Chapter 449 - 421 The Past of the Tiger Claw Gang (Part 1)

[Blais, Brain Demon Gang? Didn’t expect them to resurface.]

[Blais, But honestly, we had you marked as potentially from the Brain Demon Gang before; we can remove that now.]

The Brain Demon Gang was a modified gang similar to the Vortex Gang, but instead of favoring direct combat implants, they preferred skill chips.

Rather than saying they liked implants, it would be more accurate to say they preferred knowledge. In some old archives of Night City, the Brain Demon Gang was also a frequent source of cyberpsychosis, and their version of it was a special condition called "White Matter Madness."

Simply put, they knew too much, and their brains couldn’t handle it.

Some high-ranking members were practically walking computers. Instead of using implants for direct combat, they preferred setting traps with their brains.

Like the Slaughterhouse, they were a modified group that operated in the Northern District. The Slaughterhouse liked blades, while the Brain Demon Gang liked skill chips and brain enhancements.

But in the end, both gangs faded away, and the Vortex Gang came out on top—

Because they didn’t refuse anything, even if it was junk picked up from the street. Knowledge, weird implants, they didn’t discriminate.

And the executioner who wiped out both gangs was right in this room.

Brick wiped the extracted prosthetic eye, blew on it, and put it back into his "Flame Golden Eyes" prosthetic.

"Brain Demon Gang? A bunch of sneaky bastards; all they have left is sneakiness. Ten of them together wouldn’t be a match for us.

Slaughterhouse is even worse, just a pile of shit. I don’t understand if they masturbate with blades even when they sleep. Can’t do without them...

Bring in some tough ones to block, and a few bullets will take them all down. Idiots still like to shout: ’Within seven steps, the blade is fast...’"

Jostar nodded in agreement, "That’s right, boss. This is the Vortex Gang!"

"But..." Brick changed the subject, "we’re not in good shape right now; they might actually resurface."

"Cut to the chase, what’s the deal with this Dante?"

Lille interrupted Brick’s nostalgic reminiscing.

Right, this Dante had also appeared in the Northern District, even hung out with the Vortex Gang.

After blowing up the Vortex Gang’s turf, NetWatch scoured the Watson North District for illegal facilities and communication terminals and found an ID:

D@nt3_InF3rn0.

Though abstract, these characters did mean "Dante," especially knowing that Chu Qiaoxi’s online name was that, making it even more likely.

Brick scratched his head, "Hmm... actually, I don’t really know. This kid seemed to have defected from the Tiger Claw Gang not long ago, brought a big bag of snuff, quite a rush. I think it’s called... Shimmer?"

"It’s our product," Daikata Maekawa nodded, "Our people do have access to work in the deputy mayor’s office, but corruption...

Those officials aren’t fools. I guess this kid was trying to make some extra money."

So this Dante was originally with the Tiger Claw Gang. Based on the existing clues, maybe he discovered something while working for the gang and started planning to extort the deputy mayor.

Then the Tiger Claw Gang got thrashed, so he ran to the Watson District to lay low and continue his work.

But the Vortex Gang also got thrashed, so he had to run again...

Brick’s brain seemed a bit sluggish, so Lille helped him remember: "Dante always stayed in touch with Royce."

What NetWatch found was extracted from Royce’s equipment.

Brick was stunned for a moment, then suddenly shouted: "Right! Now that you mention it, it’s possible! No wonder I don’t remember giving him any turf, goddamn Royce, I’ll have his head...!"

"Boss." Jostar tugged at Brick when his voice was at its loudest, "Royce is already dead."

Brick suddenly calmed down, "That’s right."

So Dante’s working environment had been unstable until about half a month ago when he confirmed the deputy mayor’s office database was in Haywood, then got someone to investigate...

Then the Haywood incident happened.

[Blais, Got it. I’ll handle this Dante; you keep investigating the Geisha Market.]

[Lille, You have some free time?]

[Blais, No, this Dante might have slipped to Taiping State.]

So the next target is the Brain Demon Gang in the Geisha District...

Lille suddenly felt that this kind of investigation was too slow; he needed to be more proactive.

But there was no need to discuss this here.

"Alright..." Lille stood by the window for a while. The view from the H8 skyscraper was quite good—

He could see a gunfight not far away on the street, and flashes in the alley.

Westbrook’s situation was certainly not what it used to be.

"Let’s call it a day—now, tell me about your problem."

Daikata Maekawa hesitated for a moment, then cautiously said, "The Tiger Claw Gang lost support, business is bad, no new recruits, no equipment."

"If it weren’t for what Jotaro did, it wouldn’t be like this now." Lille turned around, "I’m not talking about me."

If Jotaro hadn’t been exposed, the Tiger Claw Gang would still be the local tyrant in Westbrook. Though they acted outrageously, they maintained order.

The Tiger Claw Gang wasn’t always rich. Before becoming a behemoth, they were just a bunch of poor people centered around Japanese immigrants.

People admired strength, desired wealth, wanted a stable security environment...

There would always be ruthless people who, apart from profit, gathered a group of people to stand out and eliminate others with the same goals. Eventually, order followed.

Daikata Maekawa remained silent—

To be honest, until today, he always believed the decline of the Tiger Claw Gang was largely due to these crazies with ridiculous names.

But what Lille and Judy just said... he actually agreed with.

He placed his hand on his forehead, slightly covering his eyes, "Were you serious when you were talking to that brain-dead woman?"

"Otherwise, I wouldn’t have asked Mako to help recruit."

Mako was the head of Cloud Peak and had considerable influence in the entire prostitution industry. Lille hoped to use this channel to encourage some who planned to do sex work to consider moving to the outskirts of Saint Domingo for labor work instead.

Unfortunately... Mako twisted Lille’s intentions for her own selfish reasons; she was terrified and maddened by the power Lille and the others displayed.

She always wanted to climb higher, and after these events, her desire grew even stronger.

Daikata Maekawa, half-covering his eyes, said, "Most Japanese who escaped from Japan did so because they couldn’t stand Arasaka Group’s ways, many were victims of the Chiba plague.

Many people believed Night City to be a Free City, and it really is free here.

Everyone’s thoughts are respected, desires can be fulfilled... as long as you have enough money.

But in this world, except for a few people, most are born with nothing—if you want money, you have to be willing to bet your life.

If you don’t have that courage, money is just something temporarily kept in your pocket by someone else.

Money can buy many things... but the best deal is buying safety, because in reality, you aren’t buying safety with money; the strong are just granting you some, because they could take it all by force.

Mako is a lunatic... she used lies to deceive a bunch of fools; she has no idea."

"Do you?" Lille retorted, "I don’t think you do either."

Daikata Maekawa suddenly became visibly agitated—his face twisted, his hand forcefully grasping his cheek, and he growled,

"I was planning to take care of that pervert! Just..."

"Don’t be ridiculous; it’s not just about that."