Chapter 290: Sharing Joy with the People – Brick

Words : 1751 Updated : Oct 11th, 2025

[TN:Three chapters for the days I miss] Leo planned to replace the old and worn-out small and large vehicles among the Aldecaldos with Mackinaws, so the vehicles Brick received would be of these models. The first batch delivered was a modified Galena G240 "Gecko," while the second batch consisted of Colbys, also from the Thorton Corporation—two-seater pickup trucks, considered entry-level light off-road pickups. These vehicles were significantly more expensive than the earlier Geckos. Each one cost 80,000 eddies, with four delivered in total, bringing in a revenue of 320,000 eddies. However, Brick was out of money again, so the total price increased to 360,000. It was clear that Brick was in full battle mode, completely unconcerned about the money— Of course, another reason was that the 6th Street Gang and the Tyger Claws were charging him 100,000 per vehicle for the same models. "Girl, can't you run a rental service?" Panam crossed her arms and shook her head. "It's not impossible, but if a vehicle gets totaled, the compensation would be 150,000. That's the insurance business—surely you understand? Selling to you at a lower price is already a good deal. Look at this engine, tuned turbocharger, just step on the gas—it's pure music." She lifted the hood and waved Brick's crew over to inspect it. Using a metal rod to prop up the hood, Panam walked over to the vehicle's body and pointed at the roof-mounted machine gun. "I just upgraded your turret—it reacts incredibly fast." She signaled to one of her clan members, who plugged a personal link into the vehicle. The turret rotated rapidly—its speed was insane. For the Maelstrom gang, this was quite a novel experience. They were used to modifying their own bodies rather than using advanced combat vehicles. **"I don't need to introduce the model, do I? MK31—you've already tested it. Five seconds to blow up a Columbus freight truck. Pretty effective, huh? And look at these perfectly fitted metal armor plates... damn, even I'm starting to regret selling it."** "Cut the crap, I never said I wasn't buying!" Brick signaled his men to drive the vehicles away. "When will the other guns arrive?" At this point, Brick had already seized a warehouse—or rather, his former loyalists had taken it themselves. Inside, there were several barrels of CH2 fuel, all stolen from the refinery, enough to last a few days. Each of his men held a firearm supplied by Leo, looking anything but impoverished. As for his accounts... well, all the money he had just earned was already spent again. He had reached out to other arms dealers in the city, but now that everyone knew Maelstrom was in the middle of a civil war, prices had skyrocketed. These bastards were all looking to rip him off. Only the "Mysterious Hero" was being reasonable—not raising prices, and actually keeping his word. Brick felt relieved—no doubt, the Mysterious Hero was a true ally. Panam replied, "Next batch will be delivered soon. What about your Centaur mechs? Get them unlocked—we need to leave." She had no interest in getting involved in Maelstrom's internal struggle. Brick didn't waste time and led Panam's group into the warehouse. A Militech convoy had been hijacked—with the Mysterious Hero's help, of course—but Maelstrom had kept the real high-value goods. For example, the four Centaur mechs, currently crouched along the wall in a compressed stance. Their massive shields covered the cockpit, locked down tightly, with plasma cannons mounted beneath them. Dum Dum and a few lackeys had hooked up numerous cables, but they still hadn't bypassed the ICE security to activate the machines. Seeing Panam arrive with her gear, Dum Dum unplugged the neural link from his head. **"Are you sure you can crack these things? I'm warning you—if you trip the ICE, an anomaly report will be sent straight to Militech HQ. If that happens, the corps will come down on us hard. And who knows if these fancy plasma cannons will explode? That would be even worse."** "Want to keep trying yourself?" "Shut up, Dum Dum. Move aside." Dum Dum backed off reluctantly. Of course, he wasn't happy about it. Among the gangs, Maelstrom had the highest level of tech expertise. In his mind, if it weren't for Royce monopolizing the Full Foods factory's equipment and computers, he could have cracked the Centaur mechs himself. Maybe he could have even developed a custom driver for them. Panam stepped forward and connected her personal link. Behind her, Cassidy and the others gripped their weapons, waiting for Leo to crack the Centaur mechs. [Unauthorized access detected.] Leo plugged into the Centaur mech. Just as Dumdum said, bypassing the mech's ICE was quite difficult. If brute-force decryption was used, the mech would transmit its location to Militech. However, a more aggressive method could completely erase the mech's built-in software along with the ICE— But this would also damage the drivers. Fortunately, that was exactly what Leo wanted: to wipe the entire system of the Centaur mech so he could operate it freely. The cost of bypassing ICE was too high; it was better to use sheer computing power to destroy the mech's software entirely. Zzzzt! Sparks flew from the mech, and Dumdum froze. According to the diagnostic display, the mech's hardware information was completely unreadable! That meant the Centaur mech had been bricked! But before he could lose his temper, the mech suddenly stood up. The computer flashed large distorted red frames and garbled text, flickering in and out before stabilizing into readable hardware and component data. This was Little Octopus using his abilities to load a new driver into the Centaur mech—one that functioned according to his understanding of human movement. Leo assisted Little Octopus in visualizing the mech's information. The collaboration between AI and human looked unsettling, but the efficiency was undeniable. The Centaur mech suddenly jerked upright before softening again, locking itself back into place. But on the adjacent display, the largest text had changed to: "Ready." Panam disconnected her personal link. "All set. Want the other three wiped too? I've also got some spare vehicle armor lying around—I'll sell it to you at half price." Brick hesitated briefly before waving his hand. "Do it! But I'm broke right now..." "No problem. That brings your total to 300,000." "How the hell is it that high?! You only charged one or two percent interest before!" "Take it or leave it." Panam smirked. "Don't forget how you got these mechs in the first place. This is a fair price. Besides, who in the city would help you crack these things? Militech?" "Son of a bitch..." Brick cursed under his breath, realizing Panam had a point. Without the Mysterious Hero's help, they wouldn't have gotten their hands on these mechs at all. And finding someone in the city who could crack Centaur mechs? Funny thing was, that kind of job used to be something people came to Maelstrom for. "Fine. And don't forget that half-price armor—weld it on, and these mechs will be like low-tier ACPA suits. Take it." After wiping the remaining three Centaur mechs, the Aldecaldos dropped off the armor and drove away. As the vehicle left the warehouse, Panam noticed a few young newcomers—still lightly modified—mixing with Maelstrom's old-timers. The veterans seemed to welcome them, generously offering their inhalers filled with the kind of stuff you couldn't find on the open market. The newcomers were ecstatic. They'd never experienced anything like this before in their lives. As soon as they inhaled, they collapsed to the ground, convulsing and trembling. Their clothes and pants even showed... certain stains. A truly pathetic sight. "These people are insane." Back at the warehouse, Brick felt a surge of confidence as he eyed the four Centaur mechs. He was in debt by hundreds of thousands, but he believed in Maelstrom. Once he regained control of the gang, he'd pay it all back in no time. The real issue was finding people to pilot these beasts. Untrained drivers carried a high risk of losing control. He glanced over at the makeshift cyberware surgery room built from scrap metal. His buddy Carter was still lying inside—knocked out from a black lace binge. Even if he were awake, he wouldn't be the right choice to pilot a mech. Especially in Maelstrom, where everyone had a mix of cybernetic mods, inconsistent drivers, and self-modded software. Carter even had a Sandevistan installed, which didn't exactly mesh well with the Centaur mech— Militech's software would've been compatible, but who knew if the Mysterious Hero's bootleg drivers would work with it? It was better to find someone with fewer augmentations and fine-tune the system gradually. Brick called out to Dumdum. "Next push is for the Totentanz. If we don't take that spot, we won't even have a place to talk. Find two fresh recruits to test these things. Tell them that once they put this on, they're gang bosses. And that they'll have unlimited access to whatever drugs they want—the best stuff, first dibs." "Fresh recruits, huh? The cleanest ones we've got are as bald as a cue ball." "Where'd they come from? Are they clean?" "Says he's from Westbrook. I'll ask him again." Dumdum scratched his plated skull and called a brother over from outside. After a long conversation, he suddenly burst out laughing—so hard he doubled over, unable to stand straight. Brick marched over and smacked him upside the head. "I told you to get the details! What the fuck are you laughing at?!" Dumdum rubbed his chromed dome, still chuckling. "Hahaha, boss, this kid is fucking hilarious. He and some other guy came together. He said he tried to join the Tyger Claws, but—HAHAHAHA!" "Spit it out!" "So this dumbass saved up a ton of money, right? Went to the Tyger Claws' turf to have some fun. Then, when the escort walked in... He realized it was his mom!" [TN:I think I read this hentai before] Brick froze for a second—then burst into laughter. The whole room erupted into roaring laughter. Once the laughter died down, Brick wiped a tear from his eye. "Hah... idiots like this are rare. Alright, bring him in!"

Chapter 290: Sharing Joy with the People – Brick

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