Boom!
A deafening explosion echoed through the air, and a blazing fireball lit up the faces of Jackie and the others as they watched.
They saw black smoke pouring from the spot where the AV had been hit. It spun several times in midair before plunging toward the ground.
Thud… screech…
The AV slammed heavily into the ground and skidded a long distance before coming to a stop.
Inside the AV, V and Sasha were completely stunned by the sudden turn of events. As for why the AV had been taken down so easily…
Well, that was obvious. To keep the mission low-profile, they had been using outdated secondhand AVs pulled from the market to avoid drawing attention. And now…
What kind of idiot would take a shot at a passing AV?
"Woo! Did you see that? I told you my aim was solid, right? One shot, just one shot, and I brought that thing down!"
Not far away, a man with a green punk mohawk and a black jacket stood on top of a car, shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Alright, get your ass down. The delivery's here, time to grab the damn cargo!"
A man wearing a black skull mask and a tactical helmet knocked on the car and barked.
At that, the group around them erupted into loud cheers, then jumped onto their motorcycles and modified vehicles, speeding toward the crash site.
Boom!
Back at the crash site, a loud bang rang out as a dark object shot upward before slamming heavily onto the ground. It was the AV's hatch.
"Cough… cough… damn it… which idiot fires at a passing AV? Are they suicidal?"
Covered in soot, V crawled out of the wreck with a dark expression, pulling Sasha out along with her.
"Just bad luck. They probably saw how old our AV model was and that it didn't carry any recognizable markings, so they figured they could take a shot at us."
Sasha shook her head helplessly, coughing as the smoke choked her.
V glanced at the AV beneath them, already being swallowed by flames, and her eyes burned with anger.
"Damn it. If I find out who did this, I'll make sure those idiots understand exactly what pain looks like."
"Forget that for now. Let's move away first."
Sasha jumped down from the AV and waved her hand. Several figures flew out from inside the wreck. They were beast-type robots that had never appeared on the market.
V followed, while under Sasha's command, the robots scattered in all directions to scout the surroundings.
"Since they attacked the AV, they'll definitely come over to see what they can loot. We'll just wait here for them."
V nodded and silently looked toward a direction where dust was already rising.
"Looks like… they're here."
The group of Wraiths rushing toward them also noticed the situation, their expressions darkening, especially their leader's.
"Damn it, someone's trying to cut in on our take. Move it, move it!"
As the vehicles closed in, V and Sasha suddenly paused when they picked up a familiar signal. After exchanging a glance, they chose to stay put for now.
Screech…
With a sharp drift, Jackie's vehicle came to a stop in front of them.
"Jackie?"
"V?"
The moment they saw each other, both of them froze in surprise.
"Jackie, don't tell me you're the ones who shot down our AV."
V walked up and immediately dropped the question.
Jackie gave her a speechless look.
"Chica, we've got signal identifiers between us. Even if I don't know exactly who it is, I can tell it's one of ours. Why the hell would we shoot you down?"
"Uh… yeah, that makes sense."
V paused, then nodded. After coughing awkwardly, she asked, "Then what are you doing out here?"
"Running a delivery for the corp. Saw something happen on your end, so we came over to check it out."
"Perfect timing. Give us a ride later. Those idiots wrecked our AV, so we'll have to head back to the corp."
"Sure, no problem."
Jackie nodded.
At that moment, the roar of engines from motorcycles and cars drew everyone's attention.
They exchanged glances, then spread out instinctively, waiting for the incoming group.
Meanwhile, the faint glow of Sasha's energy shield slowly dimmed.
"I've confirmed it. It's a group of Wraiths. They're the ones who attacked us."
Hearing that, V's expression turned cold and murderous.
"So it's them. I'm going to stretch my legs a bit. That alright?"
"Go ahead."
Sasha shook her head and made a small gesture of invitation.
"Boss, I see the target we shot down!"
"Hurry up, speed up! Those idiots trying to cut in haven't left yet!"
"I'm gonna rip out their cyberware and send it to the scrapyard!"
"Give it to the Scavengers, you idiot. How much do you think scrap's even worth?!"
"Heh, they're actually kind of funny."
After tapping into the Wraiths' channel through Sasha's intrusion, the group couldn't help but chuckle at their chatter.
"I'll go test my weapon. Be right back."
Rebecca turned to say that, then yellow lightning flared beneath her feet as she shot forward, accelerating straight toward the Wraiths.
V saw this and quickly turned his head. By the time he reacted, she had already left him hundreds of meters behind, leaving him with a confused look.
Whoosh…
"Boss, someone's flying!"
Energy burst from beneath Rebecca's feet, launching her straight into the air. A Wraith pointed upward in shock.
The moment their leader looked up, a blinding yellow light flared across the sky.
Rebecca wore an excited grin, as a terrifying surge of energy gathered at the muzzle of her weapon.
Whoosh… boom…
The trigger was pulled, and a devastating energy beam erupted, instantly swallowing the entire group of Wraiths. Only a few lucky survivors remained, staring at her in terror.
Whoosh…
A burst of energy behind Rebecca propelled her forward in an instant, placing her right in front of them. Several small beams shot from her fingertips, piercing through the remaining Wraiths.
"Looks like that's done."
Jackie shrugged as he watched, then turned to V, who was walking back.
...
Inside the PROJECT corporation building, Roland could only shake his head after hearing the report. He could not tell who was more unlucky, V's group or the Wraiths.
He also received Rebecca's proposal. After a brief moment of thought, Roland approved the operation to wipe out the Wraiths. Though in truth, it was more accurate to say it was an operation against the Raffen Shiv.
"Hmm… might as well bring those Nomad clans outside Night City under the city's control as well…"
After some thought, Roland instructed his people to draft a plan to deal with the Nomads and the Raffen Shiv beyond Night City.
Come to think of it, isn't Panam currently with one of those Nomad clans outside Night City?
…
(Full Series is already available on P@treon)
[email protected] / GhostParser