Chapter 102: Fierce Battle in the Subway

Outside the subway station, Militech forces had completely locked down the exits, requiring all who entered or exited to undergo inspection. Two Behemoth armored vehicles were parked just outside, with soldiers fully armed, each holding an Ajax assault rifle. Aside from regular soldiers, there was a giant with a heavy machine gun sitting on one of the vehicles, and within the patrol unit, there were also skilled marksmen equipped with Achilles precision rifles. Armored vehicles, high-tech weapons, fully equipped soldiers—this painted a grim and tense picture. Even those who initially had a bit of attitude found themselves growing quieter as they took in the scene. Human life is fragile—a small bullet can take a life, not to mention those advanced weapons. The good news was that Militech was somewhat restrained. Aside from these three elites, most of the soldiers were standard mass-produced models with moderate cyberware, and they hadn't deployed military robots or drones. The Mackinaw was circling nearby, blending in with the crowd of people hurrying home. "Militech isn't messing around this time," V muttered, swallowing nervously, though she forced a smile. But Leo remained calm—he knew the situation wasn't as dire as it seemed. A scene like this would intimidate 99% of mercenaries, so it wasn't surprising that V was getting nervous. "Don't worry, this is City Center—they have to exercise restraint. And there's more good news: the NCPD has pulled out, and Militech has split their forces. The other squad is about six minutes away by car. Once the fight starts, our hacker will breach the subway station's server. When Militech's forces are fully inside, we'll flank them from outside. Militech may be fully armed, but our firepower isn't lacking either. Considering the subway station's layout, we'll only need about two minutes of crossfire to wipe out everyone inside. Then, we retreat." Leo spoke calmly as he drove, simultaneously attempting to reverse-hack the municipal network. While the NCPD had cleared the backdoors at the traffic nodes, they hadn't altered the communication logic and protocols of the municipal traffic network—this was part of regular IT maintenance. By using the municipal traffic network as a stepping stone, as long as Leo ensured that every interaction with the communication network and data packets from vehicles stayed within safe thresholds, he wouldn't trigger any ICE. Of course, this required intimate familiarity with the hacking targets. The good news was that City Center wasn't lacking in standard logistics vehicles like Columbus Freight trucks, and there were even a few Mackinaws parked along the streets or in lots. "So, how are we getting out? Or rather, what's the plan after this?" "Once we save the targets, Militech will need some time to assess the damage, adjust their strategy, and then issue orders. And even after the orders are given, they'll need time to implement them." "So we use that time to escape? We'll have to flee to the Badlands, right?" Leo remained silent—running to the Badlands was indeed a safe option, but if they wanted to be even safer, they needed someone to take the fall. While they couldn't trace Leo through the cyber network, if they never found anyone, the problem would only grow larger. This couldn't be a cold case—there needed to be a clear suspect, even if it was just a red herring. Though Leo appeared calm on the surface, he was under immense pressure—the misleading suspicion chain had to stay intact, or else it would be game over with no second chances. So... at that moment, his plan wasn't to run. Suddenly, the soldiers outside the subway station started moving, and the crowd began to panic and scatter! Leo took a deep breath and issued the hacking command: "Begin the operation." Inside the subway, Maine and his team suddenly opened fire like cyberpsychos, immediately killing one Militech soldier, but the rest quickly retaliated, completing the encirclement. Maine's team hid behind concrete pillars in the subway, too afraid to show themselves, but all the soldiers inside had been drawn to them! David and Lucy's hearts raced as they ran frantically, just like panicked civilians, even brushing past two Militech soldiers! But there was still a soldier guarding the station control room! David and Lucy exchanged a glance and nodded simultaneously— As they passed the Militech soldier, David suddenly rammed into him—a move from his Strong Arms chip! But the soldier reacted swiftly, already under the influence of combat stimulants, which had been continuously micro-injected since the start of their shift. He countered with a strike from his rifle butt, hitting David in the face, but this gave Lucy the opening she needed— Her nearly invisible monowire wrapped around both hands, then hardened— Easily severing the soldier's arms! The ambush was executed with perfect coordination. After so many days on the job, David was no longer shocked by the bloody scene. Instinctively, he followed up with a jab, uppercut, and knee strike! Losing both arms, suffering massive blood loss, and enduring heavy blows—despite having a pain editor installed, the soldier's body couldn't take it. He barely felt any pain, but the massive blood loss quickly deprived his brain of oxygen—he slumped against the wall and collapsed. After all was done, David stood there dumbfounded, staring at the soldier who was gradually losing consciousness, unsure if he was having another episode or if the rifle butt had left him dazed. But Lucy didn't freeze. She immediately rushed into the control room—inside, a few staff members were cowering in fear. Lucy glanced at the electronic screen displaying the shift roster and quickly identified the shift supervisor. "Grant me access permissions—I need to perform a neural bridge." Not just a neural bridge, she also needed to delete all records from this station—whether or not they'd be traceable afterward didn't matter since Burgerking was handling things on the front lines. The trembling shift supervisor nodded, and Lucy used his permissions to access the subway network— Militech could physically block the subway station, but they couldn't lock down the network since the subway was owned by Arasaka. Within the subway, and even in the area outside the station, every camera and electronic device came under her control, and she handed off the permissions to Leo. It was a bit disappointing, though—since Militech couldn't access the subway's local network, they wouldn't be appearing on it either. But Lucy and David's task was complete. "We're in." "Go!" Seeing the Militech soldiers bunching up near the subway entrance, Leo decisively slammed on the gas and charged forward! All the hacked vehicles in nearby streets and parking lots roared to life, forming a steel torrent as they surged towards the blockade! The Militech soldiers patrolling the streets widened their eyes, completely caught off guard! It wasn't their fault—after all, these cars looked impressive, but they were just junk compared to the Behemoth armored vehicles! These dozen or so cars together weren't worth a fifth of a Behemoth! But what the hell was this? In an instant, V appeared on the bed of the Mackinaw, setting up her Nekomata— Her first target was the commander sitting inside the Behemoth armored vehicle. "Guess I'll start calling you the APC Slayer, this'll be the fourth Behemoth you've taken down..." Muttering to herself, V pulled the trigger— Terrifying electrical energy surged through the barrel. The squad leader, who had been directing the battlefield, felt his heart skip a beat. Uneasy, he looked up and saw a terrifying sight— Not far away, a Mackinaw's roof suddenly emitted a blinding flash! Bang! The bullet pierced through the strongest bulletproof panel along the entire route, then went through the squad leader's head—his head burst like a watermelon. All that was left on the seat was a charred black hole, with a faint blue trail lingering in the air... The commander's voice was abruptly cut off in the communication channel. Soldiers guarding the subway entrance witnessed the scene and shouted in panic over the comms: "Enemy attack! Twelve o'clock direction! It's a Mackinaw! The enemy's using a Nekomata!" Only a Nekomata could penetrate a Behemoth's armor from the front! But how were they supposed to respond? The commander was dead, no one was reacting, and the formation remained unchanged, only increasing the chaos. The soldiers instinctively sought cover, but they were clearly leaderless. Leo didn't choose to maintain distance and leverage the sniper rifle's suppressive power. Instead, he floored the gas pedal and charged straight towards the subway entrance! V kept her eyes on the soldiers hiding behind the concrete pillars, pinning them down so they wouldn't dare to peek out. The car surged forward, crashing through the blockade in an instant. Leo raised his hand and squeezed the trigger of the Yinglong— The soldiers thought they were safe behind the concrete, but they hadn't noticed the cameras locked onto them from behind! Bullets blossomed like flowers, tracing beautiful arcs through the air, striking the thinnest parts of the soldiers' body armor, piercing the fabric and penetrating their bodies. One shot even triggered an EMP pulse! V returned the Nekomata to her back and picked up the RPG— Now was the time to catch the enemy like turtles in a jar! "RPG!" ... On the other side of the subway, Maine's team was paralyzed by the hail of bullets, trembling behind their cover. Other than taking out one Militech soldier at the start, they hadn't fired a single shot! Rebecca screamed over the comms: "Maine! What the hell do we do now!!! You maniac!" The others' hearts were also racing madly— The Militech soldiers were executing a rotation of suppressive fire, advancing in an orderly fashion, with continuous firepower coverage, giving them no opportunity to counterattack. In no time, the shooting angles would leave them with no place to hide! Maine gritted his teeth—resolving himself to life or death: At this moment, the only thing he could rely on was that Burgerking would really support them, but until then, he had to hold out! Maine's arm transformed, revealing the missile launch system. With a loud shout, he extended his arm and fired! Boom! The missile launched, and a massive explosion erupted within the Militech squad—this kind of explosive works well in an enclosed space. But Militech wouldn't use it because any damage to the subway would require compensation to the Night Corporation. And they didn't need to use it— The Militech soldiers were affected by the shockwave, but the damage was minimal, after all, Maine hadn't even aimed properly. The closest one merely paused for a moment before rejoining the formation. The greatest injury was from a piece of concrete dislodged by the explosion, which dislocated one unlucky guy's shoulder. The explosion only stalled the gunfire for a moment, and it was just a moment— On the contrary, an electric-powered bullet severed Maine's arm! Those two precise marksmen with the Achilles rifles joined the battle, and the heavy machine gunner had already set up his gun! "Ah—damn it!" "Maine!" The squad members became even more anxious, but the enemy's firepower only increased— "Ahhh! Burgerking!!!" Boom! An explosion of fire appeared at the subway entrance, and several soldiers were blown back by the shockwave, crashing to the ground! A more powerful tungsten bullet shot from behind the machine gunner, tearing through the gunner's body and even destroying a large chunk of the staircase! The soldiers responsible for the blockade turned to look, only to see a big guy already aiming a Satara at them, with Jackie behind him, wielding a rocket launcher! Several grenades were also floating in the air— "Try this!"