Bowen: The Wanderers are attacking, and their firepower is strong. My men were gone in an instant! Send more reinforcements!
Meredith Stout: Are you saying they still have supplies?
Bowen: How would I knowâ but Iâm sure there are no supplies left in Stone Ridge Mountain. I moved everything out long ago.
Bowen: Either they still have their own stockpile, or thereâs a mole among your people.
Bowen: To be honest, I deliberately had that idiot squat in Stone Ridge Mountain, just in case this happened.
Bowen: You see now, the Wanderers always find a way to pull some tricksâsend more reinforcements, or get there yourself.
Meredith Stout: They entered the tunnel?
Bowen: They entered the tunnel.
Communication cut offâStout had only one thought.
Tricks? How elaborate could they be?
The entire Night City was now under semi-martial law, anyone selling arms could be tracedâso what if the Wanderers got some ammo supplies?
If theyâre coming out in full force, they canât blame anyone but themselves for getting caught entirely.
In the Evil Land, the Military Technology Forces started mobilizing; Stout watched the tactical map on her office screen.
An entire mechanized infantry platoon was surrounding the outlet of Stone Ridge Mountainâs tunnel.
Yes, the commotion the Wanderers caused was indeed surprising to her.
But Military Technology was founded on warfareâso what if they had a few more guns or fitted a few heavy machine guns on their cars, at best qualifying as makeshift infantry fighting vehicles?
What difference would they make in front of real armored infantry fighting vehicles?
The last rays of sunlight disappeared over the Evil Land, which began to cool down.
Military Technology would launch an attack.
Meredith Stout: "Target location at Stone Ridge Mountainâs abandoned tunnel, suspects armed with lethal firepower, extremely dangerous, prioritize neutralization."
Military Technology Captain #5523: "ReceivedâTargets sighted, α team, ÎČ team advance from the flanks, encircle the exit."
Military Technology Captain #5523: "Four vehicles at the tunnelâs entrance, two of which are suspected to be the Arasaka armored vehicles hijacked today."
Military Technology Sergeant #7634: "α team reporting: Wanderer vehicles on the left on guard, targets marked."
Military Technology Sergeant #7630: "ÎČ team reporting: Wanderer vehicles on the right on guard, targets marked."
Military Technology Captain #5523: "Targets alert, enemy vehicles startingâready for combat."
Meredith, in her office, couldnât help but put down the water in her handâ
The two teams began to approach the target while drones continuously relayed peripheral dataâ
Thermal imaging and radar were fully activated, confirming no ambush around.
It seemed like a sure win already.
But for some reason, perhaps due to the criminalsâ impressive combat record or the tremendous work pressure these past days,
She felt uneasy.
Then she consoled herself: even if all hell breaks loose and this entire squad gets wiped out, as long as they inflict effective casualties and hold the enemies hereâ
Troops from other areas are already on their way, thereâs no way they could escape.
The Wanderers started their vehiclesâit was clear they had noticed the Military Technology Forces.
"Approaching firing range."
The soldiers on the Military Technology Vehicles pulled out their rocket launchersâthe recoilless M5 rocket launcher, specially designed for armored targets.
Even a beast like Mo Xi would shudder if it took a hit on the side from one.
Used against vehiclesâeven the Ragnar Armored Vehicles they were currently driving, not to mention the Bimong Armored Vehicles following, wouldnât withstand it.
The scene of close quarters combat barely caused a ripple in the eyes of the Military Technology commanderâ
Years of training had removed a great deal of their emotion, such a situation was no more stressful for them than a clerk stamping a document in an office.
He monitored the distanceâ
The distance was reached.
"Within firing range, fire...RPG!"
The Military Technology commander hadnât even finished speakingâwhen he saw rockets fly out of the dunes very close to them!
Boom!
Flames shot into the sky!
Wanderers buried in the sand spit out a mouthful of sand and shouted triumphantly: "Hit the target!!!"
Nature provided the best camouflage!
Several experienced Wanderers had long been lying in ambush around the hills by the tunnel exit, waiting for this opportunity!
As day turned to night, the temperature on the desert dropped quickly, from the extreme heat of the day to near human body temperature!
The dronesâ thermal imaging couldnât possibly detect such an ambush!
All three Military Technology squads were under fierce attack, and the armored vehicles instantly turned into burning coffins!
Screams jumbled the combat channel, Military Technology Captain #5523 was blown away by the explosion, flames burning on him, but he was totally unaffectedâ
"Rally the troopsâ"
Whirr!
The engines of the Wanderer vehicles roared as they broke into the Military Technology convoy, with several electromagnetic pulse hand grenades thrown in!
Sizzlingâ!
All communication cut off, and #5523âs cyber decoder completely burnt out since it was in the middle of transmitting!
His neck was even burned through!
All communications were cut off!
Drones were raining down from the skyâ
Not just that, every soldier who tried to use their comms at that instant was struck by an electromagnetic pulse countermeasure!
Their prosthetics were damaged under the pulse currents of the Cyber Decoderâonly a few officers and elites equipped with high-end bionic prosthetics could withstand this barrage of EMP!
Meanwhile, the Wanderers were completely unaffected!
"Shouldâve done this sooner! Sol, youâre an idiot!"
Panâanâs vehicle was the first to burst through the Military Technology convoy, the machine gun on top firing nonstop, easily claiming several lives!
She saw a man standing in front with his head tiltedâupon closer inspection, even his neck was burned through!
How powerful was that Cyber Modulator?
Panâan floored the gas pedal, charging straight towards the man!
Bang!
An unimaginable scene unfolded:
Panâanâs vision blurred as the man with the burned-through neck was propelled backwards, supporting himself with one hand on the hood of the car...
And with the other hand, he aimed his gun at them!
Si Anweisitan!
Without time to ponder the absurdity of the situation, Panâan jerked the steering wheel, and the whole car flipped over!
Bullets formed a line across the window, the vehicle flipped violently, and crashed against a large rock!
The car and the rock neatly sandwiched the overly dramatic #5523, crushing him into mincemeat...
Then it settled on the ground with black smoke rising.
Panâan wasnât in a much better situationâ
A stray bullet had hit her waist, or more accurately, grazed her.
Looking up, she could see her kin systematically annihilating the Military Technology soldiers around the crash site.
Among them, she could even see some soldiers still ablaze and not going downâ
But their movements were extremely slow; if one bullet wouldnât kill them, fifteen or even dozens would.
The ambush was a success, save for her own unlucky breakâoh, and Ted in the passenger seat.
"Still alive?"
"Canât die... ran into a tough bastard..."
Ted shook his headâhe hadnât been shot, but when the vehicle flipped, heâd hit his head connected to the neural link, making him feel nauseous and weak.
Sol: "Panâan? Ted?"
Panâan: "Weâre... okay, just ran into a rather twisted guy."
After reporting safety on the channel, Panâan slumped onto the steering wheel.
"Dammit, my luck is really shitty today... Meeting the most cowardly and the most ferocious fighters..."
...
Adkaduo Combat Channel:
Bob: "Itâs doneâweâve taken down the Military Technology Forces! Damn, that was freaking awesome!"
Sol: "Make sure no oneâs left, regroup. Burger King, is that it for today?"
Lille was analyzing the combat data coming in from everyoneâ
The tactic was too successful, successful to the point that the people in the caves didnât even have to fight before it was all over.
An ambush in the desert is actually not that rare a tactic, but if youâre not expecting it, it could indeed be very deadly.
So this revealed something: The enemyâs true commander was very hasty when calling for reinforcements, and likely had almost no experience fighting the Wanderers.
This commander was clearly by-the-book, a real academicâthough not accustomed to this kind of wild-card strategy.
Hasty... seems like the corporate tolerance for employee mistakes was much lower than Lille expected.
Or perhaps the commander had other concerns.
But no matter what, when youâre hasty, youâre more prone to mistakes, and few can adjust their mindset back to normal under such pressure.
Best to apply more pressure.
Lille: "No, weâre heading to the second Night Wandering Ghost stronghold. Nash had recorded the location in his database."
Sol: "Why? We never store this kind of information on hardware, could it be a trap?"
Lille: "A carefully laid trap is very unlikely; a hastily laid trap is a certainty."
Lille: "But this is also our best chance to strike a heavy blow to both the Night Wandering Ghosts and Military Technology."
Lille: "Thereâs a tough fight aheadâare there any injuries?"
Sol: "Panâan, Cassidy, Spark, Lando... Panâanâs car is also wrecked."
Lille: "Have them clean up the battlefield, call up any wounded in the camp whoâve woken up, and move fast."
Sol: "...then weâll keep trusting you."
Lille: "Thanks for the trust, Iâve uploaded the coordinates to the net."
The coordinates were quite a coincidenceâright at the abandoned cement factory to the south.
In the game, Night Wandering Ghosts had tied Sol up at that very place.