Harry Potter, the savior of Night City

The group gripped their weapons tightly as the drone descended to their level, scanning the half-collapsed research institute in front of them.

Entering the research institute through the blasted opening, there was nothing particularly new inside. It was basically the same as a normal research institute, and even quite spacious. However, there wasn't a single person in sight, not even a shadow of those roaming AIs.

"Be careful, those guys might be plotting against us somewhere," Mann said in a low voice.

Harry took out his wand, thinking about finding those wandering AIs, then laid the wand flat on his palm and muttered, "Show me the way."

The wand spun like a compass, finally stopping in one direction and emitting light in that direction.

"Over there," Harry said over the channel, gesturing for everyone to follow him. "I've used magic to pinpoint their approximate location."

The group nodded and followed Harry.

The research institute was very quiet because the circuits had been blown up, and there weren't even any lights. Fortunately, the prosthetic eyes allowed everyone to barely see the road ahead, so they wouldn't have to grope around in the dark.

"Something's wrong!" Mann suddenly warned, and everyone stopped in their tracks and braced their weapons. Before they could ask what was going on, they saw a blue streak of light flash past and disappear behind a wall.

"Pira, send the drone over to check the situation," Harry said to Pira.

Pilar gave an "OK" sign, then steered the drone toward the spot where the blue streak of light had disappeared. However, just as the drone circled behind the wall, the camera on it went black instantly.

"Damn it, my drone!" Pila yelled angrily. "I spent over eight thousand dollars on it and those damn kids ruined it!"

"I didn't see anything." Qiwei and Lucy, who had been connected to the drone, were forcibly disconnected. They reconnected to the team channel and said, "It just suddenly went black and the drone lost connection."

"This is a trap..." Harry rubbed his forehead. "They're probably just waiting for us to go over, but we can't just not go."

"Let's go see what's going on," Mann said. "If we go, there's still a chance of success; if we don't go, there's no chance, and we might not even be able to stay in Night City anymore."

Having made up their minds, the group went to the wall. If they went around it, they would reach the spot where the drone had lost contact.

"I'll go scout ahead," David suddenly volunteered. "My Sianwistan is fast; nothing will happen."

"What can you do with your talent? Harry has Swannstein, why do we have to make you go?" Mann wanted to refuse his suggestion.

"Harry is far more useful than me." David had a very good understanding of his own position. "And if it really is a trap, I can use S.A.S.S. to investigate and eliminate it."

"Okay, you go, but remember, be safe," Harry answered for Mann.

David nodded, then activated Ica. Time slowed down to its absolute limit in front of him, almost to the point of stopping.

He quickly ran over the wall and saw what was behind it—a monitor connected to a stun gun. However, the monitor must have been modified, otherwise it wouldn't have been able to blow up the drone's panel so easily with one shot.

Beyond that, there was a downward stairwell, and nothing else could be seen. David didn't go down any further; he simply smashed the monitor and stun gun at the stairwell entrance before returning to Mann and the others.

"There's a basement in the back. This is what blew up the Pira drone," David said, pulling out the stun gun.

"This is a trap, and one we have no choice but to fall into," Harry concluded.

"I wanted to tear those damn AIs to shreds as soon as I found them," Rebecca said viciously. It's fair to say that this whole mess wouldn't have happened if it weren't for the roaming AIs.

"There's no other way, let's go down. Staying up here any longer won't do."

After discussing it for a while, the group finally decided to go down to the basement. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Mann and Dorio walked in front, Harry and Rebecca stood in the middle, and Pila stood behind them, blocking David. The group slowly walked down the stairs in a single file.

It felt like an eternity before they finally reached the end of the staircase, and none of the ambushes they had feared were there as they descended.

"Kee, Lucy, open the door." Mann said in the channel, looking at the electronic door at the end of the basement. He saw that the electronic lock on the door was still lit up with a red light, so it seemed that the power to the basement had not been cut off.

The electronic door in front of them was easily hacked open, revealing a brightly lit room, but as always, it was completely empty.

"Let's go in." Mann let out a breath, calming himself down. Now that they'd come this far, there was no going back.

He lifted his foot and stepped into the room, holding the sword firmly in his hand, ready to deal with any danger that might arise at any moment. However, there was nothing there; it was extremely quiet, too quiet for words.

Harry and the others came in, but just as David entered the room, the door behind him suddenly closed, and then a heavy iron door fell from the sky, blocking their escape route.

In the empty room, several nozzles inexplicably emerged, spewing out colorless and odorless gas—a hypnotic gas. Harry and the others quickly realized what was happening and raised their guns to fire at the nozzles. Harry even pulled out his wand and tried to blast a hole in the wall, but to no avail. The room was exceptionally sturdy, and the group could only feel their bodies growing heavier and heavier until they finally fell into a dreamless slumber, unable to resist what they were doing.

"Humans are still too fragile." A rogue AI wearing a gas mask dragged Harry out. "What about the others?"

"Throw them in solitary confinement first, and deal with them after you've dealt with Harry Potter."

"clear."

The blue-eyed man wearing a gas mask dragged Harry by the arm and slid him across the floor until he stopped in front of a room. He put Harry down, knocked on the door, and then turned to move the others.

"The body is ready." The door opened, and a blue-eyed doctor dragged Harry in and placed him on the operating chair.

"Where's Polaris?" a voice rang out from the monitor.

"The surgery can be performed here as well."

"After installing Polaris, I will connect it to this guy's S.A.W.S.S.S.S.S., regardless of whether his brain is fried or not. After the surgery, I will erase and take over his consciousness."

"clear."

The blue-eyed doctor nodded, turned to look at the unconscious Harry, put on gloves, used a mechanical arm to turn Harry over, and took out a surgical saw to begin cutting into the back of his head.

Harry's prosthetic body's psychic sensed something was wrong, but unfortunately, Harry's body was tightly bound, and he had been injected with an anesthetic, so they couldn't wake him up at all.

Harry's skull was cut open, revealing the S.A.S.S. buried deep inside. The blue-eyed man took the white Polaris prototype from beside him and began to connect it with his S.A.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.

－－－－－－－－

"David, wake up!"

A voice woke David from his coma; it was Ika on his back. The roving AIs never imagined that a prosthetic body could have its own independent consciousness.

"What happened?... " David rubbed his head, feeling a little dazed, and his head was still hurting.

"We've been arrested."