Chapter 408 - 380 Collision

Arasaka Seaside was also located in the Watson District; back when the Unified War reached California, the mayor Ryan invited them over.

Since then, this area had been practically occupied by Arasaka soldiers, becoming their base of operations.

The buildings here were constructed following the standards of urban military architecture; the NCPD explicitly had no jurisdiction here. Once you crossed into the Watson District, you were surrounded by Arasaka’s unmanned mecha, drones, and fully armed soldiers.

Lille covertly assisted Kaneke in jamming the surveillance and tracking equipment on the floating car, but the area around Arasaka Seaside was a complete no-fly zone.

Would Arasaka allow a trauma team’s floating car to pass?

They might think someone needed rescue; that could be Kaneke’s plan, but the chances that Arasaka would just let him waltz in were slim.

There weren’t many cars there, and Arasaka soldiers weren’t fools; they could see if there was something wrong with the floating car.

Once exposed, Lille didn’t think Kaneke could come and go freely in a place like Arasaka Seaside.

They had to follow closely.

Boom—

"Do you even know how to drive?!"

The small van sped through the gaps between cars, weaving like the wind!

Even though the car was a piece of junk, David’s driving skills were excellent.

A top speed of 120 km/h was laughably insufficient in the city, but David had the pedal to the floor; any harder and he’d be pressing on the fuel tank!

Screeching halts and abrupt accelerations made the rickety van a nightmare on the road. Luckily, in Night City, dangerous driving had a loose definition:

As long as you didn’t run anyone over or crash into the NCPD, it wasn’t considered dangerous driving!

Even hitting other cars was just a minor clash!

Taking a sharp turn, the van’s outer wheels almost lifted off!

Pedestrians nearby scattered, but some thrill-seeking daredevil slammed on the gas in response—

A sports car was overtaken, and the driver’s expression changed as he immediately switched to sport mode and gunned the engine!

A junky little van dared to overtake me?

Watch me overtake you hard and make you flip!

Boom!

Who knew where this young hothead came from?

Locals knew better than to expect anyone to street race in a Columbus Freight jalopy.

But if you saw junkers like Columbus Freight, G240, or Viper tearing down the street, it was best to stay clear.

"Idiot!"

The sports car quickly pulled up beside Lille, and the driver flipped him off, gearing up for a humbling sideswipe.

Lille just glanced at him: A road rage lover, huh?

Boom!

At the next intersection, Man’s Mackinaw barreled through!

The sports car looked like a toy compared to the massive Mackinaw; the driver, hearing the noise, turned and paled:

The Mackinaw was nearly three times the height of his Mizutani!

Even without the legendary Mackinaw’s reputation, the model itself was a typical road tank!

But he couldn’t stop!

Bam!

Executing a perfect tail-whip, the Mackinaw merely felt a light tap, but to the Mizutani, it was an unbearable impact.

The car lost speed, got overtaken by the other two, and crashed into the central road pillar.

Man sat in the Mackinaw’s driver’s seat, flashed a wide grin, and gave Lille a thumbs-up.

Lille ignored the flipped daredevil and looked towards the sky:

His worst fears were realized; Kaneke wasn’t hovering over the city center but was flying at high altitudes on the outskirts!

His destination was Arasaka Seaside!

But his target was a mercenary; how could a mercenary infiltrate Arasaka’s facilities? Only if that mercenary was employed by Arasaka!

Things were getting more complicated.

The van and Mackinaw simultaneously ascended the highway ramp, and Lille decided to urge Regina again before making a decision.

Conveniently, Regina had just sent a message.

[Sender: Regina]

[Regina: All I found about this Woolly Crowley is that he’s a mercenary, but he was involved in an incident a week ago with the Valentinos.]

[Regina: Apart from mercenaries, the Valentinos were involved in the conflict with him; maybe you can find an intermediary in Haywood to ask about it.]

[Regina: Regarding Kaneke, I found his prosthetic model and software version, which might help you keep him alive.]

[Regina: This is a special order; my client is willing to pay more for him alive.]

Lille immediately messaged Father.

[Recipient: Father]

[Burger King: Father, I want to know what conflict the Valentinos had a week ago with a guy named Wooli Crowley.]

[Father: It’s a bit complicated.]

[Burger King: You’d better decide quickly if you want to tell me or not. A cyberpsycho is hunting Wooli Crowley and moving towards Arasaka Seaside; this mercenary’s employer is no ordinary person.]

[Father: Arasaka?]

[Father: Okay, here’s what happened—a week ago, a hacker contacted the Valentinos, asking them to cover for a few mercenaries to install some wiretap and surveillance equipment, but didn’t say who they were surveilling.]

[Father: They bungled it, and this Wooli Crowley found out.

He’s a tough guy; he practically blew up a building, killed everyone, and supposedly went cyberpsycho, even taking down several trauma team members.]

[Father: I had a feeling something was off; why would a trauma team be there? Now it seems this mercenary’s employer isn’t ordinary.]

[Father: Since you’re involved, I have a job for you—find out who’s involved in this mess.]

[Burger King: Okay, but this job won’t be cheap.]

[Father: Don’t worry, I get it; hiring you guys isn’t cheap.]

...

Outside Arasaka Seaside, an Arasaka version of the Emperor Ragnar was parked on the street in front of the complex’s exterior. Behind it was a Gudela Turbo 740, a powerful city sports car with sleek lines revealing a cost beyond what most mercenaries could afford.

Arasaka soldiers and mecha were stationed on the other side of the road—if you were with Arasaka, it was an exceedingly safe meeting spot.

Unless a floating car dropped from the sky.

In the car, Deputy Mayor Hot and Wooli Crowley had turned it into a mobile office.

Hot, legs crossed, pulled out a cigarette box, "You did well this time. Did you find out who’s been hindering me?"

Hot was bald, his on-screen persona always wore a kind smile; compared to Ryan’s poker face, he appeared more approachable.

But in a private setting like this, he perfectly embodied Arasaka’s ruthless image, behaving quite arrogantly.

Wooli sat across from him—a seemingly ordinary mercenary whose combat prosthetics were top-tier military grade.

One of his prosthetic eyes was a custom Arasaka combat eye, a fist-sized ocular structure equipped with several eyes sensitive to various signal layers.

His arms used the latest artificial muscles and bionic structures, providing immense and flexible strength; paired with gunfire control chips in his brain, he could manage recoil from gunfire perfectly, maintaining balance even when his stance faltered.

His legs supported super jumps and double jumps among other maneuvers, with an anchor device in the heels allowing him to stabilize on any surface.

Integrated bone structure and subdermal armor, military-grade electronic kidneys, and lungs...

So many prosthetics crammed into an otherwise unremarkable frame, but his combat capabilities outmatched 99% of street thugs and were much tougher.

It was clear Hot invested heavily in him, and it paid off.

Wooli chuckled, appearing somewhat deranged, clearly showing signs of being a former cyberpsycho.

"Just two names, one is Chu Qiaoxi, the other James. Give me some time and I’ll take care of these little bastards.

When’s the new batch of immunosuppressants coming?"

"In the trunk." Hot pointed to the storage compartment at the back of the car.

There were too many hackers, and many were almost successful.

But with Arasaka’s help, most were quietly eliminated.

This time he handled it with his men, making a big scene, but that was a good thing; Arasaka viewing him as a waste was the last thing he wanted.

Wooli was about to get out and grab the meds but suddenly remembered something and turned back:

"Oh yeah, how much did the trauma team charge to save me?"

"One hundred twenty thousand." Hot lit a cigarette, replying nonchalantly, "It’s nothing."

"You guys make a fortune, considering one hundred twenty thousand is nothing? I remember I—"

"Doesn’t matter, just do your job."

If Wooli hadn’t killed two trauma team members, the cost would have been lower—

Fifty-five thousand per life, an amount neither small nor large, almost triple the annual average income of Night City residents.

But for someone like Hot, that amount was insignificant.

As long as he remained Deputy Mayor, the money from Arasaka and his municipal corruption could fund many such mercenaries.

The problem was finding competent individuals who could handle such a heavy load of prosthetics.

One man against dozens, killing over twenty...

Definitely impressive.

Thinking this, Hot suddenly recalled something: He knew all of Wooli’s equipment and could control them, but the auto grenade launcher was unknown.

"By the way, where’d you get that automatic grenade launcher?"

"This..." Wooli pulled the launcher from his abdominal pocket, caressing it like a treasure, "Black market, Night City’s black market has been bustling lately."

So Europeans brought it over.

Hot, eyeing the launcher, pondered: should I also seek European support?

They were far wealthier than Arasaka.

"Alright, that’s it."

"Okay, I’ll kill those guys for you now."

Wooli hopped out, the ground thudding from his weight, clearly, his seemingly slender frame was quite heavy.

Whoosh—

Just as he was about to retrieve the Arasaka internal immunosuppressants, he paused, looking up.

It wasn’t just him; the nearby Arasaka soldiers also raised their heads...

And their guns.

"Trauma team? Or rich corpo dogs who can afford..." Wooli laughed, seeing a floating vehicle.

But his laughter faded quickly...

The floating car, upon spotting him, seemed to find its target; the vector engine instantly reoriented—

If he wasn’t mistaken, the floating car appeared to be heading right for him?!

The car’s altitude rapidly decreased without slowing down!

Wooli’s entire cyber-body entered combat mode, but Arasaka personnel reacted even quicker!

"Open fire!!!"

A rain of bullets, like meteors rising from the ground, in varying calibers, even missiles, targeted the floating car!

The floating car, unwavering under the barrage, aimed directly at Wooli, like a meteor streaking through a meteor shower!

Kaneke’s eyes were locked on Wooli’s face, his mind replaying memories with his girlfriend, these memories consumed by flames with the searing headache—

Consciousness was burning!

"Aaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!"