Chapter 235 - 236
Chapter 235: Brain Meltdown
“Hiss… huh~”
Jackie stood beneath an abandoned building, a cigarette between his lips, quietly watching the situation around Petrochem Stadium.
Beside him, Rebecca held a stick and kept poking Pilar’s head. Ever since Pilar had gained a “new neighbor” in his brain, he would occasionally drift into this absent-minded, spaced-out state.
Of course, only when it was safe.
“There’s movement.”
Jackie suddenly narrowed his eyes and spoke.
At his words, everyone gathered closer. This time, the whole group was present—Falco and Jessica included. Both of them had undergone plenty of cyberware upgrades.
After all, without at least some modifications, surviving the missions out in Nevada would have been impossible.
Falco had gone for a custom vehicle, while Jessica had chosen custom cyberware.
Pilar snapped back to his senses and slapped away Rebecca’s stick, his face full of irritation.
“That’s enough already. Every single day—are you done messing around?”
“Tsk tsk tsk. Don’t tell me you were doing something shameful with that new neighbor in your head? Ew~ self-love? Gross…”
Rebecca backed away from Pilar with a look of utter disgust.
Pilar instantly felt a vein pop on his forehead. Even if Rebecca wasn’t wrong, it was still infuriating to hear.
“Alright, you two, knock it off. The Voodoo Boys have started moving their equipment.”
Jackie cut them off, jerking his chin toward the entrance of Petrochem Stadium. A group of Voodoo Boys had already driven away the civilians. A massive cargo truck was parked at the gate, and they were loading something into it.
“That truck… isn’t it from the Animals?”
Jessica frowned as she stared at it.
“You recognize it?”
Jackie turned his head and asked curiously.
Jessica shook her head. “Not really. I quit a long time ago, and I’ve never had any contact with the Animals in Pacifica.”
“Is that so? Then let’s get ready and move.”
Jackie nodded and made the call. No one objected.
“Then get in.”
Falco tilted his head, signaling everyone to board. He was already in the driver’s seat. His ride had been replaced with a combat armored vehicle designed by PROJECT Corporation.
As Falco pressed a button and switched the vehicle’s mode, the engine roared like a beast, its sound tearing through the quiet night.
Boom!
The steel monster smashed straight through the barricading pillars and burst forward.
“What the hell is going on?!”
V, watching from the side, stared down in disbelief. She and Sasha had just reported the situation and were still waiting for instructions—yet the people below had already made their move.
“Looks like another corporate team. Their mission’s probably different from ours.”
And that was exactly the case. Jackie’s team had orders to attack if the Voodoo Boys tried to relocate—delay them, and if possible, destroy their means of transport.
“Damn it, it’s probably those Shadow Stream bastards! I’ll deal with them!”
Orestes cursed. Data began to flicker across his eyes, and in Cyberspace, countless Daemons surged forward, rushing straight at Jackie and the others.
If Jackie’s team could see them, they might have noticed subtle differences in the Daemon tech itself.
“Looks like prolonged contact with the Blackwall really did get them something.”
Roland said calmly, watching everything through Kelly’s perspective.
Faced with these Daemons tainted by the Blackwall, Kelly merely waved a hand. Instantly, torrents of purple data erupted around her, forming long spears that shattered the Daemons mid-attack.
The data followed the trail back to its source, surging straight toward Orestes.
As the purple data poured into Orestes’s brain, he froze in place, his eyes glowing violet.
Placide immediately sensed something was wrong. He rushed forward and slapped Orestes hard, sending him flying.
“Wake up, Orestes!”
Placide grabbed him by the collar and roared.
Smack!
Placide’s gaze sharpened as he looked down at Orestes—who had suddenly clamped down on his wrist.
“I see you, Placide. Second-in-command of the Voodoo Boys.”
“Who are you?! You’re definitely not an ordinary netrunner!”
Hearing Kelly’s voice, Placide’s eyes flew wide open. He had never encountered a netrunner who could control someone else so effortlessly.
“Orestes” released his grip and slowly stood up.
“You Voodoo Boys have no choice. Stay here and face the New United States. If you try to run now, death is the only road left to you.”
Placide’s expression darkened. Rage boiled inside him, but he said nothing. He knew the enemy’s capabilities were far beyond anything he had imagined.
Outside, Jackie and his team had already charged into the crowd, pouring overwhelming firepower into the Voodoo Boys.
To be blunt, these people were far weaker than Night City’s gangs. Living in Pacifica for so long meant limited access to cyberware—their main sources were Scavengers or smuggling.
Against Jackie’s squad, fully enhanced with PROJECT cyberware, it was nothing short of a massacre.
“We understand. Tell the people outside to stop. We’ll face the Militech forces here.”
Bridget suddenly stepped forward and spoke calmly.
“Bridget!”
Placide whipped his head toward her, shocked. Bridget showed no reaction at all, leaving Placide no choice but to retreat unwillingly.
“A wise choice.”
“Orestes” nodded, then went limp. Placide stepped forward to catch him—only to realize his brain had already been fried.
“A powerful cyber ghost.”
Bridget looked at Placide, who seemed genuinely shaken, and spoke quietly.
“What?!”
Placide’s face drained of color. In an instant, he connected Shadow Stream with Rogue AI, his expression turning grim.
“We’ve become their pawns. We have no choice but to survive… until we find Alt.”
Bridget shook her head, then instructed Placide to retrieve the equipment and speed up the deep dive to search for Alt’s presence.
...
Chapter 236: The Birth of Conflict
“The Voodoo Boys are dealt with. They shouldn’t be making any moves for now.”
Jackie walked over to Chris and spoke.
Chris nodded in acknowledgment. “Jackie, after this, take your people to the outskirts of Pacifica and keep an eye on the situation there. A few other squads will be operating at the same time. Don’t expose yourselves.”
“Surveillance? Has Militech made a move?”
Jackie looked at Chris with some curiosity. Back in Nevada, he had mostly worked under Chris, so the two of them were on fairly good terms.
“Yeah. New United States forces are about to reach the area around Pacifica. I need you to monitor what’s going on there.”
Chris answered plainly. There was no point in hiding it.
“Just surveillance?”
“Yes. Surveillance is enough. We need this New United States force to enter Night City.”
Chris crossed his arms and nodded.
“Got it.”
Jackie replied, then turned and headed outside to continue the mission.
...
On the outskirts of Pacifica, patrol troops from Northern California were wandering around the border zone in a lax manner, showing little sense of responsibility.
For a long time, neither the New United States nor Southern California had launched any attacks on Night City, and the garrison here had all but lost its vigilance.
Especially this time, the New United States operation was a covert one. They hadn’t made a big show of deploying troops in the open.
“Honestly, the people up top are something else. There’s no war here at all, yet they still send us out to stand guard. Damn it.”
One soldier complained, taking a deep breath, his face full of irritation.
“What’s so bad about that? Come on, man, this is Night City—one of the most prosperous cities around. Don’t tell me the sex dolls here are low quality.”
Another soldier bumped his shoulder and laughed.
“Screw you. I’m not like you guys. What do you know? I just want to get back and spend time with my daughter.”
The first soldier rolled his eyes and waved him off.
“Oh right, I almost forgot. You’re married now. You used to be the wildest one when we were out.”
“What do you know? When you’re out here, you don’t always have to follow the rules so strictly.”
“Oh? Look at you, suddenly getting philosophical?”
Whoosh—
In the middle of their animated banter, a sharp whistling sound suddenly tore through the air. Blood splashed across one soldier’s face.
His pupils shrank instantly. Without hesitation, he roared, “En—”
Whoosh—
Another bullet punched straight through his head, adding yet another corpse to the ground.
“Target eliminated. You may continue advancing. Area ahead is clear.”
“Copy.”
As the comms channel fell silent once again, more than a dozen figures slowly rose out of the darkness. The faint green markings on their bodies had dimmed completely, clearly a measure taken to conceal themselves.
These troops were part of the New United States’ BARGHEST unit. Along with BARGHEST, several other special forces units had entered Pacifica as well: the Peregrines, the Mad Bulls, the Skyhawks, and more.
Without exception, every one of these New United States units possessed terrifying individual combat capability.
While BARGHEST struck, the other special forces units seized the moment as well, launching their own attacks. In less than ten minutes, they wiped out all Northern California patrol units around Pacifica.
Some personnel were deliberately left behind, disguised as patrol troops to continue routine rounds and buy time, while the main force had already pushed past the outposts and gone quiet.
As if they were waiting for something.
“Commander Fidel, all units are in position.”
Inside an abandoned building in Pacifica, Hansen immediately sent a report to Fidel.
“Very good. Continue with your mission. Assemble the mortars and attack the checkpoint. Your strike will be the final signal.”
“Yes, sir!”
Hansen saluted toward the comms, then cut the connection.
“You all heard him. Get to work.”
At his words, Murphy and the others quickly dispersed, heading for the rooftop to begin assembling the weapons.
“Hansen, I need to talk to you.”
Farida suddenly walked up to him, her face full of concern.
Hansen looked at her, slightly surprised. “What is it? Go on.”
“Lindell’s mental state is starting to look unstable. I think you should report his situation to headquarters.”
“What happened?”
Hansen frowned immediately.
“In the last fight, he beat several Northern California soldiers who were already incapacitated to death with his bare hands. I know it was combat, but… this wasn’t just killing enemies. He was enjoying the act itself. I’m worried—”
“I understand. I’ll report Lindell’s condition. For now, though, you’ll need to keep him heavily medicated.”
Hansen’s expression turned grim. The last thing he wanted was a three-hundred-pound cyberpsycho suddenly going on a rampage inside his unit.
“Mm. After this operation, it’s best to send Lindell to the hospital. Some Cyberware has to be removed. He definitely ignored me and secretly installed something again.”
Farida nodded. Seeing that Hansen had taken her warning seriously, she turned and left to prepare a high-dose Inhibitor.
While they were talking, the mortar on the rooftop had already been fully assembled.
“Hansen, what do you think? Fire right away?”
Murphy turned his head and asked as Hansen walked over.
“Yes. Let Yuri and the others know to get ready to attack.”
Murphy nodded, then sat down behind the mortar and began making adjustments.
Before long, a shell was loaded.
At the same time, flashes of fire suddenly appeared on several other rooftops. Clearly, Hansen’s unit wasn’t the only one that had received the order.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Thunderous explosions echoed across Pacifica in an instant. Countless residents jolted awake in panic, only to see towering flames and thick black smoke slowly rising into the sky.
Inside the Petrochem Stadium, the Voodoo Boys all wore grim expressions.
“What was coming has finally arrived.”
Bridget gazed at the distant flames, her tone calm.
“Have everyone prepare to fight a guerrilla war inside the city.”
“Are we really going to fight the New United States head-on?”
Placide frowned.
“We don’t have a choice. If we try to leave, we won’t get far. All we can do is stall for time.”
Bridget glanced in the direction Jackie and the others had come from, then shook her head.
When Yuri saw the flames ahead, a smile spread across his face.
“Guys, it’s our turn to take the stage!”
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