It all happened so suddenly.
Three hours ago.
Colonel Lance Hardy received a special notification—from his "colleague" at the company, Mark Carroll.
Colonel Lance Hardy: "So this lockdown contract was arranged by the councilman? The guy named Mendoza, he's in the media business?"
Mark Carroll: "Yeah, Koch messed up the research, and Mendoza started sniffing around."
Colonel Lance Hardy: "How much does he know?"
Mark Carroll: "Hard to say. He's gathered quite a few people. It's a bit of a mess. The incident at City Center yesterday was caused by a Biotechnica Corp operative."
Mark Carroll: "NCPD is useless, and Tyger Claws are pushovers. They let the guy get away, but it seems that Biotechnica's operative left a contingency plan."
Mark Carroll: "Koch guarantees that as long as we take out Mendoza and the two former Biotech employees today, this whole thing will blow over."
Mark Carroll: "Keep the operation low-key. It's already a bit off the books, and if we go too far, City Hall and other corps might start asking questions. I don't want to have to explain myself."
Mark Carroll: "But don't worry. We've checked—Mendoza's merc squad isn't that strong. Just hold the subway entrance."
Mark Carroll: "Keep the casualties minimal, and in the end, pin it all on them. Terrorists, you know the drill."
Colonel Lance Hardy: "What about the ones from yesterday? I heard those guys were insane. Someone even called in the MaxTac, but they got away, so MaxTac didn't show up."
Mark Carroll: "Those guys barely made it out. Mercs like that are in it for the money—they won't come back for more."
Mark Carroll: "Oh, and there's someone named Zora Barnes. She's another media person, been digging into the councilman. She'll be there too."
Colonel Lance Hardy: "Got it. So, I'm supposed to clean this up."
Mark Carroll: "That's right. Thanks."
Colonel Lance Hardy: "No problem. Leave it to me."
After wrapping up the call, he began relaying orders to his subordinates.
Contact: Militech Sergeant #7773, Militech Lieutenant #7103.
Militech Major #1389: "Unit designation: Secure the northwest sector of City Center. Lock down the subway station."
Militech Major #1389: "Target list: Manuel Mendoza, Emilia Morton, Brandon Murphy, Zora Barnes."
Militech Major #1389: "Eliminate targets. Charges: Engaging in anti-corporate and anti-capitalist terrorism."
Militech Major #1389: "Targets are armed and dangerous."
Militech Forces: "Acknowledged."
Making pesky media disappear was routine for city-based military officers.
The lockdown made things simpler. They could easily find some legal jargon to pin on these unlucky fools—
After all, dead people can't defend themselves—unless they bought Arasaka's services.
But if you could afford that, why would you be doing this?
The lockdown was complete, with an entire platoon securing the subway, including two precision marksmen and a heavy machine gunner—enough to make a statement.
Another platoon was patrolling the northwest sector of City Center—
After all, they had taken on the NCPD's contract to secure the northwest sector of City Center. This platoon was just for show.
A while later, Colonel Hardy received an update:
Militech Sergeant #7773: "Target spotted in the subway. Squad executing containment."
Militech Major #1389: "Continue reporting mission progress."
Militech Sergeant #7773: "Roger that."
Some time passed, and Colonel Hardy popped open a bottle of champagne—
Today's job wouldn't just cover recent expenses; it would even turn a profit. If that's not worth celebrating, what is?
However...
Pop.
As soon as the champagne cork was popped, a combat alert appeared in his visual system.
Militech Sergeant #7773 Emergency Auto-Message: "Personnel down."
Colonel Hardy froze, then immediately got up:
Militech Major #1389: "Lieutenant, move to the subway station immediately. Sergeant 7773 is down!"
Militech Lieutenant #7103: "Acknowledged."
How could there be casualties in a sure win?
Suddenly, the champagne lost its appeal.
...
Boom!
The blast wave and flames blew soldiers away from the subway entrance. Jackie one-shotted the enemy marksmen, the blast from his MK31 shredding the guy's upper body into a mist of blood, and a poor soul behind him was caught in the carnage, flung away as a bloody mess.
V's world slowed down as the Sandevistan kicked in. The Mantis Blades unsheathed, and she pounced at the last marksmen!
The guy reacted fast, combat stimulants flooding his system, and his Kerenzikov activated at the crucial moment—
But it was no use; this was a blitz attack! The RPG explosion had left him winded.
He barely dodged V's first strike with a desperate move, but the second swing hit home!
The Mantis Blades pierced his abdomen, cutting through his subdermal armor. V swung her other arm, decapitating him in one swift motion!
The explosion had blown soldiers down the stairs. Jackie grabbed the fallen MK31, unleashing its terrifying firepower—
"Move! Crossfire formation!"
In an instant, the hail of bullets claimed the lives of several soldiers caught at the staircase, splattering blood everywhere.
Leo instantly marked the firing positions in Maine's squad's optics. They hesitated at first but quickly got into action, finally opening fire!
The crossfire from two angles quickly turned the tide, exposing all the Militech soldiers to the kill zone!
Cyberware might be the foundation of combat, but even augmented bodies couldn't withstand heavy machine gun fire—
When bullets are coming from two angles and there's no cover to hide behind, it's a massacre!
Golden-yellow bullets weaved a web of death, tightening with every shot.
The Militech soldiers caught in this web lost their composure, adrenaline flooding their systems even more than their combat stimulants could. The wreckage, the flying flesh, and dismembered limbs bombarded their nerves!
"Spare us... guh!"
"I need to go ba—gah!"
"My hand, I—"
Fear spread across the comms, with no one speaking calmly—just fragmented cries of terror.
Their bodies were cold, but they were filled with adrenaline, and finally, driven by fear, they started to run.
But without cover, they died even faster.
"Hahaha! Corporate dogs, never thought you'd see this day, huh!"
The heavy gunfire exhilarated Jackie and gave Maine's squad a glimmer of hope, venting the terror and frustration from earlier!
The smallest among them cursed the loudest, Rebecca firing while unleashing a stream of profanity: "Stupid corpo scum! Die already!"
Dorio rushed to Maine's side, injecting him with a healing stim, then hefted him as they moved between cover.
Kiwi, the netrunner, followed Leo's instructions, grouping the mission targets together, ready to make a break for it at any moment.
But seeing the enemy panic and scatter, Leo immediately ordered a change in firing mode:
"Jackie, switch to short bursts—everyone else, don't fire recklessly. There are still civilians in the subway, aim carefully."
"V, track down the runners—no survivors."
To prevent anyone from getting carried away and ignoring his orders, Leo stimulated the others' cyberware, forcing them into precision shooting mode.
But after such a high-intensity scene, few could maintain calm, accurate shooting.
For the few soldiers lucky enough to not be killed immediately, only V and Jackie continued to fire, picking them off like reapers.
"This is... terrifying. So, does our dear Burgerking know how to get us out of here? Militech won't let us off that easily."
Kiwi was the type to question everything, but under the circumstances, there was no room for doubt. She could only grumble a bit.
She wasn't normally the talkative type, but the tension had pushed her past her limits, making her act strangely.
Leo didn't have time for this: "One more word out of you, and you're dead today—input these people's data codes into the train."
"...Alright."
Kiwi wanted to retort, but she swallowed her words.
Facing someone who had just taken down Militech and caused such carnage, talking back was a death wish.
From the crossfire to the switch to precision shooting, the entire process lasted less than two minutes.
The MK31's barrel glowed red, and there wasn't a single Militech soldier left standing in the subway.
In fact, intact bodies were probably fewer than half; the station was riddled with bullet holes and cracks.
It was a slaughterhouse, bodies everywhere.
Maine's squad had only opened fire on Militech, but Militech hadn't cared about the civilians.
Several civilians lay on the ground, struck by stray bullets, crying out for help in agony.
Those who ran fast or were lucky enough to hide in corners were shaking uncontrollably, their eyes filled with terror.
Maine tried to convince himself that this wasn't his doing, but... the whole point of preemptive fire was to sow chaos.
Did they really believe Militech was that merciful?
This outcome was something they had all anticipated.
In the end, it turned into a situation where everyone was blaming each other.
The good news was that they had video records from their cybernetic eyes and surveillance cameras. Although they might not be able to send them out, at least the footage was archived.
Leo urged Maine's team through the comms, "Once you're done, get out of there quickly. Militech has another squad on the way. If you wait too long, you won't make it out."
The group staggered across the platform littered with bodies.
When they saw Jackie and V, their eyes were filled with fear.
These were three people who truly had no qualms about killing—an entire squad of Militech soldiers had just been reduced to corpses.
Especially V.
Mann suddenly remembered the first time they had met at the Afterlife Club. It was only a few days ago.
Now, looking back, V really was an incredibly humble merc—
She didn't retort with "What about yesterday?"
Jackie scanned the people passing through the subway entrance, confirming each of their identities.
When he saw Manuel Mendoza and Emilia Morton, he reached out and stopped them.
"Emilia Morton? The evidence we have points to you as the mastermind behind the Red Ochre family massacre. Do you have anything to say?"
Morton froze for a moment, then stomped her foot in anger. "It wasn't me! It was that bitch Joanne Koch! Where's Kuno? Did she not meet with you? Or did she tamper with the information on the chip herself?"
Jackie nodded slightly. "Got it—Kuno is dead. It seems they wanted to kill you here to make sure the evidence trail stops with you."
"Damn Koch—I have other evidence! You need to protect me—"
Jackie interrupted Morton, gesturing for her to move. "Get up there."
Confirming that Morton had more backup evidence, Leo had Jackie cut her off—this wasn't the place for a conversation.
Once everyone had left, Jackie looked back at the subway.
The holographic mask covered his expression, but he inwardly marveled at the battle they had just fought.
"Dios mío (Oh my God)…"
"Help… help… help me."
Several people on the ground were screaming in pain, having been shot multiple times—fortunately, they weren't hit by an Achilles or an MK31, which could tear a body apart.
Ajax was strong, but getting hit by stray bullets didn't mean instant death.
Jackie pulled out two medkits from his pocket and tossed them over—each containing syringes filled with painkillers and hemostatic agents.
"There's medicine inside—loaded into the pneumatic injectors."
After tossing the supplies, Jackie turned to leave—this was the extent of what they could do. Staying here any longer would only increase the risk.
V took advantage of the time to grab two Achilles precision rifles from the ground—might as well take them, they were top-tier Militech weapons, worth a fortune.
"How do we get out of here? Where are you?" Maine looked around and finally focused on the Behemoth armored vehicles.
Because the vehicles had started up.
Kiwi, along with Lucy hiding in the shadows, were stunned—
The Behemoth armored vehicles used military-grade ICE (Intrusion Countermeasure Electronics). How had their hacker cracked the ICE in just a few minutes?
Of course, what they didn't know was that in another world, a teenage girl was furiously trying to put out a fire in a server room.
With a combination of familiarity and computer-assisted hacking, they had managed to breach the Behemoth's ICE in a short time.
But to a normal person, it looked like something else—breaching ICE in such a short time usually meant you either had an insider or were backed by ICE of equal caliber.
Leo jumped out of the vehicle.
"No time to explain, get in the car."
Maine forced a smile. "This is my first time riding in a Behemoth armored vehicle…"
Leo gave him a strange look, then pointed to the Mackinaw not far away.
"You really think we're leaving in the Behemoth? Even I, the Burgerking, wouldn't dare."
"Get in that vehicle. I've already set the Behemoths to autopilot. They'll crash through the barriers with their sirens blaring, and we'll escape in the chaos. Who's the best driver here?"
Everyone looked at each other, their mouths twitching.
There were 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 people, plus Burgerking himself, making 11 people in total!
And you expect us to cram into one car?
Leo waved his hands like he was herding sheep, making them all pile into the back of the Mackinaw.
Joking aside, a pickup truck from the early 20th century could carry a few pigs—this 2076 Mackinaw, built for durability, could definitely handle a few people without being overloaded.
Well, maybe the standard Mackinaw would be overloaded, but this one was the Red Ochre model.
It was just a bit cramped.
In the end, the burly Dorio took the driver's seat, Jackie sat in the front passenger seat, Leo and V were in the backseat, and everyone else had to lie down in the truck bed—
After they awkwardly climbed in, Jackie covered them with a white plastic sheet—making it look like a body transport vehicle.
Once everyone was settled, V also climbed into the backseat, carrying two Achilles technical precision rifles.
Leo looked exasperated. "You swiped two Achilles rifles on the way out? You know they have tracking devices, right?"
"I don't care." V shoved the rifles into Leo's hands. "Disable the tracking devices."
"I… fine, give them here."
The Mackinaw started up, but the first vehicles to move were the two Behemoth armored vehicles at the scene.
The two armored behemoths roared their engines and drove off in different directions.
The Militech squad in pursuit arrived just in time—nearly getting run over by the Behemoths.
Which one would they chase?