2077: V really knows how awesome he is

Santo Domingo Valley, 1:24 a.m.

Intense gunfire pierced the darkness as Arasaka's security forces fought off the approaching enemy.

"Damn, the Vortex Gang, the Cleaners, the Sixth Street Gang—they've got it all. It's really rare that the other side has managed to gather this rabble together."

"Don't panic, they're just low-level gangsters. They were probably hired. That bastard is done for."

"Those gang leaders are all shrewd, taking turns to pledge their loyalty. It's just a pity that there are all sorts of birds in a big forest, and no matter what organization it is, there are fucking idiots!"

"Stop talking nonsense, fuck them to death!"

The gunfire intensified, and the ragtag gang of henchmen suffered heavy casualties, forced to hide behind cover and unable to even lift their heads.

Arakazam thought victory was assured, but an unexpected change occurred.

Suddenly, a burst of blood erupted from the left flank, and two security guards were shot in the head and fell to the ground dead.

"what?!"

Two more people fell, and the casualties continued to rise.

"It's optical camouflage!"

"Activate infrared scanning!"

"I see, one person, using two Shingen V-type smart submachine guns!"

"Reorganize and surround him."

After a brief period of chaos, the security forces regrouped. Well-trained and coordinated, they steadily tightened the encirclement, cornering the attacker.

"Kaka!"

As the firing pins struck empty air, the attackers emptied their magazines of two Shingen V rifles. The security team members grinned, ready to secure the final victory, when a flash of red light appeared before their eyes, and three of their comrades were instantly decapitated and collapsed to the ground.

"Sian Westin!"

"The enemy has strong close-combat capabilities!"

As the optical camouflage cooled down, the attackers finally revealed themselves.

He was not tall, wore a demon mask and a battle suit specially made by Arasaka. The most eye-catching thing was the heat-generating mantis blades that sprang out from his arms, with crimson light flowing around them, as if surrounded by blood cherry blossoms, and buzzing under the moonlight.

"It's a ninja!"

"Suppress him with firepower, don't let him get close!"

The security team opened fire in unison, the flames tearing the space apart. But the ninja was exceptionally agile, dodging and weaving through the lines of bullets, and in a few steps he was in front of the security captain. With a thrust of his mantis blade, he pierced the captain's body through both sides of his ribs.

"Pfft!" The captain suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Make them back down. V is a traitor to Arasaka and doesn't deserve your lives!" the ninja commanded coldly.

The captain laughed and said, "Screw you! It's because of Vice Minister V that we're willing to risk our lives!"

Without waiting for a response, he grabbed the ninja's arm, enduring the pain, and shouted as blood gushed from his mouth, "Shoot him! Kill him!"

Without hesitation, the team members immediately pulled the trigger.

They are not without feelings, but it is precisely because they possess such intense emotions that they act without hesitation.

If they were in the captain's shoes, they would make the same decision!

Everything for Vice Minister V!

Ta-ta-ta-ta!

The ninja clearly hadn't expected this; the bullets struck him, creating ripples in the air.

"Baga!"

The ninja cursed and stomped on the captain's chest with both feet. He then did a backflip to break free of his restraints. After landing, he took a few steps back to lure the security guards to move their guns, and then charged forward, raising his thermal mantis knife and aiming straight for the captain's neck!

"If you want to die, I'll grant your wish!"

"team leader!!!"

The team members gasped in surprise, but there was nothing they could do.

Just as the mantis knife was about to strike, a spark suddenly burst forth from this high-tech creation.

The blade retracted from the arm due to a short circuit, and the ninja merely swung it in the air in front of the captain.

He looked behind the captain in surprise and saw V walking slowly towards him with bright blue eyes.

"Who gave you the guts to kill me!"

A chilling killing intent swept over them, and even a well-trained ninja couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.

He bit his tongue hard to perk himself up, activated his optical camouflage, and disappeared into the night with a whoosh.

Is it useful? No, it's useless!

Upload the puppet [Target Location], and with a ding, the world comes into view. The red holographic figure is clearly visible. Lock it in with the prosthetic eye, and the so-called ninja will have nowhere to hide.

With a whoosh, another intact thermal mantis knife slashed down at V from the darkness. A [cyber malfunction] occurred, and this mantis knife followed in its companion's footsteps.

Even though I've already activated my own ICE (Internal Health Response), why am I still instantly invaded?

The ninja was taken aback and quickly did several backflips to create distance. V did not pursue, allowing the ninja to change the magazines of the two Shingen V-type swords during the backflips.

This skill is indeed superb, but...

Is it useful? No, it's useless!

Da da da!

The ninja wields two guns and fires.

[Weapon malfunction]

Shingen's V-shaped intelligent aiming module exploded with a bang, and the bullets flew into the sky like wild dogs that had broken free of their reins.

The ninja gritted his teeth, threw away his twin pistols, and pulled out a dagger from his chest, hurling it fiercely.

[Reactivating the Prosthetic Eye]

The vision went black, and the dagger, like a malfunctioning cannon, was completely off-target.

A bead of cold sweat trickled down the ninja's forehead. He took out a smoke bomb and threw it on the ground. With a loud bang, a cloud of smoke appeared, and the S.A.W.S ...

But a few seconds later, when the smoke cleared, he was still standing in the same spot.

[Blocking movement]

"Out of tricks?" V sneered. "Now try mine!"

Brain-computer interface overclocking is activated, and the blue light in V's eyes turns red.

Overheating of the prosthetic body.

Electromagnetic short circuit.

[Prosthetic body malfunction] [Prosthetic body malfunction] [Prosthetic body malfunction] [Prosthetic body malfunction] [Prosthetic body malfunction]

"Sizzle!" "Whoa!"

A dazzling burst of sparks erupted from the ninja's entire body as all his prosthetics exploded simultaneously, the intense heat of the metal causing his fat to burn as well. Screams mingled with the explosions, creating a beautiful requiem for the dead.

Security personnel used portable fire extinguishers to put out the flames on the ninja's body. At this point, he had slumped into a puddle of mud and was almost unrecognizable.

"A demon? Ha." V looked at the ninja's mask and sneered disdainfully. He took off the mask and saw a familiar face.

“Oda Santayu, Arasaka Hanako’s personal bodyguard.” V said coldly, “It’s really surprising. I didn’t expect that the dog that doesn’t bark is the one that bites the most.”

“You are not allowed to… insult… Miss Hanako.” Oda Santaro said haltingly, “This… was all… my own decision, and has nothing to do with Miss Hanako.”

"Is that so? Then what is your motive? To avenge Takemura Goro, or out of consideration for the master-disciple relationship? Do you think I would believe that?"

Oda Santa's eyes blazed with venom: "Arasaka... will not forgive... your... betrayal!"

V sneered: "You?"

"I... am no match for you. But... that person definitely can. He is... a true legend, and he will surely kill you!"

"That person?" V was taken aback at first, then a man wearing sunglasses appeared in his mind: "Kenichi Saburo!"

"That's right... it's Kenichi... he's... the world's number one lone wolf... no one can defeat him... not even you!"

"Fuck you!" V glared, and a [System Paralysis] caused Oda Santao to fall unconscious. He then shouted into the communicator, "The judgment was wrong. It's not just one member of the Arasaka family who's targeting Night City. They've joined forces. Stock, Kenichi Saburo might have gone to your side. Abandon the underground factory and take our men with Xu Zhong and evacuate immediately!"

There was a hissing sound on the other end of the line, but no response.

V's heart sank: "Stock? Stock? Fuck Stock, give me an answer!"

Intermittent sound came through the communication.

"Don't come... come... V... run away..."

V didn't listen any further.

"The security forces should immediately regroup, leaving enough personnel to defend this area, while the rest go to assist the underground factory!"

After saying that, V ran into the street.

The security forces need time to rest, so she must go ahead.

V started running wildly. She glanced at the traffic camera above the road, her eyes flashing blue. Soon, a Nazaré motorcycle came from behind. She grabbed the handlebars, leaped onto it, bypassed the speed limiter, twisted the throttle to the floor, and flames shot out from the two exhaust pipes. The Nazaré charged towards the northern battlefield like a wild beast.

Underground factory.

The security force of 322 people, including military technology personnel and Kangtao, was completely slaughtered. Severed heads and limbs were everywhere, a scene that could not be described as a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood.

Meredith Stock had half her face ripped off and lay dead amidst the corpses, her fate unknown. Xu Zhongxu held his Miao sword in front of her, but blood kept dripping from his body.

Kenichi Saburo stood not far away from him, wearing sunglasses, effortlessly tossing and catching the dagger in his hand.

"I heard you're only 19 years old. That's amazing. Given time, you'll definitely become a genius who surpasses me."

Xu Zhong took the opportunity to adjust his breathing: "Did Arasaka Michiko send you?"

"No. Miss Michiko is too kind. She chose to back down to avoid infighting within the Arasaka family. It's likely that Arasaka Yoriyuki will become the new CEO of the Arasaka Company soon." Kenichi Saburo sneered, full of disdain for the Arasaka heir: "If Miss Michiko doesn't think of herself, then I will. That's why I let Takemura Goro go and even provided him with intelligence and weapons. It's just a pity that the guy didn't accomplish anything. He's a complete waste!"

"You want to take back Night City?" Xu Zhong continued.

"Night City? No, my goal from the very beginning has been V."

"You're going to kill Sister V?"

“Of course not.” Kenichi Saburo shook his head. “There’s a famous Chinese saying: ‘If you save the land but lose the people, you lose both; if you save the people but lose the land, you save both.’ Michiko also said that people are the foundation of everything. V is a genius among geniuses. At first, I didn’t believe it, but after seeing what she’s done, I have to admit defeat wholeheartedly. Let me put it this way: as long as I can get V, I don’t care if I destroy the entire Night City. Because with her, Michiko can rebuild countless Night Cities, or even rebuild the entire world!”

“But V has become too strong, so strong that she can survive even without Miss Michiko’s protection. The corporate alliance on the surface, Joanne Koch, Meredith Stock, you, and recently Kurt Hansen from Dogtown. V’s power has expanded too quickly, giving her the possibility to fly alone. So I chose to return to Night City and break her wings one by one. Once she is back to having nothing, she can only submit to Miss Michiko’s command and obediently be Miss Michiko’s dog for the rest of her life.”

Xu Zhong's eyes turned cold, and he spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva: "Keep dreaming!"

“This isn’t a dream; it’s something I’m actually doing.” Kenichi Saburo pointed around. “When I was roaming the world, you were still your father’s sperm, and you dare to yell at me? This is the first place, and there’s a second one coming! I found something interesting on the computer. Extensive nerve atrophy, huh? There’s another leash around V’s neck. Isomers? Nano-neural repair fluid? I’ll destroy every path to survival V opens up. She’ll never crawl out of hell for the rest of her life!”

"Don't even think about it!" Xu Zhong gripped the hilt of his knife tightly. "Sister V is another option for the world, and I will absolutely not hand her over to you!"

Kenichi Saburo sneered, "What do you want to do? What can your battered body do?"

Xu Zhong did not answer, but instead held his Miao sword and bowed towards the east, saying, "Ancestors above..."

Kenichi Saburo took a half step back.

"For Xu Shiming's sake, I can let you go."

Xu Zhong finally answered, and his answer consisted of only one word.

"kill!"

Now that things have come to this, I have no heart to distinguish right from wrong. I can only sacrifice my life for righteousness and prove my path through killing!

Xu Zhong lowered his body and charged out like a cheetah.

"court death!"

Kenichi Saburo's face darkened, and he pulled out an Arasaka Tamahyou from his pocket.

This is an old weapon produced by Arasaka in the 2000s. It is troublesome to maintain, its parts have long been discontinued, and it is no longer compatible with most standard weapon components. However, when its bullets hit the enemy's head, the result is still as undeniable as that of modern weapons.

Just like Kenichi Saburo.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

Bullets shot out!