Chapter 526 - 497: The Biggest Problem

In the Watson District, the information warfare between Lille and Munemasa directly burned out a large swath of circuits, with a few lights piercing the darkness, as prepared people began using their own backup power supplies.

Devoid of those annoying advertisements and dazzling light pollution of yesteryear, the streets felt somewhat desolate...

But it was merely less crowded.

In contrast, a terrifying sound echoed through the area—

Click-click-click-click-click-click—

Bang!

An unsightly four-legged robot sprinted around a corner at high speed, two of its legs clinging to the wall and the other two sliding across the ground.

Its extreme speed and weight made it impossible for both the wall and the ground to remain intact, as the four-legged chariot left a series of horrifying marks on their surfaces, then rolled carelessly over the cars parked by the curb!

Munemasa’s large hands swiftly cut off the car’s fuel tank, engine, and other parts, gradually refining its design...

The four-legged chariot became faster and faster, and more...

Powerful.

Two voices resounded in Munemasa’s head: one was telling it to take the chance to flee, to find another way out of Night City and save its own life.

The other was telling it that escape would only delay the inevitable; this was a human stronghold, and it couldn’t get away – it had to win this confrontation.

Humans search for meaning, stumble into confusion; AIs sometimes do too, but that’s usually called self-checking.

But now, Munemasa forewent such unnecessary self-checks. Both thoughts reverberated in its head, and it chose to follow the second.

The legendary Mackinaw was ahead; the final battle was about to begin—

The four-legged war machine was primitive and wild, with Munemasa gaining extra limbs and parts...

Boom!

A rocket exploded behind it, thrusting its speed even higher!

"Stop running!"

...

Munemasa’s combat effectiveness exceeded Lille’s expectations!

And was unnaturally high!

Wandering AIs are not omnipotent; if an AI is designed to manage financial data, it cannot also excel at controlling the power grid.

If an AI is designed for weapon and equipment design, it is not made for ensuring the production quality of synthetic meat.

An AI’s initial model dictates its data processing methods, and each method corresponds to a starter database, constituting its initial "personality".

And Munemasa, it definitely was not an AI that could be used for behavior control!

After the operator inside the Centaur Mecha perished, Munemasa, now just controlling the robot’s body, moved somewhat stiffly; how could it surpass V in combat skills and tactical ability when transferred to a human body?

Lille could only think of one possibility: that humanoid body that looked like a robot was actually a human!

This was significant because Lille was keeping Brick and Qian Chuan’s prosthetic integration around 15%.

But that dark figure appeared to exceed this threshold by a considerable margin!

Beyond 20% prosthetization typically meant only the brain, spinal cord, and some peripheral nerves remained untouched, and with each reduction in that number, dramatic side effects ensued, exponentially increasing the odds of cyberpsychosis...

Where did Munemasa find such a prodigy?

Not just brimming with physical prowess; if Munemasa’s combat mode was inherited from this human, then this flurry of movements displayed an exceptionally exaggerated set of combat skills.

Skills that certainly weren’t attainable by an ordinary mercenary.

"What do we do now?!"

Lille yelled back in response to the rapidly approaching Centaur Mechanism: "Take that thing apart!"

Jostar, whose life had been saved twice that day from the rear cargo, had green eyes of envy: "That thing?"

The Centaur Mechanism, modified on the spot by Munemasa, had all cables and armor meant for large weapons completely removed. It even discarded two arms, adding connecting rods instead...

This thing was turning into a four-legged war machine!

Honestly, even Lille had to admit Munemasa’s manual skills were frighteningly strong; such assembly capabilities couldn’t be described by an engineer anymore.

It was a manual Transformer.

With Munemasa’s modifications, the robot even started using the rockets from what was once its arsenal for propulsion, continuously accelerating its speed.

The Mackinaw might be fast in a straight line, but this was the city; physical laws still had to be obeyed. In such a complex terrain, there weren’t many chances to reach top speed.

On the contrary, the Centaur Mechanism, now a four-legged robot, could leap onto the walls at corners, sliding along them with inertia.

Almost without slowing down!

"This is getting tricky!" V grabbed an Achilles tech rifle with spider silk from inside the car.

That weapon, once beyond her reach as a controlled military-grade firearm, now merely punched a black hole in the Centaur War Machine – there was some depth, but it clearly wasn’t significant.

There was damage, but not enough; it would take a dozen more people firing at it.

"Try harder! Just try!"

Jack slapped the car roof: "I mean! Can’t you use that Black Wall thing to deal with it? Isn’t network surveillance meant for that?"

Lille glanced at the Black House behind Jostar.

It wouldn’t work.

The original plan indeed was to use Black Wall as a last resort, but that was predicated on being able to proceed only after connecting Little Flat Head with Munemasa.

The wireless radio devices scattered throughout various parts of the city now truly are under the control of Jostar’s mother, and can also directly connect to the network surveillance system, allowing them to use Black Wall for the attack.

But the problem lies in the fact that Jostar’s mother is also quite an abnormal individual.

In the development of the basic full-body Prosthetics model named "Ranger," she provided a lot of schemes, and even equipped the Rangers of Japan Street with custom Skill Chips, which enabled those Tiger Claw Gang members to perform almost as adeptly as a Huangban Ninja during high-speed motorcycle chases.

This level of integration is not something a human can achieve; in a sense, what the Brain Demon Gang used on Jostar’s mother is also a kind of new AI technology.

It’s hard to say whether the network watchdog will perform its law enforcement duties.

So a direct attack using this method is not feasible.

Munemasa now only has the Centaur War Machine and its body as the main server, and Lille isn’t sure how the roaming AI stores its data, but theoretically, any direct damage to a machine body could directly harm its database and weaken its capabilities.

So the more battered it gets, the better.

"No way!" Lille roared back, shouting at Jack and V, "The bounty for capturing a roaming AI is one million euros! For one million euros, make an effort!"

"Easy for you to say!" V muttered, looking back at the car—

The sounds of the road being crushed, the street cracking under pressure, and the terrified screams of people in the buildings were getting closer and closer.

Click-click-click-click-click-click—

Around the corner, the enormous Centaur War Machine crushed the wall with its two feet, with glass and wall materials swiftly falling off due to the grinding, and the ground kept cracking under the pressure!

With high speed, combined with its own weight, it was creating exaggerated imprints on the walls and the ground!

The Centaur Mecha had truly transformed into a four-legged Chariot!

Lille cursed silently in his heart: he knew that dealing with roaming AI was difficult, but he didn’t expect it to be this difficult!

Every gang in the district was mobilized, employing all their technology, yet it still came down to taking risks in the end.

But fortunately, things had finally become simple.

"Think about the million—" Lille yelled while injecting himself with a dose of Neuroactive Agent.

They had now left the industrial area at the northern end of Watson and entered the Watson District—

The terrain here was complicated, and there was no turning back.

The Octopus Arm retracted from Jack’s Power Armor and passed two doses of Pharmaceuticals to Jack and V each.

Jack’s was Lizard Serum, and V’s was the same Neuroactive Agent Lille used.

This was the final prep; compared to the beginning, when they had a rich arsenal, from now on, their weapons really were just the things they could see.

"Also, think about the next life, the finish line is right ahead!"

Hearing this, the already immensely pressured Jack and V both laughed—

Wasn’t this what it was all about?

Tonight, the underground world of Night City will only have one victorious group.

"What are you... what are you going to do? Does big brother have any other moves left?" Jostar asked, fearing as he saw the three big brothers suddenly becoming eager to try something at the edge of the car.

"Hold on tight, kid."

Lille, controlling the Octopus Arm, climbed to the top of the car.

Jack stood at the back of the cargo bed, V stood on one of the Octopus Arms, which was like a spring filled with energy, waiting to be launched.

What did this preparation mean?

Before Jostar could ask, the legendary Mackinaw suddenly slammed on the brakes!

The distance between them closed rapidly, and Jostar’s eyes turned green once again:

It seemed the three big brothers truly had no more hidden moves left!

They intended to go head-to-head with that Transformer!

That thing... wasn’t it certain death to encounter roaming AI?

Were the big brothers insane?!

Rubble, glass shards flew, and the air was filled with black smoke from burning material.

The ruined streets, the dark city, countless hidden cameras focused in the shadows—

People were desperate to know who would cross the finish line!

...

Akina Night Club.

Rogel had finished a cigarette.

The bar now was empty except for the bartender Claire and her.

There wouldn’t be anyone in the night club today except the victor; no one else had the right to enter.

"What do you think it’s like out there? What if a European comes in?" Claire seemed to be anxious.

"A European?"

Rogel shook her head, smiling ambiguously.

The biggest problem wasn’t whether a European would come in – the biggest problem was whether anyone would come at all.

Flicking her cigarette, Rogel said, "Don’t forget to ask our new legend for his secret recipe; someone like him might just die unknowingly tomorrow."