Chapter 123: Manticore Falls

"EMP—" Bang! Before the pilot could finish his sentence, his head was blown off by a single shot! At this moment, the entire MaxTac team on duty was down, leaving only this unlucky pilot! With one shot, the pilot was eliminated, and the Manticore veered sharply. Leo, carrying V and Jackie, made a powerful leap! Bang. "Holy..." Jackie was dumbfounded. Even though the Manticore was already close, it was still about 10 meters away! Carrying two heavy people like them and still making the jump—was this even human? Oh, maybe it wasn't quite human anymore. Jackie was placed on the edge of the Manticore's deck. "Bro... say something, I'm scared." Leo remained silent, tearing open the cockpit door and plugging in his personal link. The Manticore quickly activated its assisted flight mode, stabilizing in the air. Then, he pulled out a few syringes from his tattered clothes, giving each of them a shot. V suddenly opened her eyes wide— "Bring it on!" Bang. V bumped into Leo's shoulder, feeling dizzy. Leo quickly shut down all of V's cyberware— He had hacked the cyberpsychosis system before and could tell what was going on. When the cyberware no longer operated at high frequency, forcing the body to overreact to mental demands, cyberpsychosis would quickly subside. Luckily, V's cyberware and body had both reached their limits when she went berserk, preventing her from fully descending into madness. Just a little more, and both Jackie and V would have been done for. This time, they truly walked on the edge of death—every single one of them. Leo felt a bit of fear in hindsight, but his hands didn't slow down. "V! You're awake!" Jackie shifted his position, the medication kicking in. Although most of his bones were broken, his load-bearing bones were mostly cybernetic, so overall, he was still intact. With the pain numbed, he could barely move. V, still dazed, looked at Leo's eyes and froze. "V, don't be scared, this is Leo. Damn, you should've seen how badass he was..." Jackie suddenly paused: The moment he started explaining, V leaned toward Leo. She rested against Leo's body, seemingly letting out a sigh of relief. "I... I thought you were dead." "Why would you have such a stupid thought?" A moment of silence. V lifted her head, looking at Leo, and suddenly smiled, "You son of a... You had me thinking I'd wasted 700 grand." "...That's the first thing you say?" Leo, annoyed, turned back to fiddle with the controls, saying, "Do I look like someone who would skip out on a debt? Don't worry, I won't die before paying you back. And look at this—we've got a Manticore now. Though it won't last long, it's ours for now." V leaned against the Manticore's wall, barely standing, muttering to herself so quietly that no one could hear: "Maybe it's better if you keep owing me..." "Hold on tight!" Leo suddenly said, "Burgerking Big Shots Squad is back in action—enemy Manticores will be in sight in 30 seconds! Jackie, V, get ready! I mean, get ready to record some cool shots!" Jackie and V grinned, waving their fists symbolically: "Let's kick some ass!" ... "It was an EMP! The communication channels were hacked! Didn't anyone notice? MaxTac has gone dark!" The Militech commander's angry shout carried a hint of fear. What the hell is going on? MaxTac can't handle this? But the last communication indicated they had already taken one of them down! "Circle around the back; I want to see what's going on! Get HQ to send more reinforcements!" "Sir, our comms system is down!" "This is a Manticore! Reboot, do you understand? Reboot!" As a Militech combat series product, the Manticore naturally had backup plans for dealing with EMPs. After encountering an EMP, it would activate backup circuits. The backup circuit was smaller but protected by shielding. So, an EMP of this scale would indeed trouble the Manticore, but it wouldn't take it down. At worst, it would reboot with reduced power and functionality. The pilot knew this too, but he was panicking, really panicking. At this point, it wasn't just beyond control; it was beyond comprehension. MaxTac was backed by top-tier cyberware and riot gear from the best corporations— Even if the company was holding back, not giving out true T0-level gear, at least it was T0.5 or T1 level. And with top products from various companies combined, they were nearly invincible. But this time, they had gone silent. Not only were they physically defeated, but they had also disappeared from the network. MaxTac's hacker had his brain fried, and Biotech's hacker likely died in his chair too. Then came the EMP. Combat skills, tactical abilities, and technical prowess—the opposition had displayed extremely high proficiency in all these areas! NCPD and the big five corporations had realized that this was beyond what could be explained as a small-time break-in. Some were even considering the possibility of a fifth corporate war— But there was just too little information. Well-informed corporations had already received reports of a humanoid monster and were beginning to stir— They weren't here to cooperate. "This is MaxTac HQ, dispatching more reinforcements." "This is Militech Regional Command, deploying more troops for lockdown." "This is Arasaka Regional Command, sending support units." "Yes, the more reinforcements, the better! Should've done this from the start!" The Manticore's commander used curses to mask his inner unease—he had even forgotten that before the mission began, he had boasted that they didn't need so many people. The Manticore rounded the corner— He saw the MaxTac Manticore heading toward him! "MaxTac, what the hell are you doing—what is that thing—get out of the way!!!" The commander's voice turned shrill— He saw a shadow on the wall, clinging to it, effortlessly leaving cracks in the reinforced glass, moving with incredible speed— It wasn't until the thing jumped that he realized in terror that it looked like a Lizardman!!! The Manticore started to evade, but Leo shot out a web and yanked hard! Bang— Leo grabbed the edge of the Manticore, his cold eyes locking onto the commander— "Ahhhhhhhhh!" The commander screamed in terror, pulling the trigger, but his cybernetic eyes went dark— Claws pierced his abdomen and yanked—he was gone, and Leo was in. The pilot's face turned pale—what the hell is this thing?! Squelch! Claws tore through the seat, shredding his chest! [Lizardman Serum: Inducing bloodlust and berserk effects] [Heart of Evolution: Cognitive effects neutralized] Leo, unaffected, began hacking the Manticore—two Manticores secured! "So now what? We're just gonna fly off in these?" V's voice came through the comms. "Of course not." Leo quickly set the autopilot, with both Manticores flying in parallel, then jumped back. "Look around; it's all dark—and it's going to get darker on the way. But the Manticores are too conspicuous. Flying these things, we'd be chased to the ends of the earth." He pointed toward Heywood— "Our Mackinaw is still parked over there; we're heading back." "Driving the Mackinaw back?" Jackie and V exchanged strange looks— If they managed to drive that Mackinaw back... That Mackinaw would become a living legend. Leo looked up, seeing black dots rising in the distance—it was the company and MaxTac's Manticores. "Time to bail." Leo hoisted V and Jackie—along with a large makeshift sack of military-grade bulletproof fabric from Militech off the ground. "What's inside?" V patted the bag, which felt hard. "...The objective, plus some restricted biotechnica components." Jackie and V exchanged a glance—they were getting familiar with Leo's style. Someone's in for a bad time. Shooting out a web, the three of them swung away, disappearing between the buildings. "Militech asset, Manticore floating armored personnel carrier #0345, suspected hijacked." "MaxTac asset, Manticore floating armored personnel carrier #0014, suspected hijacked." "Target sighted, locking on." The Manticore's windshield was made of one-way transparent material, so no one outside could see inside the cockpit. To the two incoming support Manticores, these two missing assets seemed to be making a break for it. Suddenly, the two Manticores braked sharply and then accelerated straight toward them!! The change was sudden, but the Manticores accelerated rapidly, flames spewing from their engines! Bang! The leading Militech Manticore didn't react in time and was directly hit! MaxTac was luckier, but it still took a massive hit, losing control in mid-air, nearly crashing! As the Manticores collided, the set program triggered, causing the engines to overheat and explode! Three Manticores plummeted toward Corporate Plaza, with two of them still on fire, like flaming balls! The soldiers in the plaza were stunned—this scene could be seen from miles away. It's safe to say, Night City was in shock. Quick-thinking commanders urged their soldiers to take cover, and the once orderly Corporate Plaza suddenly descended into chaos as soldiers scrambled to find shelter— But the Manticores weren't just falling straight down; they were still spinning at high speed! In the dark Corporate Plaza, the burning Manticores performed a final, fiery dance before crashing to the ground! Many soldiers were crushed by the crashing Manticores, and the Behemoth armored vehicle was also hit— Flames erupted! Boom! After the explosion, soldiers looked up in bewilderment at the chaos around them, their minds blank. Some observers seemed to have seen something before all this—something with a tail jumping onto the Manticores? But the confusion didn't last long. "...NCPD emergency alert, suspected sighting of wanted vehicle, red-black striped Mackinaw, on the outskirts of Heywood. Nomad riot—requesting support to intercept the target!!! Damn, the Nomads... the Nomads have gone crazy!!!!"