Chapter 676 - 647 The appearance of friends and foes

[Arasaka Group, the enemy did not resist, continue moving forward, proceed with the second stage of the tactical deployment.]

The Arasaka Group’s armored vehicles advanced into Taiping State without any obstacles.

The armored vehicle transporting Adam Hammer stopped by the bridge, leading the company forces to do what NCPD usually does: sealing off the city.

However, he remained silent; after all, he was just a combatant, not the commander. Arasaka would not let him command; most of the time, he was just under Lai Xuan’s command, or occasionally brought out as a terrifying symbol.

The first wave of drones was shot down by the Netherworld Dogs; the second wave of drones soon followed the bomb explosion. The dark Taiping State was scanned by the drones, and the Arasaka convoy followed suit...

He watched as everything went smoothly, not knowing what he was thinking.

Boom——

Two explosions occurred in succession. On the elevated road in Saint Domingo, a burning armored vehicle fell like a meteor, and Arasaka Group’s drones were hit by electromagnetic bullets!

The once silent Taiping State, with the sound of raging flames, was once again replaced by the sound of engines revving, and the Mackinaws were moving again!

Heavy Hammer’s brain state changed slightly:

"This is interesting..."

...

Two bursts of fire ignited in the darkest part of Night City, visible even to those high up in Dog Town!

Crack——

Jack’s strong body pushed through the rubble, but his eyes were filled with blood, as if they were about to burst!

Hansen walked out of the rubble in a daze, greeted by a scene of chaos.

The terrifying shockwave had destroyed the high-end implants in his body, but these things barely saved him from death.

Half of his face was scarlet, blood seeping from the cracked skin, dripping down his limp arm. A despairing hoarse voice escaped his throat:

"My..."

His what?

Was it his Netherworld Dogs, who followed him to attack Night City but had transformed from a regular army into local warlords over the years?

Or was it his well-maintained outlaw haven, the world-class black market Dog Town?

This place carried too many of his emotions, and at this moment, he couldn’t say what exactly he had lost; he only felt desolate inside:

Things he cherished, worked hard for, which he thought had a certain scale, were nothing in the face of the corporation.

V pushed the wheelchair, Lille controlled the wheels with a burst of force, directly smashing through the steel bars in front.

Floating Shadow was really durable.

When Hansen suggested an elevation, as an AI, Da Mai realized it had to use all safety measures to protect the people in the car, performing a complete lockdown and full-speed ascent. Given how far they were from the blast center, they barely survived...

Yes, they barely survived.

Within a kilometer, such a thermo-baric bomb’s damage to the human body was fatal, without proper protection, death was certain.

To survive, one must be in a complex structured building or in a well-sealed enclosed space such as a vehicle or underground.

V shook her dizzy head; her eyes were also highly bloodshot, but unlike Jack, she didn’t need to exert herself immediately after being injured, so she looked better.

"...What was that thing, another bomb...?"

Lille’s situation was the best: his biological structure was down to just the brain, which was safely housed in a high-security artificial skull.

The functions controlling balance in the brainstem had also been completely overwritten, so he felt no discomfort.

"Hansen——"

"My...everything!" Hansen suddenly shouted, completely breaking down, "It’s all gone!"

"Snap out of it, your men can’t all be on the streets, right? Some must still be alive, and you’re still alive. Our mission..."

Lille had V turn him towards their previous destination:

Da Mai’s emergency measures had turned the vehicle into a sturdy iron shell. It withstood the first wave of impact, and the vector engine successfully crashed into a nearby building.

However, the top floor of this building was also blown off by the explosion, debris falling everywhere.

As for their destination, the thermo-baric bomb had completely turned it to rubble.

Red-hot rebar and concrete blocked the entrance like a graveyard.

Hansen looked into the distance, laughing self-deprecatingly: "HTB-57A Hell Storm thermo-baric bomb... Military Technology knows what I’m up to.

Looks like your plan failed, the Netherworld Dogs are finished. Even if a few survived, they’re just remnants. The company will soon capture this place...

I’m truly insane... perhaps I always was."

BANG!

Lille directly lifted the mechanical arm on the armrest and injected a concocted stimulant into Hansen!

One hand injected, the other grabbed his head, while auxiliary mechanical tools pierced his body!

The mechanical arms swiftly cut Hansen’s skin, connected to his system, and invaded his body——

Lille looked at Hansen: "Coward, I don’t have time for your nonsense. The car will start in three seconds. Now get up, take your men and pull out the weapons from the warehouse, and fortify the defense——"

He then pointed to the outskirts of Dog Town:

There, the Vortex Gang had regrouped, orange-yellow bullets and blue bullets were constantly firing from the ground, drones were taking off one after another, and the unique engine sound of the Mackinaw Mammoth was heard again!

No one knew if the Netherworld Dogs were finished, but the thing Hansen feared most had vanished:

A ragtag criminal gang, incredibly, still pointed their guns even after the company declared war!

This really broke the sky—ever since its establishment, Night City had never had its own defense force. It was either Arasaka or Military Technology. This was the first time!

Adrenaline injected, the brain excited by specific currents through the brain-machine interface, a powerful artificial heart resuming optimal function, blood gushing from a wound...

It was as if his courage surged back!

Lille’s voice rang out: "You know what I admire most about you? When you refused to follow orders and occupied Dog Town, there was no turning back."

SLAP!

Hansen slapped away Lille’s hand but, not adapted to his bodily state, fell to one knee, his face twisted in pain:

"You’re right—damn it, that bomb wasn’t on record, someone smuggled it in, it had nothing to do with me..."

Lille frowned, immediately thinking of who.

A ton-weight thermo-baric bomb had to have inside and outside assistance to sneak in, otherwise, there would always be traces.

"Hans..."

"Hans." Hansen looked up, "And... although your disguise was crude, the company would need some time to accurately judge the situation.

Now it seems they were prepared all along, they didn’t need to know where you were or where you’d go——

I never told the company about your matters! It was that old fox!"

V and Jack were stunned: Mr. Hans... Hans hadn’t shown any signs of selling them out all this way!

Unexpectedly, the cooperating middleman turned out to be the betrayer; the guy who had always been hostile ultimately stood with them.

Lille wasn’t too surprised: Hans betraying him or not was an uncontrollable factor; he could only think...

The world was complex.

Hans’s background was too mysterious, and their encounter too short for Lille to do anything meaningful. But Hansen...

Hansen, though a bit irritable, was straightforward. Lille knew the decision that influenced the bald brute’s life and his secrets.

Overall, the Dog Town mission left him little room and time for operation:

Time was money, and the company wouldn’t watch their money slip away.

During the conversation, the bald veteran quickly scanned the ruined destination and marked several entry points for Lille—

"These places have entrances, but I don’t know how to get in now."

"I know..."

Before Lille finished speaking, the sound of a floating car came from the sky again...

Before Lille could speak, Hansen furiously drew the revolver from his waist——

"Military Technology, fuck you!"