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The Badlands lay stretched beyond Night City like a dead ocean of sand.
This was a hostile zone, a place where civilization thinned out and survival depended on instinct, firepower, and luck. Old asphalt roads crisscrossed the wasteland, most of them buried under drifting sand. Dry oil fields stood like skeletal remains of a forgotten era, while mountains of scrap metal reflected the sun with a dull, lifeless glare.
As far as the eye could see, there was only desert.
Night City, with all its neon and noise, felt like the only oasis left in the world.
Hidden behind a low dirt mound was a Chevrolet Emperor 620 Laguna, Arasaka-modified SUV. At first glance, it looked ordinary. The original Arasaka logo had been crudely painted over in matte black, making it blend in like any other wasteland vehicle.
But the inside told a very different story.
The vehicle had been heavily upgraded by Arasaka's Counter-Intelligence Department. Thick layers of bulletproof armor lined the interior. Anti-EMP coatings, signal dampeners, and reinforced plating turned the SUV into a moving fortress. In the rear compartment sat a compact server unit, humming softly.
This vehicle wasn't built for transport.
It was built for hackers.
In cyberspace, computing power was everything. When two sides had similar intelligence and skill, the one with better computing support almost always won. This was why independent netrunners usually lost against corporate hackers. Without servers, without backup, they were practically fighting naked.
Only legends broke that rule.
Bartmoss was one of them.
He had used nothing but his own mind and crude equipment to overwhelm entire corporate networks. When the corporations finally killed him offline, he triggered mutual destruction, tearing the Net apart and causing the Great NetCrash. His body died, but his consciousness was said to still roam cyberspace.
Because of men like him, corporations never underestimated hackers again.
Besides the server, the SUV also carried two military-grade reconnaissance drones and advanced signal boosters. None of this equipment existed on the open market. Anyone seeing this setup would assume an Arasaka black-ops team was on a mission.
Inside the vehicle, boredom was setting in.
"How much longer do we wait?" Rebecca complained loudly, shifting restlessly in her seat. "Why isn't Militech here yet?"
"Quiet," Maine said from the front passenger seat.
His tone alone was enough.
Rebecca immediately shut up.
This was their first operation at this level, and Maine wasn't taking any chances.
"Hmph…" she muttered, hugging the Shingen smart submachine guns in her arms like toys, pretending to study them. She looked more like an impatient kid than a mercenary.
The entire operation was backed by V.
He couldn't provide manpower, so he compensated with equipment—top-tier equipment. Even as the new head of intelligence, the resources he could mobilize were terrifying.
This was the most heavily armed fight Maine's crew had ever entered.
Smart weapons, military explosives, and—most impressive of all—a Nekomata tech sniper rifle.
That rifle was legendary.
It was tightly controlled by corporations, a weapon most mercs only heard about in rumors. Unfortunately, there was only one—and it had ended up in James's hands.
Maine couldn't help feeling a bit jealous. He firmly believed that sleeping next to a Nekomata would be a religious experience.
Crates of grenades filled the back—fragmentation, sticky, incendiary. V had gone all-in.
Because if this mission failed, reimbursement wouldn't matter.
They'd be hunted.
Suddenly, Lucy's calm voice cut through the tension.
"They're here."
Her drone locked onto the incoming Militech convoy, transmitting live footage.
James compared it with V's intel. "Confirmed. Jackie, prepare the jammer."
"Received."
Jackie stepped out of the driver's seat, gripping a Satara electromagnetic shotgun. His Malorian was great for the streets—but this wasn't the streets.
"Finally!" Rebecca grinned and jumped out—
Only to be yanked back behind Maine.
"Stay behind me," he said firmly.
"I heard you," she replied, sticking out her tongue behind his back. But she obeyed.
Dorio was handed most of the explosives. As a former professional athlete, her throwing accuracy was terrifying.
Pilar stayed in the vehicle, hands shaking with excitement as he admired the tech.
"This thing is beautiful," he muttered. "I want to—"
James tapped his forehead. "Later. Focus."
Lucy stayed inside, controlling the drones. Direct combat wasn't a hacker's battlefield—especially against Militech troops equipped with military ICE.
Sasha was absent. She wasn't healed yet.
James climbed the nearby slope, the only high ground for kilometers, and settled into position with the Nekomata. Through his scope, dust clouds approached.
The convoy consisted of two armored vehicles escorting a transport truck. The Militech logo was bold and arrogant.
They were relaxed.
That was their mistake.
BOOM.
The lead armored vehicle was blown into the air by a buried landmine, flipping violently before crashing down.
The convoy slammed to a halt.
Before the driver could react—
A charged Nekomata round erased his head.
Maine's team opened fire instantly, shredding the overturned vehicle. Dorio's incendiary grenades turned the inside into an oven.
They screamed.
They burned.
Then came panic.
"Sniper!!"
Another head vanished.
From the slope, James worked calmly. Each shot was final. Militech's armored glass meant nothing. A fully charged shot could shatter reinforced cyberbones.
Smoke grenades deployed—but it didn't matter.
The drones saw everything.
Militech called for backup, but the jammers were active. Even if help came, it would be thirty minutes away.
In the Badlands, thirty minutes was a lifetime.
The squad leader realized the truth.
They were alone.
"Suppress him!" he shouted.
A heavy machine gun roared, pinning James down.
Then—
"Assault team! With me!"
Three figures activated Sandevistan, their movements blurring as they charged.
"Nuo—three coming your way!" Lucy warned.
"I've got him!" Jackie shouted.
James smiled. "Relax."
He stood.
One shot tore through the machine gun and split the gunner in half.
The first attacker lunged with Mantis Blades—
Bang.
His brain ceased to exist.
The second dodged, faster.
James jumped, his rocket pack igniting, raining bullets mid-air.
Limbs shattered.
The last attacker roared and charged.
Too close.
Too slow.
Bang.
The Badlands fell silent.
🩸 The ambush was over.