Chapter 147: A Stone Falling on the Lake

"Attention to all external NPCD personnel: a potential Cyberpsycho has been spotted at Highway 3 intersection." In an instant, the machine gun turret turned the thugs in the car into Swiss cheese. The squad leader breathed a sigh of relief, ready to yell at the big guy, but then he saw him stride over to the machine gun turret and tear off the MK31 gun with one hand! Bang, bang, bang, bang— The heavy gunfire instantly took out the unprepared squad members. The squad leader quickly hid behind a concrete block, but the MK31 bullets were rapidly eating away at his cover. Militech enforcers are specialized in enhanced physique and defense—essentially firepower specialists. Facing one, the squad leader was pinned down by the MK31's terrifying firepower. He noticed not far away, a trembling security guard was picking up a rifle. "#8959, fire now! Can't you see his back is turned?!" Soldier #8959 shuddered, raised his Ajax rifle, and popped his head out from cover—bullets flew out in a frenzy. But the enforcer, being enhanced, had impressive subdermal armor. The bullets pierced his bulletproof vest but merely clinked off his armor beneath. The enforcer turned around and blew off his colleague's head! The squad leader, sensing an opportunity, prepared for a sneak attack—but the enforcer reacted far faster than he expected. Overdosed on stimulants, his strength and speed were massively amplified! The squad leader lifted his head and saw that the enforcer had been firing the MK31 one-handed the entire time, while his other hand was already aiming a Crusher shotgun at him. Bang! Half of a corpse fell to the ground. The crazed enforcer scanned the surrounding carnage, his mind growing more confused. Wasn't he supposed to be on patrol? Not going on a killing spree. How would the company deal with this? The dreadful consequences were something he instinctively didn't want to face. His cybernetic body and brain entered a strange synchronization. It's said that when people face something they don't want to confront, their brain triggers a defense mechanism. In that instant, the enforcer's surroundings transformed in his mind into a war zone. His dead comrades were killed by enemies, and the burning civilian cars were armored vehicles! He jerked back behind cover, nervously scanning his surroundings. Then, a distant engine roar grew louder—a powerful and high-pitched sound. It wasn't just a car; it was a swift, agile combat vehicle! He lifted his head. An armored vehicle fully decked out in weapons was speeding toward him! Bullets fired from its turret curved in mid-air, passing over cover and hitting his body. These bullets didn't cause pain, but it felt like they had eyes. They instantly reminded him of KangTao's smart bullets. Those "enemies" were soon dressed in KangTao gear in his vision. He lifted the MK31, ready to shoot, but his hydraulic joints, stimulant injectors, and cybernetic eyes all malfunctioned simultaneously, leaving him paralyzed! Bang! The speeding armored vehicle crashed through the wreckage, hitting him hard! Amidst the debris, a bloodied man struggled to crawl out of his burning car, staring dumbfounded at the scene. The Cyberpsycho was thrown into the air. Smart bullets triggered an electromagnetic pulse in mid-flight, causing his entire cybernetic body to emit sparks and black smoke. Yet despite this, the Cyberpsycho got up again, his joints twisted in unnatural ways. Bang! A massive bullet shattered one of his fragile joints. From a distance, Navi, perched at a window, had just fired his first sniper shot with a Nekomata Sniper Rifle. The recoil shook his shoulder painfully. Jackie patted his shoulder. "Nice shot, you hit the target." Leo said over the comms to the driver, "Did you hear that? The target is neutralized. We're done here." "Got it. You guys are quick; Militech's gonna lose it soon. That Cyberpsycho was taken care of in just a few minutes." A Columbus freight truck arrived through the breach, and the driver swiftly loaded the barely-alive Cyberpsycho into the truck and drove off. Leo wasted no time either, turning the vehicle to leave. But before departing, he scanned the area one more time and spotted a bystander secretly recording the scene from the shadows. He hacked the bystander's cyber-eye, erased the footage, and then drove off toward the wasteland. "That's it?" V, sitting in the passenger seat, disconnected from her personal link, looking unimpressed. "That was a Cyberpsycho?" "What did you expect?" V thought for a moment, then sat up and started counting on her fingers like listing collectibles: "Think about it, the Cyberpsychos we've faced lately—like Nort, and that James Norris. Those guys were like monsters: fast, strong, and unstoppable. Especially back in Atlanta, if Nort hadn't suddenly gone berserk, none of this would've happened. But this Militech guy? What a pushover!" Leo shrugged and listed off the cyberware that the Cyberpsycho had. Military-grade stimulants, hydraulic exoskeleton, subdermal armor, tactical cyber-eyes, recoil dampening systems—his cyberware wasn't low-end, but mostly affordable and effective. The hydraulic system, for example, is cheap and offers significant strength to the user, but it replaces a lot of muscle and joints, making it prone to issues. It's a typical feature of standard-issue equipment—cheap, effective. In fact, Militech is known for this approach, which is why their employees are prone to becoming Cyberpsychos. "That wasn't some low-end merc; Militech carefully designed that enforcer. You've been getting a bit cocky lately. Maybe check online to see how much that cyberware costs?" "Tch, you could've just told me," V grumbled, rubbing her head, not wanting to do the math. Leo glanced at V: "Uneducated." "Militech's quoted price for one of these soldiers is between 40 to 90 thousand Eurodollars just for the equipment. Add in training costs, and it can go up to 180k. But that's probably inflated; otherwise, they couldn't justify raising contract prices. "But even the toughest Cyber-enhanced soldier can't survive getting hit by a two-ton vehicle going 50 mph." Not all Cyberpsychos are invincible killing machines. At least, not to Leo and his crew. This Militech enforcer died quickly for many reasons. Cheap cyberware, vulnerability to hacking, the impact of the vehicle, and the hole his colleague shot in him earlier all contributed. That shot weakened his resistance to external electromagnetic pulses, allowing the EMP from the YingLong to heavily disrupt his internal systems. High-value cyberware often uses micromotors instead of synthetic muscle fibers and devices, making it more susceptible to EMPs. After reading Leo's breakdown, V remarked: "So we basically rammed him to death." "Just think of it that way. And yeah, this car's not bad—El Captain wasn't exaggerating." "Definitely," V agreed, admiring the luxurious interior of the vehicle. "By the way, stop calling it 'this car.' It has a name!" "What name?" "Western Boar—I'd only ever seen this model on TV, but sitting in it feels like—like a dream come true!" V cheered like a little girl, then immediately recoiled in pain, clutching her nerves and gasping. "Yeah, yeah, dream come true." Leo chuckled, hit the gas, and disappeared into the wasteland. Twenty minutes later, Militech forces arrived at the scene. Surveying the carnage, the soldiers exchanged uneasy glances. The squad leader submitted a report to his superiors with a blank expression—there was no Cyberpsycho left, just heaps of bodies. Militech Communications Channel Contact: Militech Captain #5620 Militech Sergeant #7877: "Sir, eight soldiers at checkpoint three are dead, and Enforcer #8030 is missing." Militech Sergeant #7877: "Tactical footage from Squad Leader #7890 shows #8030 may have gone Cyberpsycho, catching them off guard." Militech Captain #5620: "...Missing? It's been 20 minutes since we got the abnormal report, and you're telling me the Cyberpsycho vanished? You've gotta be kidding me!" Militech Sergeant #7877: "Sir, I misspoke." The captain relaxed slightly. Dead would be fine. But before he could fully exhale— Militech Sergeant #7877: "...His signal's been blocked. He was probably taken. There are traces of advanced tech weapons at the scene. The caliber is larger than the squad leader's sidearm, indicating others were involved." Militech Captain #5620: "He was in Cyberpsychosis for just 20 minutes, and someone took him? Are you sure he wasn't ambushed, maybe hacked into going psycho?" Militech Sergeant #7877: "So far... there's no evidence of hacking before he went berserk." Militech Captain #5620: "...Understood. Secure the area, and make sure no one leaks this. Militech Sergeant #7877: "Understood." The captain had a bad feeling—there weren't many groups in Night City capable of acting this swiftly. This was a Cyberpsycho who had wiped out eight Militech soldiers. Converting to Night City's measurement system, that's like 16 NCPD officers. This wasn't just a mindless killing spree. It was all done with purpose. How long has it even been? He immediately decided to mark the report as urgent and notify higher-ups, while also contacting the Director of Government Relations at Militech. Contact: Militech Director #0034 Militech Captain #5620: "A soldier stationed at the checkpoint on Highway 3 went Cyberpsycho and was taken by unknown individuals." Militech Director #0034: "Incompetent. The NCPD is already preparing a press release." Militech Director #0034: "Keep a close eye on your badlands. It might be those people again." Militech Captain #5620: "Understood." Those people? The captain was starting to lose his grip—he was the field commander, and if his subordinates had to work overtime, so did he. There had already been plenty of small conflicts in recent days, but now the big one had arrived: his subordinate had gone Cyberpsycho. But the mention of those people made him sick to his stomach—a deep physiological reaction: stress, heightened focus, his brain racing. He couldn't help it. Every officer who had dealt with them had suffered losses. Now it was his turn. How could he guarantee he wouldn't be the next one to fail? But soon, he received new information, and his nerves relaxed, almost causing him to faint. [Militech Dispatch Order] [Highway Checkpoint Shift Change] It was clear that this news hit him like a stone dropping into a lake. And that stone stirred up waves upon waves.