"They're here, V! From Pacifica—hurry and detonate it!"
The sharp-eyed Panam Palmer spotted the rapidly approaching AV in the distance and immediately shouted a warning.
"BOOM—let it fly!"
The moment V slammed the trigger, the overloaded power station erupted in a blinding inferno.
A deafening explosion followed.
In the next instant, countless electromagnetic pulses surged into the sky like blazing torches, roaring straight toward the AV overhead.
Through the zoom function of her optical implant, V clearly caught sight of several crimson streaks bursting out of the power plant at the exact moment of detonation.
Those figures were unmistakable.
The Mechanicus's escort team.
"What the hell…"
Johnny stared in shock.
"What kind of monsters are those?"
"They survived that?"
V replied calmly in her mind.
"High-level Mechanical Cultivators possess extremely advanced danger perception."
"Even without activating their cyberware, they can easily dodge incoming bullets."
"The best among them can even glimpse a few seconds into the future."
"And when their Sandevistan activates, their reaction speed can reach Mach 42."
"So no, it's not surprising they escaped."
Johnny was stunned.
"Cyberware can do that too?"
V shrugged.
"This is the power of the God of All Machines."
Even now, none of the major corporations had truly deciphered how nanomachines could grant humans such terrifying abilities.
At that moment, Panam suddenly shouted—
"Something's wrong, V!"
"The AV's engine isn't failing!"
Hearing that, V immediately activated long-range optical zoom again.
Her expression instantly darkened.
Although the AV had clearly slowed and its flight path had become unstable, it still hadn't crashed.
The reason became obvious a second later.
A faint, nearly invisible energy field shimmered around the aircraft.
V cursed immediately.
"Damn it!"
"That's a plasma shield!"
"The only tech in the world right now capable of resisting EMP attacks."
"Kang Tao's latest black-tech prototype."
She had calculated everything—
except this.
Her carefully prepared EMP bomb had just been rendered almost useless.
"Panam!"
"Chase them!"
V's voice carried obvious urgency now.
Panam gave a confident grin.
"Relax."
"Let me show you my big baby."
She jumped out of the vehicle and opened the trunk.
Inside was her most treasured weapon—
an ultra-long-range anti-aircraft RPG launcher.
"V, you owe me big for this one."
She lifted the Stinger launcher onto her shoulder.
This was no ordinary weapon.
It was military-grade hardware, a prized trophy from a special operation her clan had completed years ago.
Panam had exchanged all her merits for it.
The radar quickly locked onto the AV.
Without hesitation—
she pulled the trigger.
BOOM—!
The rocket shot out like a missile fueled by rage.
Wrapped in a deadly aura, it tore through the sky at terrifying speed and slammed directly into Kang Tao's AV.
The explosion instantly sent it spiraling out of the air.
Panam smirked proudly.
"Beautiful shot."
V's eyes lit up.
"It's going down!"
"We got it!"
"Hurry!"
"Don't let them escape!"
The two women immediately jumped back into the vehicle and sped toward the crash site.
Halfway there—
V's phone suddenly rang.
Ding-woo~ Ding-woo~
The caller ID displayed: Xiao
V answered immediately.
"Stand down, V."
"Hermann has already sought refuge with the Mechanicus."
"The mission is complete."
V frowned.
"No way."
"We go through all that trouble bringing him down, and now the Mechanicus just swoops in to collect the reward?"
Her dissatisfaction was obvious.
On the other end, Xiao chuckled.
"Don't worry."
"The credit is still yours."
"Just tell me what reward you want."
V's mood immediately improved.
"Now that sounds better."
She smiled.
"In that case…"
"I'm bringing Panam Palmer with me."
"Fine."
"Come over."
"You've done a great service this time."
"Take your time deciding what reward you want on the way here."
V nodded.
"Deal."
"We'll be there in twenty minutes."
She hung up and turned toward Panam.
"Plan change."
"Mission complete."
"Turn around—we're heading to the Holy Land to collect our reward from Xiao."
Panam's expression darkened.
"I heard."
Even though the mission had succeeded, she felt strangely unsatisfied.
And worse—
now she had to meet the physical incarnation of the God of All Machines.
"I'll take you there."
"But I'm not going inside."
She said it firmly.
V leaned closer and lifted Panam's chin.
"Don't waste this chance."
"Remember what I told you before."
"Try to understand the God of All Machines."
"If you still want to go home."
Panam slapped her hand away.
"So damn annoying."
She cursed under her breath, then finally sighed.
"…Fine."
"I'll go with you."
…
…
Inside the Holy Land, headquarters of the Mechanicus—
Xiao looked at the man being escorted in by the cultists and immediately stepped forward with a smile.
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Hermann."
"I've heard a great deal about you."
Hermann immediately showed an extremely respectful attitude.
He clasped Xiao's hand with both of his.
"The honor is mine, Master Xiao."
Xiao didn't waste time on pleasantries.
He went straight to the point.
"Hermann."
"I'll be direct."
"I'm here to discuss the Relic bio-chip."
Hermann answered without the slightest hesitation.
"Of course."
"No problem."
"You know how I operate."
"My cooperation with Kang Tao was only ever about securing peace and living comfortably."
"For me, business is business."
"As long as the other side can meet my conditions and provide what I need, I'm willing to cooperate."
That was the greatest difference between corporations and nations.
Even when corporate employees rose to immense power—
even when they effectively controlled entire states—
they still remained like scattered sand.
No real unity.
No cohesion.
Only interests.
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