"Wait!"
Gunner opened his mouth and shouted loudly at Jax, bracing his hands on the table. The old 6th Street Gang cowboy's face had lost its calm, in-control expression, replaced by a flicker of fear in his eyes.
"I can explain."
"Explain?" Jax looked at Gunner. The Gunblade · Shadow Song was a half-meter long curved blade, so black it didn't look like a metal weapon at all, more like a plastic toy.
But if one looked closely, they would notice the end of this plastic curved blade trailed a swaying black shadow... exuding a hint of eeriness and mystery.
"You forcibly brought David and Gloria Martinez here. How do you intend to explain that?" Jax asked Gunner with a smile. From the very beginning, Jax had never had a good impression of this 6th Street Gang Captain.
Hypocritical and two-faced—that's exactly what this bastard was.
Earlier at the hospital, he tried to turn his group into tools for his gang's internal struggles, constantly claiming it was for Santo Domingo, to change the 6th Street Gang, but what was the reality?
Everything this bastard did was merely to climb up the ranks and gain more power. If he truly wanted to protect Santo Domingo, he had too many other ways to do it.
What did he mean by needing to climb up first to change everything?
There might be some truth to that statement, as with greater power, one can indeed change and accomplish more.
But in Jax's view, in this era, "climbing up and changing everything" was utter nonsense.
The story of heroes turning into dragons was all too common in this world. To truly trust and cooperate with Gunner would be utterly foolish.
Therefore, Jax swung Shadow Song, and in front of Gunner, he bisected another 6th Street Gang member.
In the small room, the smell of blood was thick and pungent. Two members closest to Jax gritted their teeth and raised their hands, their kinetic weapons already aimed at Jax's face.
But the next moment, Sasha's voice, peeking through the doorway, rang out,
"Why can't you just be good? Can't you just AFK and die? You're wasting my energy..."
The cat sighed, her optical implant pupils turned blue, and the next moment, the two 6th Street Gang members who had raised their hands frantically twisted their arms, aiming their guns at each other.
"Bang!"
In an instant, everyone in the room froze.
Without using advanced equipment, yet able to directly launch this level of intrusion with just a neural link...
Anna was almost dumbfounded by the sight.
Holy crap... a Cyberpsycho?!
Jax's crew actually had a hacker with such advanced skills?
It's important to know that the reason this skill is called Cyberpsycho, its name and principle, is exactly as the literal meaning suggests, similar to the dreaded Cyberpsychos and cyber-lunatics.
A person affected by this daemon will attack indiscriminately, prioritizing damage to "their own people." If there are no "own people" around the target, they will shoot themselves, triggering a suicide mechanism.
Hackers with this kind of skill... you really don't see many in Night City!
Because it's a completely different approach! Normal hackers sit in server rooms, accompanied by computers, performing intrusions with advanced equipment, but those things are of no help at all for the Cyberpsycho skill!
"This is my territory. I know you're strong, but once my people surround this place, you might be able to escape, but what about Gloria and David?"
Gunner quickly continued, "Can you guarantee to protect the Martinez mother and son from harm under a hail of bullets?"
Just as Jax was about to speak, a fluffy, twin-tailed girl burst into the room.
She pushed David aside with one hand and stood next to Jax, a lollipop in her mouth. She was holding the candy stick with her silver-plated hand, shaking the candy in her mouth, and then looked up at Jax and said, "Jax, the guys downstairs have already been dealt with."
"..." Gunner's expression changed.
Jax looked at Rebecca and asked, "How many people?"
"Let me think, I probably took care of seven. Lucy and Kiwi handled a few, Dorio also took down a few. Pilar, on the other hand, was looting bodies, that bastard older brother!" Rebecca said indignantly.
Rebecca was truly speechless about her older brother's shameful behavior.
We're fighting, and you're looting bodies?
What kind of behavior is that!
Aside from Gunner, only two 6th Street Gang members remained standing in the room.
But those two were clearly terrified; they stood trembling in place, not daring to take a single step.
Jax looked at Gunner and said, "So, how many people do you still have?"
"Jax, this old man says he has over three hundred people," Anna chimed in from the side, her voice filled with amusement. She continued, "That's even more than our Moxes."
"Three hundred people, huh... That would indeed be a bit troublesome to kill them all," Jax said thoughtfully.
"?" Anna looked at Jax, utterly bewildered. "No, are you seriously planning to kill them all?"
That's over three hundred people, not three hundred chickens!
"I merely invited the Martinez mother and son as guests, and I had no intention of harming them. Besides, Gloria Martinez and I had a deal; we... have a rapport, don't we?" Gunner looked at Gloria Martinez, placing his hope in her.
A month... These guys had clearly disappeared for a month!
How could they be back?
A month—for someone to leave Night City for a month, in everyone's perception, it was no different from being dead!
If he had known these people would return to Night City, Gunner would never have invited Gloria Martinez in this manner.
Was his status as a 6th Street Gang Captain impressive? Yes, it was impressive; he was considered a fairly significant boss within the gang.
But compared to an Arasaka executive?
There was truly no comparison whatsoever!
Jax, this lunatic who dared to kill an Arasaka executive in front of the media—his status as a 6th Street Gang boss meant nothing to him!
He even dared to kill an Arasaka executive, so what about himself?
Therefore, seeing Jax's murderous intent, Gunner immediately backed down and admitted defeat.
Jax also looked at Gloria Martinez, wanting to hear her opinion.
Gloria Martinez, however, said coldly, "I remember I explicitly refused you, but Captain Gunner, you ignored my refusal and kept pestering me. Moreover, I haven't forgotten what you just said to me."
"Please tell me, what do you mean David would be in danger going home alone? You were clearly threatening me, weren't you?" Gloria Martinez retorted to Gunner.
Gunner's lips trembled. He quickly said, "These are all misunderstandings, Gloria. During this time, I've always been inviting..."
"That's truly... enough!" Gloria Martinez snapped, cutting Gunner off.
She found this man truly... disgusting.
When he boasted, he was generous and righteous. Over the past month, Gloria Martinez had seen Gunner many times, and each time he asked her to work for him, his expression was fervent and righteous, as if her working for him was making Santo Domingo better.
His favorite phrase was—to dedicate one's life to the 6th Street Gang, to dedicate one's life to Santo Domingo.
But now, this man who constantly spoke of "honor" and "justice" had changed his demeanor due to the threat of death.
Gloria Martinez wanted to ask him, where is your justice? Where is your spirit of dedication?
You want the 6th Street Gang to get better? Then, you and your 6th Street Gang can go to hell.
The 6th Street Gang was no longer the 6th Street Gang of the past. Gloria Martinez, who had lived in the lower echelons and witnessed countless darkness, knew this best.
This was also why, despite living in Santo Domingo with David, she never let David associate with these people.
If you truly want Santo Domingo to be better, then a Santo Domingo without the 6th Street Gang is the best Santo Domingo!
With disgust on her face, Gloria Martinez looked at Gunner and continued, "You sent people to watch me outside my house. If Jackie didn't come over every day, and if you didn't need me to do things for you, I can only imagine what you would have done to my son and me!"
Gunner opened his mouth, still wanting to speak and defend himself, but Jax had already stepped forward, raising his hand and slapping the old man across the face.
"From the first time we met, I've been disgusted by you." With one slap, Gunner was sent flying, and two large gold teeth flew out of his mouth.
Seeing the two blood-stained gold teeth fly out, Jax chuckled.
"Jax…" Seeing that Jax had actually made a move, Gloria hesitated. She walked over to Jax and asked, "Will this cause you trouble?"
"You've just returned and don't understand what's been happening in the city recently. Doing this…:"
"It's fine." Jax shook his head at Gloria.
"That's right, Gloria, you don't need to worry about that kind of thing." Maine said with a hearty laugh. He walked up and stood beside Jax, winking at Gloria: "I told you, we're family."
"If you're threatened, then we're threatened, Gloria. Your business is our business."
"What are you still standing around for?" Maine said loudly. Jackie reacted, let out a cheerful laugh, and quickly raised his hand to fire two shots, directly eliminating the two terrified remaining 6th Street Gang members.
Then… the entire house was littered with bodies. In this small room, at least a dozen 6th Street Gang members had died. David breathed in the bloody air. The smell and the scene before him made David a little scared, but seeing Jax standing in front of him, and then looking at Maine and Jackie's backs, David took a deep breath, his right hand tightly pinching the tiger's mouth of his left hand. He tried his best to calm himself down.
He… really didn't want to be embarrassed again.
It's nothing, this, it's nothing!
It's just dead people, that's all.
In a place like Night City, when is someone not dying?
"What about this old man? Kill him or let him go?" Maine looked at Jax and continued:
"Killing him would indeed be a bit troublesome. No matter what, he's an important figure in the 6th Street Gang. No matter how many of his subordinates die, it won't make a splash.
But if this old guy dies, we'll have really offended the 6th Street Gang in Santo Domingo."
"Didn't we already offend the 6th Street Gang before?"
"That's different from now." Maine explained: "Before, it was a mission, and only a few 6th Street Gang hackers and some members died. It was considered small-scale, but if this guy dies…:"
Although Maine wasn't a native of Night City, after coming to Night City, he had lived in Santo Domingo for a long time and naturally understood the situation of the 6th Street Gang.
"Captain, he's considered a big boss. If he works harder and fights for a position, he'll be the gang leader." Maine paused, then continued:
"And Gloria's worries aren't unfounded. The problem with the Moxes and Tyger Claws hasn't been resolved yet, although Miss Michiko helped us solve some trouble.
But remember? Tiger Woman specifically urged that after returning to Night City, Michiko would only deal with public opinion matters.
She wouldn't interfere if corporations, gangs, or even Fixers and mercenaries attacked us.
So Jax, have you thought it through?"
Maine reached out and patted Jax's shoulder, grinning broadly: "Anyway, we'll all listen to you."
"…" Jax didn't think for long. In an instant, he moved.
In front of everyone, Jax directly transformed the Shadow Song from a scimitar into a pistol.
A pure black revolver, formed from shadows.
Walking forward, he aimed at Captain Gunner, who was lying on the ground, knocked unconscious by his slap, and Jax pulled the trigger.
"Bang!"
A pitch-black bullet shot out. The best part of this weapon was right here.
As long as Jax could imagine it, the Shadow Song could unlock and replicate it.
No bullets needed, each attack would cause corresponding damage based on Jax's attribute values. It's… there's also a gun like this in the game that costs euros to fire. That gun is called the Retreat, and it's Fat Jesus Dexhawn's weapon.
Shadow Song, this really was the most suitable weapon for Jax.
After killing Captain Gunner, Jax turned around and said to Maine: "Since we're back, there's no need for us to hide."
Jax then whispered: "We didn't come back to secretly hide. Keeping a low profile isn't suitable for us right now, Maine.
We have an agreement with Michiko."
"The two-year agreement, I remember." Maine nodded.
In the Panther base, Maine was beaten by Tiger Woman every day, but he hadn't forgotten this matter.
"So, what should we do next?" Maine asked Jax.
"Hmm… let's go to Watson. Santo Domingo isn't suitable for living right now." Jax thought for a moment and said.
He looked at Gloria and said: "Now isn't the time to deal with the 6th Street Gang, so…:"
"I understand, it's fine." Gloria shook her head.
She wasn't an unreasonable woman.
Captain Gunner was dead. For the 6th Street Gang to save face, there was no reason for them not to retaliate. Even if the 6th Street Gang's higher-ups feared Jax, they couldn't control their subordinates.
Which gang didn't have bold and crazy members who wanted to climb up?
Newborn calves are not afraid of tigers; to get ahead, those people would do anything.
Therefore, leaving Santo Domingo was the right choice.
Anyway… Gloria wasn't attached to this place either.
"Let's go to the Moxes." Anna spoke.
"You should go back too, Jax. Susie Q will definitely be very happy to know you're back. Her temper has gotten worse during the time you were gone and unreachable."
Anna looked at Jax very seriously and said.
Jax nodded, smiling: "I was planning to take everyone back to the Moxes anyway."
"Tyger Claws…"
It was also time to make them disappear from Night City.
Jax thought to himself.
Maine's crew now was completely different from before.
One month really wasn't long, but again, for Night City, one month was enough to change too many things.
And… it was also enough to turn an ordinary person into a monster. In the era of cyberware, a world where installing cyberware could make one stronger, with Arasaka Michiko's money, Maine's crew had completely upgraded their gear.
Not to mention that everyone in the team had learned a lot from people like Tiger Woman and Shoko, who had been famous worldwide since the Red Era.
Let's just say, in the current crew, Rebecca was the true human-shaped monster…:
After all, Rebecca was now a walking several million euros…:
Do you understand the power of euros?
In the desert, on the main road leading to Northern California, a classic car was driving at seventy miles per hour.
A woman with spiky, dirty, greasy black hair and a flushed face was shouting loudly: "Don't give me so much bullshit."
"I killed four people for this job, four people! Why are you only giving me so little money? You said you'd pay me the final balance after I killed one, and I even gave you three extra, but where's my final balance?"
"What? You dare to say that again? What do you mean, 'anyway, I won't stay here, we only interact once'? Damn it! Is this how you assign jobs? What kind of a useless Fixer are you?"
"Damn it, you're really something, screw it, I don't want it anymore, alright! You bastard, keep that final payment to buy your mother a better coffin!"
"Go to hell! You remember this, if I ever run into you, I will definitely make you regret it!"
"Bastard, bastard!"
Loud curses, but the other side had already hung up the phone.
When she called again, she received a notification that she had been blacklisted.
Seeing this, V's face turned red with anger.
"Damn it! How much longer until Night City?"
Looking at the fuel tank, V felt like crying.
After stopping and working here for a month, V had barely earned enough for gas and food, and she hadn't even earned enough for a motel room!
But… what could she do!
She was very famous in her family, and when the family received big jobs, they would assign them to her, then split the profits.
But what about after she came out here?
People outside didn't know who she was. Even if V was very capable and outstanding, without a reputation, it meant she couldn't get good jobs.
Moreover, V only stayed in one place for a period of time, which made Fixers unable to trust her, and she also couldn't tell if Fixers were trustworthy.
And so… she got screwed again!
She killed four people and only got three thousand euros!
Three thousand euros, what was that enough for?
Feeling like a chump, V's face was flushed with anger, her nostrils flaring.
"Truly… a goddamn Fixer!"
Pounding the steering wheel, V looked ahead.
Damn it, this was really…
She was almost crying with anger!