other Centaur Mecha had a similar fate; the motorcycle circled around, then collided with the mecha while it was firing, and the mecha stopped operating!

The most ridiculous part was the damage to this unmanned mecha...

Although there was internal attack within the cargo compartment, the explosion direction of the whole armored vehicle indicated that the enemy did attack from outside with armor-piercing bullets, which hit the unmanned mecha.

But the unmanned mecha had only one damaged spot, but just this one spot was completely penetrated!

Based on previous conditions, the unmanned mecha was inside the cargo compartment of the Bimong armored vehicle and was shot through by a single bullet!

That means, the enemy likely blew up the Bimong armored vehicle’s armor and the unmanned mecha with a single shot!

What kind of weapon could have such power?

The database could match a few of such powerful weapons, but none should appear in Night City.

From here, the intelligence got a bit absurd, maybe the truth was this absurd, or perhaps the earlier node’s inference was wrong.

For instance, the mecha might have been hacked instead of the vehicle flipping over.

If the mecha was hacked, the mecha killed the driver, tipping the vehicle, making the scenario a bit more reasonable.

But the battle data coming back from the field was intermittent, with no certainty whether the mecha was hacked or not.

Both scenarios had many riddles.

However, the confirmed information from the field was just these; further actions depended on the supervisor’s opinion.

[Field reconnaissance complete]

[Uploading information...]

...

Night City City Hall.

Anthony stood in front of the sink, apparently looking at his reflection in the mirror, but actually reviewing the latest accident report.

While this report could not be said to be useless, it was entirely useless.

What did it mean that the enemy blew up the vehicle with one shot and destroyed the unmanned mecha’s core computer?

He couldn’t fathom what weapon could be this freakish!

The heads-up display on his prosthetic eye showed a line of small text:

[You have been in the bathroom for over 1 minute, a long stay may cause different thoughts from your meeting partners, affecting meeting efficiency.]

Anthony washed his face and turned to leave the bathroom.

In the meeting room sat a somewhat obese middle-aged man, in a pinstriped suit, wearing black sunglasses, making it hard to read any extra information from his eyes.

He was holding a cigar towards Anthony: "Mr. Gilchrist, I hope you understand, my time is very valuable.

Can we return to our topic? If you don’t have anything to say, we’ll conclude this meeting today."

With no progress, Anthony felt his blood pressure about to explode.

For him, company matters could wait—for now, the more important thing was, if he couldn’t prove internal sabotage, he was finished!

So he said: "Mayor Ryan, our convoy was hijacked, I can’t give you a clear answer."

Ryan shrugged, took a puff of his cigar, displaying no inner emotions.

"Then I can only say my condolences, this is Night City, is there anything else?"

Ryan didn’t care about his fate.

"I hope to get assistance from Night City, according to Night City law..."

"According to Night City law, corporate employees here have exemptions, not subject to legal jurisdiction, naturally Night City is not obligated to you.

You need to solve your own problem, Gilchrist.

Military Technology’s equipment is excellent, I’m even interested in letting you handle the Watson District industrial area north.

But honestly, if you can’t even secure your things, how can I trust you with the project?"

Ryan shook his head, stood up, straightened his clothes, and threw the cigar into the ashtray.

"I hope you understand, the election is imminent, if this junk prevents me from completing the cleanup of Watson District’s homeless...

Do you know how people will see me? They’ll say I can’t control the Watson District, a place I come from.

So you better hurry, or else I can only turn to Arasaka."

Anthony still didn’t give up: "If Night City provides help, I can fully fund the investigation."

"This isn’t about money."

Ryan picked up his briefcase, shook his head, and walked towards the door.

Anthony sat silently in his chair.

Before leaving, Ryan suddenly said: "If you’re really clueless, I suggest investigating Vortex Gang, they’re pros at hijacking company convoys.

This city has its way of things, you need to learn to solve problems besides using money.

Good luck."

Ryan left the room, leaving Anthony alone in his seat quietly.

.....

Stepping out of the door, Ryan lit another cigarette.

"Damn, someone even hijacks Military Technology’s vehicles."

[Recipient: Network Supervision Foundation]

[Ryan: Military Technology’s vehicle was hijacked in Evil Land, the person in charge had no clues.]

[Contact: What does this have to do with us?]

[Ryan: I told him to find Vortex Gang.]

[Contact: You’re really audacious with your nonsense.]

[Ryan: Odds are it was Vortex Gang.]

Ryan sent the message, got into the floating car, thinking to himself:

No one understands Night City better than me.