Samsara Space: They're all begging me to heal them one more time.

"【Original Sin Chip - Sloth】".

Zhang Yuan's voice echoed in the laboratory:

"According to Arasaka's intelligence, this chip is in the hands of the Voodoo Gang. Those hackers used its 'stagnation' property to establish an independent little kingdom in cyberspace."

"Lazy?" The fat man scratched his head. "That name doesn't sound like it has much fighting power."

Don't underestimate it.

Zhang Yuan shook his head:

"The so-called 'laziness,' at the level of rules, means 'refusing to change.' That is... absolute defense and the freezing of spacetime."

"That was the final piece of the puzzle for our successful surgery."

Zhang Yuan turned around, his platinum cloak billowing behind him moving without wind, and the red light of [Arrogance] flashed in his eyes:

"The colonel's troops won't arrive in Night City for another day or two, and that's our window of opportunity."

"V, Qingyue, Aqiang."

"Assemble the team."

"We're going to Taiping. We're going to talk to those voodoo hackers... about what 'forced requisition' means."

V took a deep breath, clenched his fist, and felt the restless soul fluctuations in his mind caused by the impending separation from Johnny.

"For freedom," V thought to himself.

"For freedom," Johnny rarely chimed in.

"For overtime pay." Ah-Qiang replaced the ammunition belt in the Gatling gun.

Zhang Yuan looked at the group of highly motivated "employees" and nodded in satisfaction.

The [Arrogance] chip in my hand was slightly warm.

He could feel that as the number of original sin chips in his hands increased, the remaining chips were also faintly calling out to him.

"Set off."

"Target... Taipingzhou!"

……

Night City, Pacifica.

This is a forgotten lawless land.

The unfinished skyscrapers stand like giant concrete skeletons under the gloomy sky.

There are no NCPDs, no trauma groups, only gangs, the poor, and ubiquitous digital ghosts.

"Is this the Voodoo Gang's territory?"

Ah Qiang kicked aside a wrecked prosthetic body parked by the roadside. Looking at the Haitian-style graffiti all around, he frowned: "It feels eerie, even the air smells of musty data."

Be careful.

V walked at the front of the group, his "gorilla arm" slightly outstretched, his prosthetic eye constantly scanning the surrounding signals:

"The Voodoo Gang is very xenophobic, and their hacking skills are top-notch in Night City. If you don't want your brain to be fried into popcorn, you'd better not connect to any public networks."

"rest assured."

Zhang Yuan walked in the middle of the group, still wearing his imposing golden armor and a golden fox mask on his face.

He wasn't as nervous as V; instead, he seemed like a developer inspecting an unfinished construction project.

"With my background music playing, no one can burn out my brain."

Zhang Yuan snapped his fingers.

【Honor and Blessing - The Golden Rhythm】!

A golden ripple instantly spread out, enveloping the entire team.

"And..." Zhang Yuan raised his head and looked at the Great Empire Mall, the Voodoo Gang's headquarters, which was transformed from an unfinished shopping mall.

"We have the key."

He pointed to his pocket, where he had just received the [Original Sin: Pride] from Lai Xuan.

……

Inside the Grand Empire Mall.

In the dimly lit atrium, countless thick data cables hung down like a spider web.

Dozens of Voodoo gang hackers were sitting cross-legged on the ground, their eyes rolled back, in a deep-diving state.

On the throne in the center of the hall, the woman in the long robe with the sinister look in her eyes—Maman Bridget—was coldly watching the intruder.

On her chest, a chip exuding an aura of decay was slowly rotating.

【Original Sin Chip - Sloth】

"Ranyon (Outsider)"

Bridget's voice didn't need to travel through the air; it exploded directly in everyone's minds:

"This is the sacred connection point. Get out, or... become part of the data stream."

Sizzle sizzle sizzle—!

As soon as she finished speaking, the dozens of hackers around her turned their heads at the same time, and countless red data streams instantly locked onto Zhang Yuan's team.

[Large-scale, rapid breakthrough: Synaptic melting!]

[Large-scale and rapid solution: Prosthetic body overheating!]

An invisible electronic virus surged in like a tsunami.

"Ah! These bastards are playing dirty tricks!" Ah Qiang felt his robotic arm instantly heat up, and the alarm went off.

V covered his head, his vision filled with red error message pop-ups.

But in front of Zhang Yuan, these deadly code streams vanished without a trace the moment they came into contact with that faint golden light membrane, like a mud ox sinking into the sea.

(In addition, he didn't have any prosthetic body at all.)

"Is this what they call a top-tier hacker?"

Zhang Yuan shook his head, his tone filled with disappointment:

"If you want to attack my 'firewall,' I suggest you get a doctorate in theology first."

"Now, it's my turn."

Zhang Yuan took the red "Arrogance" chip out of his pocket and held it high.

[Royal Realm - Unfold]!

boom!

An overwhelmingly powerful red pressure instantly surged back.

This is not just psychological suppression, but also the crushing of power by those at the bottom.

90% of the hacking equipment and prosthetic implants used by the Voodoo Gang come from Arasaka or its supply chain.

Zhang Yuan, who possesses the [Arrogance] attribute, is now seen as the highest administrator by all the Arasaka-type devices.

"Kneel down."

Zhang Yuan said softly.

Crackling sounds!

The cybernetic bodies of the dozens of hackers who were casting spells suddenly locked, forcibly executing the "shutdown" command.

They collapsed to the ground in perfect unison, like puppets with their strings cut, convulsing uncontrollably.

"What?!" Bridget on the throne finally changed her expression.

Her proud hacker team was crippled by a single sentence from the other party?

"What are you holding in your hand?!"

"That's something you're not worthy to know."

Zhang Yuan strode forward, his voice cold:

"Hand over [Sloth], and I might consider letting you die with some dignity."

"Arrogant!"

Bridget suddenly stood up, the gray chip on her chest shining brightly.

"Arrogant! You know nothing about the forces beyond the Black Wall!"

Bridget suddenly stood up, the gray chip on her chest shining brightly.

Om-!

A gray ripple swept across Bridget's body in an instant.

Her figure seemed to blur for a moment, like a holographic projection with a poor signal, or as if she had been stripped away from the current reality.

"Go to hell!"

V reacted the fastest, raising his hand and firing a shot.

boom!

The large-caliber kinetic bullet struck Bridget precisely between the eyebrows.

However, a strange scene happened.

There was no splatter of blood, nor the sound of a skull shattering.

The bullet seemed to have burrowed into some kind of sticky glue; although it was embedded in her skin, the wound did not widen.

No, look closely.

The wound is widening, but... extremely slowly!

So slow that even after a minute, the bullet had only penetrated a distance of micrometers.

At this speed, it would take about... a thousand years for this bullet to penetrate her skull!

"it's useless."

Bridget stood there, letting the bullet lodged in her forehead, her face bearing a detached indifference.

"I have slowed down the flow of time in my physical body infinitely."

"To me, a second has been stretched infinitely. Any damage you cause—whether it's shooting, exploding, or cutting—will be spread out over these long centuries, even millennia."

"The wound from a severed head, when spread over a thousand years, becomes, on average, a tiny crack in a fiber of the neck every day."

"The pain of having one's heart pierced, when averaged over a thousand years, is nothing more than a few insignificant heart palpitations."

Bridget spread her arms wide, and gray data streams swirled around her:

"These minor injuries don't even require treatment; they can heal instantly through the body's natural metabolism."

"This is the ultimate form of laziness—refusing change, refusing death."

"In the long river of time, I am an eternal observer. You cannot kill someone who does not exist in this moment."

"The power of laziness is invincible."

"It's called... the Time River Immortal Body!"