Chapter 160: Preparations Complete
After leaving Night City, Zed and Jhin immediately headed toward a small base Roland had prepared beyond the Badlands.
At night, the Badlands were bitterly cold. Howling winds swept up clouds of yellow sand, giving the area an eerie, oppressive atmosphere. Beneath that sea of sand lay countless abandoned buildings.
Zed and Jhin approached the base in silence. But the moment they drew near, they saw bright lights shining outside.
The two exchanged a glance.
“Looks like someone found something they weren’t supposed to,” Jhin said.
He slowly crouched down, extracting components from within his body and beginning to assemble his weapon.
Zed glanced at him. “I’ll go check things out up front. You provide long-range support. It’ll also be a good chance for us to get used to working together.”
“You call the shots.”
Jhin tilted his head slightly and extended a hand in a courteous gesture.
In the next instant, Zed vanished from where he stood.
“Hey, boss! I told you I wasn’t lying! There really is some high-tech stuff here!”
A man wearing a blue-and-black jacket, his hair styled in green dreadlocks, excitedly ran up to a bald, burly man.
“Who would’ve thought you’d actually stumble onto something real…”
The bald man—called Boss—clicked his tongue in amazement and slowly walked up to the entrance of the small base built into the mountainside. A massive iron door stood tightly shut, with only an identity verification panel visible.
“Hm… This is probably some big corporation’s stash. Go on, see if you can crack it.”
“Got it.”
A man wearing a combat helmet nodded and stepped forward, plugging in without hesitation.
Then—
Bzzzt!
“Aaaahhh—!”
“What the hell?!”
Bashas, the leader of this group of Wraiths, jumped back in shock at the sudden scream.
Sparks burst from the back of the netrunner’s neck.
Realizing what was happening, Bashas immediately shouted, “Move! Pull him out!”
Several people rushed forward and dragged the netrunner away. The moment he was disconnected, thick black smoke poured from the back of his neck—he was clearly dead.
“Fuck. I knew corporate stuff wouldn’t be that easy to take,” Bashas cursed.
The base, having been forcibly accessed, reacted immediately. The quiet mechanical hum was replaced by sharp metallic clanging and the unmistakable sound of weapons being chambered.
“Go! Bring the explosives over here. Blow this damn door open!”
Bashas waved his hand, signaling them to toss the body aside, then barked orders at the rest of the crew.
The group exchanged awkward looks and scratched their heads.
“Uh… boss, we didn’t bring any explosives.”
“Damn it! Can’t you use your brains? Grenades, for fuck’s sake! And that rocket launcher we just got—drag it out here!”
Bashas was so angry his face twisted.
Focused entirely on the base in front of them, no one noticed a shadow silently closing in from the darkness.
“Look at them… they don’t even realize they’re about to die. Tsk, tsk.”
“…Shut up, Jhin.”
“Alright, alright. Only two real threats. The leader’s a sheep, and the other one’s a flailing mantis. The third target is northwest of you. One has a Sandevistan, the other has Berserk cyberware.”
“Shoot the one with the Berserk cyberware.”
The moment he finished speaking, Zed cut the connection. He didn’t want to hear Jhin ramble anymore.
It was always either sarcasm or creepy nonsense—he was getting tired of it.
Twin blades snapped out from his arms.
Shk—
“Tsk, tsk. Dead just like that. Talk about bad luck.”
One of the Wraiths shook his head while looking at the netrunner’s corpse.
“He wanted to make a name for himself. Guess he made a fool of himself instead.”
Another Wraith sneered as he helped carry the body, then crouched down to rummage through it.
“Hey, think we could sell this to the Scavengers for some extra cash?”
“Forget it. This thing’s completely fried. They deal in cyberware, not scrap. Don’t bother.”
“Still, maybe some of the other implants are usable?”
“This guy? Other than the netrunner cyberware, what’s worth anything? Don’t say I didn’t warn you—you might not even earn back the fuel money.”
“Shit… when you put it like that…”
Convinced, he abandoned the idea and tossed the corpse aside carelessly.
Still, he removed the netrunner pod. No harm in keeping it—maybe it could be fixed and reused.
Just as he finished and was about to call the others to leave, he suddenly realized he was alone.
“Hey—”
Swish—
...
“Boss, it’s all set.”
“Good. Everyone back up a bit. Blow this piece of junk door open!”
Bashas nodded in satisfaction and pointed, signaling them to begin.
Not far from him, a man wearing a skull-patterned bandana silently watched the scene.
As he took a few steps back, a red light suddenly filled his vision.
The next moment, his consciousness plunged into darkness.
Bang!
A headless corpse slammed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. Everyone nearby froze.
“Fuck! A sniper! Get—”
Bashas’s expression changed instantly as he shouted orders, preparing to send his men forward. The flash from Jhin’s shot was far too conspicuous, especially out here in the Badlands.
But before he could finish, his Sandevistan activated.
In that split second, a blade appeared inches from his face.
His pupils shrank violently as a single question filled his mind.
When did he get this close?!
Just as Bashas tried to pull back and counterattack, his world spun violently. He saw a headless body spraying blood into the air, one arm raised as if trying to do something.
That’s… me?
Thud!
Zed glanced at Bashas’s severed head in his hand, then casually tossed it aside and charged straight into the crowd.
With Jhin’s sniping support from afar, he tore through the remaining Wraiths like a tiger among sheep.
Swish—
Zed flicked the blood off his blades and slowly walked toward the base entrance. Jhin also approached from a distance.
Why didn’t Jhin snipe Zed instead? With terrain this open, it was a perfect shooting ground.
That was true—but having fought Zed before, Jhin knew exactly how terrifying he was. Against that ability, Jhin stood no chance.
Zed was even faster than Jhin, who specialized in evasion. He’d be killed before he could fire a second shot.
At that moment, the base doors slowly opened. One robot after another emerged, clearly triggered by the automatic defense system. After scanning the area and confirming there were no hostile units, they lowered their weapons.
“So these are the extras we’re working with?” Jhin asked, resting his weapon on his shoulder with curiosity.
“No. Those ones.”
Zed shook his head and looked toward four pitch-black robots standing in the corner.
“Tsk, tsk. Top-tier PROJECT assassination models. The boss really didn’t hold back.”
【Edge III Assassination Robot】
【Death Eye Assassination Robot】
【Shadow II Assassination Robot】 x2
Author's Note
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