Chapter 43

The Electric Corp's power plant was clearly crawling with people who didn’t look like employees—evidently occupied by an underground BD group called Deathhead.

I parked the Thornton quietly a short distance away, regrouped with Vally and Sasha who had arrived in a Delamain, and we began preparing for the assault.

『Requesting support, Delamain.』

『Understood... Just became available, so allow me to take my frustration out on them. Partial authorization unlocked. Deploying demon program. Breach protocol... complete. Sending PING. Cameras seized, dummy data swapped in. No turret data found. Facility takeover complete. Backdoor established... complete. I’ve marked someone resembling Evelyn. Enjoy your hunt.』

Watching the facility fall to a barrage of external hacking, we couldn’t help but let out a dry chuckle.
From their point of view, they were having their hideout taken over without ever realizing it—it might as well be a horror movie.
If there had been turrets, from the way things looked, Delamain probably would’ve gone ahead and dealt with them too.

...Now then, this operation is about securing Evelyn. No-alert, kill-them-all—same as always.

"…So, Vally, what is that?"

"This? It’s a pretty fun blunt weapon, but it looks like it uses non-Newtonian fluid inside—it hardens on impact. It doesn’t have a piston, but it does have a vibe function."

"Yeah, let’s not. That’s gonna ruin my image…"

Vally puffed out her cheeks with a pout and tossed what could only be described as an incredibly dangerous dildo into the back seat.

…Thank god Delamain has smoked windows. From the outside, that’d just look like a pervert’s private stash.

Instead, she pulled out from her Boston bag a thick black bat with a flat tip—wait, that’s not a bat!?

That’s a horse penis! The coloration shift at the base is disturbingly accurate!

It even has a handle—so that’s like a variant of the earlier dildo, isn’t it?

From a distance it might pass for a short novelty toy bat, but it's most definitely a vulgar weapon.
Given how you don’t see horses in Night City anymore, only people who’ve bought pricey animal encyclopedias would even recognize it.

"Okay, but this one’s better, right? It’s still rubber-based and filled with the same stuff, but it’s not a dildo, so it’s not embarrassing!"

Like she was wielding a hero’s sword, Vally raised it high overhead.

What do I even say here? Should I point it out?

But… Jack and the others don’t seem to have noticed…

…Well, I guess it’s fine like this?

Think of it as a weapon that’s super effective against people with too much knowledge—it’s kind of funny.

You could even call it an anti-rich person weapon in a way.

Besides, a teenager hyped up while waving around a weirdly specific animal dildo… that kind of fits. Yeah, I’ll let it slide.

"The surveillance cams and alarms are dead, so let’s start from the entrance with stealth kills. Vally, let’s move."

"Got it! Let’s tear it up!"

"Alright, Vally, I’m leaving Sasha’s protection to you. I’ll take rear guard and keep an eye out."

"Roger. If Evelyn’s being used for BD recording, I should follow as well. I’m counting on you, Vally."

"Leave it to me. My Nova’s gonna light 'em up."

With everyone prepped, the countdown for the enemy guards’ demise began.

We activated Team Holo and, after confirming everything, silently approached the power plant.

『Sending out PING... whoa, too easy... Delamain’s ICE-break demon is insane... Two at the entrance, one lounging in a ruined building above.』

『Let’s hit them simultaneously. Vally, take the one up top.』

『Roger! I’ll go boing boing~!』

Thanks to the custom legs made by Little Boss, she moved with such agility it looked like she had propulsion from her soles, bounding up the containers in an instant, closing the gap and launching a surprise attack on the guy lounging inside the broken-down building.

Her arms, also Little Boss originals, only looked slim—they were strong enough to easily tear through a car.

So even if the weapon she was swinging looked like a ridiculous adult toy, the results were still pure carnage.

Thanks to the rubbery surface, the blow that struck the nape of his neck landed nearly silently, causing the upper lookout to slump in his chair.

His cervical spine... no, even his back probably snapped. Yikes.

While watching that murder scene unfold, I popped out from cover and planted silenced Lexington rounds into the heads of the two guards at the entrance.

Few people have reinforced optical implants, and from this angle I could blow out their brains—guaranteed kill.

Just to be safe, I walked over and stomped on their necks. With the right angle and pressure, they snap easily. Die.

We stuffed the three bodies into a nearby trash container, then Vally and I took point as we began infiltration from the entrance.

Apparently, no one noticed the commotion up front. Two guys chatting about BD concepts near the power plant’s equipment got headshotted from behind.

Then Vally quietly broke their necks with her bare hands instead of using her indescribable blunt weapon.

『...You’re awfully experienced, Vitt. As expected from a shooting tournament champ.』

『Yeah, within thirty meters I won’t miss. Let’s keep it moving. They’re just scavengers—not a threat.』

『No, what you’re doing is basically special forces stuff. Normal people can’t do that.』

Now that you mention it, was I always able to pull off that kind of stunt?

As I hesitated to respond, Johnny suddenly rolled past in my peripheral vision—spinning around in an office chair with a smug look.

...Was Johnny helping us?

He came to a stop with a twelve-spin Axel and grinned.

【It’s that left arm you’ve got. It moves based on what you want to do with a 0.01-second delay—gives your actions a head start. It’s beyond high-end. It’s practically demonic... Well, that part hasn’t changed. Most of my rampages were because my left arm moved on its own.】

(This arm’s cursed or something, isn’t it...)

【It’s useful, so quit complaining. Anyway, shouldn’t you hurry up? You guys are being thorough, but that just makes you ripe for third parties swooping in.】

Leaving that behind, Johnny vanished from my view.

Annoying, but he had a point. I took his advice and sped up our clearing and cleanup.

...Maybe because I peeked into Johnny’s memories, his techniques and instincts are starting to become second nature?

Vally’s voice brought me back to reality—she’d found stairs leading to the basement. I checked behind us and descended.

We emerged into a freight area meant for power plant equipment and wrinkled our noses at the stench of blood. We understood why when we found corpses stripped of their clothing and discarded like trash.

Opening a barred gate, we ignored the horrid stench coming from the containers and pushed deeper inside.

"Still not enough meat for the delivery? You think there’s more stashed somewhere?"

"Just inject saline into the veins. By the time it gets there, we can just say it dried up."

Apparently, they were transporting bodies like scavenger material for underground BDs.

I glanced at Vally and gave a left-head turn—our silent signal.

I approached the guy on the right and sliced through his medulla with my mantis blade. From the left came the dull sound of something collapsing—seems like a solid blunt kill.

That worthless chit-chat ended up being their last words. Fitting, honestly.

We took care of three people loitering in what looked like a break room using quickhacks from me, Vally, and Sasha, and continued clearing as we moved forward.

Johnny clicked his tongue after seeing the area where victims were imprisoned for underground BDs.

【Leftover handcuffs that don’t even look like toys, blood messages from lunatics… Looking at this place brings it all back. That pointless, ugly war. Drafted without knowing a thing, handed a gun without being taught how to use it, thrown onto a battlefield to gamble with life and death. …Tch. Damn nostalgia’s getting to me.】

He kicked the barred bedframe and spat on the ground before vanishing.

That indescribable anger he left behind pushed me onward—we found stairs leading to the second basement level and my pace quickened instinctively.

『The scenery’s changed a lot. Looks like this is their work zone... No need to let any of them leave alive.』

『Yeah, showing mercy to scavengers is the real mistake. They should die in agony. They were worthless and just happened to be here—that’s reason enough. Scavs are scum. Kill them properly.』

『...Says the guy not even getting his hands dirty—you splattered him on the wall, didn’t you...』

The moment someone who looked like Yami Leopardoc entered her sight, Vally quietly kicked off the floor, closed the distance, and punched him with her right fist.

His head burst apart as if blown away by a high-caliber bullet, splattering across the wall like paint.

It must have once been a makeshift clinic; separated only by a flimsy plastic curtain that showed no concern for sterilization, the place was stained with dark red traces of the victim.

Sasha accessed a nearby computer, pulled the data, and wore a face like she had just bitten into something sour.

Well, no need to say what was on it, obviously.

They quietly took out each target one by one, until finally, they found their objective—Evelyn—lying on a bed in a room bathed in neon light.

A thick cable was connected to her neck, seemingly leading to some equipment set up behind the bed.

Sasha put on a cat-ear-shaped head device and began inspecting the machinery.

I placed my fingers against Evelyn’s neck to check her pulse. It was faint—far too faint to just be sleep. Something felt wrong.

Still, confirming that she wasn’t a corpse brought a wave of relief.

"Alright, done. Think about why you lost, okay? You can unplug her now. It's basically a kind of brainwashing device. She was made totally apathetic to the point of suicide—looks like we barely made it."

"No wonder all those ominous things were lying around. Once the brainwashing's done, she offs herself. That's why no one was around."

"Then we better prep to prevent that. Gag, tie her hands behind her back, and let's do her ankles too, just in case."

"You're scarily efficient, Vally… Well, it's probably the right call."

As I gave a wry smile at how quickly Vally had slung Evelyn over her shoulder and secured her, something round dropped from the ventilation duct—

【Told ya not to let your guard down, didn’t I?】

My left arm moved on its own, aiming the built-in launcher at the thing.

I reflexively triggered it with a thought, and an electromagnetically accelerated bullet shot out and pierced it clean through.

It exploded on impact, spraying shrapnel—but the spot it hit was obliterated before any fragments could scatter.

As I was checking the situation, my left arm gave me a sucker punch to the cheek, then in the next instant drew the Boulya from my waist and pulled off a quickdraw, riddling the vent with holes.

With a dull thud, the corpse dropped to the floor, wearing an outfit I’d never seen before.

A white mask modeled after a Hannya, Japanese armor I’d glimpsed once before—yes, it was samurai-style—and blue protective gear mimicking that. A short katana was strapped to the waist.

…No way, is that… a ninja!?

Could it really be one of those ninja experts said to live secretly among two percent of the Japanese population!?

『Allow me to clarify. That assassin was an agent of “Machine Dragon.” It seems they came to rescue that Evelyn Parker over there. However, it's meaningless now. The moment their surprise attack failed, they were done for. Acting hastily out of ambition was their mistake—how foolish. They practically admitted they weren’t a united front.』

Delamain had jumped into Team Holo’s channel and sharply explained the situation.

…So it wasn’t a ninja after all. What a shame.

Still… Johnny, sitting on the bed puffing a cigarette with that smug grin, was really getting on my nerves.

Sure, I owe it entirely to you that we avoided disaster, but seriously, wipe that look off your face. It's reminding me of my old boss and his passive-aggressive harassment.

【Those guys were up in the vents the whole time, you know. The duct kept bulging under their weight. And you idiots were just chilling like nothing was going on. I nearly burst out laughing. You’ve got a real talent for comedy—if it ever blooms, that’s when you’ll die. A-ha-ha-ha-ha!!】

Grrr… I want to retort, but he’s right, so I can’t say anything.

And the fact that only I can hear this moron's cackling is downright unfair. I seriously want to toss this chip out.

But if I pull it, I’ll die. Ughhh…

…Sigh.

"…Thanks, Johnny."

【Ha! So you've finally recognized my greatness, Vincent. You and I are in this together—don’t you dare die some lame death.】

"…I'll keep that in mind."

【In your case, you’d better engrave it on that mighty frankfurter of yours—then you won’t forget.】

No doubt about that. We both laughed, and I looked behind me, remembering where I was and what I was doing.

There they were, watching me with a warm gaze that said “Don’t worry, I understand, I really do”—as if their expression had sound.

…Still can’t get used to it. You’re not really here in this world… it’s just so—

Pulling myself together, I stuffed the wannabe ninja corpse—this so-called “Machine Dragon” agent—into a body bag and slung it over my shoulder.

Having physical evidence makes things easier to explain. Time to report Evelyn’s rescue and turn in this thing. That’ll wrap up today.

『Ah, by the way, Lady Jug will not be returning to the office today, so please store that trash in the freezer under the clinic. …I am going to sulk now. Good night.』

"What? Huh? Delamain? Delamaaan!?"

Delamain’s adorable voice, as they abruptly cut themself off from Team Holo with a “screw this” tone, stuck in my ears.

What in the world happened between them and Little Boss…? And isn’t it rare for Delamain not to accompany her on outings?

Lately, they’ve been practically glued together. Odd turn of events.

…Wait a second, is this outing with—David?

Oh-ho… so things are finally moving forward. David’s one lucky guy—first loves rarely work out like this.

I’ll have to teach him my 108 techniques next time we meet. Gotta help him become a real man.

【…Can’t imagine that girl forgiving herself so easily, though.】

"Cut it out, Johnny. Don’t go spouting ominous crap like that..."

"Even Little Boss has the right to be happy, doesn’t she?"

【Rights, huh… So what, you think happiness is sold at some kiosk? Who’s gonna guarantee something like that? In the end, that kind of thing can only be measured by your own damn ruler. …And what the hell can you measure with a broken ruler, anyway?】

Johnny muttered the last part so quietly it almost vanished, then fell silent after saying his piece.

All that was left was a bitter aftertaste, lingering in the air. I reached for a cigarette, more out of habit than need, and lit it.

I’d thought I’d grown to appreciate them to some extent—but right now, for some reason, it just tasted bitter.