Chapter 196 - 179 The Butcher in the Desert

"My car!"

Someone on the other side of the battlefield let out a tragic scream.

Navi was startled, thinking something major had happened to V.

But in reality, the scene unfolding before his eyes was just too heartbreaking.

The West Tuan catapulted off a cliff nearly 20 meters high at 300 miles per hour, with Jack kicking the car’s roof with such force that he propelled himself a significant distance forward.

The enormous physical boost given by the lizard’s rage component couldn’t withstand that kick, imagining how exaggeratedly powerful Jack’s kick must’ve been.

Jack and Lille, who was on his back, were thrown over 300 meters away, while the West Tuan plummeted almost vertically, as if landing like a rocket.

Needless to say, the car exploded.

Not only did the car explode, but the Military Technology’s position also blew up!

Navi worriedly asked, "V? Are you okay?"

"I’m fine." V gritted his teeth while reloading bullets into the raccoon dog, finding a spot to set up the gun.

"How could I be in trouble..."

Bam!

...

Jack’s leap off the West Tuan was so exaggeratedly fast that Lille was flung off him upon landing!

Luckily, Lille’s reaction time wasn’t slow despite his average physical condition, grabbing onto the Mo Xi’s external armor just in time, preventing a fall.

Besides cannons, the Mo Xi armored vehicle had missile bays and possibly anti-infantry intrusion systems, so the first step Lille needed to take was to hack into the weapon system!

The most direct method for this hack was currently to connect to the vehicle’s circuits.

"Stop striking poses, open this thing up—watch out!"

Bam!

A rocket launcher fired at them, and Jack caught it with a backhanded grab, throwing it back!

Bang!

"Hell yeah!"

Jack crouched to grab the turret, his two stout arms exerting force so powerfully that they even created dents on the turret’s surface!

Ka—ka!

The Mo Xi’s chassis suddenly emitted a deforming sound, causing Lille’s face to change as he scrambled to the roof with all his might!

Bang!

The bottom of the Mo Xi suddenly exploded with a ring-shaped blast, a defensive system to prevent infantry from approaching—nobody expected anyone to air-land and climb up!

The shockwave jarred Lille’s head painfully, though his quick climb saved him from becoming a corpse.

Ka!

Jack tore off the turret system just as another rocket attack came, making him raise the removed turret component to shield himself!

Bang!

The heatwave and blast jolted Lille again, almost knocking him down. He tightened up inside: Could Jack withstand this kind of hit?

The answer was yes, he could.

Bam!

The turret, ablaze, shot through the black smoke, hitting a Military Technology soldier hard!

The turret crushed the soldier firing it, leaving half his body fractured, his skull cracked...

Struggling to get up, his blood-stained prosthetic eye trembled as he looked toward the roof—

This didn’t take him down?

The black smoke dissipated, revealing Jack’s half-burned body quickly healing—

At that moment, he looked like a war god.

The flames, yellow sands, and night sky all paled before this man.

This...

Butcher of the desert.

Then he saw Jack holding the Achilles in one hand and firing while his other hand groped the ground. Then...

Seemed to have stuffed something into his mouth? What was that? Looked like military rations, though it was still on fire...

Soon, the war god pointed his gun at him, the muzzle sparking with electrical discharges—

In his final moment, the soldier confirmed: this killing machine was indeed eating their usual military rations.

Bitterness surged within: they ate the same food, so why was there such a big difference?

Bam!

...

Smoke billowed out from the torn turret connection, jamming the missile bay that had just emerged.

Lille had already linked his personal connection to the vehicle, hacking into its weapon system.

"Awesome! Fighting is awesome!"

Jack was firing and eating simultaneously, his gaze falling upon burning cars and critically injured Military Technology soldiers.

Lille gave him a physical and cyber-augmented knock on the head to clear the big guy’s frenzy.

He pointed to the door connecting the cockpit:

"Don’t forget we’re here to open the box, time to get to work."

"Oh, right."

Bam!

A punch to the connecting point made a dull thud, causing the driver inside to shudder:

This once-invincible armored vehicle was now a living coffin!

Other than the door not opening, Lille had disabled all weapon systems—they couldn’t do anything!

Even the door was mechanically jammed! Without the safety lock, it would’ve instantly blown open!

Bam!

Another dull thud, and the door dented, the mechanical lockout for the rooftop popping its screws.

Bam!

The armored plate deformed again, already turning a bit white...

Bam!

A grenade-sized fist broke the connection, tearing open the door!

The drivers held their weapons, but without a chance to shoot, their heads were blown by smart bullets!

In their final moments, bewilderment filled their minds:

"Why is someone eating in the middle of a battle?"

Click.

Jack, crunching military rations, tossed the two corpses out of the cockpit, shouting into the cockpit at Lille: "Do you need me in there?"

"No need." Lille shook his head.

The Mo Xi was supposed to be driven by two people using neural links, functioning via brain-machine interface as per Cyberpunk World’s technology.

The Mo Xi would extend the human body, often leading to various issues when operating such non-humanoid equipment.

Hence, it required training, needing two drivers to train for years and undergo neural synchronization calibration before activation.

But Lille had no such problem.

Also, operating drivers’ neural senses would merge during operation...

Two guys doing this together always felt odd.

[Unauthorized user... user information overwritten.]

[Warning: You are operating solo.]

[Warning disabled]

[Loading drive... system self-check... rebooting...]

[Military Technology California Border Forces Armor Team 4 Mo Xi Armored Vehicle MH-332 online]

[Current command... overwritten.]

[Weapon system online.]

"Done—now let’s see what Military Technology can do..."

...

Although the other side’s Military Technology forces kept advancing, what was happening with the Mo Xi had already unsettled them.

By logic, the flames and black smoke from explosions would disperse due to Mo Xi’s rapid movement, but what they expected never happened.

The Mo Xi had stopped, enveloped by rubble and flames, with two people seemingly tinkering on top of it.

Finally...

Whoosh!

The Mo Xi’s hover engines cleared the battlefield’s smoke, and the Military Technology field officers rejoiced—

However, the distant commander’s voice intermittently sounded on the channel!

"Retrea...Mo Xi...hijacked!"

All missiles launched!

Boom!

This round of explosions ended Military Technology’s assault, and the besieged Adkaduo found that no shots or explosives were heading their way!

This attack, costing millions of euros, secured their victory!

The Mo Xi charged at full speed toward the remaining Military Technology forces, trampling over everything like the Bimong Armored Vehicle, and Emperor Ragnar before this giant armored unit!

Boom!

The active defense system exploded the position, and Jack, wielding the Achilles, charged ahead of the Mo Xi—

They had already won!

"Ha ha! Didn’t expect this day, corporate dogs! Pursue! Pursue!"

Lille followed right behind Jack, with Adkaduo vehicles continually passing by the Mo Xi armored vehicle.

"Navi, have your men tally the spoils and prepare to retreat."

Navi: "Uh... Burger King, did you block V’s communications?"

Lille paused, nervously rubbing his hands before connecting the call.

"Lille! My car!!!"

"Tactical necessity..."

"Don’t explain, you now owe me one hundred and seventy grand... Hmm? Wait, there’s a survivor."

On the other side, V found a Military Technology guy trembling in the wreckage, still aflame at Valgris’s crash site.

Lille saw it too through V’s Prosthetic Eye.

That woman... looked familiar.

The Prosthetic Eye quickly scanned her through NCPD and public databases.

[Meredith Stout]

[Affiliation: Military Technology]

[Position: Military Technology Night City Government and Public Relations Director]

[Remarks: Less than a month since taking office]

"... Capture her alive."

"Sure—seems someone’s gonna be in trouble."

Another communication came in:

Suo: "It’s done, it’s done! We wiped out an entire Military Technology armor team! Do you know what this means!"

Suo: "And then? We’ve trashed Military Technology and got supplies, but how do we handle their wrath?"

Suo’s voice was a mix of excitement and fear.

Lille stroked his chin and replied, "Wrath? Hard to say, they might owe us thanks instead."