Chapter 245: The Shit-Stirrer
As night fell, most of Pacifica sank into darkness. The city government had cut the power, and with war underway, those still inside didn’t dare light fires to illuminate the streets.
The only places still lit were the zones controlled by the New United States, as well as those held by PROJECT and the Night City forces.
Shadow Stream’s headquarters was underground, so no light could be seen from the surface.
Outside the New United States’ perimeter, a squad had already silently moved into position.
“Sir, how are we getting in?”
V looked up at the towering walls ahead, the infrared-equipped automated machine guns, and the soldiers stationed above.
Zed merely glanced at her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Don’t panic. Don’t resist.”
As he spoke, a pitch-black opening appeared beneath their feet. The ground seemed to dissolve, and they began slowly sinking into it.
V’s eyes widened. As the darkness crept up toward her face, she instinctively held her breath, afraid of inhaling whatever surrounded them.
A moment later, her vision flickered—and light flooded in.
Zed’s hand tightened slightly on her shoulder, signaling her not to move.
“Relax. We’re inside their warehouse.”
V quickly scanned her surroundings. Cold steel walls. Crates of weapons and equipment stacked everywhere. Drones passed overhead from time to time, sweeping the area with scanning beams.
“Activate your cloaking devices. Move out and locate the primary targets.”
The Shadow Stream operatives nodded and dispersed without hesitation.
Only V remained standing there, momentarily stunned, staring at Zed—clearly unsure what she was supposed to do.
“This mission is yours to complete alone. I won’t be by your side. Don’t expose yourself.”
With that, Zed melted into the shadows.
V’s mouth twitched.
Still, her hands moved quickly. She activated her cloaking device and slipped out of the warehouse during a gap in the drone patrol.
Once outside, she immediately spotted New United States mechs and heavily armored soldiers patrolling everywhere. She ducked into cover and began observing, searching for areas where high-ranking officers might be located.
As for Zed, he headed straight toward the central command camp.
Leaving the mission’s success entirely in V’s hands?
Of course not.
He had only brought her along so she could experience infiltration firsthand. As his apprentice, she needed to understand what real infiltration felt like.
He would be the one completing the core objective.
“Kelly, mark the locations of their senior officers. Share them with the others. Highlight the highest-ranking one for me.”
“Got it.”
Kelly quickly began transmitting the data.
“Prepare to launch a cyberattack on their officers.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve got it.”
Her role this time was support—create chaos, disrupt systems.
Soon, a ghostlike figure slipped past every patrol unit and reached Fidel’s command center in an instant.
At that moment, Fidel was speaking with Myers.
“President Myers, Hansen’s side is ready. Supplies are nearly finished loading. Once the operation concludes, we can withdraw immediately.”
“Good. After Hansen launches the attack, board a plane and leave first. I have another assignment for you.”
“Understood. I’ll coordinate with my adjutant now.”
“Mm.”
Myers was about to end the call—
“Behind you!”
A figure suddenly appeared behind Fidel.
Slash—
Thud.
As Fidel turned his head, an orange flash sliced through the air.
His vision spun violently. In the corner of his sight, he saw a body collapse.
That body looked familiar.
That’s… mine?
Then everything went dark.
Watching through the live feed, Myers’ expression turned extremely ugly.
“Who are you?!”
“Shadow Stream sends its regards, President Myers.”
Zed placed a hand over his chest and gave a slight bow.
Myers nearly exploded with rage.
This was a blatant provocation—a direct slap in the face of the New United States.
Kelly, observing everything through Zed’s perspective, sighed and immediately launched a full-scale assault on the local firewall. At the same time, she intercepted all outgoing communications, preventing news of the situation from spreading.
“You’ve really dumped a huge mess on me.”
Zed ignored her complaint. He crouched beside Fidel’s body and removed the chip from his head.
Far away in the presidential office, Myers slammed her fist onto the desk, her face dark as she began analyzing who could be behind this.
She knew of Shadow Stream. A recently notorious assassin organization. As long as the price was right, there was no one they wouldn’t kill.
Many major corporations had already lost high-level executives to them—including PROJECT.
Of course, what they didn’t know was that those “PROJECT casualties” had actually been corporate spies from other companies. A simple information gap.
“PROJECT Corporation? Arasaka? Night City’s factions? Or North California…”
Myers’ eyes grew colder as she ran through the possibilities.
Meanwhile, outside Pacifica, chaos erupted within the New United States forces.
Officers of even moderate rank were suddenly hit with coordinated cyberattacks.
The military’s own netrunner teams scrambled to respond, sweat pouring down their faces—but their efforts were like pouring a cup of water on a forest fire.
The entire camp descended into disorder.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Shadow Stream operatives swiftly eliminated their assigned targets.
V also successfully took down an officer.
Once everything was complete, Zed led the team out, leaving behind nothing but a camp in utter disarray.
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