Chapter 104: Polar Reversal

Inside the subway, David and Lucy also received a message from Leo: Leo: "You two find a way to hide. You're not the main target, so just run wherever." Lucy: "Got it—close out the payment." Transfer: +20,000 Eurodollars. Lucy and David quickly slipped out—there wasn't a soul outside the subway station, and the nearby streets were just as empty, save for a few cars abandoned by their owners. If they wanted to hide, they could easily find some secluded corners to lay low. After all, they weren't the primary targets. As long as they weren't caught by Militech, even if NCPD found them, the worst that could happen was getting a slap on the wrist. 20,000 Eurodollars... Not bad. Lucy glanced at David beside her—he was still giddy, clenching his hands with excitement. Clearly, he was still riding high on the thrill of taking down corporate soldiers—wondering if his hands were glowing in his vision or something. He didn't even ask about the money. Lucy felt a wave of irritation. "Stop acting like an idiot, will you? Why didn't you ask me about splitting the money?" David blinked, confused. "You're the one who handles that stuff." "...Aren't you afraid I'll just take it all?" "I trust you," David said, scratching his head. Lucy stared at David for a while, then sighed. Fine, she thought, I'll keep splitting the money with him. Can't have this fool getting himself killed because he didn't have enough for implants. "The payment was 20,000 Eurodollars—half for each of us. But just this once." David's eyes lit up instantly. Before he could start celebrating, Lucy grabbed him and pushed him down— The two of them were hiding behind a trash bin. A Behemoth armored vehicle roared past. The beast itself was terrifying—impossible to stop or even scratch. But what followed was even more frightening— Militech's Scorpion aerial armored vehicle. It was a modified version of the hover tanks used by the Anti-Terror Squad. The massive machine gun on the front of the armored vehicle fired continuously, leaving gaping holes in the ground and in cars. The sheer force caused even the Behemoth to shudder, its thick armor plating dented and eventually breached. Burgerking really went all out this time... But how long would it take Militech to realize they were chasing an empty vehicle? As the hover vehicle flew away, David nervously asked, "Do you think Leo and the others will make it out okay?" Lucy shook her head. "I don't know, but that guy is something else." How can the bottom tier fight against the top? Just thinking about those megacorporations made her shudder. Arasaka was Lucy's nightmare—a terrifying enemy that made her tremble just thinking about it. And Militech? It was the titan that defeated Arasaka in the last corporate war. Facing enemies like that, she couldn't even think straight—and she knew she wasn't the only one with that problem. But now, Leo was dancing on the edge of a blade against such titans. How the hell does he do it? David's thoughts were much simpler: This guy is freaking awesome! ... Colonel Hardy was furious— The squad tasked with securing the subway had failed, not only failing to complete the mission but getting wiped out! And two Behemoth armored vehicles had been stolen! These two beasts were rampaging through City Center, and now the NCPD and other corporations were applying pressure— How are they supposed to do business with things in this state? The City Council and City Hall were pushing back harder than ever—this time, they were united! Who was it that said no one would break in, that this was a massively advantageous lockdown??! "Lieutenant Morell, you have to intercept them! What's the situation?" Colonel Hardy had lost his cool, now calling his subordinates by name. Lieutenant Morell: "We've received information from the Yorinobu Group. The subway has been reactivated, and there are passenger signals inside the Behemoth vehicles—" "But if the enemy has broken into the Behemoth's ICE, those could be false signals. But we can't rule out the possibility that they're real." Colonel Hardy: "What about the NCPD? What did their cameras capture?" Lieutenant Morell: "The enemy has commandeered several civilian vehicles, but there's one with unusual movement—a black-and-red-striped Mackinaw pickup. Major, we have four targets to track. We might not have enough manpower." The subway, two Behemoth armored vehicles, and a...Mackinaw pickup?!! Those maniacs from yesterday came back??! Colonel Hardy found it absurd—everyone assumed those guys had fled, but here they were, back again? And because the enemy had split their forces, Hardy was now struggling to keep up. Militech wouldn't give him more resources! The authority level of this operation wasn't even that high! But the forces he could command were still two platoons! This manpower should have been more than enough to handle the situation, but now it wasn't! The problem now was that an entire platoon had been killed! "Damn it, damn it, damn it!" Hardy yanked at his hair, "You've got a Scorpion—make sure you catch them!" Lieutenant Morell: "Understood." But despite her quick agreement, Lieutenant Morell was in a bind. Where would the enemy be? Or was there someone in every vehicle? In terms of safety, the subway would be the fastest, but it was also the easiest for the NCPD to catch. But could the NCPD really stop these madmen? Next was the Behemoth—this armored vehicle had massive power; driving through Night City's streets was like a bulldozer. Both the NCPD and their own forces had limited ways to stop it. If they could get more resources, they'd have more options, but for now, she only had one sniper to work with. One squad to assist the NCPD at the next subway station, a sniper with a team to intercept the Behemoth, and another squad to take the Scorpion. She had no choice. At least the Scorpion alone could chase down a Behemoth—that was already good news. "Prepare for engagement. Whoever's chasing us, show them what we've got—take down this group, and Militech's out of people." Leo, driving the car, received a warning from Lucy. A Scorpion appeared on the street—but luckily, it chose to pursue the Behemoth. Splitting up was inevitable, and it was a deadly move. The problem with Biotechnica was fundamentally Joanne Koch's fault—even if she pushed the blame onto Emilia Morton, it was still a personnel issue. The corporation wouldn't allocate too many resources to deal with this. So Koch used her connections to mobilize some corporate resources to carry out the purge. From deploying operatives, framing Morton, to locking down the subway and finding reasons to eliminate witnesses—it was all brutal moves. But every time, she was just a little off. And that small gap made all the difference. If Project Nightingale were truly exposed, Militech wouldn't expend many resources to protect Koch or Biotechnica—they were partners, not tied together. The reputational impact of Project Nightingale on Militech was insignificant: Militech had waged countless wars; did they care about a bit of collateral reputational damage? Militech was even the client here—no need for a big operation. They could easily blame Biotechnia, saying it was their unauthorized, illegal experiment. After all, they were the boss, and Biotechnica would have to take it. This is why, even in the game, after Koch successfully eliminated Morton, Murphy, Kuno, and Mendoza, she still had to hide in a hotel, not in the corporate tower, where she could be protected. In the game, even V only asked for a little over ten thousand eddies to walk up and take her out, with only a few elite mercenaries as her protection—as if no one cared about the fate of a megacorporation's regional director. If things went south, the company would cut ties and punish her, not help her solve the problem. This division of forces was the turning point—Militech's forces, concentrated together, were troublesome, but spread out, their odds decreased significantly. The better news was that with the situation like this, Militech wouldn't ask for NCPD's help, and NCPD was happy to stay out of it— The problem now had become Militech's personal problem—they had failed to lock down the area, hadn't eliminated the targets, and now the terrorists were joyriding in their vehicles around City Center! Even if NCPD did intervene, it would be at the behest of other corporations or the city authorities, just to see what had Militech so panicked. It was clear that Militech's operatives didn't want this situation—they were already in over their heads, dragged into the mess. So, on a higher level, Militech's operatives were now the ones holding off NCPD, preventing them from getting involved. Leo's actions—hacking Militech's ICE, pulling out a Nekomata—gave Militech and Biotechnica every reason to suspect other corporations were involved, perhaps Arasaka. Arasaka, not knowing the full situation, was happy to see Militech stumble and might even support the city in pressuring Militech—these were, after all, all within reason. Sure, Militech is powerful, but allowing them to handle the security of the Badlands was already a big concession. Now they're deploying multiple combat units into the city—isn't that a bit too much? But this attitude only makes Militech more suspicious that Arasaka is behind it. Petrochem and Kang Tao? They're just watching the show, but that doesn't clear them of suspicion either, especially in Arasaka's eyes, where these two companies are likely culprits. It's like a game of Werewolf—if it's not me, then it must be one of you, right? But hey, don't get too comfortable; I'm not a good guy either. So naturally, these two companies suspect Arasaka of stirring the pot. After all, in the last corporate war, it was Militech that hired terrorists, so Arasaka hiring someone to mess with Militech now seems perfectly normal, right? Arasaka is dead set on seizing this opportunity to deal a heavy blow to Militech. The result? Arasaka applies pressure, other corporations remain silent, waiting to see how things unfold. In the end, the higher-ups in the corporations are just playing their games, and getting them to share information? That's not going to happen—not yet, anyway. It's a fact that the lower levels can't unite. But that doesn't mean the higher levels are a solid block either—finding the right gaps, applying force in the right places, and prying those gaps open might just be the way to survive. The Mackinaw rolled slowly down the empty street. A hundred meters ahead, an Emperor 620 Ragnar Militech armored vehicle burst out of an intersection. Following close behind were an Octant heavy drone and three Pterodactyl light drones— "...The key to solving this problem lies right here—" Leo pulled out the Yinglong, signaling to Jackie and V to get ready to open fire. Both of them had already switched to the freshly calibrated Achilles precision rifles— "Fire!"