Chapter 66

The construction site's excavation machine was activated, and a warning alert blared out, but it was quietly shut off. No one complained.

After all, a far more deafening noise was about to begin.

A heavy metallic roar echoed alongside the sound of air slicing through. Then, a thunderous grinding noise rang out as the machine tore into the hard earth.

Riding inside the excavation machine were five members of the 《Jackals》 and four from the 《Edgerunners》.

Jackie and Maine stood side by side with their arms crossed, glaring at the direction the excavation machine was heading. As leaders, they had chosen to stand firm and imposing.

"I'm going over the plan. We're drilling into the central underground sector of the Arasaka Tower. It'll likely open into a lab, the power zone, or depending on the angle, into the seismic support foundation. First, I'll jack into the mainframe and pull up Alt’s memory trace. After that, we aim for the 《Mikoshi》 sector and get a copy of 《Mikoshi》—doesn’t matter who does it. Worst case, getting the Soulkiller program alone is enough. Then we destroy 《Mikoshi》, Arasaka’s lifeline. After that, we get back here and take off in the car waiting from the 《Aldecaldos》. That’s all. Any questions?"

"Who's this Alt chick? No one told me anything about her."

"Alt is a netrunner from half a century ago, the one who created Soulkiller. Arasaka turned her into a memory trace, and she's been hiding beyond the Blackwall ever since. Just think of her as the ultimate netrunner. The data inside the 《Relic》 in my head—she’s Johnny’s ex."

"'Kay, you heard that, Kiwi."

『Wait, you mean that Alt Cunningham? The one they said rivaled Bartmoss back in the day? Bartmoss brought destruction, but Alt brought restoration. She’s the one who made the breakthrough called memory trace. No wonder no one could track whether she was dead or alive…』

"By the way, they found Bartmoss in a fridge at the dump. Guy was rotting. I gave his cyberdeck to Jug."

『Whaaaat!? That Bartmoss’ deck!? No way—I’m definitely checking that out later…』

Kiwi shouted in shock at Jackie's remark.

Lucy turned her gaze away, feeling a terrible premonition, and even Pilar, who wasn’t there, was burying his head in his hands.

The fact that Bartmoss’ cyberdeck had ended up in the hands of Jugra—now a walking nuclear warhead—was a nightmare for anyone with even basic netrunning knowledge.

She was a pure techie who built her own external tools to counter quickhacks, and an embodiment of paranoia who trusted no one.

Only a netrunner could understand the terror of crack&hack flying in faster than any human input. To them, a cyberdeck was like a cherished gun.

It wasn’t surprising they went pale, wondering just what Bartmoss’ beloved cyberdeck might contain.

"…So if we screw this up, Night City might be in serious danger, huh?"

"Nah, probably not. We've got Delamain, after all."

Jackie shrugged at Rebecca’s speculation and added a quiet “probably” at the end.

It had always been a battle they couldn’t afford to lose, but the stakes had just quietly gone up.

The air chilled colder than a ghost story in midsummer, yet the drilling continued.

To proceed swiftly, the excavation machine was running in overload mode. Thanks to Mitch and the others’ meticulous prep work, it operated smoothly—but it still took time.

There was talk of moving ahead without Vincent, but the machine hadn’t been injected with the collapse-prevention coating it was supposed to use. Just in case, that idea was scrapped.

Though the waiting time felt short, it dragged on, and the team began to grow restless—but their fighting spirit still burned like a campfire.

Everyone here could be called elite—honed by Jugra’s brutal missions. Even heading into the heart of a megacorp like Arasaka, they kept their cool.

"Haaah… If only David were here, this’d be way easier."

"It can’t be helped. For her, David’s the one and only person she can truly rely on… Though, I really don’t get how that turned into such warped affection."

"…Yeah. What the hell kind of upbringing makes a love-monster like that?"

Because they were girls in love with the same boy, they couldn’t quite empathize with Jugra’s way of loving.

Jugra’s feelings for David weren’t romantic. It was love for family, trust in a gem she’d polished from raw stone—a kind of friendship so deep it would forgive even betrayal.

"Yeah… you can’t really force things when she makes that kind of face…"

From an outsider’s perspective, Jugra and David’s relationship looked unbalanced.

Sometimes like a little boy proudly holding up his favorite hero figure; other times like a girl clutching her precious stuffed animal.

And yet, the feelings at its core were strangely adult—bordering on a parent's overprotective love.

Their mutual feelings pointed at each other but missed like 2D and 3D arrows forever out of sync. Their personalities kept things from changing too fast.

It was a strange codependent bond—one that left the two girls watching it feel unbearably frustrated.

Even if they were given the green light for romance, neither of them could just happily accept it, not with expressions like a pet owner giving away their dog.

"Well, guess we’ll talk about it once all this is over."

"…Yeah, you’re right."

The two of them made a plan they’d probably never get to fulfill, and turned their eyes to the excavation machine—and beyond that, the Arasaka Tower.

Only ten-odd minutes left until the breach. A short time, yet it felt long.

Even with 《Machine Dragon》 buying them time, Arasaka would have more than enough to regroup.

The tense minutes passed. Finally, the excavation machine let out its loudest screech of the day, broke through the wall, and hung its head as gravity took hold—its role complete.

Vincent, once employed by Arasaka, went ahead and reported that they’d smashed into the center of the underground foundation.

"There’s a maintenance ladder in the back. The lab sector’s above, and there’s a restricted zone wrapping around it. That’s probably where 《Mikoshi》 is."

"What about the mainframe?"

"It’s near 《Mikoshi》. I’ve got a good idea where—don’t worry."

After exchanging only the bare minimum of words, Maine, Rebecca, and Jackie took the lead, with Vanny scouting ahead.

They dashed through the wailing alarms and climbed the ladder toward the upper levels.

As the sound of gunfire gradually grew louder, Vanny moved ahead like a cat, creeping with fluid stealth.

Spotting a patrolling guard, she flashed a grin.

She kicked off the wall and leapt onto a pillar. Before passing overhead, she pushed off the ceiling, landed upside-down on the guard’s head, and twisted her body.

The sickening crack of a neck snapping echoed, and she dumped the body behind the pillar.

Rebecca gave a thumbs-up at the flawless execution, and Vanny smiled and returned the gesture.

Seeing the stealth kill, Maine realized she preferred a completely opposite method and changed up the formation.

He moved Vanny and Vincent to the front, advancing quietly with grapples and silent takedowns.

The flashy entry by 《Machine Dragon》 had served to force Arasaka’s guards into chaotic close-quarters engagements.

It was easy to catch the guards from behind when they expected enemies to burst out guns blazing. The 《Jackals》 handled everyone not grouped in squads.

"ORAA!! DIE!!"

A five-man squad took fire from a Defender and, trusting their quality armor, raised their rifles to return fire.

But their eyes were on Maine, the big guy, and they failed to notice Rebecca flanking them with her Carnage shotgun—armor tore apart in seconds.

One guard, in a desperate move, reached for a grenade—but his hands betrayed him, yanking the pin and dropping it at his feet, eyes wide in horror.

Lucy had deployed a forced self-detonation daemon, turning their last-ditch effort into an own-goal.

『Alright, time to go wild!』

As they neared the mainframe, the 《Edgerunners》 began their diversion centered around Maine.

With Pilar’s drones eliminating any worry about running out of ammo, Maine and Rebecca went full-on trigger-happy, rampaging without ever letting go of the trigger. Lucy and Dorio filled in the gaps, covering them smoothly.

The wide-open space of the research sector didn't hinder Maine and the others’ diversion at all. Even researchers who looked like non-combatants were mowed down by gunfire.

It was over in an instant—the rampage of the so-called elite mercs, worthy of the name "cyberpunks."

The mistake of diverting too many troops to deal with 《Machine Dragon》 had come back to bite them.

Vincent, the only one who knew the exact location, pointed the way. Vanny, darting ahead with nimble leaps, took point, and the group steadily advanced.

『There’s the mainframe! I’m calling in Alt! Cover me!』

『Leave it to me, hermano! Not that anyone can even get this far anymore—looks like the 《Edgerunners》 are doing a damn good job!』

『Hell yeah we are! You 《Jackals》 ain’t bad yourselves!』

『『Wahahaha!!』』

『You guys sure are getting along well…』

『You can tell just by looking.』

『Hoh? Even I got dragged into this. Should I take offense?』

『Alrighty then, back to work!』

『…So you were bothered by it, Dorio.』

Their noisy banter echoed as they moved ahead—so far, the path to 《Mikoshi》 had been smooth.

It wasn’t just that Arasaka had pulled its forces to respond to 《Machine Dragon》—the true cause of their downfall was sending elite cyberpunks hell-bent on killing from the start.

【Access port unlocked. Commencing system override… So this is the great Arasaka? How pitifully complacent.】

Alt’s voice echoed through the research sector’s intercom system, followed by several bursts of circuitry overload.

The source of the sounds wasn’t defensive fire—but panicked researchers who had chosen to hide rather than fight.

Vincent crawled out from the mainframe, wiping sweat from his brow, and exhaled as he confirmed the completion of the first phase.

『We’re finally at the halfway point. 《Mikoshi》 should be just past that gate. Alt, am I right?』

【…Yes. But that area appears to be restricted to internal access only. It’s sealed off. I can interfere up to the gate—but beyond that, Vincent, it has to be through you.】

『Heh, the ball’s been passed—now all that’s left is to dunk it into the goal. Let’s hurry. Time’s not on our side.』

『Leave the rear to me. Worst case, I’ll use Pilar’s drones as shields.』

『No, seriously—just take a shield from the start. I packed them, you know. I’ll send you a Militech Centaur shield, Maine.』

『Appreciate it. Got two?』

『Yep, one’s for Dorio.』

『Dorio, use my Defender. I’ll take the shield and hold the line.』

Pilar didn’t joke around with something like, “Now that’s what I call a real main tank.”

Not many would get the reference anyway—so it was an act of self-preservation.

He avoided the future where his joke flopped and he had to explain it.

Two Centaur shields dropped from the drone. Maine lifted them effortlessly with his brute strength, then planted himself squarely in the center of the open hallway leading to 《Mikoshi》, shields raised.

With their dependable rear guard in place, the others began marching toward the now-opening gates one after another.

Then, the final gate stopped—it didn’t rise, instead letting out a groaning, grinding sound.

『Alt?』

【…No good. The opening mechanism may be destroyed, or something could be jammed in there. You’ll have to force it open yourselves.】

『Alright, then leave it to me. I’ve got strength on my side.』

Jackie cheerfully stepped up and reached toward the partially opened gate. Just as his fingers brushed the edge—

Vincent’s left arm moved on its own, yanking Jackie’s jacket collar back.

At the same moment, the immobile gate suddenly dropped with a heavy crash, letting out a piercing metallic shriek.

【…Idiot. You almost crushed your partner’s fingers. Of course someone’s there. Right behind it.】

『Johnny? …Don’t tell me—it’s Adam—』

Before Vincent could finish saying the name, the gate burst open from the inside.

It had been a thick gate, so the fragments didn’t fly at high speed—but they still hit with the force of a punk’s body blow.

Jackie, who had been standing in front, shielded everyone behind, minimizing the damage.

But everyone present understood: it probably wouldn’t matter anyway.

Cloaked in a full cybernetic body glowing dull silver, eyes blazing red—the strongest mercenary of them all, Adam Smasher, made his entrance in spectacular fashion.

【To think you'd come back in this age through the 《Relic》… Looks like your instincts are sharp, Johnny boy. Seems like you got yourself one hell of a vessel.】

『【Adam Smasher!! After all these years, we finally meet again! I’ll bring you down—and together, we’ll move forward! I’ll repay you for that day, right here!!】』

【Bring it on, you half-baked wannabes. Show me what that power of yours can really do!!】

Johnny synchronized with Vincent, riding on his consciousness. Together, they began moving as one.

It should’ve been an impossible feat—but because they knew each other through shared memory, they could match their rhythm.

To settle a grudge born half a century ago—to take revenge for the death he’d suffered—Vincent and Johnny howled in unison like a roaring rock anthem.

The strongest merc in Night City—Adam Smasher.

The most dangerous tag team in Night City—Vincent & Johnny.

And now, the battle for the future began.