2077: V really knows how awesome he is

“Before answering that question, I need to test your skills.” Adam Hammer took a few steps back. “Attack me with all your might.”

Vera glanced at V, who raised his hand, giving her the right to fight first. The street kid immediately got excited.

She clenched her fist as she asked, "Are you sure? I've beaten up more than one Adam Hammer."

Adam Hammer said expressionlessly, "Do you always talk so much nonsense before a fight?"

Vera raised an eyebrow, successfully provoking her anger. She gave a soft shout of "Watch out!" and instantly charged forward.

With a loud bang, their fists collided, creating a booming sound in the air, and surprisingly, neither could gain the upper hand.

Vera laughed and launched a fierce attack.

Adam Hammer remained unmoved, responding to each move with a counter-move.

The two instantly engaged in an incredibly fierce exchange of blows, their punches and kicks moving so fast they left afterimages. Vera unleashed a whip kick, which Adam Hammer blocked with a loud crack, but Vera pressed her advantage, launching two more spinning kicks, which Adam Hammer managed to parry each time.

Vera couldn't help but exclaim, "The new prosthetic body is pretty good, much better than the old, clumsy, and bulky one."

But before she could finish speaking, Adam Hammer suddenly launched a counterattack. Vera only saw a blur before her opponent was right in front of her. She hurriedly threw a straight punch, but Adam Hammer disappeared again. Vera was taken aback, and her fighting instincts reacted immediately. She instantly swung her elbow behind her, but Adam Hammer easily caught it. Realizing that she couldn't break free with just her arm strength, Vera immediately changed her move. She did a backflip and used all her strength to break free from the restraint. She also touched Adam Hammer's shoulder and leaped into the air like a cat, trying to create distance and regain the initiative. However, Adam Hammer swiftly reached out and accurately grabbed her ankle. With a twist of his arm, he slammed her heavily to the ground.

With a loud "thud," the entire sedimentation tank trembled, and a cloud of dust rose up. Adam Hammer's voice rang out: "My prosthetic body is the Dragon God VII Armor, model number Modified Modified Modified Modified and then Modified again and for the last time."

The sentence was long enough, and after it was finished, the smoke and dust dissipated, revealing Vera lying unconscious amidst a pile of rubble.

V: "..."

Adam Hammer, look over here.

V took off his suit jacket and entered the room while rolling up his sleeves.

Adam Hammer picked up Vera and put her aside.

The two stood still in the center of the field.

V asked, "Was the Dragon Machine God designed by Xu Ling?"

“That’s right. Vincent monopolized all knowledge, and General Xu prevented him from plundering it by drawing blueprints.”

What happened to Xu Ling in the end?

"After Vincent revealed his ambition, she became the commander-in-chief of the resistance and achieved brilliant results for a time. Vincent's mechanical army suffered repeated defeats and was even driven to the brink of despair, but unfortunately..."

"It's just a pity?"

"It's a pity that General Xu was too old and died on the eve of the decisive battle, her efforts thwarted. If she had been a few years younger, she could have truly saved the world."

V exclaimed, "She truly lives up to Xu Ling's reputation."

"Yes, he truly lives up to his reputation as General Xu."

"Come on, let me see just how powerful the mecha Xu Ling left behind is!"

The two exchanged a glance and struck simultaneously, their fists colliding once again. However, V did not choose to meet force head-on, but instead used technique to deflect and counter the impact. After all, Vera's fate had already proven that Adam Hammer's strength far surpassed theirs, and V's personality had never been that of someone who would engage in head-on confrontations.

She's better at solving problems from within, rather than destroying everything like Vera did.

V was clearly at a disadvantage in his battle against Adam Hammer, but Adam Hammer was in a worse situation. He felt as if he had fallen into a spider web, and the AI ​​co-pilot warned him that the energy he expended was severely unbalanced with the results he gained, and that he needed to adjust his tactics.

Just as he was about to choose one of the several alternative tactics listed by the AI ​​co-pilot, the system was suddenly hacked. A spark appeared on his forehead, and various parts of the Dragon Machine Divine Body crackled with electricity.

Adam Hammer lost his balance and fell to his knees. When he looked up, he saw V's eyes glowing blue and his knee slamming into his chin.

With a thud, his knee slammed into his chin.

Adam Hammer was sent flying with a thud, crashing into the edge of the sedimentation tank before falling to the ground.

"It seems Xu Ling didn't install a powerful enough ICE on the Dragon Machine God." V rubbed his sore knee.

Adam Hammer stood up: "No, General Xu Ling was faking it. It's your network intrusion capabilities that are too strong. As expected of V, well done."

"Thank you for the compliment. After all, this is a technological age, and the power of the internet is the strongest, isn't it?"

"That may be true in your time, but in this era, it has a power that is stronger than the internet."

"Really?" V asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice. "Let me see."

"That's exactly what I was thinking, after all, that's what I'm going to teach you!"

After Adam Hammer finished speaking, he suddenly shouted, his face contorted, veins bulging on his forehead, and his electronic eyes turned red, which startled V.

"Controllable cyberpsychosis?!"

"That's right. With the fusion of the nano-prosthetic body and the nervous system, the soaring mental power can naturally also affect the nano-prosthetic body. Come on, try invading me again!"

As Adam Hammer charged toward him, V immediately launched an attack, but ICE, which he could have easily cracked before, became indestructible. Uploading even the simplest magic doll required hundreds or thousands of units of memory and computation. V only saw a fist getting bigger and bigger, and then with a thud, he knew nothing more.

When she woke up again, she saw Vera being beaten.

The street urchin was already badly beaten, while Adam Hammer remained in his cyberbullying state. He was already stronger than Vera, but now he was even stronger, his iron fists pounding into Vera's body, causing her to bleed profusely, completely unable to fight back.

"Too weak, too weak! Someone like you doesn't deserve to be called Vera! Even if that person were in a wheelchair, they would still be ten thousand times stronger than you are now!"

First she was stripped of her title, and now she's about to have her name taken away. Even if Vera is heartless, she's really hot right now.

She roared and launched a counterattack, punching Adam Hammer hard in the face. Blood and body parts flew everywhere, but Adam Hammer only swayed slightly before throwing a backhand punch that sent Vera flying once again.

"Controllable cybernetic psychosis was taught to me by Lady Vera. If you are the same person as her, you will definitely be able to learn it. The nano-prosthetic upgrade will take about six days. If you still cannot master this state within six days, then you don't need to go to Vincent anymore. I will personally kill you and give you a quick death."

Adam Hammer launched into another long speech, but unfortunately Vera couldn't hear it anymore, as she had been knocked unconscious once again.

V stood up, spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, and said coolly, "Come on, it's time to beat me up!"

The training lasted for five days. On the sixth day, Adam Hammer came to the room where Michiko Arasaka was.

"What's wrong? You should be training those two at this time," a synthesized voice came through.

Adam Hammer replied, "I've come to request spare parts for the Dragon Machine God."

The security camera in the corner turned around, the screen lit up, and the anime-style Michiko inside showed a surprised expression: "You're injured? Those two...?"

Adam Hammer stepped aside, and Michiko saw two men behind him, covered in blood but radiating fighting spirit.

"Hi, Michiko." V's expensive suit had now turned into beggar's clothes.

Vera was in a similar situation. She pointed to her red eyes and asked, "How do I turn this off? Everything looks like it's covered in ketchup now."

Michiko paused for a moment, then laughed.

"As expected of Lord V and Lady Vera, no one has ever mastered controlled cyber psychopathic transformation so quickly. I have already contacted Vincent. This final battle will begin in three days. Until then, please rest assured."

V was somewhat surprised: "Save the world, such a big thing, how come it's handled like a casual fight?"

“Vincent welcomes any challenger, as this is also a way for him to acquire knowledge. Anyone can apply to him for any competition, and if you win, you can have one wish granted. This has been a tradition for many years.”

"Do you think he'd agree to let us wish for him to commit suicide? He's not stupid."

“He’s not stupid, but he’s been defeated. If he doesn’t commit suicide, we’ll do it for him. Of course, our primary goal is to end his reign, and killing him is just one option. In any case, it’s the simplest way. It’s better to apply for a competition than to use human lives to attack Arasaka Tower.”

"Vincent is also in Arasaka Tower?"

“Yes, the competition will take place at the top of Arasaka Tower,” Michiko said. “Everything begins there, and everything will end there.”

Chapter 183 The Legendary Warrior

V and Vera rested for a day, took a shower, and changed into rebel uniforms. These clothes were said to be made of an alien plant fiber that was heat-resistant, corrosion-resistant, and had excellent tensile and extensibility. They offered good protection while also effectively preventing... glimpses of spring during intense battles.

Ordinary clothing cannot withstand the repeated friction and vigorous thrusting of nanomaterials, which is why V is taking less and less action in his own world.

However, more than 2000 years later, humanity has solved this problem quite well.

On the morning of the seventh day, V and Vera were to head to Arasaka Tower at the time specified in their application.

“I’ve charged into Arasaka Tower before, but this is the first time I’ve charged into it so punctually.” Vera scratched her head. “It’s starting to feel more and more like a duel.”

“It’s ridiculous, but it’s the optimal solution.” Adam Hammer emphasized again, “Come on, I’ll drive you there.”

Just as they were about to leave the sewers, a group of children surrounded them, asking with some concern, "Uncle Adam, are you going to the surface to defeat the Great Demon King?"

"Yes."

Can we win?

"We can win."

"If we win, we can go back upstairs and move back into the big house, right?"

"Yes."

The children cheered and shouted encouragement. They never doubted Adam Hammer's words, probably because Adam Hammer had never lied to them.

After exiting the sewer and getting into the car, Adam Hammer said to V and the other two, "Your chances of winning are only 28%."

Vera was taken aback: "Don't we have controllable cyberpsychosis?"

"Only by mastering it can you have a 28% chance of winning."

Vera scoffed, "That's not what you were saying to those kids."

"They lived in the darkest of times. I am powerless to change the world. All I can do is create some light for them."

"But this light is so fragile, how will you face them if we fail?"

"Don't worry, if you fail, I'll buy you time to escape. If I don't come back, you won't have to face them."

Vera was incredulous: "You're planning to take Vincent down with you?"

“Even if I risked my life, I couldn’t kill Vincent, so I just used my death to slow down his pursuit.”

"Damn, why are you working so hard?"

"Because this is the last wish of countless comrades."

"Defeat Vincent?"

"No, it's about taking humanity's future back from God's hands."

Vera paused for a moment, then said, "I will do my best."

"That's good." Adam Hammer gripped the steering wheel, connected the vehicle, and the car slowly started moving towards the Arasaka Tower in the center of Night City.

The atmosphere inside the car was a bit heavy. V suddenly spoke up: "Michiko said she made preparations. It can't just be a battle with a 28% chance of winning. She must have other tricks up her sleeve, right?"

Adam Hammer didn't hide anything: "Yes, in Miss Michiko's plan, the duel with Vincent in the Arasaka Tower is not the final battle. She has two follow-up plans, and the main purpose of this battle is to activate one of them."

"What is it?"

Adam Hammer glanced at V through the rearview mirror and slowly uttered a few words: "Hyper-cyber psychopathization."

"Hyper-cyber psychopathism?" V and Vera were both taken aback: "What is that?"

"That was a state that Lady Vera deduced in her later years. She believed that there was room for further improvement in cyber psychopathic ...

"A legendary warrior, it's like something out of an old comic book," Vera couldn't help but complain. "Didn't she explain how to get into this state?"

"Like cyberpsychosis, it relies on extreme mental power, and emotions are the main means of influencing the mind. Therefore, joy, sadness, anger, and happiness can all lead people into a hyper-cyberpsychosis state. Considering its help in combat, anger should be the most ideal emotion."

Vera continued to complain: "Relying on anger to unleash a burst of power is starting to resemble an old comic book."

"Before the controllable cyberpsychosis was actually proven, people also thought that cyberpsychosis was harmful in every way," Adam Hammer said. "Thanks to Vincent's exploitation of knowledge, our scholars and scientists have also explored the mental realm in depth. They have long confirmed the existence of mental power. Although it is not as exaggerated as in old comics and the Dream series, strong mental power can help increase focus, improve brain activity, and thus enhance computing power, making the nanoclusters respond faster and output more, thereby greatly increasing combat power."

"It sounds nice, but it's all theory. It doesn't mention at all how to actually enter the hyper-cyber psychotic state."

“Michiko probably wants to break through her limits and reach a hyper-cyber psychotic state through real combat,” V said after a moment’s thought. “Does she hope that our fight with Vincent will help her break through her limits and reach a hyper-cyber psychotic state?”

“That’s right, this is one of Ms. Michiko’s plans.”

"A breakthrough at the last minute," Vera said with a wry smile. "It's romantic, and it's certainly thrilling, but it's a bit exhausting. Michiko never considered what would happen if we couldn't break through."

“This is Miss Michiko’s second plan,” Adam Hammer said. “We created a clone a long time ago using the genes of V and Lady Vera.”

V was taken aback: "Just like you?"

"Yes, just like me, except I was cloned from Adam Hammer's genes, while that body was created from the genes of V and Lady Vera of this world."

Is this legal?

"Of course it's illegal. But when the weapon of law can't uphold justice, we can only forget about the law and keep the weapons."

"So that clone is a weapon."

"Yes."

"Is it very strong?"

"No, its brain has been emptied, preventing the birth of consciousness; it is merely a shell."