"Hey, gentlemen, can you deal with this quickly? This noise doesn't align with the company's core philosophy."
Zaan, the clerk behind the counter, was still shouting at the Bodyguards at the door, but V and Berry, who had also turned around, were already frowning at the anomaly outside.
"Something is wrong, Berry."
V said, frowning, her hand already reaching for the revolver on her hip.
"Yeah, definitely."
Berry also frowned, growing wary as she watched the sudden change at the entrance.
Watching the man, who ignored the attempts to stop him and continued to advance step by step toward the store entrance, Berry thought of something bad.
That behavior—it looked exactly like... Cyberpsychosis.
A significant sign of a Cyberpsychosis outbreak is the patient sinking into their own delusions, uttering irrelevant ravings, and choosing the only way to release the torment of neurological pain: indiscriminate slaughter of their surroundings.
And the man at the door, wearing a dirty vest and looking like a Homeless man, was currently exhibiting these symptoms.
Although Berry wasn't fond of being a good Samaritan, in this situation, it was best to subdue this deranged fellow.
Thinking this, Berry was about to signal V to act, but before she could draw the gun from her hip, the man suddenly moved.
"Get back!"
Seeing the Homeless man's movement, Berry urgently shouted.
"Step back! This is not the place for your nonsense!"
The large Bodyguard wearing sunglasses saw that the anomalous target was disobeying instructions and stepped forward, trying to push him out the door. But he didn't notice that the staggering Homeless man was reaching toward his waist.
"Kill! I'm going on a rampage!"
Berry's warning shout came like lightning. The two Bodyguards were startled, and while they were wondering why, they saw a blinding flash of light. The Homeless man pulled a cold machete from his waist, and immediately swung it down toward the Bodyguard blocking him.
Alerted by Berry's warning, the forward Bodyguard was cautious. In a hurry, he struggled to turn sideways and dodge, barely managing to distance himself slightly.
"Shit!"
Blood splattered, and the Bodyguard screamed. The flashing blade swiftly descended, deeply embedding itself in his shoulder, cutting down to the bone. However, thanks to his slight turn, the blow missed his neck entirely.
"Shoot quickly!"
The blade was pulled back, tearing away a chunk of flesh. The Bodyguard fell powerlessly to the ground, painfully shouting for his partner to shoot.
"Kill! Kill!"
His cyberware eyes were vibrating wildly, his vision almost unable to focus, but this didn't stop the Homeless man's surging killing intent. Gripping the bloody machete, he swung it toward the Bodyguard drawing his gun nearby.
"Bang! Bang!"
"Damn it!"
Not expecting the Homeless man to suddenly attack, the Bodyguard, seeing his partner fall, drew his pistol and managed to fire two shots. But in his haste, his aim was terrible; one round missed, and the other grazed the Homeless man's shoulder, drawing a splash of blood.
However, the shot Homeless man did not fall as the Bodyguard expected. Instead, seemingly impervious to pain, he roared and charged toward him, his arm bleeding.
"Ah!!!"
With another swift chop, the Bodyguard's gun-wielding hand was instantly severed at the wrist. The cut was so clean you could see the electrical sparks flashing from the exposed cyberware conduits.
In the Homeless man's sudden rampage, both Bodyguards were severely wounded and incapacitated in an instant.
The Homeless man didn't stop. Seeing no one left to block him, he raised the machete high, preparing to end the lives of the two fallen Bodyguards.
"Bang! Bang!"
Just as the machete reached its peak, and the blood clinging to the blade vibrated into droplets suspended in the air, two sudden gunshots erupted. They struck the Homeless man's hand one after the other, exploding a shower of blood, forcefully neutralizing the momentum he had built up, and the powerful impact made his body stagger.
It was V.
V held the blue-painted "star," her muzzle aimed at the Homeless man at the door. It was her timely shots that prevented the two Bodyguards lying in pools of blood from being slaughtered.
"If you don't want to die, hide behind the counter!"
While V was shooting, Berry was also moving. She grabbed the shoulder of the clerk Zaan, who was behind the counter, and pushed him down.
The clothing clerk, whose life revolved around large transactions and customer service, had never witnessed such an explosive scene. Pressed down by Berry, he sat behind the counter like a puppet, his eyes staring blankly, his mind completely stalled and unable to process.
Looking back at the entrance, Berry's expression was grave.
She knew that Cyberpsychosis patients were not easy enemies to deal with. Their minds had long been crushed by aggressive cyberware implants, they had lost all sense of pain, and only the desire for slaughter and destruction remained.
Unless this kind of guy was completely knocked out, he would still try to get up and kill.
Thinking this, Berry also drew her gun, preparing to subdue the fellow.
"Kill... Kill!!!"
The pain seemed to trigger the Homeless man's rage. His eyes were bloodshot, and the pain drowned by the blood vessels made him fixate on V and Berry inside the store.
The residual instinct in his brain told him that the two people opposite had hurt him. The uncontrollable pain and ferocity in his mind drove him into a more complete frenzy.
He let out a loud howl, hunched over like a beast, dragging the machete behind him as he charged toward the two women.
The machete dragged on the floor, friction generating a trail of sparks. The heavy footsteps, accompanied by his howls, echoed throughout the store, made louder by the reflections off the walls.
"V, let me handle this!"
Berry raised her gun, verbally informing V.
The store's system blared a piercing alarm upon detecting an intrusion. The flashing red warning lights made the charging figure look even more terrifying, like a demon crawling out of hell.
Berry knew that the violent acts of these patients were not their own will, so she did not intend to take the opponent's life directly.
Berry's expression was stern. She suddenly lowered the gun she was holding and decisively pulled the trigger, aiming at the enemy's lower body.
"Bang! Bang!"
There were two more gunshots.
Berry's fifteen-point Reflexes instantly activated, allowing her to complete the aiming and firing sequence in a flash. The two bullets, fired in quick succession, tore through the air and slammed into the charging Homeless man's feet, exploding with a shower of blood and flying cyberware parts.
The entire process was seamless, as if the Homeless man had simply run into the bullets himself and collapsed, heavily wounded.
His body fell, crashing heavily onto the ground. With a few clangs, the machete that had wounded two men slid far across the polished floor.
"Ugh... Ah..."
Having lost his feet, the Homeless man rolled painfully on the ground before falling unconscious due to his brain's protective mechanisms.
Done.
Only then did Berry let out a sigh of relief.
After too many headshots, trying to subdue someone non-lethally really tested her skill.
"Enter! Surround the target!"
A fierce female voice rang out, accompanied by the roaring engine sound of an av hovering outside the entrance.
Hearing this commotion.
Zaan, who was crouched behind the counter, cried out in surprise, as if a savior had arrived.
He pushed himself up, crouching behind the counter, and poked half his head out to look outside.
A squad of MAX-TAC, dressed in black heavy body armor and wearing multi-lensed tactical helmets, rushed in with weapons drawn. They were highly trained, immediately securing advantageous firing positions at the entrance upon entry.
A Female Squad Leader, a MAX-TAC member, charged at the front. She extended both arms, deploying two sharp, long blades from her forearms. While crouching and charging, she continuously barked orders to her subordinates.
"Neutralize the target!"
However, her words were abruptly cut short, as the MAX-TAC members who rushed in clearly saw the situation inside the store.
The suspected target was already on the ground, his life status unknown, and the two individuals standing nearby looked like armed civilians.
"Hold!"
Seeing the target collapsed on the floor, the Female Squad Leader reluctantly stopped. Although her expression remained severe, her tone clearly conveyed astonishment.
"You! Over there! Explain the situation!"
The multi-lensed eyes flashing green on her half-covered helmet turned toward V and Berry standing in front of the counter, and she verbally demanded they explain the circumstances.
"It's over..." Before Berry or V could speak, Zaan, still shaken, clutched his chest and emerged from behind the counter.
"Quickly drag this fool away, and then we'll resume business."
Zaan looked at the Cyberpsychosis patient who had fallen unconscious on the floor, feeling deeply relieved, but he still forced himself to maintain his composure and inform the arriving MAX-TAC about the situation.
Completely brainwashed by commerce and sales figures, he was only worried that this incident would cause the store's revenue to drop by a few percentage points, which seriously affected his income.
Therefore, even though he was thoroughly terrified, he still intended to wrap up the matter quickly.
"The situation is under control. Please deactivate the alarm."
The Female Squad Leader spoke a few words into her ear comm, and the store's piercing alarm stopped. The flashing red warning lights returned to the original cool white incandescent lighting.
"Tend to the wounded and secure the perimeter!"
Turning to give a few commands to her subordinates, two helmeted MAX-TAC members, whose expressions were hidden, went to the two unlucky Bodyguards who were lying in their own blood, pale from excessive blood loss.
The remaining members guarded the entrance and the corners of the store with their guns, and one person even set up a Virtual Cordon at the door.
Just by looking at the skilled movements of these guys, you could tell that this MAX-TAC squad was truly an elite force hardened by countless battles. They were capable of handling any emergency situation, as that was how they were trained.
They truly were the strongest armed force of Night City's official powers.
Berry kept nodding as she watched their movements, her heart involuntarily stirring with ambition.
If she had such a group of elite soldiers at her command, what great undertaking couldn't be achieved?
Thinking this, Berry couldn't help but sigh.
Of course, Berry was the only one so utterly oblivious. V, standing nearby, frowned secretly at the surrounded store.
This wasn't good.
Afterwards, the MAX-TAC team would definitely conduct an investigation.
But their backgrounds were far from clean.
After all, the things they had done had nothing to do with being upstanding citizens. If this MAX-TAC squad accidentally dug up anything, they might just arrest the two of them to claim credit.
In fact, V's worries were not unfounded, because the female captain of that MAX-TAC squad was already looking at them.
Retracting the scythe she held into her arm, the female captain looked at V and the other person, specifically glancing at the guns holstered at their waists, before issuing an unquestionable command.
"You two, sit down on the sofa, and keep your hands where I can see them."
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