Bang!
A bright muzzle flash tore through the darkness, a scorching round ripping through the air and burying itself in a gang member's skull.
That single gunshot set off a chain reaction. Like a butterfly effect, gunfire erupted everywhere in an instant, the flashing muzzles briefly turning the pitch-black space as bright as day.
Since Pacifica had been abandoned, power and water had been cut in parts of the district. This place was clearly one of them.
Whoosh—
A black figure suddenly lunged straight into the midst of the Voodoo Boys.
"What the hell is that?!"
"Someone's inside! Kill that bastard—ah!!"
The shadow streaked past two figures. The dagger in her hand struck in a blink, punching clean holes through their throats. She withdrew just as fast, melting back into the darkness and slipping once more into the crowd.
The blade flashed in her grip like a dancing butterfly. Silver light sliced through the air, severing several throats in succession. Using one collapsing body as cover, she shifted positions again.
The Voodoo Boys reacted quickly, locking onto her location and concentrating their fire on the figure behind the pillar.
In response, a dagger suddenly flew out, slamming straight into a man's forehead. The shadow burst out with it, now holding a strangely shaped pistol.
Bang!
A single gunshot rang out. The people rushing in collapsed at the exact same moment, instantly lifeless.
"It's Sandevistan! Run!"
One of the more experienced Voodoo Boys turned pale. He shouted a warning and bolted for the exit.
The moment he stepped outside, countless bullets tore into him, riddling his body until he dropped like a sieve.
Crack!
With the sound of a bone snapping, the black-clad figure slowly let out a breath and reached up to remove her tactical helmet.
"Ah… this really is… way more dangerous than back during special training…"
V exhaled deeply, then sighed and sent a message outside. Moments later, powerful floodlights snapped on, bathing the area in blinding white light.
Members of Shadow Stream soon poured in, beginning to clean up what was left behind.
"Good work."
Zed stepped out from behind V and nodded in approval, though his sudden appearance still made her jump.
"Teacher, could you please stop popping up like a ghost? You're going to scare someone to death."
V couldn't help complaining. The "teacher" she referred to had been arranged by Roland. Zed had initially been unwilling, but after actually training V, he realized her combat talent was genuinely outstanding—at the very least, far better than Lucy's—so he accepted it.
Zed ignored her complaint and spoke calmly. "The Voodoo Boys in this area are cleared out. Only the eastern side remains—that's their main base. You won't need to wipe out their territory yourself. Return to your usual state and go take a look over there."
"Huh? Me?"
V stared at him blankly.
"Yes. You still can't manage a complete infiltration, so using the traditional method to gather intel is better for now."
Zed nodded as he gave the order.
As V listened, a huge question mark popped up in her head. If this counted as the "traditional method," then what exactly qualified as a full infiltration?
"Teacher, are we not expanding our territory anymore?"
"No. The Boss says we wait for the New United States military to arrive. Those sewer rats from the Voodoo Boys won't dare fight them head-on. In the end, they'll have no choice but to slink out on their own. It'll save us a lot of trouble."
Zed shook his head. As for whether the New United States might use the opportunity to probe Shadow Stream's strength—or even act against them…
He wasn't too worried. Leaving aside whether they'd even have that capability, the New United States likely wouldn't have the inclination by then.
After all, Arasaka's forces wouldn't take long to reach Night City. In fact, their arrival was practically a given already.
At this very moment, Arasaka's supercarrier was anchored in the sea some distance from Night City, its massive form hidden by cloaking technology as it waited for the right moment.
...
"So that's Night City, huh? The legendary City of Dreams."
Yuri rested both hands on the roof of the vehicle, gazing at the dazzling, neon-lit Night City in the distance.
Standing beside him was a group of elite soldiers in optical camouflage, marked with faint green insignia and fully armed.
"Focus. Once we take the city, you can look around all you want. For now, as the vanguard, we need to stay sharp."
Hansen nodded toward Night City as he spoke.
The special forces unit known as the BARGHEST had already been split up. Each squad, led by its own commander, was steadily infiltrating toward Pacifica, where they would eventually regroup.
Their main objective was to transport large-scale weapons—broken down into components—into Pacifica for reassembly and secure it as a bridgehead.
"Got it, got it. With me handling it, you can relax."
Yuri nodded confidently, patting his chest.
"That's exactly why I can't relax. I still remember someone forgetting the mission last time he went out drinking."
"Heh, that was an accident. An accident."
"I'm serious, Yuri. There can't be any mistakes this time."
Hansen stared straight into Yuri's eyes, his voice cold and firm.
Yuri's grin faded. He nodded.
"Don't worry. I won't cause trouble."
"Good."
Hansen stepped forward, patted Yuri on the shoulder, and slowly walked away.
...
"Wow… so this is the stadium Petrochem built? Pretty impressive… heh, I can already picture the look on Petrochem's local manager's face."
V lowered her binoculars, speaking in a low voice with a mischievous grin.
"Focus, V. Our objective this time is to find where the Voodoo Boys are storing their equipment."
Sasha's voice suddenly sounded in V's ear. V had thought she wouldn't be working with Sasha again, yet before long, the two of them had crossed paths once more.
"Yeah, I know. Say, Sasha, do you think the Voodoo Boys will really just sit around and wait for the New United States to show up before moving out?"
"Huh? Why ask that?"
"No reason. Just feels like they'd prepare in advance. For example… moving their important equipment ahead of time."
"Huh? That actually makes a lot of sense. V, we should report this."
Sasha thought it over and realized V had a point.
"No need. The higher-ups probably already considered it. I think they just sent us to confirm it. We're definitely not the only ones involved—just part of the operation."
V spoke calmly as she watched the Voodoo Boys and the residents of Pacifica bustling about in the distance.
...
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